Welcome, welcome all you newcomers. I hope everyone had onekickin’ summer. The fun has officially begun. Braceyourselves, ladies and gents, because it’s about to get morecrunk than you know. I mean redunkulously crunk as funk.
For those of you new to campus and the column, allow me tointroduce myself. Hi, I’m Ann Truong and I write a weeklycolumn just to get a few kicks and giggles. Don’t expect anyreal issues to be discussed in this one, because Ruminations is allabout the ridiculous aspects of college life that make thisexperience, well…college.
For those of you who have been reading this column, I dosincerely apologize for another year of random, off-beat tangents.If you thought accessories, penny stocks and shaft cards were somepretty mad trippin stuff, just wait. They’ve gotten moreridiculous, and the level of their absurdity has been biggie-sizedfor an additional 49 cents. I know. They’ve raised the priceof phatness.
I want to give shouts out to my Glen Lake Mustang Corral groupthat I had the pleasure of getting to know last weekend. Group D,holla at me! This was my last year to be a Corral leader, and allof you made my last Corral the best (sniffle and tear drop).
As always, the return from summer brings a slew of summerstories. My summer? Geez ‘n’ peas, where do I begin?This summer, I became 100 percent bona fide legal. That’sright, I turned 21. That certainly brought an end to a longprohibition. I figured that I’ve got the rest of my life tobe responsible and not drink, but I only turn 21 once.
The combination of being 21 and having a schedule that consistsof only Tuesday and Thursday classes calls for trouble. My weekendsofficially begin on Thursday night and don’t end until Mondaynight. Very clutch, I must say.
Alcoholic beverages — a superb invention. Oh, I grant youthat the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheeldoesn’t go nearly as well with pizza. Alcohol took turning 21and made it Turning 21.
Turning 21, I must say, is a special kind of phenomenon. I canactually get into bars now — legit. And I finally get to weara wristband instead having those big Xs on my hands that do notcome off. You can always tell who went out the previous night,because they come to class with those big X marks.
There was a time when I could chug my beer. Now I sip it as ifit were tea. Maybe that’s another symptom of growing old. Orjust plain growing up. Realizing that I am a senior cuts prettydeep in some ways. I no longer have the energy of a bright-eyedfirst year. I see the incoming class with their enthusiasm forlife, and it takes me back three years. Back then, I could go outall the time, even on the weekends. Man, I was a machine, and Ididn’t need time to recover. I’d stumble in around 6a.m., sleep until 6 p.m., eat dinner and then prepare to go outagain.
These days, I hope to go to bed at a reasonable hour.
The words staying in were blasphemy. Now, cuddling up with amovie on a Friday night isn’t such a bad idea.
I do recall a time when I liked my music loud, my boys hot andmy beers cold. Now, the music has been turned down just a fewnotches, the beer is a tad bit warm, and the criteria for MEN nolonger involves hot, but rather intelligent, well-accomplished andaffable.
Of course, there’s that panic about what to do aftercollege. Some get jobs, others get married. Me? I’m going todelay reality a bit longer and attend grad school. Destination: USCfilm school — hopefully. I’m going to pursue thiswriting business some more. For those of you who have kept up, no,I haven’t told my parents yet. Reason being? My parents areAsian. Enough said.
Being a senior does have its brighter days. I think I’veused “being a senior” as an excuse for everything. Ihave milked it for all it’s worth and then some.
“I’m not going to class today.”
“But Ann, you haven’t gone to class in nearly twoweeks. Why not?”
“Oh, because I’m a senior. “
“I’m going to drink myself silly every night thisweek.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a senior.”
“I ran over some freshmen today.”
“What’d ya do that for?”
“I dunno. Because I’m a senior.”
“I’m going to conquer the world today.”
“Ann, lay off the booze, huh?”
“No, it’s okay. I’m a senior.”
Well folks, I’m off. Only one more year left of my collegecareer, so I’m going to go out and experience it. I suggestall of you do the same, whether you’re a senior or afirst-year. It goes by so fast. All you have to do is blink, and ifyou’re not careful, you might miss something.
Ann Truong is a math and electrical engineering double major.She may be reached at [email protected].
Errata
Published in the August 25th, 2004 edition ofThe Daily Campus
The Daily Campus regrets to report that portions ofyesterday’s column, ‘Ruminations’ by Ann Truong,were plagiarized from the book Bad Habits, by Dave Barry. TheDaily Campus continues to uphold a high standard of journalismand wants the public to know that behavior like this is nottolerated in the newsroom. The staff checks for such material,however sometimes – like yesterday – these situationscan still occur. The Daily Campus appreciates public inputon all such issues.
