Winter woes, Spring Break cometh
By Christopher DaCosta
There are four weeks and counting until we can rinse off the foul stench of winter quarter from our weather-beaten bodies. Okay, perhaps we left-coasters aren't exactly Mother Nature's pawns, but it seems as if the weather has been rather erratic lately. I want out of winter quarter!
Yes. I know. I'm overreacting, but raise your hand if you're sick of wearing sweaters, socks and a sober expression because of the intense Friday night cold on your walk back from the "hopping" Santa Clara party scene. By "hopping" I mean watching three drunken guys perform Knoxville-esque stunts on their front lawn. The severe dearth of social entertainment during the winter months has undoubtedly left more time for the pursuit of all things academic. However, if you're like me you're probably suffering from a debilitating case of Elimi-crastination: "Oh, I'll start my homework after Elimidate is over." Come on, it's everybody's favorite late-night hoochie roundup. The other maladies plaguing the sunlight-starved student population include extreme cabin fever; my ventures to the outside world have become increasingly limited â€" who can resist Fox's quality programming. "The Littlest Groom," anyone?
Furthermore, despite the gym's proximity, wading through the soggy quagmire that separates my residence hall from the world is a workout in itself. I am fraught with self-loathing due to my lack of motivation to parade myself on the Malley meat-market. But hey, like Carrie Bradshaw I have no need for recumbent bikes â€" shopping is also my cardio. Well, that was until my thrifty friend Lindsey inspired me to declare a moratorium on shopping. Slowly my bank account is recovering. Unfortunately, this finance major's credit history is not. To quote Alanis, isn't it ironic?
Ironic twists aside, the shining beacon of winter quarter is what comes next: Spring Break. Like the pleasant, little pop culture slave that I am, I have been conditioned to envision the mythic college spring break trip as a melange of surf, sun, hot bods and MTV's beach house.
Well let's take a brief inventory of my collegiate spring breaks so far:
Freshman year â€" somehow I duped myself into thinking I could be part of the crew team. The commitment required me to sacrifice my spring break as well as my sanity. There was surf, there was sun, maybe a few hotter bods than mine but there was no beach house, just the dreaded boathouse.
Sophomore year â€" ah, ice cream and the eerily decrepit Santa Cruz beach boardwalk. Relaxing with friends from high school eased me out of my winter quarter ailments last year.
This year â€" yours truly will actually be a guest on MTV's beach house! Yeah, right. Thanks to poor planning, I will not be seeing visions of bikini-clad fairies in Cancun this year. I'll be right here in Santa Clara, that is if I survive winter quarter.
û Contact Christopher DaCosta at (408) 554-4852 or cdacosta@scu.edu.