Ketchup.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

I neglected my blog for a week, and have been nagged to bring it back by several people. It's nice to know my readers want more. And, by the way, my post title is a cleverly placed, double entendre...catch up?

The Blacksburg weekend was a blast. It was great seeing so many people. I didn't get to meet a lot of the new kids. For one, they didn't make an attempt to meet us, alumni. For another, a lot of them just didn't show up to the events where it would have been easy to meet people. I think I saw everyone I wanted to see, even if it was only briefly for some of them. Having a bed room to myself at Culhane's was a very nice bonus. His roommate/landlord is in Europe for 6 months, so the master bedroom was mine for the taking.

The VT basketball game was an absolute heartbreaker on Saturday. We fought UNC to the final 0.8 seconds before having our shot at revenge, the ACC Championship, and the NCAA tournament stripped away from us by a cornball white guy who is so fundamentally sound in basketball, but is so goofy unathletic looking on the court that he frustrates me (and most of basketball watching America) to no end. So, with the buzzer beater loss to UNC, we were relegated to the NIT, where we earned a #1 seed and face Morgan State tonight in Cassell. Deron gets to go home at least one more time before he graduates. I wish I was in Blacksburg tonight to go to the game. For now, the plan is to watch at Bailey's in Ballston while celebrating Adi's move to Miami: two birds with one stone.

The Annual Blue vs Gold Tournament was basketball this year. Alumni won the second two games in a best of three series against the Undergrad team. Good times. I still suck at basketball, but I stuffed a shot on the defensive end that led to our winning basket. Hoooo-ray.

Semi-formals were fun, but kind of tame compared to years past. The alumni were a little offended at a lack of acknowledgment from the undergrads. We weren't recognized in any official way by anyone. No speeches. No 'thanks for coming'. Nothing. It was great seeing everyone there, though. My tie around the head tradition carries on strong in my absence. Lots of pictures on Facebook, for anyone who is interested.

Sunday, driving home, Joe and I stopped at Cracker Barrel, which is usually a money food spot while southern road-tripping. The food was abysmal. I could barely eat anything aside from the mac 'n' cheese. The hashbrown casserole had more dish detergent than potatoes.

That's the quick summary of the weekend. I'll try to get back on schedule with the posting now that I'm home for a bit. Next trip is to Florida for Ross' wedding. Very excited.

Also, St. Patty's Day was a lot of fun. I went up to Crofton to see Brad after my interview for Carpaccio. Initially, things weren't looking too positive. But after my interviewer showed up at the bar and celebrated the holiday with us through the night, I feel like I'm a lock. We negotiated terms and shook on it. Just have to wait for the restaurant to open now.