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I used to be intellectual
Jun. 25th, 2007 03:44 pmThis weekend was the HC reunion and, while I'll talk more about the reunion itself in a bit, I have to now talk about what I've been doing all day. See apparently Goebel scanned all our core portfolios and put them on disk-- at least of the people who were going to be there-- for us to take home, so I've been looking at that. It's really annoying because the whole thing was scanned as one 400-page file, so you have to scroll down the whole thing in order just to see what's there, and what's there includes notes and rough drafts as well as final papers. Journal responses are rather fun, though.
Anyway, I'm only halfway through, but I'm already stunned by how freakin' good my final thesis papers were (by "final" I mean "Final draft," for those non-HCers out there-- they weren't actual Final Projects exactly because we wrote three of them each semester!). The rough drafts weren't that great. But we really did learn how to write clearly and concisely in that class, to organize our thoughts so they sounded professional and not like stupid college kids who think they know stuff spouting big words and bigger ideas in a chaotic fashion. And, for that matter, how to have interesting thoughts. I think maybe I've forgotten that part over the years. As I was saying, though, I was rather impressed with my final drafts, like, Whoa, I wrote that? Ten freakin' years ago? Then of course you read the drafts and journals and are less impressed than amused at the calm naivity.
As for the reunion, though, we went in just for the picnic in the afternoon, which turned out to mean more time on the road than time actually spent at our destination, but ah well. Originally we'd figured we'd spend the evening visiting too, either going to dinner with people afterward (either such people didn't go to the reunion or had other things to do), stopping at my family's on the way home (they were all still on an airplane at that moment), or maybe stopping to see Megan on our way home (they, too, were busy); but that's okay, I still was glad I went, though not many people I knew (or at least remembered) were there (not many people at all, but it's better that way I think-- better to have not many people at all than a WHOLE BUNCH of Class of 2006 or something and like 3 class of 2000, so the three of you feel like dorks. More than usual). There were the Paladins, as we had already established and therefore knew at least the three of us would be there, and there was Jeremy, Andy S, and Marianne (who was in Angie and Jen's class, but was still someone I'd actually been to dinner with and the like)-- those were basically all the people I knew there. Besides Goebel, her daughter Elisabeth (who was a student of mine for three months later in time), and Rick. There were a few other people I THINK were in our class but I had NO IDEA who they were anymore, since they weren't people I'd hung out with. You know, though, it was cool to be greeted so warmly by Jeremy Andy and Marianne, people I hadn't seen since graduation and obviously weren't so close as Tracie or Liz or Becky to me-- it reinforced the great memory I had of college, that that experience HAD been so vitally different socially from high school, how in the HC people actually KNEW ME AND LIKED ME ENOUGH TO REMEMBER ME YEARS LATER. Sooooo cool.
The picnic was in the very same spot we'd had the First (and possibly last?) Official HC Picnic ten years before, which made for a sweet sort of time warp. It looked almost the same as it had then (there were a few extra fences up around), and I kept thinking of pictures I had of the very same people sitting on that very same bank, and how when those pictures were taken I bet we'd had no concept that we'd be back there discussing our jobs and our children years later (three children there-- Sam, Larry, and Marianne's daughter Theresa-- Teresa?-- well pronounced like that). I will scan and post some of those pictures to put up with the pictures from this weekend once I get new batteries for the camera. that would be interesting. I mean, the pictures, not necessarily getting new batteries. Thought that would help the cause.
Okay, that's it for now, I'll post more when I post pictures and don't have a really wiggly baby in my arms.
Anyway, I'm only halfway through, but I'm already stunned by how freakin' good my final thesis papers were (by "final" I mean "Final draft," for those non-HCers out there-- they weren't actual Final Projects exactly because we wrote three of them each semester!). The rough drafts weren't that great. But we really did learn how to write clearly and concisely in that class, to organize our thoughts so they sounded professional and not like stupid college kids who think they know stuff spouting big words and bigger ideas in a chaotic fashion. And, for that matter, how to have interesting thoughts. I think maybe I've forgotten that part over the years. As I was saying, though, I was rather impressed with my final drafts, like, Whoa, I wrote that? Ten freakin' years ago? Then of course you read the drafts and journals and are less impressed than amused at the calm naivity.
As for the reunion, though, we went in just for the picnic in the afternoon, which turned out to mean more time on the road than time actually spent at our destination, but ah well. Originally we'd figured we'd spend the evening visiting too, either going to dinner with people afterward (either such people didn't go to the reunion or had other things to do), stopping at my family's on the way home (they were all still on an airplane at that moment), or maybe stopping to see Megan on our way home (they, too, were busy); but that's okay, I still was glad I went, though not many people I knew (or at least remembered) were there (not many people at all, but it's better that way I think-- better to have not many people at all than a WHOLE BUNCH of Class of 2006 or something and like 3 class of 2000, so the three of you feel like dorks. More than usual). There were the Paladins, as we had already established and therefore knew at least the three of us would be there, and there was Jeremy, Andy S, and Marianne (who was in Angie and Jen's class, but was still someone I'd actually been to dinner with and the like)-- those were basically all the people I knew there. Besides Goebel, her daughter Elisabeth (who was a student of mine for three months later in time), and Rick. There were a few other people I THINK were in our class but I had NO IDEA who they were anymore, since they weren't people I'd hung out with. You know, though, it was cool to be greeted so warmly by Jeremy Andy and Marianne, people I hadn't seen since graduation and obviously weren't so close as Tracie or Liz or Becky to me-- it reinforced the great memory I had of college, that that experience HAD been so vitally different socially from high school, how in the HC people actually KNEW ME AND LIKED ME ENOUGH TO REMEMBER ME YEARS LATER. Sooooo cool.
The picnic was in the very same spot we'd had the First (and possibly last?) Official HC Picnic ten years before, which made for a sweet sort of time warp. It looked almost the same as it had then (there were a few extra fences up around), and I kept thinking of pictures I had of the very same people sitting on that very same bank, and how when those pictures were taken I bet we'd had no concept that we'd be back there discussing our jobs and our children years later (three children there-- Sam, Larry, and Marianne's daughter Theresa-- Teresa?-- well pronounced like that). I will scan and post some of those pictures to put up with the pictures from this weekend once I get new batteries for the camera. that would be interesting. I mean, the pictures, not necessarily getting new batteries. Thought that would help the cause.
Okay, that's it for now, I'll post more when I post pictures and don't have a really wiggly baby in my arms.
