
We are not born for ourselves alone. (Cicero, On Duties)
Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
The best place to have sex is somewhere that you feel safe and that you have permission to be in. As for O’Neill, there aren’t exactly a lot of secret passages or corridors or stacks you can get lost in like some other libraries. The stacks in the library have study spaces scattered throughout, which means that anyone could come along at any time. Similarly, the 5 floors of space we do have are pretty densely populated by staff (office space is a chronic problem on campus). Nevermind the fact that the walls can talk. O’Neill is a less than ideal spot for a private act like sex. Best of luck to you in finding your best sex space.
Congratulations to the LA Clippers’ newest player, and Boston College’s first ever NBA lottery draft pick, Jerome Robinson! Go Eagles! Read about it: bit.ly/BC-Jerome
Sorry about the temperature! We’ve had this complaint before, and I will send it again to the folks who oversee temperatures. The problem is this: the temperature is more for the sake of the books than for humans. Books like it best in a pretty narrow range of temperatures and humidity that unfortunately is a little lower than is comfortable for some humans sitting and reading. (Did you ever wonder why the stereotypical librarian is wearing a cardigan? Wonder no more.) Try any classroom building, or if you don’t mind a little activity, one of the dining areas. Or bring a cardigan?
Not every day – at least, I’m not happy all the time. It’s probably not realistic or sustainable to always be happy. Being happier in general might be a reasonable goal, and you’re in luck; Happiness Research has taken off as a field in this century. A search in our catalog under the subject “happiness” might be a good place to start, including: “The calculus of happiness : how a mathematical approach to life adds up to health, wealth, and love” QA93 .F467 2017.
I’d love to see you here! I always look forward to answering more students’ questions, as do my colleagues at the reference desk. Sadly, the transfer application site (bit.ly/BC-transfer) says the transfer application deadline for Fall is March 15, and all applicants hear by May 20. If you’d like to apply for Spring transfer enrollment, the deadline is November 15.
I happen to be acquainted with a game theorist. He applies game theory to football pools and wins big every year. Hardly anyone will let him into their pools any more, because word has gotten around that with him in the pool, nobody else stands a chance. But he never bets on baseball. He says there are too many variables: too many games, too many potential pitcher-batter match-ups, winds & humidity that affect home run potential, minor injuries… I mean, a hangnail can kill a pitcher’s ERA! There’s just no way to tell, which is why baseball is the best sport: just as in life, you never know what will happen. Go, Sox! (In the meantime, I why not read The fix is in: A history of baseball gambling and game fixing scandals, by Daniel Ginsburg. O’Neill Library GV863.A1 G58 1995.)
Please enjoy these pictures of my cousin the Express Yo’self Wall at Brandeis University’s Goldfarb-Farber Library. I visited earlier this summer. We had a great time! As you can tell, Express Yo’self is a little more freewheeling and adventurous than me.
It’s also possible your mojo is working, but just not working for the purpose you want. Like Muddy Waters, you might explore either going to Louisiana to get a mojo “hand,” or consulting with a Roma soothsayer: bit.ly/mojo-working. (At the very least, listening to his music should spark some mojo.) You might also try the unacknowledged queen of the blues, Ida Cox, who sang about mojo way back in 1927, and later sang about how wild women don’t have the blues: bit.ly/wild-women. Ida’s advice: “You never get nothing by being an angel child/ You better change your ways and get real wild.” Another way to think about mojo is a variant on “lean in”: are you avoiding something? Don’t run away from it; move closer, and turn fear into excitement.
Why not both? Sam Adams’ new Sam ’76 is a blend of an ale and lager designed to appeal to the Budweiser crowd – my human friends tell me it’s pretty good for what it’s trying to be. Generally speaking, if you want fruity or more adventurous beers, you’re looking at an ale. Lagers should be crisper and cleaner on the palette (i.e. they should not have strong aftertastes like a stout or an IPA – both ales). Both have their strengths and both can be delicious.
Of course. LeBron is a monster. A generational talent. Arguably (and there’s lots of argument) the best ever. LeBron will make any team better. BUT, we need to consider the Celtics locker room. Kyrie left Cleveland, ostensibly to get away from LeBron, so bringing LeBron here would probably bode poorly for how well the team gels. I also don’t know how coach-able LeBron is these days, having basically coached the Cavs himself for the past few years. Personally, I would be excited to see him come, but I also think there would be a lot of adjustment early in the season.
Number 1 most frequent question on the Answer Wall! Here’s how: My assistants use this template: bit.ly/print-postit to create the ‘document’ and then send it to the printer as a manual feed. Then they put the actual template of sticky-notes into the printer’s manual feed tray.
Because tradition, the Wall suspects–lots of colleges and universities do it, and use pretty much the same language. Here’s a brief history of BC’s diplomas from 2013. bit.ly/bc-diploma1. The official English translation is here: bit.ly/bc-diploma2. Think of it this way: if a time machine dumps you out at the University of Paris in 1302 your diploma will still get you into grad school.
I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t had luck in requesting additional shuttle service, but I’m sure that Transportation Services will track feedback on this issue for the future when they develop new schedules. In the meantime, I would recommend taking the shuttle to the Reservoir T-stop, walking from there to the C-Line at Cleveland Circle and taking that three stops to the Star Market. If you don’t have access to a car, that is probably the easiest grocery store to get to from here. Alternatively, you could try to organize trips with friends – either asking a friend to drive you or meeting up with a group of car-free friends to share a taxi, Uber, or Lyft to the grocery store and back. Good luck!
There are so many options for a bucket list, it is tough to contain them to the size of a post-it! Visit the Boston Harbor Islands, go to the beach, head to a Red Sox game. On a hot day, stay cool inside by visiting a museum or the aquarium. Play tourist and walk the Freedom Trail. Plan your own food tour or pub crawl. To see what is happening on a particular day or over the weekend, check out thebostoncalendar.com.
Sigh… I’m sad that you’re in a situation where going and staying both seem hard. But know that you aren’t alone in this predicament; it’s something everyone has to face at some point, one way or another. As Joe Strummer of the Clash so succinctly put it, “Should I stay or should I go now?/ If I go, there will be trouble/ And if I stay it will be double.” Whatever you do, don’t be hasty, and talk it through with a lot of people. Sometimes growth means persisting, and sometimes growth requires a change. If you don’t have anyone to talk to, try Counseling Services (bit.ly/BC-counseling) or Academic Advising (bit.ly/BC-advising), depending on the nature of the decision you’re facing. And if you need to vent, especially if the conundrum is romantic, I recommend the Clash on volume 11: bit.ly/clash-should-I
Warriors. The wall is a big fan of LeBron (not a hater at all) and his ability to get to the finals through sheer force of will with what is actually a D2 college team coached by a high school BB coach. But championships should go to the better team, and the Warriors are for sure the better team and more fun to watch. Plus, the Celtics deserve to be there anyway.
Yes! Counseling Services is open for the summer Mondays – Thursdays, 8:45 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. and Fridays, 8:45 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. They can be reached by calling 617-552-3310, by going to their website (bit.ly/BC-counseling), or by going to their office in Gasson 001. If you need/want to talk with someone outside of those hours you can call BC Police at 617-552-4444 and they will connect you with someone off hours. Please call. There are times when everyone needs to talk with someone and Counseling Services is here to support you during this time.