Third-year College student Spencer Fried had planned to spend a fairly calm break in Charlottesville, catching up on work and going out with friends. But just as he had kicked back to catch up on some television, Fried was interrupted by an unusual telephone call from his mother.
"She asked me if I wanted to talk to Meg Ryan," Fried said.
Fried's mother was attending a star-studded Democratic fundraiser in Washington, D.C., and called her son to introduce some of her new friends. Fried told her he didn't want to talk to Ryan because he didn't know what to say.
"And she told me, 'Well, you're gonna talk to her,'" Fried said.
Fried said he had an awkward 30-second conversation with Ryan, which consisted of her telling him how "cool" his mom is and to have a great day. He then talked to his mother for about 20 minutes, when her next offer was more intriguing.
Fried's mother asked her son if he would like to talk to comedian Ben Stiller. This time Fried welcomed the opportunity.
"I told him he was one of my favorite comedians of all time," Fried said. "I asked him, 'How'd you like working on the set of Zoolander?' and 'What's it like to work with Will Ferrell?' because [Ferrell] is my favorite comedian."
Fried said Stiller told him that "Will Ferrell's a riot" and that it's really difficult not to laugh when working with him.
Ethan Hawke and Susan Sarandon were among others in attendance at the fundraiser, but Fried said he only had the two celebrity encounters.
By Elizabeth Katz
Cavalier Daily Life Editor
Fourth-year College student Sergio Glait mixed business with pleasure on his fall break trip to New York City.
Glait said his trip began with a medical school interview, but most of the time was spent with friends.
"Friday night we went to this place called Crobar -- it's a big club up there," he said. "I went to go celebrate a friend of mine's birthday, and also my birthday and another girl's birthday."
In addition to going to New York with a friend from the University, Glait said he met up with some students from Columbia who he met when he stayed in New York over the summer.
The following day, the group spent time exploring New York City.
"We woke up and walked around the city a little bit," he said. "Went to Central Park and played some football, and then came back and got ready to go to bars again."
In addition to checking out the bar scene, Glait said they also experienced some Columbia-style Greek life.
"It was very fratty," he said. "It was a typical frat party -- booze and music. This is New York City, so their frat houses over there are smushed in but have like five floors to them. They're really thin, but they go up really high."
Sunday was much more laid back.
"We watched baseball and kind of just hung out and walked around a lot," Glair said. "Went to Chinatown and got some real good food for real cheap."
Returning to Charlottesville on Monday, Glait said his weekend was a success.
By Hannah Woolf
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
While other students were waking up last Friday morning to feelings of excitement about the long weekend ahead, fourth-year College student Anna Roberts woke up to a mysterious pain in her jaw.
The pain didn't stop Roberts from attending Friday classes and coming home for fall break, but it persisted. And others started noticing that Roberts's face was swollen.
"I had no idea what it was," Roberts said. "I was going to go to the regular doctor."
But her husband suspected that Roberts' wisdom teeth were the source of the trouble and suggested she see a dentist instead.
Roberts took this advice and saw a dentist, who confirmed that Roberts's wisdom teeth were the problem and they needed to be removed. Roberts said the dentist offered to perform the surgery herself.
"She said they cut your gum and rip your jawbone," Roberts said. "I got scared about the bone part."
Alarmed by this threat to her skeletal structure, Roberts decided to seek a second opinion that same day. She said the new dentist somewhat soothed her worries.
"He said if it were his mouth he would go to the oral surgeon," Roberts said. "He referred me to this surgeon who's supposed to be top-notch."
The following day was Roberts's birthday.
Still in pain, she went to the oral surgeon's office and had a series of X-rays taken in preparation for the surgery. Now, Roberts only has to wait for the teeth to be extracted.
In the meantime, Roberts said her mouth feels odd.
"My jaw is slacking and going outward," she said.
Perhaps she'll schedule her surgery just in time for the next vacation.
By Hannah Woolf
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
It was a tame beginning for third-year College student Dave Lee's fall break as he and his family traveled to New York City to celebrate his grandmother's 90th birthday.
Lee found other ways to amuse himself during the rest of his time in New York as well.
"I spent three days roaming around the city," Lee said.
First there were landmarks.
"I went to the top of the Empire State building and called a bunch of friends from there," Lee said.
Then there was evening entertainment. Lee saw the Broadway play "Wicked" with his family, which he said was "absolutely amazing."
And then there was nightlife.
"I went to bars," Lee said. "Bars don't close till 4 a.m. there, which is pretty cool."
Later on, Lee found himself in a "sketchy situation."
"I got really drunk and started wandering around the city at five in the morning," he said. "It was interesting to see city life at five in the morning. It felt like daytime around here, the amount of people you see."
Despite this unusual perspective, Lee does not advocate such adventures.
"I would not advise it for other people," he said.
After a solid dose of early morning frolicking, Lee decided it was time to head back to where he was staying: his cousin's house in nearby Hoboken, N.J.
"I tried coming back to Hoboken but I couldn't figure out the subway system," Lee said. "It's extremely complicated. I had no idea what was going on. I tried to buy a ticket but I didn't know where I was going."
Lee explained that his confusion was caused by separate subway systems for traveling within New York City and for traveling between the city and New Jersey.
The set of trains that go from the city to New Jersey are called the Path. That's the part Lee couldn't figure out -- so he just traveled down a different path.
"I ended up crashing at a friend's place in New York," he said.
By Cliff Roberts
Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Using fall break as a last chance to put off work and enjoy the warm weather, third-year Commerce student Scott Ameen decided to treat fall break more like Spring Break.
Ameen and 30 friends chose to spend their days off vacationing in the Outer Banks. The group rented a house with 14 bedrooms, two hot tubs, a volleyball court, a pool table, a foosball table, three kitchens and three living rooms. Although a near eviction on the first night almost ruined the students' trip when they found out the house was meant for married couples, a little smooth talking and a bigger security deposit allowed the group to keep this college student's dream house.
Split between about half guys and half girls, the group's large size of 30 made the trip relatively affordable according to Ameen.
"We even found kegs of Blue Moon for $30, so we got a bunch of those, but eventually they ran out," Ameen said.
In a drive that took a little under four hours, the group left Friday morning and returned Tuesday night, giving them four nights and almost five full days at the beach.
"The weather was really nice," Ameen said. "It stayed around the 80s the whole time. A bunch of us got sunburned, and I'm starting to peel a little."
Besides laying out on the beach by day and partying by night, Ameen had a few firsts on the trip.
"I got to surf which was cool because I've never tried that before," Ameen said. "It's so hard though."
Although he claimed the entire weekend was memorable, Ameen said that there were a few defining moments of the trip.
"We had the song 'Scatman' on repeat the entire trip." Ameen said. "It was sweet."
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