STELLA!!!

    Although I don't have anything terribly interesting to report, I can give a quick synopsis of my last week.  Not much happened during the week per say but I did go out to eat at Acme in Carrboro. Although I am not a huge fan of Carrboro for various reasons, Acme was quite tasty (but very pricy). 

My Stella set-up 

    For Harris this week was was promoting Stella Artois, the world's best selling Belgian beer. It is quite tasty and actually my Mom's favorite as well. The deal we were running was that if you bought one of their 12-packs we gave you a signature chalice along with it. The cup was actually a really nice. And I don't mean to brag, but I sold a bunch of beer this week, not sure if it was me or the glasses, but I killed it. 

  I didn't go out at all and it was raining and storming all weekend so I just relaxed and came down with a cold which really sucks. I will spend tonight getting lots of sleep and trying to get healthy again.

   I look forward to going to my friends lake house on Thursday for the 4th! Should be fun!

Chapel Hill Sunset

Beer Maid

    Yesterday I worked my first beer sampling for Harris Beverages LLC.  I posted up at two Harris Teeters in Durham for two hours each.  While it is a fun and very interesting experience, I need to start wearing some more comfortable shoes because standing on your feet for four hours seriously tires your back. During the break in my shifts yesterday I ran into Randy's Pizza (best pizza in Durham) to grab some dinner. My car officially smells like beer and pizza. I might as well be back at college.

    My favorite part of this job is hearing peoples response when I ask them if they want to sample the beer.  Here are some of my favorites from yesterday:

• "Give me a sample of both. I don't even like beer but I need something to get me through grocery shopping with my family."
• "No thanks I gave up alcohol for the week!"
• "Nope, I quit alcohol in 1967!"
• And then there was they guy who stood by my table for 15 minutes discussing the history of beer and so on... 

    I also noticed that people sample beer in different manners. There are those who take their tasting in three sips, those who do two sips, and then there are the tasters who just chug the whole thing. The one-sippers are usually the funniest to talk with, not surprisingly.

    Just as an FYI, I am sampling the Brooklyn Lager and Brooklyn Summer Ale this week, two very tasty beers. Today I will be at the Harris Teeter in Meadowmont (4-6) and then the HT at University Mall (6:30-8:30) if you want to stop by! 

My setup 

Weekend Update

    I have started a new job for the summer, something totally different from the NYC law firm I have been at the past two years.  This summer I am working for a beer distributor, one of the largest in North Carolina, Harris Beverages LLC. They distribute Anheuser Busch products through most of the triangle. During my past week with them I have learned the basics of beer: from differentiating between lagers and ales to learning how to pour the perfect draught, I am becoming quite the aficionado. As my friend recently noted in an email, I should tell W&L that I am putting my four years of school/intense drinking to use... 

Beer tastings

    It is very refreshing working for Harris Beverages (and I'm not just talking about the drinks). The offices is much more laid back than I am used to but I like it. I get to sample numerous beers and will soon be going out to local stores to promote our products. Recently, craft beers have become all the rage and that is what I am focusing on. 

    Along with the fun atmosphere and interesting topic, not having to work 9-5 is a big relief. It gives me time to hang out at home, sit on the couch, and read. Things I will not be able to do much of once law school starts.

    

    But I don't want to talk about school... for now I am enjoying the summer! I have already booked a flight to Chicago to see one of my best friends. I have never been to Kanye's home town but I am very much looking forward to it. Aside from the fact that I love cities, there are some great art museums and galleries for me to check out! 

Brian, Me, John, and Kevin

    Part of my to-do list for the summer is visit as many friends as possible. Last weekend I went to Charlotte to watch my friend John play for the MLL team the Charlotte Hounds. He is an amazing lacrosse player and it was fun to watch him continue to play the sport he loves. I also got to hang out with a couple of other best friends from high school. Not sure how I feel about Charlotte (its no NYC...) but I will admit I had a good time while there. 

    The Sunday I got home my family went out to eat at a place in Durham called G2B. It was surprisingly delicious. Many typical pub type ingredients and foods but made in an upscale restaurant type style as far as combinations and serving. My sister and I decided to eat a 1 pound monster of a burger. 1 lb of home ground meet, fried bacon, foie gras, arugula, gruyere cheese, and onions. It was amazing.  

The Madness

  

  The only annoying part of this summer is the fact that our house just went on the market.  This means that the house has to be kept spotless 24-7 and whenever someone comes to look at the place, we have to get the dogs out for at least an hour. I really hope this house sells quickly... 

    I am happy to be getting back into the swing of blogging and I hope everyone else is too. 

Postgrad

As I sit on the couch at my lake house, I am starting to absorb the fact that I am no longer a student at Washington and Lee University.  I'm not sad because I have lasting regrets of things I did not do, but rather because I just will not get to go back in August. I have a feeling that law school will be a big shock to my o-week anticipating self. 

I could go on for pages about how awesome W&L is, but you could just look at all of my Facebook pictures to see that. I am very excited to see what all of my classmates will do with their lives--as our class president said in his speech during graduation, we have people going all across the world and doing all sorts of jobs, research, and continuing their education. 

Here is a list of the top five things I will miss about W&L:

1. The friendliness of students and faculty

2. The beautiful campus and walking along the colonnade

3. Teachers who truly care, not just about your education, but about your life

4. The parties (I mean, come on...they are the best)

5. The endless opportunities to reach your goals and become the person you want to be thanks to the great resources and friends and faculty who are there to help you

I cannot thank my parents enough for supporting me these past four years and allowing me to attend such an amazing place for college. I would not be the person I am today without those experiences at W&L. The friends and memories I have made will last me a lifetime (and if I ever start to lose my memory, I have begun writing some of my best memories down in a diary). 

The End is Near

Julia and I on the Met Rooftop Garden

This past weekend was my second to last weekend in NYC. On Friday I finally made it to the Prada and Schiaparelli exhibit titled Impossible Conversations, at the Met. I didn't really know what to expect after the McQueen exhibit last summer which was so impeccably put together and beautiful--definitely hard to top. The thing is that Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada lived in completely different eras, yet their inspirations and designs share many similarities and fit quite well together and the exhibit did an excellent job of showing how each designer reflected the other. Because Schiaparelli focused on the waist up, and Prada on the waist down, their pieces could be shown together as a whole. I especially liked where they contrasted Schiaparelli's hats with Prada's shoes. Throughout the entire exhibit was a running video of a simulated conversation between Prada and Schiparelli. As an art history major, I found it particularly interesting to learn that Schiaparelli was active in the Surrealist movement, specifically working with Dali on many of her designs. I love Dali and had no idea he had influenced fashion! If I had the money I would certainly invest in one of her pieces that Dali influenced...

Sunset on the East River

After the Met I went to the gym to finish my lifting for the week. For some reason I have an intense obsession with not falling out of my lifting cycle because I know once the next week rolls around, I have a whole new set of exercises to do. I would much rather miss a swim practice that my lifting because I know that the practice can be changed where as I always feel the need to complete my lifting... its weird. After lifting I ate dinner and then went to a friends rooftop to enjoy the views of the city and good company.

The main reading room

Saturday morning Ash and I took a tour of the New York Public Library. I had never been inside before and I am so so glad I went. The library gives free tours to the public Monday through Saturday at 11am and 2pm, and at 2pm on Sunday. The inside of the library is even more glorious than the exterior and some of the facts that our tour guide threw out were mind boggling. For example, the library has an annual budget of 320 million dollars, and 75 miles of bookshelves... insane. After the tour I ran to Magnolia Bakery to pick up Caroline's birthday cake, and then hailed a cab to Penn Station. I had 11 minutes to make my train and I sprinted from the cab, to the ticket kiosk, to the train, like the crazy person that I am. I am a LIRR champ and so I obviously made it, but I was also drenched in sweat...

I took the train out to Cold Spring Harbor where Caroline threw a great 21st birthday party at her house and we hit up the bars of Huntington. On Sunday I hung out with Caroline at her friends pool, eating delicious food and just relaxing. I can see why New Yorkers love to get out of the city in the summer if they have a nice pool or beach to relax at...