scheduling!

Clearly, we need to move reunion back a week or two.

Linda -- a certain Mr Alex Haber, of Croton, New York, I believe, is also most interested in preorientation, although he is not yet certain if he will be attending. I reccomend that you consult with him on questions of travel, of course pending on his attending the program.

We also definitely have to firm up scheduling and stuff in general. One person should be assigned as reunion coordinator, and have the job of sending out emails and stuff for those bums who don't read the blog.

what up, yos

I've bolded the important segments for those of you short on time.

on college: yes, it is true, I am going to Cornell and will be in the House and will refuse to be lonely and hurl myself into a gorge no matter what the statistics say! huzzah!

on reunion: I would very much like to come, but I think I'm going to the Cornell preorientation deal on the 15th. are there any drivers who will be there and would care to take me up to ithaca? and who all is coming, and is there any possible way we can include the faraway people? (i.e. make the date closer to when school starts and everyone will be out there anyway?)

on books: alina, I know exactly what you're talking about. I recently read Love in the Time of Cholera, which is a very humbling book that I'm sure I didn't completely understand, not having been through a fifty-year unrequited love affair. and the thought has definitely occurred to me that I wasted (and continue to waste) a lot of time in my youth reading books that are "too old" for me. but since I'm going to continue to feed my reading addiction irresponsibly, here's my justification:
1. unless we read books written for today's teenagers, which are on the whole stupid and patronizing, we will be reading outside our own experience, and I think that's an excellent thing. even if we're too young or foolish or dated or American to completely understand a novel, usually we can pick up something which is better than nothing. Nature hates a vacuum. I recognized the brilliance of Kurt Vonnegut, my future husband, long before I understood any points he was making.
2. a lot of writers write outside their own experiences, of course. this is something I was talking to david about a long time ago. question: is it fair for fiction writers to draw heavily on their personal experiences in their writing? I say yes.
other suggestion: can we have some kind of book discussion thing? like pick a book and read it and talk about it? I'd love to talk about some good literature that doesn't make it to English classes.

on graduation: holy hell, I'm never going back to high school. are you guys done yet? I'm also turning 18 on thursday, so it's like one big adulthood high.

on summer: right now I'm in chicago and next week will be in milwaukee, if anyone's up for mini-reunions. also, can anyone help me find a summer job? preferably in tucson, paying $1000 a month?

i am in a random 24 hour cyber cafe.

rafie thoughts:

i am reading, finishing, nausea by sartre and there is this one existentialist rant which is amazing. he says: "i think therefore i toss" and "i do not think therefore i am a mustache"... incroyable...ok, so i love you and i hope you are having fun wherever you are presently existing...you are probably fondling you hands right now, your mind possibly dipping in and out of that night: fifty-foot-high sex...or not, or you are watching antiques and/or people being sold on this random show where $2 are exponentially increased by some guy in a suit. the present market value for fifty-feet-high sex is...ok i dont know that one. anything can be sold. love can be boxed with bubble wrap and insured by the post office people. love insurance...then sent to the other end, who holds soup cans connected to strings and talks to lazy birds that dont feel like fucking flying today. goddam, i would be a sleeping, walking bird; a mass of belly with wings attached in that daunting, get-the-fuck-off-the-earth-sense. i would refuse my natural tendency as i do as a human. i would run with lions, and swim with dolphins if i was a bird. sure i'd die and all, in both cases, but fuck it right, i'd be the first EVER to accomplish such a feat. there are these massive protests in guadalajara right now. bloodyi'llshootyou protests against latin american "trade talks". euphemism for cheap labor, extracted goods. everything has been sold. they are selling. we are protesting with blood and slogans, "stop selling ME!" this is today's realization. also, i am not a fan of proper use of language or punctuation. mainly because i use bad grammar constantly in my writing. see, just did it again. i think i will eventually resign to EVERYTHING that i confront and can be rejectd, given up, discarded. discarded like a bad hand of poker... jack-two(playing texas hold-em'), bad hand, try again, same as: broken jaw--she is in labor with no sight--cheated on--am in closet with two kids-grandfather died years ago of cancer;bad hand, discarded. life discarded. in this poker you pick up two cards and make the best hand with the other five; waiting, hoping, folding, risking, dying, losing, discarding, bent, derailed, emphatically abused, de-amplified with FORCE, discarded...there are infinite cards for a limited suppy of hands. some play fifty-two card pick up. this is sarcastic inferiority, no resignation, only discipline and orders: PICK THEM UP, NOW. this poet has too many metaphors in his top hat. extended metaphors are too mastubatory. similies under the same dark, cynic light, are subtle, meticulous on clarification, and simple high-fives given out by writers, to the victorious reader. the reader always seeks transcendance from books right? little victories. the writer seeks to be on both ends of this see-saw. victory-yielding and victorious. yay! i win, i finished [_____ _ ___ ______] by [___ ______]. i seek disillusionment, unsuited two-eight(awful hand in aforementioned version of poker), a scribbled blueprint for existence, a multitude of complexes: freudian, clintonian, stalin-esque, leopard-esque, the original complex of liquids, of clarity evaporated, of this mass of man dissolved and plenty is discarded...this is a statement and not a wish, a concentric target nailed on walls, on backs, on forheads. a bull's eye demanding to be a swirl of life, a spiral, not a pattern but a line falling into itself, existing less and less in a catastrophic bounce of unconsciousness.

ballet tonight...

where are all the pictures?

In retrospect, we probably should have some proper picture archive system, like the Texans have.

But in any case, does anyone have links to photos people took at TASP, or pictures of themselves in general, or suchlike? I want to remember what people look like. I should have taken more photos.

hi

Hi guys!
well i am going to the university of michigan. but that isnt what i am posting about...
lately,i have been doing a lot of reading, binging one might say. and as silly as this sounds, i am beginning to wonder if reading books about great love stories or really about any major life emotions or events is really even appropriate for children of our age? These writers, these great timeless geniuses, composed these works from the depths of their usually much more aged imaginations and experiences. Though we can absolutely comprehend and analyze these works from a literary standpoint, can we even hope to delve into the deeper realms of their emotions when most of us are still children riding the undulating waves of horomone release? I mean children in the most enlightened and thoughtful sense, of course. but still when a fifty-year old herione feels falls in love, do i have the right to think that her emotions are on the same level as mine(assuming that she isnt on the same maturity level as an eighteen year old)? I dont know if this is all silly but i have exactly no friends that read books within 100 miles of here and therefore i just keep reading without really discussing with anyone and honestly, my thoughts get muddled(yes i am much too lazy to journal)because i need to talk about it to really comprehend it. anyway...i know i am being super general but if you want to talk to me about this or anything else, my screen name is alili12 and i am on all the time(well not so much anymore) but im me anyway and i will be ever so glad!

Summertime... When the Livin's Easy?

I had an interview on Monday for a summer internship with the World Affairs Council, located in the World Trade Center West in Seattle. I want to do web design and community outreach coordination for them. (Today I found out I was accepted!)

Yesterday I interviewed for a mailroom-type position with Sears, which will help me start paying for Yale (the school that gave me absolutely no financial aid). If I don't earn some money for school this summer, my parents will not be pleased.

Today I was offered a job doing grassroots campaigning and canvassing for John Kerry and the Democratic National Committee. However, the hours are 1 pm to 10 pm Monday through Friday for commission wages only -- no guaranteed pay. I really wanted to help but I'm afraid canvassing that long every day all summer might be too draining...

Tomorrow I'm interviewing for a Korean-American scholarship.

Who said the end of the school year brought laid-back days with nothing to do?

And what the heck will I do this summer? Too many options, or maybe not enough good ones...

suddenly, everyone is reading us

Hi to all the other TASPers reading this humble weblog.

Leave a message!

A glorious defeat

I have to do physics, so this will be real short. I just returned from the soccer European championships, which is where the winners of all the divisional tournaments like the one I told you we won in my last place meet to play for the best team. Since the division we play in is so much harder than any of the other divisions, we did pretty well, and in the Finals we faced...AOSR, the team from Rome whom we defeated in our divisional finals. It was a great match, and we were tied after 80 minutes, so we went to overtime. Sadly, they were awarded a cheap PK, and they won overtime 1-0, despite the fact that we out played them the whole game. But it was a good game, tough and tiring, and AOSR is a great team with good players with excellent sportsmanship. We're pretty good friends with them. However, despite the loss, I was voted MVP of the European championships, which was pretty exciting. My year's winding down pretty well, and I hope it is for others as well. I think I will be at that TASP reunion, I hope. Best wishes.

Reunion

The first TASP 2003 reunion will be held on Saturday, August the 14th, 2004 in New York, New York. All are welcome.

Misery loves company

I must agree with what Keegan said about understanding the suffering of others. Unless you are in a similar situation, it's unlikely that you understand how much another person really is suffering. This is why whenever my mum and her friends discuss labor, i can only wince and nod. I can't really comprehend the amount of their suffering.
Also, is a person's external response enough of an indicator? Some people have huge thresholds for pain (eg my mum) and are thus less vociferous about their pain than are others. What i'm trying to say that judging other people's pain is practically futile, because you aren't them.
Having said that, i think it's good for people who are suffering to be given perspective. Because although ripping that $600 dress can be devastating, having a still-born would probably be more so, even if u didn't like kids. So, i think that instead of thinking that someone over reacts to a situation, give them what you deem adequate sympathy (for they may indeed be suffering), but make sure to put the pain in perspective.
In other news, Nancy will be at Harvard, not Yale. And Hannah's going to UChicago.
Also, i have 4 more papers (2 more days) and then I'll be effectively done with high school - only graduation will be left. Equal parts elation and despair.

Archipelagoes...

I think that a response to Linda's question may be found in the movie, About a Boy, with Hugh Grant, who claims that every man is an island. However, some people may exist in archipelagoes. Now that I write that I don't think it has any bearing on the topic whatsoever...oh well, what the hell. I do believe that suffering can not be added up or compared to any great extent with the suffering of others. There is no basic unit of suffering. Admittedly, there are probably comparative levels of physical suffering, since we can measure external pain much easier. (A broken arm versus a broken neck) However it becomes much more convoluted with spiritual or mental anguish. I am of the belief that we can never understand to any great degree anything about the inner complexities of anyone else. Perhaps ketchup on a white skirt really does cause a same-level amount of suffering to a prissy girl as constant shelling did to a soldier of the Great War. The simple truth is suffering is not constant, and can really only be related to similar griefs. This leads us to the next fact, which is that suffering, like a number of other emotions, is a bonding agent. A WWII veteran is unlikely to relate his deepest horrors to a 13 year old. Nor do many girls feel comfortable talking about their periods with boys. Suffering pains us in such a way as to draw like groups of people together. So, within these groups, suffering is proportionate, and can be measured understandably by the respective members of each suffering cult. It is the only way it can work.

In other news, my high school soccer team just won our regional tournament for the first time in history! We go on to compete in the European finals, a goal that has eluded my team for 7 years. (Naples has made Europeans, but never actually won the regionals in the process) Additionally, I made the all-conference and all-tournament team, and was voted the tournament MVP. WooHoo!

Thanks for the interesting post Linda, hope I made an acceptable commentary.

time for more conversation

here's my topic for the month: Suffering. cheerful, I know. here are some questions: do you think people can be blamed for their problems, or is everyone simply a product of their environment? can you compare some kinds of suffering against others? (for example, if an angsty white suburban teenager sincerely feels that she's suffering, is that as valid as the perceived suffering of another teenager who happens to be a fundamentalist Islamic suicide bomber?) I don't know about you guys, but when i was in middle school health, we took these bullshit "stress tests" that assigned different "stress points" to different life situations--parents' divorce, teen pregnancy, failing a test, etc. then you totaled up your points and figured out how stressed you were. in my class, everyone compared their points and people with the most stress bragged. what the hell is up with that? and finally, are people responsible for their own suffering or do we have an obligation to relieve it?

I know this is a HUGE topic. I just want to get some more dialogue started. I've been thinking about all this a lot lately since I decided that I definitely want to do Peace Corps before I go on to grad school. post, please!

good news!

so speaking of college...I recieved a call today from the Associate Dean of Admissions at the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell Univeristy, telling me that they were going to their wait-list and that I was being offered a place in the class of 2008!! woo!!!! i'll be sad to leave wesleyan (ha, leave) but i really think cornell is where i want to be. plus i can be with so many of you guys!!

i have to call him back tomorrow to finalize everything. ooooh this is great!

love love!

-- alex

Penn

Oh, Chris and Jordan, you guys are welcome at my house anytime. It's only about 15 minutes from Penn's campus!

alright, so I put in a new template, and enabled blogger comments.

however, the HaloScan comments stuff is temporarily inaccessible. sorry 'bout that. I'll figure out how to put it back soon.

hope there wasn't any vital information there.

if you don't like me screwing around with this, I can quickly change it back to the old school look.

hey, new stuff!

ok, kids, blogger just totally got newified and shit. which is pretty darn cool.

as such, I think I might turn on blogger's comments system, and change the layout, and cool stuff like that.

let me see what i can do.

Untrue, i am enrolled in the Cayuga Culinary Institute in Ithaca. i will feed taspers gratuitly.

stuff I know

Hi guys. Well, I'm definitely going to Penn, along with Chris. Haruko and Greg, at least for sure, are going to Yale. Alexis is going to Harvard, Krishanu is going to Stanford, and David is going to Grinnell. I'm pretty sure Rachel is going to Carleton. Sorry to anyone for stealing your reporting-where-I'm-going thunder.

Reunion should either be in Pittsburgh or Zagreb. Either one, take your pick, whatever works for you guys.

Cornell TASPers

I think that the Cornellians will be Keegan, Linda, Rafael, Sid, Brendan, and Rima. how's everyone doing? Now it's looking like my family will be staying in Naples for another two years...who knows. I really don't mind though, because although London Kicks ass, Napoli ain't too shabby in its own right.

plus, Naples is CHEAP and London is NOT. Isn't that true, Tosin?

the mobile war-machine {cornell tasp 2003}

I'm going to Amherst. Anyone else -cough- Hannah -cough-?

We're all dying to know...

So let's just bloody say it. Where is everyone ending up? I'll be at Harvard along with Isa and Adam (at least...I don't know if anyone else ever decided to go). Tons of people are gonna be at Cornell, but where is everyone else headed come September?

I did it!

it's Maoris protesting. those guys were so awesome.

side notes: I'm going to Cornell, and what are we doing about reunion??

dude, Cornell IIers, check it out

let's see if I can post pictures.

Keegan, once I find my postcard dealie, I'll stick it up for you.