Well, this weekend marks the unofficial end to the Summer and well, as y’all can imagine, I’m not exactly thrilled to be back in Charlottesville. Don’t get me wrong, I love Charlottesville, but in the two short weeks since being back at school, I’ve already read well over six-hundred pages worth of books and reading assignments!
So let’s be honest, going from a full-time internship to school is not easy. When you go from having responsibilities, a busy life and Soul Cycle to textbooks, schedules from hell, stress, and whatever else you want to throw into the college equation, it’s not easy to immediately adjust. To makes things worse, Mother and Count Dooku decided that they didn’t need to help me move into my apartment this year, so I don’t even have half of my stuff with me because my car can’t hold a whole lot. Now, I was going to go home last weekend, but first there was that earthquake, and then that damn Hurricane Irene decided to ruin those plans. So aside from five pairs of pants I had ordered over the 4th of July weekend, the only clothes I have with me are from my last week of work in New York and a few polo shirts I managed to grab out of my suitcase before driving up to Charlottesville. I’m now going to be missing the first football game of the season tomorrow so I can drive home in twenty minutes and spend all of Saturday unpacking what I bring back. I’ll just be glad to have all of my belongings back with me.
Speaking of Hurricane Irene, Andrew experienced his first hurricane while still in New York. Unfortunately, all he got was some heavy rain and wind. I know it’s not nice of me to wish a hurricane on someone, but I just wanted him to experience what I’ve gone through way too many times: the no power for eight days, cold showers, being forced to walk down your street because power lines and trees are covering the road, doing homework by candlelight/flashlight, and all those other fun things associated with hurricanes. Of course, a lot of that would require Andrew to live in suburbia, but that’s just a minor complication.
As for Justin, I had the pleasure of seeing him my last night in New York. We went to a terrific dinner at Il Posto Accanto, which is just the greatest Italian restaurant made even more entertaining by its neighborhood Italian restaurant atmosphere. Personally, I’m obsessed, and have found myself longing for the Bistecca ai Ferri, which is grass-fed Black Angus Hanger Steak resting on a warm pumpkin farro with wine-soaked raisins. After dinner, we headed uptown so Justin and Andrew could meet for the first time, which went surprisingly well, considering that Andrew was moments from going to sleep. It was also when Andrew and I said farewell until December, ending yet another wild summer in the city. It was such a treat to see Justin as well, since it would have been December as well before we’d get to see one another otherwise.
As anticipated, Grace was ready and waiting for my return to Charlottesville and things went more smoothly than last time in New York. Now, I have to be honest, Thomas Jefferson might have been a brilliant intellectual and yes, the Declaration of Independence is a great document, Monticello is lovely and UVa is wonderful school, but that man was horrible at picking real estate! It is deathly hot out here in the summer and I’m told it’s beyond freezing in the winter. Oh, and these hills don’t do much to help. Needless to say, I’m greatly anticipating Fall.
Now that Summer is drawing to a close, I thought it would be good to reflect on what will be my final Summer break before graduate school. This is a terrifying realization, even though Summer hasn’t been a break for years. The six weeks in New York this Summer were more of a preview of what life after college than the year before when I only worked three days a week. Honestly, I enjoyed the work week and can’t wait to get to it myself. I found an athletic activity aside from running that I truly enjoy and sincerely miss; plus, I finally made it to Brooklyn, so that made the whole six weeks right there!
Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the BofA Intern brofest for helping to get me to kick my Starbucks addiction. In the six weeks I was in New York, I only visited Starbucks twice: on my first day of work and one night with Andrew. Well, that’s all for now, but I hope y’all have a good Labor Day weekend and until next time…
-JD
The Yapper 