Category Archives: Random

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Unofficial Orientation 2022: What to Pack

This an updated version of Maury’s update of Fos’ coronavirus update of a not highly modified repost of Fern’s post from 2019 which was a highly updated version of Meli’s post from the year before, which is a repost of Sam’s post from the year before that, which is a  repost of Jackson’s post from the year before that, which was a repost of Frizzly’s post from the year before that, which was a repost of Samira’s post in 2013.

This is part of our 2022 Unofficial Orientation Series. A quick reminder that you can check out the welcome post here and past years’ series here.

The packing list: possibly the most exciting part of the entire pre-frosh experience. There’s nothing quite like that first pilgrimage to Bed Bath and Beyond, walking through the forest of twin XL sheets and Premium, Ultra High Thread Count, Norwegian-Silk-Worm-Excrement-Infused ® towels. Every which way you look there’s something else that you couldn’t possibly live without in the perfect dorm room you’ve conjured up in your head.

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Unofficial Orientation 2022: Dorm Living FAQ

Holly and Xue wrote the first version of this post in 2006 and it has been reposted every year since then. Dorm Life never changes much. Unless Fauver becomes Bennett (wow this joke is old). (Or unless Clark goes on fire a few times) (Or unless the Butts get flooded on Night 1)

Pictured: A bright-eyed young freshman shakes his groove thang, eager to impress his lofty peers. Taken by Rachel Pincus '13.

Pictured: A bright-eyed young freshman shakes his groove thang, eager to impress his lofty peers. Taken by Rachel Pincus ’13.

This is part of our 2022 Unofficial Orientation Series. A quick reminder that you can check out the welcome post here and past years’ series here.

Dear frosh of 2026,

As you are probably fretting about your first day of college, a sense of melancholy (or jittery excitement and increased WesAdmits activity, if you hated high school) has creeped up on you. Are you making lists of toiletries and getting boxes from Staples to pack your life into? Wondering how much action your soon-to-be bed has gotten in the past? A lot, probably.

But don’t be too frazzled. Before you finish your housing form, get your roommate(s) assignment, and make dorm Facebook groups that no one will check after October, Wesleying‘s here to answer your 40ish most pressing questions related to waking-up-and-instantly-having-200-or-so-of-your-peers-to-hang-out-with.

The pertinent FAQ doesn’t change much from year to year, so we tend to update/repost much of the original guide by Norse Goddess Holly-and-Xue ’08 (cuz it’s still damn good and we’re still damn lazy) every year. This re-vamped guide is up to date and full of Wesleyan lingo:

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HBO Max Winter Roundup

As finals week wraps up and we all return home, the time has come for hiding from your relatives in your childhood bedroom and binge-watching TV shows. Although there are countless streaming services with old favorites to peruse, HBO Max has recently been taking the lead in juicy new releases. Here is a definitive ranking. Spoiler alert. 

 

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Procrastination Destination: IT’S INTERNET RABBIT HOLE TIME!!

By now, we’re at the final day of reading period,and the anxiety of upcoming deadlines for papers and exams are approaching with alarming speed. Treat yourself to a break by falling down any of these wonderful holes in the internet, guaranteed to keep you entertained and engaged for hours.

Internet K-hole – A series of photos from the 70s and 80s that will transport youto a different world. The pictures start to become familiar yet eerie the further you scroll, and the supply will never end. I fell down the internet K-hole even just while writing this article.

The Rotten Library – an alternative wikipedia for the stranger parts of the internet, including articles on cryptozoology, flaming carrots, hollow earth, and so many other things you probably have never even heard of. You’ll just have to see for yourself. 

The Useless Web – a fantastically useless button that will take you to a new random link on the internet every time you click it. My personal favorite is the eel slap, which you can eventually discover for yourself if you click the button enough times. 

Subreddit r/conspiracy – This subreddit will lead you down a slippery slope of conspiracy theories, some just emerging, and others continuing the conversation of ideas that have existed for decades. 

A gallery of the best finds on Google Earth – try to find them yourself!

The Editing Room – a collection of movie scripts that have the plotholes and mistakes pointed out. Find your favorite movie to have your mind blown!

Geoguessr – A ridiculously fun game that drops you in a random google earth location and using context clues from the picture, you guess on a map where you think you are and see how close you got to the actual location. 

Happy scrolling!

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Procrastination Destination: Buzzfeed Edition

Hello fellow procrastinators! While it may be easy as hell to procrastinate, sometimes the regular ol’ routine (switching between snapchat, youtube, and instagram) can get slightly boring, so I’m here to switch things up…we’re adding buzzfeed to the mix. Enjoy my favorite quizzes, lads, as they’re sure to swallow up at least twenty minutes of your time:

 

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Demystifying the Wes Covid Experience: Life at the Middletown Inn

Are you eternally unsatisfied with the mystery that is quarantine in the inn?  Can you simply not fall asleep at night because you’re just so curious about what those covid people are doing that whole time?? 

If your answer was yes, I welcome you. If it was no…well too bad, because I’m gonna tell you anyway. Welcome to behind the scenes: a day in the life of a Middletown Inn covid patient. 

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Ranking Wes Kombucha Options: an Odyssey of Fermented Exploration

Hello my friends! And welcome to the ultimate Wesleyan kombucha guidebook. Maybe you’re a complete kombucha newbie and you just need some, shall we say, guidance on how to navigate the minefield that is kombucha (it can be very intimidating, I understand). Or maybe you’re a long-time kombucha drinker, and you just want to make sure your favorites are properly recognized (which, if you believe they were not, I extend absolutely no apologies—you need to re-evaluate your taste buds, love). Either way, you’ve come to the right place. I tried every last kombucha option Wesleyan has to offer, and have curated a ranking meticulously based on very strict criteria: looks, taste, and what I call the Kombucha Komponent (like component but with a K—get it?) 

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An Ode to Animal Crossing

A photo I took with my phone of my Switch screen because Nintendo does not give you an easy way to get screenshots off the device goddammit

The last couple months have not been good. Terrible, if we’re being honest. It has been hard to find hope, or joy, or a reason to get up in the morning (I don’t know about you, but having to wake up and watch someone with a PhD not know how to share their screen every day for 6 weeks just wasn’t really doing it for me). We have to find our happiness wherever we can, no matter how trivial it is. And for me, one of these small sources of happiness has been Animal Crossing. 

Animal Crossing, if you don’t know, is a Nintendo game where you play as a villager in a town (or island in this case) full of animals. You start with nothing, but through the generous interest-free loans of raccoon Tom Nook, you can build a house and start a life. There isn’t much that “happens,” per se, in Animal Crossing; you furnish your house and buy clothes at stores in town, you plant flowers and trees, you talk to your neighbors, you collect fish, bugs, and fossils to put on exhibit in your town’s museum. It is the poster child for a low intensity experience. And that is exactly what I need right now.

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Tip Box 12/4: An Ode to the Chamber Music Concert

#chamber #music #rocks

As I was perusing the tip box responses in our staff inbox with @fos over lunch today, I stumbled across a rather charming ode* to the Chamber Music Performance in Crowell from two Tuesday’s ago. The review was written with love and gusto, and is possibly the most eloquent piece I have had the pleasure to read during my time at Wesleyan. Whether you have been desperately awaiting a recap of this dazzling performance, or you’ve found yourself with some extra time on your hands, this is definitely worth a read. We recommend you read this piece in Professor Andrew Szegedy-Maszak‘s** voice while cuddled up with a blanket, a steaming cup of hot cocoa, and your cat.

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