What To Do During Your Power Hum
Last time I took a power hum, I divided my time nicely between napping and surreptitiously playing League of Legends in the back of the class. When I opened up my schedule for this term, I was saddened to see that my Tuesday nights were occupied once again :(
Just kidding! At Caltech, you have so few opportunities to mess around for 3 hours without feeling guilty about not working. Take advantage of your power hums by trying out some of the ideas on this list.
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Make a snack. Buy a blender, waffle maker, or even a camping stove, forgo the textbooks and fill your backpack up with ingredients, and be prepared to share with hungry classmates. Keep this up and you might end up hosting your own Midnight Madness (and getting sponsored by Red Bull??).
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Channel your inner iPad kid. As revealed to student leadership by Kevin Gilmartin, Caltech gave tablets to us solely so we could play games in classes. This initiative was meant as a last-ditch effort to boost students’ opinion of admin before the C3 report came out. Swipe away on Candy Crush, splurge on Minecraft, live out your relationship fantasies through Episode, or, if you really run out of shit to do, scroll through F*zz.
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Do a bit of online research on your professor. No, don’t open up Google Scholar, go for social media instead. From public apologies to lawsuits to disgruntled tweets, Caltech professors are responsible for a never ending stream of exciting online content. Who knows, you might even find your prof’s house on Zillow! Worst case, the research skills you develop while inquiring into your professor’s personal life will help with those last-minute hum papers.
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Develop a nicotine addiction. Hide your vape in your sleeve, hit, and blow the smoke out into your shirt. Or, pretend you’ve dropped your Apple Pencil and smoke while you’re “looking” for it on the floor. Not only does sneaky vaping help you develop valuable life skills, such as breath control and deviousness, you can also enjoy fun, fruity flavors such as “Blue Razz Ice” and “Watermelon Cantaloupe Honeydew”. Remember not to vape too much! You could damage your lungs or, worse, get caught by the prof.
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Leave and go to Red Door. This strategy is a personal favorite and can easily be disguised as a (long) bathroom break. Bonus points if you get food as well! A word of advice from the experienced: make sure you actually come back to class. You don’t want to be the idiot breaking into Baxter at midnight to get your backpack.
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Draw the cool S.
