Something New

Yesterday, I finally got to make use of the Consortium Shuttle for reasons other than exploratory trips to the Worcester Public Library—I went to visit my friend Jim at WPI! We’ve been trying to get together all year long, but because there is so much time in transit (the Consortium Shuttle is a one hour round trip) and my schedule is so spread out, there was no efficient way of getting there. However, because a class of mine was canceled, an entire window of time opened for me to go visit Jim.

It started off in a rush. Advising forms were due yesterday, and by the time I had gotten a signature, the time was 1:37 on my cell phone (which is always a minute off, for some reason). I dashed up to Hogan, and hurriedly pressed the elevator button in the hopes that the 1:36 bus had not already left. There were two very nice ladies in the elevator at the time, and when I breathlessly told them that I was headed towards WPI, they offered me a lift, as they both worked there. It was lovely of them to offer, but I declined, saying I’d wait until the next bus.

But lo and behold! The bus stop was packed with people with luggage waiting for the Consortium Shuttle to take them to Union Station. I hadn’t missed the bus after all. Collapsing on the steps, I had a brief chat with one of the WPI ladies, who happened to be a biotech professor, before the shuttle rolled in and I waved her a quick goodbye. Oh the adrenaline rush! After all the people who were going home were seated, there was exactly one seat left open for me.

I considered myself rather lucky.

A half an hour later, I called my friend, only to hear him answer his phone right behind me. It was a joyful reunion, and not only did I get a tour of their relatively flat campus, but I also got to try their dining hall cuisine (which is much like Holy Cross’) and watch bug-eyed at how good they are at math/science. It was insane, and made me feel rather good that I had chosen a liberal arts school. I feel that I would have missed the humanities far too much if I had gone to a place like WPI. Jim is in his element though, and I’m so happy that he found a pleasant niche at his school to be in.

It all had to end too soon, unfortunately, as 6 o’ clock came by and the last bus to leave WPI for Holy Cross came by. Jim and I watched it from the bus stop. It came up the driveway (we assume it took note of the numerous yellow school buses in its normal spot—there was a band function of some sort going on), backed up, and turned around, leaving two confused freshmen still standing at the bus stop.

Jim and I stood there for a moment before realizing it wasn’t coming back. We chased it down the drive, but alas, it got away. Luckily for me, my parents were coming up that night to pick me up for Easter break anyways, so I called them and asked if they could pick me up at WPI instead. I got an extra two hours to hang out with Jim, which were awesome. I even finally got around to learning Rummy!

At around 8 o’clock, my parents came to pick me up, and my heart racing adventure at WPI had come to a close.

I should totally visit again.

Yay! The first (real) snow of the season! It started snowing last night as I was on my way back to Wheeler from Hanselman. At the time, the snow was coming down heavily, but there wasn’t much on the ground. From what I can see out my window, it has stopped snowing, but there are a few inches on the ground. Yay!

It’s the middle of finals week, so hopefully the snow should help to lighten people’s spirits a bit, especially before Christmas. At this point, it seems like there are quite a few people who are just going crazy with the stress of finals, so hopefully the new snowfall might help cheer them all up.

So far, I’ve had my biology and chemistry finals. On one of them, I think I did decently, and on the other….not so much. Looking back, I think a big problem with me is that I never really picked up good study habits in high school, which is coming back to haunt me now. My next final is for calculus, and that’s on Saturday. Hopefully I don’t forget to go to it, because without the usual schedule, it’s been ridiculously easy to lose track of the days.

Yesterday, I had my chemistry final, and after that, Gordon, Dominika, and I hopped on the consortium bus and went on a field trip to…dun, dun, dun, the Worcester Public Library! It was exciting, and the place was HUGE…at least in comparison to the Maynard Public Library. We explored the library a bit, before walking to visit Gordon’s sister at work. She works as an investigator for juvenile defense cases. It was pretty cool being inside one of the tall buildings, and I have to admit, I’ve never really walked around a city of any sorts on my own (as in, without adult supervision) before, so it was neat. Admittedly, some aspects of it surprised me a bit, but I’d still like to walk around more if I ever get the spare time.

The bus ride itself is a one hour round trip, and since the library is the first stop after Holy Cross, the ride back took fifty minutes. I didn’t mind it though, because the bus stops at each Worcester college, and I liked seeing the different colleges (all the while comparing their campuses to that of HC).

Ah well, good luck to all of you applying to colleges (my friend Marissa from back home got some responses back and I was SUPER excited about them) and have a happy holidays!