it's a small world after all...

Alright, meeting one of my alum friends on the sidewalk as I was leading a tour today got me to thinking.

So straight off the bat, those of you coming from really small schools might be concerned or even intimidated by the thought of 13,000 undergrads. I know I was, there was only 200 people in my graduating class. But coming here, I've never felt like a face in the crowd. I might've mentioned this before but it feels like an amazingly small community sometimes. It's crazy how so many people know each other. You often hear about a six degrees of separation between people knowing people here, but it's more like two, three degrees of separation at UVA. I absolutely cannot walk anywhere without bumping into someone I know. Don't be worried.

For those of you who like the size though, there's definitely something always happening and new people to meet. I also come from a huge city of around seven million people, so I definitely know what city life is like. In Charlottesville, I really don't feel like I'm missing out. I've gotten used to Charlottesville life and in fact rather like it. Our basketball arena was recently finished -- the JPJ arena and we've had people like The Eagles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Maroon 5 and Justin Timberlake performing in it. I wish I'd remember the day the Maroon 5 tickets went on sale. By the time I finally remembered, they were sold out. *sigh*

But back to my alum friend. Even people who've already graduated, they come back all the time. It's not uncommon to walk into a restaurant or down the street and see someone who graduated two years ago. And I keep bumping into my friends all over Grounds and in Charlottesville. What a place.

midsummers!

It's that time of the year again, when a lot of fraternity and sorority members come back to clean their houses -- aka lots of traffic and parties. I thought I'd address the subject of Greek life and parties in this post, since a lot of you may be interested.

Greek life at UVA - around 30% of UVA students are Greek. It may sound like a huge percentage, but it's not a big deal at all. There's no divide between Greek students, none of the 'you suck we rule' type mentality. People here don't really care what you're involved in, there's over 500 clubs so there's so much to do! Basically, if you're Greek, good for you, if not, more power to you. You have more time to do other things, and you will not be bored on the weekends just because you're not Greek. There is so. much. to. do here it's kind of insane.

Of course with Greek life comes parties. I've been told that we have some of the better parties in this area, but hey, who knows? I went to a couple my first year and quickly got bored. Guess that's not really the scene for me -- and it's alright here if you don't want to drink. There's diversity across all spectrums here and a lot of that includes people who love to party, people who find it's okay, people who are bored by it, and people who don't like to party. I have an active social life and hang out with a ton of friends on weekends. So really, come here and have fun, in whatever way that defines fun for you.

so.. regarding phone calls

Since I've worked a couple days now in the front desk answering phone calls, I'd like to make a general plea for people calling the office.

1) Most of what you'd like to know is available online, make sure you've checked the website before you call!
2) We cannot release decisions over the phone, so please don't ask. Nope, asking me five times in a different format won't work either.
3) No life stories please. I've gotten quite a few calls in which people start pouring their lives down my ears and I see the 'Call Waiting' button flashing. Not a good situation to be in.
4) No preaching please. The person who did this to me should be glad we were of the same faith, otherwise I would have been horribly offended.
5) Make sure you're calling the right office! No we are not the medical school... or the Semester at Sea office.. true stories, all of them.
6) If you'd like someone's undivided attention, it's best to email them. Our deans are often busy with meetings and appointments, so even if you did get through to them they might be somewhat preoccupied. Email definitely is the way to go.

my apartment is a... marsh!

Please pardon the lack of an update yesterday, I was hit by a rather weird disaster.

I came home from work on Monday evening to find that wherever I stepped, my footprints would fill in with water. Well obviously this isn't normal. I called maintenance and the first guy came at 8:30 am to tell me that my furnace was leaking. My.. furnace? If.. you say so then. The second guy was supposed to come to dry off my carpet and didn't come until 6 pm. Geez. He only put in a floor fan to help the water dry off quicker.

Get used to stuff like this guys, if you live off Grounds at any point in college, or move on into the 'real world' after you graduate, you'll have to be doing stuff like this all the time.

two months of tours!

This week marks the beginning of the third month that I'm giving tours. Wow. Time does pass by when you're having fun. On my tour today I realized I had it down to an art. I know what stock phrases to say so that I don't come off as a blathering idiot when my mind freezes, I know where to go if an orientation group's in the way. It's almost second nature. This was when I took a step back and thought. Wow. Second nature. College is second nature to me now. It's perfectly normal if I have class at 8 am but don't come home until midnight due to other committments. I'm used to running to the bank, Corner, and route 29 for errands. I'm in control of my own life, and am going where I want to go. I'm truly happy here.

It's crazy to think that a two short years ago I was still a highschooler, living with my parents and having curfew, dinner time, bed time, and homework time. My parents were extremely conservative, traditional people so school parties were about the only time I could go out. Of course, a lot of you reading this probably have a lot more freedom than I do. It's just amazing to think about how much I've changed.

Call a leasing office to ask about apartment rentals? Yep no problem. Chatting to employers at career fairs? Sure, where's a copy of my resume? Cooking dinner for myself? Alright, Indian or Korean style? Going to work and interacting with people much older than me? Sure thing.

Are you guys psyched about college and possibly coming to UVA? Savor it, it really is the best four years of your life.