bironic | (no subject)

This post comes to you direct from Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I have set up shop for the next 10-12 months in a lovely apartment ~~that I will probably stop noticing beyond the area around my laptop as soon as schoolwork kicks in~~. It's nice to be in Boston again—I did my undergrad across the river lo these many years ago—and even better to be back in school, and even better than that to have been given the opportunity to come to this school in particular.

(I'm at MIT. I debated for months about what to reveal in public posts here on LJ, and I've finally decided to talk about the school but not my program, because it has to be one or the other but not both for privacy reasons, and I don't think I could hold myself back from talking about MIT, since I'm so curious about what it's really like and assume that some others are too, especially with SGA fanon so often proposing that McKay and/or Sheppard went here. See, I can say "here" now!)

So I'm on the lookout for The Real MIT as I go along. Thus far I've directly observed the local culture at a dorm dinner on Wednesday and Shabbat services tonight, and by riding a couple of campus shuttle buses, looking at posters and websites for goings-on, and keeping my eyes open as I walk around. I've seen posters in the student center for Harry Potter-themed dance parties (admission with MIT or Hogwarts ID), Star Trek movie screenings (I will probably go to see First Contact tomorrow), lawn meditation, and many solicitations for research study participants.

Today's highlight was a series of chalk sidewalk drawings advertising one of the undergrad dorms, called Random House. I think. Random something, and it didn't occur to me at the time that it was a publishing name. Anyway, every few squares along the street they had written or drawn something, such as a crossed-out equation subtitled "Non-standard Deviation," a little anime monster holding a pitchfork, "You don't have to take the bus to visit the coolest dorm on ---- Street!" next to a bus stop, and "Welcome to the other side of the tracks" after you crossed the railway. You could see people side-stepping and craning their necks to read them as they walked by.

People-wise, I'm surprised by the number of non-hard science and math majors around. Could be that they don't live in this dorm in representative percentages, they live here but didn't come to the social on Wednesday, or they haven't moved in yet. Could be that those areas are less popular than one would think. Will report back on this as the semester progresses. But I have met a Norwegian-via-Cambridge (UK this time) mathematician with the requisite long hair and awkward social skills, a pair of Latvian management majors, a Greek architecture and planning major, a couple of bioengineers, a technology and public policy guy, and an atmospheric sciences guy continuing from undergrad studies in math. Among others of the graduate population. Everybody has been very friendly and down-to-earth.

Man, I'd almost forgotten what it's like to be in a stimulating and diverse environment. And classes haven't even started yet.

1. Comfy comfy bed. It didn't start out that way, with a hard, creaky mattress and smoke-smelling sheets from my mother's basement, but with a new sheet set and mattress pad, and three pillows, because the room came with two surprise pillows in addition to the one I brought—I have never had three pillows, except maybe in extra-swanky hotels—and considering that the bed is double/full size instead of the typical twin (and there is a headboard! Never had one of those either), I expect that tonight will bring an excellent night's sleep.

2. Main room, including spiffy table and chairs from craigslist.

3. It may look crowded, but it doesn't feel that way inside. Part of the reason is the high ceilings. See the floor lamp in the far left corner in the last photo? Here is how high the window and walls go above it:

4. Also, when you're in the room, it looks like there's plenty of space in whatever direction you're facing. For example, the table and chairs as seen from the little couch:

5. Annnd, the laptop & desk. Where it all happens, as they say.

6. Lastly, the kitchenette. (I assume no one has interest in the bathroom.) For the last few days I'd been worried about where to put everything, but a couple of cabinet racks from Target cleared up a lot of space. I like when things are neat and organized. It helps in times of stress.

p.s. In a place of honor at the sink is Ed the scrubby octopus. (Mine is yellow.)

7. The city has looked gorgeous the last couple of days. Great weather, sunny and cool. Strange thing about the Charles River: looking straight down, it's brown and disgusting, and it's infamous around here for being filthy, but looking across on a bright day, it's a startling blue, complemented by the deep green trees lining the Esplanade, the brick red brownstones of the Back Bay, the shining skyscrapers of midtown, and the white and yellow sails of the boats gliding along the surface.

And that is pretty much the news for the week. Prep, goodbyes, moving, unpacking, shopping for the few remaining needed items, meeting/greeting, reading, sleeping and exploring. So far, I have successfully navigated:

one (1) dorm pizza social,
three (3) new local buses and shuttles,
two (2) floors of the main school library,
one (1) fully cooked dinner in my new kitchen,
two (2) trips to the supermarket,
the forty (40) or so TV channels we get on campus, and
one (1) Hillel Reform Friday night service followed by dinner, at which I met a decent enough guy, although he has a bit too much of the slacker mentality for me to fully respect him. Imagine! a sort of slacker at MIT.

Much more will come from Sunday onward as orientation activities kick in. Until then...

ETA: Oh, right. I'm going to be posting my new address under friends-lock at some point. If you would like it and you're not on my f-list, just ask!

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From:

leiascully.livejournal.com

I like your apartment! My friends are going to HBS and Sloan v. soon. How intriguing.

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(no subject)

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