So much has happened in the last 24 hours. Literally 24 hours. My only regret is that there are no pictures... yet. I think my mom is working on that as we speak though. Hopefully before I'm done here.
Allow me to fill you in:
Last night, my brother graduated from high school. We are all so proud of him and we hardly knew to expect it, but half of the relatives turned out for the occasion. All of my dad's living siblings, two of my cousins, and my first cousin once removed (... or maybe she's my second cousin? I never remember which is right, even though I've googled it several times. Anyway, the daughter of my cousin. I think that's once removed... right? Oh well, either way... I digress...)
But the ceremony was something else. Mom and Dad have higher opinions of it than I do, and I think that's wonderful. I'll try to be as gracious as possible here, but when the salutatorian begins his speech with the word "So...," you know you're in for an interesting evening. This was followed by the valedictorian, who spoke well for the most part, right up til she ended her speech with a quote from someone else (which really isn't terrible, but it's still a no-no in my book), and of course, the keynote speaker who broke out into song no less than four times throughout his address. When I told Dr. B about this, he asked me what songs this man sang and I had to confess that I didn't know a single one of them, which Dr. B found hilariously ironic, since it was a Christian ceremony at a Christian high school addressing a Christian audience who surely should be able to relate to all of this accordingly. It made it just a tad awkward for everyone concerned and I must say, pretty hilarious too. By the fourth time he started singing, my sister and I were nearly in gales of silent laughter, trying to contain ourselves there in the fourth row of bleachers.
Conclusion: nobody knows how to write a speech anymore.
And then we were asked to please hold our applause during the presentation of diplomas until all the graduates had walked across stage. Right. Like that was gonna happen...
Anyway, Nick graduated. And all the family in attendance went to Mom's for ice cream afterwards and we had a lovely time eating ice cream sundaes together at 10 pm.
Then this morning, I saw an old friend ( ...an old flame, shall I say? But that is all water under the bridge these days. He has been only a good friend for some time now and will always be that way... we are just absolutely birds of two different feathers. Not to mention that I just enjoy him more as a person when I'm not attached to him. Again I digress...). Anyway, he passed through town early this morning on his way back to New York... just a week or so ago he graduated from the Manhattan School of Music, which is a major and well-earned accomplishment.
And I am so glad I didn't go to grad school. After talking to him... what a nightmare! I won't go into details, but his story will be one of the horror stories among many Americans' (many artists and musicians, especially) that goes down in the book of student loan nightmares... because the university system is perpetuating itself and quickly turning into a business by upping the price of tuition and diluting the overall worth of a degree. Degree inflation, do they call it? But I won't get on that soapbox here. What makes me so sad for my friend is that when I asked him if he felt like it was worth it, he said no. Apparently all throughout his course of study, his teacher played favorites. He said he wasn't ever really one of them and he didn't feel like he learned much more than he already knew. So, so sad. It makes me super happy that I'm able to study with Professor Burkhart privately and that it's going well. The good news is that with a masters from that school, Jimmy can basically go anywhere in the country and charge whatever he wants for either teaching or accompanying. But he won't. Because that's just the way he is... he's going to try to make it as a performing artist in the city that never sleeps. More power to him... and yet again I say: I am so glad I didn't go down that path, which is not to say grad school isn't in the cards for me. But it will be on my terms. Regardless, it was good seeing him and good catching up, even though we only had about 45 minutes. He was going to try to drive from Columbia to New York in a day i.e. for now, he belongs in the city that never sleeps. I wish him lots and lots of luck. But more than that, lots and lots of wisdom as he heads down a very difficult path.
Then after church this afternoon, I treated myself to a trip to the Botanical Gardens to see the corpse flower that is blooming there over the next 2-3 days. Apparently it can go for long periods without blooming and when it finally does, it smells like rotting meat, which helps attract pollinators. In truth, it looks like something extremely phallic, surrounded by something inherently feminine, if you get my drift... which I know you do. This is where I regret not having pictures so you could see it for yourself. The Wikipedia link above will have to suffice for now. Anyway, the point of all this is that this fascinating specimen brought me to the Garden, and when I got there, I found that they were setting up for the start of the Chinese Lantern Festival next weekend... i.e. it was amazing. In addition to beautiful Chinese lanterns set up throughout and red and yellow streamers hanging from trees, they had two HUGE dragons assembled (facing each other) just beyond the rose garden, whose supports were at intervals among the two rectangular ponds on either side of the large circular pond. And the clincher was that both of these dragons are made entirely of china plates. It is absolutely mind blowing. There are cups and saucers too, but the majority is plates, which are the dragon scales all throughout. The entire structure is formed and held together by metal grating, which adjoins each piece of china to the other. I wish I could adequately explain, but words are failing me... I will post pictures later, when I'm able to steal Mom's camera and go back again.
Anyway, after the Garden, I decided that since this was my first real day off with nowhere to be and no responsibilities to anyone and no ability to practice (since the music building at school is closed on the weekends over the summer) that I was going to go look at hats... and take as long as I pleased. The only good place I know to buy or even look at a decent hat selection is at Dillards in the Galleria. I remember acquiring one for Easter many, many years ago when I was maybe ten or eleven... a hat flop if ever there was one. Nevertheless, I tripped off to the Galleria... just to look of course, and was pleasantly surprised to find the entire stock on sale for 40% off. Sometimes I have inherently amazing timing. I won't tell you how long I spent looking, but you can absolutely believe that I tried on nearly everything they had in stock and was finally in the process of narrowing the search down between two or three, when I glanced over to ask a lady nearby her opinion. And it was just my luck that this wonderful woman (who happened to be a minor expert in hats) had compassion on me, promptly shut down her phone conversation, came over, and started teaching me her hat magic. And boy did she have wisdom to impart. And let me just say: after today's lesson, it is clear to me that white girls like yours truly just don't know how it's done. I was so thankful for her. Apparently the secret is in the tilt. As she says, "You can't just flop on a hat and walk out the door... You gotta tilt it the right way, like that, so it looks nice. And then you gotta just wear it with confidence. Don't be afraid to be you." I nod in understanding as she says all this and give her a verbal affirmative. I look in the mirror. It looks much better than before. She tilts it again, a little bit more. I look in the mirror again to find myself, but not just myself... a lady with intelligent eyes and fair skin staring back at me. Whoa. I just grew up another ten years...
But this hat-wearing business is something I'm for sure a believer in... and not just for myself, but for the public at large too. For months now, whenever I've walked by a woman who's brave enough to wear a hat out in public, I tell her how much I like it and how becoming it is on her. I guess you could say I have an agenda (thanks to Dr. B) to bring back hats and flowers. They're too pretty to be a thing of the past.
And I have to say, that wonderful lady... well, she's the one that sold me on it personally today. Otherwise, I probably would have spent two hours looking, frowned in dismay, and walked away to think about it some more. Bless that lovely hat woman, whoever she may be.
And there will for sure be a hat-wearing learning curve to follow, I have no doubt. But that will be in undoubtedly hilarious posts yet to come. Possibly pictures too...
... what was it e.e. cummings said? "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are..."
Yeah. That. What he said... :)
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