Today I'm officially dipping my big toe back into FI. It's been a LONG time, so I'm trying not to set any major goals for myself just yet. If I have a goal, it's to reacquaint myself with the MS and get back into a routine of writing every day -- no matter how many words that may be. If I can manage that for now, I'll be happy. Baby steps. (g)
I've been working--literally--since graduation. LOL. It started with a Mother's Day that KICKED MY BUTT..and it hasn't stopped since. To say I haven't recouped from graduation is a MAJOR understatement. I'm exhausted.
To fill you in on graduation...
It started off a bit crazy. (g) I had to be at the graduation site about 40 minutes before the ceremony... and well, most of my family didn't show up until about an hour before. Too busy chitchatting, I didn't notice how time had seriously gotten away from us...and well, yeah, it was a HUGE rush to get me to the church on time. ROFL. The best part was when my grandfather (he's 86) said he had to use the restroom before we left. Uh oh. LMAO. Not a good thing--trust me. I promptly turned to my family and declared we MUST leave him behind and that a car with me in it had to hit the road PRONTO. They all understood.
Oh, and it was raining!!! I bought a new outfit for the occasion, and well, let's just say my blouse was _extremely_ thin, white material...getting doused by the downpour would not have been a good thing. Again--trust me. (g) Anywho, it was a scramble to find me an umbrella AND to get me as close to the building as possible so that I'd be decent for the ceremony.
In the end, I'm not sure what the big hurry was all about. We all stood around in our robes for _the entire_ 40 minutes...new shoes, people...new shoes. I was in PAIN by time we got going. But it was great talking to all of the graduates...nice moments to reminisce, etc. It was all very surreal.
Anyway, the ceremony was pretty cool. Instead of the usual graduation march, they had a five piece ensemble that played. Not sure what song it was, but it was a nice touch. (My family was right on the aisle I entered from, so it was cool to see they had all made it on time--grandpa included.) The speakers--especially our class speaker--were fantastic. Very funny and not nearly as dry as we all expected. And they were brief--a very welcome surprise. (g)
As I mentioned before, we were hooded--that basically entailed each of us getting our moment in the spotlight. When it was my turn, I stood in the middle of the stage while they hooded me, and then my dean announced my name as I strolled across the stage to get my diploma. The professor checking to see if our hoods were properly positioned for easy access said I looked like I couldn't wait to get across that stage! LOL. She was right. (g) It was great fun cheering on my friends as they each took their turn, but standing center stage in front of a huge theatre of people was a bit disarming. Plus, I was just super excited to be hooded so that it would all be "official."
Honestly, it didn't feel real until we changed our tassels from the right to the left side of our mortar boards. Weird how that little tradition has such an impact, but there it is. (g)
After the ceremony, my family and I promptly lost one of our members and spent a good long time scouring the halls for her. LOL. They had originally planned our reception for the gardens outside the theatre, but alas, the rain made that impossible. All of those people crowded into the Lied was TOO much... we found her and got the heck out of there. We had some celebrating to do.
My party began about an hour later. Nothing fancy -- we BBQ'd and ate our weight in potato salad and baked beans, etc. Oh, and we drank. Lots of vino. Some friends came into town for the party and it was so much fun seeing my friends and family mix.(g) It was a riot, to be honest, to see my grandfather sitting and chatting with my whacked out, goofball friends. LOL. He must think we're all insane.
We did the gifts thing (boy did I make out!!), and then we decided to go do karaoke. That basically entailed me guzzling down a couple of drinks in quick succession so I could muster the courage to get up and sing (ah, stage fright...my old friend, you.). LOL. And of course, no one else would.
When I got home, I CRASHED. It was a LONG day, and an even longer couple of weeks leading up to graduation.
As I said, I haven't really recovered yet...and well, my first day off is next Monday. (g) Wish me luck that I make it until then. Okay, I'm going to do a quick book review and then I'm off to write! YAY.
No comments:
Post a Comment