Hamilton College Admission Journals: Luke Maher

Things that Hamilton Has Paid for Me to Do

Sun, 09 May 2010 20:21:44 GMT

No, seriously, the following is a list of things that Hamilton footed the bill for, presented without comment (for the most part):

Guggenheim Museum
Museum of Natural History
Tenement Museum
Museum of Modern Art
Whitney Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Angels vs. Yankees at Yankee Stadium
Big East basketball games at Madison Square Garden
The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway
La Boheme at the Lincoln Center
New York Philharmonic: the Works of Stravinsky
Private lecture from Peter Singer
Private lecture from K. Anthony Appiah
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island trip
Evening at the Apollo Theater
At least 50 different meals out
If I've forgotten anything, I encourage someone to pass it along to me. But this list is pretty comprehensive and - if I may say so - pretty impressive.

I Miss Kate

Sun, 09 May 2010 17:04:32 GMT

Kate did a much better job summarizing this New York City program than I ever could in her post "I Miss Luke" - arguably her best post ever, to be sure. But let me reiterate here as well: this is a virtually one-of-a-kind opportunity, and for a kid like me to live in the city for a semester, get an amazing internship and take some incredibly unique classes with one of Hamilton's most spectacular professors - and I'm serious, for anyone at Hamilton who might be reading this: TAKE A CLASS WITH RICK WERNER - it's an experience from which I absolutely couldn't have asked for more.

That said, I'm really excited to get back to Hamilton. As Kate said, Hamilton's a community, and you notice when someone isn't around; and if you leave, you definitely realize that a community like that can't really be found everywhere. I'm ready to get back to campus, if for no other reason than to make 20 consecutive Panera runs to catch up over lunch with all the people I haven't seen for an entire semester.

And confidential to Kate: I know you're going to be on campus over the summer too, so consider yourself warned that our inaugural sorbet run will be a lot sooner than you think.

Finally, the Present

Sun, 09 May 2010 16:39:45 GMT

So when I finished my internship in the city, I commemorated the occasion by making my boss, Hilary (who I am, in no uncertain terms, well beyond obsessed with) a mix CD. It was called "Because Nothing Says 'Thanks for Being a Spectacular Boss' Quite Like an Awkward Mix CD," and it featured some of the greatest hits from Björk ("Wanderlust [Ratatat Remix]"), Jay-Z ("Young Forever" from Coachella), Beyoncé ("Naughty Girl [Oli Chang Cinematic Remix]"), Lady GaGa ("Alejandro [The Sound of Arrows Remix]"), and a whole host of others that were wildly inappropriate for an office context.

And aside from taking me out to a delicious lunch - and for some delicious drinks after work - my boss returned the favor by getting me what I can only characterize as the greatest parting gift that's ever been given: a messenger bag/purse, patterned with a tasteful taupe-and-pink floral that could well have been June Cleaver's favorite apron in a past life, and emblazoned with the words "'high maintenance' doesn't even begin to cover it." She said that it virtually screamed "LUKE!" to her in the store.

I had the most absolutely perfect intern experience at Lambda Legal - if you ever need or want an internship, GO THERE - but even if I hadn't, my new favorite accessory still would've made it one of the greatest experiences of my life. So when you see me wandering around, digging through my bag to find a mint, try to control your jealousy.

Next, the Fall

Sun, 09 May 2010 16:18:53 GMT

I'm going to be a college senior. A thesis-writing, grad-school-applying, soon-to-be-independent-from-my-parents'-financial-support college senior. And quite frankly, I could vomit just thinking about it. I've spent 21 years carefully constructing a personality around being immature, irresponsible and generally a perpetual ward to my parents, so the idea of the real world - and especially its proximity to me - is really starting to make me uncomfortable.

Of course, the greatest part of college is that you can willfully ignore the immanence of adulthood. Which is, for the next year or so, exactly what my plan is. I am, however, really excited for next fall, since I've already registered for classes and confirmed my room. And let me be the first to say, I think my fall schedule marks the highest frequency of the word "sex" in anyone's class schedule ever!

My classes are:
Anthropology 331: Sex Work and Emotional Labor.
Biology 215: Genetics and Society.
Math 437.5: Seminar on Topology.
Sociology 323: Seminar on Sexuality and Social Theory.

The schedule layout is also fantastic (three days a week I only have an hour of class), but I promise that didn't factor into the decision at all. So every time I start to freak out about being so old, I use my class schedule to go even deeper into denial - you know, the way every kid who's within a year of graduating does.

Icelandic Obsessions!

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:49:17 GMT

Over the past couple of years, I've developed a really intense obsession with Icelandic music, so when I saw a posting that Jónsi (the lead singer of Sigur Rós, who's making the solo thing happen right now) would be having a concert in NYC on May 8, I did the same thing I did when my parents offered to take me to Smuckers' Stars on Ice (with Michelle Kwan!) when I was nine: I hyperventilated for a minute, got a ticket, and started counting down the seconds.

I mean, it's New York City, so it's not like I don't have any concert options (also on the agenda: Frightened Rabbit, Sia, and the symphony). But Jónsi is really it for me; I bought the advance tracks from his album (which gets released the first week of April, PS), and I've pre-ordered the limited-edition deluxe version of the album.

And for the record, I know I'm telling on myself too much here, but I wholeheartedly acknowledge that I'm a way over-rabid fan here. Just let me have this moment, okay?