Happy New Year! Wait…. what the hell are you talking about; it’s the end of August. Aren’t you supposed to be smarter now that you graduated college? Sure if you say so. To me January never felt like starting anew. The start of the school year just feels like a new beginning in your life. The days start to get a little cooler and shorter but the end of summer/beginning of fall is such a beautiful time.
I took a walk tonight and it just felt like a September night at Dickinson College. Yes that is what this is about. One of the biggest adjustments you will make in life is post-college. The summer it never hits you for various reasons. But it is on nights like these when it really hits me. Many of my friends are returning to school, which was always one of my favorite times of the year, and I find myself settling into a routine of getting up early, working and going to bed early. Yes work sucks compared to college but you do what you gotta do in life and then collect your paycheck. And while I will be visiting Dickinson a decent amount this year, I must say it is tough getting used to sitting at home by myself and getting party/pong text updates. Thank god for ultimate Frisbee, the meaning of my existence.
So I thought that since today was Freshman move in day and that many of my friends are now back at school, this would be a great time to finally post my entry on the 10 things I will miss about Dickinson/Carlisle the most. (Ok today was a good day to post it because I finally finished it….there!) Hope you enjoy!
Note: The list is really focused on Carlisle and Dickinson, not college in general which would include things like going abroad, savannah etc. So without further adieu:
The 10 things I will miss about being a student at Dickinson College
1. The Caf – This was an easy one to start off the list. Where did you spend the most time of your college career? The Library? No loser, the caf! My favorite memories of college largely consist of my time spent in the caf. The Jive table was a safe haven from work related stress or really anything that was troubling someone. Whether it was coming back from practice to dinner with 40 kids, swapping embarrassing stories from the night before at Sunday brunch or simply walking after class to lunch and finding a table full of your best friends, the caf will always have a special place in my heart. Friendships are forged in the caf through those 2-hour caf sits and trips to the shitty dessert bar (YES people, the dessert they serve in the caf is horrible, I don’t want to hear otherwise.)
Some highlights include being drunk in the caf freshman year and trying to one bite a Spicy Asian Beef Wrap (never had one again), staying up all night with Nate and walking into the caf on Saturday morning when it opened only to find Vinnie and Timbo already sitting at the Jive table. There was the infamous fetus off, freshman year jello races, butter sandwiches, KAREEMS as well as many other things that I simply cant remember. Yes they took our trays away and moved the tables but for better or worse, the caf has always been there for us. At the end of it all, what’s better than getting out of class on a Wednesday, having the afternoon free and walking to the Jive table with a hot shave roast beef, potato chowder and some waffle fries.
PS: The following items are overrated: Grilled Cheese, Pepper Turkey, Taco bar, Caf Pizza (yes even white), and as a matter of fact, never go to the caf for dinner on the weekends unless they are serving ENCHEES!
2. Moreland Field – College Frisbee embodies a lifetime worth of great experiences in all different places. From the aforementioned caf to a car full of bros driving to a tournament or a party at the Château, there are an abundance of Jive Turkey moments and memories that have occurred all over the world (like farting in front of the Reichstag and running away so everyone would think it was Katy). Yet for many of us, our first Jive Turkey experience and the birth of our love for the sport began on that shitty field 3 blocks down from campus. I still remember my first practice there, which included trying to throw discs at a skirt-wearing Rocket bending over leaving nothing to the imagination. Sure were talking about practice here and maybe we all ran one too many box drills but this is the hallowed grounds of the Jive Turks. The same grounds where these birds flew out of relative obscurity and into a half decent ultimate team. There is nothing better than a beautiful day in Carlisle (rare, I know) and 30 Turks taking the field and doing what we love.
3. The Poon Palace aka 379 – Anyone who was lucky (or unlucky) enough to experience fall semester 2009 let alone live in that glorious hell hole can only look back and smile while shaking their head in disbelief. You had a collection of basically all Jive under one roof. As we all learned, 8 Turkeys living in one place never ends well (warning to all you people living together in McKinney). It was always a party there whether it was Monday night bro out, Wednesday night drinking or weekend rager shindigs. It was the happening spot on campus. Sure the place got utterly trashed but it was an orgy of good times. I cant even begin to recount stories so the following is a list or blurb of anything that popped into my head over the next 30 seconds.
Ready GO: Ducky turns 21 case race, 28 cup house battle Christmas, vape, 5th day, ERR party, game 6 world series, Jive fest busted, in the Riorden, Nicky hooking up with 5 dudes in the house in a span of weeks, I cant stop partying, swine flu, bathroom blunts mcdonalds, Beatles rock band, holes holes and more holes, Hermione poster, rainwater specials, movie nights, coffee machine, COD, Tyler passed out, FLYING COUGER, enderssss game, dance parties in brendans room, sad condom on floor, fortress of natty, get cups, suck it mazzoli, tyler passed out again, swine hood, what is tara doing here?, sperling booting into recycling bins, posey booting on ducky’s bed, me booting outside his door, cash bangers mash timbo jumping off the second floor, god I hate grefe, fuck doing work I’m staying here.
Even during my senior year, Jive was able to maintain their mark on the place and although it didn’t compare to the year before, it still kept its charm. No matter what the time was, 379 will always go down as the most college experience of the whole affair.
4. Baird 3rd Floor – Here is where it all started. I think that everyone can agree that this was the most legendary floor of all time no questions ask. It all starts in 302 with my legendary freshman roommate Bartlett “hes from CALIfornia” Jackson. And then the list never ends. You got the Scan Man (RIP), Sweds, Gags, Trackstar, Yub, Griffles, Dutch master, The Linc, Benzene, Hamill George, Marathon Man Kent, PJ, Boone Sauce, other Bart Stu, Krazan. Add a list of crazy girls on the other side and you have an absolutely wild and unforgettable freshman year. From Pong in Grefe’s to the common room, to Monsters and stealing beer from people, there is nothing quite like that first year away from home.
5. Hanover Grill Wing Night – It’s Tuesday, which is good for a couple of reasons. First of all, I don’t have class until 10:30 (Note to anyone reading: the 9:00 AM Tuesday Thursday class offering is for suckers….avoid at all costs.) Second and more importantly, it’s wing night! I walk into my 10:30 and send out the masser, assemble the crew in the mini van mega fun and enjoy. I love wings and I will live and die by Hanover’s who are the best I have ever had. Maybe the price went up a few cents but who cares. A variety of flavors, my favorites are honey hot, teriyaki and sweet and tangy. Memorable wing nights include the time when Body and I ate 30 wings plus an insanity wing as well as the time I polished off 36 wings (Jive record) while finishing with some peanut butter pie. There was that time when the jive girls did wing night and sat at a big table next to ours and every girl ordered 12 wings (for some reason I found this hilarious). Being 21 makes wings even better because you can get pitchers of Ying for 5.50. An added bonus of wing night is organizing ragers during dinner and rushing to the beer store before it closes. Another great thing about wing night is when Nate didn’t finish and took home leftovers. Our sophomore year when Nate was in his blackout phase, I would always ask him for his wings when he was drunk and passed out in his room. He would get so annoyed by me turning on the light and asking for his wings he would always eventually give in and let me eat them…ah the Witwer days.
6. Dickinson Disc Golf Course - There is something that is so relaxing about playing a round. There is never a bad time to play a round (unless its pouring rain with your ex girlfriend). Nothing beats a small crew on a beautiful afternoon when you just got out of class and the thought of going to the lib to do work just makes you want to kill yourself. The course can be played at anytime and sometimes a round of night golf at 2:00 AM when you are cross faded is so…well awesome. Playing a round is a good way to bond with friends or alumni visiting to catch up on life. As for the course itself I’ll list some of the highlights. I’ll start with my favorite holes
Hole 3: I love launching a big IO backhand and it is the one hole where you are shooting down hill, which makes it more fun. It is a tough but very make able birdie.
Hole 1: The first hole and a great way to start a game. Basically just a good hole to show off how far you can chuck the disc. It really is a coming of age moment when you first birdie the hole.
Hole 17: Another hole that involves launching a big IO backhand. Love shooting around KW and again, a very make able birdie hole but not easy
Hole 11: Maybe because I finally got a hole and one on it but a good hole to launch a blade roller. Part of the excitement is not knowing where your disc ends up, as you have to shoot around East College
Hole 14: The Kiosk Hole. Nuff said.
7. Deli C – You knew that this wonderful eatery would be making an appearance on the list. I don’t even know where to begin. When you get to college you find that you cant just walk to your parents fridge and start grubbing. Yea sure, a cup of noodles that you stole from your roommate might get the job done one night but lets be honest, you are drunk and its passed midnight and you need some serious food, well Deli C is your cathedral. Serving of anything on the grill until pass 4AM, you cant go wrong with anything you order (well maybe clam strips). Popular items include the Chicken Zip (with hot sauce), mozz sticks, tenders, Jalo poppers and the Shen special…a dozen hot wings. What makes Deli C so fucking delicious is that you are never eating here sober. Anything tastes good when you are intoxicated and when you can simply walk a few minutes to get there, you have found a gold mine. I love going to Deli C and running into your friends or classmates drunk, chatting it up with the security guards, making fun of all the locals who walk in, drunkenly buying cigs etc.
Just remember that delivery takes almost an hour, always call your order in and walk there. And always experiment with the menu, you will always find something really good that you never knew about, like the Schachter double cheeseburger…actually never mind about that. Also if you are low on cash, find a drunk freshman (his name is Simon) and have him buy you Deli C. When you tell him you will pay him back chances are that he wont remember. KAREEEM!
8. Best of 7 – Ok so yea there could be a whole entry on Ruit/Pong/21 cup but the true essence of the sport is captured best in a Best of 7. For those unfamiliar with what this means, it is simply 6 people playing 21 cup in a best of 7 series format. Nothing gets the competitive juices flowing like a Best of 7. Its’ also a great way to get absolutely hammered, just do the math. Say you average 7 cups a game, and there is an average of 6 games usually in a series. So that is around 40 cups of beer you drink and then you consider that 1 beer fills about 5 cups so you end up drinking about 8 beers per best of 7 in a span of about an hour. Considering I am a pro at Alcohol EDU, I am smart enough to know that you will be sloppy by the time these things are over.
My mom always made this corny joke to her friends that I majored in Frisbee and Beer Pong in college and while this always annoyed me, she was so right. While ruit sometimes gets a bad rap, its so bro/frat, its exclusive blah blah blah, these people could not be more wrong. 21 cup is hands down the best drinking game out there. There are no bullshit rules, just hitting cups like FWAP FWAP. The best part about 21 cup is that you do have to drink your beer before shooting. This ensures that you are constantly drinking and not being a bitch. For a while, I was undefeated in best of 7s. While I didn’t walk around saying I was the best player, I had a knack for winning these things. A lot is obviously individual skill but it is a team sport. My ability to motivate, especially when I am drunk is one of my biggest strengths. I must say though that I finally met my demise when Ian, Sperling and Grefe ended my undefeated streak. Also need to take this time and give a shout out to Baird 3rd Floor line aka Poon Squadron…the greatest Best of 7 team out there.
Now for some lists!
Top 10 songs from Pong Playlist: American Boy, Reptilia, Undone, Young Liars, Kids, Paper Planes, anything by Lupe, Cudi Zone, All Of The Lights and Run This Town.
Top 10 Jive pong players: 1. Jack 2. Body 3. Moser 4. Hall 5. Schachter 6. Nips 7. Griffles 8. Dodek 9. Ducky 10. Slap (haha yea right…..I’ll go with J FREEEEED)
Fire and Rack! Enders Game! Drrrrrink It! Suck it girffles!
9. Frisbee High Council – I had my first experience with High Council my freshman year with Chappers in his room. While it’s called High Council, it usually occurs when you are drunk. I am the most guilty of high council these days simply because I am older and wiser (No wait I am just a sentimental drunk). Anyway, Chappers would bring me up to his room during a party and we would basically just talk about how good our Frisbee team can be, how both of us are so good blah blah blah. So yea, high council is drunkenly building up people’s egos and having heart to hearts about Frisbee. I absolutely love it, especially with freshman It’s great and I am notorious for saying all these things to people but despite the drunkenness, there is much truth to these words. High council is always a morale booster and an enjoyable experience to be a part of. High Council is a true college experience and I have had a high council moment with probably everyone on the team, even if it was just for a short moment.
10. Syllabus Week – “Live every week like it’s syllabus week.” Truer words have never been spoken. Yes pre week is great and all that but syllabus week is something to behold. It’s an excuse to get housed every night of the week because you have no school work the first week and everyone is back in one place. There is NO EXCUSE not to rage every night. Syllabus week is also great because the weather is beautiful and you can enjoy playing Frisbee and partying with the team before it goes through the transformation brought on by the new incoming freshman jivers. For me, syllabus week was always my Happy New Year. A week long party at school, what more could you ask for. Everyone is getting comfortable in their new digs and yes it is a little strange but the overwhelming feeling is excitement and the simple joy of being back at college with all your friends and of course, the Jive Turkeys.
I leave you with this if you somehow managed to make it through this whole thing. College really is like the greatest thing ever. If you didn’t have a great college experience then I feel bad for you. You just fucked up some of the most fun years you could have. Young enough to do whatever you want but old enough to appreciate it all. Maybe worried about the future but still living in that safety net called being an undergrad. To all that get to experience another wonderful year at Dickinson College as a Jive Turkey, hit a cup for me, yell something ridiculous that I might have said, smoke up, tear it up on the field and get grizzly.
