I Was Born A Ramblin' (Wo)Man

So that is probably one of my favorite pictures ever. That's right--two deans of the college serving ME, for a change. The event is called "midnight breakfast" and it's really the only time of year when you can catch the college deans wearing aprons and serving you free food. And yes, I most definitely had seconds.

I'm finally back at school and although it's nice to have a change of scenery, it's time for the endless cycle to kick into full gear once again. Winter break seemed unusually short this year, but I would say I made the most of it. Here's a short synopsis:

First of all, my family sort of spontaneously moved into another house and I had to help, which I wouldn't have minded missing. I kind of have a thing for manual labor, but not so much when my parents are around. They have a knack for making anything simple into absolute chaos.

The second fun thing was going to the west coast for the first time EVER. My boyfriend and I planned the trip back in October and ever since I'd been looking forward to it, and for good reason! We went to Portland, Oregon (and did manage to make it up to Vancouver, Washington for a day). Now, I know what you're thinking--"Why would you go during the winter? That's the rainy season!" Fer sher it rained, but it was still beautiful.

If on graduation day they asked me what trait I acquired during college, I'd say it was my love of travel. I'm scared to death of heights, which makes flying a bit scary, but I can handle it if it means going somewhere new. As I may have mentioned before, I studied abroad in Prague, Czech Republic, and while there I made a point to visit France, Austria, Turkey and Italy, then backpacked through the Balkans, meaning Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia (okay, so we more or less passed through that one), and Slovenia. I came back from Prague a few pounds thinner and a lot better traveled than before I had left.

In Portland, we mainly looked at colleges and schlepped around the city. What else would two tourists do? (Oh yeah, check out microbreweries). We also stayed at a hostel called the Hawthorne Hostel (it was in the Hawthorne district of the city, duh), which was awesome because beds cost only $17 a night--which is definitely in my price range.

On the way home, we had a layover in Houston, which was cool because I'd never been to Texas. I decided to get the southern breakfast classic, which included grits, and was pleased when the cashier referred to me as "youngster" in a pleasant southern drawl. I may be 21 years old, but apparently I qualified as a youngster. Then again I was mistaken for a 15 year old the week of my 21st birthday....

Train-> Bus-> Plane

And within the blink of an eye, I'm back on Vassar campus.

Recently I became obsessively aware of time and ever since it seems like the hours are just speeding by. Maybe I should forget about it. My life was better when four days seemed like an eternity. Actually, finals week still seems to cover an eternity to the point where afterwards I like to refer to it as "the lost days of my life." What was really shocking was afterwards, when my corporate power professor actually called my final paper "good." Hah. It was pretty hard for me to accept such a compliment, much less the B+ I was rewarded for it (you learn not to expect too much around here.... or at least I did when I was a freshman).

Anyways, I spent most of last week in Madison, Wisconsin (between Tuesday night and Saturday evening) visiting my boyfriend and his family, and just so you know, they're all very nice people. Both my boyfriend Patrick '08 and his sister, Beth '05, share with me Vassar as their choice of college. In fact, Beth is the one who first taught me how to get from Vassar to LaGuardia airport in Queens. While I was a freshman the quest seemed really intimidating, but now as a senior I can practically sleep through it. Just break it down into a simple three-step process: 1. train-> 2. bus-> 3. plane.

1. The first thing you do is find a way to get to the Poughkeepsie train station. Manhattan is the most common destination for anyone leaving from Poughkeepsie, so it's really easy to figure out which train to take. Trains leave on the half hour (8:30, 9:30, 10:30, etc.) and arrive at Grand Central station, located on 42nd Street, where you will find……

2. The bus! There are two options for buses to take once you've arrived at Grand Central: the $2.00 city bus or the $12 airport bus. In my opinion, paying the extra $10 for the airport bus is a deal. The buses leave right from Grand Central every half hour and visit the three New York City airports: LaGuardia, Newark, and JFK (always ask the driver which one is going to your destination!). But even though these buses cost more and are filled with other like-minded travelers, don't expect the bus drivers themselves to be completely sane. In fact, the last driver I had was downright nutty. He kept mumbling to himself about how mad he was while checking our tickets and uncontrollably raising and lowering his voice. I felt like I was on candid camera. I was pretty scared of him, but I ended up at LaGuardia alive, which was good. He probably won't last too long at that job.

3. The airport. I'm actually kind of ticked about my trip to LaGuardia last week. Since 9/11-ish, people are being advised to arrive at the airport some ridiculous amount of hours prior to their flight to ensure they have enough time to get through security. That's a lie. Considering it took me less than 2 minutes to get through security at LaGuardia, I have no idea what they are talking about. I kind of wish it had taken me an hour to get through security because I was so bored afterwards I didn't know what to do with myself while I waited to board. Honestly, I wouldn't get there any earlier than an hour and a half before a flight because even if you're running a little late, airport workers will help you get you to your gate in time. Take my word for it-I worked at an airport last summer.

And on the trip back? Just repeat the cycle in reverse. But beware-here are some snags I ran into on the way:

1. Due to the whole liquid ban, every liquid or cream in your carry on must be in a zip-lock bag. But being the environmentally conscious Vassar student I am, it didn't seem necessary for me to put my one tiny tube of wasabi in a plastic bag, thereby wasting a bag on only one small item. But I guess I was wrong; airport security guards cannot tell the difference in size between a sandwich sized zip-lock bag and a two-inch long tube of wasabi unless the wasabi is actually in the plastic bag. Silly me.

2. If you get hit on by a teenager at the airport, lie about your age. Faking 24 years old is a lot easier than watching an 18 year old try to impress you with his Air Jordans.

3. The sketchy cabs at Poughkeepsie Station aren't as sketchy as they seem. And they're surprisingly cheap. If you're still afraid to ride them, talk on your cell phone while in the cab. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to Poughkeepsie Station- you'll find out.)

In total, the trip (both ways) cost me a little over $50-train tickets (both ways) cost $25, the airport bus costs $21 when buying round trip tickets, and the sketchy cab was $6. Here are some money-saving tips:

1. Always buy round trip train tickets and make sure to purchase them at the train station. Tickets always cost more when purchased separately and an additional fee applies if purchased on the train. If you frequent New York City, look into getting a 10 pass. A 10 pass costs $100, but it lets you ride the train for only $10 each way. If you don't go too often, share it with a friend.

2. The same philosophy goes for bus tickets-it would have cost me $12 each way if I had not purchased the round trip tickets for $21. However, bear in mind that bus tickets have a 30 day expiration date unlike train tickets, which makes them worthless if you plan on using your extra ticket after summer break.

3. Most likely under a time constraint while getting to the airport, you might not want to ride the city buses. But if you aren't afraid of them, feel free to take the M60 city bus to Harlem Station on your way home. Harlem Station is on the Poughkeepsie line, which is great because the city bus only costs $2 and still gets you where you need to go.

4. Try to convince a friend to drive you to the train station. It saves you money that would have been spent on either parking or calling a cab. Trust me, you'll want that extra $5 when you get to Grand Central and need lunch....



I should be allowed to teach a course on this; I could use a supplemental income.

The Kitchen Is Clean?

Recently, my typical dinner fare has consisted of hummus, wheat bread, and some sort of side dish (and by side dish I mean goldfish, triscuits, or soup). This meal has been effective for two reasons, with the first being that the dorm is now (like always) terribly hot, and second that the kitchen is usually filthy and cooking anything that requires an oven or a burner involves effort. But last Friday it was surprisingly cool in the dorm, which made me reconsider my ban on cooking. After all, rice is easy to make and can be stored and eaten with instant Indian food (which is quickly becoming another staple in my diet) at a later date. So Friday evening I gathered up my storage containers as well as a pot, bag of rice, and curry, and set off on a crusade to make dinner(s) for the weekend.

When I arrived at the kitchen, I expected it to look as if a tornado had hit, mimicking its usual state of disrepair. But somehow, the kitchen was clean. In fact, it was suspiciously clean, to the point where I didn't cringe as I set my black bag of supplies down on the kitchen counter. Still in a state of shock as I washed and prepared my rice for cooking, I suddenly heard a girl shrieking. I knew it had been a trap. If the kitchen was clean, something else had to be wrong. But what turned out to be wrong was that the broken burner on the stove was actually working, which freaked out the shrieking girl. Hey, it would have freaked me out too. That burner had been broken ever since I moved into Main. With this in mind, I gladly took advantage of the clean, recently repaired kitchen and cooked rice to last for the next three days. Why? Because the state of Main kitchen one day is always as unpredictable as the next.

What was also strange about the kitchen on Friday was the ease at which it had been repaired. Construction around here takes months, often, years to complete. Or at least what feels like years (considering I've only been here for three....). For example, there was scaffolding surrounding Swift for so long that common consensus decided it was a permanent addition. I was practically in mourning the day it was taken down because I felt like they were taking away an historical part of the building. But lately it seems like Vassar hasn't been taking it's sweet time with repairs-my TA (Terrace Apartment) for next year went from being in ruin to looking miraculous in only a few days times (suspicious?) and it seems as if the Main kitchen avoided the phase of "under construction" completely.

But, rather than ponder over Vassar's mysterious construction issues, I have a trip to plan. Back in May, I caught my boss on a good day and she gave me Thursday and Friday of this week off so that I could go visit my boyfriend in Madison, Wisconsin. Because Wednesday is a holiday, I'll only miss two days of work.

With this trip in mind, I've been trying to use up the food I purchased the last couple times I went to the grocery store in order to avoid spoilage so that it won't suffer the same fate as the 12 eggs currently in the back of my refrigerator (why would I want to cook eggs if the kitchen is a disaster?). I should throw those out.

Last night I was forced to eat a package of Ramen in order to follow my plan because I had nothing else that could be prepared using only a ceramic bowl and a hot pot. The Ramen I ate was from a half eaten package that was started, most likely, last March. I swear I saw half a shrimp fall out of the "Shrimp Flavor" packet, but it was probably just the hardened remnants of "spices," who knows how old they actually are? I'm sure they're filled with enough preservatives it doesn't matter.

This will be the first time I've left the Hudson Valley since Spring Break, which took place between March 8-25, so quite frankly I need a serious change of scenery. Some people around here have never left New York and I don't understand them. I can proudly say I've crossed the borders of three continents and that Istanbul is probably one of my favorite cities-forget New York.

Should I be expecting hate mail?