Volley of the Dolls

People assume that because I’m tall, I’m good at volleyball. Not true. But I joined a lab team anyway along with a couple friends. Called the Volley of the Dolls, we’re an all-girl team in the lowest of three leagues, which means no overhand serves and no hard spikes, both fine by me. I could probably count the number of times I’ve played volleyball in my life on two hands, the most recent games in a similar league at Fermilab. So I was a little hesitant to join this year. We lost all three games in our first match last night, but it wasn’t as bad as I was expected. And I wasn’t as bad as I expected. Maybe by the end of the season I’ll be halfway decent.

On a side note, Abbey, Amy and I are flying to Florida tonight for the weekend. For those of you who don’t know, we were all roommates senior year. Our apartment number was 11F. So is it a coincidence that 11F is also Amy’s seat on the plane? I think this weekend was meant to be.

Abbey's birthday week

My BFF, Abbey, turned 24 yesterday, but our celebration actually began on Sunday. Abbey, her mom, Adam, and his parents met in NJ for the weekend and they all drove out to Long Island for some wine tasting. I don't think I've talked in much detail about the wineries out here. More than 30 vineyards and wineries dot the forks of the island. Some people say the wine quality isn't the best, and I agree that some are pretty terrible, but there are quite a few that I really like. Part of the fun is being able to judge one from the other. And when it's nice outside, it's refreshing to take a drive out east, past the land of strip malls and into farm country. Unfortunately, our drive on Sunday wasn't so fun. Being in the thick of Halloween season, everyone and their mom decided to venture out to the north fork for fall festivals, pumpkin picking, corn mazes, apple picking and shopping at the hundreds of farm stands. This turned the usually quick 45-minute drive into a much longer excursion. Our moods were quickly restored, though, once we ate some lunch and started the first of numerous tastings. We stopped first at Martha Clara (which in my opinion, doesn't produce the best wine, but has fun entertainment like hairy cows and llama). We spent the rest of the day at Roanoke, which is one of my favorites. I'm a wine club member there, meaning I get free tastings and discounts in exchange for buying three pre-selected bottles each quarter. The people there are incredibly friendly and can tell you anything you want to know, and more, about the wine they make. And it doesn't have the commercial feeling that many other wineries do. Abbey and I drank some of her favorite Roanoke wine, a rose, and Adam's parents must have enjoyed some of the reds because they left with a box full of bottles.

Yesterday, for Abbey's actual double dozen celebration, I met her, Adam, Sarah, Matt, Mason, Keith, and Walt at Carmine's in the city for a HUGE dinner. After putting back platters of penne vodka, salad, meatballs, and chicken (I mostly worked on the pasta), we ordered the "Titanic," a monstrosity of chocolate cake, ice cream, strawberries, bananas, whipped cream and nuts. Sooo good.

But the party's still not over. Tomorrow night, I'll meet Abbey and Amy in Florida to visit my parents and celebrate a little (or a lot) more.

ATM woes

So the ATM machine in the lab’s cafeteria is one of the oldest I’ve seen. Whereas practically all other machines have a reader that you slide your card through, this one actually takes the card from you. I'm used to the newer models, where once you have your money and receipt, you’re done. The Brookhaven relic, however, doesn’t return your card until after you’ve taken your money and answered one more question: “Would you like to make another transaction?” Lots of people just grab their money and walk away, forgetting about their card, and leaving the next customer the ability to drain their checking account. I rescued one of these people's cards today, returning it to one of the cafeteria workers. But in doing so, I also forgot my own in the machine. Now I have to wait until tomorrow to see if it shows up at the branch while I worry that someone is spending my slim, but much-needed life savings.

The Lifers

Amy and I would have been in stitches had we still worked at The State News when this story was published. At the end of the article, those "eight grown men who never managed to shake the Panchero’s-at-3-a.m. mentality,'" we know them. Actually, we more than know them. As the youngest of the bunch, and therefore the last to graduate, Abbey, Amy, Emily and I woke almost every fall weekend to find them sprawled every which way across our living room. We witnessed rumbles and fights. Late-night Pokey stick feasts and a number of East Lansing signage being pulled from the ground. Yes, the Holden Lifers are some of the best tailgaters I know, and I miss them.

Meet me at Blondies

Blondies has become the place for college reunions. Last week was Nate and Andy. And this week, Kris was in NYC for the weekend and stopped to cheer for the Spartans between stops at Prada and Armani. It's been great to catch up with everyone lately. And despite MSU's first loss of the season, we still had a great time. Abbey and I began early with lunch at, where else, Burritoville, followed by tailgating in Central Park.

Later, we ate dinner with Justin and his friends, Amir and Gil, at a Spanish restaurant, where we drank sangria that we definitely didn't need. We continued at a couple bars afterward, and following brunch in midtown, we finally headed back to Jersey more than 24 hours after we started and curled up in Abbey's bed for some much-needed sleep.