memory lane

saturday q2, tchan, and i took a stroll down memory lane. after parking across the street from my old apartment, we made our way to the cheese shop on dog street. i ordered my usual veggie sandwich (lentils, diced tomatoes, onions, capers on foccacia with aspen mustard). q2 got the combo (turkey and VA ham) and her boy got the smoked salmon. . .in all my travels and hoods, i've never found a place that serves better sandwiches. . .hmmm. good thing it's only 30 minutes away from my folks home and i can still visit a few times a year:)

next stop was the bookstore where q2 and i bought w&m gear for ourselves, jpan, and theng. (i'm obsesses with college logo shorts!) after loading up on various gifts from the wine cellar and the peanut shop, we stopped at the university center. sitting down in the lobby, we reminisced over the many hours spent there preparing for taste of asia performances, wmap meetings, late night studying, etc. next we walked through the sunken gardens where q2 recounted her experiences streaking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_William_and_Mary).

after a quick visit to her old dorm it was time to head up to richmond for the bbq to celebrate the marriage of one group's member, tang, and the newlyweds return to the u.s. *q2, jpan, tang, and i had all been close friends in college- brought close by starting and executing a study-abroad program in china.* their marriage is truly a beautiful thing- rarely does one find two people more in love, compatible, and passionate about one another. . q2 hit in on the mark when she said their story gives one hope and a relationship to aspire to.

the bbq was essentially a cso reunion. it was a wonderful evening, catching up with peeps i hadn't seen in 5 years, looking at wedding photos, and playing taboo. sunday morning, tang met up with us at our hotel to have some girl talk time. there was both happy and heavy conversation. good stuff. we vowed to meet up at least once a year- no matter how busy and crazy our lives get. i'm feeling all warm and fuzzy and thanking my lucky stars for being blessed with friends and family that love me so much. . .