Williams Weekend.

What a weekend!  After having a great time with Man Boo's family in D.C., we had to motor over to Williamstown (well, Pittsfield) for a wedding.  It had been a very long time since I had been back to Williams, and I was really excited to see it again.  Not to mention spend time with the old Williams crew.

Man Boo and I tried to avoid going through New York...and somehow ended up at Princeton University.  On Reunion Day.  We were not happy.  But we did make it to Williamstown eventually.  Fortunately for us, we had some pretty fantastic weather.

Of course, the main event for the weekend was the wedding of our friends Lindsay and Noah.  

The ceremony took place in front of a lake and the sun was shining down on us -- with a great breeze!  Dinner and dancing followed and good times were had by all.

 This was our sad, sad attempt at spelling out Williams.  I enjoy Abby's backward "S".

As we posed, I could not get out of my head that You Tube video where the wedding party broke the dock.  So glad that dock remained intact.  

Yet another reason to celebrate was that it was also Abby and Samir's first anniversary...

This is them double-fisting drinks when they each oh-so-cutely got the other drinks at different bars.

All in all, a pretty great weekend!  Man Boo and I drove back today...this time, avoiding Princeton.  Being too cheap to invest in Books on Tape and not having time to go the library, we decided to pull a fun book from our shelves and just read aloud to each other.  We returned with a couple chapters of Murder on the Orient Express (courtesy of Man Boo's mother) to spare, but managed to finish on our trip up to Dulles airport when I dropped Man Boo off for this week's trip to Denver.

If you are fortunate enough to have a driving partner who has a pretty good collection of accents under his sleeve, I highly recommend the frugal book on tape option.  Poor Man Boo had to suffer through my inability to do any other accent that American and bad British.  I think the book probably had a different feel when Hercule Poirot was a British guy.

Hotness in a Pink Jumpsuit.

I know I promised (or at least implied) a bunch of pictures from this weekend. Sadly, I am a pooface and forgot to bring my camera to each and every outing. I remembered to pack it in my bag and took it with me to Massachusetts, mind you...I just never took it out that last mile from the hotel in which I stayed to Williams. Lame, I know.

BUT, I did have a great time seeing my friends -- it was incredible to me to see just how many '04 alum actually came back! I managed to see most everyone that I had aimed to see, but since I was only there for a little over a day (arrived late on Friday and left early Sunday) I didn't really get to see anybody as much as I would have liked. It felt so rushed. Still it was great (and surreal) to see what everyone was up to.

If anything it made me realize that I need to do a better job keeping in touch with people...

New Strong Bad. I mention it because it has an awesome homage to a childhood pasttime of mine. Actually, more of a childhood pasttime for my brothers -- I was always the lame little sibling who watched the big kids play video games rather than actually play them. I'm including it because I know Dave will appreciate it. (Wait 'til the paper comes down and then click on "Strong Bad"...it's awesome).

On the Ups...

Today would have been a great day if it weren't for the last five minutes of class. My students were learning, they were quiet and well-behaved. They were respectful and all around lovely.

Then, Alexis decided to leave school early and shit hit the fan. It ended with her mother calling the assistant principal some bad bad words. Wah.

The good news is that tomorrow I will be heading to Williamstown for the much awaited Zero Year Reunion and Homecoming...and more importantly, to see my beloved friends who I miss dearly. Many good stories (I'm sure) and pictures to come! For now I must de-snot my nose and lesson plan. Oh and pack for the trip!

Snot Monster.

I am seriously checking the polls every two seconds. My stomach is in knots. (Help!)

Today was a pretty unproductive day (of course). I did little to advance myself along in my lesson planning. Instead I sat around feeling sorry for myself and blowing my nose. I am playing with the idea of taking a sick day tomorrow -- but I am of the "boy-who-cried-wolf" paranoids who thinks that if I take a sick day tomorrow, next week I will be stricken with a severe case of almost death and will lack the chutzpah and the sick days to take a day off.

Plus, I'm thinking of taking a half-day on Friday so that I might be able to take off at a reasonable hour for the 7-hour road trip to Williamstown. Homecoming! Friends! Nostalgia!

Therefore, I must grin and bear it. Hopefully, my kids will take pity on my non-voice and runny nose. Unlikely, I know.

Dean's List Drop-Out.

View of the doomed Baxter from atop Thompson Chapel (courtesy of Drew Newman who took the picture during the watch drop part of Ivy Exercises).

I wish I could report that my life is exciting right now...but it isn't. I've been sitting in Hardy House all day and the most exciting part of it was this morning when I got coffee. Seriously.

Actually that's not true. It was when I stuffed lots and lots of completed spreads into big FedEx envelopes to ship to the plant. Yes my friends...the time has come for me to actually turn stuff in. The entire senior section is complete. As is the opening. This book may actually get done. Never has putting little checkmarks in boxes been so satisfying.

I also completed my application for Johns Hopkins' MAT program...except for one minor detail: my resume. Now, I have a resume that I have been using for pretty much everything so I didn't put much thought into preparing my application. Then I realized that my GPA info wasn't up-to-date. No problem, I'll just log into telnet and check my final grades. But NO. I can't get into telnet anymore because I graduated.

This brings up an important issue. The last time I checked my grades, all of my professors had not yet turned in their evaluations...by graduation day, I still did not have my grades for two classes. Then they cut us off the day after graduation. I ask you, friends, how does this make sense??

So I have a dilemma. Should I guess what my final grades were and then calculate my GPA? Should I leave it off my resume? Or, should I leave my old GPA (which isn't very good) on the resume?

I opt for the second one since guessing might get me into trouble. Also, I requested that the school send them my current transcript via mail so they'll have that information there. But it is conspicuous for me not to include my GPA??

They're not going to take me and I'm going to blame stupid Williams.

A Pseudo Post-Grad Crisis.

As you know I'm back at Williams for the weekend. I've been walking around campus and sort of taking in the Purple Mountains for the last time in a long while. Even though I graduated under a month ago I can't help but feel out of place here now. Whenever I bump into someone I know, the first question they usually ask is: "What are YOU doing here?" I don't belong anymore.

All I see are the young whippersnapper summer camp kids, the sophomores and juniors that were suckered into staying on campus over the summer to do research or conference office work, and the trendy film buff walking around on their cell phone. While Baxter is still here -- I had seriously been expecting to find it razed by now -- the campus feels different.

Then, I was checking my emails from a common room in Morgan MW -- my freshman dorm and where a former frosh was gracious enough to let me crash for the night -- and heard the bell toll. It was sort of like a time machine to all those nights freshman year when I had to listen to those freaking loud bells (which happened to be situated across the street from Morgan) toll every fifteen minutes. EVERY fifteen minutes...even 4:15am. And these bells are loud.

But tonight? I don't mind it so much.

Week in Review.

While I said I wouldn't do it, I'm going to do it: here's what I've been up to.

Grad Shots.
I can't believe it took me so long to get these up. Sorry, yo.


Michelle and Marina at Ivy Exercises.


Abby thinks I'm a dork.


My view of the stage and sadly...Jess was obstructed by the microphone stand. Stupid stand. I should also mention that Jess received an award for her contribution to the musical community of Williams. So proud.


The watch drop. Supposedly, a watch that breaks upon impact is good luck -- but one that survives is bad luck for the class of 2004. This year's watch hit a tree on it's way down...it may have survived. That would explain the missed plane. If you look closely, you can actually see Adam (or maybe Drew) at the top of the tower.


The one picture actually taken on Commencement Day. Here's Samir, Ari, and Abby right before the ceremonies began.

The Promised Baltimore Shots.
I like this city. I'm giving it a thumbs up.


Baltimore has ships.


Fuzzy Harbor and Baltimore City Lights.


Jamie's Graduation.
I'm such the proud friend. While I was completely embarrassed by my father scrambling to the front of the crowd to take my picture as I walked across the stage, I found myself doing the same exact thing as Jamie cross his in Minnesota. I may have pushed down a little old lady or two. But I did manage to get these shots:

Well worth it, if I do say so myself.


Jamie spots me in the crowd.


President Oden cracks a funny while Jamie receives his diploma.


Jamie in all of his Magna Cum Laude glory. Either everyone else who's name begins with "L" is incredibly short, or Jamie is on stilts.

I also got to see Jamie perform big time. While I had actually never seen Jamie sing a solo (despite 5 years of loyalty), I got to see/hear him perform three times in one day. First at a short senior recital where he sang two songs, then at a friend's recital in which he sang in a quartet, and finally at his Knights concert.


Jamie says: doo doo dooo doo dooooooooo.


Jamie and the Knights. Just so you know, they are singing a sad song...they are not usually so depressed-looking.

He was so good I cried. Seriously. A capella made me cry -- and not because it was bad!

We also got to fool around in the city a little bit (this was before he graduated and we had to roll up our sleeves to pack his room -- notice that I'm happy.)


Upon my arrival to Minnsota, Jamie and I shared a frozen yogurt. I preferred to eat the napkin.


Fro-yo joy.


Apparently, Jamie is unable to hold the camera steady while he presses the shutter button.


Me messing with shutter speed in Minneapolis. I would also like to note that immediately after I took this picture, one of the horses took a GIGANTIC leak on the sidewalk. It was incredible.

And of course, we got to spend a lot of time with his Carleton friends. While it may seem weird that I'm posting pictures of people I hardly know, I figure that about 50% (or two) of my blog readers are actually from Carleton and would enjoy seeing pictures of their friends.


Carleton grads...tuckered out. Jamie has a beet for a head.

Apartment Hunting in DC.
As previously mentioned, we did our fair share of apartment hunting. I actually just spoke to the top candidate on the phone and it turns out that there will be one apartment available for our time frame. AND, we get a teacher/student discount! Jamie and I have the bases covered. Now it's up to us taking the plunge and actually sending in our application. Eep.

But, D.C. wasn't entirely about apartment hunting and law school touring. We got to spend some quality time with Jamie's friends. Jason was gracious enough to lend us his basement and we got to touch base with some people that I hadn't seen in a long, long while. Even managed to make it to a D.C. happy hour.

We also watched the final Finals game in a bar on Capitol Hill, which is quite the experience on the East Coast. Jamie and I were two of five Laker's fans in the entire bar...trust me...we counted. Jason likened this year's finals to the presidential race: everyone was rooting for the Pistons just because they just didn't want the Lakers to win. That would make my Lakers, Dubya. I would also have to agree.

I'm really looking forward to living in D.C./Baltimore for the next two years. The apartment hunting has made me feel all grown up and Jamie and I stumbled upon an IKEA in our potential neighborhood. Seriously...I love IKEA with a passion. With. A. Passion. I think the reason I love it so much is because they make everything so simple. Plus, I am a big fan of assembling my own furniture. It makes me feel all smart and handy -- even though they make it so easy that a four-year old could do it. I still feel cool.

Knitting in Public.
I noticed that if I'm knitting at the airport people will always start a conversation with me. It's as if holding yarn and knitting needles makes me a kind and friendly person who loves to talk to strangers. While I like meeting new people, I try to stay away from striking up conversation with random people when we're in an enclosed space -- like an airplane. You have no escape if the person turns out to be a jerk or if they are annoying on a plane. So, I pretend that knitting takes up so much of my concentration that I can't possibly hold a conversation at the same time. Really, I'm not a mean person...per se.

Comments.
People should comment. I just glanced over at my counter and noticed that it was in the 2000s! I had no idea that people other than myself and Drew actually came here. Before, I chalked the hits up to my own edits and visits to the page...but I haven't been able to check the site regularly for weeks and Drewie is on his honeymoon. Who are you?? If I knew I had friends who were reading this, I would make it a point to post more often and actually try to keep it entertaining (rather than the drivel I serve now). Don't be shy!