Some Observations

Okay, if you know me or are regularly on the Harvey Mudd Class of 2014 site, you've probably already seen these. But school is not quite finished with kicking my behind, and thus if you want a post this week this is what it shall be. If you haven't yet seen these, enjoy.

1. Math teachers are extremely attached to their colored chalk, to the point where they will bitterly complain if they have to use a whiteboard.

2. No matter how late you are up working on a lab report, no matter what hour it is that you decide to go to the LAC lab to use KaleidaGraph, there will be someone else there working on the same lab report.

3. Dodds will give you an extension. Just ask. Other professors will, too, but Dodds requires barely any notice.

4. Friday afternoons are for sitting in the middle of the quad soaking up sunlight. Friday nights are for coping with the sunburn.

5. The worse times for staying awake in class are 8:00 AM and 1:15 PM. They are also the times when professors with monotones are most likely to be teaching your class. 8 is especially challenging post-all-nighter.

6. Play music in Chemistry lab. It will temper your sadness at being inside on a beautiful day.

7. Much as you would not think a desert in Southern California would call for it, you will not regret having a pair of rain boots. It rarely rains, but that one time it does, you want to be able to wade to class.

8. Telling yourself you will wake up in the morning to finish the assignment you did not finish last night is only lying to yourself.

9. If you have time to snooze, you will. If you don't, you probably will anyways.

10. No matter what your professor tells you, if you are going to sleep through a class, it is better to sleep through it in your bed than in their classroom.

11. Regardless of what your distraction may be, if you are starting your homework after 12 AM the day it is due you are doing it wrong. That being said, you're going to do it wrong. A lot.

12. Your best friend has a name, and that name is Wolfram Alpha.

13. Hum 1 papers were designed to be started the day before they are due and finished the morning they are due.

14. The only real holiday is Cesar Chavez day. All other national holidays are null and void.

15. If there is not calculus, then it is not a science.

16. Mathematicians are incapable of counting and should not be allowed to do so.

17. There should be no surprise when sparks are seen flying high into the air or explosions are heard emanating from the west. That's West. They do that.

18. As loud as the Platt coffee machine is, as much as you hate the taste of the coffee and even though it burns your tongue every time, it seems like the best thing ever at 2 AM when you spent your week not doing your lab report.

19. There will always be a Physics assignment due. Physics never rests; nor should you.

20. If you have homework to get done, do not under any circumstances let any upperclassmen show you a short YouTube video they thought you'd like. The amount of time wasted as a result will be an order of magnitude larger than the length of that video.

21. In the morning, when you attempt to seek out breakfast, don't be fooled...the smoothie is worth the line.

22. Take Team Sports or Floor Hockey. You will enjoy it.

23. If North is throwing a 5C party, it will likely be totally awesome. However, after about midnight it is highly recommended that you watch your step in that vicinity.

24. Don't flex out after 11 on Saturday night at Jay's. Everyone else had that idea, too. Either try Friday or try the Coop.

25. Board and card games are better when combined (e.g. Flux Bang, Settlers of Bang, etc.).

26. The East hot tub is very warm and nice, but you should be careful a. not to scald yourself, b. to bring water and c. to take a shower afterwards because that tub becomes people soup in a short, short time.

27. (courtesy of Naked Man Frosh) The correct way to complete a take-home exam is to subtract the time allotted for the test from the time the test is due in class, to go to the classroom where you will be turning that test in and to start such that you will complete the test at the start of class. This only works for the first class of the morning in that room, though. **NOTE: this is a very unhealthy thing to -actually- do, funny as it is**

28. Learn very early which is BK B134 and which is JA B134.

29. Love your rhinoceri even when they are revolutionaries going at v = 4/5 c through guillotines.

30. Awkward hours are for naps. You won't get anything done, so stop fooling yourself and catch up on some sleep already.