December '05: Snow Daze

Twas In the Bleak December
Snow Daze

December 2005

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Closing out the year by continuing in the vein of vaguely literary webisode titles, we come to the bleak December. In Blacksburg, the weather does get mildly depressing in the winter. However, all that means is that the action moves indoors. See what kinds of crazy stuff Hillcrest residents were up to in this year's action packed, special effects bonanza finale!

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Snow Daze | Exam Breaks


Section 1: Snow Daze The snow tends to stick around (get it?) here in Blacksburg for weeks at a time. It snows, and as long as temperatures stay where they should, we'll be left with two and three inches of snow on the grass for days on end. Fortunately, there is a plethora of things for people to do indoors for the snowbound (and outdoors for the hearty types/those without nerve endings). And as an added bonus, the snow makes the scenery ridiculously picturesque.
	Ahh, Blacksburg after a fresh snow. Check out Burruss Hall across the drillfield, as seen between War Memorial Gym and West Egg from outside Owens Food Court.
And here's Lane Stadium as the snow melts, just to the right of Cassel Coliseum and past the Solar House.
	The VT physical plant crews decorated some trees with lights just in time for the first big snow of the year. It took me about 30 shots to get the various settings on these night shots to a point where they'd show up on film and not be too grainy.
Even though snowball throwing is technically illegal (a Judicial Referralible offense), every year on the day of the first snow is the Corps vs. Civilians snowball fight. I really don't know who won, I was trying to not get too close. But you can see the library's multimedia reading room on Torgersen Bridge through the Pylons (the university's symbol, see the logo on the Virginia Tech website.
	Hey, it's Hillcrest! My room's the upper left window, just below the pointy attic vent, next to the bay window.
Here's our window from another angle. Check out our vaguely creepy cantilevered tree!
	And then it snowed again! You can just barely make out the sidewalks and roads in this picture. This was very good sledding weather, provided it was the packed surface of the sidewalks.
Snow Rugby! Out on the Hillcrest back courtyard!
	Go Collin, go! Check out the snowflakes captured by the flash!
And somehow, with great timing, I managed to catch Collin getting tackled and handing off the ball simultaneously.
	And then... hot chocolate!
Another tradition: the Snow Jack! Hillcrest residents seem compeled to create a faithful rendition of the Honors Director in snow form, and Jeremy and I took on the challenge to create a freestanding version this year.
	See? I was there.
Hey! It's the finished product. Freestanding even! With real legs!
	This picture bears stunning resemblance to that one famous picture of the toppled Saddam Hussein statue in Iraq. Now, it looks like this picture was taken at the same time, but it's really a week later. The Snow Jack is a block of ice here. Really heavy.
The Hillcrest Hill is also good for sledding. Here's a video.
	As the end of the semester neared, the workload took one last spike. This dial on a door down the hall was suprisingly accurate.
But what complation of winter events would be complete without the TV Lounge? Here, Hillcrustaceans are watching the power hour of fake news, specifically The Colbert Report, the new companion to The Daily Show. We'll see other activities in next month's webisode.