This weekend, Panda and I spent two days hanging out with Opti and Doc before Opti’s off to optometry school next week.  It’s not like she’s going far away, but it’ll be worse than a full-time job, what with classes all day, every day during the week, then constant studying for frequent tests.  So to celebrate her last weekend of freedom, we planned a little mini vacation that became more of a “stay-cation,” as Doc pointed out when we had to change sleepover residences from my house, which is a bit out of the way, to Panda’s apartment, which is right in the middle of everything we’re familiar with.  Nonetheless, it was a really nice weekend where we pigged out, bummed out, and hung out.

It started Saturday with dim sum, where we also ate with Cherry (who was also an Orientation Counselor with us last year) and Envie (Panda’s brother).  It was really nice to catch up with Cherry, who just completed a rigorous summer program, and meet Brother, who I’ve heard about over the months, but never gotten more than an impression of.  After we filled our bellies with delectable tidbits, we went across the way to a photo sticker machine place and took some fun shots together.  Between the six of us we managed to squeeze into one booth and split the sixteen copies of the four shots we printed, then split off.  I took Panda, Envie, and Cherry back before spinning back to get Opti and Doc, who had gone back to Opti’s so she could pack for the overnight.

Opti, Doc, and I got drinks at my favorite boba place and went to meet Panda at his place.  He had gone home to get his stuff and drive back to the apartment on his own.  Opti and I had both gotten pandas as gifts from our respective boyfriends, so we brought them along with us for a little “panda party” and first-time meeting.  When we got to the apartment, everyone was in a lazy mood, so we settled down for some channel surfing followed by afternoon naps.  We got up around dinnertime and got ready to head out to Benihana’s, which, as usual, was jam-packed.  We were told the wait was a ridiculous 90 minutes, but I didn’t believe it, so we put our names down and wandered around the areas, checking out some stores and enjoying the brisk air before spinning around again about 45 minutes later.

As I thought, the wait was drastically shorter than the guy told us, so we were seated about an hour after we had originally arrived.  Unfortunately, restaurants of this type work at a slow pace, casually letting you soak in the atmosphere and enjoy your soup and salad before the chef shows up to entertain the table.  We were ravenous and didn’t get fed substantial food until about 10 o’clock.  The performance was fun, but not as flashy as others I’ve seen and the fried rice was very tasty, but the chicken was a bit chewy and bland.  The vegetables were juicy, but not my favorite thing to eat and the shrimp was pretty good with the provided sauce.  Overall I felt the experience was average and probably not worth the money, so I think I’ll look for cheaper alternatives to this type of dining next time.  It was nice to share it in a double date kind of setting though.

When we got back, we began a game of Snerds, the Orientation past time for staff last year.  We started off rusty as we tried to recall the rules, but soon enough, the fervor that we played with last year re-emerged and we played with a zeal that was unhindered by the nearly two-hour power outage.  When the lights went off, we just rearranged the laptops so they shone on the ground we were using, and though our eyes strained to tell if a card was red or black as our brains strained to register that diamonds and hearts are red and clubs and spades are black, we continued on without a thought of taking a break.  Eventually, the lights came back on and we rejoiced that we could play much faster and more efficiently.  We carried on for about another hour before calling it quits for the night and heading to bed.

This morning, Panda woke up early and couldn’t quite get back to sleep, but the rest of us slept in until we lethargically pulled ourselves up and decided that we were due for some brunch.  We walked down to a cafe that serves breakfast all day and uses fresh ingredients to make tasty sandwiches, burgers, and of course, the standard breakfast foods as well.  From there, it was time to resume our carding craze until dinner.  Throughout the game, the boys got chastised by the girls, who were both whooping the boys for the majority of the time.  We can get pretty sassy and have a fun time bantering back and forth flirtatiously.  The guys learned that they just couldn’t win unless they placated us.  😛

Opti and Doc had to head off early-ish, so we ordered some pizza that we picked up and scarfed down before their ride arrived to take them off to take care of the business they needed to at night.  Panda and I sent them off, and with that returned to a much emptier apartment that felt lonely.  I hung out for a bit more and left when Panda needed to start getting ready for bed.  We both agreed that we were really happy we could spend this weekend with our friends and hopefully there will be more to come in the near future.  Sometimes it’s just those laidback times where you bum out with your buddies that feel best.  🙂