SGA, "The Shrine"

( spoilers )

ETA: friendshipper --> Tipper, moonlash_cc, Pruuuuu, nine, usomitai --> cesperanza, toft_froggy

(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.

( More details for the curious. )

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

( Meanwhile, here is my abode: )

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!