What I did on my Spring vacation ( part 1 )

I've got a lot to say about my vacation. I think I'll break the stories down into several blog posts, partly because there is so much to tell, and partly because my laptop keeps shutting down because of an issue with the heat sink ( Perhaps I'll write about that later - I really need to get myself a soddening iron. ).

I'm going to start by telling you about the Cornell part of the trip, because I really want to talk about something Cornell-related today. Today's a bit of an anniversary for me. 19 years ago today ( April 6th, 1991 ), the following happened at Cornell ...

So yeah, it's been 19 years since Ruth and I started dating. When we visited Conrell last week ( We got there at about 11:30 AM on March 28th, and left at about 1 PM on March 30th ), we came across a lot of places that gave me fond memories of our time together at Cornell.

Sage Hall: Neither Ruth nor I every took a class in this building, but back when we were at Cornell, there was a nice dining hall in the basement of the building. Ruth and I met at that dining hall for lunch about twice a week during the month leading up to April 6th, 1991. At the time, Ruth had made it clear that we could only be friends. However, something that happened during those lunches must have won her over. I'll always look upon the building fondly as the place where I won Ruth's heart. Unfortunately, the dining hall no longer exists, but just seeing that building gave me a warm feeling inside.

Cafe Decadence ( Cafe Pacifica ): On April 5th, 1991, Ruth called me up and invited me to have dessert/coffee with her at a little dessert place called Cafe Decadence. I'm not sure if it officially counts as our first date, because she brought her friend Amy along. It may have been more of a tryout than a date, but considering what happened the next day, I guess you could say the tryout went pretty well. In any case, I was hoping Cafe Decadence was still there, and it almost was. The place has been renamed "Cafe Pacifica", and it seems to focus more on bubble tea ( those drinks with all the tapioca "bubbles" in them ) than coffee. However, the layout is roughly the same, and they still have an assortment of desserts. We didn't really have time to re-enact our first date ( impossible with the kids anyway ), but it was nice to see that the place was still there.

Large random rock near the Low Rise dorms: Ruth and I sat on this rock when she told me she wanted to go out with me. The rock was just a natural-looking rock back in the day, but now it's painted all red, white, and blue ( It looks like it was painted to celebrate Obama's victory ).

Balch Hall Archway:

Balch Hall is an all woman's dorm at Cornell. Ruth lived at Balch Hall during her Freshmen and Sophomore year ( we started dating her Freshmen year ). If a guy wanted to visit his girlfriend at Balch Hall, he needed to call her on the outdoor phone above ( pre-cellphone days! :O ) , and wait for her to come and open the door. I can't tell you how many times I happily waited under that archway for Ruth. Just seeing that phone keypad again brought back so many good memories.

Balch Hall is also significant because it's where Ruth and I had our first kiss. :)

Random path in the woods on North Campus: This path led to a little bench near a foot bridge. Kinda secluded - nice place to smooch. :)

2nd floor landing on stairwell at Robert Purcell Union: I can't really say what happened here, but it was nice. ;)

In other Cornell news not related to my 19th date-versary ...

1) We left our house at the crack of dawn on Sunday, March 28th, because we wanted to have Sunday brunch at a dining hall called Okenshields. We used to love to eat the made-to-order omelets, and I especially loved to eat tremendous quantities of chilled shrimp. Unfortunately, Okenshields in no longer open on Sundays. :(

Instead, we headed to Collegetown ( area immediately south of campus where most upperclassmen live ), to see if any of the restaurants we used to like were still there. Unfortunately, none of them were in business anymore ( the restaurant business is tough ), but we did find a burger place that served Corn Nuggets ( remember those, EZ! ). Corn Nuggets are little globs of creamed corn, dipped in batter and fried. YUMMY!!!!!!!!

2) We ate the rest of our meals on campus. The layouts of most of the dining halls have changed quite a bit ( Though Okenshields has basically the same seating arrangement ), but the food was still great and plentiful. The food was also a really great deal. At every place we went, they let our kids eat for free. Each meal was all-you-could-eat, and Michael took full advantage of this. He's a little under 60 pounds, but at each meal he ate about twice as much as an average 100-pound college girl would.

3) I sat in the back during a Physics lecture for about 10 minutes. That was pretty cool. There's still a part of me that wishes I had followed my heart and tried to do a Physics PhD, rather than being practical and doing Engineering ( Especially since my software development job has nothing to do with Mechanical Engineering ).

4) The area in front of Willard Straight Hall was renovated about 10 years ago with money donated by a family with the last name "Ho". The area is beautiful and is now called "Ho Plaza". It's nice that they honored the family that gave the money, but "Ho Plaza" sounds like the name of a red-light district. Can't you just picture a bunch of sailors on shore leave saying, "Let's head down to Ho Plaza to get some action!".

5) Cornell is known for it's beautiful gorges. It was always inspiring to look down at the gorges when crossing the many bridges at Cornell. Unfortunately, a large number of Cornell students have committed suicide ( 6 during the academic year, and 3 in month before Spring break (Ruth and I arrived at Cornell on the same weekend students were returning from Spring Break ) ) by jumping off the bridges. During Spring Break, the Cornell administration responded by erecting ugly "temporary" fences ( they look like the fences that you would put around a prison ) along all of the bridges. It really looks awful, and most of the students are not happy about it. Not only are the students reminded of the suicides each time they walk over a bridge, but now there view of the beautiful inspiring landscape is obscured. I know the Cornell administration means well, but I hope they come to their senses soon and take the fences down.

Well, I've got a lot more to say, but it's getting late ( 11:30 PM ). Stayed tuned for Part 2 of "What I did on my spring vacation".

Rich