scallop time

08.24.2025

Last week, I went to Teashi Cafe & Bubble Tea with Brian (Hillsdale guy). I didn't get any pictures other than the order screen when he offered to pay (see above). But I do not take charity, so I insisted on paying for my share. In the end, his card ended up getting declined, so I got my way. I ordered the pork noodle bowl and Thai bubble tea, and he got the rice bowl, oolong tea, and scallion pancakes. It was okay. To be honest, I don't really remember how it was, but I remember thinking there was too much cabbage in my bowl. I will likely not be returning, except for the dairy free Thai tea which I really liked. Maybe I'll give the noodles another shot but ask them to take out the cabbage. The pancakes were really crispy and and chewy, but the dumplings were mid at best.

I met Brian at Cato this summer. I remember sitting next to him in the basement on the first day of the internship and asking him about Hillsdale. Another one of our earlier interactions was eating on the rooftop at Cato, where I asked him about why he wanted to study econ. I also remember him telling me not to leave my headphones facing up because that would fuck up the hinges. And then he sent me some reddit post with an XM5 with broken hinges. There was another time, earlier in the summer, when we walked to the metro together and talked about the lack of libertarians in the cohort. At some point, we went to Butterworth's together (with Benjamin), where he told us about his ex-girlfriend who he wanted to marry. It was a strange evening because I have never had such a sad conversation over scallops -- hence the name of this website. It was even stranger because I liked him, and the conversation confirmed that the feelings were not mutual. We went to Jeni's after, where I only ate waffle cones then ended up buying Benjamin a truck load of Jeni's pints for... various reasons. Strange evening. But it was a good evening too because I think it made us closer than we would have been otherwise. All of this would later lead to his regular moping about the girl at the office, which was such a surreal experience for me because I finally got to do what Ethan did for me for a very long time. Ethan used to say all he could do was listen, so that's kind of all I did too.

In late June, we went to Costco (with Nathan!) where Nathan didn't let me get my rice because "the Uber's here." Brian said I should, which I really appreciated even though I would return to JBKO riceless that afternoon (it was never about the rice ). In July, I went to the Independent Institute townhouse with Brian, Benjamin, and Diego. Diego left early after eating all the sushi. The rest of us spent the evening goofing off in the back of the room while Phil Magness talked about tariffs. I'm not a fan of the incessant tariff yap, so the twerking and ass-touching made the talk so much more bearable. We then walked to the Capitol South Metro station playing the Penis Game.

Brian and I also visited Phil Magness' house in Nova twice during the summer. Brian got somewhat tipsy during the first then completely hammered during the second. At some point of our second visit, Brian, Ethan Yang, and Phil Magness were sitting around his dining table, and I accidentally got my arm stuck in the back of one of the chairs. I also recall peeling corn? It's a little hazy now, but I had a lot of fun.

Other Brian-related happenings: Brian won the Independent Institute essay contest; complained about my microwaving avocados; went to CHBC with me and Nathan; got me food with Grace F (!) at an SFL happy hour; played euchre with some guys on my side of the room; regularly slid over to Diego's desk to pull his chair back and bother him, etc.

Looking back, a pretty significant part of my "socializing" at Cato involved Brian and/or Benjamin. This was mostly because I took up a lot more responsibilities at ACC this summer and didn't have the time to hang out with the others, but also because I think I felt most comfortable around them. The prospect of not having them around is really sad. I wonder when, if at all, I'll see them again. If Brian is ever in DC again, I'll have to take him somewhere where they don't serve as much cabbage.