Sweet Virginia

This past weekend I took a short trip back home to see my parents (who were totally not expecting me to permanently move to Austin before coming back one last time), take care of some errands, and do some more packing. It was a short and sweet trip, and very surreal. It felt so strange driving on roads and around places I knew so well, knowing that I was no longer a local. And yet it also felt like a trip backwards in time, like I hadn’t even moved away at all. All in all, it was a fun-filled and much-needed trip: I got to spend time with my parents and say a proper good-bye, and I brought back loads and loads of stuff. I do have to say, though, that I am very glad to be back in Austin. It is my new home, after all.

Highlight of the trip back to Charlottesville: Breaking into JPJ. In between errands on Monday, I decided to stop by the newly-finished John Paul Jones Arena. If I wanted to move back to Cville, the JPJ would probably be one of the main reasons why. I still cringe when I think about the fact that the first bball season in the new arena will have to be without me. And I have to say, the JPJ has turned out to be a pretty impressive work of art. I had been it once before for a tour, but that was well before it was finished. So when I stopped by Monday, it was merely on a whim of curiosity to see what it looked like.

Before randomly yanking open doors, I decided to be proper and ask someone if I was allowed to look around inside. Alas, I was not. That was fine, though - I was perfectly content on walking around the outside. As I approached the East entrance on the opposite side of the main entrance, I noticed two people go in. I decided to go investigate. A door had been propped ajar, and without much thought I opened it and strolled in, already thinking of stupid excuses to say if I was hounded by anyone. After getting my bearings, I went straight to the balcony where I could see the court, or what was supposed to be the court. There was a whole crew cleaning up and disassembling a huge stage, probably from the recent Dave Matthews show. I then wandered down the hallway of corporate/executive suites, after which I went upstairs to see the view of the court from the upper level. Of course, I was gawking the whole time and took a bunch of pictures on my phone. And luckily, I don’t think I was noticed by a single person. At least, not that I know of.

I thought about poking around to look for the locker room area, where there would be fancy hot tubs and practice courts, but I decided not to test my luck. Maybe another day.

The next time I’m back in VA, I’m going to catch a game there. I’ll make sure of it!