I aimed to blog in the middle of my fall break, but some computer trouble (see below) precluded me from doing so. In any case, here's my south->north->south adventure thus far.
Saturday I visited Chicklet at SLC and we went ice skating. On he ice was a 10-year-old girl doing double jumps in her figure skating outfit -- absolutely amazing. I'm curious as to how much she has to practice; I'm sure it's more than I ever wanted to commit to an extracurricular activity. After free skate, we watched a youth hockey game, and left after the first period (it wasn't competitive: blue/purple was destroying white). Chicklet then took me to the best Thai restaurant I've ever been to...I really needed to write the name of that place down.
Sunday the real road trip started with a journey to DC. After a catch-up lunch with my former roommates, I took the metro to Eastern Market where I met up with Taren and Portia at which point we headed over to the DC United game. Our group trickled in as we tossed a disc around outside the stadium--a great name-learning activity. The score of the DC United game won't get mentioned again (see prev post): let's just say everyone had a great time.
Sunday night I hung out with the West Wing crew, where I'm happy to report that yet another West Wing arranged couple seems to be forming :) Emily and Justin were gracious enough to let me stay at their place. However, that's when my laptop troubles began. I attempted to start up the machine, it would try to read the CD drive (nothing there) and then stop...completely. After a bit of dissection and drumming on the keyboard, the computer started up and I thought everything was fine. Especially since it booted up fine the next day at Panera.
But, alas, when I arrived at the next leg of my trip, UVA law school, the computer regressed to it's previous state of total darkness. I tried not to let that keep me down, and Janeite was kind enough to let me use her computer. We made Pumpkin Pie (using W&S's Pecan Pumpkin Butter) and watch Time Bandits--a Monty Pythonesque kids movie. Also during my stay at UVA, I sat in on two law school classes. One word: bore-ing. Wow that material is dry.
Oh, I almost forgot: Janeite and I stopped by the main lawn on Halloween to watch the kids trick or treat. There were thousands of little ones dressed up--even the local media came. Our "best costume" award went to a kid who dressed as Napoleon Dynamite. Worst I think was this robot costume that the parents' clearly didn't realize would severly restrict the poor kid's mobility. I think he had better Halloweens.
Tuesday I turned around and headed north, stopping at DC to have dinner with my former colleagues at TMG. We had dinner at Amma's Vegetarian Indian, which I highly recommend if you're looking for cheap eats at Georgetown. I stayed over night at a ex-coworker's place, and continued to solicit advice about my laptop (thanks PreLifeCrisis!).
Wednesday I returned to Princeton and shipped my (under warranty) laptop to Acer Support HQ in Texas. With that off of my mind, I enjoyed a great evening in NYC with other Princeton grad students. A second car had trouble finding parking at PJ, so all five of us piled (pretty comfortably) into the Datamobile and we took the PATH from Jersey CIty. First stop in NYC was "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart. We got in line just in time to secure tickets, but we ended up in the front row. (They give out the front row toward the end of the process since they are partially obstructed view seats.) I got to ask Jon Stewart a question before the show and offered him a Milano cookie--he decline (as he's a Snackwell's man). In response to my query, Stewart called CNN's anchors "retarded," which I think (in some cases) isn't too far off the mark. The guest that evening was Mike Wallace, and Rob Cordry produced a great segment on gas prices in America.
The weather was gorgeous for exploring the city, so we walked from 11th Ave to 6th for dinner (where we met up with JonK), and then moved on to 2nd Ave for dessert. I ordered a slice of velvet cake from the dessert place, which turned out to be about three normal slices put together. I'm still working on finishing it.
Speaking of finishing, I'll have to continue this post later (most likely after break is over), as I'm off to meet with my former MIT professors.
is Amma's a kind of small place on the second floor? if so, I totally was just there when I was out in DC and I love love loved it. if it isn't the same veggie Indian place, I need to get the name of where I actually did go and give it to you for next time you're in DC.
also- what is your take on the UVa law school? I've applied there site unseen. I've done lots and lots of research, and I definitely would love to go there, but I've never actually been there or to C'Ville. any first-hand info/opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Yes, Amma's is the place on the 2nd floor. Well done finding it! It's truly one of the hidden secrets of Georgetown.
Janeite tells me to tell you that Hagrid is looking for you...no wait, that UVA law rocks and that you should go. In all seriousness, the building is beautiful, the people are friendly (at least, section A is), you get to play softball, and they'll work your butt off. All of which are good things. Plus, if you go somewhere in the greater DC area, we'll be able to see each other more often in 2008!
Rachel: You see, I told Aaron that his lackluster comments on UVA Law would be read by someone who's applying to law schools, but alas!--he did not heed my warning.
So far, I'm enjoying myself as much as I can in law school--if you're sure that you would like to go to law school, I would definitely recommend it. UVA is supposed to be one of the most laid-back law schools (there's a keg in the garden on Grounds every Thursday, all the 1L sections have softball teams, etc..). That being said, I think that 1L year is going to stressful no matter where you go (I'm betting I'll be enjoying my 2L and especially my 3L years more) and that all law schools attract people who probably would not be described as easygoing.
Anyway, I would definitely recommend UVA--Charlottesville is a lovely town (I went to UVA for undergrad too and I'm back for more!)--it's very much a college town but it is great for exploring as it has some fantastic hidden places (there's one of the tastiest French pastry shops located near the mountains, about 20 minutes from town). Overall, I like all of my professors and I'm sure I'll like more of my classes next semester when I'm not taking all required courses.
If you have any questions about the school, feel free to send me an e-mail (ch3fs at virginia dot edu) and let me know if you're in town visiting--you're welcome to spend the night on my futon. :)
Good luck with all your law school applications!