This matter is obviously one of preference. It is a question I receive often though, especially from incoming freshmen, so I decided to address it here. There are some pros and cons to having a car as a UT Austin student that I will cover, and even though I believe that it is not necessary to have a car, at least my reasoning will be transparent enough.

First, some highlights from the past week…

Congratulations for Graduating!

Congratulations to all the UT students who graduated this past weekend. I’d like to give a special shoutout to my roommate of four years, who probably deserves a medal for tolerating me for eight semesters. Congratulations on graduation and on your full-time offer!

The Rapture…

…either didn’t happen, or we all got left behind. I hope for the former. In case you didn’t hear, Harold Camping, an 89-year-old retired civil engineer in California, predicted Judgment Day would occur on Saturday, May 21; the prediction did not manifest. Nevertheless, the most famous end-of-days prediction in U.S. history occurred in 1844 when William Miller predicted the second coming would occur on October 22, 1844. Many followers gathered in anticipation (some even quit their jobs) of this prediction and waited all day only to discover that nothing happened; as such, this event was known as “The Great Disappointment. 

Bee Week

May 29-June 4 is Bee Week in Washington DC, and it is probably one of my favorite events of the year after the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

In what I would now describe as a hyper-recruiting-event-like party, contestants and their coaches and families (usually the same people) stay in the Grand Hyatt for a week. While there, contestants engage in meet-and-greets, game nights, several tours throughout the nation’s capital, a barbecue, and a final banquet. Wednesday and Thursday are set aside for competition, however, as students (none past the 8^th grade are allowed) try to spell their way to a $30,000 cash grand prize (and about an extra $10,000 in other prizes). To gauge the types of words these spellers face, Scripps Howard offers this sample test. 

And back to the main topic…

Do I Need a Car? Continue reading New to UT: II. Do I Need a Car? →

After taking some time to destroy my finals (and vice-versa), I sit back at my computer, relaxed and ready to make some noise on the web (and the Millennium Lab) again. Summer shines its face upon Austin again, whether you’re driving along Mopac watching the green leaves of the trees waving at you as a smooth summer breeze floats by or watching the sun smile upon the lake as you stroll along the Congress Avenue Bridge.  As such, my next several entries will be shorter so that I can go outside.

This next series, as promised, will address some questions I sometimes hear from incoming students. Because a mixed audience may be reading this (1^st years, 3^rd years, and 5^th years), I will try to avoid over-generalizing and be more specific on my thoughts on each of my outlooks.

First, though, a couple of tidbits from the past couple of weeks:

Dallas Mavericks

I admit: I was a doubter of the Mavs and have been for the past five years or so, especially after that debacle against Miami in the finals. After praising the Lakers since the off-season—the 1980 off-season—Mavs fans have my full attention. Please don’t ask me to root against Kevin Durant though…

Kutcher to Replace Sheen

Warner Brothers announced that Ashton Kutcher will replace the estranged Charlie Sheen on the CBS sitcom “Two and a Half Men.” Kutcher is best known for his parts in “That 70s Show” and “Punk’d.” Kutcher will have to undergo a blood test before he is officially signed on as part of a new policy initiated by the Warner Brothers legal counsel to check for abnormally high levels of tiger blood. (#kidding)

Vocabulary Boost?

Merriam Webster published a list of words to add pizzazz to your everyday vocab. These words are supposed to add an extra kick of sophistication and spice to your conversation skills.

Anyway, on to topic…

Where do I live?

I get this question from incoming Longhorns pretty frequently. Honestly, it’s a matter of taste. Some people like quiet, some people like proximity, some people like partying, some people like price. Here are my thoughts on the subject… Continue reading New to UT: I. Where Do I Live? →