After getting out of the shower, I found my phone lit up with a notification: 3 New Text Messages. I thought, I must be popular! But each text turned out to be essentially the same: “Can I get a ride to Wegmans?” Apparently word had gotten out that I was going grocery shopping.
This semester has been my first with a car—a silver Honda CRV that seats five. Naturally, my carless friends (and sometimes distant acquaintances) expect me to play chauffeur, driving them around for errands or late-night excursions to the Taco Bell on Route 13. And I’m usually happy to oblige, because I know how hard it can be to get around Ithaca without a car. If you’ve ever tried lugging a week’s worth of groceries on the bus, you know what I mean.
My car has given me flexibility. I’ve had the opportunity to venture off-campus and explore previously inaccessible parts of Ithaca. So far this fall I’ve been to the Ithaca Farmers Market and seen a play at the Hangar Theatre. For a fall break visit to Brooklyn and a Thanksgiving trip home to Maryland, I’ll be able to drive instead of taking the bus.
But as a rule, if my destination is less than thirty minutes away by foot, I walk. It’s tempting to cut my walk to class in half by parking at my fraternity house (which is conveniently close to the Arts Quad), but I don’t want to lose my Cornell calves—or, worse, regain the freshman fifteen. It just seems lazy to drive to Collegetown from my North Campus apartment—and though the trip downtown is about twice as far, I still often end up walking. After all, gas is expensive. And so my Honda usually stays parked in the driveway.
But I do need to go to Wegmans today—and so do my friends. And I sure could go for some Taco Bell right now . . .
— Daniel Tsoy ’13