A New Sunday

Once again, another day of the week has been redefined. Tuesdays were my least favorite day of the week in my Elementary years because of the dreadful piano lessons after school. In middle school, it was Saturday; the day was always packed with classes from sunrise to sunset. In high school it would be Thursdays because tests and presentations usually piled high that day. At Cornell Summer College, that day would be Sunday.

I didn't wake up as late today. My day started out at 8, a lot earlier than I expected. Thinking that I had a lot of time on my hands and being courteous of my sleeping roommate, I pulled the sheets over my head and read for an hour and a half. I got up a little before my Maddie woke up, giving me enough time to use the sink first. I knew Maddie was awake when I finished, but she didn't move out of the mattress until 10:30.

I went to breakfast at 11, a late breakfast indeed, but I had a presentation to work on. As Shanti, Daniella, and Elana ate breakfast, I couldn’t help but rudely check my phone every five seconds.

Something went wrong with our presentation.

I scrolled through the Facebook chat anxiously. Thirty minutes of dead activity can really add up. The hundred messages I scrolled through gave me a good idea of the position we were in. The odds were not in our favor.

After a plate of pasta and cup of cereal, I bolted out the door, meeting the others in the RPCC computer lab. One of our members were stuck in traffic getting back from New York City while the other two just began their presentation. I was horrified. We sat down and got to work, animating, researching and practicing the presentation all at once. Once the clock struck one, we printed out our papers and rushed across campus to the bin lab where Mark was waiting for a mock presentation.

We pieced together the PowerPoint with ten minutes to spare and then we hit the presentation room. Everyone let out a reassured sigh as we noticed Kyra the TA was the only member in the audience. It was just as we made it into the agenda that everyone’s voice hitched. Mark had entered the room.

Although everyone was expecting raging screams and frustrated, Mark was great help to our presentation. He was certainly tough, but he took us through, answering all the questions we didn’t know we had and giving us great presentation points. After he tore our presentation to shreds, the four of us hit the presentation room once more for another gruesome session in front of the computer.

I’ve never been so sick of staring at a computer screen. It reminded me of the time I binge watched Orange is the New Black, except worse. We were working nonstop, the tapping on the keyboard and mouse filling the room with its continuous melody. It was noon when we started and eight when we ended. I don’t think I could look at another PowerPoint in my life.

Except I knew I had to. The presentation wasn’t done just yet. As I prepared to leave the bin lab, Shanti called me over, notifying me about dinner plans with Chan-Law. The tiredness was drained out in that second. I could always count on my cohort to bring my spirits up.

It wasn’t like our usual dinner. Stephen ditched the invitation and the other cohort members were too

Shanti's dinner.

far from the Hotel, so Chan-Law, Shanti and I were left to dine. We waited in the lobby as Chan-Law ever so kindly tended to our bags. We got our first taste of Ithaca weather in the time he traveled from the lobby to his room. When he took our bags, some light shone through the thin clouds, but upon his return, the evening roared with rain. Seeing the intense weather, Chan-Law decided against a meal in

My dinner.

College Town and took us to a luxurious dinner right on the second floor of the Hotel. My eyeballs nearly popped out when I spotted the prices. Seeing Shanti and my exasperated expression, Chan-Law reassured us, letting us know that this was a way to repay our day of hard work. We enjoyed our dinner to the comforting chatter of our day’s events. Nothing like dining with the cohort.

Chan-Law lent us his umbrella that evening. He was returning to his room and Shanti and I still had to travel across campus to our dorms. He would be watching our presentations tomorrow anyways, giving us the opportunity to return his umbrella. The two of us sped through the rain. The walk back reminded me of the times we ran though the rain with the cohort. It’s hard to believe that so much has happened over the course of two weeks. It feels like I’ve already been here for a month.

I spent the rest of the night perfecting my presentation and working on my blog. Sundays are tough. I think I’ll stick with Saturdays after all.