Thousands of Miles from Home
日本で過ごした日々の記録

10/11/2005

Man Day and Other Assorted Activities

This weekend I was offered the chance to participate in the first annual Harvard/MIT Man Day (I was representing the MIT contingent). This happened to coincide with a four day weekend break for MIT which made the prospect all the more enticing.

The plan was simple: devote a whole day to the purest essence of being a Man. Insults, jokes, belching, dueling, doing thing in the hardest possible way, not asking directions, and general manliness are highly encouraged. In a way Man Day is a conglomerate of the imagination. You can even try it at home.

I unofficially began Man Day by meeting Jennifer Zhang, back from the high school days, at Harvard Square. After meeting her roommate, we talked for a while to catch up on the last few years. She’s changed quite a bit, but in good ways. That night we went to “Stand Up,” a party sponsored by Harvard and thrown in a large hall which vaguely reminded me of Harry Potter. I enjoyed myself, proving that Harvard parties are not as bad as people make them out to be. After the dance, I returned home to get some sleep for the big day ahead.

The next morning I met Jennifer and her friends Alex, Tim, and Mike (co-coordinators of Man Day), and Dajie for a train ride to Worcester, where we would be frequenting a gun range. The train ride took a little over an hour so we filled the downtime with stories of manliness, perusal of magazines about weightlifting, and the eating Philly cheese steaks.

From the station we took a short cab ride to the gun range. Luckily, Mondays are half price for college kids so we shot a .44 Magnum, Storm rifle, Glock, and a .22 rifle for a little under $30 a person. Overtly manly, if I do say so myself, and bolstered by the fact that no one participating in the Man Day festivities was very macho (two were actually women). Put a gun in the hands of Harvard’s finest and they’ll still get a big kick out of it.

That evening, our crew met up with some other Harvard kids at Morton’s steakhouse for delicious slices of beef. The meal was slightly expensive, but worth every penny. The waiters not only pull out the table for you to sit down, but refold your napkins if you place them on your chair while you go to the bathroom. Now that’s style. Man Day was topped off with the watching of Die Hard in the Eliot house TV room on the Harvard campus.

In total, I had an exciting weekend in masculinity. Seeing Jennifer again, and with a boyfriend this time, was quite a thrill. I was repeatedly amazed by how eloquent and visibly educated the Harvard students were. They actually use those SAT words on a regular basis, but to say otherwise would be belittling the Harvard the admissions process. On the whole, we had a very successful 1st annual Man Day. Look for Woman Day sometime later this year.

1 Comments:

  • Who was that masked man and what have you done with my son. lol

    By mom, at 2:45 PM  

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