L.L. Nunn featured in the New Yorker

Go to a bookstore and grab the latest copy of the New Yorker! There's a rather lengthy article about Deep Springs College and several references to the Telluride Association, Kroch Library, and the Cornell Branch. It was awesome reading about all these familiar things in such a prestigious magazine. Sigh. The article also features humorous anecdotes about Deep Springers.. definitely worth a read. For example, one student was so romance-deprived that he developed a crush on a household cat (apparently, its behavior was "feminine"). Here's the summary, if you're interested (the actual article is much better):

Dana Goodyear writes about Deep Springs College, a tuition-free, two-year junior college for boys located on a secluded, working cattle ranch near Death Valley, California, that was founded in 1917 as a novel, model institution for building top leaders (“The Searchers,” p. 62). The school teaches uncanonical subjects and emphasizes philosophy, alongside traditional curriculum. It also requires of its students several hours of manual labor each day. Enrollment is limited to roughly twenty-five, and contact with the outside world is discouraged. The school, which is primarily white, suburban, and upper-middle-class, has struggled to diversify, and the prospect of accepting women—or making even the slightest institutional changes—has been widely rejected by the students and trustees. One student explains, “These trial attempts to be one kind of man or another kind of man at Deep Springs need the safety and the sanctity of an all-male environment.” However, Goodyear writes, “The shock of returning to the world of social norms can be profound.” A recent alumnus explains, “Part of the difficulty of the transition was that Deep Springs is supposed to be an allegory for the wider world. . . . And then when you get to the wider world you think of it as a shoddy allegory for Deep Springs. You’re nostalgic for the thing that was supposed to prepare you for an engaged, generous, disciplined world outside. . . . It’s helped you get an intuition for interconnectedness, but you have to start learning about people all over again—and definitely learning about women.”

Froggit Goes to CRB

Indeed! Froggit goes to the place of woe I call "school" everyday: Colegio Rosa-Bell. Place of silly rules, cranky teachers, and supression of creativity. *cough* Anyhow. These were taken last Friday. You won't see me with this orange shirt for a good month; we got our senior privilege of going to school in the traffic-cone orange polos and jeans suspended. *lesigh*Oh well. Onto le photos! *in French accent, of course*






The first thing you have to do is go to your locker! This is mine: topmost, numero 15. It's bare and ugly compared to everyone else's, but honestly, I just see it as something practical. I'd beautify it, but the school would probably find something wrong or immoral with it. Meh! And in any case, I rather beautify things I come more into contact with. ^_^ Froggit seems quite enthusiastic about climbing in the locker, though.

Ever since one of my friends accidentally broke every single pocket-sized mirror I own, I have to resort to looking at myself in the bathroom mirrors. Yes, I had my purple hair bits then. ^^ Oh, and on a random note: that backpack is from when I was about 8 years old!

So okay. That paper wasn't mine, but I just stole someone's PC in the library while they went outside so I could take the pic. Sue me. :P


NO PORN, FROGGIT! NO!

Sliding down the handrails is fun, as you can see. That white door = Teacher's Room. With a handy dandy refrigerator, microwave, and other such nonsense lurking inside, waiting to electrocute the unwary.

On that very same handrail, just changing the perspective by about 180 degrees. Those two girls in the background are Stephanie (white shirt, green shoes) and Charlene (orange shirt, kind of coming out of Froggit's body in the pic).
What's behind them is the school assembly area, which is not really the assembly area (that's the gym), we just call it that because it was the AA BEFORE that gym got built. XD To the left, those stairs lead up to the cafeteria. Yum.

Okay, so I broke my own rule and Froggit is NOT in this pic, but WHATEVER. :P That's the mural that represents my class. It's the logo on our shirts, too, just slightly different. I had to go in a few days before school started to help out with the leaves/branches of the palm tree because the girls who were painting the sketch were freaking out. BTW, palm trees have a SKINNY trunk. One of the girls messed it up. :P

OMAGAH! INTERRUPTING SHOWER-TIME!?

NAKED FROGGIT, HIDE YOUR SEXY, SLIPPERY BODY!!!

What does every self-respecting plushie amphibian do after a shower? Chit with cougars, of COURSE! The cougar is my school mascot and the girl inside it is called Norianne. She's from my class. I don't particularly love her. XD

From a mere kiss...

... TO TAKING ADVANTAGE OF FROGGIT! Bastard! (Ennio)

Froggit got way caught up during the Pep-Rally. Har-dee-har-har. :P

And finally, this is Gabriel, near the parking lot. You can't see it, but at the left, you could find my class' pitched tent-thingy where we sold skewered chicken slathered in BBQ sauce during the three days of my school's volleyball tournament. :P

So. That's all for this edition of... THE FROGGIT PROJECT.

I'm out. x

P.S. - Two sites I think you should check out about Puerto Rico. One's about some of our slang and the other talks about holidays, food, and random stuff like that.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Puerto_Rican_phrases,_words_and_slangs
• http://www.topuertorico.org/culture/folklore.shtml >> the rest of this site is good, too
  

Discovery Weekend

So just a reminder, apps are due soon. As in 2 days ;)
I just finished mine and sealed it in the envelope!
It felt oh so good!
So who all is applying again?

Of Froggit and Essays

Okay. Two things, kiddies:

1. The blog won't let me post images of Froggit for some reason. It's being a hobag and it angers me. I shall attempt to upload again tomorrow. If not, I shall call Sheron to professionally go kung-fu on this site's bootay.

2. I WANT TO READ YOUR TASP ESSAYS! Because I am a nosy, nosy strumpet. No, but seriously. Email them to my account: gozni38@hotmail.com because I want to know what goes on inside your heads. Pwease? Thanks. ^^

Edit: If you are paranoid like Anthony, you can send your essays to me AFTER September 12, when the CBTA apps are due. Because I was TOTALLY going to steal y'all's ideas. Duh. :P

On this hallowed occasion

Dear Fellow Cornell '06 TASPers, a.k.a the sexiest TASPers ever, a.ka. they-who-send-glittery-fish,

I feel it is my duty, as the first of our number to graduate to the magical and empowered age of 18, and also as your kooky aunt (so saith Josh) to offer you some words of mature and wise advice on the topic of adulthood, or, failing that, some sort of report on the altered mode of being that is the age of consent.
First, a caveat: no, I have not thus far purchased cigarettes, pornography, or lottery tickets. Nor have I gotten any parentally forbidden tattoos or piercings, nor moved out of the house, nor joined the U.S. armed forces, nor been arrested and tried as an adult, nor done anything that is the exclusive privelege of we, the few, the proud, the no-longer-minors. I do have plans to register to vote.
However, I argue before you today that the point is not that I actually do these things, but that I could do them, if the spirit so moved me (except moving out of the house--it turns out that my parents still have guardianship over me or some such thing).

Unfortunately, I have very little advice, because I don't know much about being an adult....um...
I think that instead I shall leave you with the words of America's greatest lyricist:

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young.

--Bob Dylan, "Forever Young"

P.S. Thank you to everyone who wished me happy birthday! I love hearing from you guys!

Amen, Amen I Say To You

All is right in the world. I talked to Sheron on the phone for a good 90 minutes and it was delightful. She hasn't died. I know you were all concerned with my emotional state after not talking to her for so long so rest assured: I am doing well...but a little stressed about this CBTA thing.

MBTA viewbook

Hey guys,

I don't know if you all got it yet, but today I was checking the mail and came across the letter and pamphlet thingy that the friendly people at the Michigan house sent us. Anywho, I'm not sure if you guys noticed, but on the back cover that blurry guy on the left is Josh! So, me and Sarah were talking about it and we came to the conclusion that if he could be on the cover of the MBTA brochure he should be able to get us on the cover of ours!
;)

can't forget that....

OMONIGHO'S BIRTHDAY

IS ALSO ON

SEPTEMBER 3RD!!!!!!!!!!!

And so Project Froggit Begins!

Hey everyone!
So. Project Froggit begins right NOW.
Sort of. ^_^

I'll be posting pics til' a day or two after my birthday (Sept. 2). To cut down on costs for shipping, I think the wisest choice would be to mail Froggit by area. By this I mean that if Froggit goes to Missouri, he gets hosted by Grace and Johes, one after the other; not have Johes get it, send it out, go through several other TASPers, and THEN come to Grace. If we keep it in the areas as much as possible, it will probably be cheaper. If not, correct me if I'm wrong so I can make a random list.

I'll be first, then Laura will get him. After that, she will give me the package so I can send it out with my discount (unless I miraculously can't use it) and we can mail it overseas. China is the first international pit stop. Then Turkey, then Ethiopia, then back to the US.

Anyhoo. Since so many of you have been asking, I shall show you Froggit and our first few pics together. ^_^






Froggit says hello!














He totally loves listening to music...











...like this!




















And he really wants to meet all of you. ^_^

A good omen

I guess sometime between my Xcountry and band practices today the AC compression thing in my Hschool exploded through the ceiling, dumping gallons of freon over a custodian (who had to be hospitalized) and an entire wing of newly renovated science classrooms. Needless to say, the EPA has shut down our school. again. (This happened last year in the spring, school was closed for 4 days but i still had AP tests all that week). My first day of school was supposed to be tomorrow...but now i actually have time to do my summer reading, hah.

I take this as a sign from God that senior year is gonna be frickin sweet. It hasn't even started yet and already there is SO MUCH slackage potential. I feel bad for the custodian, but our admin needs to get their act together and fix our school's serious problems rather than buy new soccer uniforms every year.

Things have been getting pretty hectic around here lately: my brothers going away to college, my sister's starting high school, my friends are starting drama and vandalizing things...and XCountry workouts are eating my body. Plus college apps and related stuff. Also, i got my temps (driving permit) renewed today because it expired while i was @ tasp. ROAD TRIP!

This is a really long shot, but: if anyone will be in New Haven during this weekend (or the next), tell me and we'll meet up. Or parents weekend (october 22?). A microReunion would be tight.


-freya

FISH.

Our fish-in-a-box-mailing-thing was SO AWESOMEEEE

"haha you tasp sucks, lol that shit smell like ass liek you have no idea. Like it came sat morning and everyone was scared to open it caz it weighed like 10 pounds, so theyc ome in my room as i am sleeping and they are like "hey Ali, there is a package for you" and i was tired i was liek watever so i took it in my hands and like hugged it back to sleep. Then like 15 minutes later i am like wait a minute, this smells like shit... I look at it and i see it is from cornell, and i knew exactly then wat was up, you have no idea how pissed i was"
- comment from UMICH tasper

CORNELL TASP 2006.

FOR SURE ANTHONY, we are the BEST.

Bud Light

Today we salute you Mr. Cornell TASPer. Not only do you debate, sterilize and not read, but most importantly you buy 300 dollar shoes. Sure, WashU, Umich and others may claim to be true TASPers, but don't worry, their only dream is to be a Cornell TASPer. With that swagger in your step and sparkle in your eye, you are every college’s dream and every student’s envy. You can party like a professional, yet still keep that intellectual charisma. If you’re friends with a Cornell TASPer, raise your hand. If you're not, raise your standards. Then crack open an ice cold Bud light you intellectual lightweight, and remember: There's only one thing you should know- the best TASPers really are Cornell TASPers.

haha.....

What a WashU Tasper wrote on my facebook wall after i inquired whether she liked our fish-tastic'care package':

"We were at seminar and our factota got a call from the WashU mail people, and they kept saying something about how we needed to pick up a package right away. well, the factota couldn't understand why they were so frantic, but one of them went over during lunch. and that's when we discovered this box, which the mail people had wrapped in like ten plastic bags, dripping and smelling terrible. it was an interesting experience. lol."

Pimped?

Hav'n decided that I had a spare hizzalf hour ta follow up on Alberto's suggestion below, you can all now consida this blog PIMPED

opinions?

Ok so this is just an idea

Could we maybe pimp our blog?
I've seen some of the other TASP blogs and they have pretty pictures as backgrounds and pleasant colors, it's very nice. Our blog is awesome, its just a bit bland. Maybe we could do something to change that.

Also, when will our mix tape be ready?
I need some TASP tunes for my audile stumulation.

Discovery Weekend & CBTA

Okay. Two notices.

If anyone who is part of a minority group (Hispanic, Asian, Black, etc) wants an application to Discovery Weekend at Swarthmore, I have it in my email, so if you want it, just drop me a line.

Secondly, I just wanted to let you all know that the CBTA deadline has been extended. I got this via email, from Michael, and you're all supposed to have it too. However, just in case someone has technical difficulties with their email, doesn't check it often, or accidentally deletes it, here's the email:

Greetings TASSers and TASPers,

I hope you all have had a chance to start working on your applications to CBTA, and we're greatly looking forward to reading them. One of the things I value most about the house is our structure of making big decisions as an entire group. In our housemeeting last night, one of these decisions worked in your favor. The new deadline for applying to the house is September 12. That is a deadline for us receiving the application, not for a postmark. This means that you will find out about whether you are to be interviewed no later than September 19. All other dates will remain the same, as described to you in the mailing with your application form.

There are two details relating to sending applications which we would like to add. The first is a reminder that you don't have to wait until the deadline to submit your application. You may send it in whenever you feel that it is complete. This will give us more time to carefully look at each application. The second detail is that you may also send an electronic copy of your application, in addition to the hard copy you will send by mail. Again, this will give us more time to read your applications. Electronic copies should be compiled into a single document and sent to both telluride@cornell.edu and telluridehouse@gmail.com.

There isn't much time between now and the new deadline, and we want to make sure that everyone has received this announcement. Please take a moment to reply to this email as soon as you get it, indicating that it got through. Also, if you are in contact with your friends from TASS or TASP, you should check that they have received the message as well. As always, if you have any questions about CBTA or the preferment process, please contact me at mjb245@cornell.edu.

Sincerely, Michael Barany
Spring 2006 Preferment Chair
Summer 2006 Orientation Committee

You can delete this notice after a few hours

AHHHHHHHHH!
I FOUND MY INVITATION TO SWARTHMORE'S DISCOVERY WEEKEND!

*dances around the textbox until she dies from exhaustion*

Aherm. On a more serious note. Really, I found the application postcard thingy-ma-bob and I was so excited I jumped on my chair and told Mindy via AIM about it right after I saw it in a bag of old mail I had to sort through (I was looking for all my Cornell papers). Keep in mind this was right after a shower, with unbrushed hair, and just a flying towel. It was a sight to behold. Reminds me of that whole "EUREKA!"-flying-out-of-tub-naked story. Except for the fact that I don't have a tub and I actually got out of the shower BEFORE I saw the letter.

But I digress.
Yeah, I kinda just wanted to express my joy and excitement because I look like a rabid college-fangirl right now. *cough*
And I also feel special and fuzzy inside because I got papers from UPenn, Duke, Brown, Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, and all those other bigshots. Ok, so it's not an acceptance or anything, BUT IT'S STILL A CARD/FOLDER/LETTER and it makes me feel special. Let me revel in my simplicity, lmao. XD

I dunno. Honestly, going to TASP made me broaden my horizons and meeting you guys also made me up my standards... a LOT. <3 You guys rock.

Cornell TASP College Lists

Feel free to edit this post if your choices change:

AIDA
Cornell University
University of Michigan
UT Austin
Boston University
University of Pennsylvania
Ball State University

ANTHONY
Cornell University (maybe ED)
Harvard University
Brown University
Georgetown University
Boston College
Tufts University
Syracuse University
American University
George Washington University

MINDY
University of Pennsylvania (ED- Wharton)
University of Michigan
Princeton University
Columbia University
University of Chicago
Harvard University
New York University (Stern)
UC Berkeley

JOHES
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (EA)
Stanford University
Harvard University
Cornell University
Princeton U or Yale U
UC Berkeley
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Michigan

FREYA
University of Michigan
Cornell University (ED...maybe)
Dartmouth College
Yale University

ALBERTO
Cornell University (maybe ED)
Brown University
UT Austin (Plan II)
University of Michigan

GRACE
Brown University
Rhode Island School of Design
Carnegie Mellon University
Yale University
Princeton University
Boston College
Swarthmore College
Skidmore College
Tufts University

SARAH
University of Chicago
Yale University
Johns Hopkins University
Swarthmore University
Wesleyan University
Northwestern University
Kenyon College
University of Pennsylvania (?)
Cornell University (?)
Pomona College (?)

GARY
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (EA)
University of Chicago (EA)
Princeton University
Harvard University
Yale University
Stanford University
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
Duke University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Washington University in St. Louis
Northwestern University
Brown University
Johns Hopkins University
University of Michigan

MOST POPULAR UNIVERSITIES
(by # of Cornell TASP applicants)

Cornell (7): Aida, Anthony, Johes, Freya, Alberto, Sarah, Gary
UMich (5): Aida, Mindy, Johes, Freya, Gary
Penn (4): Aida, Mindy, Sarah, Gary
Harvard (4): Anthony, Mindy, Johes, Gary
Princeton (4): Mindy, Johes, Grace, Gary
Yale (4): Johes, Grace, Gary, Freya
UChicago (3): Mindy, Sarah, Gary

Birfdays!

Because everyone isn't as helpful in their...minutely...reminders as I was this is a quick reminder of the upcoming birthdays for everyone to know.

Sarah - August 27th
Aida - September 2nd
Levent - September 3rd

One More Time

It was more or less a failure when we tried to do this last time but I'll try again. Who is applying to the House? When you respond cut and paste the complete list and add your name to the bottom.

Anthony
Aida
Alberto
Gary
Laura

Colleges.. BAH

Yes, we've been isolated in pure intellectual bliss for six weeks... but now, it's time to face the cold, harsh reality of college admissions. I thought that we might want to suffer through this together, so perhaps we should compile a list of our top choices. Yes, I know that this is incredibly nerdy, but it'll give us an idea of where we're heading.. and with whom we might be spending the next four years. So perhaps list your top 4-5 choices (along with where you're applying early) in a comment, and I'll compile a list.

Am I kidding you?

Does anyone have a copy of the Foreign Policy as Subversion seminar syllabus online they can send me? I need it for filing and for a few teachers who wanted to see it. My email is antman721@hotmail.com. Thanks a bundle if you have it. And if you don't betch, FUCK YOU!

Snapfish and your Junk Mail!

As you beautiful people well know, I am photography obsessed. Therefore I sent you all emails from snapfish.com begging you to register on the site with the link I provided for you. If you register, it gives you 20 free prints and it gives ME 20 free prints. Win-win situation, eh? Thing is, maybe you got the email but it was moved to your Spam or Junk folders automatically. If you haven't received said Snapfish email, I IMPLORE you to check your trash/folders/etc and register. It's quick and painless (unless an anvil falls on your head while you register, but that isn't the site's fault, now is it?)

I really want to get prints of my artistic photographs, but honestly, mainly, I just want TASP pics by the dozens. Oodles and doodles and noodles of TASP pics. So please, cooperate? You know you love me. :P

My life is a dark abyss of endless torment

So I think my mom accidentally paralyzed my fish today.
I think his death is imminent.
:'(
This is him

He is a bright flaming angel now. (I think I blinded him taking this picture)

I cried (not really, but good acting eh?)

FROGGIT! Goddamn, get me some shoes, betch.

Okay guys. Here's the deal.
I've devised a sensational little program to help us all feel a little more love in our lives and cool down those Post-TASP Blues. This is how it goes:

I have a small, stuffed frog. It is identical to Froffit in its colors (red eyes, green body, yellow belly and such). The material is non-fuzzy: kind of like the smooshy, green pillow I brought to TASP. He will be the main character in this whole shebang: the love-token to be shared.

I will mail him in a box, along with a letter to the next recipient and a letter for the "final" recipient, which will be unknown to all until each person gets the box. In the box there will be a checklist with every Cornell TASPer's address and name. They will be in a random order, selected by the process of drawing names from a bag, so everyone SHOULD abide by whatever order I establish. This is to prevent everyone purposefully mailing the box to close friends and instead being open to mailing someone they might not know all that well. There will also be a little brochure for you to peruse in the box (whose content is yet unknown :P).

When each TASPers gets his/her box, they have to check their names off the list and write a letter for the next TASPer they send the box to, as well as one for the final person on the list (if they so desire, though I strongly recommend doing so). The TASPer will keep the mini-Froffit (named Froggit) for about a week, more or less. They should sleep with the frog or have it somewhere nearby, so they can infuse its little smooshy body with their love. They also have to travel around with Froggit. Half the point of this activity is to keep in touch and spread the love, but the other half is to let other TASPers know about your hometown. SO, guys, you should go to exciting locales in your city or to places you hold dear, whatever you want, and take pictures. The pics must have either Froggit or you WITH Froggit in them as "proof". Be creative! Try different poses, cool angles, even outfits. Go wild and have a fun time: that's the point!

The pics should then be uploaded and posted on this blog, along with an explanation for every pic. The explanation can be as long as you want. Mainly, you should remember to include the name of the place and explain why you picked it (its importance to you or your town).

When your time-window is up (you have to keep Froggit for a week, MINIMUM) and you've taken a nice enough amount of pics, you then send off Froggit with all his documentation to the next person on the checklist.

The cycle repeats itself until everyone has hosted Froggit. When the cycle is over and I'm reunited with my little frog, we'll all have a bunch of pics to show for it and we'll know more about the places in which our fellow TASPers live. ^_^ Also, we'll have shared the love in the form of a little, smooshy amphibian. :D

Think of this as The Roaming Gnome meets The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants!

If any TASPer does NOT own a digital camera, they can use a regular camera and go develop the roll of film at a store; places nowadays generally offer to put them on a CD or diskette for a little more money. Then there's always the option of developing the film and then -scanning- the pictures. If someone has NO photographic equipment at all, they should ask a friend to take the pics for them or if they can *gasp* borrow their cam. If not, buy a disposable camera, dangit! Just make this work! lol

Oh. And I need Chris' address. Also, we have 3 international students: Levent, Yu, and Ethiopian Mike. I'll try to check how much it would cost to send this package to those places or if someone can do it for me, I'd be super grateful, too. In any case, we should include them, but we have to check out the costs. :/ Maybe we could develop a little TASP fund: everyone pitches in so we can work this stuff out.

AND I thought we should include Jenny and Josh. Josh is a MUST, though, for more than obvious reasons.

SO. This is happening. Comments, anyone? I really need the input, mainly on the money/international students part.

Thoughts about Cleveland

This is what greets me from the headlines of today's local paper.



One of the victims of last night's double homicide at an apartment building on Cleveland's West Side was a world-renowned photographer who had taught art at Cleveland State University for 24 years. Masumi Hayashi, 60, has won a Cleveland Arts Prize, three Ohio Arts Council awards and a Fulbright fellowship. Her work has been shown in New York, Los Angeles, London and Tokyo.The other victim, John Jackson, 51, was also an artist. He was a sculptor who lived in the building.

The shooting deaths followed a complaint about loud music.

Police believe Hayashi called her neighbor in the apartment building in the 1400 block of West 75th Street, 29-year-old Jacob Cifelli, to complain about his loud music, said Nancy Dominik, police spokeswoman.A short time later, another resident came home to find a gun in the hallway and that Jackson had been shot.The resident went to the third floor to call police but before getting to the phone found Hayashi. She and Jackson were both dead when police arrived, Dominik said.





Cleveland is crazy as hell. It enjoys separating itself from Ohio - but at the same time, the city's population is vanishing because NO ONE wants to live here anymore. Over the years, there's been a frantic rush to live in the areas *right outside* the city, to escape the shittiness. People turn their backs on the same city that helps them out: they're willing to work here, but don't want to live in the city's community and give back. In a few years, Cleveland will have finished decaying, and all that'll be left will be a ring of suburbia on the outskirts: yet the survival of these communities also depends directly on the well-being of the actual city.

Up a road without a tire

Two days ago my uncle and I rented bikes to ride down along the Rheine river and lunch at a restaurant in Nierstein, some 20km away. The bicycles looked like they were at least a decade old, and the odometer on mine read 1637km. Regardless of that, and the drizzling rain that was perversely falling all of that day despite a forecast for sunny weather, we set of accross the city towards the river. The Rheine is very beautiful, but as 10% of its water passes through the largest chemical treatment plant in Germany, it's not a place you'd actually want to swim in. We rode down through alternatively scenes of natural beauty (swans and trees and wildflowers) and old industry (cement factories, railroad tracks and truck depots) Early on, the pavement ended, and the road became a gravel path, muddy from the intermittent rain. In some places the path was blocked off, so we'd cut through fields until the road was open again.
It was probably during one of these off-road trecks, that Igor punctured the front tire on his bike. When the tire gave out, we were on a dirt road surrounded by fields of grapes on picturesque hills-- 16km out of Mainz, basically in the middle of nowhere.
We ended up having to walk back to a small town called Nackenheim and wait half an hour for a train back to Mainz, where my uncle got a replacement bike. And then, not to be put off by a minor detour, we set back out again for Nierstein. Total distance travelled- 53km. Still, tasting local cuisine at a family restaurant in a town surrounded by nothing but grape fields made it worth all the trouble.

Possible Mini-Reunions

Chicago/Boston '07 seems far away. Really far away. Actually ridiculously and heart-wrenchingly far away. So I'm thinking (haha insert joke about Johes "thinking") that we might be able to meet up at one of the all-expenses paid college recruiting weekends held during the fall. I just got information about one at Princeton focusing on the humanities during September 9- October 1 and some other people were talking about one at Swarthmore for minorities at the same time. I was hoping that a lot of us could apply for these and meet up together for free somewhere. For the Princeton one you have to be nominated by your school and I think the same might be true for the Swarthmore. Unfortunately, I couldn't find websites for these two programs, all I know is that one is called the Princeton Humanities Symposium and the other is Discover @ Swarthmore. If anyone has more information on these or any other ones please post it so that we can have as many people going as possible because I miss you guys and want to see all of you again as soon as possible!

Woah

Ok, I just want to apologize for the extremely long and depressing post. Lol. Needless to say, I wanted to get some things off my chest. But I'm actually feeling pretty optimistic about keeping in touch with you all, so let's try to be happy. I'm not going to turn into an EMO kid (right, Johes?). Love ya!

In search of relief

Hey guys. I have some things to say... so bear with me.

I can totally understand you when you say it's been hard getting back. The first few nights I cried myself to sleep listening to Green Day's "Time of Your Life" and I still can't listen to it alone without getting emotional. That first week after I got back has been the longest in my life. I already feel as if it's been months since I last saw you guys. I'm terrified that this year will just drag on, and that our meeting will seem as far away as it does now. There is something that reminds me of TASP everywhere I go, and when I'm hanging out with my friends, I get transported to that parallel universe we lived in for 6 glorious weeks. Consequently, my friends have said that I'm being unusually quiet and weird. They are right, but I don't know how to change that. You all have become such an ingrained part of me that I keep looking for you everywhere.

I love my friends here to death. They have been with me through a lot and are always there to support me. But I am not the same person I was before TASP, and I fear I will not enjoy their company as much as I did before, just because I am not at TASP, talking about thigh wounds and learning about vigilanteism with 35 amazing people that made me feel so complete. I feel incomplete here. This makes me feel so guilty, because my friends have done absolutely nothing wrong. They are the same awesome people I've always known, and they don't deserve me being so despondent. But I can't help it. TASP changed me forever and sometimes I now find myself not knowing how to act around people I've known all my life. I know I will have fun times with them again, but everything here seems to have the volume turned down. Happy times are still happy, but they are not as happy as they used to be. I can't stay here anymore.

That's another thing that makes me feel guilty. It's no secret that I adore Puerto Rico and that I'm exceedingly proud of being born and raised here, and of having the Puerto Rican culture live in me. But, again, after coming back from TASP, it's not the same here. For the first time, I feel caged. I feel restricted. Everything here feels so small it's painful. I've always known Puerto Rico is a minuscule island, but I've never felt this heart-wrenching onslaught of claustrophobia before. This is because somehow, I know I could never meet people like you here, or have similar experiences to the ones we shared during our magical time together. I've been in the same school for 13 years now, always around the same people, with only minor changes throughout. Before TASP, I hadn't realized how much I needed a new beginning, and that was what TASP meant for me, among other things, of course. In TASP I felt rejuvenated. I felt as if I could change things about me without people raising their eyebrows in judgement. In short, I could be myself, without others comparing me with the past. At TASP there was no past, there was only the 'here and now'. I didn't want that beginning to end. But I guess it had to.

I felt such freedom at TASP, not because of the lack of parental supervision, but because I could be myself without others judging me. That is not a reality here. Things don't measure up anymore. At my school, if I decide to wear a funky hat one day (even though it's outlawed by the dress code:) people will judge and criticize, merely because it's something different to what I've done before. I keep getting the feeling that my classmates are, for the most part, immature and concerned about the most insipid trivialities. It makes me feel a bit arrogant at times, and I hate arrogance. But the things that I tended to get excited about before now seem trivial and vacuous. I used to be so excited about being a senior, and getting a special senior shirt, and all that jazz, and now it doesn't seem that life-defining at all. I constantly find myself wishing that I could skip this year, graduate, and meet you all again when we become bohemian college students. Let's try to make that happen, at least for the most part.

I've been drifting back into the swing of things here, not because I want to, but because I have no other choice. I'm scared that I'll have to spend a year faking it. Faking that I love my school and that I love my life here and blah, blah, blah. I really want to leave and see different things. I long to live experiences that are bigger than myself and that wake me up once more to the wonders that you showed me during our summer. I can't find such wonders here. And part of me doesn't want to. TASP is irreplaceable. I know we complain that our friends back home don't understand us now, and that they can't grasp what TASP was all about. But, do we really want them to? What we had was so unique that, even though it makes me feel isolated and lonely at times, I feel privileged because I was lucky enough to experience it.

Loneliness has always been my worst fear. I live terrified that I'll end up alone with no one to talk to and share life's surprises with me. But meeting you all has made me realize that there is so much out there that I haven't discovered, and I am going to dedicate my life to living as much as I can. I hope that at least some of you can come along for the ride. We'll meet again. We won't all get into the House, and we won't all go to college together, but we'll meet again. And until that time, keep in touch, and check out the special prices for vacations in Puerto Rico. Aida and I would love to have you.

Much love,
Laura

Snaps

So this is my first post on this blog...I just wanted to say that I found it pretty much impossible to stop snapping. I even do it during phone conversations, which is pointless since no one else can hear me. Besides snapping, has anyone else noticed that phrases from TASP appear in his or her vocabulary? Personally, I've started using a lot of expressions that I first heard at TASP; my family and friends usually just ignore me, but I've gotten some strange looks and my mom frequently asks me what I mean...

In Regards to those pesky snaps

So I was sitting in PALs today on my first day of school, and I found myself actively resisting the urge to snap several times throughout the course of the class! Then, I went to English and we read a poem called Snaps! So god damnit! I've decided that I am going to snap. I will snap from the rooftops, loudly and proudly, unbent in my displays of agreement. No one will stop me! I will either be seen by others as being annoying, or hip. Who knows? I may start a new trend, being the trend-whore that I am.

I'll keep you all posted ;)

Defenestration

I was reading the Economist, and this article reminded me of TASP and our random conversation regarding defenestration. =(


Hong Kong's culture of defenestration

Hard rain

Aug 3rd 2006 | HONG KONG
From The Economist print editio

When hope goes out of the window in Hong Kong, the furniture often follows

“NEW YORK rain” is the local term for water that drips, annoyingly, from air-conditioners onto passers-by. In Hong Kong unwary pedestrians face more dangerous precipitation. On July 22nd a 78-year-old woman was rushed to hospital after a pair of scissors, hurled from a multi-storey building, lodged in her skull. The same day, a 28-year-old man in another part of the city suffered cuts after another pair of scissors hit him on the head, while a boy survived a brush with an iron bar lobbed from yet another high-rise window.

Despite all the modern sanitation at their disposal, many Hong Kong citizens still seem to prefer chucking rubbish out of the nearest window. As any housing estate resident will confirm, as well as a regular rain of beer cans and cigarette butts, other objects—used packets of Viagra, dirty cat litter, glass bottles, mattresses and even refrigerators—also fly past the window. Much of this is plain bad manners. But some also blame rising inequality for the downpour, which appears to be getting worse. Much of the object-throwing takes place in the city's public housing estates, where many of Hong Kong's poorer people live cramped together in tiny apartments. Many of their shoddily constructed buildings are crumbling: among the most common objects falling out of windows last summer were the windows themselves. As a result, the government had to spend HK$68m ($9m) on emergency maintenance of its housing.

Though the economy's recovery since the panic over the respiratory disease SARS in 2003 has lifted living standards, the fortunes of workers have lagged behind those of the middle classes. If people cannot heave their political masters out of office, they can at least heave a broken television out of the window. Given the mainland's far greater economic and social disparities, the authorities in Beijing must be hoping that this is one trend that does not spread north.

Of Friendship, Having A Hole, and Missing Home

I may not know what your parents do for a living or how you loved to eat Crayolas in 4th grade, stuff I might know about my life-long friends, but what I shared with you TASPers goes way beyond facts. It goes beyond knowing what size underwear you wear (though, heh, I might know that :P) or what is your favorite color.

We were put in an atmosphere that most of us hadn't been exposed to before. Personally, I have no siblings and I live with adults, so I've never lived with someone my own age. Needless to say, I'd NEVER been with 31 other teenagers and 5 "honorary teenagers" in the same house, 24/7 for 6 weeks. It was amazing, silly, fun, incredible, spazzy, funky, and any other adjective you can think of. It was a learning experience in every sort of way; from learning to live with others, to sharing a bathroom (coughcough), to dealing with cleaning up after yourself, balancing a budget, you name it.

As I was saying (or typing), what we all shared goes way beyond knowing all these things... at least for me. I never had major Q&A sessions with most of you: we went straight to living together and having fun. That's the thing: I felt as if I'd known you guys all my life. There was no NEED for the Q&A's. I knew you were awesome and I felt comfortable, so the good times just rolled on. I'd LOVE to know if you liked eating Crayolas in 4th grade and what your parents do for a living, but I'm sort of glad that I didn't need to know that in order to like you and how we all clicked so well, so fast.

Like so many of you have already posted, nothing back home is the same. Things don't measure up, my friends' concerns seem trivial, and I can hardly have an intelligent conversation without practically begging around for it, while at TASP, the latter came naturally. And, maybe it's just me, but there IS a difference in talking about sex and disturbing things with people who JUST talk about sex than with people can just as easily talk about globalization, politics, religion, the future of A.I., foreign policy as subversion, and thigh-wounds. ;)

I was so excited to become a senior and be with my friends, but now that I know you guys and know the potential that is out there, I feel like I'm stuck in a subpar place... And I am! My school sucks and I feel like I could be learning so much more. However, I plan to work a lot on my college search/applications, my oooooverdue personal reading, and all things related to my personal growth, so it's not such a bad thing that I'm drifting a bit away from the people around here.

The atmosphere is so different at my house, though. There is such little tolerance for other lifestyles and certain things. I feel stifled and constricted and it's a horrible feeling. It's not to say that my home-life is the bane of my existence and that I live a horrid, tortured life, but still. You guys get my drift. And home? I feel Telluride House is my home. My house is just a house; just the place where I live until I go to college. It's a little sad. *shrug*

I can't say I'm depressed all the time or that I cry myself to sleep because I'd be lying, but I seriously miss all of you and everything related to our group experience. Nothing here matches up and I have "an indelible TASP-sized hole" in my chest. :( I MISS EVERYTHING.

From the labor quotes (which I shall soon type up and send out ^^) to Froffit.
From everyone complaining about the frittatta to freaking out about the gnats and flies in the kitchen.
From DRAPING to listening to Paul jam on his guitar.
From having Josh randomly pick up people and swing them around to Don clunking around the house.
From all those parties and the Laffy Taffy song to shouting "PENIS!" as loud as we could.
From heating mini-pizzas at 4 A.M. to giggling over someone falling asleep during seminar.
From going to Collegetown to get Bubble-Tea to talking about anything *coughsexcough*. XD
From Levent's hilarious insults (one word: chickpea) to hearing I'M SOOO TIIIIIRED from Johes.
From seeing Mindy's face of sheer terror at the slightest attempt of hugging her because she thought I'd tickle her to actually tickling the guys, especially Dan because he'd make the most hilarious noises and and Don/Ali because they'd break down completely giggling and pleading for mercy.
From the snapping to the, yes, yes, kitchen shift.
From Anthony's wit and sarcasm to BBJ's "DUDE! CANADA! ABSTINENCE! SERIOUSLY!"
From the Planned Parenthood lady to the dressups.
From DRAG NIGHT to "claustrophoooooobia".
From STERILE! to Sheron's awesome noises and mad kung-fu skillz.
From Omonigho's dancing to Alberto's looking so much like a damn high-couture model.
From Ricky saying something's a hot mess to Diya asking for guy-advice.
From Michael's NEVER going to sleep and constantly putting on "Sweet Dreams" on my iPod, to Sarah's hand-raising that could slice someone's head off.
From Ingrid's dancing to Martin's asking if we did the reading.
From Ethiopia Blanket Time to the Peanut Butter Jelly Time song that cracked Nahla up.
From playing "Pick a Finger" and "Psychic Monkey" to fighting over the fat percentage in the milk.
From Hobarting to wanting to "do the Time-Warp agaaaaaaaaaaaain!"
From all the drama to all the gossip.
From staying up til' the wee hours or morning to spelling out "penis" in marshmallows on the dinner tables.
From the infamous water-gun fights to Josh DRENCHING people with buckets of water. :P (Especially if they missed kitchen shift ACCIDENTALLY. coughcough. :P)
From Brendan stealing Froffit from Mindy (XD) to Chris and Yu's incredible cohesion.
From Mike A.'s love of fantasy and robotics to Maria's climbing on every tree she saw (and love of fantasy AND Mike, as well, :P).
From Jenny T.'s particular sweet smell and "So..." to Gawwy's accent (*grin*) and poking.
From PROCRASTINATING til' the last possible minute to Godtower.
From Mindy asking everyone not to mock her to Freya's freaking out at any mention of sex (at least in the beginning, eh, Freya? ;P)
From Marina's addiction to all things Gandhi and peaceful points of view to Grace's spunk and AWESOMENESS.
From not telling anyone there was ice-cream so they wouldn't eat any to Johes eating about a dozen Fudgepops in about, oh, a day.
From Muffins/Shoes/Love-Letters to actually hearing Mindy quote LL and say "Dear My Wife's Vagina: Sorry for the infection."
From vigilanteism to Don taking on everyone during Pubspeaks.
From Grace sketching TASPers during seminar to coming downstairs with aluminum foil hats so I could dye my hair properly.
From the incredibly gorgeous sunsets and plays of light that could be seen from the balcony to the talk of SAT scores that made me want to kill myself (2370?! COUGHCOUGHJOHESCOUGH).
From Laura's corrupting her roomates and being my fellow PR-sis to Stanley's obsession with volleyball.
From Co'Relous' dancing and spelling out his name on the first days about a dozen times to Ali's total chivalry and politeness (as well as his funky accent!).
From all the guys drooling over Linda and singing to her to sleeping in the seminar-rooms.
From NEVER having juice to the glasses all around the house filled with Hershey's semisweet chocolate chips.
From the midnight picnic to stealing Josh's camera.
From diving/hiking/swimming at Tremon park to our KILLER sexy photoshoot.
From rocking out with the Lazer Tag music to getting free stuff at the Dragonboat Festival.
From rolling down hills to free ice-cream with Pop-Rocks.
From Capture the Flag and falling in the mud to buying stuff at The Commons.
From Stella's to the crazy guys that hit on everyone/everything at Wilson Farms.
From sleeping on the balcony that first weekend to waking up early on a weekend to eat delicious pancakes.
From the blanket-fights to the tickle-matches.
From the bruising to the housemeetings and the communal noise.
From taking waaaay more pictures than would fit on a 20 CD set to sliding on the seminar tables (but maybe that was just me, XD).
From having AWESOME profs (sorry, Cornell I! :P) to smirking every time "thigh-wounds" or "sides" were mentioned.
From all the random sleepovers to wondering "Where will Johes wake up next?!"
From the adorable couplings and sexual tension (haha) to watching movies downstairs.
From complaining about readings and translations (coughcough) to Co'Relous always bringing up Shakespeare and/or Toni Morisson. (MY PEOPLE?!)

I could go on, but I won't. This post is long enough already.
I just want to remind you guys of how much I miss you and how much I wish we were all together again... of how much I feel y'all's (I had to use that word, lol) pain and how we should all keep in contact even if we are traveling a distant land or stuck in a deserted island with no internet (smoke signals, anyone?). Know that you have a true friend in me who will do anything in her power to help out if you're in need. And, by golly, I will KEEP IN CONSTANT CONTACT!

And, a few quotes:

"It’s the friends you can call up at four a.m. that matter. "
Marlene Dietrich (1901 - 1992)

"There was a definite process by which one made people into friends, and it involved talking to them and listening to them for hours at a time. "
Rebecca West (1892 - 1983)

And finally, a slightly modified quote to end all this that I think really applies to us:

"AIM and laughter is the closest distance between TASPers."

Oh, and a random draping/sex quote just because I can:

"Does it really matter what these affectionate people do-- so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses!" -Mrs. Patrick Campbell

Y'hear that Josh/Jenny?! *grin* We HAVE no horses... plus it doesn't say anything about Telluride couches/mattresses/floors/tables/etc. :P

sufferin from those post-TASP blues

It's about 4 in the am right now and I can't sleep. My sleeping schedule has been all out of whack since I left TASP. So this is my first real post. Here goes...
I've been so busy since I got back; school, band, PALs, family, friends. It seems like right after I got back I was sucked into my old routine against my will. I have so much responsibility here and so many people expect so much of me. I just feel like I'm not ready to take on everything so fast and I feel like all of these things are trivial now. And after being castigated by a friend for apparently shirking from my responsibilities, I just couldn't take it anymore. When I left for TASP I couldn't fathom leaving High School, I loved my life and all my friends and I truly believed that it couldn't get any better. Then TASP came along and all of you guys rocked my sox. Now my life back at home is unfulfilling. I feel almost as if I am just going through the motions rather than actually loving what it is I do.
TASP has definitely changed me, whether it is in a good or bad way I can't really tell.
My mom tries to understand, so do my friends, and I love all of them to death, but they just cant. After meeting all of you guys it feels like many of my friendships back here are extremely superficial. In the 6 weeks that I spent with you guys I got to know you and you all got to know me much better than most of my friends here ever will. My mom says that my TASP friendships and my friendships here at home cannot be compared since they are different levels of amnesty. But how does one go from an amazing, stimulating environment back to a humdrum, mediocre existence? If anyone can help me with this it would be very much appreciated.
I was so busy that I really hadn't gotten a chance to step back and disentangle all my feelings about the greatness that was TASP. But Sunday I finally got the chance to. I cried for the first time since I had gotten home. It was great.
At times it feels as if TASP never really happened. Almost like it was all a big dream; a delirious vision that I can never explain to anyone around me. Things haven't changed much here, and it feels like for the lucky few of us who can call ourselves 2006 Cornell TASPers, we were given a miraculous and rare opportunity. One where time stood still just for us- allowing us to travel to a beautiful city where we formed our own Utopian existence, if only for 6 weeks. Now that I am back it pains me to think that we will never again live under the same roof. Even if many of us are accepted into the House, it will never be the same. For now we will have our sacred memories and this blog to stay in touch. So we should take full advantage of that! And we should all do whatever it takes to make sure that a year from now we have the greatest reunion ever! (We should make committees haha)
Well guys, I'm sorry this was such a long and depressing post, but I feel really good having written it- It has been therapeutic in a way. If any of you can relate to my feelings in any way, or if you have any advice over how to get over my TASP blues I would love to hear from you.

Much Love,
-Alberto

Chicago *07!!

ya so its been a week.. one of the slowest weeks i've had for awhile. ofcourse all the memories are alive but it feels like SO long since i've seen you guys. i'm loving our 3am aim conversations~ ha even if the subjects are always random as hell *cough sex cough*. ha we gotta keep those up and i hope we (i KNOW we will) keep up w/ this blog as well, as gary says 'till it becomes detrimental to our health'. School starts monday, 12:20pm, and i'm not dreading it like i used to back in the day but I know once it starts.... ha we'll see. Its crazy to think that a year from now everything will be all figured out.
i love my family and all but its so much easier to handle them when i'm miles and miles away. I miss all the freedom we had. my parents are crazy! i understand that their rules are strict because 'this is not how it is in Sudan' and they don't want us to 'lose our culture' but sometimes they take it to far. I wish they'd stop equating 'going out' with 'becoming americanized'. parents these days... man...
ya so our TASP t-shirts are awesome. One of my brothers is obsessed w/ them and my other brother looked at and read it aloud as "TASP 2006.. Cornell University... Sir Calm, wut the hell?????" ha and i tried explaining to them how awesome it is to sit on ethiopia with you guys and my mom's reaction is pretty much just "oh.. thats nice.. thats really nice.." ha then again i can't expect them to understand. ya and i keep snapping.. wuts up with that??
wow I really miss you all SO much and I'm always thinking about you guys~ You have all changed my life and its so hard being back after you know what's better and what it should be like. Thank you all for being such amazing, intelligent, energetic, hilarious and wonderful people .. This experience has deffinately been the best in my life and i will never forget the awesome memories we share. I can't wait to see you all next year or just whenever you guys are passing through this amazing amazing state of indiana. (ha ya i'm kidding). Good luck and enjoy school or the rest of summer. and KEEP IN TOUCH.
take careeeeeeeeee
<3!!

"Life changes. You get it all lined up just the way you like it and then something beyond your control comes along and bumps you off center. How nice it would be if you could get everything just the way you want it and say, 'Okay, now, stay.' But nothing stays the same. You grow up, make friends, lose friends, go to college, lose track of people, meet new ones, and sometimes you ask yourself why. But all I can tell you is the every single experience you go through like this changed you in some way. Every new person who comes into your life changes you. Every moral dilemma or emotional experience you come up against changes you. It's your job to decide how. That's how character is developed."

Trials and Tribulations: The Seventh Seal

Good title, eh? Unfortunately, not really related to the body of this post. This is simply to inform all of youse of my misadventures, since you were very kind and politely inquired about my

THREE-DAY JOURNEY FROM HELL

It started off badly enough, with lots of silent crying in the taxi on the way to the aeroport. LITTLE DID I KNOW..that it would get much, much worse. I didn't realize I only had a 49-minute layover, so I accidentally spent too much time loving Kira, Johes and Aida (could you blame me?). Then I got confused. I went to the wrong terminal, I think. God hates me. I missed my flight. Which made me miss my other flight; the one that would've taken me to Springfield. So, um. I cried. I was stranded in Chicago. (Sheron, that's when I called you...and you were NOTATHOME) I was soooo prepared to sleep in the airport (did I mention my luggage went on without me? So I wore the same clothes for...ew...three days). I was brushing my teeth when my cousin called me back - YAY! A place to sleep! I had another flight at 7:50 the next morning. I thought I was home free!!

I THOUGHT WRONG. I actually got on the plane, sat there on the runway for 1.5 hours, and then had to get off. The flight was canceled. Evidently a vital piece of machinery had withered and died within the bowels of the plane. People moaned and groaned and stampeded to Customer Service. I waited an hour in line, then received an accidentally mean phone call:

C: Hey! Are you sure you don't want to go to the fair? It's only 5 minutes, I could come back and pick you up.
Me: Wh...what? The fair?
C: Yeah! Come with us!
Me: IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK JOKE??
C: ....oh, crap, I called the wrong sister. Sorry Grace, HAHAHAHAHA
Me: Not funny. *cries a little*

So I was standing at the counter drooling in front of a line full of pissed would-be passengers. I must've been really pathetic, but also I was a minor traveling alone. So the lady secretly put me on a flight for later that day. Then I cried from sheer relief.

I waited patiently. I was a frickin' SAINT. That plane was coming, ohhh yes. It was going to take me home. I was as patient as a potted plant.

The plane was delayed. I held my breath, but waited anyway.
The plane was delayed. My patience faltered a little.
The plane was delayed. I died on the inside.
The plane was canceled. I SCREAMED.

I spent another night in Chicago.

Someone called for me and ranted at the powers that be ("What would YOU do if your little child was stuck in a big bad city?? ALL AWONE?"), so I got a flight for the next evening. Unfortunately, it was to St. Paul/Minneapolis and then to Springfield. There was a problem. Evidently, the powers that be had not told the other powers that be. After talking (with a very silly lisp) to his betters, the Agent at the Gate (sounds like he's from the Matrix) sniffed, shrugged his shoulders, and flicked me a boarding pass.

"Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, get on the plane."

God. I could've cried. BUT I DIDN'T!!

I kissed the ground in Springfield. Paul was there to meet me at the airport. There was a happy ending. And, in the end, I learned my lesson, which I passed on to Brendan:

Never
Ever
Ever
Fly United.

CALM DOWN!

Gotta love the ol' Bill Clinton! Check this out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGTQZnC-6a4

Thanks Guys!

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday yesterday, I was happy to hear the voices of TASPers again! So I had a pretty fun birthday even though we got in a little accident while driving to the movie. Talledega Nights is a hilarious movie and everyone needs to go watch it even though it is not exactly the most intellectually challenging film. I got to hang out with my friends again and even though I love them to death they are not you guys. Thanks again and make sure to keep in touch.

Just a Few Things

That reminded me of you guys a LOT, while I was shopping and running errands today. -tear-

So I'm writing my House app, and I'm realizing how much I miss all of you. I used to think I'd hate to leave my high school, but now I can hardly wait... assuming a bunch of us move in to Telluride House together. By the way, who's applying to the House? I was never quite sure...

Mindy and CA

So I did manage to meet up with Mindy yesterday. We enjoyed ice cream at Jeni's, a fine small local ice cream company, drove around the city and ended up in a park all while getting only a little bit lost. I have also learned that I have an innate hatred of 1 way streets.She is now safely attending the leadership summit for Amnesty International while surrounded by who she called extremely liberal people. I forgot to bring my camera, so no pics for any of you.

In other news, I am currently packing as I write this for a trip to CA. I'll be leaving this afternoon for about a week.....It should be interesting. There's a couple TASPers in CA, but I'll not sure if we'll be able to meet, in fact I'm pretty sure it won't work out. Ah well at least our proximity will be closer for a bit.

School starts on the 24th for me but I have a crap load of work to do that I've been putting off for sometime...gah *insert Sheron noise here*

Phone Contact

Okay. So let me just say I have Verizon and I have Verizon-Verizon free calls. ALSO, I have free calls at night (= after 7 PM, my time). SO. Y'know. I should chit with some people. :P

Juuuuust putting it out there. Oh, incoming text messages are free! And outgoing texts are just ten cents. Also, if you go to www.verizonwirelesspr.com, you can send free text messages. It's in Spanish, though. Perhaps if you use it without the "pr" it's in English? Whatever. S'not my fault you guys don't know my other mother tongue. :P

AAAAAAAAAand, I'm done. Moof!

Watching the Videos

I am so amused, it's not even funny. I just realized a lot of my videos came out really dark. >_< You guys can just stick them in Windows Movie Maker and add the Lightening effect so it looks more normal. AND I just realized Grace's camera DOES record audio; the volume is just really low or it's damaged. If I turn up my volume up all the way, I can hear bits of our conversation during the video. Check that shiz out, Gracie.

Oh, and this is my first solo post, so hey everyone. *waves* I did get to PR safe and sound, though my flight was delayed about two hours. I miss you all so much that it's friggin' ridiculous and nothing here measures up to the greatness that I saw and lived at TASP. I already started school and it's lyke, ohmagah. Finally a senior. I can't wait to MOVE OUT and go to college already, though. One word: parents. Eeeesh.

I'm happy, though, 'cause Laura's nearby and two people are already planning on coming to PR or at least thinking about doing so, which is COOL BEANS. So, mosey on down, kiddies, and visit the two coolest Puerto Ricans you'll ever meet. =P lol

Seriously, miss you bunches and loads and tons and etc etc whathaveyou,

Aida

P.S. - Random link, but oh my god, his photography is AMAZING: http://www.eugeniorecuenco.com

P.S. #2 - I have the laminated group pic up on my wall next to my bed, as well as one with Sheron and one of seminar (with Brendan, Mike, Laura, and Co'Relous), surrounded by glow-in-the-dark planetary thingies (thanks, Target!), so I always see them right when I wake up. ^_^

Sad Face

U guys... I miss you. It just hit me now, again, for the millionth time. I was having luch with some friends in front of the beach, after my first senior day at school, and they told me I was being quiet and weird. U can guess why. Let's all go to college together!

Sterile?

Announcement: I miss Sheron...I called her number today and a guy with a Chinese accent picked up and said there wasn't a Sheron there. WHERE ARE YOU SHERON!?!?!?!?! *weeps*

Whoa... Freaky

After that crazy peek in the mind of artemis, I am reminded of my own dreams about TASPers. Only I can't remember them. All I know is that I woke up and realized that I had had a dream with TASPers in it, I guess that for me the characters are more important than the story. Anyways, I just got home from meeting the kid I am supposed to mentor for the year and he seems like a nice kid. Unfortunately, people who know him tell me that he is a little crazy, as in talks to himself and no one in particular crazy. Also, his friends look pretty emo, and trust me, I know emo. And guys, I'm sooooo tired...

Nightmare

Dear Tasp family,

So I don't know how many of you Taspers ever listened to me retelling eerie, bizarre dream sequences...but i had a dream last night that scared the crap out of me. And it involved a lot of telluride things.

It started out with me being in a strange camp-like environment. I think it was like little-kid girlscouts (though i was never one, so i wouldnt really know). We had color teams and i was one of the oldest people there, so i had to live in a special Red cabin. Kira was present, and she was helping me unpack. And though i never dreamed it, i was very consciously aware that Omonigho was angry or upset about something. (but she was never in my dream). SO i kept asking Kira about Omonigho, but she was very dismissive and placating. Therefore, i was pissed. I went to the 'main camp office' (which looked like the small copying room in the house)and was trying to xerox a bunch of stuff when i saw Ricky. So i asked him if omonigho was still upset but he vanished too quickly. Then i was back in the Red Cabin with Kira, but the roof kept caving in on me. She just stood there so I had to stand on the top bunk and hold up the roof myself. The entire structure was falling down around me, all these splinters were raining down on my shoulders, and i could only hold up a small part of the roof.

That entire part of the dream just gave me this, intuitive, underlying frantic feeling. It was like i knew something bad was going to happen, but i had no idea what it would be. SO THEN it morphed into a new scene. A bunch of people and I were in the dining room of the House, and the lights were excrutiatingly dim. I don't remember anyone distinct, but im pretty sure i was surrounded by Taspers. It mustve one of our dance-party things, because everyone was moving around in dancing-like motions. However, i dont remember any music. There was this guy next to me who i had never seen before. He looked kinda like an older, bigger version of draco malfoy (but his hair was orangey, not so white-blonde)and i asked him what seminar he was in, but he kept repeating that he was a housemember. He was talking to me when he fell over on the ground. I started shouting but everyone kept dancing. I remember thinking he must be diabetic, so i looked around for dan but i couldnt find him.

I mustve been only half-dreaming at this point, because i was dreaming that i was reaching for the lightswitch (you know, the ones by the dining room doorway) when i was ACTUALLY sitting up in bed and flicking on my lamp. Of course, the light woke me right up. I was staring at my empty bedroom floor, looking for the guy and realizing that he didnt actually exist.

I am trying (but failing) to communicate how absolutely terrifying this dream sequence was. I dunno, i thought i'd write it down before i forgot. I think i told someone this before, but i always seem to have nightmares-- or at least extremely unsettling dreams.

Besides that (ha!) things are going pretty well. Cross-country isnt so bad, and im working on my house app. Tonight i might go downtown to see my friend's band play in a rockoff. Hope you all are having a great end-of-summer!

Sounds of TASP con...

We should also add Seasons of Love from Rent, that always reminds me of TASP. And and and... Lean wit it rock wit it

TASP Mix CD

Thanx Josh for such a wonderful idea. Apart form Ali's suggestions (which I totally agree with) we need to add Green Day's Time of Your Life and Coldplay's The Scientist to the Mix. Those were some of our go-to songs during the good ol' days of TASP. I miss you TASPers!!!! Now, I'm off to bed because I start school tomorrow. We're having a huge Senior triumphant entrance that consists of barging through the school doors making as much noise as possible, singing traditional Puerto Rican songs, and thinking we're the height of cool... I'll tell you guys how that turns out. Take care!

movies on the net? oh my....

So last night during that AIM convo when we weren't talking about sex and all its releated topics, the suggestion came up that I host a couple of vids. Since I only have 250 megs of space total, I just chose a few to upload. They can be found below for your viewing pleasure.

Main index of taspy things:
http://vulcansforge.frih.net/tasp/

The vids:
Sharon and Anthony - STERILE

Rain Time

Josh is a Can-Can Girl

In the Jungle Song at Housemeeting

Hey there, Gu'vnah

FIG NEWTONS Pt

For Turkey

Okay, so we are having the TASP AIM chat at 4 pm eastern tomorrow in order to allow Levent to join in. Thank god, because Levent brings the party with him. On a side note, I forgot how to pronounce sausage today. Anyways, make sure to join in tomorrow.

go to room "tasp"

Um...technology is nice, i think

Ok, so unlike most of you, I arrived home today (i gather, however, that Grace had some terrible issue with layovers and canceled flights?). Anyway, I have been going through very arduous TASP withdrawal, which I have managed by looking at your facebooks and the notes you wrote me, and forcing my entire family to look at my TASP photos. I have also acquired AIM exclusively so that I might communicate with you people (You people!?! Toni Morrisson!). Therefore, I sincerely hope that we will all stay in some form of touch. Actually, I demand that we do so, and here's why:

I really do not want to go back to school, back to my friends who, until forty five days ago, where perfectly adequate, but who now seem petty, drug addled, and doomed to lives of serial divorce punctuated by incarceration. I exaggerrate only slightly. In contrast, oh fellow Cornell TASP 06 ers, you are all intelligent, thoughtful, happy people, characterized by your vitality and the fact that you are unlikely to become pregnant any time soon. Please, I beg you, stay in touch... I know we aren't ALL going to join CBTA and then TA and go on to become Cornell professors and live in Telluride house forever and be buried in a Telluride plot in a local cemetary, but at the very least we could remain friends for a while.

Straw Poll

Motion for a straw poll of all those favoring a reunion in Boston or a reunion in Chicago (please note if you could probably NOT attend or or the other).

Motion approved.

Anthony votes in favor of a Boston reunion and could not attend one in Chicago.

Editor Addition
Final Result
Chicago - 8
Boston - 1
Either - 3

blog overload

From my meeting with Josh today, I realized that there were in existance many other blogs dedicated to assorted TASP programs over the years. I've decided to do some minor digging (10mins) and found the following.

- 2006 -

U Mich TASP 2006

UT Austin TASP 2006

Wash U TASP 2006

- 2005 -

U Mich TASP 2005

St Louis TASP 2005

Cornell TASP 2005

UT TASP 2005

- 2004 -

UT Austin TASP 2004

Cornell TASP 2004

U Mich TASP 2004 (Forum)

U Mich TASP 2004 (Blog)

- 2003 -

UT Austin TASP 2003

Cornell TASP 2003

remind me if I've missed anything....

Enjoy your stalking.

EDIT: The blogs are now all linked in the the sidebar....delightful

UPDATE: Found 5 more. What struck me was that all of these blogs seem to be still alive, even after all these years. We need to make ours work too!

TASP chat?

Whereas I miss all of you so freaking much,
Be it resolved that we have a TASP AIM chat tonight at 9 PM Eastern.

(Just invite yourself to the AIM chat entitled "tasp" or copy + paste this link:
aim:gochat?roomname=tasp)

We are both aiming and blogging. And yes, the AIM gossip session was lots of fun. We need to have more of those just to keep the spirit of TASP alive... lol. And lets keep each other posted with our own interesting stories from back home!

After TASP

I love how even though TASP is over we are still gossiping. It's just that we moved it onto AIM. So we need to get the people who haven't yet joined the blog to do so right away. Try to contact them and make them join, by force if necessary.

blog changes

I hope everyone enjoys the changes that I made to the look and feel of the blog. A new template was applied and some sections were shuffled around for better usability. If you guys want anything changed, just message me and I should be able to take care of it. Also if you look at the links section, I made some modifications to those too, if you have any links that should be included, e-mail em to me. I'm still doing some minor work on the template, so there's always room for improvement. later guys

Changes made:
new template
added links
new footer
new top bar color
blog description
sections rearranged

To do:
Finish TASP description section
TASPy/Cornelly pics

Chicago would be much easier for the majority of us, I think. But I might just be saying that because I'm a three hour drive away, and Boston's half way across the country. I agree that being home is a bit weird. Hope everyone is doing well adjusting.

MISSING YOU ALL

hey everyone!!
i miss you all so much!!!! its all so surreal.. waking up to silence.. i hope everything is going well for everyone and that you all had a safe trip home! we should have the reunion in chicago not boston!!! A lot of us are in the midwest and no matter where you are you can get a direct flight to chitown!.. KEEP IN TOUCH EVERYONE AND TAKE CARE!! lots of luv <3
~ lion king aka nahalaback girl aka nahla

Checking In

This is one hot mess. Naturally, I miss all of you like whoa.I had Xcountry practice this morning. my new coach runs ultramarathons. It's hard to get back into the rythmn of things, you know? My parents took me on a fast-paced college visit trip and i used my sleeping skills (acquired during sct lectures and such) to nap during some of the more boring parts. This blog is a great idea MINDY, i hope y'all keep posting stuff on here.

(a/r/t/e/m/i/s)

TASPERS!! (This is Josh calling our attention at dinner time). I really miss u guys. Being back in Puerto Rico has been so strange... I feel like home was at the House. But chin up sluggers! We will all see each other again, if we all really want to and make it happen. Soon we will know what colleges we will be attending, and we can arrange reunions. We will all be 18 in a year or so, and we will be more free to travel around and visit each other. TASP may be over, but our friendships certainly aren't. Our bond is so much stronger than distance. Keep in touch!
- Laura

Having the ol Reunion

Whereas I miss you all.
Whereas you miss me even more.
Whereas my parents were inconsiderate and suggested were a reunion help far away I could not attend.
Whereas next summer will be a good time to relax and have fun.
Be It Resolved That a reunion for Cornell TASPers be held in Boston, MA, preferably in the month of July. (Possibly around the birthdays of myself, Mindy and Maria).

Sterile!

By golly, I miss all of you something fierce. The past 6 weeks contained some of the best times of my life and for that I want to thank all of you, I'm so sad that I won't see most of you guys every again. However I am fairly confident that I will attend college with at least one of you. You will all do great things in life, and I'm sure we'll all be there to mooch off each other. Also, I would like to announce that when Mindy and I become evil dictators of the world, every single one of you will receive complimentary supplies of grapefruit juice, fly paper, and specially imported and designed replicate Froffits.

"Israeli-Palestine conflict muffins!"

Anacrusis

Huzzah and welcome! At least the welcome part anyways. Well, this is the Cornell TASP blog where we will attempt to extend the TASP community into a new medium, the internet. For the first post, I would just like to say that I wish I could go home to the Telluride House and that, thanks to all of you, this has been the greatest summer of my life and among the best experiences that I have had in my sixteen (soon to be seventeen!) years.