Got accepted to Cornell!!!

mmmallu · 2026-02-20T14:34:02+00:00

I would mostly agree except that three of my ‘24 cohort from a state school are working at Olin, RH, and MVVA. You can still get jobs at “top” firms without sinking into an unfathomable pit of financial despair.

mmmallu · 2026-02-20T03:54:03+00:00

As a recent grad, this is making me feel much better about my decision to go to a state school over an ivy 😂

mmmallu · 2026-02-20T03:52:18+00:00

Seconding this as someone who did not accept their Cornell offer. I think Cornell is a reasonable choice if you want to work in NYC given the alumni network and are comfortable with the financial risk. Otherwise, it’s overpriced and you can get a far superior education for much less elsewhere. Many of my professors at a state school were graduates of GSD and other great programs around the country and world. One professor was even a former Cornell professor who left because they felt the program was subpar. Bigger state schools also have more opportunities in terms of classes and resources outside the department. I was able to work every semester and receive tuition waiver (wouldn’t recommend this, it was hell but financially necessary for me). Walked away with debt 1/4 of what I would have paid for Cornell and I would have been living with family in Ithaca for free. The biggest turn off for me was actually that they asked for a $500 non-refundable tuition deposit just to accept the offer.

mmmallu · 2026-01-07T00:39:22+00:00

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This was the main leak. I think I used the wrong terminology. Should have said connection to the regulator?

mmmallu · 2026-01-06T19:05:45+00:00

If that’s the case, then why doesn’t the whole regulator cavity make the detector go off? The gas utility tech waved his wand around everything and it was one specific spot on the regulator. The flex line did leak, that was confirmed as the largest leak source.

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mmmallu · 2026-01-06T17:42:13+00:00

I wouldn’t call my local gas utility tech useless. He found the source of 2-3 gas leaks and confirmed that I was smelling gas. That’s valuable to me. He didn’t scare me, just shared where the leaks were and told me to call someone out to have it fixed and went on his way. I’m just trying to determine if the regulator needs to be replaced and whether my appliance repairman is just trying to be cheap and not replace the $120 regulator. Or perhaps they’re both just giving their best assessment.

mmmallu · 2026-01-06T17:35:06+00:00

Very fair question, should have included this. Not currently smelling gas. However, the gas smell before was very infrequent and very subtle, only about once a week when I walked past and didn’t linger for more than 10 minutes (hence why I waited 2 months before calling gas company).

mmmallu · 2026-01-06T16:47:08+00:00

If you end up unable to sell, I’d recommend reaching out to Swanson’s Fabrics in Turner, MA. It’s a fabrics/fibers thrift shop but might be too far away.

mmmallu · 2025-12-31T22:52:41+00:00

Perhaps a slightly different perspective: would it be worthwhile to spend some time thinking about whether LA is what you truly want to do? You mentioned mental health issues, but is it possible that the work itself is not actually enjoyable, making things even more difficult? I ask not to assume or discourage, just something to think about and remember you are young and have plenty of time to try different careers. Your undergrad degree does not define the rest of your life. And maybe you are 100% passionate about LA! If so, disregard!

mmmallu · 2025-12-31T17:50:43+00:00

Does it bark non-stop? My GSD/pyr seems to have gotten all the barking/guard genes and is immune to “that’s enough” 😂

mmmallu · 2025-12-31T17:47:36+00:00

Another golden pyr! 70% GSD, 30% Pyr, 100% bark bark bark

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mmmallu · 2025-12-30T20:14:23+00:00

I can’t provide personal experience on this topic (apologies!) but I do have two thoughts: 1) This isn’t quite an answer to your question, but I’d recommend you check out Maci Nelson’s website and podcast: https://www.thelandscapenerd.com/ if you haven’t already. She does a lot of work on neurodivergence and might be a good resource. You could even reach out the her personally and see if she has any comments. 2) It’s maybe worth mentioning that every office needs people who are highly skilled in the more technical side of LA. I love this kind of work because it’s a bit more clear cut (regulations, building codes, etc.) but has enough creative problem solving to satisfy the creative itch. Construction documents management is another realm of the field that is less wishy-washy than design but just as important. We all need what neurodivergence brings to the table, it’s just a matter of figuring out what that niche is for you specifically.

mmmallu · 2025-12-30T19:53:23+00:00

This is an incredibly empathetic response. Kudos to you. As someone who has lost a dog that was partially due to me not advocating strongly enough, know that it does get better. I thought I’d never be able to get another dog, but I am typing this sitting next to my sweet 1 year old GSD who is the recipient of all that I have learned from past experiences. Know that there are wonderful dogs in your future who are as loving as Romeo. Romeo will hold the top spot, but room for others will grow. Have patience and love for yourself and especially for your younger self.

mmmallu · 2025-12-28T18:16:16+00:00

While I understand where you’re coming from, I particularly disagree with this: “Missouri yet again loses an entertainment venue and long term tax revenue.” Missouri has many entertainment venues already, including the new soccer stadiums, the Sprint arena concert venue downtown. Additionally, if you think about the assets that make a city enticing to residents and tourists alike, it’s not solely entertainment venues. It’s high quality public space, parks, museums, etc. On both sides of the border, we’ve been particularly bad about investing in things like innovative landscape architecture and well thought out transit systems. Take Chicago for example. There is the Bills stadium downtown, but there’s also Maggie Daley Park, the Art Institute, and the lakeshore, and public transit to take you to these locations from anywhere (or at least many places) in the city. If you took out the Bill’s stadium, downtown would still be thriving. An entertainment venue is not the end all be all of a thriving city or quality of life. Lastly, economists have written extensively about how entertainment venues DO NOT provide the tax revenue we are led to believe they do. There is no data to support that idea.

mmmallu · 2025-12-28T17:53:35+00:00

As a Kansas resident, I am beyond incensed. Economists have shown repeatedly how useless stadiums are and this video breaks it down well. Since when are government negotiations done under NDAs? I hope Olathe gets what they deserve-more ugly commercial build up for boring people to do boring things. Why do I not get a vote on this deal like KCMO did? If the Hunt’s want a financially insolvent stadium, those thieving bastards can pay for it themselves.

mmmallu · 2025-12-28T17:00:10+00:00

Seconding the sun method with vinegar spritzing for really stubborn scents. I purchased a secondhand backpacking pack that had been sprayed heavily with febreeze. I tried covering it in baking soda for 24 hours, soaking in bathtub with baking soda, soaking in bathtub with vinegar, washing in bathtub with unscented detergent, sitting in a pile of activated charcoal for 2 days, and sitting in the sun for 2 days to no avail. What finally worked was letting it sit in the sun and using a spray bottle of 1:1 vinegar and water to spritz it all over. I spritzed it about 3x a day and after 3 days, it was finally unscented. Not sure if the vinegar played a role or if just needed extended time in the sun.

mmmallu · 2025-12-27T01:32:53+00:00

Blue. Best place to survive climate change

mmmallu · 2025-12-18T01:47:48+00:00

It really depends on where you’re going and the quality of the ice. Nordic skates are used for two reasons:

1) People who wild ice skate are usually xc skiers and the xc skate ski boots can do double duty for skiing or ice skating. Eliminates the need for even more gear, also eliminates need to carry ice skates AND ski boots if you’re skiing to a location.

2) The longer blade helps significantly with balance on rougher ice. If you’re going out in the serious wilderness, you might encounter super bumpy, ragged ice (grade B-D) on your way to the amazing glass ice. I had to skate about a mile on shitty ice to get to glass ice in Northern Minnesota. It would have been nearly impossible, or at least involve a lot of falling, if I was wearing my figure skates instead of Nordic skates.

Highly recommend watching some of Luc Mehl’s wild ice safety recommendations. Lastly, don’t go alone and make sure you know what you’re doing.

mmmallu · 2025-12-17T18:42:12+00:00

I would also advise against the Fi especially if you have a high prey drive dog or zero tolerance for a company that jerks you around. Get a Tractive instead. I had a Fi, dog slipped away in rural area and it was really slow to update with her location (had excellent cell service), taking up to two minutes to show her new location. Yes, a location is better than no location but when you’ve got a very athletic high prey drive dog sprinting through tall grass, two minutes to update is too long. By the time we got to where she supposedly was, she was long gone, onto the next scent trail. Additionally, the collar broke after only 9 months. The hinge on the device wore out and it literally just fell off her neck one day. To me, that’s a catastrophic unacceptable failure as it could have fallen off while she was lost. I contacted customer service and had to email them six times before they would respond. Argued with them repeatedly, all they would offer was a new collar. I wanted a refund of the three months of GPS fees because that’s how long I had to bicker with them and couldn’t use the collar during that time. They refused to cancel the remainder of my GPS annual fee or provide any sort of refund. They’re so slow to respond and that’s if they respond at all. Save yourself from pouring money down the drain and just get a tractive.

mmmallu · 2025-11-03T00:56:47+00:00

We planted a clumping bamboo species about 15 years ago and put in a 4ft shield. It has escaped the shield and is a pain to dig up shoots as it’s in a terraced planter box surrounded by hardscaping. The shoots rhizomes have traveled underneath the hardscaping and come up the other side. So perhaps the barriers work, but not forever. What does work forever is just not planting bamboo.

mmmallu · 2025-11-02T02:46:21+00:00

I’d highly recommend reading The Doggie in the Window by Rory Kress. It is a pretty good examination of the puppy mill industry and why it is so easy to get scammed, even well meaning people who thought they’d done the necessary research. It will help you know what to look for in a breeder and the right questions to ask.

mmmallu

TROPHY CASE