Amateur Golfer, Amateur Sneakerhead, Expert Enthusiast

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to return back to CMU to visit old friends and partake in this year’s Carnival. The amount of fun I had can’t really be expressed in words. I drove there with Jenny on Friday, and upon arrival, we ate at Rose Tea. Funny how while I was back at school, I rarely ate there, and yet it was my first stop this time around. I had one of the special meal combinations, curry chicken over rice, and I truly missed it. Jenny had the pork chop over rice; this is also a delicious combo. Afterwards, we visited Midway to check out the booths, and man did TSA really nail it this year. Winning first place three out of four years really is a sign of a amazing future for TSA booth, and it was definitely an experience I would never forget being part of that three years ago. Walking around campus really brought back feelings of nostalgia and made me remember all the good times I had with my friends and the fun times building and ‘suffering’ through booth.

A lot of us haven’t seen each other in some time, and despite the distance, it still felt like the good old times. During one of our gatherings, I looked at the big group of old friends in front of me and felt sad knowing that such opportunities do not often very happen. After all, a lot of us have graduated and moved to different locations, some even overseas, and such makes reuniting rather difficult. Yet, even for such a short period of time, a good number of us were able to reconvene and bring back some of those good times we used to have. For a short weekend, we were back in college. No worries, just fun to be had.

During my four years in Pittsburgh, I didn’t really explore the city as much as I would have liked. This trip, Jenny and I visited a number of stores that I have never stepped foot in before, and I could honestly kick myself for not visiting Avalon Exchange earlier. I suppose my approach on fashion and other things have changed drastically nowadays, but despite the second-hand nature of the products, Avalon has a plethora of wonderful things to offer. I do plan to return back to Pittsburgh some time in the near future to take the time to visit all the fun places that I never got the chance to before. I used to ‘hate’ being in Pittsburgh back in college; now, I miss the city and would love the opportunity to stay there for a period of time to enjoy everything.

Then again, I suppose being in college itself was a huge factor. Being in college equals doing homework, going to classes, and taking exams. Those factors alone are enough to deter someone, especially me, from thinking too highly of the surrounding environment. That being said, now that I am out of the academic world (for the time being), I can truly enjoy Pittsburgh and what it has to offer. After all, Pittsburgh does have the number two most scenic view in America.

View from Mt. Washington - 2nd most scenic view. This isnt quite the right angle.

I had a lot of fun last weekend, and as Stacy so puts it, a lot of us are going through “withdrawal.” Deep inside, I know that my group of friends from college will always be close to me, and I will never forget all the things we went through together. Some things never change after all, and I am glad my friends are still my friends. I definitely changed as a person for the better as college progressed, and I can only thank all of you guys for helping me become who I am now.

Pittsburgh, I definitely missed you.