Thankful for Family & Friends
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Going back to Cali...er...Champaign...this past weekend, Sean and I took a mini roadtrip to my alma mater U of IL because doesn't EVERYONE ON EARTH want to see the twin wonders that are Champaign and Urbana?!?!


My college years were fabulous, and played a large part in the development of who I am today. SMD is a graduate of a highly-respected (but small-ish) university, and I wanted him to understand the appeal of what might see as a huge, intimidating college. We saw a basketball game and a football game, did some tailgating, and drove around. He patiently humored me as I drove in loops, spouting out random and useless information about the underground library, the dorms, the farms, and the bus system.

I was pleased to find that some of the shabbier areas of campus were being actively developed...so much so, in fact, that parts of campus could be mistaken for downtown Wheaton or Hinsdale. Gag. K^3 and I explored (okay, crashed) the rooms at Pi Phis that we lived in, remarking at how much smaller they were than we had previously thought. I suppose my perspective is somewhat changed, though, with time. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing, I wonder?


All in all, it was simultaneously creepy and wonderful to be back. I think I miss it more now than I ever did.

And, on a totally unrelated note, I returned to an impromptu family dinner at my parent's condo...where I got to see my favorite babies and their beautiful mother. A woman who inherited not just the good facial bone/nose structure, but also the long, pianist fingers from our grandmother. Bitch. Maybe someday I'll get a photo of us where we don't have our hair pulled back, and therefore, look completely bald.