Danielle Blog

Visit to MA for SeaQueen’s graduation

As I was prepping to fly out to MA to see SeaQueen, I was trying to remember the last time I saw her in person. I think it was about 2 years ago when I was at a conference in San Diego. She drove up from LA, and among other things, we visited Sea World. I concluded that it has been faaaaaaaaaaaar too long since we’d gotten together. But note that we talk on the phone almost every Saturday.

Anyway, I’m going to talk about my visit in chronological order, because that is how I tell stories about trips (you probably know this by now about me).

My flight was uneventful, which is always a good thing. 2 terrific things happened: 1) we got in 20 min early due to a tailwind and 2) the minute I walked up to baggage claim, there was my bag! I couldn’t believe the baggage claim part. It was definitely a good omen for my trip. This allowed me to take a bus out to the Cape that arrived ONE HOUR ! early!

I had missed a reception at SeaQueen’s school, but we went to a local bar and hung out with some friends who we really only got to talk to extensively that night. So, it was good.  One of the guys is a particularly funny storyteller, so it was a really fun time.

The next day was the hooding for all Ph.D.s at the University. We battled Boston rush hour morning traffic, but we made it in time and got pretty good seats. The ceremony was really nice. The procession was fun. There were tons of faculty present, which surprised me. The president spoke a little bit – just enough and not too much – which helped make the ceremony seem official. And then they started hooding the graduates. It was so much fun to see each graduate just smile and smile when getting hooded. And all of the family and friends were so proud and excited too. We coordinated a small group cheer with the people sitting nearby when each other’s graduates got hooded.

Afterward, we found a nice spot by some landscaping and flowers and got some good photos of SeaQueen by herself and with us (her parents and me). They are all on Flickr. But they are set to private, so if you don’t have access, let me know.

That afternoon, we drove around her town on the Cape and her campus and got some shots to remember things by.

That night, we went out to a nice supper back near her home on Cape Cod.

And then, since the ceremony the next day – which was the official graduation with diplomas and all – started early, SeaQueen and I drove back to Boston to stay overnight with a friend who was also a graduate. He is a great guy and was a great host. He also had talking parrot named Jose, who was really fun.  I’m really glad he was willing to host us.  It was a fun night.

For the big ceremony day, we had a nice relaxing breakfast instead of battling rush hour again – which was ideal.

Then we split off and the graduates went to their staging area and I went to get seats. Her parents were driving up that morning, but they made it in plenty of time. We really lucked out on the weather. The graduation was outside and it was overcast. So, we weren’t baking in the sun. Neither were we getting rained on, which happened either last year, or the year before. Yes, they will hold the ceremony in the rain – which is a bit odd. But there is no place for them to hold it otherwise (evidently).

It was a great ceremony too. The music was great. We sang the national anthem and I got compliments by 2 people nearby on my singing which perked me up too (and gave me some extra confidence for the Variety Show at church – to be discussed later). The procession of graduates was a lot of fun. The aerospace engineers had attached models of the space shuttle and rockets to their caps, which was pretty funny. There was only a speech by the president of the University and then by the governor. The president’s speech focused on service to the community. The governor’s speech – well, he had a variety of points – I kind of drifted in the middle – and honestly, nothing has stuck with me now that some time has passed.   Both of them mentioned the challenging economic environment, but put a positive spin on it – i.e. – you can be the ones to help turn it around! rah-rah.

They handed out 2400 diplomas, which, surprisingly, took a little over an hour. It was pretty impressive. We spent some time examining the program and doing a rough estimation of women who graduated – I’m sure there are official stats on the University website – but we came up with 32%.    I got the idea, because at my school, when the women’s college graduates, there are some profs who count the percentage of women listed in the program with Mary, Maria, or Marie as a middle name.  I think it is something like 50% of the girls.

Afterward, there was a reception for SeaQueen’s department. They had great food and I took several photos (again – big surprise) that are also on Flickr. The food was great and the conversation was also good.

That night, SeaQueen and I were on our own, so we had Thai take-out and watched Mamma Mia! Both of us had never seen it, but we both own ABBA’s greatest hits album, so we knew all of the songs and had a lot of fun singing along.  If you get the DVD note that one of the bonus features is a sing-along.  They basically show the scene where the song is performed and show the words at the bottom.

The next day was pretty relaxed. Breakfast out, lunch at the house with some friends, a nap (for me), and then the Shiny Party. The Shiny Party is so named, because people wear Shiny or Sparkly clothes – the photos on Flickr will give you an idea. It is a crab/lobster bake and dance party. It is an annual tradition for her program at the Cape/the town and was a LOT of fun. I haven’t danced in several years, and I’ve missed it. The music varied, some was better than others, and some of the dancing was a little bit risque for such a public setting, but all in all, it was a really good time.  Since I’d had a nap, I could’ve danced longer.  But with flying out the next day, it wasn’t a bad thing for us to call it quits at a reasonable hour  (11:30?  midnight?).

The next day, I flew out in the afternoon. Beforehand, we had time for breakfast, a bit of shopping, AND I went to her neighborhood beach while she packed for her trip. Going to the beach was awesome. It was definitely a highlight for me. I just hung out in shorts and a top, because the weather wasn’t really bathing suit weather. But the ocean sounded and smelled so good. I almost fell asleep it was so relaxing.  Someday, I’d like to live on the water.  Probably not the ocean, since I’m weirded out by climate change and changing coastal boundaries and then the hurricanes – but a lake (or maybe a river) would be nice.  I’m definitely a “water”  – you know the whole earth, air, water, fire personality thing?  Well, I’m a water.  Note:  you are supposed to be able to tell by your dreams – and I frequently dream about water.  I also love floating in water.

On the bus trip back up to the airport, we had a lot of fun talking. The friend who’d hosted us up in Boston was with us, because he was headed back to Boston too. It was a lot of fun hearing about his post-graduation prospects for postdocs.

And then, with not much time to spare, because the bus was 45 min late in arriving at the airport due to traffic, I boarded the plane and headed home.

All in all, it was an awesome trip.

It also emphasized to me that I want to try to get together with SeaQueen on a yearly basis.

Now, go check out the photos on Flickr if you haven’t already.