Rochelle's Blog ::: Subtitles Included

Let’s travel back in time to 1994, and review a little movie called “With Honors.”

You remember the one…snotty Harvard kids, brilliant hobo, cliches up the wazoo, and lessons learned by all. Yeah, that’s the one.

It opens with  a ringlet laden kinda gay Patrick Dempsey (Oh McDreamy), Harvard student radio station host, spouting off about how it’s crunch time for seniors, there are only so many days left to finish that senior thesis.

Can I just interrupt right here. When this movie came out, I was in high school and starting to think about college. This whole “thesis” concept scared the crap out of me. I had this off-base notion that a thesis was a total requirement and that it would be the hardest thing in the world to do because of this stupid movie. Maybe things are way different at Harvard than at CU-Boulder, but this was not the case at my college. Senior thesis projects happened, but it was way under the radar. In fact, true story, my roommate wrote her senior thesis and I didn’t even know about it until she graduated and won an award for it. I am either a very bad friend, or it just really wasn’t that big of a deal.

I’m already digressing too much…

As Dempsey prattles on we get our first glimpse of Monty…aka Brendan Fraser. Wearing one of his many Harvard sweatshirts, he’s out for his morning run, where of course he’ll run by the (co-ed?) Harvard crew team, lead by his obvious from the get-go love interest Courtney (Moira Kelley, fresh off her Cutting Edge stint….TOE PICK!).

Only the enlightened Harvard senior thesis writers have time to jog in the cold Cambridge mornings, unless of course they are DJ’ing with a Rooster. They can do it all!

And Monty is such a stud. He not only rocks a Harvard sweatshirt like no other, he can memorize the opening chapter of his Thesis, and out run the Harvard crew team.

He’s great at everything…except backing up his work!

Oh Noes!!

What an idiot.  Good thing he’s a good runner, and he’s got a Harvard colored scarf to wear as he runs in the middle of the chilly night to make photo copies of his first 10 chapters. Wait, you’ve got 10 chapters?!?! Asks annoying overly-competitive roommate. Yes, the one that is studying to by a gyno. The up-tight gyno guy. Because that’s the only way he’s going to get close to va-jay-jay.

But Oh Noes! Again. Monty stumbles and his beloved thesis finds it’s way into brilliant hobo’s lair. I can say without a doubt there is no way anyone gets to live in a boiler room of a library unnoticed. Let alone, a Harvard library.

Okay, okay…we’ve got a lot more to watch. We know how it goes. Simon (brilliant hobo) steals the thesis, and snobby Monty calls the cops. And then Simon dazzles the courtroom with his smarts and his wit. Monty bails him out and the lesson learning begins.

First, here’s how to make a little extra cash. Right out jail, steal newspapers and sell them cheaper. Only people in the 90s would come crawling for a paper newspaper. INFORMATION….I NEEDS ME SOME INFORMATION. No wonder we’re addicted to the Internet.

Newspapers and pay phones!?! How 90s.

Okay…so Monty is learning lessons, along with his roommates. They are so curious about Simon. Patrick Dempsey is a fan OF COURSE. Jeff (Mr. Va-Jay-Jay) is of course not pleased. And Courtney is simply hoping Simon’s attracted to her like the rest of her roomies.

Jeff studies for his future career.

Monty, in yet another Harvard shirt (in case we forgot where this movie was set), is not pleased with “the bum,” because he’s been working on his thesis since JUNIOR YEAR! Not Junior year. OMGah.

But then his heart melts when he wakes up in the cold night and decides to give Simon his Harvard blanket. Not invite him into the house, no. Give him a blanket for his new van pad.

Okay…so now Simon is following Monty around. Lots to do. Study, read, stink up the library…

So while they do all that academic stuff, let’s take a moment to talk about Brendan Fraser.

Ah, Brendan. I used to be in love with you. Back when you were like this….

And not like this…

Back at Chez Cliche, we learn that Jeff has only written one page of his thesis. Really? One page? That’s so unrealistic. How about 11. Sounds way more likely and frightening. One page just sounds stupid.

And the lessons keep on coming. The next day, Monty, who wants to work in government goes to government to help out Simon. But Simon doesn’t want help that he actually deserves. He’d rather hold a thesis ransom. So many lessons!

And then Simon teaches Monty a little bit about geology.

Each rock represents a moment. And let me just say in my limited geology knowledge, that rocks as shiny and pretty like these typically aren’t readily available at important moments. But perhaps I’m not looking hard enough.

And since we’re talking about important life moments, it’s time for Monty to spill his guts about his disappointing father. Daddy issues aside, he’s turned out okay. More life lessons!

Monty decides to take Simon to class. Because that is going to go off well. Naturally, Simon gets called on. And some brilliant dialogue commences:

Like, from the Prof, “There are no bums, there are only the financially challenged.”

And at one point Simon says, “Colleges produce a lot of garbage.” So very true.

Prof: “At Harvard, we don’t end our sentences with prepositions.” OUCH!

Time for Simon to school you. And he does just that. Going off about the Constitution. It’s like a prequel for “Good Will Hunting.”

How do you like them apples?

And so now we’re back home in the van pad. Monty is smitten with Simon. Who wouldn’t be? “Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy.” He wants to bring Simon inside, but Jeff’s a dick head. Jeff needs to learn some lessons. Something tells me that he will.

Disappointed, or something, Simon takes off. I’m not sure. He’s teaching some sort of lesson I’m sure. Leaving Monty hearbroken, just like his father left him.

Time has passed, and we learn that not only did Monty get his cast off. Thank God. But that he’s using an awesome dot matrix printer. I’m personally jealous.

The sound of it brings tears to my eyes.

It’s now Christmas time and we hear the light melody of Madonna’s “I’ll Remember.” Such good 90s. We also learn that Monty isn’t going home for Christmas, because it’s too expensive AND his thesis won’t let him go. She’s a controlling bitch. Thankfully, the rooster is there to keep him company.

Lonely Monty nostalgically visits Simon’s old haunts. But there’s no Simon. When he’s given up hope, there’s a knock on the door. Simon has sent a messenger because for some reason, he doesn’t want to see Monty.

The messenger has brought along the thesis and has a message originally penned by Walt Whitman, “You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, not look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books. You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, you shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.” What is the lesson in all this madness?? Why Simon?

Monty finds Simon in an alley and he’s really sick. Poor Simon. He refuses to go to the hospital and Monty gives in way easily. Instead, he takes care of him at home. We learn he’s got bad lungs from asbestos. God damn the Man! Stupid ship yards.

While the two soul mates have a heart-to-heart. I want to talk to about Joe Pesci for a minute. What is there to say? I think this was his one shot to break outside his typecasting. I guess he did just that. He fits the role well.

So Monty is now learning lots of lessons and finding that his thesis is total crap. He hates it! It’s 83 pages of drivel. He’s going to start fresh. Bad plan Harvard.

The two sit down to a romantic New Year’s Eve chicken dinner. Simon made it for him!

But boy-oh-boy-oh-boy was it hard to pluck those rooster’s feathers. Whatcha’ talkin about Willis? Not the ROOSTER!! OH NOES!!

RIP Rooster.

Jeff is back and he is not pleased to find Simon in the house taking a dump. Jeff still hasn’t learned his lesson. But he’s going to break sometime.

Okay, okay. So much has happened. They’ve recovered well after the Rooster death. First, there’s a montage. We see Monty cruising on his most excellent new thesis. And Patrick Dempsey has Simon on his radio show so they can drink wine and be phony. And we see Monty and Courtney growing closer.

Montage over…back to work. We get a nice Jeff and Simon moment, where they bicker. But Simon has french toast to offer and Jeff just can’t resist. And then Simon drops the bomb. The big old lesson. Simon says, “You know why you hate me so much? Because I look how you feel.” LESSON. LEARNED.

Days later, Simon, who is blatantly dying, even though we rarely see him cough, is writing his obituary. He’s studying others to get ideas. Classy. And he spouts off this little nugget about one man’s obituary “How can he die? He never lived.” Very wise Simon.

Then Monty finds out that much like his own papa, Simon ditched his wife and kid too. Harsh. Lessons are overwhelming for both Simon and Monty. Monty is pissed. Daddy issues are surfacing and he walks out on Simon.

But he can’t stay mad for long. In fact, that whole issue just gets dropped and Monty takes Simon as his date to some huge pajama party. I would have loved to go to a pajama party in college. Why didn’t we do that?

Courtney gets in another fight with her (bro) boyfriend and Monty capitalizes on the moment. He finds her outside by a fountain in her lingerie (slut) and just kisses her.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“I’m ending our friendship.” SMOOTH.

But the lovemaking can’t go on forever. Simon IS DYING. And he decides to tell the saddest story about a dying dog. The director and screenwriter both knew it would be the only way we would feel emotions.

More daddy issues. And then it’s road trip time. Monty is not done with his thesis, but he’s taking Simon on the road anyway, to see his abandoned son. Everyone is going along, even Jeff (who finished his thesis. He must have had a break through. Perhaps it was the french toast?).

Good thing Simon fixed Patrick Dempsey’s van pad, cause they are cruising! They arrive at Simon Jr’s house. Understandably, Simon Jr rejects him. It does not go over well.

Regardless, Simon picks up a nice little rock and puts it in his pouch. MOMENT PRESERVED.

Simon is now super dying. He wants to find a quite place in the grass to die like the dog in his sad dog story. Harvard & CO won’t let him. Instead of taking him to a hospital STILL, they take him home to die there. And they do it with urgency.

Now comes one of the most ridiculous parts of this movie. Instead of getting him medical care they read to him Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.” Even Jeff gets in on it! JEFF!

They read him into eternal slumber. Ultimate lesson learned.

The funeral commences and Monty reads his obituary. Jeff gets a shout out! As do the others.

Simon is gone.

Of course, Monty has missed the thesis deadline, and there is no way he can graduate with honors. But he graduates anyway, with….(get this)….HONOR.

And as he walks through that infamous Harvard gate, he picks up a rock to capture the moment.

The end.

Thank you 90s.

Well….it’s official.

I’m divorced!

Is it bad that I put an exclamation point after that? I never wanted to get divorced in my life and my Catholic upbringing is trying it’s best to make it seem bad to use exclamation points.

But honestly, I don’t care. I’m divorced!!!

Anyway, I got the paperwork yesterday. I was initially scared of that moment when I would open my mailbox and find it waiting for me. But that was so not the case. I can’t tell you how truly free I feel. In a way, I’m glad that it took this long to complete because the emotions just aren’t there. Instead, I feel like it’s a big item checked off the to-do list.

Coincidentally, I talked to Brian last night on the phone because I’m helping him with a little web project. He hadn’t gotten his papers yet, and so I broke it to him. He was a little bit sad about it, but nothing major. We’re both happy that we can walk away and be friends.

Now that this weight is off my shoulders, I feel strangely less guilty. I feel no regrets. There’s no wonder about if I made the right decision. I know it was the right decision. And I think that’s all I was hoping for.

OH! And to anyone who is wondering, I am not changing my name just yet. It’s a long complicated story, but for the time being you can still call me Rochelle Scott.

One of the units across from mine was vacant for well over a year. It wasn’t until last fall that I noticed someone finally moved into it. It was the subtle changes at first, a doormat, an open window.

And then Christmas rolled around and there were decorations.

And then Christmas passed, and it was a new year. And as my other neighbors around me, plopped their dying Christmas trees out for pick up, I barely even noticed the greenery on this unit’s balcony.

Until I looked closer and realized, it wasn’t a Christmas tree…

It’s actually some sort of bird and squirrel play zone.

At first, I laughed. Who does this? I thought. And why?

But the more I’ve seen the cute little wild life around, I’m kind of happy about it, even if it’s not the prettiest balcony decor.

The only birds that we usually get are pigeons, so I’m happy to see these cute little fatties.

What’s even more baffling is how it’s stayed up this long. I can’t believe the management company hasn’t gotten on it. And to think, I’ve been paranoid about keeping a small trash can on my porch!

I was reorganizing a bookshelf near my kitchen that I primarily use for cookbooks, when I found this little scrapbook…

I forgot that I made this at a workshop last year. So I’m glad I took some photos at Christmas. I can now have pictures printed and tape them down. I haven’t done that in a long time!

I’ve been called an “Apple Whore.”

I’ve been accused of having a chip implanted in my neck by Apple.

Biased. Yuppy. iDork. You name it. Most of these teasing accusations are from my Microsoft-centric counterparts, that us Apple folk tend to tease just as relentlessly. It’s just a fun part of working in a diverse IT environment.

I am what I am. And so it’s no big surprise that I am already pining after the new iPad. I can’t believe I’m going to have to wait until April.

I heard a recent piece on NPR about tablets in general. The idea is that in the “future” these slate like devices will simply lay about your house. As a technologist and a lazy person, this vision of the future obviously thrills me.

This will be my carry everywhere device. No more paper for notes, when I don’t want to lug my laptop to and around work. The laptop can stay home most days, unless I have to give a presentation or code remotely on campus.

So the weekend is coming to an end.

The weekend after a three day weekend is always so shockingly short. I swear, I just got off work and here I am preparing for tomorrow.

This one was a good one though. It started on Friday when I took Callie to the Vet and they put another bandage on her tail. They said she could wear it for two weeks this time and then she might not have to wear the cone when she goes bandage-free!

Well this blissful state ended a little abruptly for both her and I when I came home tonight to find her Jets-colored bandage on the floor completely in tact, as if she slipped it off disgusted with their loss. She herself was just chilling on her favorite blanket. She started to lick at it pretty good, so I was forced to put the cone on her…

She gets bummed out wearing the cone, and that bums me out pretty bad. But this could be for the best. I’m thinking that it’s somehow meant to be, because this is really what the Vets wanted to do in the first place. I’m wondering if they put her bandage on in such a manner so that it would slip off easily and we’d be forced to do the truly right thing! The tail needs air, and we’ll just have to deal with our sweet little girl living in her Elizabethian cone.

After the Vet, I went to Best Buy in an effort to get NetFlix streaming on my TV. I had lots of options. Could run a DVI->HDMI cable from my laptop. Could get a PS3. Could get a capable Blu-Ray player. Best Buy did not have the cable, so it was between the PS3 or Blu-Ray.  After lots of internal debate, I ended up getting the Blu-Ray. It was half the price, didn’t require a disc from NetFlix to do initial setup, and I just don’t really play games that much.

You may be asking yourself, why not wait for the Wii NetFlix option that is coming soon? Well, there’s a bit of an urgency since I’m trying to catch up a friend on Lost before the new season starts. And the Wii version won’t have HD capabilities. Plus, I’m a bit excited for Blu-Ray. I bought Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Blu-Ray, and I can’t wait to watch it!

So overall I’m glad I got it. It was really easy to setup, and now I have a whole new gigantic option of viewing options whenever I want.

On Saturday I did a ton of cleaning (again), including some de-cluttering that I had planned on doing ever since last week’s big clean up.

Read more about that and see before and after pictures over at The Simple Sisters.

Today, my dad and Cathy came up for a visit. The three of us, along with Marissa and Johnny, went over to the Great Indoors, which was a little bit like torture (I’m a renter and I have no real money to speak of), and then had a fun lunch at Panera (yum!).

We talked about how I love to teach people lessons. Okay, more like my family made fun of me for that. They called me George Bluth from Arrested Development.

If you’ve never seen Arrested Development, it’s the episode called “Pier Pressures.” I wish I could show you a clip, but alas, I couldn’t find one.

Anyway, I came home and did computer-y things, and plan to curl up with my Kindle tonight. I never did share my Kindle skin experience. I do love it so! It was really easy to apply and I think it looks so cute!

Mmm mmm mmm.

It was the summer of ‘97….

I was a 18-year-old bratty graduate bound for college and angry at her parents for setting such a lame curfew. 11 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. My 17-year-old brother operated within the same guidelines.

So we’d go out most weeknights to hang out with friends. Me to my favorite coffee house (it was the 90s after all), and my brother to….well…I have no idea where he ever was.

And then 11:00 would roll around, we’d wander home and make our way into the kitchen for a late night snack–usually cereal, either Fruity Pebbles or Peanut Butter Captain Crunch.

By the time we settled in around the kitchen table, it would be about 11:30 and The Tonight Show would just be ending and Late Night with Conan O’Brien would be starting. As we munched on our cereal we’d laugh at Conan’s funny monologue, and we’d refill our bowls by the time the first guest would come on.

I don’t remember how we found Conan in the first place, but he became such a part of that summer and a permanent figure in the memory I have of spending time with my brother at that age, that I have been incredibly fond of him ever since.

In 2002, I went with my dad and sister to New York and we visited NBC’s Rockefeller building. We got to tour lots of the studios, but sadly not Conan’s. We were so sad! But we did the next best thing and paid for a fake photo shoot  with a green screen, where it looked like we were on the set with Conan, sitting in his chairs, drinking out of mugs and laughing it up. When we got home from vacation, we lied and told my mom that we met him in real life and she believed us for a little bit, until we started laughing.

And that’s where I got my favorite mug!

I was thrilled when I heard that Conan was taking over the Tonight Show in 2009! Especially because I was no spring chicken anymore and had imposed my own self inflicted curfew to be in bed by 11 (amazing how life evolves). To have Conan start at 10:35 was most excellent to me.

So I was there watching on his debut night, and kept at it for quite awhile.

I was so certain that Conan would be there at 10:35 for years and years to come that I wasn’t as worried about viewership as I should have been. If I missed a night, it was no big deal. If I missed a week, I dealt with it.

So it should come to no surprise that I am livid at the late night fiasco at NBC. I could go on and on and on about my beef with NBC in general. I have never loved and hated something so equally and passionately as I do with NBC. Somehow NBC is my default channel, and a big chunk of my programming happens on NBC. So as much as I want to boycott or stay away from the network that chooses to destroy pretty much everything I love, I keep tuning in. LOSER!

Since this madness started, I’ve been watching every second of the Tonight Show, and he’s funnier than ever, which just makes it hurt more. I know that this isn’t the end of Conan by any means, but it still makes me sad. I hate that he only had seven months to be the host of the legendary “Tonight Show,” and I feel like he’ll forever be jaded.

And so that’s my story on that. I could dig deeper into all this, but really, this video pretty much sums it up for me!

Yes, this is a post about one of my three cats. I am so evolving into the cat lady!

As I posted about at the beginning of December, Callie came into my life via my mom.

What I didn’t post about is the condition in which she arrived. One of my mom’s cats bit hard into her tail. We figured it would heal, but over the next three weeks, her tail got worse. We carted her off to the Vet on December 23 and the news was grim. If we didn’t work on it a lot she would lose it. I was pretty devastated. But we didn’t want to give up on her tail. So we started doing weekly visits and loads of powerful antibiotics.

They also wrapped it up, which made me happy. I’m sorry, I know I should love her unconditionally but I had time cuddling her and such because it grossed me out (shameful!).

And then she came home with a cone, which she did not like at all. I couldn’t blame her, I would go crazy. Her spirit was definitely squashed and she pretty much just slept all the time.

After five days, we took off her cone to give her a break and to clean herself. She was soooo happy that we felt terrible putting it back on. I mean, it was like a life spark. She was hyper and wild and kitten like all over again. So we didn’t put it back on, and she’s been so good about not messing with her bandages!

On Friday, we’ll take her back to the Vet for hopefully her last visit. She’ll get to keep her tail! They’ll remove the bandage. Only sad part is that she’ll have to wear the cone for a few days so the one spot that is still kind raw won’t open and bleed all over and get infected all over again.

Another thing that I must share, because any cat owner will understand how awesome this is, but Callie has no problem whatsoever with going to the Vet or being in her carrier. She doesn’t try to hide in the exam room or anything and everyone loves her there. If it hadn’t been for her complete willingness to get healed this whole process would have been so much more traumatizing.

Callie and her injured tail

Besides her tail woes, she is a pleasure to live with. She’s still got a kitten attitude and hasn’t quite learned all the rules of the house. She’s not the best listener and it’s hard to rattle her. We yell and clap our hands and she hears us, but she doesn’t listen. In fact, it’s a good thing she’s an indoor cat because she doesn’t scare easily and is ultimately friendly with strangers. And I recently discovered that she’s not afraid of the vacuum cleaner. Crazy!

Little Miss Callie goes wherever she pleases, including the countertops...grr.

And as for the other cats, they are slowly accepting her into their clique. Persephone took to her faster than Penny, which wasn’t a surprise. They both are a lot alike actually. They both make the same noises, sleep the same way, and love to play with the same things. So Penny’s a bit on her own. But even Penny is warming up to her. I feel a little bad because Penny has delicate nerves and Callie will chase her around to engage her in play. I also root Penny on when she turns the tables and chases after her.

But it’s all coming together. Now instead of two nosy little cats following me around at all times, I have three. I don’t understand why my cats don’t blend into the background and come out only at meal times, but I guess I’m lucky that they are that way, because I constantly have furry friends around me.

Easiest way to get cats together....open a window.

So she’s made her mark and found her place and I can’t imagine life without her now. We’re hooked for life!

Loving the sun

First…the announcement!

For a couple of months now, my sister, Marissa, and I have been working on a new blog project. Something where we can each make posts about our desire to be better people and…big girls. We spend a lot of time together going on and on about how we’re going to make life changes. And so we decided really try this year to do it, and share our experience with people.

We’re calling it “The Simple Sisters.” Mostly because we’re trying to find simple ways to be adult like (organized, responsible, financially sound, etc.).

So check it out. We’re having a pretty fun time with it and it’s working so far to keep us in line.

Today I posted a couple of times over there, including the post below. I thought I’d cross-post this one over here too.

Three Day Weekend Clean Up!

First, and foremost…today is Martin Luther King Jr. day and it’s definitely a day to celebrate and remember his contributions and principles. I happened to read an MLK quotation today that I thought was quite good, particularly in this time of tragic circumstances in Haiti,“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?”

Giving back to others is obviously a very important thing to think about and do, andI feel funny pivoting from that sentiment, but this is a post about doing things for myself. I’m learning that taking good care of yourself, frees you to do good things for others. And boy am I no where near being able to truly help others because there’s so much work to do here.

And if turning away from that sentiment wasn’t bad enough, I’m about to quote the movie “New Moon,” in the same post as quoting the great Martin Luther King Jr. This part of the movie really stuck out at me. Charlie, Bella’s dad, is encouraging her to see Jacob and he says “You know, sometimes, you gotta learn to love what’s good for you.“

Rather wise I must admit. And something that I need learn. Having a clean and organized home is not only good for me, it’s good for others. I need to learn to love it and strive toward it.

I’m not a terribly messy person, and I’m not terribly cluttered or disorganized. But I’m not solid in the other direction. My house gets messy, I neglect it and just go through the motions. I vacuum every now and again, and do the dishes when there’s no more counter space by the sink. I cook here and there, and have a decent pantry. And I do laundry when my underwear runs out. I could obviously be better about taking care of my environment and my things.

I tend to use the excuse that it’s because I’m on my own and I work full time. But what I’ve found is that I don’t really enjoy my off time because I’m constantly thinking about how I should be cleaning. And if it’s not clean, and my kitchen is not accessible, I tend to pick up fast food. My health suffers because I don’t have a clean kitchen, and the like.

So I decided that I would use this three day weekend to clean up a little bit and that’s what I’ve done. It also helped that I had a little pressure on me. I knew all week that I was going to have house guests on Sunday night to watch the Golden Globes. What an excellent source of pressure.

With all that in mind, and the great start I made this weekend, I want to work toward making it a habit, and be a big girl with a nice clean apartment.

Check out the clean up pictures!

Or this post could have been titled “My Great Photography Fail.”

A long, long time ago…2003-2004ish, maybe, I hired my first real student assistant, Andy. He was a bit of a non-traditional student, who had gone half way through college and then joined the Peace Corps and did good deeds (and got Malaria. Twice.). When I hired him, he was back from his dutiful stint and trying to finish up his degree. We had good times, and we had bad times, as I tried to figure out my footing as a supervisor, which is something I continue to struggle with at times.

Anyway, he graduated and moved away with his girlfriend Kerry, who is now his wife, to New Haven so she could go to Yale for graduate school. These days, they’re living in Oklahoma. He’s a firefighter and has his own web design business, and she works for the parks service, or something like that.

So with all of that lead up, it’s probably obvious who I went out with last night. Andy made some strong connections with a lot of folks at ITS while he worked for me, and even played on our softball team. So we had a group of 18 last night that filled up an entire back room at the Walnut Brewery in downtown Boulder.

Andy and Kerry were great to visit with. They seem really happy together and are such nice, down-to-earth folks that there was no awkward haven’t seen you in a long time phase to break through.

My favorite part of the night was when Andy told me that the skills he learned working for me has made a huge impact on his life and he thanked me for it. I was so delighted to hear that! I always try to help my student assistants understand that their job with me is gonna be one that they can draw from for years to come. Sadly, I’ve had a couple students who never grasped that and chose to prioritize other activities and less meaningful jobs over their position with my department. They get it now that they’ve graduated and are coming back to me often for advice and references.

The biggest disappointment was that I didn’t take any pictures. No pictures, even though I had my camera in my purse, and even though I thought about doing it a couple of times. I just didn’t have the nerve. That is something I have to get over.

So when I came home, I had a little bit of fun making a picture to showcase the moment. Yay for Photoshop, Project Runway, and HGTV to take me into the wee hours of the night.

Rochelle, Andy, and Kerry in cartoon format.