I had a fabulous, albeit whirlwind, trip to Yale this weekend. Having already secured housing with two (very awesome) senior friends of mine, I was thrilled to also receive temporary access to the building, allowing me to come and go without having to inconvenience anyone too much. (And a couple of dining hall meals was a much-appreciated boon as well!)
Thursday night kicked off with a Glee Club dinner, cooked in Calhoun's tiny, slightly disgusting, student kitchen. Candice being actually skilled at food preparation, she directed events and pulled off a nice pasta dinner with pumpkin soup and two kinds of sauce...and I, being less adept at food, went to Claire's for cake. I can buy dessert.
After dinner, Candice made sushi, and then there was time for television in the Dive before running off to see a bunch of friends. Having already seen Barbara, Rhonda, Jim, and the Master, I felt the weekend was going well already.
Friday morning was almost a disaster; I was supposed to meet one of my favorite professors for coffee, but neglected to put my alarm clock on Eastern Time. Fortunately, I realized my mistake as I was heading out the door, and so I ran off to our meeting instead of touring New Haven for my "free hour". After coffee, I had a chance to chat with Lisa and Master Schottenfeld's parents, then had lunch with Lisa and Eytan in the dining hall, where I also saw the Dean, Julie, and their new baby.
The afternoon was spent roaming New Haven, doing a bit of browsing and shopping, and then I had a wonderful phone call from Southern Living - I have an internship this January! I ran back to Davenport to tell everyone that I was to be gainfully employed for once, though Barbara noted that my Davenport hourly rate was higher than what I'll be receiving. Man, I miss undergraduate minimum wage!
Saturday night was devoted to the YGC-HGC concert. The Glee Club was incredible; they performed "Zephyr Rounds", a 13/8 piece, very well, and Casey's Yale song was also great. One bright spot was the prank: as the HGC ended their football medley, the stage went to black, and then the group was bathed in Yale blue. A second prank happened during our football medley, when a group ran to the front and told Harvard their number, instead of the usual "2", was "867-5309". Michael Dziuban's third "Eli Yale" verse - "Haaaaaarvard Suuuuuuucks" - nearly made Jeff lose it, and was quite a hit.
It was great to be back on stage, singing with the Glee Club once again, but one of my favorite moments of the evening happened after the reception, when a group of us who had been singing formed a circle and did the Thompson "Alleluia". Yes, it seemed mildly cultish, but the sheer power of the thing, a random assortment of alumni spontaneously singing such a beautiful song, was incredibly moving to me. I seem to remember now why I love the YGC.
I slept until eight the next morning, then packed, moved my stuff across the hall to Kristy's room, and headed out to The Tailgate. On the way, I discovered that Koffee, Too? was giving away travel mugs with purchase, and so I had a nice cup of cider on the bus ride down. Once there, I stopped by the Davenport U-Haul, then found friends (and freebies!) at the Alumni Village before heading to the YGC camp, where there was much BCY-ing before the schnapps ran out. Brad, who had hosted 15 HGC guys the night before, recalled coming home that morning and finding four of them passed out in his bed. Having consumed a cup of happy cocoa and filled my new mug with happy cider, I headed for The Game, and, thanks to Ann (and her Davenport pennant supply), managed to sneak into the student section.
Though the YPMB show was interesting - the dragon certainly beat Harvard's band's show, which featured John Harvard in kangaroo boots, cutting down Yale college flags (and they were too cheap to make 12! They put different flags on the front and back!) - I left after the third quarter, having seen the Saybrook Strip and been subjected to the Pierson College cheer. 30-0 depressed me, and Lisa had made a delicious spread of warm food and other goodies. As the other D'porters trickled in, the score updated hardly improved anyone's mood. We did finally score, but 37-6 has to be one of the worst Games I've ever seen. In any case, I saw lots of other '06ers, former Master's Aides, and Erin, who finally made it back to town. I tried to pet Wally afterwards, but he was more interested in the crackers on the sidewalk.
Moral of Saturday: Harvard sucks. Still, school on Monday...
I dined at the bar at Thai Pan Asian that night, as every restaurant in town was packed to the rafters, then showered and hit the futon for a few hours of sleep before my 6:05 AM flight from Tweed. Seven hours of traveling later, I arrived home with my luggage (thank God), had a bowl of my mother's homemade French onion soup, and went for what turned into my first 10-mile run.
I'm a bit sore now, and as I've been up for the last 17 hours, I think I'm going to bed. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend, and I learned the real meaning of The Game: the football's a diversion, but the real thrill of the weekend is seeing everyone again.
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