Making friends -- and a missed train

For the Omojola brothers -- freshman Temi and his older brother Ayo -- what started out as an early October trip to New York City turned into a bit of a disaster.

Foreshadowing began upon departure from Penn, in the form of a broken shuttle line. Followed by another broken shuttle line. Followed by hostile cab drivers.

"It was just a troublesome day," Temi Omojola says.

But that wasn't even the end of the Omojola brothers' troubles. Omojola claims that the train back to Penn was slated to depart at 11:27 p.m., "11:22 at the earliest," he concedes.

Yet at 11:15 on the dot, the train pulled out of Grand Central Station -- without Temi and Ayo in tow.

The trip "was actually a lot of quality time, because we missed our train together," the younger Omojola says. "We got pissed off together. We were sitting in the train station yelling at each other."

"It was funny because we were both having the worst time of our lives, but we were together so we were getting mad and laughing at the same time," he says.

Meanwhile, Omojola's roommate Daniel Farkas, a freshman in the College, was having a similar New York experience of his own, having gone up for the same weekend to visit some friends at Barnard.

"It was too much," Farkas says, citing dirty subways, jostling crowds and alcohol in brown paper bags as part of his aversion to the city.

Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe, the universe has aligned itself around Omojola and Farkas, and their experiences are converging on some norm, much like themselves and their burgeoning friendship.

Explaining yet another example of what will make it into their daily banter, Farkas says, "We both came back and were like, 'New York blows.'"

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After Omojola's New York experience, one probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that he stayed put during Fall Break. But that wasn't the original plan. In fact, Omojola says he was planning on giving the Big Apple another taste, but then his plans fell through.

So Omojola and Farkas invited two girls from their hall over and watched Office Space instead. Omojola explains it wasn't his first choice movie, and the friendly quibbling begins:

"I wanted to watch The Godfather but people weren't liking that," Omojola says.

"It's like four hours long and so slow."

"Well, I've heard nothing but good things."

But apparently, certain themes of the movie still resonate with Omojola.

Prophesizing about his future as a Wharton grad, Omojola says, "If I had a lot of money, I'd do nothing. I'd do a lot of nothing."

"See, that's just Office Space talking," says Farkas, referring to their viewing extravaganza.

Otherwise, Fall Break -- which they both agree should more aptly be renamed "Fall day" -- has been low key, involving a lot of "just chilling."

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During the week, however, there's usually so much to be done that "just chilling" often takes the back burner. Last week's project: Operation Redo Room.

The duo attributes the inspiration to their neighbor, Wharton freshman Ryan Brown, whose interior decorating genius can be summed up with the following maneuver -- apparently, Brown made a futon work with two desks and a bed by simply placing his refrigerator in his wardrobe, and generally forgoing an abundance of clothes.

Now, with Omojola's bed no longer jutting into the middle of the room, the room looks larger and more inviting.

"See, the thing is, we're really excited about this whole having-space-in-the-room thing," Farkas says. "We're trying to figure out what we can do that is cool and efficient."

For Omojola, that means utilizing his newfound wall space. He has already tacked up two still life sketches, and plans on hanging more.

But for every good idea, such as moving the bed, Omojola admits there was an equally bad idea.

"I don't know if I was tired or I really thought it was a good idea, but I was going to nail my phone into the side of my desk because I thought it would be easy to reach," Omojola says. "I didn't get much support on that one."

Among those who didn't support him was Farkas.

"It was a terrible idea," he says.

They both laugh, and then Omojola continues with plans for the room.

"I think I'm going to get another egg crate."

"Another one?" Farkas asks. "Is that really necessary?"

"I just got these two egg crates, and it's so nice," Omojola says.

"Diminishing marginal utility," Farkas warns. "The more egg crates, the less they are going to do."

Once again, they laugh.

Clearly, Omojola and Farkas are both in the throws of microeconomics. They are also clearly not above making jokes about economics. Maybe Penn -- the Ivy League -- really is home for this Nigerian-born Nebraskan.

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As I pepper him with questions during this informal interview -- taking place in his dorm room, with his roommate and every other Woodland House kid who happens to poke his head in -- Omojola rinses his dirty dishes and arranges them neatly on his shelf. Already, he seems to have learned that time management is of the essence.

Take rugby, for instance. It's Omojola's only non-academic extracurricular, but last week, he still skipped practice because of his workload.

"Once I get home I pretty much work all night and give myself an hour and a half break," he says. "Right after class I'll get to it. I'll work from two until five or six, get dinner, work for another hour or two, and then maybe... I'll walk around and hang out, but the majority of my day is work."

His average weeknight bedtime is 2 a.m. Maybe 3 a.m.

But even with all the studying, not all of his midterms have gone as planned. With Calc 104, he might as well have walked through the dead center of the compass. Even after studying for "a good two days," he received a 5.5 out of 15.

"After I got the results I was like, 'Damn, I have to get myself together,'" Omojola says.

In putting back the pieces, he still hasn't lost his trademark carefree style.

"I'm not going to worry about it, [I'm] just working a little harder" he says. "I'm coming back with a vengeance."

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Though Omojola certainly does work hard, it is clear that he has already picked up some tips from the slacker's bag of tricks.

On the bane of the Management 100 freshman's existence -- the status report: "It's just a subjective paper, so I have to make it really simple and make it sound good."

On morning classes: "I really should have thought about my schedule more, because I thought it would be just fine waking up in the morning. Next semester, I'll probably move my classes all to 11 a.m. I have some classes at 9 a.m., and it's just getting silly."

On how College students perceive their Wharton counterparts: "There's a lot of anti-Wharton people walking around this school."

Farkas perceives his look of genuine surprised.

"You didn't know that?" laughs Farkas as he looks up from his reading, unwilling to resist the opportunity to tease his roommate. His friend.

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Omojola has given new meaning to Philadelphia as the "City of Brotherly Love" -- his friends and Ayo have formed the crux of his transition.

He begins talking about the elder Omojola and how helpful he's been in recent weeks -- in addition to New York trips, Ayo took Omojola to the legendary Ortlieb's Jazzhaus and, during New Student Orientation, explained which of the "mandatory" activities truly were mandatory.

"I've definitely had a lot of help from my brother," Omojola says. "My brother's a really great guy."

And apparently, the sentiment extends to Farkas.

"Because Danny's cool, that's helped a lot," Omojola adds. "I haven't had roommate troubles."

In fact, not only has the living situation been smooth sailing, but the two are quickly becoming good friends, a fact they both dismiss as the only logical possibility.

"We live together," Farkas says. "You don't have to make much of an effort when I wake up across from him."

"I've heard a lot of people who really complain of their roommates, and I think I'm one of the only people who has no complaints at all," Omojola adds.

Then suddenly, they're off again.

"I say we go to Freshgrocer and get some hamburgers and grill up tonight," Omojola says.

"Oh, for the [George] Foreman" grill? Farkas says. "Hell yeah!"

"It's a baby Foreman, but it'll do."

"Yeah, it's a baby, but it's our baby."

And once again, the two laugh.

About this Series Each year, a new set of freshmen enters the University full of energy, enthusiasm — and nerves. Ready to meet new people and experience new things, these college novices are embarking upon a life-altering course. And this year, The Daily Pennsylvanian decided to follow three freshmen along for the ride. You will meet Justine Mumaw, Temi Omojola, and Andrew Tejerina and experience alongside them the joys — and pains — of first-year college life through article appearing intermittently in the DP. As you read, please share your freshman experiences with us in our freshman forums.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.