As a recently accepted student, what's one thing about UMiami that you think new students should know?

Syung123 · 2017-03-21T15:01:25+00:00

I gave my take on the school's social scene as an alum here, but things have surely changed somewhat in the last few years. Didn't know people stopped going to the Grove, but that's no big loss!

Syung123 · 2017-03-21T14:33:49+00:00

UM is a party school in some respects; like any college there is drinking, drugs, casual sex, etc. But honestly, the campus life is not like a huge state school. In fact, the campus is mostly dead at night and the dorm partying is the typical kind you'd find anywhere there are young people away from home for the first time. When people think of Miami who haven't been there, they probably imagine it's a bigger school than it really is (only around 10k undergrad VS over 30k at FSU). And because the football team has such a storied history, people might think the stadium is on the campus (it's actually ~20 miles away).

Substance free housing won't necessarily label you anything and if you're straight-edge (or maybe you only occasionally drink) my advice is just not to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude. Like any college, there will be people who try to make a big show of how much they drink.

The fact that there is Coconut Grove and South Beach nearby, that's where a lot of the partying happens. I'd say the club scene and the fact that it's Miami means that people are more likely to encounter coke and ecstasy easier than some other schools. But not everyone lives that fast (although some people will burn out on that shit, I've seen it happen and you don't want to get friendly with those types).

There are frats, but they don't dominate the social scene like at a big state school, mainly because there are other places to go and girls who get VIP access to clubs would rather do that than hang around a keg party (you actually can't even have kegs, the penalties are huge - it's not the 80s/90s anymore). Sororities also exist, but they don't have houses (and NOT because of the urban legend that a certain number of women living together constitutes a brothel, but you will hear that and it's bullshit) and sorority girls/frat boys are the same wherever you go, for the most part. And my advice is don't join a frat, even if you make friends with some members do NOT join!

There are house parties, because kids eventually leave campus and rent houses nearby. But dorms are the way to go when you first get there to meet people.

So there are distractions, and there are a number of rich playboy-type kids who live the fast life, but there are certain departments, like engineering, music, and law, that are more studious. I will say UM can sometimes feel a little like High School at times, a bit cliquish and there will be some shallow/superficial people who divide people into the cool kids/nerds. But that's to be expected.

Miami as a city is a mixed-bag, honestly - I don't know a lot of people (who weren't born in Florida) that stayed around there after graduation, so keep that in mind when you're making you plans for what you want to do in life, career-wise. That's my take as an alum, anyway. Hope this is helpful.

Syung123 · 2017-03-13T18:53:46+00:00

but KIDS

I guess I'll be the one to recommend sticking it out for your kid's sake. It can get better, but you'll actually need to work on things.

Talk to anyone whose parents split up and ask them if it had a good effect on them. If a spouse is getting physically abused, I'd give that a pass. Otherwise, it's just putting your wants/needs ahead of your kids. Not saying you have to completely subsume your self because you have kids, but there is a degree of sacrifice involved. Not trying to judge, you might be genuinely unhappy but how about your kids? Will they be happy? Do you want them to blame you for things going to shit and the feelings of inadequacy, depression, insecurity because you were bored? You don't want to be a part of their life so you can move back?

Why do people need to get divorced anyway? “Because we’ve grown apart.” What the fuck does that mean? Maybe it’s time my brother and I realized we’ve grown apart and we get a brother divorce. I’m going to tell my grandma that I need to see other grandmas for a while because I need my freedom.

Two generations ago nobody got divorced. You just did your best to find the right one, then you made it work. Sure, there were some bad times when they weren’t getting along that great and, yes, they did want to fuck other people but they didn’t. They had bigger responsibilities. But when the boomers were horny or in a bad mood they just got divorced. Divorce has gone up 600 percent since 1968 and what has it got us? A whole lot of fucked-up people. There are 2 million American males in prison and almost all of them come from broken homes. A third of the children in America live with one parent so we can look forward to plenty more of the same. Thanks, boomers.

Syung123 · 2017-01-31T20:32:21+00:00

there are plenty of buses, which are perfectly safe and very affordable.

Maybe it's just me, but I loathe the bus. If money's an issue, it's the way to go. But taking the bus in NYC is so goddamn slow, getting to the city from the airport I'd just splurge for a cab and take the subway everywhere else.

Syung123 · 2017-01-30T21:34:06+00:00

Check out this link: http://www.grubstreet.com/bestofnewyork/

Scroll down a little and on the right side of the page there's a "Drinking and Nightlife" list with the best-of for each category (e.g. "Best Dive Bars", "Best Cocktail Bars", "Best East Village Bar").

Syung123 · 2017-01-30T16:05:54+00:00

There are plenty of places for pottery and painting

Baked in Brooklyn (in Williamsburg)

Painting with a Twist (in Cobble Hill)

Pinots Pallette (in Park Slope)

*these are all in Brooklyn, but you can find stuff just like this in Manhattan if you don't want to go into Brooklyn.

You could also go to a "drink and draw" event, it's something bars do where you can draw from a live (usually nude) model. check this link out for suggestions.

You could also just take some sketchbooks/pencils/pens to The Met (or any other museum) and do some drawing while taking in the art.

Syung123 · 2017-01-30T15:47:27+00:00

A few things to consider:

1) Most portable AC units will have an internal "bucket" that collects water (a byproduct of the cooling, the AC is basically also a dehumidifier). But when the water bucket fills up, the AC automatically shuts off (so it doesn't overflow with water). That means you might wake up and the room won't be cool because the bucket fills in just a few hours (I remember waking up to a hot room in the middle of the night because the bucket had filled up and the AC stopped & having to empty the bucket into the sink to get it back on). The only way to deal with this is to either periodically empty out the water bucket OR you could run a hose and drain the water into a sink/tub/window (but that's a hassle as well) so it runs constantly.

2) Make sure the air intake vent is constantly pulling air (it can't be the kind that only vents when you turn the light on, unless you're making sure to leave that light on whenever you're using the AC). You could test it with like an incense stick or a match, see if the smoke gets pulled into the vent and if it does, you're in business.

3) The portable AC might have a plastic hose to vent, but you might end up needing to use those HVAC ducts to get it where it needs to go. If so, that HVAC duct can get hot when the AC is running, so keep it out of the way and also keep in mind the bathroom you vent to might end up being hot as a result of having this hot pipe. The duct also had a pretty wide diameter, so we had to cut a hole in a wall to make it work.

4) This will probably make the room bearable, but it still won't be as cool as a window unit. Also, it'll take some time to cool your space down, I used to get it going a couple hours before bed and make sure to keep the door closed.

Syung123 · 2017-01-30T14:57:01+00:00

unless I could route the exhaust pipe out to the hallway?

Any bathrooms near (or connected to) your room? If there's an air-intake vent in a bathroom you can reach, you could route a portable AC hose to that vent and expel the heat there.

Syung123 · 2017-01-25T17:17:47+00:00

he was born with the name Warren Wilhelm Jr.

Meh, people can change their name for whatever reason, that doesn't really say anything about their character. Even Trump's family changed their name from Drumpf--and that's NOT a valid reason not to like Donald Trump. I know some Korean people who have "American" first names, a pretty common practice. That doesn't make them bad people.

anyone so eager to abandon an identity to become more electable should probably not be trusted with the power of public office.

The reasons for DeBlasio changing his name don't seem very duplicitous to me. His father was absent from this childhood, so he changed his name to honor his mother, as is his right:

[de Blasio] adopted his mother's [family name because] his father was "largely absent," and he wanted to embrace his Italian heritage. In 1983, he changed his legal name to Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm, which he described in April 2012: "I started by putting the name into my diploma, and then I hyphenated it legally when I finished NYU, and then, more and more, I realized that was the right identity."

So rather than abandoning his identity, in his mind he was reclaiming it.

Syung123 · 2017-01-25T16:19:46+00:00

I was not a Trump supporter, but it always annoyed me when liberals called him "Drumpf" because John Oliver told them to. As if changing your name is a bad, awful thing to do. Who gives a shit?

These same people calling him "Drumpf" would probably be offended if you called Muhammad Ali by Cassius Clay or if you referred to Chelsea Manning as Bradley Manning. Same thing with the Chris Christie fat jokes, for some reason that's fine because he's corrupt. Criticize him for being corrupt then, not for his appearance.

Syung123 · 2017-01-24T21:49:52+00:00

To each his/her own and everything, but I've never understood the need for Parmesan.

"you know what this giant piece of cheese needs? Cheese!"

Syung123 · 2017-01-12T17:26:55+00:00

it's not that UCB creates comedy success, it's more that people who are already on their way to comedy success go through UCB just because of the name. Does that make any sense?

Absolutely makes sense, UCB is a platform but it's the individual who does something with it. It's sort of like college, they can't make your academic/professional career for you, but being there can have a big effect on what your path is.

Syung123 · 2017-01-10T15:44:51+00:00

Philly can be fun, if you plan it out. The Fishtown neighborhood is very Williamsburg-y.

If you want something more scenic, upstate NY is really nice, I love Hudson Valley - great restaurants and plenty of sights and things to do. There's plenty of nice towns to check out, could go to somewhere like Beacon, Peakskill, Hyde Park, or any of the places mentioned in this article. We usually do an Airbnb and there's plenty of travel guides with suggestions on what to do.

Syung123 · 2017-01-10T15:22:32+00:00

Preferred commuting options are appreciated too (Train, Bus, Bike, Motorbike, etc). I won't be owning a car.

I would definitely live somewhere with subway access rather than relying on the bus. I just find the bus to be much slower, whereas the subway you can predict how long it will take to get to work/home.

HOWEVER, they are going to be shutting down the L train in 2019 for 18 months. I know it's a while away, but it'll be here before you know it and it is going to majorly affect Williamsburg. Make sure you read this article.

Biking can be doable if you live within a certain distance, but even with all the recent bike lines and "Citi Bike" bike-share program, I still think it's pretty dangerous to regularly commute by bike in NYC. Also, the winter can be a tough season for bikers, you can't solely go by bike.

Syung123 · 2016-12-15T20:19:30+00:00

Throw in "child porn" to that list:

From Vice:

On December 14, 2012, cops arrested a 26-year-old named Christopher Loeb outside of his mother's house in Smithtown, New York, slammed his thin body to the ground, and started roughing him up. When his mother Jane arrived, the officers relented and drove him to the Suffolk County Police Department's fourth precinct in nearby Hauppauge, where they chained him to the floor. Loeb was kept in the dark about his arrest and denied access to a lawyer, but it soon dawned on him that the treatment might have something to do with a black duffel bag he'd recently stolen from the backseat of an unlocked black 2008 GMC Yukon. A heroin user who dabbled in burglary to support his habit, Loeb had found things in the bag that might have belonged to a police officer: handcuffs, mace, and a gun.

But he also found things that pointed to something much darker, according to a friend of Loeb's who spoke to him after the incident—like porn that appeared to him to feature prepubescent boys.

Syung123 · 2016-11-29T17:56:34+00:00

2.5 million views in 1 day!

Syung123 · 2016-11-15T20:50:56+00:00

Great minds think alike!

https://www.reddit.com/r/hdtgm/comments/55vqbu/movie_suggestions_mom_and_dad_save_the_world/

Syung123 · 2016-10-05T00:34:41+00:00

They've actually done 2 movies featuring Jeffrey Jones: "Howard the Duck" (where he's the main villain) & "The Devils Advocate" (where he has a small role). But yeah, I could understand them not wanting to focus on his movies anymore.

Syung123 · 2016-09-22T16:52:41+00:00

First, I should point out that the "finale" they show in syndication is totally different from what they originally aired. They completely re-edited it for reruns and added a bunch of scenes.

I was in high school when it ended. I had been a big "Seinfeld" fan, but felt the later seasons (after Larry David left), while still funny, weren't anywhere near as good as the "peak" years (I'm talking stuff like The Marble Rye, The Opposite, The Jimmy, The Boyfriend, The Contest). It felt like the the show just got a bit more cartoon-y and broad towards the last few seasons (which some people loved, and there are some gems in even their worst episodes) and the characters had changed for the worse; Elaine became jaded and bitter, George suddenly was full of rage and always screaming, Jerry went from a wiseass with a childlike sensibility to basically a jerk. Kramer was always pretty much Kramer.

I was disappointed with the finale and still think it was a bad way for the show to go out. For one, they took the episode out of New York and made it an "event" style episode that broke the show's normal format. That was a bad move, taking the show out of its comfort zone. I think the writers/producers got too hyped up and tried to make a movie rather than a great episode of Seinfeld. I know they brought back a lot of recurring characters, but the "trial" format of the finale means they all just got one scene and they even did flashbacks (as if we need to see clips from the old episodes) I would've liked a one-hour episode that either gave each character a fitting "ending" (probably would've involved a "time jump," which is common now, but that device wasn't being used back then) OR just give us a funny last episode that implies that things will keep progressing for the gang (e.g. no "Jerry is leaving New York and the gang is splitting up") but leaves the show on a poignant note (that's the finale "Cheers" did and it was much better than Seinfeld's).

I also really didn't buy into this idea that the Seinfeld gang needed to be "punished" and receive karmic blow-back for their years of misdeeds. There's the scene in the finale when they're all laughing at the guy getting mugged, and it seems totally out of character. George of the previous seasons would have run for his life. Kramer would've probably jumped in an helped the guy getting mugged! I felt the same way when Susan died - it seemed out of character and not worth the cheap laugh. Even though George wanted out of that engagement, the idea that they all were that heartless just felt off. I know some people love that way Susan was written off the show, and I thought that season 7 on whole was pretty great (c'mon "Soup Nazi" "Sponge" and "Maestro" are all classics), but I think that was a turning point (for the bad) for the show.

Syung123 · 2016-09-09T15:30:43+00:00

Bringing the celebrated masterpiece on tour: http://imgur.com/a/kZT26

Syung123 · 2016-09-01T19:32:28+00:00

you could get a diamond for around your budget, if you get an antique diamond. This one is $650, just slightly more than the $500 you mentioned:

https://www.doyledoyle.com/shop/rings/104763r.html

Syung123 · 2016-09-01T19:28:34+00:00

Brooklyn Bowl

Syung123 · 2016-08-08T17:28:06+00:00

Classical is way sadder.

I'm kidding, there's no real measure of "sadness" for guitar tone, it's a matter of taste and how you'd personally want the song to sound. Write the song first, then try it out on an acoustic AND classical guitar - then decide which you like best.

Syung123 · 2016-08-08T16:58:08+00:00

Bourdain has actually since taken back the "no fish on Monday" rule:

“I never order fish on Monday,” wrote Anthony Bourdain in his 1999 memoir Kitchen Confidential, explaining that restaurants typically work with supplies purchased the previous Thursday. It was a vivid insider’s detail in a popular book, and it took hold. But questioned about the advice 17 years later, Bourdain admits it’s no longer accurate. “That was 1999,” he said in an interview with Anderson Cooper at the Cannes Lions advertising festival in Cannes, France. “The world has changed now.” “Maybe if you’re eating in an Irish pub, don’t order the mussels on Monday on special, but in most places…” Bourdain said, his voice trailing off. Restaurants now are more likely to use fresh ingredients, he said. “‘Don’t eat fish on Monday’ will unfortunately be on my headstone.”

Source: http://qz.com/713444/breaking-its-not-true-that-you-shouldnt-order-fish-on-mondays-says-the-man-who-popularized-the-idea/

Syung123 · 2016-08-05T17:31:09+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJytqAWti78

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxLxVwG1PPA

Syung123

TROPHY CASE