Presenting: Ratty Challenge Google Hangouts 2017

Round 1: The "Early Morning Crew" featuring Amy Andrews and her "Delaware Rocks" mug, Zach Woessner who is in Copenhagen, and Abby Muller with a stuffed Appa 

A summary of my morning thus far:
I filled out one answer in the saturday crossword
I napped for about an hour
I struggled to eat a pomegranate
I struggled to spell pomegranate
I seized control of the @RattyChallenge twitter
I pretended to appreciate the buzzfeed articles daniel keeps showing me (literally why do I care)
I had a staring contest with Dusky

So far, I am far ahead of my usual saturday morning productivity, proving that the ratty is in fact good for at least one thing. We all know that thing isn't usually food, which is why I came prepared with 2 packs of Ramen. But also shoutout to Kyle for swiping me in, if nothing else I am enjoying the ambience.

It's like sitting in a corner cafe with friends. They should have staged Friends in the Ratty if you really want to know what I think. It would add a classy industrial vibe. Part of its charm is in the sticky tables and bitter coffee.

As long as I'm sharing opinions about things, here's one: the frierarchy is a sham. Fries have more in common than that which makes them different. I would extend that to most potato-based foods. This is arbitrary and founded on false assumptions about culinary decision-making.

ok I think I will go take another nap.

Quibbles by Sarah

A. I beat Peter (and Daniel... but mostly Peter) in Ticket to Ride for the first time ever.

B. The Ratty is blue. Weird. Food is ehhh. I don't miss meal plan at all. 

C. Gingerale is not my favorite drink but it is very good for settling upset stomachs (which is inevitable when you mix ratty food and my intestines). Here is the definitive list (within a list) of ratty beverages to mix with Gingerale from best to worst.

1. Orange juice and Gingerale
2. Cranberry juice and Gingerale
3. xxxberry Vitamin Water and Gingerale
4. Any other fizzy soda and Gingerale (not bad...just boring)
5. Grapefruit juice and Gingerale
6. Lemon ice tea and Gingerale
7. ...
8. ...
9. ...
10. Milk and Gingerale.

D. Thus far, the ratty has played "Closer", "Thinking out loud", and "Stiches" at full volume on the speakers. The music is now less audible. Just FYI.

E. I like the word quibble but I don't really have a lot of quibbles. Happy Ratty Challenge, and

F. The Princeton Band

Frierarchy: The Next Generation

Fries and their definitive ranking are a somewhat constant argument topic amongst the Band at Jo's and other fine dining establishments such as the Ratty. Nothing can beat the original frierarchy set by Danny Gleave '12 though. My frierarchy may be a little unconventional but I urge you to give it a chance.

1. Standard fries with Lawry's seasoning salt: A classic through-and-through. The simplicity of the fries paired with the complexity of the seasoning salt makes this the true winner in the fry world. Note: this is different from "seasoned fries", which are masquerading as these fries but are actually poison.

2. Tater tots: The breakfast fry of choice. Even though these fries are basically just reconstituted potato cylinders, they have a certain charm at 7:30am.

3. Steak fries: An unpopular opinion, but a good choice nonetheless. The starchiness of these fries are unique in the fry world and are worthy of more love than they are given. 

4. Crinkle cut fries: A good pairing for a dipping sauce, but not worth it on their own. A fry to consider.

5. Home fries: A nice substitute for tater tots at breakfast. Their lack of true breading is because they are usually accompanied by nice seasoning and parsley.

6. Sweet potato fries: OK, but not something you would choose over any other type of fry mentioned above. Their sweetness is kind of strange and it feels like they are used to make a dish more ~fancy~ when another type of fry might have been a better choice.

7. Waffle fries: Highly overrated. They always have some weird seasoning going on and they aren't easily dippible and they are hard to hold. Pass.

8. Curly fries: Similar to waffle fries in that they usually have some weird seasoning and are too difficult to deal with. They're usually over fried and you get like, 3 curly fries in one serving. A total waste of a fry order.

9. Shoe string fries: What even are these? Why?

10. Diner fries: These are the bane of the fry existence. They are SO disgusting and they tempt you with the offer of "_____ with fries!!!!" but then are janky root vegetables double-covered in poison, to paraphrase Danny. Their grossness stems from the fact that they are double-fried and are usually done so poorly. Usually served slightly cold and a mix of soggy and stiff, these fries should be avoided at all costs.

Honorable mentions

Poutine

Smiley face fries

Truffle fries

GOOD SHABBOS!

Ayyoooo wazzup Ratty Challenge viewers - this is the Danimal logging on to tell all y'all that today is a very important day. You guessed it - it's the Shabbos! Between Saturday night and Sunday night, God made the heavens and earth. Between Sunday night and Monday night, God made the skies and seas. Between Monday night and Tuesday night, God made the land. Between Tuesday night and Wednesday night, God made the sun, moon, and stars. Between Wednesday night and Thursday night, God made life in the water and life in the sky (stupid pigeons). Between Thursday night and Friday night, God made life on land.

BUT THEN GOD DECIDED TO REST BETWEEN FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY NIGHT.

But this kinda doesn't make sense? Because when did God make trains? That's all for me. Good Shabbos everyone.

Click here for a fun interactive way of remembering the days!

75 Minutes Down

The games have begun. Daniel, Peter, and Sarah are on their quest to conquer the United States Railways System (aka playing Ticket to Ride). Dana, Gaby, Charlie, and Kyle have been toying with magic (aka doing magic card tricks). Lainie is already bored:

Since our arrival we've had four more friends join us!

Jeanelle! She's off on a retreat for the day but will be back for dinner!

Jake! Our first first-year (except Mia, who went back to bed)

Greer! Cheeseman, the Third.

Isabella! and Dusky! Wouldn't be a totally official band event without Dusky.

Check back later for more Ratty adventures!

Stuff Isabella Brought and why are there so many sports teams here?

Despite my best efforts and desire to see the Ratty Challenge all the way through, Greer and I met up at 8 AM for her to swipe me into that monument to all nasty college food - THE RATTY.

To my surprise, the band ISN'T the only one here. There are at least 2 sports teams sharing the Ratty with us, although its anyone's guess as to who they are. Although, I'm pretty sure one of them is Women's Water Polo. There is also a men's team that might be water polo or track or swimming or soccer. The weird thing is that this men's team seems to be having some sort of bro-award ceremony. Apparently the Ratty is better than the Marriott where Band does it's own derpy award ceremony. They keep clapping, which sounds really odd in a huge cafeteria that is basically empty except for Band, Women's Water Polo, and a few random stragglers that have homework already. In the spirit of cooperation between the AD and the Band, the few Bandies who are here have started helping them with the clapping.

Okay, for a complete change of subject - what did I bring?
- my laptop -- because I have HW already and figure that at some point in this entire day I may be motivated to do about an hour of work, also to write blog posts, also to send emails to alumni
- Sound-proof headphones -- for when I decide to do homework
- a charger -- I almost forgot this, but imperative to my Ratty Challenge Survival
- my own coffee in a Blue State coffee mug -- I refuse to drink the stuff they serve here
- my ipad -- so we can skype/google hangouts with multiple people at a time, also because my laptop has really bad speakers
- and DUSKY -- as Dusky's current guardian I couldn't let him miss out on all the fun. He looks a bit bemused about why we're here but is ready to go all the same