weddings, students, moratoriums and more...

I just went to my college roommate's wedding on Saturday and had a fantastic time. It was nice because the week before, when I was getting ready, I kept telling people "I'm going to my college roommate's wedding," and they would reply "So, have you graduated from college yet?" It thrilled me that multiple people thought I was still an undergraduate. Oh, do I yearn for those days sometimes. But then I was wondering, is there another way to refer to her? She was my college roommate for four years, but that was many moons ago. She is also my best friend from college, but that still doesn't necessarily indicate our age or current relationship. Should I refer to her as my former college roommate? That suggests that she was once my roommate in college, but no longer is, but is that accurate? It's all semantics, I know, but quite interesting.

The wedding itself went off without a hitch. There was a lot of craziness before the wedding, as usual, but things turned out very well. I caught the bouquet as well! What's interesting is that my friend's now-husband, caught the garter at another college friend's wedding a year and a half ago. Perhaps a streak is in the works. Who knows. All this, just when I jokingly advertise myself as a "looking for a good time" girl. My friend & her new husband are doing well and I wish them all the best.

*****
Today I taught class and a male student who had mononucleosis returned to class for the first time in two weeks. Here is a rough transcript of our conversation:

ME: So, are you feeling any better?
STUDENT: No, not really.

ME: As long as you're not contagious anymore...

STUDENT: As long as you don't stick your tongue down my throat you should be fine.

ME: Uh, Thanks, I wasn't planning on it.

My students who were witness to this conversation got such a kick out of it. The student who made the comment even asked if he could receive extra credit for making such a funny comment. Other students even advocated for him. I told him that I don't give extra credit for inappropriate comments. I also related to my class that I have never had a student say something like that to me before today, and one student responded with "That's a good thing." I agree wholeheartedly. I do have walls. *Those who scoff at my walls (you know who you are), keep it to yourself*

*****
I suggest there be a moratorium on sandal wearing as of September 30th of each year. Despite the warmth of certain days in October, there is no need for sandals, and especially flip-flops, after Autumn has offically begun. I see so many students wearing flip-flops when it is ridiculously cold outside. It astonishes and horrifies me. I suggest we start a petition of some sort to informally institute this. Anyone with me on this?

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Last week a friend of mine and I went to see Itzhak Perlman at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus. It was fantastic. Who knew that Perlman was a comedian too? There were several people coughing in the Orchestra Level (We had amazing Loge seats), and so based on that Perlman decided to play Tchaikovsky. Very amusing.

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I have decided to make myself over into a hockey fan--specifically, a Columbus Blue Jackets fan. I came to this conclusion for several reasons. Firstly, I have always wanted to get into hockey. Back when I lived in NY, I was itching to see an Islanders or Rangers game, but couldn't find anyone who would join me. Even though I would have had to travel either 45 minutes to one hour and half I was willing to make the trek to see a sport with which I am still somewhat unfamiliar. Now that I live about 10 minutes from Nationwide Arena, I am determined to take that to my advantage. Another reason is that the Columbus Blue Jackets have the first (and only, if my sources are correct) hockey player of Indian descent on their team--Manny Malhotra. I would like to support him, as well.

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I am really truly enjoying my time in Columbus thus far. I have a number of old friends with whom I have reconnected and I have also made a few new friends, as well. It's nice being so close to major events --plays, concerts, sporting events, etc. People mistakingly think that because I lived in NY I had easy access to all of these things. They fail to recognize that I lived on Long Island, in Suffolk County, an hour and a half away by express train from Ronkonkoma.