Quite possibly my favorite day of the year, Thanksgiving 2010 has come and passed. My family played host, and with a plentiful supply of beer, three delicious turkeys and a Jets win over Cincinnati, it’s hard to envision a more successful holiday. Trying to avoid the thought of returning to Ithaca and dealing with the ensuing rain, sleet and snow (not to mention final papers and exams), I am continuing to think with a pre-Thanksgiving mindset. As I hope all of you have done, I decided to use this column to reflect on some of the things I am thankful for this year.
1) The banning of Four Loko
Though the syrupy crack-in-a-can substance has provided plenty of stories and entertainment, I am actually pleased to see it go. No longer will kids mistakenly drink this poisonous substance intending only to guzzle an innocent energy drink. No longer will a red-colored caffeine and alcohol concoction be served at parties sending students to the hospital. No longer will I have to peel my roommate off of the floor at Johnny O’s. Think of all the memories we will have and actually remember in this post Four Loko era.
2) My Tuesday-Thursday only class schedule
My carefully crafted epic class schedule has far exceeded its hype. I am hard-pressed to remember a semester when I got more sleep than I do now. Most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays comprise of waking up around 11 a.m., cooking bacon and eggs for breakfast/brunch, reading a few articles and working out at the gym. Now that all my law school applications are submitted, I actually wonder whether I have too much free time. Have any sympathy for me?
3) Living with a clean freak
Living in a modern three-person apartment, my place in Collegetown automatically has an edge over the older houses with eight-plus inhabitants. Nonetheless, living with a housemate who was raised to despise all dirt, dust and filth is a surprisingly convenient luxury. If a dish stays in the sink uncleaned for more than a day, it’s an anomaly. Every Thursday afternoon has even become a cleaning ritual to prepare for the upcoming weekend. So as not to play favorites, it is also pretty awesome that my other roommate continually brings back homemade meals, including a delectable pot pie recently. Free meals on dishes that I don’t have to clean? Doesn’t get much better than that.
4) Having three of my four Ithaca parking tickets dismissed
Since I could think of at least 50 ways I’d rather spend $1,000 than giving it to my landlord for parking, I decided to play musical cars with my Mazda Protégé. Finding a spot on Linden or College was relatively pain free, at least until the current alternate day parking regulations went into effect. When I did receive three tickets for parking in a poorly marked residential only area, I decided to protest them in front of the Ithaca judge. As I had hoped, appearing in court cleanly shaven wearing a neat suit did wonders, and the judge had sympathy for my petty offenses. It was certainly amusing, since most of the other cases involved welfare, child support or revoked driver’s licenses.
5) My last remaining semester
It’s getting to be that time, shit is getting real. Many of my friends have recently cemented their plans for next year, and a few will even be graduating a semester early. Though I am not exactly looking forward to it, the fact that I will indeed be graduating sooner rather than later has not sunk in yet. Fortunately, I still have six months to enjoy denying this reality. I plan on savoring every moment of it.
Shaun Werbelow is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He may be contacted at [email protected]. Second Opinion appears alternate Mondays this semester.
Original Author: Shaun Werbelow