Being a "Real" Person...

By Missy S.


A few weeks ago, I got a phone call from my dad. I was comfortably studying for an art history exam, so I let the call roll over to voicemail. While taking a study break, I listened to his message. What my dad had called to tell me was that putting cookie dough batter in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours prior to baking makes better cookies. Curious as to why this was, I called my dad back while taking a study break. He explained to me that it just does, which was rather unsatisfactory, but what he proceeded to say was quite possibly the most disturbing thing he has ever asked me.

“What are your plans for the future?” he probed. I was in shock. As a junior, with second semester quickly approaching and college coming to an end, this was the last thing I want to think about.

My inability to answer the question didn’t stop my dad from probing. He continued to ask me if I’m going to graduate or law school, where I’m considering going, when I’m applying, when I’m taking the LSAT and GRE, what programs I plan to do, and what I plan to do after all of that, if that’s what I decide to do after college.

My dad majored in landscape design. Needless to say, he never even considered taking the LSAT or GRE.

I couldn’t break from the shock. The fact that I had to think about all of this in addition to memorizing about 200 pieces of art that I couldn’t care less about was mindboggling.

In an attempt to make the horrifying questions stop, I responded, “I want to get an JD/MBA with a focus on marketing from Stern or the Business School at Columbia, but we will see from there what happens.”

Thinking this would satisfy his curiosity, I was content with my answer and began to feel relieved.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. The questions kept coming. He asked about every detail possible. He was asking me specific details about both programs, when I would be taking the standardized tests, and even where in New York I planned on living.

This had to stop. I put my foot down. “Honestly,” I said, at this point out of frustration, “I can’t think about next week let alone next year or the year after. Is this a conversation we really need to have now?”

“No,” he responded, the relief began to set in again. I should have expected what he was about to say. “You’re right, we should be discussing your study abroad options.”

Wonderful, another subject I had absolutely no desire to think about.

After a few minutes of discussing the pros and cons of each program I applied to, we hung up, my dad satisfied he got some answers, and me, well a wreck. Thinking about the future is horrifying. My roommate and I have even imposed a “no future” rule, because we both panic when the future comes up.

Perhaps I’m just not ready for “real” responsibility, even though I should be ready for it at this point in my life. I’ve always been self-sufficient. I got my first job when I was 13 (although it wasn’t exactly challenging). Since my freshman year in high school I’ve juggled work, school, sports, and other extra-curricular activities, and excelled. But the anxiety of a “real” life and being a “real” person is just too much for me to handle.

If it’s not the responsibility factor, could it be that I feel lost? My parents have always told me to get my goals. They never limited me in any way, they never said no, and they certainly never let me think I couldn’t do anything I put my mind to. I think this is the root of the problem. Ever since I was a kid, I always had lofty goals. Obviously I realized that some things were out of reach, but not others. When people put me down and told me that GW wasn’t an option I should consider, I proved them wrong, I got in, and I went.

But ever since I got to GW, I’ve felt lost. I was one of those people who actually believed that applying to college undeclared was a smart choice. That was one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made. No, applying undecided wasn’t the issue, but putting off deciding was. If I had some idea of what I wanted to major in, I wouldn’t have used trial and error to decide what I’m interested in.

Here in lies the problem: I’ve always known what I’m interested in, but I never knew how to apply it or how to make a career out of it. Now that I do, I feel screwed. I feel unprepared for my future, which is ultimately why I’m terrified to grow up and be a “real” person.

Luckily, I’ve devised a plan. Put off “real” responsibility for as long as possible, enjoy life’s road bumps, and take everything with a grain of salt. Who knows, one wrong turn down the road of life could actually be the best thing you’ve ever done.

Next Post… The Globe’s Obit?

After layoffs and talks of selling the paper, the New York Times announced that they were not prepared to sell the Boston Globe. Then they laid off 100 people in their own offices. I was already scared for the Globe, as my hopeful future employer (hey anyone from the Globe who might be reading this… I’m interested), but now I’m convinced that the paper is heading down the drain (no offense). The reporters at the paper have been fighting off the Times since the recession hit to avoid drastic layoffs. I heard they all took pay cuts so that more people could keep their jobs. But they only came to that decision after lengthy negotiations.

It seemed like the best deal for everyone when the New York Times began to talk about a sale. They even went as far as entering into negotiations with some top bidders. One of the potential buyers was the family who originally owned the paper. Here I was, hoping they would go back to the good-old days when the newspaper would be owned by a family aware of the importance of quality news and willing to spend the money to produce it. But no, those hoped were dashed last week when the Times announced they had decided not to sell. I think it was a sad day for the Globe and it will surely be remembered as such the day they decide to shut down Boston’s best newspaper.

So, please New York Times, sell the Globe. Because if it disappears, then all of us Bostonians will simply be stuck with the Herald.

Lindsay Corcoran

Annu Subramanian

I love New York. I’d like to think that New York loves me too. But it seems that there are conflicting views on whether the city, with its sprawling avenues and bright lights, is very conducive to love itself.

This Friday, the much-awaited second installment in the short-film montage series about love in big cities premieres, and this one takes place in none other than the Big Apple. New York, I Love You is the sequel to the highly acclaimed French anthology film Paris, Je’Taime. It consists of eleven short, independent movies about love in the city, and if it is anything like its predecessor, will make any single girl want to quit her job, move to a metropolitan area and sit in a downtown park waiting for a handsome man to whisk her away. I can’t wait to watch the movie and fall in love eleven times as well as see NYC onscreen and portrayed in so many different ways. And with an all-star cast (including Zach Braff and Bradley Cooper, with whom I’d gladly fall in love a thousand times over), love has never looked so good.

Now if only the city were really that romantic.

This article makes love in the city that never sleeps seem like quite a nightmare. Apparently nowadays holding onto a relationship is either a borough-exclusive phenomenon, or a huge pain in the neck. What I find most interesting about this is the fact that a long-distance relationship in NYC might imply a couple where the man lives in Brooklyn and the woman in Manhattan. The directors of New York, I Love You probably didn’t factor gridlock traffic into their picture-esque depictions of couples smitten in Soho and embracing on Ellis Island but maybe they should have; the point of these urban anthology films is to be at least a little true-to-life. All of this complaining about an hour-long commute makes me think that romantic sayings like “I’d follow you to the ends of the Earth” are probably dead but hey, it gives rise to a whole new class of cheesy pick-up lines like:

"Baby I’d make three transfers from the F to the N to the D train just to B with U."

"No man is an island, so won’t you take the commute to the Hamptons to keep me company?"

"I can treat you like royalty at my pad in Queens."

Perhaps even:

"I’d love you even if you moved to Jersey."

Yeah, I went there.

She Who Has the Will to Win

by Kimberly Kroll




















The George Washington Women's Rugby team is almost done with its 2009 fall season.


Wait, GW has a rugby team? Girls play rugby?


Absolutely.

GW's division two club rugby team currently holds for its 2009 fall season a record of five wins, one loss on its A-side (which is comparable to a first string), and two wins, three losses on its B-side.


Of these five wins, two of them count towards deciding the team's position in the Potomac Rugby Union (PRU) Championship November 7th and 8th.

The last obstacle before this championship is GW's third and last league game of the season, against Towson.


There is a history with Towson.


But before the juicy stuff, here's some important background:

The PRU's division 2 college women's teams all played one another for the title of PRU champions in fall of 2008. Every match against a PRU member team counted towards each team's record.


This year, that has changed. The league has been divided in two: there is a BLUE group, which GW is a part of, with St. Mary's, Catholic, and Towson. The RED group consists of Georgetown, Salisbury, American, and UMBC. This year GW's games against only those teams in the BLUE group count towards its PRU championship seed. Last year every game against teams in both groups counted.


Back to Towson. Last fall season, the GW women's team was undefeated. They had won every game, but had one more team to play: Towson.


So as the last week in the PRU season approached, a tangled competition triangle created itself. Georgetown had only lost one game (to GW). Towson had only lost one game (to Georgetown). GW hadn't lost any games, and was set to be the sole winners of the title: PRU champs.

The Towson game made things complicated.


GW drove two and a half hours to play Towson under the lights in a misty rain which lasted the entire match. Some might argue Towson just had a great game that night. Some might argue the referee was unfair. Some might argue that GW just didn't have the best game they could have. Either way you cut it, Towson won by one try, which in rugby is like a touchdown but worth five points. This created a three-way tie between GW, Georgetown, and Towson.


GW lost the league tie-breaker because they had less points overall for the season than both Towson and Georgetown did. GW didn't continue on to compete at the national level.

But they are still PRU champions for Fall 2008.


This year, the Towson game holds a weight of importance in the minds of the GW women ruggers. As they dress up in costumes on Halloween night, they hope to do so with a taste of victory on their lips from their match earlier that day.


GW Rugby has a difficult time playing for fans, partially because not many people know about the team, and also because it is very difficult to get permission to play on the closest rugby pitch to GW's campus: the "Holocaust field", located behind the Holocaust Museum at 15th and Independence, where they were able to schedule a few of their games at the last minute this fall season.


Look out for the GW women's rugby team. They'll be traveling up the East coast in Spring 2010, because spring season is tournament season, but they'll definitely be back next fall to compete against their PRU counterparts, and still have some unfinished business this fall as well.


The GW women's rugby team is my family, by the way. I play fullback. I hope we win that game next Saturday, but if we don't, we'll just get them next time. We always do great things.

"She who has the will to win cannot be beat let's go," we chant before games.


Last spring season, we went on to earn second place of the division two college women's teams at the Beast of the East Tournament in Rhode Island, the largest rugby tournament on the east coast. We also won third place at the Cherry Blossom Tournament held locally in Maryland.

Please, stop the clichés !

By Mathieu D.

Last month, the Washington Post published an article entitled "For French, U.S. Health Debate Hard To Imagine". Indeed, it’s true that from a purely French perspective, this American debate can seem "altogether surreal," as the newspaper Le Monde commented. The most surreal, in my mind, is not the debate itself, but its extremism. I went to the Tea Party on September 12, and I was horrified by the comparisons made between Obama and dictators such as Staline or Mussolini - something impossible in my country, even if we also love freedom of speech - that could be a topic for another post.

But what struck me in this article was how France was depicted and I have to say, I was really disappointed to read so much clichés in an article from the Washington Post. Of course, articles about the US in French newspapers are not always good either, so that's why I think it’s interesting to think about our ethnocentrism.

The article started by a reference to the "olive trees in the hills above Marseille," which was followed by a critic of the French health-care bureaucracy, "so extensive and intricate that it has inspired urban legends." Really? I would love to hear some of these legends. I mean, of course, French bureaucracy is well-known, and criticized, but I don’t think that the health-care system is the most representative for this case.

I think the journalist also made a mistake, by saying that "chief among (the steps made by the government) was a steep reduction in reimbursements for routine care, such as visits to a doctor, from the long-standing 80 percent to about 65 percent." Not exaclty. Reimbursement rates changed, but if I remember correctly, visits to a doctor are still reimbursed at 70%, even if deductibles went up.

The funniest thing was this sentence : "Despite their reputation for guzzling red wine and eating fatty cheese, French people have for years enjoyed a longer life expectancy than their counterparts in the United States, currently at 80.98 years compared with 78.11." Guzzling red wine and eating fatty chesse? Are you kidding me? Why such a bad cliché in what could be a very interesting article?

And then, two weeks ago, the Washington Post published another article about France, focusing on a riot, led by some anarchists, which occured in the city of Poitiers. First, I have to say that I love the map included in the article, where the name of the town is misspelled -- Poiters instead of Poitiers.

"The wanton destruction, which lasted for about 90 minutes early Saturday evening," said the journalist, "was a dramatic reminder that France and other European nations, below their surface of stability and wealth, harbor tiny bands of ultra-leftist activists who still want to combat the market economies and parliamentary democracies on which the continent's well-being is founded." Scary, and somewhat excessive. Yes, some people in Europe are criticizing capitalism, but most are part of the democratic debate: discussing the interest of market economies does not mean that you are crazy.

I still don’t understand why the Washington Post chose to run this national story, and focused on this ultra-left threat which is, in my mind, a really marginal phenomenon.

To end this with something funnier, if you want to see a lot of clichés about France, you should definitely watch ABC every Sunday night at 10pm. Since last week, a French actor - Gilles Marini - is playing in the TV show Brothers and Sisters. Look at these two videos : I’m living in the French countryside, and I have NEVER seen an artist like that, living in an old farm. And Carla Bruni in background music (first video)? American screenwriters should learn that she is not the only French singer !

Fighting Fox: A Losing Battle?

It has been exactly two weeks since White House Communications Director Anita Dunn called Fox News "a wing of the Republican party" and failed to recognize the organization as "a news network, the way CNN is."

Days later, the White House continued the assault with a timely notice to the network that President Obama would grant no interviews to the its programming until at least 2010.

Then, just last Sunday on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod took it even further:

"They're not really a news [organization]...and the bigger thing is that other news organizations ought not to treat them that way, and we're not going to treat them that way."

Thus, there are a few appropriate questions that call for critical answers:

1) Why is the Obama White House - headed by a visionary executive that campaigned on a platform of post-partisanship - resorting to paranoia and tactics reminiscent of the Nixon administration's affinity for blacklisting political enemies? Can we expect taped locks and botched late night break-ins at Fox News Washington in the near future?

2) In the midst of the abysmal situation(s) and growing instability in Afghanistan - coupled with U.S. unemployment figures that continue to bloat - is the White House's foremost concern really a petty schoolyard shoving match? In truth, the only winner thus far has been Fox News! Last week, Rupert Murdoch painted the following picture:

“There were some strong remarks coming out of the White House about one or two commentators on Fox News. And all I can tell you is it has tremendously increased their ratings.”

3) If flagrant bias, "pushing a point of view," entertainment masquerading as news and shoddy journalism are high on the White House's list of pet peeves, then why not stonewall MSNBC with identical fervor? Are Keith Olbermann, David Shuster and Rachel Maddow more reserved and objective than Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck?

In his September address to a joint session of Congress on the issue of health care reform, President Obama said:

“The time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed.”

It would be most unfortunate if these resonant words died under the Capitol Rotunda.

- Jared Pliner

85 days and 85 nights without meat

In an effort to challenge myself over this past summer I decided to test how long I could go without eating meat. So, I became a vegetarian, or technically a pescatarian, allowing myself the occasional fish to keep getting protein. This decision has opened my eyes to all new kinds of food and I have a whole new respect for those who have given up meat.

I now eat vegetable sandwiches all the time, a sandwich without meat was a concept foreign to me prior to my change in eating habits. While there have been many positive aspects to my switch to the vegetable side three months ago, such as food conscientiousness, feeling healthier, learning and understanding more about what I am eating, and pleasing mom by increasing my veggie intake, there has been one issue… I think about meat ALL THE TIME!


-Tace Samet

An Open Letter To Gary Bettman

Dear Mr. Gary Bettman,

Why did you have to take my beloved NHL away from ESPN and put it on Versus? Back in the day I could sit down on my couch with a soda and some chips and enjoy a hockey game commentated by Gary Thorne and Bill Clement. Barry Melrose would come on at intermission and tell me why my Colorado Avalanche were killing the Red Wings.

I never had to go far up on my dial, since ESPN was a culturally relevant channel carried by all cable providers. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were actually televised on at least three channels simultaneously thanks to ESPN having three stations available to broadcast live coverage. All of the Stanley Cup Finals games were available for everyone to watch on ABC or ESPN, instead of being available on one obscure channel no one had ever heard of five years ago.

Yes Mr. Bettman, Poker had eclipsed your league in terms of television ratings. This was at a time when the league was at its most un-followable moment, right around a lockout year with few players with any transcendent appeal. You, Gary dearest, took the money that was offered to you by NBC and Versus not realizing that in the process you doomed the sport you love so much to anonymity.

How can anyone who is new to the sport take it seriously when the coverage of it is preceded by men with funny southern accents fishing for bass and is followed by loggers sawing through trees? The average American must think "What is this game called hockey? Must be pretty boring and irrelevant if its on this channel." Bam, one possible fan lost, Monsieur Bettman.

The NHL is at its most appealing point since the league boasted none other than Wayne Gretzky. Take a look at how well the Capitals do in terms of support in Washington, DC. The district, and its suburbs, is one of the more demographically diverse areas in the nation. You do not have to be white in this town to know who Alexander Ovechkin is or why he is so great to watch.

The league is chock full of young marketable stars, surely you are aware of this Mr. Bettman. Wouldn't it make sense to try and get them out there on a network of relevance? The numbers for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Finals last season were some of the best the NHL has seen in years. And yet Gary, if these playoffs had been on ESPN and ABC just imagine how the company owned by Disney could have made those numbers grow to even higher heights?

Gary Bettman, when the time comes to decided where to take the league's television rights again, please, do take whatever ESPN offers. I want to remember what it felt like being a kid watching Peter Forsberg score on Chris Osgood. I want to remember not having to go so high on my dial to find one of my favourite sports. Gary, I am so tired of watching Daniel Negreanu & Co. play Texas Hold 'Em. Put them back where they came from, not on television.

Hell Gary, even the NHL video game last season won best sports game. Let's capitalize on this momentum Gary, I know we can make the NHL relevant again.

Yours,

Charlie Klein

Relieving stress, one gormet meal at a time

by Emily Cahn

Stress seems to be my best friend this semester. With a full course load and a demanding job at The Hatchet, coping with stress has become one of my top priorities. While it may not be good for my waistline, cooking has become my mode of stress relief. Whether I am baking peanut butter chocolate chip brownies with dark chocolate ganache on top, or cooking up a whole wheat pizza with ground turkey, mozzarella cheese and topped with arugala salad, the time I spend in the kitchen helps put me at ease.

Stress relief means different things for different people, but for me, the smell of a gormet meal reminds me of home, and thinking of home takes my mind off of the mounds of work I have waiting for me to complete.

I also find that cooking makes me feel accomplished. Eating is a necessary task, however when I am able to cook a particularly challenging meal, it is also a rewarding experience.

Pictured below are some photos of my recent successes in the kitchen.

In order: Peanut butter chocolate chip brownies with dark chocolate ganache, baked apples with pecans, and whole wheat pizza with Mediterranean salad on top.

Snack Insanity

by Ashley Carufel

After midnight, my brain stops functioning normally; however, excessive schoolwork occasionally forces me to stay up.
Last Wednesday I had to prepare for two midterms and write a three-page paper. Since I procrastinated like a pro, I knew from the start that I had a long night ahead. I secluded myself in a computer lab in Ivory Tower, and there were two obnoxious guys already in there. Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Annoying were giggling at techno music and anime shorts, and my patience was thinning.
"Hey, can you watch our shit? We're grabbing a Pita."
Around 2:30 a.m. the Tweedles left me to cure their munchies, but my brain had turned to the dark side- my body was swaying like Ray Charles as I typed, my hair was inxplicable from raking my hands through it, and my feet- well they were fine, they're feet. Anyway I was staring at the wall, but the asinine techno music was making it impossible to focus on anything. Like I said- I lose normal brain function after midnight. Well the Tweedles had a lot of "shit": several bags, three jackets (for 2 guys?), their laptops...and a box of Cheez-Its.
Cheez-Its are awesome. Cheez-Its are salty. Cheez-Its had to be mine immediately. You would of thought I was staring at Brad Pitt in cheese cracker form- I. wanted. their. Cheez-Its.
Operation Cracker Nab became a battle of my morals over my sudden hunger. Everytime someone walked by the glass door to the lab I would jerk in fear that the Tweedles would catch me making eyes at their gold box of joy.
I was never the fastest kid in gym class. I got winded carrying a pumpkin uphill last weekend. But my friends, I tell you- I would have won an Olympic medal.

I took their box of Cheez-Its.
They were stale.

Post 1 by Justine Karp

On my walk to class every day I pass at least 2 or more homeless people who are always sitting in the same spots. For the past three years I have been quick to walk right by and not make eye contact. I have always been a big advocate against giving homeless people money because many times they will take it to feed their drug or alcohol addiction. But I have always had the thought of bringing them food. I don't know what struggles they have been through and I can be sure that they will be extremely happy to accept any amount of food offered to them. I have found one man on my walk who doesn't even have a sign or a cup begging for money. He literally just sits on the street usually rocking back and forth trying to get through the day. A few weeks ago I decided to buy him a sandwich on my way to class and he accepted it graciously. Another day I was carrying a bag of sliced apples and knew I wouldn't be able to eat them all and gave them to him. Once again he was very thankful for the food. I know I am only helping one person and that a sandwich is not going to change his life. However, I feel that I am fortunate enough to have food on my plate three meals a day and have decided that a simple gesture such as that means a lot to him. I feel it is so important to help people out in any way you can no matter how much you help them. I always walk away an then watch from afar as he enjoys his food and I am glad he can have at least that meal that day.

Hello Everyone: Our goal here is to get comfortable with writing in the blogging style. It doesn't mean that you forget good grammar, or use those awful shorthand abbreviations that people use when texting, but rather that you adopt a more conversation writing style and be more willing to offer your opinions online.

You should offer opinions, make personal observations, tell stories, describe things you see around the campus that you'd like to share with the class. Liberate yourself.

Mike Shanahan