Weekend, Part I

My apologies for the recent lack of posts. As exams are fast approaching, I doubt there will be frequent blogging for a while. But I did want to post an update concerning the past weekend.

My good friend Derek came to visit this weekend (he'll be posting his own update soon). It's been a while since we've hung out, so I was glad to have the chance to reconnect. He arrived Friday night after work (he's currently working at Fidelity, soon to become a stock broker). Since it was still really nice out, we took an evening walk through campus. At this point I should mention that I am the last person who should ever give campus tours. As a law student, I'm really only familiar with a handful of buildings on campus. In addition to the law school (where I spend the better part of my life, it seems) and the obvious buildings (the main building (aka the one with the dome), the basillica, and the main library), I can point out the South Dining Hall and LaFortune (note that both of these buildings contain food) and Coleman-Morse (because they have free popcorn and soda), DeBartolo (where the undergraduate mock trial regionals is held), and the engineering building (which is next door to the law school). Anyway, after this essentially ineffective tour, we met up with Brooke who was studying at the law school. We got some dessert at Reckers, then headed back to my apartment. We chatted a bit, played a game of chess, then decided to call it a night.

The next day started with a rousing round of golf. Joining Derek and me were fellow 1Ls Jaime and Emily. As usual when dealing with either Derek or Jaime, we were running a little late. I caught some flak for this from the guy at the clubhouse when we showed up to play. At least I had reserved a tee time in advance; apparently the weekends get pretty busy at the ND golf course. We got off to a rocky start, and after finishing the first hole, the course attendant told us that we were holding things up and should simply play best ball (read: we were a disgrace to the game of golf). Instead, we just split into teams and played scramble. Derek and Emily were at a decided advantage, since Derek actually has a long game. Jaime did most of the heavy hitting for our team, though I conributed to the effort with some good putting. A few highlights: we made par on one hole, and I sank a 25 foot putt on another hole. Derek and Emily won the day, but a good time was had by all.

After finishing the front (and only) nine, it was time for some lunch. Derek had never been to Michigan, so we drove north in search of sustenance. We ended up in Niles, Michigan at the Golden Nugget Saloon. We had burgers all around and an interesting discussion on the nature of religion and Catholicism. Since it was mostly Derek talking with Jaime and Emily, I'll leave it to him to detail the salient points of the conversation. Lunch was capped off with dessert at Dairy Queen.

Next came a touch of studying and/or siesta. After a few hours, Derek and I ventured out again, this time to pick out some movies and dinner. Brooke and Jaime came over, and we watched The Princess Bride. Then it was off to bed, for Sunday would be another adventurous, action packed day. More on that in my next post.