A Minor Variation

So. I graduated!

Straight B's. I can live with this. Especially now. :)

My father and half-sister came into town for graduation. We went out to dinner Friday night. I had steak. It was good. Dad harassed our waitress. She eventually stood up for herself, though, and got a $30 tip for it, so.

I took Katherine, my half sister, to see X2, by way of spreading the geek love. She claimed to want to see it, and it gave me an excuse to see it again under the banner of family togetherness, so it's all good.

Then I went back to my dorm and stayed up all night cleaning it out, a process extended slightly by the fact that narli and Tracey and I started making up an MU Guys quiz. Mostly, though, it took so long 'cause the room was trashed.

Made it back home at 9-ish, having not slept at all. Smart college graduate me. Got all dressed up, put on spiffy Lucite heels, and went to my grandparents' for brunch. There were incriminating childhood photos and some delicious chicken crepes. So claiming the leftovers. Yum.

My grandparents gave me a pearl ring, which I knew about because I picked it out: two pearls side by side with two teeny diamonds, very pretty. My father gave me a sapphire ring which is, to steal thenowhere's word, gigorgeous. I mean, if you saw Titanic back when it wasn't uncool to have seen it, remember the scene on the rear of the ship with Leonardo DiCaprio seeing Kate Winslet's engagement ring and going, "Whoa, what a rock!" Like that. Beautiful sparkly oval sapphire surrounded by teeny diamonds. Color me shocked.

He also gave me five hundred dollars, which is going into savings as seed money for relocation. Love this town. Don't want to live here.

So, there was brunch. Then I went to get in line for the ceremony. And stood. And stood. And stood. Very nice helpful girl helped me fix my collar and gave me pins to hold my cap on. By the time we marched in, my feet were killing me. Mom, who brought binoculars, claimed I looked disgusted. I don't doubt her.

I don't actually remember much of the ceremony, probably because I was miserable. Feet and legs hurt from the shoes. Whole body sore from hauling all my stuff down three flights of stairs. No sleep.

Afterward, of course, the whole family left the spot where knew they were - up in the stands - and joined the crowd out front. I'm short. I can't find people in crowds and they can't find me. I stomped around a while getting progressively crankier until I finally decided to just go to the car and get the stuff so that I could turn in my cap and gown. I got maybe halfway there when Tom Bryson spotted me and told me where my mother was.

Then, of course, there were pictures. I came very close to kicking shins.

But once we got to the car, Mom took me by the house and I changed from Little Black Dress and Spiffy But Torturous Heels into a sleeveless zip-up shirt, a long skirt, and a pair of F***-You Boots, and felt much better. We all went out to dinner again. I got a frozen mudslide, despite having forgotten my ID. Dad was nicer to the waiter, probably because this one knew what Bombay Sapphire was. (Expensive gin, if you wondered.)

My grandmother started getting really sappy on me towards the end of the evening, which was kind of uncomfortable. I rarely do well with sappiness. Also, they brought up Classy during dinner and I started tearing up. Yes, I know, not over the horse yet. Bite me.

Dad and Katherine went home yesterday and I'm taking the week to get settled in before I start with the job hunting. Mom will be helping - read: standing behind me with a cattle prod - so maybe I can find something soon. In the meantime, I'm keeping my part-time job in the AISE department through the summer, so I'll have an income.

Jacque, the professor who is responsible for my having this job and who is a friend of my mothers, gave me a very spiffy briefcase. So I don't have to go to interviews carrying a backpack. Go me.

...absolutely nobody is surprised. At all.

You know, this is really kind of sad. :)

Your Ultimate Purity Score Is...
Category	Your Score	Average
Self-Lovin'	78.3% Never taken out of the packaging	58.7%
Shamelessness	95.2% Has yet to see self in mirror	74.8%
Sex Drive	97.4% The Pope is envious	72.5%
Straightness	94.6% Just go fuck something, okay?	36.7%
Gayness	100%	75.9%
Fucking Sick	99.1% Refreshingly normal	86.1%
You are 92.07% pure Average Score: 66.9%
Take The Ultimate Purity Test and see how you match up!

In other news: almost done! Articles all finished, just need to study for (and take, at 2 this afternoon) my last final. Then cross my fingers a lot.

Oh yeah, and start cleaning up the wreck I made of my room.

Monday: accomplished everything except the case boklet.

Today:
Before Ethics:
do case booklet.

After Ethics:
Bother Mom about phone numbers. If she provides them before I go to work, make calls.

After work:
Make calls if Mom has provided phone numbers. If not, bother her some more.
Come up with questions for acetaminophen interview.

I need to finish up the Webpage O' Death, or at least hand it over to funwithrage if she still wants it.

I really need to unearth my former computer and plug it in long enough to fish the great masses o' fiction off the hard drive. I've been randomly inspired to work on Asher and lack all but the very first chapter and some random notes, darn it.

I really need to finish writing up Ace and stuff for Citrine before corleyj and hopperuk eat me alive.

I really, really need to study for my tests in Marketing and Advanced Newswriting.

And I really, really, really need to make calls about that blasted high-speed chase article thing.

And I can't do any of it right now because I'm at work. Augh.