So really, the Thursday night NBC comedy lineup is by far one of the best nights in television - especially for a college student. If you don’t have a night class, the four shows on Thursdays would make anyone’s mouth water. And finally, after the writer’s strike is over, the shows are back. My Name is Earl, Scrubs, The Office, and 30 Rock make it really easy to forget your classes and homework for two hours out of the week. Most college kids today (that I know) have caught onto The Office and 30 Rock si right behind. Scrubs has been on forever, so the devoted fanbase is equally excited.
Being really busy, most of the time, I relish in those two hours every week when I can sit in front of the TV with friends or by myself. and in just a few moments, this lineup is going to start. So, I’d better get over there and settle in - so I can forget about my first final coming up in 5 days….
The crazy good news just keeps stacking up. I just got word that I’ve been accepted, along with 24 other students, to a summer seminar on environmentalism up in Bozeman, Montana. For those of you that may not know, Bozeman is a little-bigish city in Montana, right near the northern edge of Yellowstone National Park. I’ve never been there, but am really excited to finally get out West. In fact, this whole summer is gonna be chock full of being out west. Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and Arizona for me….
The seminar is on free-market environmentalism, which is a type of policy-based environmentalism that I really don’t know much about. A lot of my professors are shocked that I would even consider going to a seminar of this type, but I have my reasons. I want to be able to make the best policy decisions when I get into the real world and in order to do so, I need a fairly strong grasp on all the policy solutions out there. A week in Montana learning about market solutions to environmental problems will give me a great grounding in this potential policy solution.
Either way, I’m counting down the three weeks left in the semester. Can’t wait for summer!
What a phenomenal weekend. I guess I’ll just start from the beginning and tell you the whole story. If you care to, please read on…
Friday at 5:30PM, I got to the airport in Buffalo for a flight to Chicago. I went to Chicago to present research at a big political science conference (the Midwestern Political Science Association) . So, I was able to fly from Buffalo to Cleveland to Chicago. I got into Chicago at around 9:15PM, and pretty much ran off the plane. Now, I had never been west of Cleveland and I’ve always wanted to go to Chicago, so it was a treat for me. I took the Loop (trains in Chicago) downtown where my hotel was, but it took about and hour and fifteen minutes to get there because of railroad construction. When I got downtown, my Aunt Linda was waiting for me (she just happened to have an optometry conference in Chicago this weekend) and we went to her hotel, where I would be staying for the night. I dropped off my stuff and she took me out and we walked around downtown Chicago. Let me tell you, if there was ever a city with an amazing (magnificent for those Chicagoans) downtown, it would be Chicago. I was thoroughly impressed. New York City may have been busy, but Chicago was beautiful. I even had a really late dinner at the original Pizzeria Uno - some of you may know it at Uno Chicago Grill. The deep dish pizza was delicious…
(As a quick sidenote - now that I’ve had NYC, Chicago, and Buffalo pizza all within two weeks, I have to say that Chicago wins best overall, NYC wins best tasting sauce, and Buffalo definitely wins “best eaten when cold, the next day”̷ 
The next morning, I went to this amazing hotel called the Palmer House Hotel for the political science conference. I was able to present some of my original research that I did in one of my courses, but I had to cut my time short so I could get to the airport for a flight to New Jersey. As crazy as this sounds, I had the MPSA conference on Saturday morning, but I also had to be in New Jersey at 8PM that day for the Midatlantic Semi Finals for the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella - the next round that the Chips were competing in. When I got to the airport in Chicago, I saw the flight board and my heart dropped…my flight to New Jersey had been canceled. It took almost an hour to get through the airline’s troubleshooting line, but when I did, they told me I just missed the other flights they were putting the original flight’s passengers on. Somehow, I ended being put on another flight on another airline, and I arrived in New Jersey only 30 minutes later than I would have with the original flight.
Needless to say, I got to Rutgers University, sang with the Chips, and rode the bus back with them earlier today. But the whole Chicago experience, from the deep dish pizza to the canceled flight was probably the biggest adrenaline rush I have had in recent memory. I can’t wait to get back to Chicago, especially as the plane I was on when leaving flew over the downtown are and deep a sweep over. I felt like I could have reached out and touched the Sears Tower and other skyscrapers.
And you wanna know the best part about the whole weekend? Because everything I did was in representation of UB, the university is footing the bill for everything. The plane rides, conference registration, hotels, etc. I would have never had this crazy fun weekend without the university’s support. I try not to cheerlead the school too much on this blog, but this is one moment where I have to say that these kind of opportunities are something to keep in mind when you are deciding where to go to school. Anyway, I am exhausted and I have and early morning tomorrow…night everyone!
Who doesn’t love Wisconsin? They give us most of our cheese, the Green Bay Packers, the liquid artistry of Milwaukee, Lake Michican, a linkage to Canada, Midwestern girls, I mean, the list goes on and on. Ok, so maybe some people don’t get excited about the state, but I definitely had to. In my State Politics course (PSC 311), we just turned in our final paper/project today. We had to look at sectionalism in individual states and yup, I got Wisconsin. I was able to make some neat looking maps with a program called ArcGIS. I learned how to use the program in my GIS (Geographical Information Systems) course. I thought it was pretty cool how I was able to use skills from one course in a totally different field.
So basically I’ve had Wisconsin on the brain lately. Any cheeseheads out there?
I know in high school one of the standard questions asked is always “How am I ever going to use this in real life?”. Well, let me tell you that I feel like almost everything I am learning now has some sort of relevance. The GIS work I did for a project comes in handy all over the place. Anyway, I just want to share a couple of these maps with you if I can get them uploaded. Can you tell if there is any political sectionalism in Wisconsin from the maps?
Pittsburgh. I hadn’t been in this mid-size city (similar to Buffalo) since I went around visiting universities at the end of my senior year as the May 1 tuition deposit deadline approached. The Chips and I went down to sing with a girls a cappella group called Sounds of Pleasure. The girls were great and the crowd was so much fun. When I visited Pitt so many years ago, I fell in love with the campus. I was going to go to the University of Pittsburgh (where we sang), but at the last minute changed my mind to UB…long story.
The city itself has a lot of the same problems that face Buffalo and other Rust-belt cities. However, like Buffalo, Pittsburgh has its high points and the downtown area is a great place. My favorite sckyscraper is in Pittsburgh, in all honesty. It was pretty insane going back and seeing the great architecture and sneaking my way up to their Honors College. It made me realize that I do not envy current seniors having to make decisions on colleges - decisions that affect who they are, who they will become, and what direction their futures will take.
Coming to UB was perhaps the best decision I have ever made, but going back to Pitt made me think: “What would my life be like if I had come to this school?” I wouldn’t be singing a cappella with the Chips, and I wouldn’t be who I am. Looking at the campus and the city, I wondered: “If I had come to Pitt, where on campus/in Pittsburgh would I be right now? Would I be studying in the library? Would I be at a concert in the fieldhouse? Would I be going to a Sounds of Pleasure concert that features the Buffalo Chips, a group I could have been a part of if I went to UB instead of Pitt?”
I know this is rambling and might be confusing, but it was really Pitt vs. UB and the decision I made had me take one path, while the other is left shrouded in secrecy. So I say to all of you making college decisions - choose the place that is best for you. You only live once. College life will take one path, with only you choosing the starting point. Good luck, because like I said, I do not envy you…
^^My favorite skyscraper ever - it looks like a castle^^
The week just flew by like you wouldn’t believe. Monday was fine - dinner with my girlfriend’s dad. We went to the Olive Garden (her favorite restaurant) and it was a good meal, but I really hope I didn’t screw anything up. It seemed to go well and I haven’t heard any negative comments - so hopefully things are good. After dinner, the intramural volleyball team I play on won both of our matches - one of them being against the hands-down best team in co-rec volleyball. I know it’s not a huge thing, but to beat that team (which we have always lost to) was a great feeling.
Nothing too exciting happened on Tuesday, Wednesday, and today, but I did have a pretty cool program on this evening. I cooked dinner and took students over to see the Vagina Monologues. One of my friends organized the production and I have to say that it was awesome! Actually - it was Rajavi, one of the other bloggers - I’m sure you can read about it in her blog - she did an incredible job.
On my way back from the show, I got a call from my honors advisor (the same advisor who delivered the news about the Truman scholarship last Saturday). She called to let me know that I was awarded a scholarship and that I can now officially be called a 2008 Udall Scholar! The award “seeks future leaders across a wide spectrum of environmental fields, including policy, engineering, science, education, urban planning and renewal, business, health, justice, and economics.”
Anyway, I guess I’m still pretty excited about the news and should get some sleep, since I’ve got a pretty busy couple of days ahead of me - Spring Open House on Saturday! See you there…
Ah, so it’s the night before Easter and it has been quite a day. I had a program this morning - yes bright and early. I rounded up some willing and able-bodies students to go volunteer down on the East Side of Buffalo with Buffalo ReUse. It was a sunny day, but still kind of cold, so we spent a lot of our time helping out in the warehouse, but some of the students got to go work on deconstructing a house on the West Side.
While I was working at ReUse, removing old nails from lumber, I got a phone call from my honors advisor (also my advisor for the scholarship I went to NYC for). Unfortunately, I didn’t get the award, but I am sure that (a) deserving individual(s) did. The people I had met were so involved and had accomplished so much, I know that whoever is on the list of winners published next week, they without a doubt deserve the scholarship. I called it a win for myself and for UB because I am the first finalist from UB for the award in 17 years (since 1991). I had applied for one other scholarship and I should hear about that one in a week or two.
So now I’m home, almost ready for bed (the Easter Bunny might come tomorrow). I feel bad for my wonderful girlfriend because she can’t go home for Easter this year, so she’ll be coming to my grandma’s tomorrow for dinner. At the holiday times, family has always been a mainstay, and I don’t know what I would do if I had to be put in a house of strange people. She’s met them before and they definitely enjoy her company. However, it’s me who is nervous - not about tomorrow, but about Monday. Her dad is coming up to Buffalo and the three of us are doing dinner - talk about sweating it out…
Anyway, here are some pictures from Buffalo ReUse today - we were all working pretty hard…
^^This is a house that is going to be deconstructed^^
Ah, the city…I haven’t been to New York City in seven years, and at that point I had been in a tour bus travelling around all the touristy destinations (Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Chinatown, Little Italy, the Empire State Building, etc). This time, however, I was on my own with a little hotel room right in Midtown - the Empire State Building was right out my window. I was in NYC Tuesday and Wednesday for a scholarship interview - a scholarship that someone from UB has never won before.
I was half a block from 5th Avenue and spent a good portion of Tuesday (the interview was Wednesday) walking around the city and exploring Lower Manhattan. I felt a little out of place at first, kind of like Sting in one of his songs**. However, after about 30 minutes of walking around and adopting the “don’t mess with me face” that I observed on many people…I felt like I could fit right in. So I explored - I went to the Village and admired the buildings at NYU, I walked up and down Broadway (but not on my old stud Leroy)**, walked aroudn the Theater District around 42nd and up, and of course got some authentic NYC pizza (good I have to say - but its just pizza).
After exploring the city for an afternoon, I had to get to my hotel so I could get ready for a dinner at Sardi’s, right off Broadway. Some past scholarship winners took the NY and CT finalists out for dinner. Great dinner and great people - it made for a phenomenal night - and walking back to my hotel was great, since the skyscrapers were all lit up.
The next day I had my interview and got to spend a full day with the other finalists. I was in great company. Some of the best and brightest from around the country - students from Harvard, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and University of Pennsylvania - I could call my equals. We had amazing conversations about policy and current events and supported each other as we, one by one, went into the interrogation room.
After the day was done, I headed back to the airport and got on a plane for Buffalo.
Overall the experience was great, so I’ll be happy either way with the outcome - of course, I’m sure I’ll be disappointed for a day if I don’t recieve the award, but life always goes on. The people I met were so inspiring and I was amazed that I was counted among these individuals…
**References made are to Sting’s “Englishman in New York” and “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” by Big and Rich…
Ha, what a joke. Absolutely nothing. Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. I struck a deal with my boss in Hadley Village and I got stuck with the pager for the second half of the week. Having pager means that you literally have a pager that is called in the event of both emergencies and non-emergencies. Mostly lockouts are the primary reason for a page, but I got one a couple days ago about a pet mouse (which the residents are not supposed to have) that escaped its cage and was running around an apartment. I still have two days to go with the pager, but it shouldn’t turn out to be too bad.
I did spend a night at home, watching my brothers’ musical at my old high school. They did Bye Bye Birdie which wasn’t that bad, actually….I was surprised. (Call me a cynic I guess). Othe than that, though, I didn’t really do much of anything. I had a lot of work to catch up on, which I have done very little of, but I did get to sleep in quite a bit. Late nights and late mornings are something that I have missed since the carefree days of my Freshman year. Now everything is projects and papers due in a week, 100+ pages of reading per class per week, and all the fun extracurriculars and community service proejcts that get thrown in. My time this past week was just that - a break.
Now, I can look forward to only six weeks of classes left. We end on April 28th, but I think the next month and a half is going to be one of the most intense times of my life. I have a couple of huge projects that need to get done, scholarship interviews, conference trips to coordinate, etc. It’s looking to be a grand old time. Well, I guess I had better get back to work - the time it is a wastin’ away… �
No, I’m not talking about the war in Iraq, although that seems like it’ll continue on for some time. No, dear readers, I am discussing the constant conflict between upstate and downstate. Discussions (sometimes heated) range anywhere from the benign: pop vs. soda, suckers vs. lollipops, to the intense: the relevance of Ugg boots (c’mon girls, really?) or whether Buffalo is farmland compared to New York City (really, what cities, besides Chicago and LA aren’t?). This week’s battle: is there really any good quality pizza in Buffalo? As a native Buffalonian, I am strongly on the positive side of this question, while two of my friends, one from Westchester and one from Binghamton solidly oppose my stance.
^^Chicago Style (Deep)^^
^^New York Style (Flat)^^
^^Buffalo-style pizza (with the best pizza accessory - authentic wings!)^^
Now, I will grant that in both Chicago and NYC, there are distinct pizza cultures - the deep dish culture and the flat as heck cheese/sauce culture. Buffalo is merely caught in the middle of these two pizza behemoths and has nicely created a mixture of both. Most people at UB who get pizza not from a chain will inevitably get it from Santora’s, a place right near campus. UB is in the Northtowns (north of Buffalo) and I am from the Southtowns (south of Buffalo). Northtowns pizza (ie Santora’s) is clearly third rate when you look at the Buffalo-Niagara region. In order to prove my point, I bought one of my favorite pizza’s (Chicken Fajita) from my favorite pizza place in the Southtowns (Bella Pizza in Lackawanna). I brought it up to my apartment and had some people over (including my friend from Westchester).
I think the repeated consumption of multiple slices was evidence enough of a satisfactory pizza. I wasn’t seeking to convert anyone from NY style pizza, I’m not that stupid. That’s like trying to convince a Bostonian that the RedSox aren’t really a team worth rooting for. I only wanted to prove that in Buffalo, you don’t have to go far to find good pizza that tastes great. So now I have a bunch of leftover pizza that should, maybe, last me for a few more days. I get to prove my point, in a way, and get a bunch of next day leftovers that taste better than ever.
Now, if only I had a double order of wings lying around from Duff’s or Anchor Bar…that’s one thing that Buffalo will always have - the nation’s best wings…hands down
