Peeking, Peaking or Peking

Ok, so now I walk around campus checking out people's feet. For the sneakered masses, I'd say about 99% are peeking and the remaining 1% are in ankle socks. Of the non-peekers, I actually had one sit next to me Monday in Bio Lecture. A woman walking past in a sari with sneakers was a peeker. I'm peeking myself now and according to my friend Randee, Polo makes great color peekers - might be a Labor Day Weekend sale excursion for me. Peekers to match my tank tops: black, turquoise, hot pink. Ok, now I'm scaring myself. LOL ... I actually think I almost scared some classmates today. We were all waiting out in the hallway prior to Bio Section Discussion to start and all these people were sitting on the floor. I was actually assessing their feet to see if anyone had a good peeking shot. Nothing photographable. (one to the right is a little high, but it'll do).

Peaking. Have we peaked? Do you peak somewhere in your 40's, not know it and then wake up to find you are considered a dinosaur. Is peaking perception or reality? And because it is other's perception of us, does it need to become our reality? I don't know that you ever really peak. If learning and experience are cumulative, the trajectory should always be moving upward and then death would be the peak.

I do wonder though if my mind has peaked - is it too full to retain what I am learning? Is water the only thing I still retain? I bought vitamins and ginko and stuff today to help me. We'll see if I notice a difference in my ability to concentrate, absorb and retain (things other than water, that is).

Peking ... yes, as in duck! Well, not duck but Chinese Marinated Chicken. This is my shout out to Austin Chinese food. Austin actually has really good Chinese food. I know that may be hard to believe ... you're thinking, Tex-Mex, yeah, BBQ, absolutely, but Chinese food, no way!

Well after years of hideous Chinese food in Florida, we were shocked to find Austin has some awesome places. Din Ho was the first place we found - was great, but started slipping. Then they opened Chinatown Center and a place called 1st Chinese BBQ and now the original owners of Din Ho have opened Ho Ho. These are places with the ducks hanging in the window - mmm-mmm the roast duck (called BBQ Duck here) is incredibly delicious. Monday night was take in from Ho Ho ... nice easy dinner after a long day on campus.

I'm thinking that I might start bringing my camera to campus some days. There is so much there that is interesting and between classes and studying, I'm not going to be getting near my camera very much ... so if I integrate the two ... it should help alleviate some of the withdrawal symptoms and provide another avenue to view this experience.

No One Wants to Be the Nerd ... Ever ...

So Friday I made a few changes, I went from a messenger bookbag to a backpack and from flipflops to sneakers. Brisk walking across two campus' on Thursday wreaked havoc on my lower back, so evening out the weight distribution of my books is definitely the way to go to make this a less painful experience.

Ok, so on Friday I am nice and casual in a pair of black gym shorts, black tank top, socks, sneakers and my sea glass necklace. Backpack on my back and I'm ready for UT. As I head up onto the Commons and across campus, I notice something odd. And it's everywhere! The people not wearing sandals, those in sneakers, don't seem to have socks on. Ahhh, but on closer inspection, they are wearing socks, just those really short ones that you can hardly see. Peekers, I guess you can call them, they just peek out over the lip of the sneaker ... a peek of hot pink, or gray or navy blue.

And now I'm strolling across campus looking at every pair of feet in my view - and every single one of them are wearing these peekers. Except me. I'm wearing white ribbed tennis socks that go a good 2 inches above my ankle. And I am the ONLY one on the ENTIRE UT campus of 40,000 people wearing socks that more than peek. Who knew that more than peek wasn't in. I didn't know.

By the time I got to Welch Hall, I had passed hundreds and hundreds of sneakered feet. All peekers. So here I was the 50 year old student and if that doesn't make me stick out enough, I am wearing the wrong socks. As I entered Welch Hall with an extra 5 minutes before I needed to be in class, I searched frantically for a bathroom. Once inside the stall, I leaned against the wall, slipped off my sneakers and hid my "outdated" socks in my backpack. I entered class, sockless with a hint of indents rimming my legs 2 inches above my ankle.

After class, as I walked across campus back to my car in the oppressive Texas heat, I could feel my sweaty feet squishing inside my sneakers. My feet might have been sweaty and stinky, but unless someone was to look closely, and notice there was nothing peeking out, my feet fit right in on the UT campus.