yeah. so some stuff went down. should probably tell y'all about it.
OK, so I graduated. Woo. There were various and sundry interesting things associated with said event, which I will enumerate below.
1. My grandparents! My Grumma and Grumpa came in from California. They're kind of trippy. They live in the Napa Valley and are somewhat hard of hearing. But they make things real fun. My Grumpa was a professional photographer, so he took about 7.3 bajillion photos at dinners, inductions, etc. etc. etc. Which is good, because my mom's digital photos didn't come out so well! All in all,it was nice to see them. B even survived meeting them.
2. My brother! The Chuck came to visit, and B also survived meeting him. He used his GeekBoySkillz in discussing horror movies and comic books to defend himself. And B is still alive, so I guess the Chuck liked him.
3. My parents! Which meant lots of fun and free (good) food.
4. Phi Beta Kappa, aka Phi Slamma Jamma. I got a nifty little certificate to say that I'm all smartypants. It was an entertaining ceremony, particularly when the professor in charge of reading the history was all, "I suffered through this, so you have to too. Deal." We also stood up and sat down, to the point where I was ready to go, "Stand up, Sit Down, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!" After this, we went to MacGregors. There's something about a beer after a long, hot event that just feels sooooo good.
5.Gradumation day! I was a student marshal, which meant a couple things. a, I was at the front of a line. b, I knew where I was marching ahead of time, so I could send B off to save seats, which he did admirably. He guarded nine choice seats for the ceremony for my fam, earning him their undying love and affection. He also ran back to the lineup, program in hand, enabling me to discover that I had won two awards--one from my department and one from the school, which made me happy. c, I had to be at line-up at the ASS CRACK OF DAWN. d, I got a little beatin' stick as my gift. But we marched, I wore a funny getup, and I saw an adorable little old man (Robert Wegman) get his honorary degree. We then marched off the Quad, and my family and i had a Pic-A-Nic (tm Ray? I think) near the engineering buildings. My uncle and little cousins were also around, and we had sammiches and juice boxes. It was fun. We then had some time to kill before my ceremony, so we tooled about campus.
Finally, 1:15 rolled around, and I was up. So off to the auditorium we went. We had to get together in the lower auditorium and get in alphabetical order, and we went into Strong auditorium. Thesis Advisor talked at us, we applauded the faculty, and then the ceremony continued. My department has a pretty good number of awards for students, and a couple of us cleaned up. I won the McGill Prize for the top student in the department (which surprised the LIVING HELL out of me) and another prize whose name escapes me, which is given by the College for use of the English Language. W Apparently my sports information work had something to do with this. These both involved very nice cash prizes, which, with the assorted gifts I've recieved from family add up to a very very nice payday for me. WonderJess also got a prize 'cause she's so damn cool. Finally, I got my diploma, which was real cool. It's very pretty.
After the ceremony I caught up with the fam, whose number was now augmented by the Amy! and we went off to the reception where Thesis Advisor asked for a hug. Those of you who have met Thesis Advisor will understand how WIERD this was for me. But I stuck it out. Upon completion of niceties, it was time for a beerrun. So Amy and I and B drank some beers (well, not b since he had to drive. but he was there.) and then it was time for the Gradumation Dinner. Which was at a nice little place in Brighton and involved a steak and a GORGEOUS shiraz for me.
After all that fun...I had to pack. And that continued into Monday Morning.
6. We drove home. It was Boring.
7. I turned 22! B and I had a lovely day in Boston, tooling about and eating good food and going to the Aquarium. I renewed my license and my picture is much better now. I got my state house gig worked out. I bought yummy smelling things at Lush and I went back the next day and bought the fleece at North Face that I lusted after. And B got me a lovely bracelet. (He had also purchased Sarah Vowell's Assasination Vacation for me...but I bought it on Monday for the drive home. Which made me feel real dumb...but damn, the boy has taste!)
8.Saw Star Wars last night. It was fun. Yay crazy midnightness!
9. Worked my first UR event as an alum. Holy crap.
10. playdate with a Red tomorrow!
Hopefully, my life will assume some sort of semblance of normal schedule soon. But I'm not holding my breath.