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Spring Break Begins at The Jigger

April 1st, 2010 ndnaul11

It’s officially spring break, and we have two weeks off from class. Not going to lie, it won’t be much different than any

The Jigger in all its glory

other point during this semester, except for the fact that I don’t have my usual 4 hours of class a week.

New Hall has been pretty desolate so far. Most people have gone home for Easter or are traveling around Europe (which I’ll be doing come Friday – Paris, I’m coming your way). We have to make our own meals over break, but I’m too cheap and too lazy to make anything creative so I stuck with the same shopping list I’ve had for the entire year: pasta, sauce, peanut butter, bread, eggs, instant coffee, and the St. Andrews version of Red Bull that cost 40 cents. I’m assuming there’s going to be some pretty good food in Paris, so I only have to make it 3 more days.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to play much golf on my time off. I hear New England is getting a few inches of rain right now. You’re in good company. We’re getting rain, sleet and hail, mixed with 30mph winds, so needless to say, not a lot of golf to be played.

Realizing I only have 2 more months in Scotland, I’ve done a lot of reflecting on what I want to do with my time left here. It really comes down to this: whatever I haven’t done and want to do, I better do it now, because there is a very good chance I will never be back here. And if I do have the opportunity to come back, it’ll either be with a wife and kids, or I’ll be old and immobile, so I better take advantage of it now.

Since it’s about mid-way through the semester, I figure it’s a good time for an update on the progress I’ve made on my list of New Year’s resolutions. Here goes.

• I have officially played every hole on all seven courses on the St. Andrews links; however, it was almost pitch black on the last few holes of the back 9 of the Strathtyrum, so I’d like to play another round on that course one more time to make it official.

• In terms of traveling, I’ve made it to Amsterdam, Germany and Austria, and I’m heading to Paris at the end of the week. I think Dublin is going to be a little post semester vacation before finals start, and Edinburgh, well I’ll make it there one of these weekends.

• Still haven’t made it to the Bop, but it’s going to happen, I swear.

• I haven’t walked the pier on a Sunday morning yet, but I think I’ll do it the Sunday after next to cap off spring break.

• I’m doing just fine in my classes so far. I’ve only had one assignment, but I think it went pretty well, so I guess that covers “do well in my classes” and “go out more, stress about work less”.

• I’ve been to the Raisin a few times this semester, but not once have I seen the girl who worked behind the bar. I’m going to take a stab at it and say she doesn’t work there anymore. Somewhat of a letdown, but I think I’ll survive.

That brings me to my last resolution – live the dream. I think I’ve accomplished that with unequivocal success. Last Saturday, I was sitting at the Jigger Inn – which is connected to the Old Course Hotel – on the 17th hole of the Old Course with a great view of the 18th, drinking my favorite beer in St. Andrews, the Jigger Ale.

Me, Stephen, and Tris at the Jigger

Me and a couple guys had just finished a round on the Jubilee and the sun had started to go down. There I am, with the Old Course as my backyard, a place most golfers dream of getting to but rarely do, just relaxing with a beer in hand watching as people were playing up the 18th hole; probably one of the most famous, if not the most famous hole in golf. Talk about living the dream. I was sitting there without a care in the world for an hour, just soaking everything in.

There hasn’t been too many instances where I’ve been stressed out this year, but it’s moments like that that really make me appreciate this whole experience.

The rest of the semester is going to be crazy between traveling, work, golf, and whatever else pops up along the way. Of course, I won’t have to worry about any of that until after I get back from Paris on Tuesday.

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