Isn’t it wonderful when you have someone like that in your life? Make sure you let her know how much you value her!
N is the angel of sweetness and hilarious laughter in my life.
How do I be the best friend I can possibly be?
Be interested in someone’s story. Ask questions. Be a good listener. Reveal yourself. Suggest an outing. And sometimes go with the flow and let your friend direct the plan. But first check your pulse: are you depleted or overwhelmed? You may not be in a place to be that friend.
Is [name redacted] a Goblin or a Ghoul?
![Is [name redacted] a Goblin or a Ghoul?](https://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/aw102418-7b.jpg)
It depends. Are they a) a malevolent, demonic, small ugly creature who causes harm and mischief, or are they b) an undead being who frequents graveyards and eats human flesh? (a = goblin, b=ghoul). We have the Greeks to thank for goblins (“kobalus” meant “knave” or “rogue”) and the Arabs to thank for ghouls. Goblins have populated the European imagination for at least a millenium; ghouls are a more recent addition that came with the translation of 1,001 Nights into French in the 19th Century. For more spooky etymologies, see the Oxford English Dictionary (BC only): bit.ly/BC-oxford-english.
My boyfriend is going abroad next semester. How to make long distance work?
Communicate, but don’t suffocate. Give him enough breathing room to miss you, and most importantly enjoy your own semester even though you’ll miss him!
Life is hard. I just want an internship.
I know, life really is hard sometimes. I have full faith that if you keep at it, you’ll get what you need. You’re working with the Career Center about the internship, right? (bit.ly/BC-career)
Did lower campus used to be underwater/part of the res?
Yes! Check it out: bit.ly/bc-reservoirs. And the history is here: bit.ly/bc-lc
I have a friend who is in a really tough place right now mentally. What should I do to help her out?
Thanks for being such a caring friend. University Counseling Services (bit.ly/BCCounselingSvcs) can help you: “Students and others who desire psychological advice regarding concerns about others may make an appointment.”
How are you today?
To be honest, I was feeling a little flat and hung up on things; but then I saw you…
Does the Balrog from Lord of the Rings have wings?
This controversy seems to stem from the tragic encounter with the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm described in the FOTR. The text reads, “…the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings,” and later, “…its wings were spread from wall to wall.” Yet, Gandalf’s description of the defeat of the Balrog in The Two Towers suggests the it was unable to fly: “he fell from the high place and broke the mountain-side.” Did Gandalf so destroy the Balrog that it was unable to fly to save itself? Are Balrogs the penguins of Tolkien’s universe? Were the wings merely a simile? In his foreword to the second edition, Tolkien admits that he “finds many defects, minor and major,” but “will pass over these in silence.” So perhaps this is one of the minor defects of this otherwise brilliant epic.
Can the library loan out Super Drives at the front desk like the chargers? CD drives that attach with a USB
The wall is thrilled to say, we do! O’Neill has 5 SuperDrives available for loan at the 3rd Floor Circulation Desk. They can be borrowed for 4 hours at a time.
Why are so many of the scanners out of order?
My library helpers say they are trying to resolve some issues with the vendor. I will update you when I find out more.
Why does the Gasson Bell always ring one minute early?
I sent one of my helpers out to listen for the 1 PM bells. The chimes (bit.ly/ChimesSound) sound before the hour strikes, of course, but the 1 o’clock bell struck at 1:59:47 according to my helper using time.gov. Are you gonna ding them for 13 seconds…?
I am so tired of having endless commitments and work
I think T.S. Eliot was wrong about which month is cruelest, at least for college students and professors! October’s a busy month, for sure. When things calm down a little, take some time for yourself to reflect on what’s most important to you; you might find some of your commitments can be adjusted to fit your priorities. Sometimes, feeling overwhelmed comes from making someone else’s priorities your own. Also, it’s important to take breaks, even if it means having to tell someone that the thing that was going to be ready Friday will have to wait ’til Monday. I hope you can put this tired & busy time behind you soon!
Can the printer system have an option to print all in our queue instead of going and picking one by one?
If you are at a release station that has a keyboard, you will be able to print all of the jobs in your queue by holding down Shift and then using the mouse to click each job. I have reached out to my friends in IT to see if we can get more keyboards set up in the print areas.
Got any good O’Neill Library secrets?
Not really an O’Neill secret, but lower campus used to be wetter. Before my time, fortunately. bit.ly/bc-reservoirs
Any good poem recs?
There are just so many good poems that this is a really tough one! What subjects do you enjoy? What styles? Eras? One place to go is the Poetry Foundation (bit.ly/PF-poems), where you can find editors’ picks, or browse by subject or school (style) of poetry from Poetry Magazine’s 100+ year history of publishing, with over 40,000 poems. On their newsletter page, you can sign up for poem-a-day via email. Here’s a nice poem about a wall: bit.ly/goodman-wall.
Why are the culture clubs not given a bigger platform on campus?
I recommend talking to the Office of Student Involvement (bc.edu/osi), who oversees student organizations.
Is Venus in retrograde because life is whack right now?
No. While initial rotation of Venus during primordial times was probably fast and prograde, Venus has been in its present configuration of slow retrograde motion within the age of the Solar System, possibly during the first billion years (Correia, 2003; bit.ly/spinofvenus). It is believed that the present motion of Venus is a steady state between gravitational tides and thermally driven atmospheric tides, as well as tidal dissipation effects due to proximity to the Sun (Correia, 2010; bit.ly/tidalevol).
Is it bad to date during freshman year????
I don’t think so. Freshman year is such a great period of exploration in general. I would, however, caution about getting so involved with someone freshman year that you limit your other activities. On the other hand, dating seems like a much better option than the hook-up culture, so kudos to you for thinking about it.
How do I find underclassmen to buy me meal plan?
-BC senior
(I will! text me)
you too 🙂
text me
Venmo? GoFundMe? No, but seriously, if you’re food insecure, that’s a problem. I’d talk to the Financial Aid office to see about options. Start by visiting the Office of Student Services in Lyons; if you’re an undergrad, they can usually get you a next-day or a day later appt. (But if you’re on a flex plan, it might be just that you’re finishing the “bonus bucks” on your flex plan before the actual dining bucks kick in.) Good luck!