#54: Explore the Alderman Stacks

        

              Alderman library is kind of off my radar since the closest class I have on central Grounds is Clark, so I don’t trek here often unless I’m on a mean search for a certain dessert from Greenberry’s.  I go here for lengthy sessions to crank out long papers, nothing more. But this semester I have an ominous term paper smirking at me from a week away deadline. This time I actually did something right and began researching it over a month in advance. I worked on a 7 page outline over Thanksgiving dinner. I came back to school early to work on it. And this will likely be my last blog before Winter Break starts because this 20-pager will be the death of me.

  I did “get lost” in the Alderman stacks researching for World War II memoirs since my project is on the Enola Gay controversy regarding its display in the National Air and Space Museum. After navigating my way through the black hole that is VIRGO, I went to Alderman to pick up the books and found out there are hundreds of square feet of library I never knew existed. I was turning corners, going up to “M” floors, getting on the wrong elevators – in the silent daze of musty secret maze.

I’ve never been so happy to see a librarian in all my life once I came out of stacks. (#52: Check out a book from the library).

And come Monday, I'll never be so happy to return five books.

“I have lost all sense of home, having moved about so much. It means to me now -- only that place where the books are kept.” - John Steinbeck

#44: Survive at the Biltmore

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

I’m so grateful for each and every one of my friends and family, and wanted to take this quick break in my final paper writing to write a quick blog! So I’ve chosen a fun one! My life would be awfully different if my path had not let me to the University, or if any of yours had been different as well. I choose the adverb ‘awfully’ here for a reason- I don’t even want to imagine the changes!

  

      Please don’t judge me when I say that some of my favorite college experiences have involved my best friends and alcohol. Of the hundreds of things I am thankful for today, I am especially thankful for my friends who have made my home away from home unforgettable, and for the Corner, where many of our memories are still being made. I am thankful for the Biltmore and their amazing food and especially their Survivor Hour where the cheap drink specials allow me to actually go out and participate in the festivities! Once I stop having work on Friday mornings at 5 I will be all over the Thursday night $1 drinks and better bar pictures!

The chief reason for drinking is the desire to behave in a certain way, and to be able to blame it on alcohol.  ~Mignon McLaughlin

We'll Sing it O'er and O'er, it Cheers our Hearts

The Jeffersons' debut 2010

            I am proud to say that amidst all the heartbreak and crushes that have typified UVA football over the past four years, I have definitely felt a part of that unique section of the student body that still supports our team. From a 9-4 season when we basked in the protective cushion that was Chris Long to last year’s 3-9, it has definitely been a ride. Now I face the final football game of my undergraduate career this weekend, traditionally Thanksgiving weekend, against Virginia Tech. I’m praying that this will finally be the year we beat Tech and carve up some Hokie bird for the holiday.

We Are One Whiteout 2010

            I’d like to take the time to address two of the “To-Do List” items that relate to football as we close this season. 2010 was the season that Mike London replaced Al Groh as Head Coach of the Wahoos. It was a long time coming, especially when you're giving up hours of the weekend accruing devastating records, analyzing the moral abyss many of our players had fallen into, and watching the hideous mistakes of our offensive line. I think that the one thing Groh did do right (before he was  booed every game and publically flayed in the Cav Daily nearly every issue) was attempt to instill a sense of unity and camaraderie within the student section by encouraging THE POWER OF ORANGE.

First Year Power of Orange!

Second Year Freezing in empty stands with Joe!

         I’ve been to the games in the traditional Guys in Ties, Girls in Pearls getup. I’ve supported Groh’s Orange Nation. I purchased a UVA ’10 jersey (and am glad that was the number because it will mark the last season!). I sported London’s Make Scott Stadium Blue efforts. I even wore the free XL t-shirts they gave out in a somewhat effective attempt to “White Out” the stadium! I’ve tried to show my support for the program, I really have. I even bared my stomach. Those of you who know me know what a concession that was for me, and my spirit was burned into me thereafter (still now!) in the form of a giant H. So yes, I would say that I have accomplished Task #17, Dress for the Day at Home Football Games.

Third Year Ladies in Sundresses

Fourth Year Sabre Fans of the Week!

I have also watched many halftime shows at the games – Task #110. Unlike many in attendance in Scott Stadium, I stay through the slow defense maneuvers, the embarrassing turnovers, Mark Verica’s general existence… and it’s not like I can afford the $3.50 drinks at halftime even when I’m burning to a crisp below. So I stay and watch! One of my favorite halftime memories was sitting next to Jon and this girl was pushing people away, blatantly freaking out because some musical star was performing to the Lion King and she was in love with him, it was totally crazy. Anyway, I know that I will miss the free football next year, but I'm now determined to become a pretty epic tailgater and to instill a fervor for a decent team in my own kids. Hopefully the UVA football program will have a great turnaround in the near future, or at least in the next 30 years :D

"If lessons were learned in defeat, our team is

getting a  great education." -Murray Warmath

.

#108: Revisit your First Year Dorm

            One of my favorite traditions here is Ohill brunch with Kimberly and Heather (#85...we do it all the time!)…especially on football Saturdays. This past Saturday the 13^th was our last home game against Maryland. We had high hopes over scrambled eggs and reminiscence back to first year when Ohill was so close to Woody and Tuttle. And then we got so excited by the thought of going back and doing it over again that, in a way, we did! Kim was an excellent photographer (we SO appreciate it!!) and Heather was super sentimental and on the verge of tears and I was, per usual, the creepy one who had to ask some Woody ’10-’11 girls to let us swipe into the building with them.

            First stop was the elevator that neither Heather nor I really used very much (I like to think it’s because we are more active and less lethargic than the fact that you might catch some cute Woody guy we had a crush on in the stairwell…) and we got off on the third floor to check out Heather’s room. Nobody was roaming the halls or in the lounge, and both of our rooms were shut. It’s probably for the best- they’ll remain untainted by change in our memories.

         

Now you always hear how closely sensory perception is tied with memory, but I hadn’t realized how strongly ingrained the scent of Woody actually is. It’s an absolute trigger and strongest in the stairwell. I guess I’d always attributed the smell to Joe and his room but I think it’s so much more than that! We went by his room too and peeked in to find even four years later college boys never change, they’re still playing video games incessantly.

Woody for life <3. It’s in me.

“It's always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it. To remember where you come from is part of where you're going.” - Anthony Burgess

#87: Test your Intelligence at Mellow Trivia

            Fourth Year Trivia Night drink specials + When it Rains it Pours $1 off specials = a packed house at Mellow Mushroom this past Tuesday night! Molly, Jon, Joe and I got there around 7 and were the last group promised a table for the night- the hostess had to turn away people left and right and we waited so eagerly for about an hour until a table opened up in the back near the bar. Now the Fourth Year Trustees email had promised Harry Potter trivia, but there were actually only two wizarding questions asked the entire night, and I am embarrassed that we got one of them wrong!

            After ordering our delicious food (Jon tried the cinnamon pretzels!) I learned the ins and outs of trivia! All the tables form group names and play three rounds of three questions interspersed by some great music. Since there was misunderstanding about the trivia being HP, many of the team names were related or had something to do with a basilisk in the chamber of secrets. Molly concocted a slightly more PG team name than Jon wished, but we donned the initials HHW: Hagrid’s Horntailed Whores! It actually paled comparison to some of the other names including the Forceable Fondlers. There were a ton of innapriopriate ones, but the one that won the coveted title of best team name (and subsequent shots) was Team:

 Whatsthedifferencebetweendrinkingthefourthyearfifthandtheresasullivan?Whenwedidthefourthyearfifthwewdidntthrowup. Ridiculous.

            As the pitchers flowed at our table we went through surges of triumph and defeat in our answers. I helped with the first answer! A hippopotamus is the only herbivorous land animal whose mouth can open 180°! The best round though was the round with categories of Literature, TV, and Poetry … RIGHT UP Molly’s alley! And she banged out those answers like it was her business! Apparently the guys didn’t know she was an English major haha, but she was great at recognizing the opening lines from Anna Karenina which Jon couldn’t get over haha

            I was so pleasantly surprised to find that not all the teams were cheating on the questions with their iphones! At the end of the six rounds we were definitely a contending team…third place even! But the bonus round did us in…it was an all or nothing sheet of alcohol logos. While we missed the Miller High Life woman on the moon, there was a weird firey horse I’d never heard of before. Oh well! The event was so fun! It gave me a break in this stressful week, time with some of my favorites (and getting to run into some sweet 4^th years), awesome knowledge ahaha, and Mellow vibes which I hadn’t had since 1^st year!! Team HHW will be back in the spring…back, bigger, and better than ever!

“The game of Trivia, like camp, is a product of the heart, not of the mind. It’s a social disease, it’s little things for little minds. It’s the last time you were able to act immature, to act like the college kid” – Edwin Goodgold



#10: Go to an International Party

            International party! Doesn't THAT sound like a blast! But what constitutes such a thing? With all the international kids I know here or at the very least have mutual friends with, I was pretty shocked to wrack my brain and not remember an “international party”. I guess that’s good in a way because that means that the University does a decent job at integrating students of all types of social agendas?

            Second year when I lived in Lambeth I remember going out with a group to Panda Garden bahahaha. It was a predominantly Persian fiesta held in a Chinese restaurant that a girl had rented out for her birthday party. Coinciding with the era when I would only go out to dance (and the close proximity to Lambeth in the wintertime) I rolled right along down the hill and actually paid $5 at the door just to get inside because none of us knew the girl. It was packed, a sweaty rocketship-towards-happiness-while-getting-lost-in-the-dark-and thus moving-however-you-wan-to sort of jamboree. When Kimberly decried that this was in fact a birthday party and not an “international party,” I had my bar set high and was on the lookout for an opportunity. One of the many things other nations know that America refuses to see: life is not a gradual process of getting worn down at the grindstone. They know to enjoy life. They know to dance. I would argue that there is a parallel here.

            Anyway, Friday the opportunity fell into my lap: it was another absolutely frigid night, and my coworker Christian had sent out a message to everyone saying to come to his farewell party before he leaves for Brazil: CARNAVAL. This is what Wikipedia says on the subject:

Carnival is the most famous holiday in Brazil and has become an event of huge proportions. The country stops completely for almost a week and festivities are intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities. The consumption of beer accounts for 80% of annual consumption and tourism receives 70% of annual visitors. The government distributes condoms and launches awareness campaigns at this time to prevent the spread of AIDS.

            The party was absolutely packed with people because it was technically an LSA function (not Lesbian Straight Alliance haha, Latino Student Alliance :D) and it was on Harmon which is literally right across the street from me, so we didn’t have to walk all the way to the Corner for entertainment. Although let’s face it, that’s where we ended up eventually anyway! Our caravan of carnival-goers included A BUNCH OF AWESOME NORTHERNERS!! (Medina, Dumblauskus, Jenn, Joe, Jon, his friend Travis). After playing Cranium (and watching Emily & Dan McNally on a hilarious recording of the Newlyweds!!) we headed over to the party where there was ample salsa dancing interspersed with the dj’s computer freezing up. But it was so packed and so much fun! And jello shots?! And such a hospitable host; today he came up to me and said “so I don’t want to be creepy, but were you at my house on Friday” hahaha. LSA: groove on. International parties: bring it on.

“Everyone has a Latino inside them.” --
Paulina Rubio

#6: Look for ghosts in the UVA cemetery

        

        Halloween: when the world wrapped in slumber awakens from the grave. Halloween in 2007 fell on a Wednesday, and although I wasn’t the angsty binge-drinking type in a slutty costume I wasn’t about to sit in on my favorite holiday either! I rounded up Van, Jessica, and Kimberly to come with me for some innocent fun and visit the cemetery at the corner of Alderman and McCormick!

            One of the first things you see when you get inside the gates is a huge statue of Jefferson with a creepy inscription at the base: LIFE DENIED THEM VICTORY BUT CROWNED THEM WITH GLORIOUS IMMORTALITY. Since the cemetery opened in 1828 I’m sure it had to do with soldiers buried there, but they aren’t the only residents. The cemetery is supposedly packed with especially distinguished professors and administrators like Newcomb, Clemons, and Bonnycastle to name a few. I remember trying to find the oldest grave in there, but think the oldest one we found dated back to around 1860—oh acid rain effects.

            We wandered around the womping willows with glowsticks at midnight, trying to freak each other out; I was seriously hoping to find something creepy! When I thought we had stumbled upon something good (a séance perhaps…), it turned out to be some weird kids playing scrabble in the midst of the graves! I guess the scariest thing in those hallowed grounds was the bagpipe guy who used to play in them when you were trying to study. The UVA Cemetery surprisingly lacked any sinister feeling whatsoever—if you can’t get it at midnight on Halloween when will you?!—so all you fraidy cats should get out there now and enjoy it!

"He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery"

- Harold Wilson