Reservation under iPhone

Last weekend, my older brother came down from New York for a visit. My mom told us that we could use her credit card to go out for a nice dinner, so naturally we treated ourselves to a three-course meal at Georgetown’s quintessential gastronomic splurge spot, 1789.

The restaurant was packed on Friday night, but I noticed a 20-something man sitting at a table across from us, enjoying his locally raised, braised-to-perfection loin of lamb … alone. His dinner companion was lying on the table next to his bread plate—an iPhone that consumed his attention throughout the course of the meal.

An imaginary community

When I was a senior at Hill, I felt inextricably connected to the place and to everyone who was a part of it. But when I arrived at the promised land of higher-level academia, I couldn’t help but be let down. Of course it’s natural to feel lost going from being a big fish in a small pond to a lowly first-year guppy. But as a freshman at Georgetown, once the NSO Cheerleaders strip off their neon t-shirts and cease all their “HOYA SAXA”-ing, it is incredibly easy to disappear into gateway class oblivion.

Qwikster off to a slow start

Last week I got an email from Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix, that began, “Dear Emma, I messed up. I owe you an explanation.” Well thanks, Mr. Hastings, but … excuse me? I do have a Netflix account, but the letter seemed a little more personal than anything I usually hear from heads of major companies.

Carrying on: She doesn’t even go here

My name is Emma and I am an overachiever. Last week I went out for dinner with a mixed group: some friends, some acquaintances, and a couple of total strangers. During the chips and salsa course, I was chatting with one of the unfamiliars, following the standard get-to-know-you protocol of a first encounter: who are you, what do you do, etc. I think I was explaining one of my extracurricular activities, when one of my friends at the table butted in, “Yeah, Emma is pretty much that kid Max Fischer in Rushmore.”

Look who’s coming to dinner: An open invite to new elites

“Are you smart enough to eat here?” When I go out to eat, these are not typically the first words out of the host or hostess’s lips. But then again, Number 68 Project isn’t your typical restaurant. Part of a new “pop-up” restaurant fad, this originally London-based dining experience has made its way to the District and brought with it a new outlet for creative chefs, intrepid diners, and elitist aspirations.

Messages provide necessary link to home

My dad got a Droid for Christmas last year. I guess it was about time—he’s been toting around a five-pound Nokia since 1997—but it still kind of perplexes me that my 66-year-old father has a cooler phone than I do. I spent Christmas morning envying the sexagenarian as he sat next to the tree fandangling away on his touch screen.

LeVay talks sexual orientation

Those were the questions posed by neuroscientist Dr. Simon LeVay on Tuesday when he argued to a room of about 200 Georgetown students and faculty members that, though the details remain unclear…

News hit: Early apps rise

Although the number of prospective students who applied early to Georgetown University dropped in 2009, Georgetown’s Early Action applicants hit a record high this year. Georgetown has received well over 6,500 early applications postmarked by the Nov. 1 deadline, according to statistics provided by the Admissions Office. This number marks a significant increase from last year’s 6,124 applicants. The drop which caused a decline in selectivity. The percentage of students accepted rose.

Weekend drug bust in Harbin

Two of the three students arrested on Saturday for possession of and intent to manufacture and distribute the hallucinogenic drug Dimethyltryptamine appeared in U.S. District Court for arraignment on Wednesday. Georgetown student Charles Smith (COL‘14) and University of Richmond freshman John Perrone were released into the custody of their parents and allowed to return home to Massachusetts. Smith and Perrone must reside at their family addresses under strict curfew.

E-reader, Kindle, and Nook, let me read my freaking book

When I read a really great book, “smaller, lighter, faster” are not the first words that come to mind. I don’t love my favorite stories because they come with high quality, built-in WiFi. In short, e-readers aren’t for me. My least favorite thing about e-readers is that in Kindle-land, all books are created equal.