On Being an Alum

Earlier tonight, I attended an unexpected, unplanned, unofficial alumni event. Brewforia, in Eagle, was closing, which meant that Grind Burgers was also closing and Jake had arranged a facebook invite for people to show up to enjoy the food and drink one last time. I hadn’t planned on going but Caitlin text me and I spontaneously decided to go. She was driving the other Hall Directors as well, so squeezed in the back of her Toyota with Matt and Justin, we made our way out to Eagle.

Yes, the burgers were delicious (although mine had this weird cheese that I DID not like) and I’m sure the beer was lovely (I didn’t drink because I already had a bit to drink at a faculty thing beforehand) but the best part of the night was that it really was an unofficial alumni event. All of us were alumni, College employees, or a combination of both. And I know that I’ve said this before but one thing I love about being a C of I alumna is that the college is an immediate connection to anyone else who went there. The conversation was non-stop the entire two hour meal, whether it was about college things, or people we had in common or just random things that pop up in conversation. I’ve had experiences like this before, where I’ve had fantastic and long conversations with other alums that I had never spoken to before but met because we shared many professors, class topics, majors, or college experiences. And because we all have different backgrounds that intersect at the College, there are so many things that can be discussed, with the college foundation underneath. Through things like this, the Sundance event, Homecoming, and other random events, I love being able to have conversations with people who I know have had really similar experiences to me but have different ways of sharing them because of their different backgrounds and the different paths they took after the College.

Speaking of College news, apparently we have a new fight song. So there’s that.

Also, our basketball teams are kicking tail this year. And our Yotefam is awesome. I went with Caitlin, Jennie, and Kevin (and were later joined by Luke and Jennie's nephew, Chris and Emily) for the final of the Cascade Conference, which we ended up winning! It was such a blast from the past because the last time we had won Conference was my freshmen year! I still remember running onto the court at the end of the game, watching the players cut down the net, cheering and jumping around with excitement. I even still have the t-shirt from that year, which is huge and is now used as a sleep shirt. To see that happen, ten years later, and think about what's changed but also what's still the same was so great. Way to go, Yoties!

Recent Books

Zeitoun- I read this for book club and while I didn't love the book, we had a fascination discussion about non-fiction books that only focus on a certain time in the subject's life.

Here's a synopsis of Zeitoun: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitoun_%28book%29.

And here is an article I found doing research after reading: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2013/07/zeitoun_found_not_guilty_on_bo.html

Two very different stories. And this is what we spent most of the time discussing. Reading non-fiction is very different from fiction, obviously, and in this case, it makes you wonder heavily about how biased/unbiased the author is, how much is left out, and what is left out when the focus of the book is on one specific thing.

The Last Enchantment- Ummmmm, I struggled with this book. I picked it up because I immediately recognized the Bridge of Sighs on the cover. I will always read a book about Oxford, even the bad ones (or movies- and I'm looking at your, Oxford Murders....) and so I did but did not love it. I had a hard time empathizing with the main character and I had a hard time figuring out what the author wanted me to walk away with. It seemed like a fictionalization of the authors diary from his time in Oxford. Yet it was told almost like a flashback but with no indication of what the narrator was currently doing and how long ago his time in Oxford had been. While it's not the worst book about Oxford, I'd much rather watch an episode of Lewis or something like that.

Sound of Broken Glass- Oh I love me some Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid! Although I'm sad that in recent books, Gemma and Duncan are together less and less. I really like the secondary characters in the G/D books, especially Melody and Doug, but they will never replace the G/D relationship and interactions that got me into the series to begin with. I guess it's a part of the evolution of a relationship, especially since they're now married and raising their blended family but I still miss it. I found this most recent G/D mystery at the library and read it in about a day. The problem I had with it was it just seemed to have way too many coincidences as the solution for the mystery. But I love Crystal Palace and would love to, next time I'm in London, explore that area of town in a lot more depth.

Zealot- This book came on my radar in two ways. First of all, the author was on Jon Stewart. Secondly, he rocked this online Fox News interview, dealing with the interviewer with respect and aplomb (which is a great word). (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt1cOnNrY5s) For the book itself: I appreciated that it wasn't just a "history of Jesus". Aslan sets the stage really well by discussing the different zealot and zealot groups that informed the world Jesus was born into and likewise does the same with expressing what the world after Jesus looks like. The problem I had was that he wasn't as clear making his argument as I had hoped and there seemed to be a lot of repetition with some points he was making. Aslan did raise some interesting concepts that caused me to stop and think but I'm not sure that it was as controversial as many make it out to be.

Will Grayson Will Grayson- Written in alternating chapters by John Green and Dave Levithan, I wasn't sure what I was expecting and I'm not sure what I got. The idea of two Will Graysons meeting unexpectedly was a nice touch but I almost felt like Will Grayson #1 got shafted in place of his best friend (and a pretty terrible best friend) Tiny, who gets with Will Grayson #2. I guess my problem was that too much attention was on Tiny and not enough of the Will Gryson I liked better.

Witch of Cologne- This was one of those books that I really wanted to like but, gosh, I just couldn't. It was too long, it was overly dramatic in too many ways, it almost seemed repetitive, and felt like it should have been several separate books that instead were shoved together into one book. Luckily it was a quick read and so took me way less time than it could have but my expectations were just way too high to be met.

Swallow and Amazons- Um, I LOVED this. It had the sibling love of Narnia, the adventure of Robinson Crusoe, the best mother ever, such fun characters, and a simplistic way of life that just isn't seen. Apparently this is a series and I cannot wait to read more. Thank you, BBC book list for introducing me to John, Susan, Titty, and Roger, as well as the nicest savage mother ever.

Persuasion and Emma- I'm required to read at least two Jane Austen books for the BBC books list and so I'm trying. I'm really trying. I just started Emma and eh.... it's fine, I guess. I'm having a hard time getting Gwyneth Paltrow out of my head while I read since I have seen the movie she did. I finished Persuasion last night and although I didn't love the story, I actually really liked Anne Elliot. I felt she was understated, patient, kind, and un-obnoxious heroine who wasn't bemoaning her state but living her life the way she needed to and letting it all work out in the end .While I'm certainly not an Austen convert, I feel like I at least appreciate some characters more than I did before I read Austen. In short, I did not hate reading Austen but I wouldn't consider it an experience I'd repeat.