Road to Charlottesville

My flight was scheduled to fly out on Friday at 3:30 pm, but due to our insane weather system that I'm sure most of you know more about than I, I was delayed 2.5 hours. I'll admit, the delay was not particularly welcomed as I had worked my tooshie off the first 3 days of the new year in order to complete quarterly statements/bills, update my firm's financials and forecast out the next year. However, I had a chance to talk with a few very interesting people during my delay. I spoke at length with both pilots, a family from Baltimore, another lady that has bi-coastal residences, and a guy who is a consultant teaching communications. As I spoke about the purpose of my trip to the east coast I felt more prepared for my interview. It may sound silly, but in a way, each of these conversations was it's own interview and because I have heard about the relaxed environment of Darden's interview, I got a little giddy.

Mack picked me up from the airport around 2 am east coast time and we headed back to her house for a catch up session. Saturday was lax and we definitely prolonged getting out of bed until we were both so hungry, we couldn't stand it. After our late lunch, we went shopping in Georgetown - GREAT sales. I bought a new suit, although after careful consideration I've decided to stick with the suit I brought for my interview. Saturday night we went to Ballroom in Arlington where a live cover band was playing. Excellent!! The lead singer had an unbelievable voice and sang both female and male songs. I also had the pleasure of meeting Les and her friend Gab. Les and I went to college together at Boulder and unfortunately, I haven't seen her much over the last 4 years. It was a perfect night out with the girls followed by some late night eats.

Today, I picked up my rental and headed here, to Charlottesville. Virginia is beautiful! And I actually like the sight of barren trees and the dried look of the grass. I know I will return home and notice how green it is, which is what I always did in college, but I do miss the change of the seasons. I drove through the UVA campus on my way to the hotel and it is breathtaking. I chose to stay downtown, but seeing I'm only here for two nights, I don't think it really matters. I walked the downtown pedestrian mall, which reminds me of Pearl Street in Boulder though shorter and a little more closed down. Of course, that could be because I presume most students haven't returned yet. I did grab ice cream after dinner and it was to DIE FOR! I have a bad sweet tooth... and this definitely hit the spot. HOMEMADE!

Tomorrow I will explore more and visit Darden. There are a lot of OPTIONAL things to do while I'm here including lunch with the faculty. I also plan on meeting with Elizabeth, my one to one correspondent. She has class tomorrow, so I think we're meeting in the PepsiCenter at 3 pm. I did email the alumni coordinator who I met in SF during the Darden reception, but I haven't heard back. We'll see... I'm definitely excited to be here. But most importantly, I need to find somewhere with good pancakes tomorrow morning. ;)