Local Senior Rhi Memba recalls the feeling of dread rushing over her as she received a text from her mother: “Did you get a dinner reservation yet?”
The soon-to-be graduate had been burdened with the responsibility of planning dinner, just because she is the only one who lives here.
After her initial onset of panic, Memba started calling restaurants all over the campus area. She was only met with apologies as every restaurant had been booked for months. She accepted the offer of being placed on the waiting list, even knowing it was more pointless than taking Calc 2 as a humanities major. Her only options left were fast food, but she knew her family would be very disappointed to drive across state lines to only be met with something they could get at home.
Running out of options, she visited UW Dining’s website for the first time in three years. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Gordon Avenue Market was open until 7pm on graduation day. She knew it wasn’t ideal, but had no other choice. She texted her mother back: “Yep! Going on a trip down memory lane 😁.” She futilely hoped that her mother would ask no more questions. Just a few minutes later she was met with several questions inquiring about her choice of restaurant.
Seeing no way out of the virtual interrogation, she replied back “I thought we could visit my dining hall from freshman year.” Her mother immediately replied back, “Didn’t we have to send you money to eat off-campus because you kept getting sick from the dining hall food?” Memba replied: “They’ve really improved over the past few years,” hoping her mom would believe the lie.
To end the conversation she double texted: “Gordon’s is just really nostalgic.” Her mother gave the message a thumbs up as Memba added “Pepto Bismol” to her shopping list.