Cheers to the Weekend

by Victoria Osborne (MA '12)

The past two weeks have been incredibly busy, and yet somehow I find a way to squeeze homework in with all the things I’d rather be doing. I am a firm believer in work-life balance, and since I do work almost non-stop Sunday-Thursday, the weekends are the perfect time to just have fun and relieve stress. This weekend was no exception. Yesterday, Dean Reinemund hosted his annual “Backyard Ball with the Dean” basketball tournament, where various groups from the Schools of Business competed in a double-elimination tournament. I stopped by the tournament (held on a full basketball court in the dean’s backyard, no big deal) to root on my fellow MA in Management students. We had two teams in the tournament and even though the 1^st-year MBAs won our teams still had good showings. It was nice to interact with the dean and other Business students in such a fun, relaxed atmosphere. After the tournament I’d planned to go to Worrell to knock out some studying (and possibly this blog) when another student in my program said, “Hey I’m about to go suit shopping, do you want to come?” Four hours and six stores later I had not completed a single bit of homework but alas, I’d found a suit. It’s a business suit so that has to count for something…right?

Before going to the basketball tournament, I spent my Saturday morning volunteering with United Way and Hanes Brands. Hanes held a massive sale of their products, as well as some Ralph Lauren items, with all proceeds going to United Way. I was a “replenisher”, so I was in charge of restocking items as supply depleted. Sounds simple enough, I thought, until I got there and saw what can only be compared to Wal-Mart on Black Friday. There were cardboard boxes everywhere, piled high with t-shirts, shorts, socks, pajamas, underwear, etc. It was hard to know where to start because everything needed replenishing and yet nothing needed replenishing at the same time because there was so. much. stuff. I’m the kind of girl (woman?) who organizes her closet by type of item and then by color, so I was definitely overwhelmed. Not knowing who or where my supervisor was, I just started going through boxes and making sure what was in each box matched what was written on the outside of each box. If I had to guess there were probably 200 boxes total, each one swarming with bargain-hungry Winston-Salemites. Oh, and did I mention the rain? Yes, it rained, yes, we were outdoors, and no, this did not deter the crowd in the slightest. As chaotic as it all was though, I had a good time.

Lastly, the Dixie Classic Fair is in town. Though I am ride-adverse (see: Final Destination 3) I absolutely LOVE fair food and the thought of a giant turkey leg was enough to convince me to go. The fair was amazing—such good energy, tons of rides, and endless opportunities to develop diabetes. One stand even had deep fried butter… and here I thought there were limits to what could be deep fried. On a dare, I actually tried it and it literally was the most revolting thing I’ve ever eaten. I was so hypnotized by the fact that it was covered in cinnamon and powdered sugar that I ignored the fact that underneath lay an actual stick of butter. I have a strong stomach but boy, was it tested last night. Though it was hard to top that experience, I’d have to say the best part of the night was the fireworks show (though I will say I did not get to see “The Woman with 8 Legs” or “The World’s Smallest Horse”). The fair is in town all week so if you’re in the area and haven’t been yet, I recommend you go! ….but please stay away from all things deep-fried.