It's an über-tight place

Last Thursday, I did something I hadn't done all year: I woke up before 11 a.m. I don't know why, but I just woke up in such a chipper mood that I decided to cruise around campus on my skateboard. I was so relaxed, zipping around without a care in the world; I barely noticed the huge pothole right in front of me. I hit it, started shaking real hard, and finally had to bail. I wiped out Superman style until I skidded to a halt on my stomach. The incident left me with a broken skateboard, a bruised ego and a gnarly gash in my left leg. It also left me stranded in a new world, uncharted territory for most Trinity-ers: the Engineering buildings. I had never been 'round these parts before, and previously could do nothing more than speculate as to what it was like. It was quite a rush, frankly. I had class in 20 minutes and although the walk was probably three minutes from where I was, I honestly had no idea how to get out of there. So, I said screw it. College is all about experimentation, and I was feeling like an explorer. I decided to roam the campus and get to know the real Duke. Heck, Christopher Columbus has his own day, and he hooked up with that Sacagawea chick. Sounds like a pretty good deal for someone who couldn't have butchered their job any worse. Class is for sissies anyway. As it turns out, the Engineering section is a sweet place. The buildings seem pretty rad, and though I couldn't find my way into a bunch of the rooms I wanted to check out, I could tell there was some crazy stuff being done. The engineers wake up early every morning and come here to work all day on meaningful projects, or more meaningful than my own poetry writing or jazz classes anyway. I don't exactly know what they do, and there's no way I could do it, but I totally respect them for it. And to my surprise, the area of campus appeared to be as diverse as the rest of Duke. I saw a bunch of kids I knew and had never realized were engineers. I even saw some girls.... they didn't surprise me all that much, but they existed. Fresh off my engineering revelation, I felt it necessary to spend the rest of my afternoon checking out stuff I'd never seen before. The Divinity school, Bostock, my 2:50, it was all new to me, and frankly, it was eye opening. That night, still in the exploratory mood, I decided against the obvious Shooter's or George's call and instead visited a place I never thought I'd find myself: the art museum. The Nasher Noir seemed intriguing enough, especially because I didn't have a clue as to what the hell a "Noir" was. Once again, to my surprise, the place was packed with people I knew. Not only that, but the spread was fantastic. Nothing goes better with wine than brownies and miniature chicken biscuits. Speaking of which, it never hit me before just how easy it would be to get free alcohol at these things. The museum is clearly so desperate for students that like a fat guy at P'Zades, the Nasher would practically give away drinks just to get some action. I guess I expected the place to be filled half with artsy kids I'd never seen before and half with snobby d-bags looking for an excuse to dress up and act classy. Well, I was wrong. The place was just as diverse as the engineering buildings had been. The frats were well represented, the girls were cute, and there was even a small group of stoners who appeared to be entranced by a 3-D painting of a giant head. They clearly weren't experiencing the green-out the rest of the campus is. Everyone was different, and yet everyone was having a good time with each other. Perhaps it was the booze, but maybe it could just be that they were all interesting people. The point of all my rambling is that Duke is an über-tight place with even sweeter people, and we often overlook this. I mean, think about it. We could all be stuck in the real world with a job, or worse yet at a state school. We may not have air-conditioning, readily-available food, good media relations, good community relations, a shot at the Final Four, space in our dorm rooms, safety off campus, tailgate, a football win or strippers on campus, but we got each other. And you know what? That's aight with me. The Morning Wood is beloved by engineers and liberal arts students alike. Tom Segal is still hoping to get some action in the morning at some point this semester.