So, just in time for the weekend I decided that I would talk a little about… last weekend. It was an event filled few days, and by the end of it I had done not nearly enough work and gotten far too little sleep. But so is life in college.
Thursday we invited a bunch of friends over to my friends’ apartment and made chocolate fondue. Everyone brought yummy things to dip like strawberries (my favorite), marshmallows, and graham crackers. We hung out, relaxed after a busy week, and played some Settlers of Catan, the greatest board game in the world.
Friday night was the Viterbi Ball, the closing event of E-Week, which is a week full of activities, barbecues, and competitions sponsored by Viterbi in honor of National Engineering Week. The V Ball is a formal event complete with dinner, dancing, and some of my absolute favorite engineers. This year the ball was held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, which is a really classy building built in 1912 and reminiscent of old hollywood. Everyone was having a great time – including my international relations major boyfriend who teased me endlessly about the concept of an “engineering prom.” He is now a Viterbi Ball convert.
The next night, Andrew Bird was performing in Bovard, the largest auditorium on campus. While tickets for the general public were $50, students could get in for only $20 and we decided it was well worth it. Bird is known for his experimental, almost ethereal indie pop and he didn’t disappoint. I was amazed at how talented he is! He switched seamlessly between the violin, guitar, glockenspiel, and vocals – a feat even more impressive when you consider that he was also using his feet to record his performance and loop it, so that you heard a complex layering of his many instruments.
Overall it was a great weekend and I was reminded of just how blessed I am to have such incredible friends and be getting my education at a school that can sponsor fun events. This weekend will probably be less excited, but hopefully more restful and productive — Midterms can be killer!
One more excited thing to note – I saw Andrew Viterbi in the flesh on Thursday! I just walked right in to Tutor Hall and there he was for some plaque dedication thing. I’m used to seeing him in pictures, but it was fun to see him in person.
Catan is one of the classic board games. Have you ever played San Juan? My girlfriend and I play it a lot. It’s a really fun card game for small groups.