There's a list of 161 things that every Cornellian should do. Now that graduation is over (nearly 5 months over, actually), it might be a good time to reflect and comment on items of that list from my personal experience. So, in numerical order:
11. Go sake bombing in Collegetown (for the over-21 crowd only!).
I was wearing a red Dragon Day shirt that day too. Ironic for an Asian person going sake bombing.
12. Order ice cream at the Dairy Bar.
One day, our ENGRG 150 class walked to the Dairy Bar and ordered ice cream for everyone out of the course budget.
14. Listen to a full chimes concert from the clock tower and guess the songs played.
Well, I have listened to 3 chimes songs from the top of the clock tower. I'm not saying that they're bad at playing music (quite opposite that, in fact), but I don't recognize most of the songs they play, likely due to my lack of popular culture knowledge.
20. Play frisbee on the Arts Quad.
Quite a common activity, especially during junior and senior years. An equally-viable alternative location would be the Engineering Quad.
25. Bomb a prelim.
Yes. Especially if final exams count too.
31. Enjoy Ithaca's two months of warm weather by spending a summer here.
Summer after freshman year. It was really warm during the summer.
33. Watch the AAP students parade down East Avenue on Dragon Day.
To tell the truth, the AAP dragon >> ENG phoenix.
34. Enjoy corn nuggets at the Nines.
I have had corn nuggets at the Nines on more than one occassion, and I have enjoyed them thoroughly.
35. Build a snow penis, or count how many you see around campus.
Both, actually. I'll omit pictures here.
48. Have dinner at a professor's house.
During junior year's ENGRG 1050 class, as a peer advisor for the class of freshmen. We had chicken parm at the professor's house, and listened to cool stories all night long.
49. Get wasted at a professor's house.
Not really "wasted," but had some dranks at a professor's house, along with most other people in the class.
62. Go to Wegmans on a Friday or Saturday night.
What can I say? Food is important.
66. See the brain collection in Uris Hall.
Arriving too early for class in Uris Hall, I'd wander the halls and stare at brains in jars behind a glass display.
69. Take part in a psychology experiment.
Quick and easy way to make $5 at a time.
73. Ace a prelim.
I think "ace" is a universally-agreed synonym for getting 100% or higher. Only three instances of this though.
76. Eat in the Risley dining hall.
Ate there once for dinner during freshman year. It was meh.
77. Play at least one game of Texas hold-'em.
Does online count? During sophomore year Taylor and I played on Facebook often.
84. Go bowling at Helen Newman Lanes.
Fun physical activity, just like frisbee on a quad.
85. Hand out quartercards on Ho Plaza.
Thanks CSA for giving me several opportunities to perform this envious task.
86. Take an unplanned nap in the library.
I think this speaks for itself.
90. Boys: Get thrown out of Balch Hall.
Fun fact: if you are unaccompanied by a female resident inside Balch Hall, the RA's will escort you out the door. Literally.
93. Walk to the Commons and back.
This was usually done during university breaks or for the law school's Trial Advocacy Finale that I had to videotape. I did walk past the Commons to Kinko's to print CSA membership cards on more than one occassion though.
96. Eat pizza at the Nines.
It's difficult to surpass the excellence that is Nines pizza.
98. Drink bubble tea.
Countless times. Usually on a whim too, like when someone randomly suggests "wanna get bubble tea?!" while walking home from class or studying. It was at Cornell that I learned what bubble tea is (freshman year fall break).
99. Eat a Pinesburger.
I did eat a Pinesburger once, which was followed immediately by three more Pinesburgers, my photo on the wall, and a Glenwood Pines t-shirt.
100. Walk to a fraternity party with your entire freshman floor.
It actually wasn't my freshman floor, but once upon a time I did go to a frat party with Mickey's freshman floor.
106. See a concert at Barton Hall.
It was a free concert, so it wasn't anything like All-American Rejects or Maroon 5. It was a concert at Barton Hall nonetheless, and it was pretty cool.
108. Eat brunch on North Campus.
This was a frequent activity when I lived on North Campus.
109. Do your Freshman Reading Project before you graduate.
I did the freshman reading project before freshman orientation, back when I tried to be a good student.
112. Go ice skating at Lynah Rink.
My only time ice skating, ever.
118. Make a chalking; weep when it rains that night.
Thanks again CSA for the opportunity.
120. Meet Bill Nye '77, "The Science Guy," and give him a hug.
Well, I didn't actually meet him nor give him a hug, but during fall break junior year I spotted Bill Nye from across an empty and dark Upson Hall.
121. See how long you can go without doing laundry.
This was another frequent activity, although unintentional. It was usually no more than 10 days I can last without doing laundry.
127. Go to the Pyramid Mall, realize it is severely lacking, then drive to Carousel Mall in Syracuse.
The only times I went to Pyramid Mall was to buy stuff at Target or to watch a movie. Carousel Mall was pretty cool, especially watching Stephen build a Lego tower at the toy store only to have to come crashing to the ground. Don't worry, we cleaned up the place afterward.
128. Eat mongo at RPCC.
Probably the only reason I'd ever eat at RPCC after freshman year.
129. Attend Cross Country Gourmet at a dining hall near you.
These did not live up to their hype and characteristic long waiting lines.
130. Complain about your writing seminar to no one in particular.
I complained during the fall semester, but little did I know that writing seminar was nothing compared to the one during the spring semester.
136. Go to a coffee house in JAM.
Went to one of these when Mickey lived in JAM. Watched people play music in a room.
138. Watch people play Dance Dance Revolution in Appel.
Usually, I also participaed in DDR in Appel.
146. Wake up at 6a.m. for CoursEnroll, realize that it is still better than waiting outside Barton.
Who would have guessed that waking up at 6 AM in college was near-impossible, even though I did so everyday in high school?
151. Take the BASICS program.
What a joke.
153. Walk to class in the snow, uphill both ways.
Story of my life, especially during freshman year.
156. Eat at each dining hall at least once.
Appel, RPCC, Risley, Cook, Becker, Bethe, Rose, Keeton, Okenshields, Jewish Living Center...did I miss any?
161. Climb all 161 steps to the top of McGraw Tower.
Well worth the climb, in my opinion. Great photo opportunities at the top.
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So, that's something like 44 out of 161 items. At that rate I'd need to be at Cornell for ~16 years before I exhaust the list.
