LINK: d2.15 to d2.5 stanford
We were up at 0500. We brushed our teeth, washed our faces, got dressed, and headed out to McDonald’s to get her son food for the day. This is when I discovered that Linda wasn’t as tech savvy as I thought. She could order food from the kiosk but not from the app. I ordered a decaf coffee which was ready within minutes. Her food, took a while because she accidentally set her order for drive-thru pickup instead of counter pickup.
The snafu took longer than anticipated. We had to take the toll bridge so that we could meet Alyssa and her brother by 0730. It was going to take nearly 40 minutes to drive and another 30-40 minutes to walk to where she was. I pushed the pedal to the metal and did the best that I could.
We pulled into the Tressidder parking lot, a cheaper option and per Alyssa’s instructions. We parked and started walking, when I stopped a man to ask where the track and field was. He looked at me like I asked him to solve a differential equation. He probably thought, “The audacity!” but instead he said, “It’s really far and you should go look at a map.” Okay… noted.
A few seconds later, a shuttle drive appeared. I asked him the same question. He did confirm that it was far but we could take a shuttle there. I was so damn fucking happy because time was of the essence. Within a minute, the shuttle came and seven minutes later, we stepped off at the track and field. Miraculously, we were on time… barely.
We sat with Alyssa and her brother for another two hours.
Alyssa said that her mission was to get a maroon Stanford jersey— one for herself and one for her husband. The rule for the merch tent was one item per person. Her brother was grabbing the same jersey for his wife and Linda wanted one for herself. Then Alyssa turned to me and asked if I’d get one for her husband since she was getting her own.
I said yes. Inwardly, I groaned.
I wanted one too… but since she waited through the night, I conceded. I guess I could try my luck in Vegas or LA at a later date. Meh. We all walked away with a gray jersey with our bias’s name on it and a grey zip-up hoodie that had all the US cities on it. I loved the fit of the hoodie. The hoodie was hoodying.
I saw online that people were selling their maroon jerseys for $300 to $400. Ugh. Can’t stand scalpers.
There were photo ops set up for ARMY and people were out and about, taking all sorts of photos.
The campus was starting to come back to me in waves. Even though it’s been forever since I’ve been here. There was the law school and the bookstore. I wanted to see if they had the official Stanford jersey that Jin wore to one of the concerts, but they were completely sold out. A staff at the bookstore said that they would be restocking in the fall, so I guess I’ll have to wait for that.
I forgot my hat at the hotel so I picked up two caps. On that said Stanford and another that read NERD—for Nerd Nation. I’m sure that the folks in my fam who went to Stanford will appreciate my hats.
Alyssa’s brother had us ride his Rivian to the Crying Tree. It’s my first time in one of these and I have to say, it’s pretty damn nice. I have an aversion to Teslas. They are everywhere in my neighborhood and I can’t stand Elon. So there’s that.
En route, I spotted a black squirrel running along the path. It immediately made me think of Ian and his thievin’ bastard pics, so I stopped to take a photo of this rare animal.
We also passed the amulets display on plinth on Meyer Green, which was very unique. I thought at first it was some sort of leaf at first glance.
The Crying Tree isn’t an official Stanford site. It got its name from fans because of Tablo, rapper from Epik High. He broke down there when he was being accused of fabricating his Stanford degree, despite the fact that he graduated with an English degree. RM (leader of BTS) posted a pic the day before at the same tree as a tribute to Tablo.
Years ago, I took a photo at Hoover Tower, and here it is again. The campus was busy with students studying for their finals. TBH, this campus makes me WANT to study. There’s something about the vibe here with the architecture, trees, and students there with their intellectual seriousness that makes me want to crack open a book and head towards the library.
We were getting hungry, I hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch yet so we went to Treehouse in Tressidder Memorial Union, where I ordered the shiitake and tofu teriyaki bowl. I was over the fried foods for now and wanted something healthier, although I’m certain that the teriyaki glaze is anything BUT healthy.
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