9:59 AM - I wake up overjoyed because I made it home, showered, and most importantly, without a hangover. I have a victory Nutrigrain bar for breakfast because the 175 flex meal plan is too limited to spend on the most important meal of the day.
10:58 AM - Christina, my wing woman from Day 1, frantically calls me to inform me that the Coffee and Tea Tour is departing Kimmel. It’s time to fucking dash through the park.
11:07 AM - We realize they’re only showing us where there are coffee and teashops. Isn’t there an app for that? More importantly, they’re not giving free coffee as I’d imagined. Time to ditch and get a drink at Oren’s.
12:36 PM - I head out after catching brunch with X-tina (switching it up to keep things interesting) at Peels by her dorm on 2nd Street. It’s a gorgeous day and I’m noticing I’m navigating with far more ease than before. I feel like I’ve leveled up – I’m almost a grown up!
12:48 PM - I receive a “Smile Sticker” from Meals on Wheels at Washington Square Park. Despite having only eight dollars in my wallet, I spare three for the cause.
1:06 PM - I make my way to the Liberal Studies Student Life Fair, AKA 8 clubs sharing 4 tables. I sign up on the Liberal Studies Student Council email list and grab a free pen. There’s about 40 kids there out of approx. 1,000 students. So much for mandatory! Definitely not going to the “mandatory” common reading later…
1:18 PM - It’s so damn hot out. I miss Long Island and the murky water at Jones Beach. Decide to stick my feet in the fountain and soak up the sun.
1:30 PM - Some little girls are splashing and running around in the fountain. I wish it were socially acceptable to join in. They’re having a fucking blast. I’m jealous.
2:42 PM - The tranquility I experienced earlier is gone. Cut to me in my dorm, on the phone with my mom, wondering where my refund money on the eSuite went. Dad insisted it “disappeared.” I start to freak out because every day is so expensive and having a social life makes it even worse (financially, that is). Mom insists I go to the bursar and tells me not to worry. She’s good at this whole mothering thing.
3:03 PM - Christina joins me on the walk to the bursar. She gets excited over the ice cream stand in the park and proceeds to buy a two-dollar Popsicle. It looks like a rainbow penis. What a classy girl.
3:10 PM - In the bursar office, waiting. It’s like the DMV. My hands are sweaty due to my worries about finances. Christina lets me taste her frozen treat. I take back the jokes – it’s the best popsicle I’ve had in years, probably because I haven’t had one in years.
4:07 PM - Refund check was already sent home. Insert sigh of relief. This was only the first of many financial scares. I forgot that there are not-so-fun things about college… We go to Aldo’s on Broadway because I only brought one pair of shoes. I suck at being a girl sometimes. I fall in love with a pair of Oxfords and buy them. The gay salesman is so good at his job that he almost convinced me to buy half the store.
4:49 PM - After a hunt for a Brita water bottle, I stop to note that I would be in that common reading right now. I think I win. So many errands accomplished! Time to head back to the dorm and relax.
7:00 PM - Friends from the floor are taking a group trip to Hayden. All of us are vegetarian and none of us are used to the company of fellow omnivores. We sneak in some Tupperware and steal dessert for later.
7:25 PM - I have a bite of my first Hayden cookie. It’s gooey and delicious. I haven’t lived until this moment.
8:55 PM - The girls are getting ready in my dorm for our bonding night out – we are all 5’6” and shorter (read: I am 5’6” and they are all shorter) and rather tiny gals. The pitcher we had last night should be more than enough for the four of us. I’m stoked for night number three.
9:40 PM - We get to the same place as last night and they suddenly want IDs. Woops. We try to pull excuses out of our asses as only 2/4 of us have proper identification, but they refuse to serve the other half. Sigh. Next bar!
10:04 PM - We find a little Japanese restaurant on St. Marks. Good ol’ St. Marks! We make our way in and order rice balls and some fruity sake. There’s a bit of girl talk and a lot of joking around – I’d call it a successful bonding session. We’re all sober by the time we leave. AlcoholEdu did a good job teaching us to drink socially and responsibly!
11:00 PM - We run into fellow floormates on our walk in the Lower East Side. They’re lost. We take them under our wing and find our way back home.
11:09 PM - I step in shit. SHIT.
12:21 AM - In the dorm room decked out in PJs with the door open. Our lost friends come in, as does another friend from the floor…and another…
12:24 AM - There are 11 people in our low-cost triple. This is what happens when you live in front of the elevator and open your door.
12:50 AM - Everyone parts and our room is left with good vibes and a strong desire to sleep. I have more LSP events early in the AM and this time I won’t ditch. I can’t believe this was only the second full day. I haven’t been bored once.
1:34 AM - I wish I didn’t have to sleep so I could be busy 24/7, but I’m tired. So it goes.
Reading these makes my miserable post-college heart weep.
Oh Sake. The drink of choice for so many NYU freshman for the first few weeks of school. I miss it so.
[...] Day 2: Becky Freaks Out About Income This was only the initial of several monetary scares. I forgot that there are not-so-fun factors about college… We go to Aldo's on Broadway because I only brought one particular pair of footwear. I suck at being a girl sometimes. I fall in love with a pair of Oxfords … Read much more on NYU Local [...]