FILE PHOTO -- The Flat Hat Shree Kurlekar

That Girl
Shree Kurlekar

By Heather Irene Howard
Flat Hat Staff Writer

With habits such as checking away messages after writing each sentence of a 10-page paper or IMing a roommate sitting at a desk only a few feet away, AOL Instant Messenger is probably the most damaging activity to a college student's time management skills. Junior Shree Kurlekar has made being distracted by IM into an art form.

"I use IM to stalk people," Shree, a Latin American studies major, said with a laugh.

She then lowered her voice to reveal her secret methods, adding that stalking people on IM by reading their away messages allows you to "strategically position yourself" so that you can "accidentally" run into someone to whom you want to talk.

"No matter how cool you are on this campus you are still a tool," she said.

Shree hails from Houston, Texas. She said that if she could be anything for a day, she would be her dog, Star.

"I'd like to sit around all day and be petted, taken out for a walk and sleep," she said.

Shree never has such days. She's a sister in Kappa Alpha Theta sorority (and "absolutely loves" her big sister Meredith DeMoss), a seasoned tour guide and a member of this fall's championship intramural volleyball team.

She said that the hardest part about being a tour guide is trying to answer the same questions each tour without sounding rehearsed.

"That, and trying not to run into things while I am walking backwards," she said. "I also have a fear of someone tackling me while I am giving a tour, but it hasn't ever happened ... so far."

You might notice that Shree is always dressed appropriately for every type of weather. This is because she is constantly looking at the Weather Channel web site.

"I check the weather like it's my job," she said.

She picked up this habit while living on her freshman hall, "the Penthouse of the Palace on the Hill" Dupont 3rd Center, which she raves is the best hall ever constructed, due both to its facilities and personalities.

Besides her freshman dorm, there are many things on campus Shree likes, but if she could change anything on campus, she would turn the U.C. Center Court back into a la carte.

"I'd get rid of the all-you-can-eat at the UC," she said. "It's the worst food at William and Mary. The seasoned fries are the only redeemable quality."

Perhaps Shree's distaste for U.C. food stems from one of her irrational fears.

"I have a fear of dropping my tray full of food in a cafeteria," she said, blaming it on a scene she witnessed in "80oz," an independent film. "Manatee, the main character, drops his tray in a cafeteria ... it's awful."

She thinks that "80oz" is a movie many students at the College could relate to.

"Manatee moves from Arkansas to the suckiest town that ever sucked. It's like what a lot of people who come here do," she said.

When in her room, Shree can frequently be found downloading mp3s. Recently, she's had to start over in her neverending quest for free music to add to her collection.

"Before my computer was taken over by demons, I had 800 mp3s, but then it was exorcised and I had to start over," she said.

One of Shree's fondest memories of the College was when she was "attacked unprovoked by a lawn chair" at an off-campus party and sliced off the tip of her pinky finger. This unfortunate accident caused her to miss finals.

"I was sitting in it, foot slipped, chair flipped and the handle came down on my pinky," she said.

Shree sees herself in 10 years either "herding sheep" or working at a consulate in D.C.

For now, she is preparing for her study abroad program at the University of Seville in Spain next semester and avoiding vicious looking lawn chairs at all costs.