Improvement

The best thing about life is that it ebbs and flows. That means no matter how bad things seem right now, at this very moment, eventually it will all be behind you. The plans for homecoming are coming together... finally. I'm determined to have fun because at the very least, I'll be reuniting with my girls who I LOVE!!, dressed fabulously and seeing a few familiar faces. PLUS I have my business cards finally which means I'M AN ADULT!! So I'll be handing those out just to prove it. I'm thinking of making it rain with them. It'll be great.

For Daddy-Daughter night last night, Dad & I went to Olive Garden. Great idea since I'd been wanting an Italian margarita ALL DAY! So fab. It comes with a sidecar of amaretto liqueur. You pour it in and it completely transforms the flavor. Delicious. Excuse me, delicioso! Maybe that's Spanish. I also had zuppa tuscana (soup with sausage and cabbage) and prosciutto-stuffed chicken with orecchiette (ear-shaped) pasta. The pasta was a bit dry but the chicken was good as was the soup.

I also talked to our class dictator, I mean president, from Hampton on instant messenger yesterday. He was president all four years and had everyone brainwashed to spell his first and last name every time he got up to speak. Oh the hilarity. Graduation weekend, he got us spelling at the banquet. Everyone there was already up to speed and spelled at commencement. His speech was better, and more memorable, than the president's, who was our graduation speaker that year. Let it be known that there really isn't much anyone can say to hold my attention at a graduation ceremony. They bore me. No one is here to listen to your speech, no matter how riveting, unless you're Oprah. We are here to get those pieces of paper which somehow give us credibility.

That was the biggest let down for me. I got my degree on May 9th, 2004 (at football games, me and my friend JoEllen used to yell out a la Lil John, "MAY 9TH!! IT'S ON THE MAP!!" It was so funny.) and it was like, "Now what? I spent the last 4 years of my life working for this. A piece of paper." I didn't have a job and was about to be ripped from the family I'd created at my home by the sea. I didn't cry, though. I'd gotten all of that out of my system the night before when we ran across Ogden Circle.

(For non-Hamptonians, there is a large grass-covered circle in front of Ogden Hall surrounded by a thin cement border. When you arrive, you are told if you cross that circle (which is actually an Indian burial ground), you won't graduate on time. My mother, also a Hamptonian, told me about it and the people she knew who crossed it and did not graduate on time. When I got there, I helped perpetuate it and took note of all the people I knew who crossed it. None of them graduated from Hampton on time, if they graduated at all. Explain it how you wish.)

Traditionally, the night before graduation, or the Friday before, I can't remember, regardless, all the graduating seniors meet at Ogden Circle and at midnight run across screaming and yelling. We congregate and take pictures... and drink. My mom said the drinking was not a part of it and the older alumni were not too happy about that. Ah well. Then all who want to participate gather on the steps of Ogden, where it all began with our freshman induction, join hands, and sing the Alma Mater. My mother was a music major and is active in the Charlotte Chapter of the Hampton Alumni Association, so I've been singing this song in all its parts for the majority of my life. I LOVE THIS SONG!! Me and my mom sing it in harmony in the car whenever we're headed back. It's fab. That night, the 7th or the 8th, after we sang the alma mater, as me, my sister and the drankin patnah headed back to the d.p.'s room to refill our cups, I started bawling. It was so pitiful. Lol.

So the day of graduation, I was more disappointed, lost, and maybe even disenfranchised than sad. I knew it was the beginning of something else, but I didn't know where I was supposed to start. This reminds me of a strange memory of Homecoming 2001. Me, the d.p. and her crazy roommate were walking around after the game. At Hampton, you're indoctrinated with a love for your class. All of the classes have names which the senior class passes down to the freshmen. Quintessence (aka QT, the purest, most concentrated essence under the sun), and lesser classes, Onyx and Ogre. The seniors when we arrived were QTIV, we were QTV. Q-U-I-N-T-E-S-S-E-N-C-E, QUINTESSENCE FIVE! Q-T-V!! Even people who don't think they will get all into the class stuff. It's like gang wars. We have colors and everything.

So anyway, we're walking around and these guys see one of us has on a quintessence shirt. They start chatting us up and we find out they're in QTI. HOTNESS!! They have a bucket of chicken so we ask for some. They oblige and then we're off. SO BIZARRE!! And hilarious.

Yesterday I started planning my outfits. I had to get excited before I could get my outfits together. I will be breaking out one of my fabulous hats, either for the game or for the bazaar. I haven't decided yet. Hopefully it won't be raining because I'm wearing the black one with the feather. It's wool and you know how wool smells when it's wet... disgusting. Blasted sheep. But sheep I love you though. While I was planning the outfits, I realized I still needed to try on all of my jeans. I have this thing about jeans. I don't ever give any away. My friends gave me tons of jeans in college so I have about 20 pairs in various sizes. The smallest ones made me take a deep breath before sliding them on, only to find out THEY ALL FIT!! YEAH GYM!!! Man I'm so glad I've been working out. Hotness! I have lots of stuff to wear on the bottom. Now whatever shall I wear on top? Decisions, decisions. I love trips.