Week 3 (July 7 - July 13)
Tahoe and Beyond
WEEK 3
July 7 - July 13
Christen M. Struck
Monday, July 7, 1997
New and innovative - we began our first day of organization on the white board. Pick your leaving time and your dinner time! "We are going to have to make a group purchase of Depends." Was this comment because Andrea is so excited about the list of nicknames Hank created for our group? While we were on our organizational kick, Joe, Andrea, Don and Christen tried to head over to the library to get books ready for our evening of mass research. Well, the only findings were that Stanford has successfully tailored their hours so that we CANNOT utilize the facilities. Not to be defeated, Joe, Andrea and Christen's quest led them to the Med School library. Apparently med students don't study after 11pm.
Tuesday, July 8, 1997
Those early vans seem to leave a little bit later everyday. Nellymar discovered that the 6 o'clock van doesn't necessarily leave at 6 o'clock AM. It's a good thing they slept in because they needed their energy to buy a volleyball. While waiting for everyone to arrive at our first meeting of the post - "Let's-get-our-butts-in-gear-rally-at-Doug's" era, we learned of everyone's very special abilities. We all marveled at Pat's psychic postal prophecy as he guessed the postage requirement of someone's mail. We were all assured of his qualifications when he informed us, "I used to deal pot a lot." We learned of Andrea's secret dream to be a French demolition derby driver. If she can just find someone to sponsor her the $1800 entry fee, she is on her way! I don't know all the details (and don't WANT to), but apparently Kevin and Jeff went to way to much trouble let Kim see the phenomena of two full moons.
Wednesday, July 9, 1997
After a "breathtaking" (as Andrea would say) day at work with our PI's we headed back to the French House to listen to Dr. Tripps speak to us about ODIE. Jeff did some California dreaming stating "See this chiseled face and baby blue eyes? That's what they like!" Too bad the only females he was describing were mosquitoes.
Thursday, July 10, 1997
We spent the morning discussing our group project with Lynn Harper and Paul Espinosa. Then we listened to talks by Frank Drake, Andrew Pohorille, Dave Des Marias, and Gerald Heyanga. After the day at Ames, Melissa and Faruck shared stories of the good ol' days in Russia while relaxing to the sounds of Stanford's hottest new band at the Coffee House. They were some guys in white shirts playing the accordion. I think if we pool all our resources we could take them in a battle of the bands.
Friday, July 11, 1997
Friday morning the group was actually motivated to get out of bed. Was it because we got to see the screening of Contact or was it because Juliet was going to be there? After making contact with a news crew we headed for work again. Kathy and several people hit the library to study the topic they usually experience first hand in the library - sleep. We ditched Kevin and Andrea and headed for Lake Tahoe. Girls in one condo, guys in another. (Poor Christie…) At Jakes, the Hula King 1997 competition took off with a bang. Eric would not let up while Pat was choking in his dust (or choking on Hula Pie). In the absence of the roaming table musicians, Don serenaded the table with a glorious chorus of "Montana."
Saturday, July 12, 1997
Saturday was the usual - boating, skiing, hiking, lake, mountains - you know, the average everyday 90% of the population type thing to do. Even Vimmy enjoyed the atmosphere in his stylish life jacket with the lunch box handle. Most people got their turn on the skis. Doug even has blackmail material on video. Doug left a group in the woods without any bread crumbs to find their way home. The evening peaked when the entire family enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Some people quickly discovered that alcohol acts quite differently in high altitudes. When Don was given the dare to challenge the reigning Hula King, he was prompt to remind everyone that he had something more important than 4 pieces of pie under his belt - he had intelligence. You tell those Hula Heads, Don!! The evening was completed by a group massage, and Godfather III was never shown.
Sunday, July 13, 1997
The day began with a fabulous brunch at Sunnyside. It wasn't the Ames Cafe, but it helped a little with the homesickness for government gourmet. Once we were all saturated with chocolate covered strawberries, there were many more attempts on the skis. "I feel like a wet dog," Don commented after deciding that skinny dipping and bathing suits were both overrated. Maximize the use of your clothing, use it in the pool! In the afternoon more groups went out on the lake, while others went hiking with Eric's friends, and still others got lost in the Sierras. All that work (and no play, of course) was rewarded by a meal at Za's where Kathy and Melissa were chosen as the resident DJs. (Too bad they don't know Strawberry Fields.) While Kim tried to keep up with Andrea on the way to Harvey's her van choreographed many a dance from the classics styles of Jeff to Don. Nellymar served as our translator for the choruses we could not understand… "Take a look at my fanny…" and other top hits. Upon arriving at Harvey's everyone was disappointed to discover that it housed it's own casino. And the adventures of week four were about to begin…