I have to post something... By Catherine on 4/23/2007 11:00:00 AM
Or else that god-awful picture will be the first thing anyone sees until forever. A lot has happened in the past few weeks... I was sick and got better, the worst mass murder in US history closed down an institute of higher learning, A and I went to Amherst to visit old friends, a whole group of my students got arrested for possession, and it's finally spring! Summer, even.The news broke in during a game of Scrabble with A's mom-- thirty feared dead at Virginia Tech, among them, the suspect. It was chilly that day, and rainy, and I'd just taken a big sip of molten-hot coffee. I thought I'd choke-- we both gasped, "Oh, my God!" and nursed burnt tongues. Everything that has come out in the last week doesn't need to be rehashed, but, WOW will suffice. I don't have anything intelligent or insightful to add, but I feel weirdly attracted to the story.
The trip to Amherst was wonderful! I miss having all our friends around, and S&S have such a cozy little place for themselves. The BOSB dinner was really fun. Maximus was hysterically drunk, and received his award with much more grace than I could have mustered, given how tanked he was. BOSB dinner tradtion-- get hammered. That's one UMass tradition I didn't participate in... Getting skunked and interacting with administrators never did seem like my cup of tea. I get so self-conscious when I drink, I can't imagine being that confident. Friday was perfectly lovely, complete with corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast (Sylvester's, in Northampton MA, is wonderful, try it out) and plenty of sunshine. I've eaten more take-out and restaurant food this weekend than is reasonable OR healthy. The diet starts tonight! :)
Saturday and Sunday kind of blur together-- sunshine, reading, Scrabble, couscous, beers and burgers. I've got the first touches of color on my arms and face-- legs still too pale to be shown outside the back yard!
As for my students, everyone is ok. That's all I'll say about that here, you never know who trolls your internets...
Labels: Amherst, friends, sunshine, vacation, VT shooting