Newport Ball

Friday was the Newport Ball, the second HBS formal we've attended. Eric got all suited up in his tux, and I wore a black satin cocktail dress. Dressing up is so much fun.

There were good things and bad things about the ball, so I've made two lists:

Cons:

• I was freezing for hours. It was raining, in the 40s at most, and we were in a tent for dinner. I had no idea we'd be in a tent, so I just brought a little wrap instead of the coat, scarf, and mittens that would have been appropriate.
• Dinner was served at 2 different times, depending on section, so it was really hard to find my friends afterwards because there were 900 people there.
• I wasn't a huge fan of the music.
• It felt chaotic and I kept waiting for somebody to tell me what to do or where I should be (that never happened).

Pros:

• I got to know a bunch of new people since I couldn't find my friends. I had some really great conversations and enjoyed the company.
• I wore low heels so standing for a long time was not a problem (and I did stand for a really long time). Plus there were chairs, so when I wanted to sit it was easy (that wasn't the case at the Holidazzle).
• It was a buffet, so I got to eat a lot of salad (the best part of the meal).
• I eventually did find some of my friends, and we had a great time.
• It was warm inside (once I discovered that there actually was an inside).
• I got to wear a pretty dress and Eric got to wear his tux (and we looked great)!

As you can see, the pros outweigh the cons. I had a good time even if I was freezing and somewhat confused about the goings on!

Saturday we went on two mansion tours (no pictures allowed inside) with a small group while other people went to a wine tasting (which we heard was terrible).

The mansions were cool and it was a lot of fun. We carpooled in a station wagon, and I sat in the way back (you know, the backwards seat!) and took pictures from a different POV. After the tours we had Awful Awfuls (milk shakes) at the Newport Creamery.

That night was a dinner at the Clarke Cooke House for Eric's section. A few of his section-mates put a lot of effort into an end-of-year presentation which we enjoyed after a delicious meal. Sunday morning we met up with some friends from college for brunch and hanging out before heading back to Boston. Overall, good weekend.

Check out this slideshow for more photos from the weekend.