Life lately

Throwback to 2011 at Carter Mountain

I feel that ominous tickle in my throat: allergy season is upon us. Despite being a terrible city for spring allergy sufferers (all the pollen-emitting trees!!), Charlottesville is stunning in the spring. The warm weather brings with it the usual crowds of prospective (or recently admitted) students and their parents to Grounds, which is so fun to see ... It makes me feel really nostalgic! The crowds seem to really enjoy the food trucks over by the Amphitheater :). I love seeing the Days on the Lawn groupings in front of Old Cabell Hall* on my way to class in the mornings. And I saw CavPup for the first time on Monday! 

After quite a busy last week, here is a catch-up post of sorts ...:

Notable quotes:

• Wise words from my former coworker's late father: "People may be able to take things from you but they cannot take your pride. Be true to yourself, be good to yourself. Don't belittle yourself. Other people will do that for you and they do not need your help."

Things I learned:

• Helium is mined, and is therefore a limited resource. Something to think about the next time you buy a bunch of balloons for a party, I think.
• Professors are paid for only 9 months out of the year -- just like teachers! -- unless they get a research grant during the summer time or teach summer school

Embarrassing thing that happened to me:

• During a study break in the library between classes, I plugged my headphones into my ears to listen to a transcript of Donald Trump's hour-long meeting with The Washington Post editorial board, turned up the volume, and then realized the sound was coming not from my headphones but from my laptop speakers. D'oh! My earbuds were not plugged in. Fortunately for me, Trump was in the middle of explaining his thoughts on NATO -- not about his hands or other body parts.

Miscellaneous:

• I'm greatly amused by one of my engineering professors' conceptual analogies to Italian foods like a salami (differential unit of volume), slice of cheese (representative slice of a sphere), and "spaghetti noodle" (a fibrous protein).

*The Days on the Lawn opening reception is traditionally held on the Lawn-facing Rotunda steps, but the U.Va landmark is undergoing a facelift at the moment :)

Undocking

Photo of me in Blacksburg before hopping back in the car for the return trip

It’s a universally known fact among my close friends and family that I drive like a grandma. In fact, my dad likes to joke that I am a nervous chicken when it comes to driving, in stark contrast to my younger brother who drives like a daredevil. I have major driving PTSD because I was involved in a car accident that totaled both cars back when I was in middle school and have been nervous about cars ever since – even as a passenger or pedestrian. This means I often walk briskly or run across the street even at crosswalks, both to avoid becoming road kill and because nobody ever wants to be that person who takes their good ol’ time, obliviously crossing the street completely unaware or unconcerned about cars trying to speed through before the traffic light turns red.

My dad took a year-long break from giving me driving lessons when I was in high school because I was so afraid behind the wheel that he was fearful for his own safety as I frightfully inched the car at 20 miles an hour through my quiet middle-school parking lot and neighborhood, learning the basics of making right and left turns. So, after college when I accepted a job an hour’s drive away from home, I think we were all a little worried. But I needed the daily practice, and in about six months’ time making that hour-long journey each way, I was comfortable enough to change lanes once or twice a week, sometimes mustering enough courage to pass a slow, right-lane driver. A year after that, I was brave enough to conquer Route 66 during the morning commute. Three and a half years after starting that job, I inexplicably volunteered to pick up my brother from Blacksburg, Virginia, a town in the middle of nowhere – twice the longest journey I had ever driven from home. That was an expedition that tested my bravery as my sweaty hands clutched the steering wheel, hoping the cliff views – much too uncomfortably close to my right-lane situation – would soon be out of sight so I could relax my tense muscles. Even I can’t believe my parents let me do that.

Very seldom would I ever volunteer to drive anywhere, but if I do it’s for one of two reasons: 1) because I don’t trust the other passenger to transport me anywhere safely, or 2) because I recognize the opportunity as one for which I need to push myself out of my proverbial comfort zone. After all, driving and navigating highways are facts of life, and fears I need to conquer. It’s just like tackling that tough new work project that secretly intimidates the crap out of you, or making that big career leap that will lead to better long-term prospects.

After all:

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” – William G.T. Shedd.

Fitting in

Sunrise view from Humpback Rock

One of the perks of being out of school is not worrying about or trying to fit in. I’ve always been friendly to and generally well liked by most school cliques I interacted with because I’m a relatively neutral personality, but I enjoy the adulthood freedom of electing to spend my free time however and with whomever I wish. It is from that independence that I, or anyone, can truly explore themselves as individuals.

This disinclination probably stems from my undergraduate experience at U.Va. Although my college experience shaped me more than any other time period in my young adult life, U.Va students face significant pressure to attain a certain social status; it’s part of that U.Va elitist culture, as horrible as that might sound. It feels good to be past that and take myself less seriously. Or maybe it’s because I’m growing up and becoming more comfortable in my own skin.

I am more myself now than I have ever been. I am thankful for both the positive and negative experiences in school, at work, and in my personal life and relationships – even if some of those moments were particularly trying – because I am the product of all of that. Although there is always room for improvement (of which I am aware and to which I am always open), I’m proud of the person I’ve become.

Hindsight is 20/20

My friend's Pomeranian, Rory, during Halloween on the Lawn 2011 

Sometimes I cringe at the college version of myself. Ideally, as we collect life experiences, we ought to strive to be come better people, friends, employees/workers, and partners. Sometimes, for example, past transgressions are brought into sharper focus when someone wrongs you in a similar manner (karma!). We learn to be better friends by having and then identifying deadweight judgmental acquaintances; better team members and future leaders from poor examples of management; and better partners from the shortcomings of former flames. Or I simply needed more life to live, days to learn from, and self-awareness to gain.

I could’ve …:

Been a more inclusive conversationalist when socializing with the significant others of close friends

Been a better student leader who used meeting times more economically, and was more inclusive and trusting of team members’ abilities to execute plans

Dropped the meal plan sooner

Been a more consistent pen pal

Identified and dropped the deadweight, judgmental acquaintances sooner

Been a more empathetic friend

Off duty

My best friend Hallie's wedding in May 2015

It's midterm season so my posts will be very irregular this week. To tide you over, here are some posts that you might have missed during the past six years :)

Reviews (Charlottesville):

• Limeleaf (one of my all-time favorite Thai restaurants)
• Cafe 88
• La Michoacana
• SweetHaus cupcakes
• Bageladies Cafe

Life:

• Bills, bills, bills
• The arrogance of email signatures
• Birthday present to a stranger
• Reuniting with old friends
• Twelve cents

College:

• Tale of a lost Sharpie
• Student self-governance or ignorance?

Posts that made me smile:

• Going to the play?
• Something's not right here ...

Spudnuts - Review

Spudnuts storefront

Spudnuts' blueberry cake donut - my favorite!

If you’ve never been to Spudnuts, I suggest you plan a short trip to Charlottesville to pay this quaint little shop a visit. And bring cash.

Just beyond the Charlottesville Downtown Mall on Avon St. sits this itty-bitty standalone shop boasting a faded Pepsi sign and sells the most unique donuts. The hexagonal potato donuts need but the simplest adornments: chocolate glaze, shredded coconut, sugar, or maple. Sometimes, if you come early enough, you can snag an apple fritter made from the donut batter. And definitely don’t miss the blueberry cake donuts – those are the donuts that really shine.

Spudnuts used to be open six days a week during my days as an undergrad, but those have been reduced to four: Tuesday thru Friday, 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. or until they run out of donuts. I don’t know if those reduced business days are due to slow business, but I encourage you to support this small business because if this place shutters up, the next closest Spudnuts location is in Ohio! 

Russia House - Review

Drawing by Tony Ma ... Not that I would've sprung for dessert at Russia House ;)

Russia House in Herndon (not to be confused with a restaurant with the same name in NW D.C.) has all the ambitions of an upscale restaurant but falls disappointingly short of these motivations. I dined there on the busiest Hallmark holiday of the year, and so was not expecting top-notch quality or service from Russia House's kitchen, but equally was not looking to pay top dollar for something not worthy of being found in a convenience store's frozen food section. They had a prixe fixe menu of microwave-ready entrees AND DOUBLED the price of these entrees.

When my chicken kiev arrived at my table within 10 minutes of ordering (I'm telling you: it came from a microwave), I asked my dining companion, "Is that chicken ...?" Then: "This tastes like a TV dinner." The chicken -- shaped unnaturally in a rectangular block with rounded-off edges -- sat atop a bed of forgettable rice, and a heap of sad roasted vegetables. The chicken itself tasted processed and its texture reminded me of a chicken McNugget -- a $55 chicken McNugget but of inferior quality.

My dining companion, after some Googling, selected the beef stroganoff. Upon taking a first taste of his entree, I told him, "This tastes like it came from a can." Him?: "This tastes like something my mom made me as a kid."

On the upside, the (free) rolls are excellent, and boy does the staff keep them coming! The hefty rolls are dense and land on your bread plate with a satisfying "thud." I definitely was more interested in the bread than the "chicken."

Good luck flagging down the waitress if you accidentally drop your fork on the ground and need a replacement. It was a one-woman operation that night for a full house; the owner wore the hats of hostess, waitress, and bartender. To her credit, she was very polite and friendly. After all, the restaurant had doubled its prices that night, so I'm sure she was raking it in. And the young, spry staffers are quick with the water refills and handing out those aforementioned rolls, though those seemed to be their only responsibilities that night.

After receiving the check, I asked my dining companion if he wanted to get a snack afterwards because I was still hungry (I'd hardly touched my food). But he'd mopped his plate clean with the rolls: "If I'm paying $65 for this, I'm eating it all!"

Upon hearing the owner greet a guest with an enthusiastic, "Welcome back!" my dining companion and I looked at each other and said, "They have regulars?!"

The must only come for the rolls.