Providence Place, Readings, Presentations, and More Work Tasks, Oh My! Also, the Summer @ Brown Version of Assassins!

The part in which most of my day has compiled of work because of the presentation and the readings and practice sets needed to study for the final exam even before the final set of homework was given out shows my desperation, yet profound interest in the course. Playing assassins (I pathetically lost the first day when I was trying to troubleshoot a crack on someone's computer screen) helped to relieve some steam as well as going though some of the more quirky shops on Thayer, participating in a racism-prevention seminar, going to Providence Place, as well as other miscellaneous has figured to work out much better than just worrying. As I have learned from the Brown Sports Camp RA last dinner, I learned that worrying is not beneficial as it usually leads to people ending up not really taking courses of action because of getting caught up in the thoughts behind the cause as well. Being concerned and balanced is important and it clearly shows from my experience today. Good glimpse for not only college but almost everything in life, primarily.

I woke up to get some breakfast and I did some of the readings, extra problem sets, and part of the presentation work, mainly on filling in the PowerPoint slides, in the morning before my roommate arrived to be conscious with the real world and not in the various modes and waves that occur to humans as a routine (or should occur). The annoying, yet catchy pop alarm ringtones on his phone didn't wake him up

Fresh econ problems done in class today!

immediately but as the time neared the beginning of his class, he shot up out of bed. But something is a bit different today. Today is the beginning of assassins! I have played at my high school and have gotten pretty far (from March 17th to May 23rd) but today I sadly died on the first day. So did 15 others out of 24. The rules are a bit different where one has to lightly simulate slitting someone's throat with a plastic spoon. If a person is holding a plastic spoon with both hands, then that person is immune to any assassination attempts. Our RA, Adam,  texted us our targets and put forth these rules: One may not kill between the hours of 11pm to 8am, in classrooms, in dining halls, in classrooms, in bathrooms, or in the target's respective room. It was rather hilarious to see people getting out fairly quickly, where I even witnessed a double kill when I was waiting for the RIPTA. Apparently, we are going to play a second round since the eliminations happened in such a rapid manner. My RA won his high school assassins game (with water guns, similar to the medium of material used to assassinate others) so he was obviously excited. I learned that alliances need to be established in order to get someone to win, so it really depends on the luck of draw if someone is betraying you or not. Maybe I will fare better next time...

In macroeconomics, we went over one of the most important topics in the class which actually wasn't too bad for me to absorb since I felt more attentive than ever (maybe because of the three-day weekend and also that I want to put my best foot forward for the last week). These topics were about aggregate demand and supply curves in the long and short run as well supply and demand shocks, AD-AS models, recessionary and inflationary gaps, equilibrium and how it changes as a result of all these factors and the famous ( I think infamous, but what do I know as a fiscal conservative) Keynes's ideology of stabilization policy. The pace of the lecture felt more intense but also more fulfilling to soak in where a couple of problems that we attempted and discussed about before having volunteers to draw the diagrams and write/ explain the diagrams helped to ensure that I was doing competently. Even compared to supposedly easier and earlier topics in the course. I really admire how Desi relates these phenomena first by inquiring us how these important ideas work with empirical examples so that it can be justified, seen and applied in the real economy through logic and reasoning. Talking to my partner in the presentation, Katherine, as well as her adjacent classmate was such a blast in and after class where after class our views and analysis on economic standpoints was especially insightful, yet whimsical. Went to the gym for a bit after!

After going back to my room, Adarsh sent me a rather hurried and worried (That rhymes! Perhaps I should stop these side comments) text on how an unfortunate mishap happened on his laptop. Apparently someone sat on the screen as he left it in someone else's room so I accompanied him to the Dell Repair Station on the second floor of the Brown Bookstore. This is where I got assassinated, where he got assassinated my lovely friend Emily (where she got killed later on), and did some browsing on Thayer as well as purchasing a T-shirt and a water bottle with the Brown logo for only five bucks! I heard the regular price would be $40! He then later got killed by Emily when signing a document to get it screened with a price estimate after worrying about the wrath of his parents having to pay for it. Emily did it at a very screwy, yet clever time as Adarsh was a bit flustered and spacey. Hope it all works out!

Providence Place

After playing soccer with a group of friends on the Main Green, we all ventured over to Providence Place to purchase gifts for the birthday boy on my floor, Sinan. Well, not really as I went window shopping (almost bought gifts for Mom and others) as I accompanied my Emily and Stevie ( a friend from Denver) to Forever 21 and Garage to check out clothes that may be good for others (even trying out a dress in a dressing room) where it was partly a social experiment where no one really gawked or showed disgust or signs of
abnormality. Rather surprising but RI is rather socially left. This prompted a conversation with Stevie about GSA and Denver and so many other topics. So glad I went and hung out with her and we both have similar experiences in terms of the types of high schools we attend, our quirky and exposed backgrounds, our unique perspectives, and so much more. The person that she is currently in a relationship with is also at Summer @ Brown and actually goes to Marin Academy just across the Bay in San Rafael! Small world! Also, I went to a sushi kiosk and spoke in Cantonese, surprising for anyone in Providence. Turns out she lived in Massachusetts though, making it less interesting but we had some small talk, perpetuating the wait for the order. Dave and Busters definitely took the most time more than all the shops I have sampled (quite a lot actually) combined, where I played certain games without ever swiping a card with credit which can be purchased.  It was hilarious to see others be so in to the games and my first experience there reminded me of an arcade rather than an adult Chuck E Cheese's where it was funner than I expected. Emily and I scorned at the rest of the group of friends on their fervency.

We dashed to catch the RIPTA back to campus. I stumbled on a BFA (Brown Fellows Association) celebration giving out awards on the lawn next to the Creative Arts Center. It was joyful and boisterous where a free mode of talking and partying predominated under a long, inviting, and accommodating tent. I was at CVS twice today and never thought about getting batteries. Yikes... Sinan had a nice birthday party similar to mines on the 5th floor lounge, where two other birthday parties were taking place. After more killings and hanging out, Sam (my neighbour) had us play mafia in a non-AC lounge- very similar to the bottom place in the Catholic and mostly Christian afterlife. Then back to planning and getting ready for what comes ahead. I constantly worry (I know I should be concerned not worried) about whether I am squeezing as much as I can out of this opportunity.

Free for Brown students to go around the state!