Cheers:

Mr. Sunshine. The upperclassmen have grim memories of snowy Halloweens and the descent of the permacloud in early November, but this year’s freshmen are lucky to have experienced some beautiful conditions. Let’s hope the 70-degree days from last week portend a mild winter, but you’d better stock up on wool socks just in case.

Thanksgiving. As much food as you could hope for, a few days with no class, and probably a trip home to see your beloved dog … or your family, perhaps. Make sure that after you carve the turkey, you also carve out some time to study for finals. Who are we kidding, those are weeks away!

Fresh-baked cookies. Although it seems like they bake snickerdoodles every other day and rarely produce the glorious double chocolate chip, no one can really complain about the presence of hot cookies. It’s easy to justify using a lunch swipe for the cookies alone, but while you’re there you might as well have a bowl of Lucky Charms and some ice cream, too. Or frozen yogurt, if you feel like being healthy.

Jeers:

Indian night. We’re all for trying to bring a little variety into the dining hall because that 12-day rotation gets really old, really fast. But if you’re going to hire a professional chef to cook for us, could he make fan favorites that appeal to the masses, like real Italian pizza or triple-decker chocolate cake?

Lake Pangborn. Living in Pangborn can often be enough of a struggle year-round, but things got much more difficult earlier this week when the water main broke and flooded into a small moat in the front sidewalk. Muddy water flowing from the faucets and lack of functioning showers caused quite a stir among the Phoxes, who had to run to Fisher just to get a drink of water.

Last home game. Although it’s nice to think that we will no longer have to stand for four straight hours in blistering heat or numbing cold while we progressively lose feeling in our toes, the more sentimental among us seniors will shed a few tears at leaving the student section behind. Here’s to a wild marshmallow fight! Make sure you save enough for ammo instead of stuffing your face.

Alexandra and Hailey have been friends since birth. Well, not quite, but sometimes it feels like it. Though they’re sad about finishing up their time at Notre Dame, they look forward to one day living next door to one another and having a pool with two deep ends, one for each backyard. Email them at adesanct@nd.edu and hvrdolya@nd.edu.