Christmas at Biltmore

Immediately after my last final, the BF and I went to Biltmore to see the Christmas extravaganza. It was nice, although not as done up as I had hoped. And still...no pictures allowed inside. No wonder it's not an Asian tour stop. The big tree in the dining room was a sight to see though. It had to be over 20 feet tall, and unlike mall trees, it was actually one tree, not 30 perfectly put together. The Estate had to buy two of them because each only lasts about two weeks. So when its time to change the tree, they only have one night to remove all Christmas ornaments, take down the tree, put up the new one, and get all the ornaments back on. Once again, too bad I couldn't take a picture of it.
This is a pic of the front of the house. I really thought that the house would be outlined with Christmas lights. Obviously that wasn't the case...maybe my tastes are tacky or something.
Here's a pic of the house from the road that leads to the garden, winery, and outdoor center.

The next day we took the Segway tour. It was way better than riding on a regular Segway because these were off-roading Segways. The tires were super fat and seemed all-terrain like. Here's us in front of the reflection pond. The pond is crazy because it had to be far back enough so that the whole reflection of the house fit.


At first I was scared shitless of hoping on the Segway. Even though we had an instructor, it wasn't like he had the ability to stop me if I went careening off course. We started off in Turtle mode, where the fastest is 6 mph. That was practice mode. When it came time to go on the course we got upped to Rabbit, where the fastest is 12 mph. That rocked. By the end I was a Segway fiend, but it took a while to get there. At first it was hard for me to balance. The machine is pretty big, and I had a hard time controlling it in the beginning. To go forward, you lean forward. To go back, you lean back. So when I was going forward and tried to stop, I would lean back a little to far and start going backwards. It took me a minute to realize it, and then another minute to figure out that I had to lean forward slightly to stop. By the time my instructor told me I was going backwards and I actually stopped, a good 30 feet were between us. Good thing quick thinking and reflexes weren't required to operate this bad boy. Either that, or good thing no one else was on the trial at the same time we were... Although I think the Segway rocks, I can see why it never really caught on as the new travel medium. The ones we rode cost $5,500! Ouch if we broke it!

After the Segway, we did the Landrover Experience Driving School. This is my second time, and luckily I got the same instructor (he remembered me!). Since it had been raining the few days and hours beforehand, we had to take a different route. Why the instructor didn't want to use the winch was beyond me.
I've told the BF many times that I 'need' a Range Rover. And he always rolled his eyes at me. But this time...wah la!!! He loved it! (Even the heated steering wheel).


I got the last ten minutes of the lesson and ended up in Superbowl sized mud pit. It took around 8 tries to get out of it.


We've decided that when we make enough money (or win the lottery), we're getting a Range Rover. Our dog would look fantastic with her head sticking out the window. I guess this will happen after I finish school, get a job, and bank out the ying yang.

The Bear

I went to the Rockets vs Jazz game a couple of nights ago. (I heart Yao Ming). Here are some pics that my bro shot:




And then here are the pics that I took:





Oh yeah, Rockets won in double OT =)

Senior Citizen Discount

As much as I try to deny it, the truth is smacking me silly in the face: I am getting old. Not physically (no wrinkles and I'm under 30). Not mentally (mind is sharp as a tack-I hope). But I'm in terms of my lifestyle. I can't remember the last time I stepped foot in a bar that wasn't for a networking event. Hell, I can't remember the last time I stayed up past 10:30.

Last weekend the BF and I stayed in. I bought a puzzle. 1000 pieces and I finished in less than 24 hours. (Did I mention that I'm under 30?). While at Walmart looking for said puzzle, I came across Yahtzee for $5. That went in the cart too.

There was an article on Yahoo! recently about TV shows. The highest rated 'unhip' show is NCIS, which consistently ranks 4th, but doesn't even make a blip on the radar with viewers ages 18-49. So either its extremely popular with SAT studying students or extremely popular with those nearing retirement. The BF and I watch it religiously.

All we need to do is jump in on his father's weekly bridge game at the neighborhood church and we're set.

Oh, and we love Scrabble.

Disgruntled Student

Dear Microecon Professor:

Two words: you SUCK. Oops. Make that three. You SUCK ROYALLY. I'm not sure what you thought you were teaching, but I can pretty much guarantee you it WAS NOT micro econ. What's the point of giving us Mickey Mouse problems during class and reaming us in the ass for homeworks and then further kicking us to the curb for finals?

There were two questions on your final that actually pertained to class. The others? The trappings of your own imagination. And who the fuck gives us a problem so hard that out of 280 students, only 5-10% are supposed to complete it? What's the point of testing us over something you haven't taught? And when you were totally demolished last year in student feedback, why put yourself through that torture again? Are you a masochist? You know you have the worse rep out of all professors, so why add to that? Just a heads up-it doesn't do you any good.

Thank you for my 'P' though. Its good to know that the As I got in undergrad were not in vain.

Sincerely,

Legalmisfit

Nature-esq

I know I haven't written anything in a while. It's hard with school.  Not only is there a time constraint (blog or learn linear regression? oh the choices), but there's also the fact that I don't want to offend anyone or write something that I'll later regret (which pretty much emcompasses everything). Tomorrow is the first day of the new quarter.  I did the undergraduate thing on the semester system. Let me tell you-its much different. The most frequent question I get asked is, "how do you learn enough to go through a midterm in 4 weeks and after another 4 weeks finals?" The answer? I don't. The quarter system involves a lot of cramming, and even more of the "next quarter I'm not going to fall behind and let this happen again" business.  I pretty much know I'll start to slack after week 1.  Its pretty much a given.  Although I can't fathom going back to a semester system, I can't really say I've learned as much as I've wanted to under the quarter system.But on not better things...The day after my last final or "fuck you" final, I high tailed it out to Biltmore with J-Unit. 

This was trip number 2 for me, but a lot more fun because J-Unit is more adventurous and more fun than my parents. I plan to go one more time with the BF when the Christmas festivities are in full swing.  Somehow, knowing that, I got suckered into a 12 month pass.  It gets worse later.  But the 12 month pass got J-Unit a 15 buck discount on her admission price, and 10% off food and souvenirs. Somehow this made it worth the extra 40 bucks. No cameras were allowed inside the house (how un-ASIAN), so I have no interior pics to share.

However, the real fun was our outdoor activities.  Forgive me for thinking that my 12month pass got us discounts on the outdoor activities.  Because I didn't learn the first time around, I ended up upgrading my 12 month access pass to an "Explore Biltmore" pass for outdoorsy stuff.  We rented mountain bikes. It sounds harmless, but the last time I was on a bike Bush Senior was in office.  Surprisingly, all those sayings about riding a bike after two decades pretty much holds true.  The first 10 minutes were a bit rough I have to admit.  I actually didn't think I was going to make it back up after going 50 yards down a wrong path. The paved path and going downhill-NO PROB.  Actually the first 30 minutes we thought we were the shit. Well, I thought we were the shit.  And then all hell broke loose.I want to tell the worker bee at the bike rental desk that looks can be deceiving.  She told us that we should make it up to the house with no problem.  Oh there were big problems.  The one and only one being that I wasn't fit enough to ride uphill.  I had to walk my bike up most of the way. Is this why I rented a bike? I think not.  Going back was a breeze. Except for the steep downhill section, where I was having difficulty balancing saying a last prayer and hoping that I don't hit a rock, fly off, and crack my head open. Mountain biking was a good intro to our outdoorsy activities.  At least we've been on a bike before. Kayaking was next.  I'm not a fan of non-shower/tub water. Meaning, I don't swim, I don't go into ponds, lakes, or any of the 7 oceans. Here is our Missing Persons poster: Just in case we fell and got lost.  Although there's only one way to float along a river, J-Unit and I still have a high chance of getting lost. We're that good.I was scared shitless of kayaking. How do I know how to steer or go forward? They gave lessons on going backwards, but the opposite direction seemed to be more important.  Strangely enough, kayaking is intuitive.  Not to say its easy, but its easy enough to pick up the basics.  What our 5 minute crash course instructor failed to instruct us on was upending ourselves from rocks. The noise of grating over the rock was like imminent death.  How much would it suck if I died of starvation or dehydration because I'm too fat and my arms are too weak to be able to dislodge myself and my kayak from rocks??  I can't even begin to fathom the embarrasment. And because we are that good, J-Unit and I got stuck on rocks probably on average once every 1.5 minutes.  A fish struggles by flailing and flapping around when taken out of water.  The only way I could figure out how to get myself unstuck from the rocks was the shimmy back and forth and side to side. I'm sure it was a sight to behold, but I was desperate. Already we were way beyond everyone else, but on top of that, the guides told us they would get worried if we didn't make it to the end within 2 hours. Most people are proud when they graduate, get a promotion, buy a new house.  I was proud when we made it without falling into the water and without anyone rescuing us.  Trust me-that was an accomplishment.The next day we did the Land Rover Experience Driving School. This was the main reason why we wanted to go to the Biltmore anyway. Let me just say that it was AMAZING.  I think everyone should try it.  Like the instructor said, it was definitely the most fun I've had at 5 mph.
Talk about adding to the list of things we "need." A freaking Range Rover.

What I Covet

There was a point in time when I liked the "finer" things in life. Lacoste sportswear, LV purses. A pair of Louboutins. These are things that I'd actually save up money for (except for Louboutins. Still waiting to magically afford my first pair).So this is warping effect of b school: I have an hp 12c calculator. For those who don't know, its a total geek calculator. For the most part I don't know how to use it, but I love it. Well, of the roughly forty five buttons and hundred different functions packaged in, I can use about 6 of them. Its not nice odds, but I learn a bit more everyday.What makes this calculator so much cooler? It can store formulas and functions. Mine can't do that.  =(  So of course I want this now.What happened to the days when I drooled over this?But then the other day I noticed that a classmate had the PLATINUM hp 12c calculator. What's the difference? Its PLATINUM!!! Functionally, it's the same.  But man, how I want this new calculator.This would be bad enough if it was the end of it.But its not.A classmate got the hp 17b II financial calculator. 

What happened to the good ol' days when I drooled over this?

Directionally Challenged

Sometimes I buy two similar products just to have them. Case in point: I own a 30G iPod. I love him. His name is O'Malley. I jam to Bon Jovi and Britney Spears in the car and at the gym. A month ago I was in the Apple store and realized that a Shuffle was only 80 bucks (because I'm also trying to save Africa from AIDS). I figured it would be good to take to the gym, especially since I want to start running (or jog, or powerwalk). I could use O'Malley, but I talked myself into buying a Shuffle because it was lighter, and I can just clip it to my t-shirt and away I go. For the record, I've used it twice.

Sometimes I just need to suck up and buy two similar products. Case in point: I met a classmate the other day for dinner at a restaurant neither of us have been to. I'm cool with going to new places since I have a Magellan. Well, for the most part getting to new places should consume far less fuel than life pre-Magellan. So I put in the destination, and away I go.

I find the restaurant on the first try (which is an amazing feat), and around 100 feet further there's a parking lot. Its actually a parking lot for the restaurant, a bar, and a grocery store among other things. I think that's what killed me.

15 minutes later I'm still walking up and down the sidewalk. I can't fucking find the restaurant. The same restaurant I saw 15 minutes ago that was next to the damn parking lot. After 5 more minutes of walking, I admit defeat and ask a couple walking by where the restaurant is. "Oh-all you have to do is turn around, walk back where you came from, past the parking lot, and its on the other side."

So what do I need? In addition to a GPS unit for my car, I need a handheld one. Stupid doesn't even begin to describe me.