The Voices of TASP

So I finally got around to finishing the promised site. Everyone can find it here:
http://vulcansforgedesigns.com/tasp/voices/

So far, I have gotten Alberto and Kira's messages, I've posted Kira's and will post Alberto's as soon as I get his message converted into a mp3.

EDIT: Alberto's is now up.

I STILL NEED 31 OTHERS!

---
Orginal proposal
Instructions

5824089 TASP facebook groups.. :D

HOW U DOIN?!!?!

ahh its been awhile... i've been lacking on my blog-posting skills. i'll do better though from now and on. we should all promise to post atleast once a month :D. i miss you all a lot and i hope no one is stressing too much with school and 'all that mess.' CONGRATULATIONS anthony, freya, ali, martin, sarah and dan!! good luck with the interviews!! The majority of the spots should MOST DEFFINATELY go to Cornell TASPers. Cuz aren't we the best and the coolest? Fo Sho.

I FINALLY SAW SARAH LAST WEEKEND! We only live 45minutes away from eachother but it took us like 2 months to FINALLY meet up. We walked around West Lafayette's collegetown and then went to this awesome jewelry/cool-looking-stuff store. Aida we thought of you! They had crazy stuff too like baked apple pie insense, giant rocks, overpriced beads, and funny smelling candles. We spent almost 2 hours there, it went by so fast and we found TONS of stuff that reminded us of all you people YOU PEOPLE. *pictures will be posted soon* !!!

School is going well for the most part. I'm still not sleeping.. some things just never change.. I'm in the middle of organizing this Drug Free Pep Session for 1st-3rd graders for REACH (drug awareness organization). I'm excited and I hope they have fun because aren't their attention spans like... 30 seconds?

OOO and it's the 5th day of RAMADAN! Fasting from sunrise to sunset. Its so funny because people ask me how long I'm fasting for and I'm like "about a month". Then they freak out, "you don't eat for an ENTIRE month!?!?!" People don't realize that you would die if you didn't eat for an entire month. Ha, and I love the conversations that go like this: "why aren't you eating?" " i'm fasting" "oh... well if you eat... I won't tell anyone/no one will see you." Jeez.. people these dayssss.

Telluride is organizing this alumni weekend for TASSers. One common complaint that they had was that TASSers lost touch with Telluride after the program. So they're providing us with a taste of the 'college experience' in the Telluride Houses... "providing you assistance with college applications and related dilemmas during your senior year." BASICALLY i get to see OMONIGHO AND RICKY and a few other TASSers on October 12th until the 15th!. It's going to be in Ann Arbor and i'm exciteddd. Speaking of mini-TASP reunions... the CBTA interviews are that weekend right? And that Swarthmore thing is coming up soon too. HAVE FUNNNNN and take lots of pictures.

What is the website for that college-in-Ohio-that-i-can't-remember-the-name weekend? And what date is everyone applying for again? haha i love the idea of taking advantage of these programs.. yesssssssssssssssss

OH YA. Anthony.. thanks for all the facebook groups... HILARIOUSSSSSSSS

<3!

The Voices of TASP

Whereas I've been forgetting what people sounded like. Just yesterday I experienced something to which Sheron would have responded with her trademark wah, but I sadly couldn't remember it.

Whereas I just bought hosting and now have 5gigs of space to call home on the Internet.

Whereas most people have access to a mic and simple recording software (windows sound recorder)

BIRT that we all record our voices, email them to me, and I post them on a web page.

I can provide more detailed instructions later, what's everyone's opinions on this?

EDIT: Instructions here
EDIT2: A site will be set up as soon as I start getting voices, who will be the first?
EDIT3: The timestamp of this post has been changed to allow it to stay at the top for longer. Yes, abuse of admin powers perhaps. o:-)

Next Weekend

Aida, Alberto, Diya: I propose we bring presents for each other. Or...you know, little things that will fit in our luggage. (Aida, I'm also bringing your package...that I never sent.) That way we can all feel loved and have something nice to bring away besides a crapload of pictures.

The Boston Globe says...

Six aces
St. John's students made their own history in self-directed effort that led to perfect scores
By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | September 24, 2006
The students never received school credit for the work. Teacher Carl Wilson never got paid for it.
Yet the group met faithfully once a week, often before their peers at St. John's High School in Shrewsbury were out of bed, to discuss everything from the ``Epic of Gilgamesh" to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Their plan was simple: The school didn't offer an Advanced Placement World History course, so they would learn the material on their own time and take the exam anyway.
School administrators were leery.
``People didn't think we could pull it off," 17-year-old junior Christopher Helali said with a smile.
But that's exactly what they did. In fact, all six in the group earned a 5 -- the highest score possible -- on the AP World History exam last spring. Nationally, only 10 percent of students get the highest score, usually after taking a specialized AP course designed to prepare them for the test. Yet here were six students from varying backgrounds -- one is the son of a lumberjack -- who challenged the system and won.
``It's extremely rare to have a class where you get 100 percent 5s," said Paul Brule, AP coordinator at the Xaverian Brothers school.
The saga of the unlikely perfect 5s began early in 2005 with Anthony Mariano , then 16, who was searching for ways to build his college-application resume. He wrote for the school newspaper, played on his church basketball team and led the high school's mock trial and debate club. He also chose activities -- like the Model United Nations, academic decathlons, the history club -- that stimulated his mind, he said.
AP World History, one of nearly three dozen courses offered for high school students by the College Board organization, seemed like a good match, he decided. ``You can get college credit and it certainly looks good when you apply," Mariano said. ``But I think we also wanted to have a forum to discuss history."
He was at a rehearsal for the spring production of ``Hamlet" during his sophomore year when the idea struck. He had taken both honors history and European history, enjoyed them, and wondered whether he could attempt the AP World History exam after studying for it on his own.
School administrators had nixed the idea of offering the course for credit years earlier; some faculty members objected to changing the curriculum. So Mariano asked history teacher Wilson if he would lead a student study session in the weeks leading up to the test. Wilson said yes, but only if Mariano and his fellow students agreed to meet early mornings throughout the year.
That's because Wilson, a teacher at the school for 38 years who administered its first AP course in 1974, knew the exam would be tough. It could ask students to analyze and write about any historical event as far back as 8000 BC. On the College Board's scoring scale, 3 is a passing grade; nearly half of the students nationally who took the AP World History test in May managed only a 1 or 2.
``I said: `It's demanding academically,' " Wilson recalled telling them. `` `I wouldn't want it to turn into something where you didn't do the work. I wouldn't want to get to January and have to quit.' "
Principal Stephen Gregory shared those concerns. He approved the formation of the study group as an extra curricular ``club" but said he had seen similar efforts by ambitious students fail. It was just too much work, he said.
``There aren't a lot of people who can pull off independent study -- students or teachers."
Starting last fall, Wilson and the students met at 7:15 a.m., usually on Wednesdays. Wilson picked the course book, ``Traditions & Encounters," and based the curriculum on a method of teaching history he had learned years earlier at an education seminar in Connecticut. Instead of going by eras or by nations, they would compare civilizations, analyzing influences and changes over time.
Wilson, who teaches evening classes in Chinese and Russian history at Clark University in Worcester , described his role in the seminar as a ``guide through the forest."
``I said, `How do you want to do this?' And they came up with the idea that they would analyze primary documents, architecture, and artwork across civilizations," Wilson said. ``They set up the model."
Each week, a different student was responsible for preparing an outline covering 50 pages of course material, comparing such topics as the Vedic books of Hindu scripture and the writings of Confucius. The outlines were scrutinized by the group, and the author would act as the material's ``presenter," leading the discussion and debate. There were no tests or quizzes.
Of the eight students who initially signed on, one never showed up and another dropped out halfway through. The remaining six were all juniors, except for Helali, a sophomore who had never taken an AP exam before.
Pat Border, 17, of Northborough, said he had just finished taking Wilson's AP European History class and was ``kind of psyched about the subject."
Border shares a love of history with his father, an ophthalmologist. He wanted to learn more, so while his classmates were spending their free time on MySpace.com, he read ``Timeline 191," a series of alternative history novels exploring, for instance, what might have happened had the Confederacy won the Civil War.
Border said at his busiest point last year, he found himself saddled with six hours of homework a night.
``Other kids balance a social life in there, but I just focused on work," he said.
Another member of the group, Shamus Hyland, said if he hadn't bought the textbook, he probably would have dropped out. His mother and father, a nurse and a lumberjack, found his efforts curious, and there were times when he himself wondered whether he could continue.
``It just didn't have the feel of a regular class; I wasn't writing notes off the board," he said. ``I wasn't expecting our results to be very good."
Sometimes students showed off with outlines complemented by PowerPoint slide shows. Wilson recalled one student who used a series of photographs to demonstrate how the architecture of the Fertile Crescent influenced design in Africa, India, and the Far East.
Once in a while, one of the students would come to class without the required outline, and Wilson would have to help guide the discussion. Peer pressure kept those times to a minimum, the students said.
``The whole thing was a lesson in responsibility," Border said. ``If you didn't have your outline, you failed the other students."
Halfway through the school year, even though his classmates were already stressed, Mariano then upped the stakes. He decided to try to convince school officials to offer the class for credit this year, and gathered the signatures of a 125 students on a petition.
``Too many students can pass through St. John's without hearing a word of the history of China," Mariano, son of former Worcester m ayor Raymond Mariano, wrote in a letter that he presented with the petition. ``Another important yet ignored region is the Middle East. The trade routes of the Moors were pivotal to the international relations of Western civilizations, yet traditional classes simply glaze over Islamic history."
The school faculty council heard his arguments and last spring agreed to offer the course for the current school year.
As the test day neared, Hyland said, he knew everyone would be watching. ``There was a lot of pressure," he said.
The group began meeting twice a week, sometimes on Saturdays. They took the test in May. The results came back in late summer.
Gregory, the principal, said he ripped open the letter with the results, eager to organize it onto a spreadsheet. Out of more than 700 AP exams given at the school last spring in all subject areas, there were only 150 scores of 5. He said it reflects well on the school -- a Catholic all-boy's institution founded by the Xaverian order in 1873 -- that both student and teacher stood up for what they believe in.
``We change," he said of the school. ``But we don't change with the wind."
Wilson, a placid 60-year-old who wears glossy, wing-tip shoes, said he learned about the scores in an e-mail from the AP coordinator, and was ``shocked" at what he saw.
``Don't get me wrong, they're brilliant kids, but I thought we left a lot of gaps," he said. ``We couldn't hope to complete everything."
This fall, about 20 students are taking AP World History with Wilson for credit.
As for Mariano, the senior is already onto his latest projects -- applying early decision to Cornell University's history and government program and campaigning for Deval Patrick. He and the other study group members haven't met to celebrate their achievement. There's just no time.
``I don't think there's a secret to how we went about it," he said. ``Other than we became more of a team than you would have in a typical classroom."
Megan Woolhouse can be reached at woolhouse@globe.com.
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.







A few notes: I am not in Model UN, Acdec, or the history club. The first quote about colleges was misleading. She cut out "But that's not why we did it." and tossed in a different quote to make education seem secondary. Finally, I relayed to her at least 5 times I did NOT do this to build my college resume and she chose not to listen. However, overall I think its a good article. Feedback?

MY PEOPLE?!

HA.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/05/15/psat.question.ap/index.html

Students were asked if anything was grammatically wrong with the following sentence: "Toni Morrison's genius enables her to create novels that arise from and express the injustices African Americans have endured."

I couldn't help laughing out loud and expecting Co'Relous to jump out from under my chair and run to overturn a table. XD

Just a few questions

Hey guys,

First, of all, congrats to all of you who got an interview! That is so awesome, I'm so happy for all of you and I wish you the best. :)
I think Anthony's head may have exploded if he didn't get an interview. hehe

Anyways, I was just wondering a few things:

Who all is applying to that Multicultural Visits program at Oberlin. I applied and I just got the second part of the application which is basically just an info sheet. You should all apply!!!
Are we still planning on applying for the last date?


Also, what is the deal with Froggit? Do you still haave him Aida? If you do you should pass him on! I haven't heard from him in a while so I just wanted to make sure that he's doin alright.

AND... I really like this voices of TASP idea, but where can we go to listen to said voices?
By the way, not all macs have simple sound. So, if you have a mac and find that you can't record, talk to me and I'll tell you what to do.

I'm out!

CBTA Decisions

Whereas we are all wondering who got interviews or not, Be It Resolved That people post about the news here and I'll be editing the entry accordingly.

Interviewees:
1. Anthony - Cornell I
2. Freya - Cornell II
3. Ryan Brown - WashU
4. Spencer Burke - WashU
5. Breanna Byington - WashU
6. Alison Lawrence Hudson - WashU
7. Tracy Han - WashU
8. Sarah Howland - Cornell I
9. Dan Briggs - Cornell II
10. Martin Geiger - Cornell II
11. Ali Wright - Cornell II
12. Monica Smith
13. Alec Arellano
14. Tracy Huang - UT Austin (haha, two Tracys!)
15. Manny?
16. Connor?
17. Ali something?
18. ?

Ta-da!

OMG CONGRATULATIONS, GUYS!!!

Special congrats to Ali and Anthony because, aside from the fact that their names begin with the same letter as MY name, just... YAY! Anthony because he would've imploded and died if he hadn't gotten an interview ;) plus Ali because I got more excited about him than if I'd gotten in (and also because I got wind of it like... a mere hour ago. :D)

Voices of TASP - Instructions

Apparently some people would like to do the Voices of TASP thingy. Delightful. If you need instructions, you can find them below.

FOR MAC:
I don't have a mac, but these directions seem to make sense...
http://www.ehow.com/how_6538_record-sound-mac.html

FOR WINDOWS:
All windows machine should be equipped with a nifty program creatively called sound recorder. Here's where to find it. start>all programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder. It might be in a different place for you, but it'll definitely be in accessories.


This is what it should look like.


Hit the red dot to begin recording. Hi!


Hit the cube to stop.


The go to file>save as


Please save the file with your name


There we are, you've recorded your sound. Now to test to make sure it works. Close sound recorder and double click the file you just saved. It should play on your music or sound player...if it does, yay! If it doesn't, shit, e-mail me.

You can e-mail your file to me at zhangg7.at.gmail.com (the .at. = @, it's just there to stop spam bots)
Thanks!

PS: the default time limit on recorder is 60 seconds. If you're verbose and need more, here are instructions to extend it.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q82215/

Best of Luck

I would like to take this opportunity to express from the bottum of my heart the best of luck to each and every one of you applying to CBTA. We won't all get in and we probably won't all get interviews and if you or I do not we must remember it was not meant to be and it is not the end of the world. I could not think of an applicant pool more deserving or intimidating than one filled with Cornell TASPers. Again I wish you the best of luck and if you care to inform me of your status when you find out feel free to call or text (preferably text) me at 508-450-8973.

-Anthony W. Mariano

Gods, Goddesses, and assorted sundry miscellany

Aida ..................................................Circe
Alberto .............................................Hermes
Ali ....................................................Adonis
Anthony ...........................................King Midas
Brendan ............................................Tiresias
Calvin ...............................................Bacchus
Chris .................................................Hector
Chuck ...............................................The Chuck
Co’Relous ..........................................Zeus
Dan ...................................................Prometheus
Diya ..................................................Persephone
Don ...................................................Hephaestus
Freya ................................................Artemis
Gary ..................................................Pikachu (he wanted Odysseus, but no. That just doesn't fit.)
Grace ................................................Calypso
Ingrid ...............................................Gaia (BY THE WAY HER BDAY IS UP TWICE WHICH IS REAL??!!)
Jenny O .............................................Naiad (Nymph)
Jenny T .............................................Demeter
Johes ................................................Eros
Josh ..................................................Apollo
Kira ...................................................Echo
Laura ................................................Aphrodite
Levent ..............................................Ares
Linda ................................................Hestia
Maria ................................................Daphne
Marina ..............................................Oracle of Delphi
Martin ...............................................Paris
Michael (PA) .....................................Charon
Michael T ..........................................Morpheus
Mike A ...............................................Hades
Mindy ...............................................(Child #1) Pandora
Nahla ................................................Cassandra
Omonigho .........................................Hera
Paul ..................................................Poseidon
Ricky ................................................Narcissus
Sarah ................................................Athena
Sheron ..............................................Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazons)
Stanley .............................................Hercules
Yu ....................................................Calliope


Yeeeeah, it's not as nicely formatted as it used to be. But at least it's all there. Oh, my children. Let's drink some ambrosia to the memory of Mt. Olympus.

Only a TASP away...

Today, Sarah pointed out to me that we are now about one TASP (6 weeks) away from the end of TASP. I hope you are all still remembering it and your fellow TASPers fondly. I know I miss you all immensely. The other day a fly was in my kitchen and I couldn't help but allow a small grin to creep across my face. The times we shared. Anyways, in honor of this landmark I propose the oft-forgotten AIM Chat. To be held Sunday the 17th day of September in the Year of our Lord 2006 at 5PM (allows Levent to participate).

On another note, (I will probably post a similar message again) I am still stressing out about applying to CBTA and Cornell. I'll hear from CBTA about an interview soon enough. I truly wish all of you the best of luck and I hope we all get interviews. I would count myself extremely lucky to have the opportunity to attend college with just one of you. Again, best of luck and keep in touch.

Finally, Donald has emailed me again and he has had trouble getting onto the blog. What shall my instructions to him be?

Yours Always (except for you, Aida),

Anthony W. Mariano

Aló Aló!

Hello everyone. I haven't posted anything in a while, so I thought I'd keep you guys up to speed with the happenings (or lack thereof) in my life...lol.
I seriously thought senior year was going to be easier, and I have tragically been provel wrong:( I miss sleeping more than 5 hours a night, but oh well. An all-nighter with you guys at TASP is certainly better than one that includes studying for a killer history test. Ugh. I love history, but honestly...
And of course, there is college. I'm applying early action to Harvard, primarily because it is nonbinding. If Cornell were nonbinding, I'd apply there, but as it is... no-go. I'm not ready to make that kind of commitment yet, because I don't have a dream school, and I want to keep my options open.
Like a lot of you, I also applied to CBTA. I sent the app a week earlier, and a feeling of dread has been gradually growing in my stomach. The competition seems so much worse than for TASP. That 49-thing really doesn't help. I'm really trying not to get too emotionally attatched because that would make things suck even more. Let's try to chill... yeah, right:P
On to happier news: tomorrow we have a cartoon-themed senior spirit day (seniors get to come to school dressed up as cartoons), and I'm going as Carmen Sandiego!!!!!!!! I LOVE her! She is the reason I'm so into history...hehe. I don't have a red coat, so I'll have to use a black one with a red scarf, but I'll make it work. I'll probably post some pics on Facebook, now that so many of us are addicted to it... right, Levent?
So, I hope to keep hearing from you guys. I love the fact that most of us are keeping in touch. It's really great, and let's keep it up. I miss you guys.

Love always,
Laura

Forty-nine

....people applied to CBTA.



Last year about 35 applied.



Bigger applicant pool = more people selected for the interview rounds??



oh the angst

Ahh nostalgia

So I was screwin around on youtube yesterday looking at the featured videos and this nifty little one came up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK_JfNlNSTk

you should check it out. It reminded me of TASP and made me smile/die on the inside.

:)

CBTA preferment

so who all applied?
I did

Reunion BIRT

Whereas we have collectively demonstrated a lot of interest in a reunion.

Whereas some of us fear how the idea has already somewhat faded into the background.

Whereas there were disputes and we could not unanimously vote on a location.

Whereas the socio-economic diversity of the Cornell TASPs is vast and could be fatal to any reunion attempt.

Whereas hotels costs a lot of money and the lack of hotel costs could surely create new reunion opportunities for many.

Whereas CBTA knows we are awesome and has money it doesn't know what to do with.

Be It Resolved That: The Cornell TASPs will collectively petition either TA or housemembers of CBTA (after a decision has been made on acceptances) to allow us to use CBTA for one weekend for our reunion in June before another TASP starts.

So....I was made unaccountably sad when I learned that several of us aren't going to Swarthmore. Whereas I don't want to be sad, and whereas Oberlin seems really desperate to get minority kids to visit 'em in Ohio, be it resolved that

ALL OF US MINORITIES APPLY TO OBERLIN'S DIVERSITY WEEKEND.

http://www.oberlin.edu/coladm/mvp/apply.html

Look at how easy it is to apply!

"Please answer the following in no more than four sentences per question: What is your favorite activity and why? Who are your heroes; whom do you admire? Why do you want to participate in this silly piddling program?"

"We will continue to accept applications past the deadline until all spots are filled." They seem pretty desperate....

October 5-8.....due September 4th
November 9-11 ....due October 4th
November 30-December 2 ....due October 30th

If we all chose the same weekend, we could totally stage a reunion without their knowing it! Let me know what you think of my devious plot.

SWARTH me MORE

WHO'S GOING? WHOOOO'S GOING?? Who's going to hug me at the airport? ...slash take creepy pictures as I disembark, coughMariacough.





I can almost not contain my excitement, even though that syntax was a bit off.

Back from the Old World

It was a long trip, but a good one. I spent 10 days in Germany and 9 in Ukraine, the first part of the trip being unadulterated tourism, and the second part a return to the home of my childhood. Germany was definately fun, picturesque, medieval, and with plenty opportunities to climb things; I stayed in Mainz, and visited Cologne (Koln Dom, gigantic, dark, menacing, and yes, beautiful 13th century monastery);
Worms (a city obsessed with its own midieval romance of the Nibelungs);
Heidelberg (with the larges castle ruins in germany);
Bad Munchster(small, littleknown castle ruin);
Kaiserslautern, Bonn, Nierstein, Frankfurt;
And Wissemburg (It's in France);

but it was Kiev that had the greatest emotional impact. Many things have changed, and what remains seems older and smaller somehow, but still, the memories came pouring back as I returned to the house I hadn't seen since I was 9. Ukraine is still very much in transition. In the streets of Kiev, I heard more Russian spoken than Ukrainian. Sometimes it's frustrating to see an untended street of 19th architecture that can be as beautiful as anything I saw in Germany. Still there are gems of breathtaking beauty. The monasteries from the Kievan Rus' that have stood for a thousand years, the sunset view of Kiev accross the Dnipro River, the forests and fields that don't belong to anyone. Somehow the sky seemed bluer there than anywhere else, and even the subway smelled nostalgic.

Still, I was probably gone for too long. When I returned, my 1-year old sister had forgotten me (she ran away whent I came near her) and my school schedule had been magled by the computer (after an intesive email campaign and all but stalking my counselor, I managed to get it fixed). Now I'm working on my CBTA app and hoping my classes don't assign as much work as they seem to threaten to.

Telluride Site

Shamlessly stolen from the UMich Blog. Fate has smiled kindly, first time I actually browse their blog and I find this little delight. My eyes have been opened.
----
Poking around on the Telluride Association website has revealed to me something wonderful.
There is a certain section of the site containing all sorts of goodies that is restricted from the general public but that we can now access.

Telluride Associates Page

This will provide a link but otherwise you can also just click on the "For Current Associates" Section. You will then need to register which takes no effort other than basically picking a password as they have all your other info and just want confirmation. Then presto, you're IN.


And there are all sorts of good stuff inside including a directory of anyone ever in TASP or TASS or any Telluride Program, the Telluride Newsletter with stories about TASPs, some stuff about things you can do ( can we interview TASPers next year? That would be weird.) and my ABSOLUTE favorite: the Factotum manual.

Highlights of what Jenny and Josh read:

"In the past, some factota have felt so strongly that unsafe sex must be prevented at all costs that they have argued to us that we should make safer sex supplies available to TASPers who might be sexually active. TASP Committee believes that TASPers, many of whom are not sexually experienced, might interpret the distribution of safer sex supplies as an invitation to sex."

"Here are some policies which worked well for some factota in the past that you may choose to announce: 11:30 weekday, 12:30 weekend curfew; papers due at curfew the night before; individual meetings to “check in” with each TASPer periodically; no TV or internet in the house; limited movie-watching in the house; mandatory mealtimes; enforced bedtimes for students who sleep in seminar; no smoking in the house and house environs; no listening to headphones in public spaces; assigning a number to each person to “count off” to ensure that no one is left behind on group outings."

"The factota are responsible for recruiting, with tact and restraint, for Cornell Branch, for Michigan Branch, and for TA. Obviously, this means that the factota are also engaged in a recruitment effort for the host institutions that help sponsor TASP. We do not allow factota not currently enrolled at Cornell or the University of Michigan to engage in individual recruitment efforts for the institutions at which they study. All factota may, of course, answer questions about their own college experiences, but keep in mind that recruitment in general is a sensitive issue, and that many TASPers come to their programs already morbidly obsessed with the Ivy League."

"We expect each factotum to present a fair evaluation of his/her program’s participants. This involves maintaining a careful objectivity in observation throughout the summer, and writing a documentary rather than impressionistic report. To this end, you must take notes throughout the summer about TASPer performance. You have the weighty responsibility of commenting on a young person’s suitability for a large scholarship. You will find that by keeping notes over time, you are able to offer a more accurate perspective at the summer’s end. These notes will also help you to treat TASPers more fairly, as you discover that some of your impressions are not borne out by the evidence."

Those notes would be very interesting to read.

Gems

As Alberto points out, the idyllic era we spent as companions in the world of ideas and rambling 2am conversations at the sticky dining tables is receding ever farther into the past. In order that it not fade into a pleasant blur in our collective memories, I propose that we record here TASP gems.

Obviously, there are many remembrance-based posts already, and perhaps some of you have moved beyond stage of frequent TASP reminiscence.

But then suddenly in the cafeteria, a forkful of reconstituted casserole half-way to your mouth, a grin may spread across your face as you recall something tiny and perfect from TASP. If you have such moments, you might wish to record them here.

Here is my TASP gem, recalled as I was talking to Anthony:
It was the first gray morning, and it was drizzling lightly. A lot of us were eating breakfast. Ray and Tamara, known to us then only as "the professors," walked up the path sharing an umbrella. We remarked on how cute that was.
I like to think that the umbrella was yellow, but I actually I believe it was black.

one month

It has been exactly one month since the last day of TASP guys.
I just realized that.
Crazy.

Froggit Goes to the West

Y'see, my friend and I have a Spanish project due. We're supposed to be tourist-guides, kind of, for a specific municipality in PR. I picked Cabo Rojo and she chose Mayaguez. They're both about 3 hours from home and to the west of the island (both border the coast). My grandmother has a little house there in Mayaguez and my mom grew up in the west side (repreSENT!!), so we stayed there for the night. ^^ However, these are all mostly pics from the first day. If you want Froggit-less images of the PR beauty itself, I'll be uploading them onto two albums or so on facebook later today. ^^ I highly recommend checking that out because there were MANY areas I didn't take Froggit and they are AMAZING, so you should see 'em, such as the Cabo Rojo lighthouse *and GORGEOUS view*, the salt-flat thingies, the Morrillos, the Cabo Rojo theater, the gov. building, plus more stuff. Oh. And my best friend's name is Charlene. :D AH. And btw, I'll be uploading a few short videos from the trip to myspace and/or YouTube, so I'll link you later. Froggit's not in them, but still. :P

*DAY ONE*

Sometimes she loves him...

...sometimes she hates him!

It's like we're lesbian parents with a frog! XD Go interracialness! [at the house]

Safely on my lap while traveling. I'm so much better than a seatbelt. :P

Scene from "The Lion King" in front of the Mayaguez Zoo.In front of a statue of ol' Chrissy Colombus in the Mayaguez Plaza. (Church behind that!)Froggit attempting to rape one of the lampy-statues in the plaza?
Froggit's sad that he can't go out in the rain... (Mayaguez central plaza directly outside!)
Around the back of a little restaurant called "El Gato" (The Cat).

See those windows to the left? That's the restaurant's back. This is in Joyuda, Cabo Rojo.

I have no idea what that framework was/is, but I LOVE IT. *spazzes out*

ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET!

See? We're on the foundation of a demolished room or something... Restaurant to the left (diagonally down), houses to the direct right, separated by H2O. After these pics, we went to eat 3 kinds of "empanadillas" (Lobster, "Chapín", and cheese)

After eating, we drove a little bit more along the coast and caught more of the sunset. ^^

*END OF DAY 1*

In front of a statue dedicated to Don Salvador Brau y Asencio (1842-1912), the first official Puerto Rican historian. He was also a poet, sociologist, journalist, essay-writer, and drama-geek. And yes, from Cabo Rojo. ^^ This is on the central plaza, off to one side, near the church.

Said church!

More of the plaza. That conch-type thing is where local performances are held and whatnot, methinks. The church is to the right of the frame. There's a weird little sculpture to the left that I snapped a pic of, too. XD

MORE TO COME LATER!

New Pics

I just got back home and I have a lot of cool, new Froggit pics. ^^ I shall post those tomorrow at some point.

Also, I took a silly standardized test called the LearnAid which is stupid seeing as it just serves to get my school accredited. BAH. The Spanish is always SO much more challenging than the English. This year, the math and english sections were completely laughable. I was so shocked at some of the English questions that I sneakily took out my digicam and snapped 3 pics of the most insulting questions on that test. The language ones are comprised of 3 short passages and questions about each. Though the questions are stupid, the text is always SUPER interesting, funny, and informative ( in ENGLISH).

Here's the proof:

















Which reminds me, last year, there was the following question on the test:

A helmet is used to protect the _________:
a. knees
b. elbow
c. head
d. hands


>_<

Memories of the way we were...

I am simply overcome with grief again and again. When I am at school I can't stop thinking of you guys. I certainly can't when I am writing my CBTA application. I even miss Michael (MA) and Maria individually, and not just as one entity. Looking through facebook photos...oh the chits we had, the sterilizations that were performed, the thing I turned to gold. I sincerely doubt any other group of people could have made me dress like a woman...and look DAMN FINE doing it, I might add. I miss going up to Sheron's room and her freaking out whenever I opened one of her drawers. I miss foosball with Johes...NNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! I miss chitting with Sarah and Laura. I miss trying to figure out if Jenny and Josh liked me or not. I miss going downstairs to get drinks of water with Nahla, so I did not have to do my work. I miss freaking out about getting into Cornell...well I still do that but I miss doing it with Diya and Freya. Things as small as calling Gary, Gawy or as important as Shoes. I miss them all. I miss everyone in my seminar and those who weren't also. Please keep in touch. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEVENT!

Unpimp?

Should the blog be restored to its normal style?

Discuss. Vote.

Happy Birthday

To My Dearest Aida:
You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too--yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party.

I would like you to dance--Birthday
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday
I would like you to dance--Birthday
Dance

You say it's your birthday
Well it's my birthday too--yeah
You say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.



To Everyone Else:
Statistics prove, prove that you've
one birthday, one birthday ev'ry year.
But there are three hundred and sixty four unbirthdays.
That is why we're gathered here to cheer.
A very merry unbirthday to you, to you.
A very merry unbirthday to you,
It's great to drink to someone and I guess that you will do.
A very merry unbirthday to you.