Wings night and the future

Yesterday, one of my friends and his friends decided to gather for wings night, an event that is well known for an incredible deal on buffalo wings that are battered and fried, then seasoned with a variety of sauces (the more interesting of which were the bacon chipotle sauce and the roast peanut sauce). Every drink permits an order of up to 20 wings: at 10 cents per wing, we ended up ordering around 100 wings altogether, and as with ribs night the previous year, the total cost of the drinks we ordered was greater than that of the wings. I had been at the lab, testing my computer simulations on the day of the event: because the pub I went to is only a 15-minute walk from campus, I stuck around on campus until the sun began to set, and the offices on my floor had emptied out.

• Wings themselves are more substantial than the ribs: fried and battered, they are delicious. This time, I decided to avoid getting a pint-induced headache and went with a pair of ginger ales instead. Judge me as you will, but I still prefer things like ginger ale and sprite over beer. On the other hand, a rye and coke are perfectly acceptable for me.

• Contrasting last year, we had more people turn up this time, so we ordered a large plate of standard nachos. One of the attendees noted that he disliked peppers, tomatoes and olives, but their unique combination on a plate of tortilla chips covered with melted cheese made them enjoyable; indeed, between the nachos and wings, there was no need to order anything else.

Conversations soon turned towards medical school, graduate studies and the future, bringing to mind a similar event from a year ago. The conversation also reminded me of what I would need to do for the upcoming year, and admittedly, it is quite an intimidating thought to consider what kind of things will lie beyond the horizon as my undergraduate career draws to a close. Looking back, my degree has proven to be an incredibly enriching experience, giving me the privilege to work in a research and development environment through the implementation and testing of computer models, as well as learning how to present and publish research work, and last but not least, speak publicly about said research. For the present, I prepare myself for the future, and while I continue to wonder what the future holds, I do have the confidence to receive it as things unfold, whether it be relevant to my career or other aspects of life.