Monday, June 30, 2008

chuggin' away

Some of you may wonder why I never blog on the weekends. After all, it's summer. I should be well and bored on the weekends right? Actually, the weekends are even busier than my work days. Quite a number of my friends have stayed in C'ville this classes, whether it's for classes or internships, and we always get together on the weekends. Sometimes I hang out with professors or deans -- yep, we have quite a close relationship with our teachers and administration at UVA. I actually have less time on the weekends than during the workweek, even when I'm working two jobs. Crazy, innit?

That'll just step up during the school year. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but UVA students are superinvolved and quite passionate about what they're involved in. In my two years here, I've been in.. oh.. 15 clubs or so. I've thankfully cut that down to four active ones, otherwise I would self destruct with all the things I'm trying to do. Still, this takes a heavy toll on my free time as I hold exec positions for all of them. Again, quite typical of a UVA student to be a part of a lot of things.

Friday, June 27, 2008

it's friday night! (and the time is right. whoo~~)

I've had that song stuck in my mind all day now, *shakes head ferociously*. What do you do on the weekends? Drop a comment, let me know!

For me personally, after I get off work it's time to do some errands, then go to a friend's birthday party. Then this weekend some more work, hanging out with friends, a bit of late night movie watching and lots of chilling in general.

Now a typical UVA student.. probably going out on Friday, some community service Saturday morning, perhaps a group or club meeting in the afternoon, hanging out with some friends on Saturday night, wake up Sunday morning and realize it's time to do a massive amount of work. This is a huge generalization though, some people go out more often, some people study hardcore all the time, etcetc. The great thing about UVA is that we have 13,000 undergrads and an amazing spectrum of diversity that comes along with that. You'll have people who study all the time, people who party all the time, those who strike a nice balance, extroverts, introverts, etcetc.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

free bodo's on the lawn!

Sweet. One of my favorite things of being here in the summer is that our University Programs Council often have the event, free Bodo's bagels on the lawn! Bodo's is, in my opinion, the best bagel shop ever. Large, warm and soft bagels with everything from cinnamon raisin to sesame to everything, it's cheap and tasty. I didn't have a chance to get them today though, sigh. I had to give a special tour and the UPC folks were cleaning up as I walked by.

There were also a lot of kids running around on the Lawn today, I walked up to a group playing duck duck goose. Nearby elementary schools often bring their classes to the Lawn and just have fun on it. I once brought another group out to a bunch of screaming kids, it was an.. interesting introduction to UVA, hahaha. Every Halloween though, local elementary schools would bring their classes to trick or treat on the Lawn. It's a really cute sight to see all the little kids dressed up, walking up to the Lawn rooms.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

school? what school?

Students usually clear out of Grounds right after finals, leaving quite an empty campus. However, I have quite a few friends staying in Charlottesville this summer for the purpose of taking classes. Personally, I detest using summertime for more classes. It's a time to relax, to delve into your hobbies and interests, and to recharge. Not time for a continuation of school! But I understand their motives.

Summer school at UVA --> how common? Mm.. not that common but still common enough to be not rare. Not that many students take classes, but some still do. Now, I've heard rumors that summer classes are easier, that they grade more easily. They are, as far as I know, rumors. I would think it's easier in the sense that there are less distractions around. Most of your friends have gone home, there's not that much happening, so you really only have your books and notes for entertainment.

But summer in general on Grounds is quite bare. Most have gone home or elsewhere for internships and jobs, yet others are studying abroad or doing research. It's not a completely dead town though, there are still townies and Charlottesville still does have a life outside of the college students. Our University Programs Council still puts on programs, and some fraternities still host some parties.

Monday, June 23, 2008

orientation!

Oh my goodness students everywhere! I'd gotten used to a relatively empty campus as I led tour groups around, but walking to places today I kept crashing into various orientation groups.

Ahhh orientation, that seems like such a long time ago. I remember my orientation I was on pins and needles, looking around at people that would be my classmates. The days were hot and humid, and there was quite a bit of walking. Other than that, I don't remember much of orientation. Oh yes, lots of painful waiting around to sign up for classes, only to get to that computer room and be told my beautifully planned schedule wasn't going to work out. In case that happens to you, never fear! It really does all work out. The first week or so of classes is the add/drop period, and so many spaces free up in various classes that you usually get in what you want to get in. And even if the class is full, sometimes the professor will good naturedly still add you in. Don't worry!

Other than that, I had the feeling that people always made a ton of friends at orientation, and I was kind of mystified when my Facebook didn't explode right after it. Meh. One of the oddities of life I suppose. For me, orientation still wasn't very characteristic of how college would be. It really took about the first month of college before I suddenly thought, "Ooh, I'm in college now!"

Sunday, June 22, 2008

ahhh these lazy summer days...

I think most of the high schools in the States have let out by now, how does summer vacation feel? Summer vacation for UVA students usually vary between two extremes - those who go home and just relax all summer. They might go camping with friends, pick up an instrument, workout in the gym, or just nap by the pool. On the other side of the spectrum are the students that dive into summer with jobs, internships, study abroad, and research. I guess I'd be on the hardcore side of the spectrum -- people like to get involved and stay involved in their respective fields of interests.

On weekends though, I revert to the other side and hang out with friends. Last weekend my friends came to visit me, this weekend I'm visiting some other friends in Northern Virginia. Driving around and meeting people, it's made me realize that quite a number of people graduate and go on to work in Northern Virginia. There's around 10 of my friends in a 40 mile radius - how crazy is that? Most people graduate and are scattered to the four corners of the world. Of course, a lot has to do with the fact that 2/3s of the student body is from Virginia, but it's wonderful to be able to visit friends all the time.

Back to C'ville in the summertime though -- it is kind of dead. all the students are gone, some businesses have shorter hours, and not as many events happen. If you stay here in the summer it's really about who you know and what you do in your spare time.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

yeah, we're like, so elitist.

Today I'd like to tackle one of the topics that people often refer to in conjunction with UVA. We're stuck up, pretentious and elitist snobs (or however kind or even uglier you've heard). Reasoning behind these labels often include our lingo, "Oh look at them, they're so snobby they even have their own language, like they're too good for regular terms and phrases."

Well... no. That's not why we have our own terms of 'Grounds' and 'first year, second year, etcetc.' To explain why we have that, we need to go back to our founder, Thomas Jefferson. He believed that learning could never end. You couldn't be a senior and be some ultimate master of wisdom. That's why we call our seniors (and each respective grade accordingly) fourth years, thereby indicating that they have more years of learning ahead of them, that they can go on to explore more fields. (Now the following is my opinion...) I rather think that's a humble way to view oneself, that no matter how much you know, there's always a never ending horizon of learning ahead of you. As for substituting Grounds for campus... I'm not sure why anymore. But Jefferson insisted on it and so we respect his wishes.

What else? Ah yes, we're preppy and thus somehow elitist (elitist and preppy seem to be synonymous to some people..). I do admit, we do have more students dressed more preppily than maybe your average college. But seriously, we have 13,000 undergrads. There's such a span of diversity in it that I don't really understand how we're elitist (in the sense that we're all white, wealthy, and who knows what else). We have your liberals, your conservatives, your moderates, and everyone in between. If you're a numbers person, we have 15% Asian Americans, 14% African Americans, 10% Hispanic Americans, 5% international, and so on and so forth. We even have 2% Native American (I may be wrong on that number). We did away with our Early Decision so those with a lower socioeconomic background have a greater chance of attending. We have an entire program (AccessUVA) designed specifically for people in financial straits. But back to clothing. I think the preppiest thing I own is probably a pair of fleece lined Sperry's. Can't help it, they're warm and perfect for winter time. Not all students walk around with popped collars and plaid shorts. To blanketly stereotype UVA students would do us a huge disservice.

The rest of this mistaken reputation may come from the fact that UVA graduates tend to sing our alma mater's praises whenever we're asked about her. Again, can't help it. UVA is an amazing place to be and people are just really happy here. Everyone gets so involved and fired up about their organizations. Students are genuinely passionate about what they study. We have the benefit of attending school in an amazingly beautiful campus. Charlottesville city is a really nice place to be. We're proud of what we have here. And alright, we may be a bit too proud. But how many colleges can boast having a President as one of their founders? On Thomas Jefferson's grave, he has the epitaphs of 'Writer of the Declaration of Independence' and 'Founder of the University of Virginia'.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

london bridge is falling down..

Well, more like UVA Grounds is falling, and no, we're not really collapsing on ourselves. There's just construction going on everywhere and it's always a guessing game to decide where to take my tour. Several additions that I'm really excited about are the new drama buildings. They're getting a huge building for classrooms and workshops, and they just had a parking lot finished. I imagine that'll draw even larger audiences for drama productions.

I'm kind of wondering how the new Curry building will be like, hopefully with some underground parking? We can't afford to lose anymore parking space...

One development that I don't like so much is the South Lawn project. I understand the need for more classroom space and more academic buildings, but to extend our Lawn? Meh. We're not even knocking down the buildings that will divide the two Lawns. (Interesting tidbit: I've heard that it would be much too expensive to knock down Cabell Hall as it was built at the end of WWII -- it can withstand an atomic bomb. O_O) We had to raze our JPA parking lot to build the Lawn, and make it pretty inconvenient for Brandon Avenue residents to get to class. Meh, I'm not a huge fan. But it looks like it'll be really pretty, cheers for paying homage to Jefferson's preferred architectural style!

If you ever come for a campus visit, you'll notice that all the buildings look pretty much the same with colonades, white paint and red brick. We're really proud of our history and traditions here, and strive to respect most of Jefferson's wishes. This was his favorite architectural style -- his home at Monticello was built in the same way. I rather like the uniform look of the buildings as a result of that -- you don't have some musty 50 year old buildings in some random dump on Grounds. Rather, the buildings provide an aesthetically pleasing front.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

the good ole song of wa..hoo..wa

I was walking past old dorms today with my tour group when an alum brought up the good ole song. Of course, once it's been brought up, I had to give an impromptu performance. Thank goodness I pulled it off, haha. I hadn't thought I'd sing our school song during the summertime, it was a nice touch that capped off a really wonderful tour (great people, asked lots of questions). It's an amazing feeling to put your arms around the shoulders of the people next to you during football games and sing our song whenever we make a touchdown. At that moment, everyone in the stands of Scott Stadium (alumni as well) are singing the same words, and we all yell the same cheer at the end. It always gives me the shivers, and I'm so proud to be a part of the UVA community whenever that happens.

One of my favorite memories is during first year orientation - we were sitting the Old Cabell auditorium when all of a sudden, someone's cell phone rang. The ring tone was the good ole song. The orientation leader with that phone promptly stood up and started singing along and walked down towards the stage. All of a sudden, people (other orientation leaders) started rushing in from all parts of the auditorium and sang together on the stage. That was such a funny introduction to UVA (and hopefully I didn't spoil too much stuff for you guys!).

Another interesting encounter with the good ole song was with a friend's bottle opener, of all things. His bottle opener would play the good ole song whenever a bottle was opened. I think he got it from the bookstore... I'm not quite sure. Unfortunately, that rendition quickly got really annoying as around 20 bottles were opened over the course of the night. *facepalm*

Monday, June 16, 2008

home sweet home

Whoo what a weekend! I suddenly had a group of friends descend on me, some were alum, some were grad students, and the rest were undergrad. We did the usual of going to movies, hitting up favorite restaurants, and chilling at each others' places. Good times, I miss them already.

Sometime during their visit, it made me wonder just why do people come back to C'ville (Charlottesville) after graduation. It's an unprepossing college town, full of character and history, but definitely not the same as a huge city. Yet time and time again, I would be walking around on Grounds and bump into someone who's already working in another state. Fond memories? Friends and significant others still here? Maybe. It's odd, but even my friends who graduated two years ago mention that C'ville has a special draw of some type. People just keep coming back.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

we're a happy family..

Your favorite semi loony person again! I randomly flipped through a Barney episode yesterday on TV, and yup, they were singing that 'I love you.. you love me' song. So other than the fact that I have no idea why I loved that show so much when I was small, for some reason, that also made me think of the love I've experienced since coming to UVA. People in the Charlottesville community are all really nice. Case in point: I had walked to the Kroger at Barracks Road because I wanted to save some gas (gas prices are ridiculous..) and decided I would.. probably hate myself on the walk back. I'd grabbed juices and cans and frozen meats.. the whole nine yards. So while perusing the juice section, I met a random lady and we bonded over the lack of produce in her desired shelf. Somehow the conversation turned to transportation and I mentioned my lack of. Immediately, she offered me a ride home.

Now, if this was New York I probably would have ran away while dialing 911. But this being Charlottesville.. I took her up on the offer. The surrounding community at UVA is really nice and the people are so warm and welcoming. It's not uncommon to walk down the street and smile at a stranger, and have them say good morning in response. People are patient and take the time to point you in the right way, cars stop for pedestrians even if they're five feet away from the crosswalk. It's quite amazing really. Charlottesville has also been voted the 'best city to live in' for a couple years in a row now. It's a well deserved title in my opinion.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

baby it's cold outside..

Definitely not. Not at this time of the month at least. The weather's been strangely odd for a May in Charlottesville. First it was cool and breezy the first two weeks, now it's up in the 100s. Whenever the weekends roll around, it threatens to storm and drown everything on the street. But then it doesn't. Whenever I walk outside I feel like yelling up at the sky 'make up your mind'! Thankfully, we do get the four seasons here, and the hot weather only extends into the first two weeks or so of school. So not too unbearable. But after summer comes one of the most beautiful seasons for Grounds -- autumn.

During autumn the leaves are turning color, there's a cool breeze and the smell of well, autumn in the air. It's utterly breathtaking and is so magical that after bombing a midterm once, I ended up with a smile on my face after I walked back to dorms. Who can feel upset when it's so beautiful outside? Alright, so I may sound a bit loony here. Moving on.

Winters aren't too harsh, but we still get snow. I had a fun time sliding down the hill in Lambeth Field (Lambeth = one of the upperclass housing dorms) last winter. The work crews do a pretty good job of clearing the roads and salting the sidewalks, so again, not too bad.

Winter usually lasts until March, and then spring kicks in. I'm not such a huge fan of spring, I find all the slush and wetness really annoying, but it's another favorite season for students here. Flowers spring everywhere, everything is thawing, it's not as cold anymore.. and the CavDaily seems to run 10 thousand pictures on how the weather is warming up. Hehe.

Other work duties call (I'm working for UVA this summer just because well, I love this place that much!), I'll be back.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

hey!

Hey y'all! Thanks for reading the first post of the UVA student's blog. I'm just your ordinary student with some overachiever tendencies, someone with an uncanny ability to overcommit myself to all the clubs I find interesting, a Facebook-holic, and a current student who loves the university I attend. I'm here to share my experiences and answer your questions. So read and fire away!