WE SURVIVED

We made it! Nine seniors stayed straight through. Here are our last words of the challenge. May they live on.



Sid: "I did not make it to desserts #2 or #3."
Ben: "Put me down as 'stares.'"
Brooke: "I don't know what my last words are yet."
London: *puts head on table* "Sleep please."
Ken: "Oh man. I'm gonna need some time to think about this."
Amy: "Weeeee did it." *waves arms demonstratively, almost falls over*
Chris: "Shia LaBoeuf is still a threat. His physical form may have been disintegrated by Charlie's jumper cables, but he will return."
Charlie: "We made it! Hashtag no regrets. Hashtag hashbrowns."
Abby: "GO TEAM."

2016 out!

Final Photo Round-Up

People have been popping up less frequently, and also another mega train game happened, but here are the final photos. We have fifteen minutes, so I don't have much time to do anything clever here. I'm sorry, my brain is liquid.

Have some photos:

Kristen and Derek somehow escaped from the computer. Weird CS stuff.

My mid-afternoon snack. Why is there only skim milk by the cereal? Whyyyyyy

Sean showed up!

Cassie!

Mermelhammer showed up, too! I went to high school with him!

And Emily! I went to high school with her, too! 

Dinner was underwhelming. Ratty dinner: potatoes two ways. I would put waffle fries at the top of my frierarchy if I made one.

This is dessert #1. I'm considering deserts numbers 2 and 3, chocolate milk and another bowl of Lucky Charms. I may not make it that far. One dessert might be enough.

So the end has arrived. We made it through the twelve hours with nothing but one minor emotional breakdown, and only one person succumbing to the beeping condition. In nine minutes we will make our exodus from one noisy echoing room to another noisier, more echoey room. BUT we get free teeshirts at this basketball game, and that makes it all worth it. Afterwards, even we extroverts will run from the Band room, dash into our respective holes, and not interact with another human for at least twelve hours. 

The Ratty Challenge has been incredible. I've been looking forward to this for the last three years, and it's ultimately been a fun friend-filled day. I've missed being on meal plan for the social aspect (NOT for the food), and even though I've enjoyed cooking my own meals for the last few years, I really do miss the conversations and good times that happen around campus meals. This day has definitely given me my fill, and I don't regret not getting much done that was on my to-do list for the day. It's been real, team. The fries have been awakened. Good luck to those juniors who did their practice run this year–we pass the baton onto you. We are down to seniors and crusties now. Expect a photo of all of us leaving sometime in the next 60 minutes. 

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!!!

Sidney out.

RATTY CHALLENGE COMPLETION (to the tune of "Alexander Hamilton")

Rewritten by Amy Andrews and Abby Muller, Photoshop help by Derek Wilson '15

[LONDON]
How do the Brown Band seniors, last time to start a
Semester, dropped in the middle of a
Forgotten spot in the Refectory in Providence
Exhausted but empowered
Wake up to camp out inside for twelve hours?

[ARMANI]
The senior class, graduating full of class and sass
Sax and all the brass, all just hangin' out en masse
Takin' a break from classes

But they still gotta pass this

Test. By May, we'll be done and have
Finished our last

[BEN]
But here today while we were eating pancakes and tater tots
Away across the table, we rallied and kept our chins up
Inside, we were longing for something comfy to sit on
The bandies were ready to nap, sleep, or get our drink on

[CHARLIE]
When the hurricane* came, and devastation reigned (*hurricane is a metaphor for like 3pm)
Our band saw our spirit drip, dripping down the drain
Put our fingers to a laptop, connected them to our brains
And we wrote some words inane, a testament to our pain

[ABBY]
Well, the word got around, they said, “These kids are insane, team”
Took up a collection just to send 'em to the main green
“Get your education, don’t forget the whole damn scheme, and
The world is gonna know your dream. What’s your sky dream?”

[SENIORS]
Ratty Challenge completion.
Our dream is Ratty Challenge completion.
And there’s a few things we haven't eaten
But just you wait*, just you wait... (*it's like 5:40 right now)

[CHRIS]
At 10 AM, the door beeping, we were weeping, debt-ridden* (*we're college students)

Two hours later, not enough of our thesis pages written
Half-dead sittin in the wood chairs, these Brown Bears

[ANAISA]
As the day went on, the end was in our prayers

[BROOKE]
Started playin' some games, like Peasant Quest and Ticket to Ride
Winning helped us find some extra pride, helped us hit our stride
A voice saying

[SID]
“Bandies, you gotta fend for yourself.”

[KEN]
We started retreatin’ and eatin’ every pizza on the shelf

[AMY]
There would have been nothin’ left to do
For bandies less astute
We woulda just left after grapefruit
Abandoned this band institution
Started readin’, eatin' all the free food that we could swing
Wishin' for vodka and rum and all the booze we couldn't bring
Scammin’ for every table we can get our hands on
Plannin’ for the future see us now as we stand near
The door of the Ratty headed for a new land
In Meehan* we can be a new Band (*we're actually going to Pizzitola after this but it's fine)

[BANDIES]
In Meehan we can
Be a new band—
In Meehan you can
Be a new band—
In Meehan we can be a new band—

[SOME BANDIES]
In Meehan—

[MORE BANDIES]
Meehan—

[SENIORS]
Just you wait!

[BANDIES]
Ratty Challenge completion.
We are waiting in the Cave* for you (*we're actually near the Grill line but shh)
We could never back down
We've done nothing but waste our time!
Oh, Ratty Challenge completion
When Gail and co.* applaud for you (*cause ~so~ many people have applauded us today)
Do they know what we overcame?
Will they know we rewrote the game?

Our lives will never be the same, oh

[SENIORS]
The end is getting nearer now
See if we can make it

Another hour more
We think that we can take it

Our families think we're insane
It's true, they don't mistake it 

[FRESHMEN]

Us? We gamed with them

[SOPHOMORES]

Us? We dined with them

[JUNIORS]

Us? We swiped for them

[ALUMS]

Us? We skyped with them

[SENIORS]

And us? We're the damn fools that chose this

[BANDIES]
And there’s a few things we haven't eaten
But just you wait* (*it's like 6:25 right now)

[GAIL]
What’s your dream, team?

[SENIORS]
Ratty Challenge Completion!

Not very up-to-date updates!

We Skyped some alums recently! My computer's speakers aren't very loud, so it's been hard to figure out what people are saying (that's my warning to anyone who tries to Skype me). But they've all been great and lovely and perfect and whatever other adjectives Elaine wants us to use to describe them!

Not all of the Skyping has been happening on my computer, but I should probably post about the Skyping that I was responsible for.

First, Zoe Skyped us sometime around 10ish! While she was perfect and beautiful as always, my computer can only take one screenshot at a time and I ACCIDENTALLY OVERRODE THE ONE I TOOK OF ZOE!!! So that's really unfortunate. To cover that up, I'm going to use a picture of her from Facebook:

This was the Ratty advice she gave us:
- make an orange creamsicle float (orange soda and vanilla soft serve) [I, Brooke, hate orange creamsicle things so this sounds repulsive but other people like it it seems like!]

- DON’T eat seafood

- take all the chairs you’ve taken out from in between your tables and stack them to the sky

Unfortunately Zoe wasn't wearing this hat, but she was still wonderful and perfect and funny! Then she had to feed herself and we said our goodbyes, and then I lost my screenshot of her :'( :'( :'(

Then Adam Skyped in, originally as a test run of my speakers to see if the volume issue was entirely on my end, but not as a public appearance because he was "unshaven and still in [his] pajamas." Then it became a public appearance, because he looked the same as he always does.

And I just realized that my last screenshot also got screwed up because I didn't realize where the scrollbar was on MS Paint, UGH! But as you'll see, Kristen and Derek Skyped in afterwards!

IT GOT CUT OFF UGH I SUCK AT THIS GAME

 They are perfect and the best, and we ended up convincing them to come to the Ratty IRL! So now they're here!

(proof)

Also, this is Derek's Skype photo:

That seems like a good way to end this post?

We Passed the Halfway Point!

Hello Everyone!

Just finished my first ever solo game of Ticket to Ride, so I was engaged in that for a while, but I'm back to the blogging game. (see end of post for game results)

Here's who stopped by in the last couple hours!

A very cheery Shannon!

Scowles!

Max (hug this time courtesy of Brooke)

Matt Finn arrived, so we put the Matts together in a picture!

Kellan, with some lovely noontime sunshine coming through the window.

Sam!

Walker! It's a percussion party!

Kevin and Sammy! Adorable as always!

I WON TICKET TO RIDE BY ONE POINT! (Gabby is displeased)

Mark showed up, looking fancy and wearing a nametag like he thinks we don't know him or something.

It's a bit past hour five now, but Christie wrote this poem and it's now being published!

Team, we are hitting the last big lull in Ratty activity. The noise has died down, and it could be 8am again, except we're mostly awake and it smells like tomato sauce. As far as I can tell, everyone is relatively sane, hydrated, and well-nourished, and Abby has also stopped beeping! Most of us have not done the work we promised ourselves we'd do today, but that's the great thing about doing the Challenge at the beginning of the semester–it doesn't matter! We've made it eight hours at this point, in t-4 hours we will make our exodus. Stay tuned for the dinner shebandigans still to happen.

Apropos of nothing, except that the challenge is Star Wars themed and I also love Parks and Rec

If you haven't seen this video, it will improve your life immensely.

Enjoy!

More alumni skyping!

Margaret dropped in! She is great. She gave us recommendations for senior spring classes and we talked about the sun.





We also talked to Elaine earlier and she is also great! She told us about Amazon Prime delivery containers of lube.

AND we also talked to Zoe earlier, and she is indeed also great, but the screenshot seems to have gotten lost. :(

More Board Games!

Hey all, just to update you on the board games we're playing, the mysterious card game London and I were playing was Android: Netrunner. A while later, we played a game of Carcassonne with Isabella, Christie, and Charlie Moder. Christie won on her first game!

Elsewhere, some other bandies have started up a game of Ticket to Ride on an extra-fancy, extra-large board.

In other news, Ken is playing Valkyria Chronicles, which is a strategy game about anime teenagers in an alternate history WWII. Fun stuff.

The coffee milk dispenser is empty.

My life is over.

Lunch: A Pleasant Surprise

I have two important updates:

• Ben made egg salad and it was unreasonably delicious. The low I predicted at lunch did not come true. Egg salad sandwich on a toasted bun, with hot sauce, and waffle fries. Perhaps in the top five meals I have ever had in the Ratty (and I generally don't like egg salad).
• THEY FIXED THE BEEPING. At this point Abby's sanity is perhaps beyond repair, but the rest of us have avoided a similar fate. Unless of course Abby's beeping has the same effect.

The lunch in question. I may go back for more fries, but I won't make Ben make more egg salad.

Kevin DOOOOOOO!

Matt showed up, and chatted with Kristen and Derek

Nick has been here from the beginning, but was not photographed. Here he is!

Some adorable first year love from Tracy and Natalie

Kristen and Derek! They are literally IN PROVIDENCE right now but not in the Ratty.

Katie and her take-out box!

Muller #2 has arrived, talking about some sports thing that happened. Fortunately, I don't speak sport, so you'll have to ask him about it.

CHROME JUST CRASHED. IT COULD NOT HANDLE THE CHALLENGE, MUCH LIKE MYSELF FRESHMAN YEAR (see archives). Thank God for auto save.

Alright, back to business

Dusky wore his best for the Ratty Challenge. Maybe we should have specified a dress code.

Isabella (not to be confused with Isabela) is in the building!

Our biggest challenge to date, the beeping door, has been surmounted. What's next for our band of adventurers? Only time will tell. 

HAYLEY IS A SLYTHERIN and other news

As you may or may not know, Pottermore finally re-added the Sorting Hat to its website and the internet rejoiced, because what are we without personality assessments? (Except I firmly reject horoscopes because every astrology post ever is like, Leos: awesome! Pisces: so great! Sagittarius: the best! Gemini: THE FUCKIN WORST OF ALL TIME AMIRITE. It's not my fault I was born in May, team.)

So the Sorting Hat is back, but the best part of this is not that we can figure out what group we'd be in at a fictional wizard school. It's that Hayley is a Slytherin.

That's right.

Hayldemort is real.




She took the quiz TWICE and got Slytherin BOTH TIMES.

In the interest of fair and balanced reporting, I also collected extremely empirical data on the houses of everyone else sitting at this table (six tables), most of whom were also sitting here retaking the sorting hat quiz. It seems like they must've recalibrated it or something because we're all getting wacky results now and none of us know who we are anymore. But I hear that it is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities, so here's everyone's real Hogwarts house determined by quiz, soul-searching, or maybe a literal hat, who knows.

Zack G. - Ravenclaw
Tim - Ravenclaw
Zach W. - Hufflepuff (quiz told him Gryffindor, but he disagrees)
Caleb - Ravenclaw
Nick '14 - Gryffindor
Ken - Hufflepuff
Ben - Hufflepuff
Sid - Hufflepuff
Brooke - Hufflepuff
Christie - Hufflepuff
Gabe - Ravenclaw
Greer - Ravenclaw
Amy - Gryffindor
Chris - "This test isn't real." Gryffindor or Hufflepuff.
London - Ravenclaw
Carol - Slytherin
Hisyam - Slytherin
Kyle - Gryffindor
Francesca - "I haven't read the books, but someone made me take the test and it said Gryffindor but then someone said Ravenclaw and someone else said 'Hayley is that because the only Asian in the movies was in Ravenclaw?'" Inconclusive.
Dana - Ravenclaw but she keeps getting different answers
Gaby - Gryffindor ("??? ??? ?")
Lainie - Gryffindor, but she's upset about it.

Science, folks.

(Also, everyone should check out sortinghatchats for a really interesting take on Hogwarts house affiliation.)

(Anyway.)

Ultimately, though, regardless of the weird recalibration, it's a good thing the quiz is back, because in its absence we were left with quizzes like this:


I got B. I am Sandwich Girl.

Actually, we're mostly Hufflepuffs, and we are all Sandwich Girl. So maybe it's a pretty good quiz after all.