welcome to c'ville!

I'm picking up one of my high school friends at the C'ville airport tonight because he's flown in to visit Virginia. I'm excited! =D I've got an exciting weekend of Shortpump, Skyline Drive, the downtown, and Monticello planned as he's going up to NOVA during the week.

For those of you who were here for orientation, I hope you had the chance to check out some of the places I mentioned, well worth a visit! If not, definitely point your parents that way when they come for Parents' Weekend.

Ah and, if any of you are in the area and want to meet up for lunch or coffee or anything like that, let me know. A "real, live" UVA student on call for you. =)

exploring the magic kingdom..

Just got back from a family vacation to Florida last week, what a blast from the past! My dad and I, along with some family friends, hit up Disney's Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. We also decided to forgo the Blue Lagoon and go to Seaworld instead. I'm really glad we did that, as I'm now a much bigger fan of Seaworld instead of the Disney parks.

I really loved Magic Kingdom's fireworks, there's truly none that compare. The Magic Kingdom really is the epitome of all childhood dreams, I loved Cinderella's castle (especially the mosaics!). I feel that I've outgrown it though. =( Everything was targeted to young kids, and I went on rides with the feeling of hmm. I've been here and done this. Bo-ring. That was the same feeling I got at Hollywood Studios as well, if anything the age range there decreased. My two family friends were in middle school, and they were resolutely left out of all the shows when performers were picking volunteers. *shrug* Didn't remember much of that park either.

Epcot however, was a lot of fun. I liked going inside the golf ball (yep, aliens visited us and dropped down that big golf ball) and creating my future world. I really liked the electricity game (where you have paddles and shove light projections around. There's sensors or such placed around the room to make the projections go where you shove them). They should make this a widely available game, and market it to stay at home moms. "Your kids will mop the floor while playing a video game, and build up their muscles! Woot!" I humored the little girls and went on several Kimpossible scavenger hunts with them around several countries. Hey, don't knock Kimpossible, the scavenger hunts were pretty fun. Players got a cell phone that they pointed at various objects intermittently. If you found the right place, the cell phone would trigger a reaction, giving you the next clue. My friends and I made mugs sing, bookstore windows light up, doors open, etc. Another one of my favorite rides there was "Soarin'". The audience is strapped into rows and rows of seats, moved up to a panoramic screen, and taken on a hang gliding adventure.

Seaworld however, was the cherry on top of the icing. I absolutely loved all the dolphin and whale shows. I even got to watch the big killer whale in a rock concert! How awesome is that? There was also plenty of aquariums and underwater tunnels to view stingrays, sharks, and jellyfish. One of my favorite rides of the week was the one in which we took a "helicopter" to the artic to view penguins and polar bears. The ride was the audience looking at a screen, but the jerks and loops were so much more intense than the watered down Disney versions.

I know I have quite a few international readers on the blog, so if you ever get a chance, say a spring break or something like that, do go down to Florida to experience the magic of Disney. It's something you really have to do if you come to the States, and plane tickets are only $100+ if you plan far ahead in advance.

this disturbing culture..

Something about the new world culture of burping at will really bothers me these days. Anywhere I go, whether it's in the States or overseas, I find people who don't bat an eye after burping. I'm not only talking about small burps either, in group meetings during the last school year one of the girls would frequently burp loudly, then carry on. Perhaps I place too much emphasis on refinement, but this is something that really disturbs me. The worst kind is when someone burps in the office, the smell slowly wafts through the air, and you're stuck wondering how to not throw up and still smile. When did it become socially acceptable to do this? Or am I really looking for bones in a chicken's egg? (To use an old Chinese saying.) Your thoughts?

d'aww, ice age 3 in 3d

I went up to NOVA this past weekend as a purely spur of the moment thing. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery, yanno? While I was up there, I caught a showing of Ice Age 3 in 3d. Is it just me, or are there a lot of good sequels this summer? There was Transformers 2, and now Ice Age 3. Part of the previews were also in 3d, and I saw a trailer for the "squeakle" of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Haha, very cute!

I wonder if all movies are going to move to 3d? It certainly promotes more audience interaction and makes the movie even more realistic. I forsee a day in which people's minds will be actually projected into the movie, and you can actually live it, perhaps watch it through the eyes of one of the characters! Now that would be pretty awesome, or I've been watching too much Star Trek. =P

PS. If you watch a movie in 3d, do remember to *recycle* your glasses. My friend, upon exiting the theater, tossed them very suavely... into the trashcan. O_O!!

they have this kind of food in c'ville?

So L'etoile ended up being booked solid for the week, and apparently all spots were filled on Monday. Seems like Restaurant Week is popular indeed. =) My friend and I opted for C&O, another charming restaurant on the downtown mall. It was $27 for a three course meal -- with very hearty helpings. All I can say is.. wow. I had no idea they had this caliber of food in C'ville. I'm a big fan of TopChef, and I would compare the food to what they produce on the show. It was amazing, and I almost had to waddle out after the meal, haha. If you ever have the chance, go just to have their bread. Their bread is so. darned. good! I wanted to be able to just eat the bread and nothing else. I was pretty heartbroken when I found out that they made in it in the restaurant, and didn't get it from a bakery. I would love to have a steady supply of that bread. =D

As I was going to work today, I saw an orientation leader put up balloons on the side of the road. Sigh, I'm truly old now. Rising fourth year! Consumed with thoughts of my future career and the impending separation of all my friends. Sigh. It really seems like it was only a short blink of an eye to when I was traipsing these Grounds for the first time. *shakes a stern finger* Enjoy your years in college! Or as I like to say it, reach out and seize college by the throat, don't let go until you've shaken everything you can from it. ..a bit graphic, but you get the point.

My friend who was in the car asked an interesting question though -- how many friends do you still have from orientation? I thought about it for a little bit, then realized with some surprise that I barely remember anyone I met from orientation. So don't be worried if you don't click with the people at orientation. I didn't, not that much. Yet here I am today with a huge network of people and the best friends I've ever made. I did make all my best friends from first year though, and met all of them during my first semester. Morale of the story is, don't coop yourself up inside during those first months. I know it can be a huge shock, moving to a new environment and being surrounded with strangers, but go out, talk to people, and make some friends. =)