Now Panic and Freak Out

So following all the terrible attacks on college campuses, Ithaca College decided to institute this loud-ass siren and alert system to let us know if there's a crazed axe murderer or bandit on campus. And I gotta tell you, I really appreciate this. It's nice to know where to run and hide in case there's a crazy on the loose.

I've thankfully never heard this used in a real emergency, but the testing is pretty freaking scary, I gotta tell you. I was sitting innocently enough upstairs in Emerson on my laptop when out of nowhere this loud siren goes off:

"THIS IS A TEST OF THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM. THIS IS ONLY A TEST. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO."

And then after that, everyone's phones started going off at the same time, like The Ring. Everyone who signed up for it (which is like everyone) gets texts and phone calls and e-mails about the test of the system, or of the system going off itself.

But holy shit, was that scary.

Dylan's Been In the Army Too Long

So after a long discussion with Morgan (meaning the length of a Holocaust class), we've decided to go out for Halloween as Captain Morgan and Alex from a Clockwork Orange, respectively.

In this conversation, we discussed what Kelly Paul was thinking of doing, and revealed that Dylan needs to get laid, STAT.

Blatant Boob References vs. Bringing A Dog

It's sort of a tradition in Ithaca that when it's still warm out (meaning the first two weeks of school, usually until Labor Day), everyone flocks to the gorges to swim, cliff jump, tan, drink, and smoke away from campus. It's always packed with girls attempting to show off their bikini bodies to any other willing college boy and/or townie, and guys trying to straddle the line between badass and dumbass while jumping off cliffs and avoiding serious injury.

I myself have done this with more success than most of the frat boys that do the same. That little blob in the red bikini jumping off the 65 foot cliff at Six Mile? All me, baby.

So when I went to Six Mile to do some swimming with Dave and KellyPaul last Saturday that really, everyone there was trying to get some play. And they weren't even subtle about it.

As we were sititng on the steps, this adorable black lab jumped into the lake and started paddling towards us.

"Her name's Chelsea," said this cute townie with too many tattoos for my taste. Although the back one was crazy; he had a spine tattooed on his spine. The dog must've known his owner's intentions, because she cozied up to every girl in a bikini in the place, melting hearts and getting her master an in. I personally thought this was adorable, because I love dogs and happen to have a cute one of my own.

Dave was laughing his ass off at this, saying "Dude, this guy is shameless. He's using a dog to get girls. That is blatant."

Just as he said this, about three semi-good looking girls (I admit it, they were pretty) saying "Oh my God, my suit is like soooooooooooo see-through!"
"I know, I should've worn one that isn't white!"

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to be subtle, ladies.

The One Time I Wish Mom Went With "Alessandra"

I was sitting in Italian class learning how to ask people's names and how to respond (In this case, "Come ti chiame?" to ask "What's your name?" and "Mi chiamo _________" to answer). We all answered back, and then we learned the alphabet.

The issue here is that there are only 21 letters in the Italian alphabet, and "X" is not one of them.

Kelly had the same problem, since there's no "K" in the Italian language (they go with the hard C there, so I don't know what her Italian equivalent would be).

But then I remember talking to Mom and asking her what names she and Dad were considering for me when naming me, and she (shockingly, to me) mentioned that Alessandra was briefly in the running. Which, in this particular instance, would've made things a little easier.

This is not to say I don't like my name. Really, I do love it. It's not often that I use the whole 4 syllables of it (Alexandra), but I do use it in my bylines for the Ithacan and on my resume. It's used for what my Mom wanted: She wanted a name with lots of nicknames that looked good on leterhead (and to be honest, Alexandra Palombo looks pretty awesome, if not intimidating to a 5 year old learning how to spell for the first time). I use Alex because my parents have called me that since I was born.

But really. Mom? Dad? For the purposes of this blog post and this class? Alessandra. Just saying.

Lots of Jewish Conversations Today

Earlier in the day, Morgan and I were talking in our Holocaust class about how we didn't really plan on havng the class together. She said the following little gem:

"I was going to write on your wall something like, 'I can't wait to see you! Yay Holocaust!' and then I was like, 'Wait...'"

And now later in the day, I start talking to Madeleine online and the IM happened. To put this a little in context, earlier in the conversation both me and Madeleine were talking about how her classes start on September 8th, which this year is Rosh Hashanah. Which then led us to talking about growing up with Jewish people - or not, in my case.

New School Year, No Slacking On The Blog

Okay, so I was a little busy this summer. You know, working 2 jobs plus and all. But that's no excuse for not posting for all 3 months. So now that I'm back at school and have things to procrastinate, I'm thinking that posting every now and then might be nice. I'm considerate that way.

That said, I still have nothing up on my walls really. Which is upsetting for me, because by now they're usually completely covered.

Hey Flunkee! Your Music Sucks

Dear Summer School Students -


It has come to my attention that you not only can't pass 7th grade algebra, but that you have shitty taste in music.
I

I have no problem with you listening to music so long as I can't hear it. If it helps you work better, fine. If you're ignoring your work because you're listening, that's cool too, just do it quietly.


I have no reason to be listening to your shit gangsta rap (because you're from the mean streets of Delaware) or Justin Bieber (makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop).


Thanks much. Keep on working/dicking around.