Keep in mind the caveat that of course this is written out of love….

20. Lived and(contrary to popular belief) died by the penultimate Mesorah.

19. When the weather was nice you went to sit ( or do whatever else) on the benches outside Rubin or Morg, only to see them already occupied by the neighborhood friendlies.

18. Often wondered what the basketball courts behind Strenger were really used for.

17. Passed by the finance office a few extra times to "observe the scenery".

16. Swore you were being punished mida kneged mida for the above when you encountered multiple problems from that same office.

15. The one Finals night you went to bed early you were awoken by the infamous 2 am scream and cursed up a storm at it. Of course, in accordance with the nature of finals short term memory, you gleefully participated in it the very next night.

14. Were taught that at the appropiate times the larger bodega was also good for gambling and booze, and the smaller one for cigarettes.

13. Developed your sign language and marginal Spanish skills to communicate with the barber and both bodegas.

12. Learned that Belfer has its own version of the 1/9 elevator; just like the actual mass transit one, it runs local (every floor) and is always cramped and fetid. 11. If you had the privilege and honor of having a room facing the Harlem River, on a clear day, you could see actual dead bodies floating in it. 10. On the other hand, if it faced the Rubin walkway, your spitting, yelling, and downward throwing skills were highly developed.

9. Remembered not to go to the computer room at 1 am- that was meeting time for the Heights contingent of the Russian mafia.

8. Weren't sure which was worse, that, or the "HASC club" meeting on the 5A floor of the library once a week.

7. Harbored fantasies of those cute Bennet girls and that one Rabbi's daughter you very rarely got furtive glances of.

6. As an upperclassman, laughed at gullible sophmores spending more of their parents hard-earned cash on textbooks, then realized you did the same thing when you were in their position.

5. Felt that you alone kept at least one of the following in business because of the dearth of good food in the school caf: Time Out, Grandma's, Kasbah, Morg Mart, Key Food, the Chinese takeout (chas v?shalom), or any of the other various short- lived culinary establishments.

4. Reading week- vacation. Finals week- cramming. Vacation- cursing yourself for not studying during reading week. Somehow, this vicious cycle repeated itself every semester.

3. Stern lobby on Thursday nights- where "good" guys and girls hung out. West End and Am Caf on Thursday nights- where "bad" guys and girls hung out. Somehow the latter was more crowded than the former. Go figure!

2. Knew at least 1 great story about the 189th Street apartments. Embellished this story whan at all possible.

1. Before you got there, wondered what all those strange abbreviations were for.(See RIETS, et al) After you graduated, still wondered.

– momoney5555