Kevin: Hi guys! I know that it’s been a long time since my last post, and I never really got to say a proper wrap up and goodbye, but goodbyes are sappy and whatever so maybe it’s for the best. Freshman year is o…wait for it…VER! Oh by the way I’ve been watching a lot of TV, including How I Met Your Mother, since I’ve been home. Whoops.
Back to the point of this post, after being away from the beautiful Hopkins campus for like two and a half weeks, I couldn’t take it anymore, and impulsively hopped on a train to come down and spend the weekend with my friends! They’re all doing cool things – one of them is doing some kind of genetic-y programming-y thing I don’t completely understand, another is working for Hopkins alumni relations, and the third is working for a program to increase college awareness within a local Baltimore middle school! I’m in pretty great company.
It’s been really great to come back to Hopkins without the stress of the year hanging over me. Don’t get me wrong – being here in the year exceeded every expectation I put forth and it was the greatest year of my life, but there’s really just a different feeling to be back and free. It’s fun.
So now I’m sitting down to co-write a blog with JHU_Miranda in her apartment to reflect upon a whirlwind 36 hours of food, sun, and friends!
Miranda: Hi everyone! It’s also been a while since I last wrote. In that time, I’ve written more pages than I care to count, moved out of my apartment and into my summer sublet in Homewood, and spent an amazingly wonderful 2.5 weeks visiting friends and family in England (which I’ll probably post about soon). After a 35 hour travel debacle involving pieces of planes falling off over the mid-Atlantic and getting stranded in Toronto, I’m back in Baltimore for the next eight weeks for my internship through the CSC internship program. Since finishing training Friday afternoon, I’ve been having fun enjoying Baltimore and seeing some of my Hopkins friends. Since this post focuses on the 36 hours in Baltimore from Saturday noon to Sunday at midnight, here are a few more things I did before that (which you could probably also fit into 36 hours if you tried!).
The Food Truck Gathering–Baltimore has a growing number of food trucks, and all of them descended on Hampden on Friday evening, forming a food truck food court! I went with my roommate from this past year and friend Jenny, and between us we got a tostada, a bulgogi bento box, and two cupcakes (strawberries and champagne flavored and french toast!), all of which was quite delicious. It was also during a tornado watch for Balitmore, and we ended up completely soaked from sharing my umbrella in a downpour. My shoes are still drying.
Farmer’s Market–I hadn’t been to the Farmer’s Market since last summer, but I was glad I went! Jenny and I had brunch there (chicken empanada and chocolate croissant for her and vegetable emapanada and Caribbean samosa for me), and I also stocked up on other food (and was promised a free Ethiopian samosa next week since they ran out right before I could try to get one!)
Saturday
12:00 pm
Gaah I'm still dying over how good that food was!
Kevin: Wake up after getting in Friday night, decide what to do… hmm… brunch? I’m a classy guy, and I prepare to go out with my friends. Over an hour later…(No apologies no regrets)
1:15
Kevin: One World Cafe for brunch! French toast, omelets, coffee, …more coffee… This was the greatest decision of my life. I’m here with my Mock Trial family, Emily and Rob, but we’re missing Miranda, my big-big!
Miranda: I’m at the mall trying to locate my friend inside H&M. I open my phone to text her, and find 3 missed calls and 11 texts. Clearly, they miss me.
There was a lot more where this came from...
3:30
Miranda: The mall has one of my favorite stores, Trader Joe’s, so I’d suggested to Kevin/Rob that we make dinner at home so that we could eat good food without spending the money needed for eating out. After some discussion, we settled on homemade pizza, so we divided ingredient shopping. I also picked up other things to eat for the next few weeks, and went to wait for the (perennially late) bus home.
Kevin: Miranda texts from the mall for my friends and I to pick up ingredients at Eddies, a local supermarket, so we can all cook dinner together! Side note: Eddies donates food to the Tutorial Project for snack time, so I love to support the business.
5:30
Kevin: Chilling out at home base, my friend’s apartment, waiting for Miranda. She finally shows up and we make pineapple pizza. It was amazing! But let’s be real for a second – I made it, so success was always in the cards.
Words alone cannot do this show justice!
Miranda:Even though Kevin didn’t believe that my dough choice (garlic and herb) would work with pineapple, and dismissed my claim of eating this combination for the last seven years, he ended up a believer. Delicious pizza, made even better by the 8th floor view from Rob’s apartment!
6:15
Miranda: Rob and I are now being initiated to Kevin’s favorite show…
Kevin: BAGGAGE! Singles tell all their secrets for a chance for love, hosted by Jerry Springer. Bad TV has never been better.
6:45
Kevin: Miranda knows a playground down the road – plans made! We start walking over, but when we got there a bunch of like 6 year olds were on my turf — the swings. Not okay. So anyways we walked down to around Mrs. Shirley’s, a Baltimore favorite. Miranda and I also shared a moment with a crab.
Miranda: Baltimore has all of these crab sculptures around the city. They were part of an art installation, and have since been placed around the city (check out the Hopkins one by CharMar!). We found this one in a parking lot on Cold Spring Lane, and took several pictures, one of which Rob kindly instagrammed.
7:45
Miranda: It’s late enough that the playground has cleared out. We take over the swings, and discover that this playground is cool enough to have a mini rock climbing wall, as well as a big slide. We persuade Kevin to try out the climbing wall, and with encouragement he makes it down the slide too!
Kevin: Terror at the playground as I’m goaded into the rock climbing wall. I know that children can do this all the time but I’m pretty sure I almost died. The slide did make me feel better, though.
8:30
Miranda: We take a scenic route home, and enjoy the sunset on our way back. When we returned, we did karaoke to some fabulous selections, including the French version of “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” and “Accidentally in Love.”
Kevin: I’m a musical genius. My off-key and pitchy “Somebody that I used to know” is Idol-worthy. Get at me, world.
Kevin: That was just the first half, with a gigantic introduction. Check back very soon to Hopkins Interactive to see the rest of our Sunday shenanigans! Until then I expect all my millions of readers to sit anxiously at the edges of their seats checking furiously for part 2 to be released.
Miranda: But wait! There’s more! Check back soon for the rest of our adventures, including adopting a puppy, some more awesome food, and weddings.