#92: Spelunk the Steam Tunnels

       When the weather got cold, the Woody crew always found a way to warm up! This particular adventure’s epic group consisted of: Van, Hollie, Sarah, Matt, Tori, Thomas, Joe, Kika, and me; in 2008, we set out to trek the legendary steam tunnels that run under the UVA grounds. The origin of our destination was the entrance behind the Dells which took us on the path of the “New System” that led us under McCormick road all the way to the Stadium parking lot!

            So apparently Steam Tunneling is a Class 1 Misdemeanor but I wasn’t aware of this at the time nor was I truly worried about being caught! We were respectively quiet as we descended into the manholes, and we were all sober of course, for I’d heard the heat down there was unbearable when the temperatures were up (even though when we went on a February day I had no complaints!) and there were iron beams that were dangerous if you weren’t paying attention to when you should duck or hop over a pipe. Signs below warn of the asbestos that lies undisturbed… we’re probably all going to die at the same time, how sweet! It’s rumored that students used to use the tunnels to get to class on cold days, but they weren’t even constructed until the 1950s under Darden’s reign. One of the highlights of our trip was the Jesus figure that was spraypainted down there… he was kind of creepy but so revered in the spraypainting community that no one would dare disturb him.

One thing I would attend to if you are planning a steam tunneling trip is to make sure you have boys or someone with enough upper body strength to push open the grid for whenever you’re ready to climb out. There are a lot of exits, but most are locked and chained, I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t get into the stadium! Alas, my manfriend has claimed that he will not return to the slightly claustrophobic confines of the tunnels, so it would appear that my days too are over…but I still cherish the memory!

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” – e. e. cummings

#20: Hang out with a professor outside the classroom

            I knew it was a step in the right direction towards a future career in marine biology, but I didn’t know how important my decision to study abroad second year was going to change my life. After being accepted into the Gerace Research Center program in San Salvador (a tiny Bahamian island that is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been), I spent about two weeks down there snorkeling and doing a research project on marine invertebrates: mine was Ophiocoma echinata, the blunt-spined brittle star. The lack of sleep and extremely busy schedule, small portions of food (for what I was burning off) in the cafeteria, and sinus infection definitely tested my physical limits. I was almost completely cut off from the outside world with no phone service and a line to use the 4 working computers with money and time restrictions on them. I missed my family and Joe and sleep a LOT, but I met some of the most amazing UVA students ever and I would be so lost without some of them that have guided me in directions I didn’t even know were possible.

            The San Sal program was awesome because we got 1-on-1 time with UVA’s finest professors, Doc Diehl and Dave Smith! They’ve been so influential in my career path at this point I can’t imagine not knowing them. I got to learn about their own research, and they reached out to us so much that we all became a family over those 2 weeks abroad…and we still get together for reunions (sometimes at the Professors’ houses!) which is so special to me! The above picture is of Rebecca, Chrissy, Dave Smith and I when we all went to Shortstop, the local bar in San Sal famous for its sketchy locals, cheap rum, grafitti walls, and divine conch fritters :D Yes, the professors came out to get down too haha. I miss that <3

“In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” – Albert Schweitzer

#31: Get a A on an Exam or Paper

Bam. Art History paper actually graded by the professor entitled “Wright of Derby and the rite of passage from Classic to Romantic Art”. Fourth year, still got it!

“What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.”—Chuck Grassley

#69: Paint Beta Bridge

This morning was rather chilly and blustery, and I woke up ridiculously early as I always do in anticipation of exams, but as usual I don’t even spend half of the time studying. It reminded me of the morning I woke up at like 6 am on an exam day because Colin Hood guilted me into helping him paint Beta Bridge for his Stud-Co campaign. Now of course he’s too busy to sometimes even acknowledge some of the little people he may have used in his agitated month of political agenda (echem Heather :D), but second year he was milking us for the use of “our” Lambeth apartment in advertising his name from the windows, Profile-Pantsing us, or working the crowd at frat events.

But I didn’t want to disappoint my new friend. Like I said I woke up at 6 and trekked out into the freezing weather to paint his name on the bridge with some of his friends. It was cool I guess, and it was neat to watch the sun come up! I voted in that student election (#65: Vote in the UVa student elections), and he won the Stud Co president position after all :D

            Fun facts about Beta Bridge: shortly after we arrived first year, the weight of the overlying layers of paint accumulated over about thirteen years began to just peel off of the bridge because of the immense weight. It was estimated to be about three inches thick and the two slabs that construction workers had to help peel off weighed around one THOUSAND pounds! This was the second time it had been removed since the tradition really picked up in 1978. What began as graffiti over the RR bridge near the corner was encouraged at Rugby instead for safety reasons, and I think it’s a large part of why there isn’t so much graffiti around Grounds. It’s beautiful. I wish they had analyzed the layers; that’s a great historical preservation of student life right there in one bridge. This year the Beta fraternity is finally moving back to their house on Rugby next to the bridge… I wonder how that will change the culture of Rugby with DU gone.

Thx DU. (for everything).

“A painting is a symbol for the universe. Inside it, each piece relates to the other. Each piece is only answerable to the rest of that little world. So, probably in the total universe, there is that kind of total harmony, but we get only little tastes of it.” - Corita Kent

#23: Attend an Event at JPJ

            In early September of 2008, a breeze blew in a frenzy for rap and hip hop and a whisper of world famous artists that might be coming to Charlottesville. I wasn’t a huge fan of either, but the hype was really exciting, and I still haven’t been to many concerts, so I thought it would be a great idea to try. To get tickets alone, I had to skip my bio classes that morning to stand in a ridiculous line where you got raffle tickets with numbers on them in order to try to get a ticket. The line itself wrapped around Newcomb and slinked down the steps into the theater. The artists? Hip Hop sensation Jay-Z and notoriously ridiculous T.I.

            Kimberly, Tori and I went to the concert together and sat next to some random guy Tori had had to get tickets for. The opening act was Santogold and it was pretty crazy, probably a good start to her career. I was secretly hoping Beyonce would come out at some point because she’d gotten married to Jay-Z earlier that spring, but alas. And T.I. wasn’t such a Big Thing Poppin without Rhianna with him to do Live Your Life. It was definitely an interesting concert but it was just awkward to hear T.I. publically denounce President Bush and white people haha.

            While I’ve attended JPJ events including Convocation, receiving my class ring, and basketball games especially, I’ve chosen to highlight this one because it was interesting. Odd. Not something I would repeat, but something that makes my college experience unique from most :D

“Rap is poetry set to music. But to me it’s like a jackhammer.” – Bette Midler

#99: See Lighting of the Lawn

Apparently Lighting of the Lawn began as a commemoration for the victims of September 11^th, but I had no idea! I have gone to every Lighting of the Lawn, rain and sleet and freezing temperatures notwithstanding. To me, the event is a symbol of celebrating the end of first semester classes and one last HOO-rah before exams start. It is hot chocolate and cookies and Christmas carols sung by acapella groups.

  

Ice Sculptures 2010

 

After three years of waiting for the moment we could get our frosted glass Fourth Year Class mugs, Kimberly and I almost got trampled to death waiting in line outside Pavilion V last night! But it was so worth it, the mug is beautiful and I will keep it forever! Temperatures were absolutely freezing out, and there were lovely ice sculptures to prove it! I had a lot of fun singing on the Rotunda steps for the last time with my Vdubs! Enjoy the pictures of LOTL through the years :D

First Year --> Fourth Year

    

 

 

"It doesn't matter if you have a desperate heart when you have to sing about joy; it doesn't matter if you're scared to death when the lights go on." -- Mireille Mathieu