Graduatrix

I know this post is way overdue. I've been waiting for inspiration to strike for the big graduation post, and it just hasn't come in the narrative way I was hoping. But I will tell the story as well as I can.

Well, folks, I'm a college graduate! My parents flew in for the weekend of festivities, and my brother and his wife brought the kids down too. Jenny came because she thought she owed me (thanks Jenny!) and of course Joe. Frankly, I didn't invite many people, because who wants to sit through a graduation ceremony? Oh, and did I mention my school has *two* ceremonies? One for each school (although mine-Columbian College of Arts and Sciences-was divided into two) so each student can walk, and then one for all George Washington University graduates on the mall in front of the capitol. I wanted to walk, but I didn't want to miss graduating on the mall either, so I went to both. My parents and Joe went to both too, bless their hearts.

My robe came in a package that said "Do not wear this garment in the rain, do not wash, do not attempt to dry clean." Ew. I wonder what it's made of. It sure was ugly and hot.

The first day was indoors, and it went like this "good luck graduates, blah blah blah" and then we lined up to walk with our departments. First, they give you a card to write your name on so you can sit where ever you want, which is nice. Then, as you get to the front of the line, and the shove you in front of this camera for your portrait, then they shove you out again where you hand your card to someone and she hands it to the guy with the mic and he says your name and you go across the stage to shake hands with the chair of your department (mine gave me a quizzical look because we'd never met) and you get a big bronze medal. And that's that. Frankly, it was all a little anti-climactic, but it was still a special day.



Sunday the ceremony was at 10, but we had to be there super early to line up. I got to sit with my friend Ed who walked in the earlier ceremony on Saturday. We tried to get a pic of the capitol behind us, but the sun was really bright and it just disappeared. I'll try to photoshop it darker to see if it shows up. So then we all walked in and I literally couldn't see *anything* of the ceremony. Not even the monitors. It was long and we didn't have a keynote speaker (long story short, Trachtenberg-the outgoing president-was going to speak, people complained, he stepped down and there was no one to replace him) but Wolf Blitzer and Linda Cropp and some others that I don't know received some honorary degrees and spoke typical grad speeches and it all took a really long time. The guy in front of me was reading the newspaper. When the hat throwing time came, I'd estimate about 60 people out of 4000 threw their hats (guilty, I kept mine). This town just has no whimsy. Again, a little anti-climactic, but the pics look good, right? And we had a really fun party after!

Wheel of Fortune!

So, today I had my very last final exam, which means that aside from pomp, circumstance and the turning in of official grades, I am a college graduate! I threw my hands in the air and waved them like I just didn't care (although I totally did) and hopped in the car to run some errands. I'm free to do what I want any old time, and I want to run errands. Typical.

First Target. Target sells wine now, did you know this? Truly one stop shopping. Swiffers, cat food, a tennis racket and wine. That's what it's all about. Then off to Goodwill to donate some old clothes and various and sundry items. Good karma, right? Then I got some hair color (gotta do whatcha gotta do) and headed home.

I made it all the way, moments before the rush hour rush, and wouldn't ya know it, pprrpp thruuprrrptthppppppp...Bella died. Wah wah wah. Bella is the 1993 Buick, gold, in case you were worried. Right at the corner of where everyone comes out of the Rock Creek Parkway before I turned onto Massachusetts and not in the intersection, thank God. Joe called a tow truck for me, I stood outside waving people around, several nice people made sympathetic faces out their windows, and a couple of people even asked if I was okay. Humanity gets a little credit from me today. Some cops stopped, the tow truck came, and they all zoomed off without so much as a "so how are you getting home?" So I stood out at the bus stop with all my purchases. Did I mention the wine comes in a box? It's okay, Real Simple magazine said it was good.

Then, down the street, a gardener man was blowing stuff right up the street at me. There was no shelter or shade at this particular bus stop, so now I'm getting beaten by sun and grass shavings blown all over me. He stopped, as the bus was down the street and politely asked me to move, that I would see the bus and could come back then. I pointed out that the (super crowded) bus was currently arriving and he went back to work as I boarded with my shopping bags and box of wine (which I insisted at the store I didn't need a bag for--it has handy carrying handles). A man actually gave me his seat, another point for humanity, and all I could think as I was sitting there is "I must smell terrible from sun and stress, and all these people know I drink wine out of a box!" The horror. Now I'm home, having a mug (time to do the dishes) of warm white box wine (Real Simple was right, it's pretty good!) and wondering how much the Bella is going to cost us. Hopefully this is just a blip on the wheel of fortune, and not the official downward turn. Maybe when they call us and tell us to pull the plug on the ol' gal, my next phone call will be for a job. Or maybe that's all hokum.

Excellent bakery alert!

Washingtonians, there is a fantastic new bakery in Alexandria called ShoeBox Oven. I met Krishna Brown, the woman who owns it and does all the baking at a party last week, where she was giving out samples of Papa Rums and Champagne Chocolate, both absolutely to die for. Now, her website is up and running, and her creations are creative, unusual and gorgeous. If Alexandria is out of the way to curb your sweet tooth, not to worry, she delivers.

RIP Issy

Isabella Blow died today, she was a maverick in fashion. She never had any money of her own, she was not a designer, but she had the rare talent of seeing talent in others and she championed those she truly believed in, like the amazing haberdasher Phillip Treacy and the now uber famous Alexander McQueen (of whom she bought the entire graduation collection over a decade ago). She was a rare visionary, and she lived her vision. We should all be so lucky to have the courage to follow our ideas and to live with gusto.

Same me!

I was on the bus today with about one jillion third-graders. I don't know where they were going, but in third grader fashion, they were discussing their favorite subjects in school with a nice man. It got me thinking about what my favorite subjects were as a third-grader. They were reading and language, by far. So isn't it funny that I'm getting my degree in a couple of weeks in the grown-up version of those subjects, English and Linguistics. It reminded me of something my friend Lynn Lloyd once told me when I was 16 or so: "When you're young, you always wonder what you'll be like when you're older, but the truth is, when you're older and looking back, you realize you're exactly the same." Sometimes that constancy is comforting.