NC Saturday/Sunday

Saturday brought another sunny day and a free brunch kindly provided by the Christian Business Fellowship. After doing some shopping (DIT introduced me to DSW and I also got a dress to wear for Easter) we came back and got ready for the evening.

For dinner we headed over to Chapel Hill and met DIT's friend from college who is getting her MBA at UNC. I've not seen her since I crashed Cornell's senior week many years ago. We ate at a Mexican restaurant on Rosemary, then went to Top of the Hill. I hadn't been to Chapel Hill since I was in high school but Franklin Street still had the hip college vibe I remember, although now I no longer look at it with awe but with both amusement and nostalgia.

My favorite discovery: they have Gumby's, which is not at all good pizza, but has a special place in my heart due to its low price and staying open in Blacksburg until 3am :) Plus you really can't resist Pokey Stix!

We called it an early evening, knowing we would be up early for Easter the next day, plus it was the 3rd night out in a row (#1 sign of age: when you begin counting consecutive nights out)
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Sunday morning brought another sunny day, and mass at Immaculate Conception in the morning. Happy Easter!!

This afternoon we went to round 2 of the NCAA tourney at the RBC Center. We got to see #10 Davidson upset #2 Georgetown - they came back from a 17 point deficit to win!

The next game was not at all as exciting - UNC beat up on Arkansas worse than they did Mount St. Mary's. To keep it interesting, we decided to take sides on whether the UNC score would be double that of Arkansas at the half; final tally 51-26...DIT was right by 1 point!! I couldn't believe it. And THAT was the most exciting part of the game (for non-UNC fans anyway)

I still find it ironic that it would be a "home" game for UNC at NC State...I'm surprised the arena could hold that much Carolina Blue without somehow vomiting on itself.

Things you can't get from watching the Tourney on TV:
-The UMBC dance team routine during half time (the only real half time show of the entire Raleigh segment) NOTE - they also have cheerleaders, which provided a nice wholesome-appearing juxtaposition to the scantily clad dance squad.
-There is only one male cheerleader at Georgetown. He really, really reminded us of Craig (of SNL Spartan fame) which made me both feel bad, and laugh hysterically. Sorry dude! I know you're the only one but seriously, the sweat bands go around the wrists, not the elbows.
-It seems, in general, larger state schools do a better job at recruiting male cheerleaders.
-Male cheerleaders do not hold pom-poms, they hold megaphones
-The Davidson pep band does a GREAT rendition of Sweet Caroline and everyone joins in on "Bum-bum-bum" and "So good! So good! So good!"
-Even though we are in the NIT, Hokies still wear orange, maroon and/or logos and greet each other with "Go Hokies!!" when passing. Myself included.
-Tyler Hansbrough is really that good. And really that awkward.

NC days 2 and 3

Thursday - after sleeping in (always good to have that "3 hours behind" excuse) I drove DIT's car over to campus and met up with her...I got to crash one of her classes, which was really interesting - I forget how much interaction I have with businesses in my daily job; and how much anyone who works knows/has opinions about how business should work. :) Needless to say, I really enjoyed the class

Thursday night was a great peak at the life of a grad student. Let's do a comparison...

Location
High School: Random house in woods
Undergrad: Random house in woods
Grad: Random house in woods WITH RUBBER FLOORS (these people are prepared!)


Decor

Alcohol
High School: Whatever you can get
Undergrad: the cheapest keg you can get
Grad: TWO kegs, and I saw some bottles of Veuve Clicquot



Games
High School: I actually don't really know since I never made it past the random house in woods
Undergrad: Beer pong, if someone was lucky enough to have a table. Maybe some flip cup. Quarters. Various card games.
Grad: TWO BEER PONG TABLES. yes, really. I think that says enough.

I think at this point they had switched to flip cup

lesson - don't go to grad school unless you're ready to step up MORE than your academics...



Part of me still thinks that grad school is the chance to re-live college for those kids who worked really hard as undergrads (these people are all getting their MBA at Duke, after all)

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Friday - spent all day watching basketball in Raleigh. The only upset of the day was Davidson over Gonzaga - the lucky people in Tampa had 4 upsets! How crazy to go to those games!


All the games were held at NC State...this one's for you Dad!

It was DITs birthday so after leaving basketball we returned to her house, got ready to go out and spent the rest of the evening at Alivia's with some of her classmates. In a crazy small world story, it turns out I am friends in Seattle with the brothers of one of her close friends on the program. How many Turkish people are in the US anyway?!

Greetings from Durham, NC

I was supposed to leave SEA at 7:20am (PDT). After an hour delay into Newark, and then a more than 2 hour delay once there (with a built in 3 hour layover) I finally made it to Raleigh at about 11pm (EDT).

I don't think I have ever been in Newark when it has been that crowded - although it is rare that I am there to make a connection, and when you reach your final destination you don't really pay much attention to the condition of other gates. Luckily I was in the Continental terminal, so there was plenty to entertain me.

DIT has many things planned for me on this southern weekend, so time for me to get some rest. Isn't it strange how tired you get doing nothing more than sitting in planes and airports?

Park City days 2-3

Day 2: Skied Park City Mountain Resort

I was so disappointed by the over-grooming of PCMR! There were many runs groomed that I remember being left to skiers to mold. The worst part was they ruined my favorite bowl - Blue Slip Bowl - by catting a large swath on skiers left. I'm really still not over it...I can't believe they then had the gall to call it one of their "signature groomed runs" - since when is a groomed bowl a signature run?! If you can't do it, stick to the groomed trails...when I finally skied Blue Slip without morbid fear I was so proud of myself. They should give others that same opportunity to grow rather than just making the slope easier.

We did McConkey's bowl to make up for it:

top

halfway down, looking back to top

In the evening I stopped to see my friends JL and LL and their new baby (and new home) in Heber. It also gave me the chance to enjoy the Utah stars on my way home...I still have yet to see stars as brilliant as those in Utah anywhere else.


Day 3: Deer Valley Resort.
More Deer Valley Chili! Yum! A great, wonderful day of sunshine and skiing. DIT and EB made sure I was well worn out by taking me down several bump runs. Which was good; it's the only way you get better, right? Crown Burger for dinner followed by a plane ride back to Seattle.

What a great 3 day getaway!

Greetings from Park City, UT

I flew into SLC this morning on the early flight from Seattle...

Today I skied Deer Valley for half a day. Toward the late afternoon it got cloudy and snowy, although aside from reduced visibility the weather was not horrendous. If anything, skiing by feel is a good exercise :)

Mellow evening; we resisted the allure of Main St for some much needed rest