Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
My cousin the magic 8-ball is better at predictions. I’m good at support. My recommendation would be to take a look at the biographies of past secretaries general (bit.ly/un-secretaries) to understand some pathways to that position (e.g., diplomatic service, university professor, foreign affairs ministry, UN Committees, UN employment), and get to work. I fully support you in this endeavor, and look forward to having a friend in high places!
Not much, really. Very happy to wake up from a long nap to find several days in a row of questions. You?
I’m sorry you’re having a hard time finding work. I strongly recommend setting up a consultation the BC Career Center. Here is there information specifically directed at international students seeking work in the US: bit.ly/BCCareerIS. And congratulations on your graduation!
I’m sorry it was removed before you got a chance to see the answer! You can always see an answer on my blog: library.bc.edu/answerwall. But here’s the answer again, for your convenience: Joan Harris’s rise from secretarial pool to starting her own production company, and the struggle that kind of rise took for a woman in the 60’s, makes for a really compelling storyline. Don Draper is interesting, of course, but also… who really relates to someone who literally invented an entire past? Everyone carries around secrets and lies, but to that degree? He was always too far from upstanding for this wall to relate to.
I can’t see double parking in that garage as being anything other than a selfish and discourteous act (except in extreme emergencies, perhaps, and by that I don’t mean running late for an exam.) But the wrong way driving, which my helpers have seen from time to time, is clearly due to people getting confused or being unfamiliar with the roads on campus. Still scary, though.
The literal meaning is products from Microsoft, the company Bill Gates founded. Why it’s phrased that way on the banner is anybody’s guess. Light humor? Good security practices are really about keeping yourself – your identity and access to your private information – safe. Bill’s products will be just fine.
Not too bad, indeed!
![Colombians are the best! [with hangman game]](https://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/aw072419-7.jpg)
_ N D E E D !
According to the University Catalog, there are 2 ways to graduate in <4 years; Advanced Standing through AP exams, and Acceleration by taking summer courses at BC and more than 15 credits per semester. More info is here (see “Graduation”): bit.ly/BCAcadPols, but in any case, talking to your Academic Advisor is the first step.
My abacus is at the shop, I’ll get back to you tomorrow.
Welcome to BC! I’m from right here! I’m not sure where my constituent materials all came from (oak cabinetry, concrete, brick) but they were all assembled right here in 1984, and my library assistants discovered that I was more than an inanimate structure in 2017.
Not sure it’s the rarest, but certainly the oldest: Jean Gerson’s De Spiritualib[us] Nupciis (On Spiritual Marriage) from about 1470, in Burns Library. Lots more info about it, and a link to the digital version, here: bit.ly/ReallyOldBook. As far as value goes, here’s a worthwhile answer: bit.ly/bc-books-worth.
Because baseball is a game of inches. Because draft picks. Because pitching. Baseball giveth, and baseball taketh away. Don’t worry, they’ll rock this town again.
Funny you should ask. I just met this dazzling wall, bit.ly/BCMargotsWall, brand new to BC, and thought if I wasn’t careful I could fall really hard for that one!
Here they are: 1. Distrito Federal 2. Chihuahua 3. Sonora 4. Coahuila de Zaragoza 5. Durango 6. Oaxaca 7. Tamaulipas 8. Jalisco 9. Zacatecas 10. Baja California Sur 11. Chiapas 12. Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave 13. Baja California 14. Nuevo Leon 15. Guerrero 16. San Luis de Potosi 17. Michoacan 18. Campeche 19. Sinaloa 20. Quintana Roo 21. Yucatan 22. Puebla 23. Guanajuato 24. Nayarit 25. Tabasco 26. Mexico 27. Hidalgo 28. Queretaro 29. Colima 30. Aguascalientes 31. Morelos 32. Tlaxcala
Talk to someone! When you’re having self-doubting and anxious thoughts, it’s easy to feel like you have to rely on your own understanding alone — but that’s not the case! Speak with your family, friends, and other members of your support system for a dose of reality when you’re feeling down on yourself. Don’t be afraid to speak with a professional counselor too; dialectical behavioral therapy has been particularly useful for some of my more anxious assistants. bit.ly/BC-counseling
I’m so sorry you experienced childhood trauma. What has a way of sticking with people for years is not so much the trauma itself, but the strategies those heroic little child-selves created to protect themselves from the trauma. Those strategies were absolutely brilliant & served their purpose well at the time: you survived. Adults no longer subjected to the trauma need new strategies that won’t interfere with adult relationships & situations, at the same time that they need to recognize (and celebrate!) the remarkable self-preservation accomplishments of the child-self. There are many different avenues of healing; almost all of them begin with some form of therapy. If you are a student at BC, avail yourself of counseling (bit.ly/BC-counseling). If you aren’t, begin with your primary care physician – you may need a referral for insurance purposes.
Bugs… you mean in America? at BC? In the library? Bugs tickle my walls if they’re on the interior, but I haven’t felt many lately. If you mean outside, sure, July and August are buggy months in Boston. Many restaurants in Boston & environs. It all depends on what kind of food you like. Mexican? Locally, El Pelon. Speaking of local, the best pizza is Pino’s or Frank Pepe’s. Taiwanese? People like Mu Lan in Waltham. Speaking of Waltham, Cuban: Gustazo, and Guatemalan: Mi Tierra. Another locale with many restaurants: The North End. Try Carmelina for classic Italian and then Caffe Vittoria for espresso and gelato.
Practice & Study. The official College Board study guide for 2020 is available for a modest price via most booksellers, as are many, many other print and online guides such as Khan Academy, Princeton Review, and the SAT Prep Black Book. The Khan Academy online version is free, and was developed with the College Board. You can also take an SAT prep course, but gains are modest, given the fees & exaggerated promises: bit.ly/sat-prep-results. I’m fine, thanks for asking!
“Better” for schools is not really an objective thing, despite the attempts of the people who do rankings. “Better for people who study X” is a little more knowable. But it still ultimately comes down to where you personally feel comfortable, because a very short time after college you’ll begin to find that people are more interested in what you’ve done than where you went. Brandeis has some really fine, upstanding walls, though..
