Highlight of the Day: Transformers 4

Today is Friday. Which means Hotelies get out of class at 3:30PM. Which also means that our discussed movie plans with Mr. Chan-Law is happening today. I've never been euphoric about waking up. Subtracting the withholding pressure of my upcoming presentation, I think today was the most relaxed day of this week.

Starting off my first Friday at Cornell at seven in morning, I got up to fantasize my afternoon. Normally, the F&J group comes into the dining hall after Katelyn and I finishes devouring our breakfast. Our cohort was unusually present during breakfast. I ate a full-on American breakfast: sausages, eggs, and pancakes. I needed these calories to get through today's intensive schedule. Once class started, the lecture lasted about one hour and the rest of the day was kindly given to us to work on our memos and presentation templates. At ten, Mark released us from the lecture hall and thus we all occupied ourselves with a space inside the computer labs. For the first hour of sitting on the sqwiggling chairs, temptation of rocking back and forth aroused as I edited and put some finishing touches on my memo. When delivering my memo to Mark, he gave me a few suggestions on making the overall paper enticing. I kept those points in mind for our group memo next week since this one classifies as a draft. Our group assembled once again at twelve-thirty sharp  to work on our presentation templates and layouts. Since each hotel is being presented by two teams, we checked up on Group 3B's progress, the main reason being are possible collisions of similar styles. Fortunately, our themes were totally different and both teams were reassured. Mark gave an ok to our template and immediately our butts escalated from the chair to the street. 

Mr. Chan-Law previously told us that Friday would be sweatshirt shopping day. With everyone browsing through every section of the store, we've finally came to a solution of what to pick and Mr. Chan-Law gladly "bought" it for us (really its the ILC, but Mr. Chan-Law acts as a representative). When he was paying for all six of our sweatshirts, some of my hotel classmates were wondering why we were wearing our sweatshirts in the scorching sunlight shining right onto our faces as we took the group Cornell sweatshirt photo.

From left to right: Natalie, Kevin, Sue, Carla, Katelyn, and myself.

Natalie, Katelyn, and I went swimming shortly afterwards because the swimming pool was free for summer college students from five to six-thirty. Katelyn was petrified when I told her the truth about me. I can't swim. She thought I was going to drown and...yeah. Luckily, I managed to survive and learned some wacky paddles to keep me breathing in the 12FT area. Swimming requires a ton of energy, especially from an unsporty person like me. Dinner at RPCC really helped restore my body and at seven, we all went to the Regal Cinema to see Transformers: Age of Extinction. I've never seen a movie on its released date so today was a never before experience. 

A small theater just right for Ithaca

Transformers: Age of Extinction was probably the longest movie I've ever watched. It was approximately three hours with an additional thirty minutes of previews. I personally thought the movie itself was awesome. I guess that didn't apply to others. During our trip back to our dorms, some were discussing about how some of the scenes were unnecessary and others were too confusing. I was disagreeing with them until the point they persuaded me into looking at the movie from their perspective. Personally, action-packed movies are just the thing for me, so Transformers: Age of Extinction was just the perfect movie for a Friday evening. 

'Twas a Bad Day

Not that it was an entirely bad day, there were some enjoyable parts, but all I can say is TGIF. Class started at 9 today. When we came in Mark spent an entire hour reiterating the expectations for the group presentations on Monday. After that we were free to manage our time as we pleased until 3:30 PM.

Delicious healthy meal at Trillium

I worked on my CHESS memo until about an hour before lunch. I submitted it after I printed about four copies. Then I began gathering information for our group presentation. Around 11:30, my group and I headed to Trillium for lunch, where I decided to eat healthy. It was the best thing I've ate there so far. My group and I then went back to the lab where we finished our PowerPoint template and outline for our presentation. We spent the rest of class/Office Hours working on our content and such.

I must say, I'm very happy about my group. There's a great dynamic amongst us that allows us to work efficiently. Plus, we are all very proactive and are almost complete with our presentation. Unfortunately, I had to leave them right at 3:30 PM because I was supposed to meet Mr. Chan-Law and the rest of my cohort to go pick out our sweatshirts at the Cornell Store. Below is all of us in our great  sweatshirts as provided by the Ivy League Connection, which I could not thank more for offering me so much in addition to attending Cornell!

Thank you, ILC, for the awesome apparel!

Frozen yogurt & a movie

While I was at the Cornell Store I decided to pick up some souvenirs, which was a daunting task considering the size of the store and its selection. I have to go again before I leave. There was just too much stuff... I planned earlier on going swimming since Summer College students have free access to the pool, so after shopping, Natalie, Jun and I went to lap swim. It was really cool because the Cornell water polo team plays there and it is always fun swimming in new pools. A shower and one yummy dinner later, my cohort, Mr. Chan-Law, and I met at the movie theater in the Ithaca Mall. It is honestly a sorry excuse for a mall, but the theater is quite nice. We watched Transformers. It was action-packed and had really great effects, but it was ridiculously long. I got back to my dorm, ready to do a little bit of work, when I couldn't find my flash drive. I panicked. I checked my backpack inside and out. I eventually gave up and went to midnight check-in. Luckily, I ran into my group member, Dani, who told me she had my flash drive and everything was okay again. I did lose my water bottle today though... Anyway, I had a rough day, so it's time for me to hit the hay!



Finally Friday

Today was a very fun-filled day for us ILCers. Although my class didn't start later, it ended much earlier than usual. Rather than leave class at 2:15, we were able to leave at noon.

During class, however, Professor Kramnick taught us about Plato's allegory of The Cave. It is too complex for me to explain, but I was actually able to understand it with the help of our TA Vijay. We had a lengthy discussion about it after lecture, along with Plato's other allegory of the Line.

Following our noon dismissal, Kevin, Sue, Natalie and I had a bit of trouble trying to figure out where we should have lunch. After about 10 minutes of debating, we decided to just eat at Trillium. Since I had heard so many good things about the salmon burgers they sell there, I decided to try one myself. I must say, it was delicious.

After lunch, Sue and I went to Target with the permission of Mr. Chan-Law. We went on the bus and bought a few things for our dorms (and ourselves). I bought a pair of pajama shorts, socks, and some granola bars to snack on. When we returned to campus, we had arrived just in time to pick out our sweatshirts, so graciously paid for by the ILC (thank you!!).

We all debated and asked the usual "Which one should I buy?", and it was a while before we all settled on a decision. I bought a black Cornell sweatshirt with red letters as you could see in the picture. I also bought some shirts for my family as souvenirs.

Our beautiful Cornell sweatshirts :)

When we were all done shopping, I went back to my room to watch Netflix for a bit. It wouldn't be too long before the 7 of us would have to meet up at the movie theater to watch Transformers 4. After a few episodes of Freaks and Geeks, I met up with the cohort to go to the movies.

To my surprise, the mall was dead on a Friday night. There were just a few people walking around, not too much activity was existent. When we were done looking around at a few of the shops, we all went in to watch the movie. I was excited to watch the new Transformers movie since I had been a fan of the first three, but I was greatly disappointed with this one. After a grueling three hours, the movie had finally finished and it was time to go back to Cornell. I had high hopes for the movie but was not satisfied with its overdone action scenes and lack of Shia LaBeouf.

A bit of the merchandise offered at the Cornell Store.

I am now in my dorm, watching more Netflix before I finally go to sleep. Today was a great Friday and I am hoping to enjoy my weekend, even though I do have a rough draft due on Monday.

An Action-Packed Day Indeed

Pretty much the normal routine again today. Wake up. Get ready. Walk to RPCC (dining commons) for breakfast. However, my roommate and I both got to walk to breakfast together. Usually, she would leave by the time I wake up since her class starts at 8:30 while mine is at 9. But today, we got to walk together since her class started at 9 as well.

After having breakfast (cereal and juice), off I went to class. Yesterday's discussion of Plato continued today as well, and I certainly enjoyed it. I still can't believe Plato thought about his ideal society centuries ago when most people couldn't even read or write. 

Once the discussion about Plato's allegory of "the cave" ended, I rejoiced over the fact that week one out of three at Cornell was over! I still have two more weeks left and even though I'm sad for how fast time is flying, I'm also happy for successfully finishing one week of college. However it is important to note that this week is probably the easiest week there is. As time progress, it will get harder, but I'm definitely ready for a challenge. In fact, I already have a rough draft for an essay due on Monday. Yikes!

I found these so cute! It was at a candy store in the Ithaca mall.

After eating our quite normal lunch at the Trillium, Carla and I decided to get some shopping done at the nearby Ithaca Mall. It was my first time riding a bus without the too much assistance. When we entered the mall, we were rather shocked. It's called a mall, but has very few shoppers. In fact, it was rather empty to say the least. To view the positive side of things, this emptiness was nice at the same time. With few people surrounding us, it was easier to navigate through shops and there was less commotion to manage. Anyways, we got some of our shopping done and got back to our dorms in time to meet up with Mr. Chan-Law to get our Cornell sweatshirts.

This has to be one of the most difficult decisions I've made.

When the Ivy League Connection mentions  that they pay for every penny, they seriously mean it. Other than buying souvenirs for family and friends, everything is covered by the Ivy League Connection. In fact, one of the many things Ivy League Connection does that we are incredibly grateful for is that ILC buys a Cornell sweatshirt for all students in the cohort. So today was the day when we all assembled at the Cornell Store to get our sweatshirts. After the usual shopping dilemmas, (picking one sweatshirt after narrowing the options to two) we finally got our very own Cornell sweatshirts. So for this and everything else that the ILC does for us a big thank you to the sponsors and ILC coordinators. I wouldn't be at Ithaca having one of the most amazing experiences in my lifetime if not for you. Once again, a huge thanks for the sweatshirt and everything else that you've done for us. 

Definitely loving this picture with our Cornell gear!

Inside of the movie theater

Soon enough it was time for the movies. We had gathered at the theater to watch Transformers: Age of Extinction. It was a nice movie partially because I generally love science-fiction, but the movie simply was too long. Many unnecessary action sequences could've been deleted to prevent the movie from dragging on longer than needed. Also, too many plot twists made the audience quite confused during many parts as the movie contained a little of everything: comedy, action, special effects, and unnecessary twists on the scientific concept of extinction.

Frozen yogurt at the movies! Yum.

As much as I like to call myself independent and courageous, I still don't like walking in the dark by myself when there are only a handful of people roaming around. For this fact, Natalie and Jun were sweet enough to walk me back to my dorm and then go back to theirs. So if they're reading this, thanks so much! That was incredibly nice of you two.

Tomorrow will be another fantastic adventure so make sure you check out my blog tomorrow to be updated!

Yay Sweatshirts, Boo Movie

One week down, two to go. It's hard to believe. Today as a Friday meant a shortened schedule so that we had only lecture and discussion, and were done by noon. In class we learned about a couple of Plato's most famous analogies and discussed what they meant to his philosophy and how they related to each other. It was the most hard-to-follow lecture so far, but not impossible. I find it difficult to process ideas when they're presented as a nonstop stream of hypothetical situations and academic language.

When we were dismissed, Vijay recommended various places for lunch. However, eventually hunger beat good taste, and the F&J headed to the nearby Trillium once again. I tried a grilled cheese with a bag of popcorn on the side, and found it decent if unremarkable.

After lunch, Sue and Carla went to Target and Kevin and I went back to our rooms. The entire Cornell cohort came back to the bookstore for our 3:30 appointment with Mr. Chan-Law to buy our sweatshirts. Although I'd come a half-hour early knowing that I'd take forever to decide, I was still struggled to pick one. Most of the good-looking options had wrists that were much too tight, all of the unisex options were much to big in the shoulders and arms, and most of the female options were too short or strange-looking. In the end I decided on a charcoal gray quarter-zip, which I found to be the best one for me after trying on at least eight others.

Once each of us had picked our sweatshirts and Mr. Chan-Law had made the purchase, he had us put them on and pose outside for a photo.

If this photo seems a little forced, just remember that it's almost July in Ithaca and were were forced to wear sweatshirts. 

After the photo we arranged our dinner and movie plans for the night, and then moved off in our separate directions. Katelyn, Jun, and I went to look at the pool, ran back to our dorms to change, and went swimming for a bit. However, the pool was grimy and full, and when our lane reached five or six people we decided to get out. I ran back to North Balch, took a fast shower, changed into movie-going clothing, and went to dinner. My bean salad is fast becoming a staple, as is the strawberry frozen yogurt.

After dinner we went with Mr. Chan-Law to see the new Transformers movie. Most of what I remember is a mash-up of the various overdone action scenes. The entire cohort was in agreement that the movie was much too long, and since it lacked a cohesive plot and was rather anti-feminist, I don't think I'll be seeing it again anytime soon.

We arrived back on campus at about eleven. Since tomorrow is Saturday, I'll likely sleep in a bit before I start my laundry and homework. Yay sleep, boo homework.

Sunny Skies, Finally

The sky finally cleared up today! Although I appreciate rain and the fact that it replenishes the Earth and its creatures, I don't appreciate having to walk through the rain. Luckily, we only had to deal with it for a few days and hopefully it won't come back for a while. 

I woke up this morning feeling great.... until I checked my phone. Sue reminded all of us that our SAT scores had been released today and my stomach immediately fell. It was my first time taking it but I was terrified of the score I would get, but I knew I had to check. When I went to see, my emotions immediately did a complete 180 degree flip, since I found out I had done a lot better than I thought I would. That kept my mood pretty happy all day.

After adding up SAT scores, I went to get coffee and Sue and I walked to class together while Kevin and Natalie went ahead of us, since they're faster walkers. We talked about college and school and life in general (not really) and before I knew it we had arrived to class. Instead of taking my usual seat at the front of the class, I decided to be different today and sit in the back. It wasn't all that different, honestly, except for the people who sat there.

Today Professor Kramnick lectured us about Plato and the Republic and all the lovely subjects that the book covers. I actually enjoyed reading The Republic, Plato's thought processes are intriguing. Following lecture, we met with Vijay to have a discussion about the book. It was quite a neutral discussion since most people pretty much understood what Plato wrote about.

Discussion ended at noon, then it was time for us to eat lunch. Today a girl named Kayleigh sat with us and she is really nice! I've known her since we first got here but today she told us more about herself and she is just a very charismatic and sweet girl. I'm glad I got to talk to her a bit more.

When lunch ended, a guest speaker came to talk to us. His name is Ray Schlather and he is an attorney from Ithaca. He spoke to us about three different cases, but the one that I loved the most was the last one. There is a girl named Epiphany Kearney who is from Ithaca and as a 7th grader, she and her friends would ride the bus to school everyday, and everyday there was a group of white boys that would taunt her. These boys taunted and ridiculed her everyday and threatened to shoot her with a gun they had at home. One day she finally stood up for herself and she was banned from the bus. Her mom complained countless time and she finally had to hire Ray as an attorney. The case had many ups and downs, but in the end, Epiphany received compensation for what had been done to her.

I really appreciated what Ray had to say about this case and how he shared his love for the constitution. I would've stayed to chat with him, but shortly after class I had to leave to the RPCC to type up my essay. When my essay was finished, I came back to my dorm and have been hanging out and reading more of The Republic. I apologize for the lack of pictures, it has been slipping from my mind, but I'll get back to it. Now it's time to sleep, tomorrow's Friday! 

The RPCC computer lab.

Men are like Cats

Today was much less uneventful than yesterday. I woke at 6:30 AM, went to breakfast, got to class around 7:40 AM and began preparing for the day. 

Class started with a video about a comedian, who compared men to cats (hence the title), not like that has anything to do with hotel management, but just because it was funny. 

The fun didn't last for long though. We soon got to work. Group B to the Bin lab and Group A stay in room 396. In the lab, Mark gave us an extensive hands-on lecture on PowerPoint. Honestly, it was pretty fun, playing around with design and all. We did that until lunch. I ordered a vegetable burger and I was disappointed, but that's not important. 

When we returned to class, the USA vs. Germany was on and suddenly Mark made the announcement that we could have an extra two hours. We would compensate for lost time by skipping breaks and staying later. My group was proactive and worked on our presentation. Two hours later, we went to room 396 afterwards, where we learned about business writing for our memo that's due tomorrow. Then we learned about working as a team and our team dynamics. It was kind of cheesy, but I guess it was helpful. 

Basically my view every night

Anyway, I can't write too much because I have this super important memo due tomorrow that is worth 10% of my grade... So wish me luck. 

I did get to jog tonight, so I decided to share with you Cornell at night.