"This Diploma will protect me from haaarm..."

Okay okay! I'll update!

As probably most of you know, I graduated from Grand Valley on saturday! It was a wonderful day, weather-wise and otherwise-wise. The week preceding my graduation was really not so fun though. I spent last weekend partying with my senior friends and our significant others (Lauren tagged along sometimes to take embarassing cell phone videos), and only briefly thought about the papers I had to write that next week. That could have been a mistake. But it was fun!!! So, starting on Monday, I began my frantic paper writing. 4 papers in 4 days! It should be a reality show. I spent more time at the school's downtown library than I did sleeping. Kind of depressing. Let's see, all told I was at the library for 27.5 hours between monday at noon and thurdsay at 10. I finished my fourth paper thursday at midnight:30 at the guys house, then stayed up way to late to celebrate and got up friday to work. After work on friday I went to help my friends move and stayed there until 9. It might therefore shock you that I did not last more than 20 minutes into Bride and Prejudice. I woke up and they were happily ever after. Oh well.

So graduation...ha yes. Such brilliant plans we had. My family left AA at 10, planning to arrive at my house early enough to eat lunch and relax. Well at 10:10 they called to say they had a flat tire. The tow truck took plenty of time and Lauren and I got phone call after phone call with increasingly depressing news. It was eventually decided that the family would just meet me at the restaurant after the ceremony. I was a little sad as I got into the shower. Ok, a lot sad. But fortunately my boyfriend's wonderful father came out to the van and loaned his minivan to my family and waited with our van until the tow truck finally came. So they made it just in time to the arena and got seats on the main level. Phew!

I of course had several mishaps before the night was out. I almost graduated with my sunglasses on....I was wearing them into the building and gave Lauren all my things (purse with regular glasses included) to hold at their seats. I didn't notice until my friend started complaining that she'd worn her sunglasses in and wear was she going to put them? And then she said "Oh, you wore yours in too Lindsey, ha ha....uh....Lindsey....uh?" To which I replied "NO!!!" I tried to chase Lauren up the stairs but the arena staff wouldn't let me by without a ticket. Uh HELLO!?!! I'm in a BLUE GOWN!!?! I can't SEE without my real GLASSES!!!?? But alas, Mr. Van Stickupthebutt would not let me pass. So I frantically approached various official looking people with similarly crushing results until finally one guy who was handing out our name cards, I'll call him Mr. W-Z, said he didn't see why I couldn't go up and took me to the elevetor. "Besides" he said "I have a nametag and you have a graduation gown, they can't kick either of us out!" I liked Mr. W-Z. So I randomly picked an entrance into the arena and guess what...it was dark in there! And I had my sunglasses on! And if I took them off....well yes. What a problem. The cute old usher man came up to me and said "Looks like yer in the wrong place young lady..." He then noticed my tears and sunglasses. "Uh, who ya lookin fer?" "My sister, she has my regular glasses and I can't see without them!" "Ah, so yer choices for graduating are blind or looking like yer blind?" Chuckle chuckle. I did not appreciate his humor at that point in my life. He continued, slightly mollified "Uh, what does she look like?" After several minutes of frenzied descriptions of Lauren...I heard a voice calling "Lindsey? Lindsey?" My lovely sister, and my lovely glasses were four rows in front of me. Thank you Jesus. It would probably have taken a while for me to laugh at that one...