Change of the week...
People from time to time express curiosity about what I fill my time with when I am not absorbed with THE's latest, one of [the way past three times] I am/being a bridesmaid, or working for the citizens of the great commonwealth of PA. Well, this past weekend, I did none of the above, and actually neglected my duties to THE to the point of ignoring all emails related to the alumni meeting, and took off for Blacksburg to become a Hokie for the weekend. My brother is a PhD candidate there, and I hadn't been to visit since he moved up from Atlanta.
I used some comp time and left work early, and began the six hour trek to Hokie-land. Many others were making the same trip, leading to a feeling of solidarity as we all drove late into the night. My brother waited until I got in, then we went downtown to grab a late dinner at the Boston Beanery. Ironically enough, over dinner I had one of the longest conversations about IR/cultural development that I have had in a long time, and it was with my brother who is a PhD candidate in Accounting, a very non-ir/political junkie type.
Saturday began with a bang. Excitement was just in the air, so despite my best efforts to sleep in, I was wide awake by 9am. ESPN decided last minute to move Game Day to VAT, so we walked down to Alumni Mall, having to jump out of the way of the VAT Corps of Cadets Band several times. (The Corps definitely made the experience that much more interesting.) A very enthusiastic crowd. The ESPN panel was definitely brave and a little outspoken, particularly one member who kept expressing the opinion that VAT was overrated.
We walked around campus, which was much more beautiful than I had expected. VAT dealt with 60-70s ugly utility building, by declaring that all buildings that faced the Drill Field (the main campus green) had to be faced with Hokie stone, a beautiful gray stone. The tradition carried over to many other Hokie buildings which are interspersed with lots of green space. [Something THE should keep in mind as they continue to develop the Campus Plan.] We also peered into the coliseum, where you will find a Hokie (approx. 12ft tall) which will make you realize why a turkey could be a very frightening mascot. I mean, can you imaging trying to run away from a 12ft turkey:-P
Some of my bro's friends, and friends of their's came over to tailgate. You could tell that it was an ACC school. I got all kinds of fun questions from his friends, including someone who (can you believe this Mrs. Fielding?!?) wanted to know if I was an Alabama fan [You know the SEC, kumbaya all the time. Particularly AU v. AL:-P ].
Some of the guys from VAT's soccer program came over, and being a football game day were having fun throwing a football around, across the street, over buildings, etc. All of the sudden, we hear all this chanting, and down the street comes the entire Corps of Cadets divided into units. [VAT is one of 4 Virginia schools that has a corps program (like VMI). Approximately 2% of the student body is VTCC]. An in VAT tradition, each unit was chanting a different fight song, resulting in quite a cacophony. The irreverent soccer guys not to be deterred continued through the ball over the heads of the cadets, until a drill sergeant came along and yelled something incomprehensible to stop.
We ended up going down to the stadium, but came back to the house, when we could get tickets, but not together. VAT, taking issue with ESPN set out to prove that they weren't over-ranked, and beat GT 51-7, a grand intro to Beamer ball. It was a fun game, with 3 defensive/special teams touch downs, including an intercepted punt attempt. I think we all felt sorry for Reggie Ball, who was only a few days out of the hospital with meningitis, but the GT Offensive Line certainly wasn't providing him with much help. Anyway, by the end of the game ESPN was suddenly talking National Championships:-P
That night, we caught a little of the Michigan/Wisconsin game, Georgia/MS ST game, and USC (were very disappointed, though not surprised to see them come back and beat Oregon).Then walked downtown for ice cream.
On Sunday, in true family form, we visited Christ Episcopal Church, then headed over to the Cellar for lunch. Over all, the weekend was surpisingly restful. A very nice break from routine, and fun to be at a college with settled traditions for awhile.
I used some comp time and left work early, and began the six hour trek to Hokie-land. Many others were making the same trip, leading to a feeling of solidarity as we all drove late into the night. My brother waited until I got in, then we went downtown to grab a late dinner at the Boston Beanery. Ironically enough, over dinner I had one of the longest conversations about IR/cultural development that I have had in a long time, and it was with my brother who is a PhD candidate in Accounting, a very non-ir/political junkie type.
Saturday began with a bang. Excitement was just in the air, so despite my best efforts to sleep in, I was wide awake by 9am. ESPN decided last minute to move Game Day to VAT, so we walked down to Alumni Mall, having to jump out of the way of the VAT Corps of Cadets Band several times. (The Corps definitely made the experience that much more interesting.) A very enthusiastic crowd. The ESPN panel was definitely brave and a little outspoken, particularly one member who kept expressing the opinion that VAT was overrated.
We walked around campus, which was much more beautiful than I had expected. VAT dealt with 60-70s ugly utility building, by declaring that all buildings that faced the Drill Field (the main campus green) had to be faced with Hokie stone, a beautiful gray stone. The tradition carried over to many other Hokie buildings which are interspersed with lots of green space. [Something THE should keep in mind as they continue to develop the Campus Plan.] We also peered into the coliseum, where you will find a Hokie (approx. 12ft tall) which will make you realize why a turkey could be a very frightening mascot. I mean, can you imaging trying to run away from a 12ft turkey:-P
Some of my bro's friends, and friends of their's came over to tailgate. You could tell that it was an ACC school. I got all kinds of fun questions from his friends, including someone who (can you believe this Mrs. Fielding?!?) wanted to know if I was an Alabama fan [You know the SEC, kumbaya all the time. Particularly AU v. AL:-P ].
Some of the guys from VAT's soccer program came over, and being a football game day were having fun throwing a football around, across the street, over buildings, etc. All of the sudden, we hear all this chanting, and down the street comes the entire Corps of Cadets divided into units. [VAT is one of 4 Virginia schools that has a corps program (like VMI). Approximately 2% of the student body is VTCC]. An in VAT tradition, each unit was chanting a different fight song, resulting in quite a cacophony. The irreverent soccer guys not to be deterred continued through the ball over the heads of the cadets, until a drill sergeant came along and yelled something incomprehensible to stop.
We ended up going down to the stadium, but came back to the house, when we could get tickets, but not together. VAT, taking issue with ESPN set out to prove that they weren't over-ranked, and beat GT 51-7, a grand intro to Beamer ball. It was a fun game, with 3 defensive/special teams touch downs, including an intercepted punt attempt. I think we all felt sorry for Reggie Ball, who was only a few days out of the hospital with meningitis, but the GT Offensive Line certainly wasn't providing him with much help. Anyway, by the end of the game ESPN was suddenly talking National Championships:-P
That night, we caught a little of the Michigan/Wisconsin game, Georgia/MS ST game, and USC (were very disappointed, though not surprised to see them come back and beat Oregon).Then walked downtown for ice cream.
On Sunday, in true family form, we visited Christ Episcopal Church, then headed over to the Cellar for lunch. Over all, the weekend was surpisingly restful. A very nice break from routine, and fun to be at a college with settled traditions for awhile.
posted by Ceil | 10:34 PM
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