Hey everyone, I have a few props and drops for you.
I'll start with the negative. Today that negative is focused squarely on the dining hall. Seriously, someone must think that we love to wait in line for 20 minutes before eating. Do they think we do this at home? Do they think that before Thanksgiving dinner my family lines up outside waiting to eat?
It's a given that we have to wait in line at the Fishbowl/Haffey Cafe, there's no avoiding that. But for the past two nights I went to the dinning hall at 6 and had to wait between 15-20 minutes for the main entree. This is at 6 PM waiting for the main meal that they serve! How could you not be prepared right in the middle of the dining hall hours? Did someone think that know one would possibly want to eat their dinner at 6 and it would be fine?
And there was nothing the poor servers could do but apologize to us, but we all know it wasn't there fault, there we just the ones to shoulder the blame. It was really someone in the kitchen that screwed up (two nights in a row, mind you).
Both times it was chicken too, so I apologize if the reason was something that was unavoidable (like equipment suddenly breaking or if they had to take time to kill the chickens first), but if I have to wait for my meal again tomorrow, then I'm going to start turning to Subway to satisfy my meals. At least there I won't have to wait as long.
(And by the way, if someone does know the reason why this happened then please post it in the comment section.)
And now to my prop:
The beginning of floor hockey season tonight!
My team, The Unicorns of Death, begin our quest for the cup tonight. We bare the slogan: Impaling the Competition in 2007, so hopefully this is our year. But win of lose, you gotta love intermurals, they're a great source of fun and help you get some exercise and forget about work or school for a few hours.
So major props to them and Go Unicorns of Death!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Barbaro: a legacy of inspiration
When I woke up this morning, for the first time in over eight months, I didn’t immediately log onto the Blood Horse to see how Barbaro was. I already knew the answer. Last year’s Kentucky Derby winner, who won every race he finished, was euthanized yesterday morning due to complications from his breakdown in the Preakness. For those who followed the story, it’s impossible to believe yet that it’s over, especially not after Barbaro’s vet, Dr. Dean Richardson, said as recently as Jan. 2 that he thought the colt would be able to leave the hospital within weeks and live a normal, healthy life.
I can’t help thinking that things weren’t supposed to go this way. Barbaro was one of the best horses I’ve ever seen in terms of sheer talent—and I’ve seen a lot of horses. He was fast, he was brilliant and beautiful, and more than that—he was perfect. In six starts through the Kentucky Derby, he was never beaten, or even seriously challenged. He had heart—maybe more than anyone realized at the time. And he had style. The way he won the Derby, I really thought we were looking at the first Triple Crown winner in nearly three decades. That’s the way he deserves to be remembered.
The rest of it…I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. After the five hour surgery to repair his shattered leg, the colt’s rocky road began. By all accounts, "Bobby," as his owners called him, was a model patient, even when struck with the dreaded and painful hoof disease laminitis in July—the same condition that was responsible for the death of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat. The colt got to have many more good days. And when it finally got to be too much, when it was time to let him go, his owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, were by his side until the end. Words are not enough—but my deepest condolences go out to them. If my heart is breaking, I cannot imagine what they are feeling.
"Certainly, grief is the price we all pay for love," Gretchen Jackson said at a press conference that afternoon.
It’s been over 24 hours now. It’s beginning to settle in. and I’m beginning to wonder what Barbaro’s legacy will be. I’ll remember his brilliance, of course. I’ll remember the Derby. But I’ll also remember the night after the Preakness, when I couldn’t sleep and sat up all night talking to other racing-enthused friends, fearing the worst, hoping for the best. I’ll remember the weeks following the accident, when every media outlet in the country focused on New Bolton; when an American public that normally doesn’t care about racing whatsoever, got behind Barbaro. I’ll remember how people covered the fences outside the barn with signs reading things like "God bless Barbaro," "Grow, hoof, grow," and "Keep fighting—our hero." How they mailed get-well cards to a horse. Now you know all those people weren’t from the same walks of life, the same religion, the same political party…somehow, they all believed in the same thing. That’s rare to see. I’ll remember Barbaro for being able to do that.
But more than that, I’ll remember that Barbaro inspired me. Life is not always perfect. Sometimes, things don’t turn out the way you had hoped or planned. It’s hard sometimes, it’s painful sometimes, and for lack of a better word, it just sucks sometimes. But there is no reason to not live, to not love. Even if, as Gretchen Jackson said, grief is the necessary consequence. I truly believe it’s worth it. Love is worth it. Believing in Barbaro was worth it, even in there will never be a happy ending. To paraphrase a movie I liked when I was little, maybe there is no such thing as a happy ending, because nothing truly ends. Physically, Barbaro may be gone, but certainly, we have memories. We have his legacy. And there is also the $1.2 million raised for the New Bolton Center through the "Barbaro Fund," which will go toward improving veterinary research and covering medical expenses for other injured racehorses.
Yesterday I went to class in the morning thinking of Barbaro. I knew about the latest setbacks, but I was hopeful. I believed he could make it. I walked out of class an hour later and found a text from my roommate. I opened it not knowing—"rip barbaro. im so sorry." I had class in five minutes. I stood in front of Basil with my legs shaking, not able to believe it. And then I walked to class. Because that’s how you honor a spirit like Barbaro’s.
I encourage everyone, in their darkest moment, to find "your" Barbaro. Find what inspires you, and let that be your drive to make it through the day. Let that be your inspiration. To keep living. To take risks. To get hurt. To take risks again. To tell someone you love them. To fight, against all odds.
"We were very lucky, very lucky," Jackson said of getting to be a part of Barbaro’s all-too-short life. Certainly, racing fans everywhere were lucky, too. Not just for getting to witness some of the more spectacular performances on the track in recent years, but for getting to witness the kind of courage and heart that’s so rare these days. Certainly, we grieve for the way it ended. But Jackson’s statement that followed is comfort enough for me.
"At least he’s out of his damn stall and running around somewhere with Secretariat, I hope."
Rest in peace, Bobby. You’ll never be forgotten.
I can’t help thinking that things weren’t supposed to go this way. Barbaro was one of the best horses I’ve ever seen in terms of sheer talent—and I’ve seen a lot of horses. He was fast, he was brilliant and beautiful, and more than that—he was perfect. In six starts through the Kentucky Derby, he was never beaten, or even seriously challenged. He had heart—maybe more than anyone realized at the time. And he had style. The way he won the Derby, I really thought we were looking at the first Triple Crown winner in nearly three decades. That’s the way he deserves to be remembered.
The rest of it…I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. After the five hour surgery to repair his shattered leg, the colt’s rocky road began. By all accounts, "Bobby," as his owners called him, was a model patient, even when struck with the dreaded and painful hoof disease laminitis in July—the same condition that was responsible for the death of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat. The colt got to have many more good days. And when it finally got to be too much, when it was time to let him go, his owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, were by his side until the end. Words are not enough—but my deepest condolences go out to them. If my heart is breaking, I cannot imagine what they are feeling.
"Certainly, grief is the price we all pay for love," Gretchen Jackson said at a press conference that afternoon.
It’s been over 24 hours now. It’s beginning to settle in. and I’m beginning to wonder what Barbaro’s legacy will be. I’ll remember his brilliance, of course. I’ll remember the Derby. But I’ll also remember the night after the Preakness, when I couldn’t sleep and sat up all night talking to other racing-enthused friends, fearing the worst, hoping for the best. I’ll remember the weeks following the accident, when every media outlet in the country focused on New Bolton; when an American public that normally doesn’t care about racing whatsoever, got behind Barbaro. I’ll remember how people covered the fences outside the barn with signs reading things like "God bless Barbaro," "Grow, hoof, grow," and "Keep fighting—our hero." How they mailed get-well cards to a horse. Now you know all those people weren’t from the same walks of life, the same religion, the same political party…somehow, they all believed in the same thing. That’s rare to see. I’ll remember Barbaro for being able to do that.
But more than that, I’ll remember that Barbaro inspired me. Life is not always perfect. Sometimes, things don’t turn out the way you had hoped or planned. It’s hard sometimes, it’s painful sometimes, and for lack of a better word, it just sucks sometimes. But there is no reason to not live, to not love. Even if, as Gretchen Jackson said, grief is the necessary consequence. I truly believe it’s worth it. Love is worth it. Believing in Barbaro was worth it, even in there will never be a happy ending. To paraphrase a movie I liked when I was little, maybe there is no such thing as a happy ending, because nothing truly ends. Physically, Barbaro may be gone, but certainly, we have memories. We have his legacy. And there is also the $1.2 million raised for the New Bolton Center through the "Barbaro Fund," which will go toward improving veterinary research and covering medical expenses for other injured racehorses.
Yesterday I went to class in the morning thinking of Barbaro. I knew about the latest setbacks, but I was hopeful. I believed he could make it. I walked out of class an hour later and found a text from my roommate. I opened it not knowing—"rip barbaro. im so sorry." I had class in five minutes. I stood in front of Basil with my legs shaking, not able to believe it. And then I walked to class. Because that’s how you honor a spirit like Barbaro’s.
I encourage everyone, in their darkest moment, to find "your" Barbaro. Find what inspires you, and let that be your drive to make it through the day. Let that be your inspiration. To keep living. To take risks. To get hurt. To take risks again. To tell someone you love them. To fight, against all odds.
"We were very lucky, very lucky," Jackson said of getting to be a part of Barbaro’s all-too-short life. Certainly, racing fans everywhere were lucky, too. Not just for getting to witness some of the more spectacular performances on the track in recent years, but for getting to witness the kind of courage and heart that’s so rare these days. Certainly, we grieve for the way it ended. But Jackson’s statement that followed is comfort enough for me.
"At least he’s out of his damn stall and running around somewhere with Secretariat, I hope."
Rest in peace, Bobby. You’ll never be forgotten.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
HEY YOU GUYS!!!!
Even though this is my first post I am going to jump right into it. Last night George W. Bush gave his annual State of the Union address. I wonder how many Fisher students watched it on television? Did anyone even know it was even on? The state of the union seems dour but that isn't what I want to ramble about. I was in a religion class during mid-term election this past year and the professor asked us, the day after the elections, who had voted. I raised my hand, alone. I was actually kind of pissed. One of the most important midterm elections in history and nobody in that class had voted.
Do college students understand what is at stake? I try to grasp this concept. It blows a hole in my universe when college students don't vote or understand what is going on in our world.
We need to spread the good word. Inform yourself. Inform your friends. It is never too late!!
No Worries,
Kevin
Hello all and welcome to my lil corner of the Courier web
Hello all and welcome to my lil corner of the Courier web. With that said I guess I should introduce myself.
My name is Kristina, I'm a junior here at Fisher, I am a Comm major with a minor in French. When I am not buried beneath my textbooks or French dictionary you can find me checking my e-mail, people.com and CNN.com constantly. I have a small (ok large) obsession with all things John Mayer, my beta fish John Mayer II is proof of this.
As for my plans for my beloved blog I just hope to share with all of you my rants and raves with the media today. I plan on focusing on the important things to our generation like politics and world news but also I want to give my opinions on the latest television shows (AI, House), new music and movies.
I would love comments, critiques and messages of all kinds, so feel free to drop me a note!
This is just the beginning, much more later
-K
My name is Kristina, I'm a junior here at Fisher, I am a Comm major with a minor in French. When I am not buried beneath my textbooks or French dictionary you can find me checking my e-mail, people.com and CNN.com constantly. I have a small (ok large) obsession with all things John Mayer, my beta fish John Mayer II is proof of this.
As for my plans for my beloved blog I just hope to share with all of you my rants and raves with the media today. I plan on focusing on the important things to our generation like politics and world news but also I want to give my opinions on the latest television shows (AI, House), new music and movies.
I would love comments, critiques and messages of all kinds, so feel free to drop me a note!
This is just the beginning, much more later
-K
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Welcome to the Cardinal Courier Blog
Hey everyone, I can see that I got beaten out for the first post, but I still wanted to say welcome to the new Cardinal Courier blog. Since our paper is only a bi-monthly publication this new online feature will help you guys get the scoop on campus. Feel free to leave your comments here or to email the Courier website.
Anyway, the majority of my posts will be my take on living at Fisher. This includes my own version of props and drops and I will also use this blog as a continuation of my Courier sports column: Riding the Pine (There is also a blogger account for Riding the Pine for old additions as well as the archives on the Courier website). I'll also talk about my adventures at Bon App. a lot since that's always fun (Like what ice cream is more infuriating: the enigma that is Spumoni or scooping what you think is mint ting-a-ling only to find out it's pistachio)
Here's something else for you to think about: My next column (for the Feb. 7 edition of the paper) will be a fresh take on the great Fisher-Naz rivalry that's tentatively called "Behind Enemy Lines."
So enjoy the new site/blog and stay tuned for more postings.
Anyway, the majority of my posts will be my take on living at Fisher. This includes my own version of props and drops and I will also use this blog as a continuation of my Courier sports column: Riding the Pine (There is also a blogger account for Riding the Pine for old additions as well as the archives on the Courier website). I'll also talk about my adventures at Bon App. a lot since that's always fun (Like what ice cream is more infuriating: the enigma that is Spumoni or scooping what you think is mint ting-a-ling only to find out it's pistachio)
Here's something else for you to think about: My next column (for the Feb. 7 edition of the paper) will be a fresh take on the great Fisher-Naz rivalry that's tentatively called "Behind Enemy Lines."
So enjoy the new site/blog and stay tuned for more postings.
Oh, Murphy lot...
Well. I guess this is the first post on the blog….cool, I beat Scott for the honor. Anyway…I suppose this is introduction time. Hi. I’m Nicole. I’m a sophomore Communication/Journalism major and English writing minor, and I’m the Assistant News Editor for the Courier this semester. I’m from Rochester, and I think anyone who lives here for any length of time needs to visit Java’s downtown and go to WinterFest at Charlotte Beach at least once. I love anything and everything having to do with horses; I follow racing religiously, work at a therapeutic riding center for little kids, once jumped cross country on a runaway ex-racehorse, and I volunteer every summer at the Stuart Horse Trials, where US Olympian Darren Chiacchia will probably file a restraining order against me someday. I like Broadway musicals, and if you are friends with me (or live within earshot in Dorsey), you probably have heard "Defying Gravity" at least once. I’m happy when I’m crazy busy; according to my roommate, I "always go 60 miles an hour when you only need to go about ten." Speaking of my roommate, she’s a Comm major, too; she is into the broadcasting field and is one of the analysts on Fisher Sports Desk (although she doesn’t have a blog. So clearly, she’s not as cool as me).
So, I’m really not sure what to write about. Yesterday we were all in the Courier office putting the newspaper together, and Craig, the online editor, went "Hey, who wants to blog for the website?" and I went "Cool, give me something to do." Like I said, I’m happy being productive. So, since I’m not sure what to put in here, I suppose I’ll just write about what happened to me this morning….or more specifically, what happened to my car last night.
I didn’t have a car on campus until this semester. When I went to the Security desk to get my parking permit on the day we moved back in for the Spring semester, they told me that all the spots in the Dorsey lot were full, and gave me the choice of parking in the Murphy lot across the street, or parking in Park & Ride. Since there were some problems with cars being broken into in Park & Ride earlier this year, and since I’d like to have four tires and a CD player at the end of this semester, I opted for Murphy. Walking never hurt anyone.
This morning, I got up, got ready for work, and walked out to the Murphy lot. I started to brush the snow off the car, and hmm….something’s not right here. Then I realized that there was a scrape down the side of the door. Hmm, I don’t think that was there before. Then I realized that the passenger side windshield wiper blade was pulled off and dangling uselessly. So by that point, I was beginning to get angry. Walking around to the other side of the car, I found the booby trap—the broken beer bottle, no doubt the cause of the scrape, sitting directly behind my tire. Aha.
So, the current theory is that whoever messed with my car was having a little fun and still buzzed. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not morally opposed or anything to drinking, but there’s a point when you cross the line from harmless fun to not-so-harmless and downright troublesome. Peeing next to the driver’s side door (yes, they did that, too), even if it is a little disgusting, is a harmless prank. Actually breaking things and messing with someone else’s property is not a harmless prank. I don’t mind other people’s habits, unless it begins to inconvenience me. And being late to work because it was snowing this morning and I had to try to fix the wiper blade in order to drive there safely counts as a pretty big inconvenience. Paying to get the wiper fixed is going to be a pretty big inconvenience. People really need to grow up and learn how to control themselves and have some respect for others.
The response from security infuriates me as well. I visited them today to report the situation and ask if anything could be done about it. They apologized for the incident, then told me that given the environment I had brought my car into, these sort of things happen sometimes. According to them, Fisher is much safer than other campuses. And according to them, they are not responsible for what happened. I was sort of expecting that response. So then I asked if there were cameras in the lot, and if it was possible to find the culprit and maybe have them pay for damages? The response: "Well. Maybe. We’ll check the tapes. It could take awhile to find someone."
Excuse me? I do understand that I have a certain level of responsibility for my own car, and hey, that’s fine with me. It’s no different than parking in the lot by my old high school by the city (where I came out of the building once and found a flat tire). But Security is here to protect us, as students who are paying to study and live on campus. If they have the means to do anything about it, even if it’s just trying to find the person after the fact, they need to do it immediately—not in "awhile." Maybe they’ll care about it when the same person, or someone else, is wandering campus intoxicated and decides to break a window or better yet, vandalize a Security van. If it’s something that directly impacts them, maybe they’ll choose to begin taking action.
In the meantime….it is Rochester, it is January, it snows frequently, in case Security didn’t notice. I can’t really wait "awhile" to have the wiper blade fixed so I can drive safely. So I’m going to have that fixed myself and worry about finding whoever did it later. In all likelihood, it’s a lost cause.
So. Anyway. That’s my rant for the day. Maybe it made you think about the state of things on campus, maybe you ran out to check on your own car, or maybe you at least got some amusement out of my predicament. Anyway, I hope you got something out of it. Thanks for visiting the website, and be sure to keep checking it out; it’s cool, and they (Craig, John, and Mary) have been working really hard on it. And this whole blogging thing could get interesting (I hereby challenge everyone else to a Super Bowl blog face-off). Also, don’t forget to pick up the print edition of the Courier—our first edition of the semester hits newsstands around campus tomorrow!
So, I’m really not sure what to write about. Yesterday we were all in the Courier office putting the newspaper together, and Craig, the online editor, went "Hey, who wants to blog for the website?" and I went "Cool, give me something to do." Like I said, I’m happy being productive. So, since I’m not sure what to put in here, I suppose I’ll just write about what happened to me this morning….or more specifically, what happened to my car last night.
I didn’t have a car on campus until this semester. When I went to the Security desk to get my parking permit on the day we moved back in for the Spring semester, they told me that all the spots in the Dorsey lot were full, and gave me the choice of parking in the Murphy lot across the street, or parking in Park & Ride. Since there were some problems with cars being broken into in Park & Ride earlier this year, and since I’d like to have four tires and a CD player at the end of this semester, I opted for Murphy. Walking never hurt anyone.
This morning, I got up, got ready for work, and walked out to the Murphy lot. I started to brush the snow off the car, and hmm….something’s not right here. Then I realized that there was a scrape down the side of the door. Hmm, I don’t think that was there before. Then I realized that the passenger side windshield wiper blade was pulled off and dangling uselessly. So by that point, I was beginning to get angry. Walking around to the other side of the car, I found the booby trap—the broken beer bottle, no doubt the cause of the scrape, sitting directly behind my tire. Aha.
So, the current theory is that whoever messed with my car was having a little fun and still buzzed. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not morally opposed or anything to drinking, but there’s a point when you cross the line from harmless fun to not-so-harmless and downright troublesome. Peeing next to the driver’s side door (yes, they did that, too), even if it is a little disgusting, is a harmless prank. Actually breaking things and messing with someone else’s property is not a harmless prank. I don’t mind other people’s habits, unless it begins to inconvenience me. And being late to work because it was snowing this morning and I had to try to fix the wiper blade in order to drive there safely counts as a pretty big inconvenience. Paying to get the wiper fixed is going to be a pretty big inconvenience. People really need to grow up and learn how to control themselves and have some respect for others.
The response from security infuriates me as well. I visited them today to report the situation and ask if anything could be done about it. They apologized for the incident, then told me that given the environment I had brought my car into, these sort of things happen sometimes. According to them, Fisher is much safer than other campuses. And according to them, they are not responsible for what happened. I was sort of expecting that response. So then I asked if there were cameras in the lot, and if it was possible to find the culprit and maybe have them pay for damages? The response: "Well. Maybe. We’ll check the tapes. It could take awhile to find someone."
Excuse me? I do understand that I have a certain level of responsibility for my own car, and hey, that’s fine with me. It’s no different than parking in the lot by my old high school by the city (where I came out of the building once and found a flat tire). But Security is here to protect us, as students who are paying to study and live on campus. If they have the means to do anything about it, even if it’s just trying to find the person after the fact, they need to do it immediately—not in "awhile." Maybe they’ll care about it when the same person, or someone else, is wandering campus intoxicated and decides to break a window or better yet, vandalize a Security van. If it’s something that directly impacts them, maybe they’ll choose to begin taking action.
In the meantime….it is Rochester, it is January, it snows frequently, in case Security didn’t notice. I can’t really wait "awhile" to have the wiper blade fixed so I can drive safely. So I’m going to have that fixed myself and worry about finding whoever did it later. In all likelihood, it’s a lost cause.
So. Anyway. That’s my rant for the day. Maybe it made you think about the state of things on campus, maybe you ran out to check on your own car, or maybe you at least got some amusement out of my predicament. Anyway, I hope you got something out of it. Thanks for visiting the website, and be sure to keep checking it out; it’s cool, and they (Craig, John, and Mary) have been working really hard on it. And this whole blogging thing could get interesting (I hereby challenge everyone else to a Super Bowl blog face-off). Also, don’t forget to pick up the print edition of the Courier—our first edition of the semester hits newsstands around campus tomorrow!
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