Closing the College Chapter

I was afforded the opportunity to recruit for my company at my alma mater this past Tuesday and Wednesday. I got paid to take an all expenses paid trip to Philly- how could I pass up the chance? Plus, this trip gave me a valid excuse to not be on client site for a couple days.

The truth is that this trip would constitute my third time back to Penn since graduation. The first time was Homecoming back in November. It was definitely a good time. I got to see so many friends and hang out at the same old places. It was my first time back on campus, and it was weird. Everything was so familiar, but I knew I no longer belonged. It was particularly odd, for example, to leave Penn for the night and stay elsewhere in the Philly area (in Haverford at a friend's place). I had lived on that campus for 4 years and often stumbled to my dorm on a late night, so it was odd to be drunk and driven away at 2 AM to a suburb. It really hit me then that everyone had moved on. My friends were no longer at Penn. Life at Penn went on without us. It was time for me to really get over it. Sure I could keep the friends and memories I made, but this part of my life was over. I think I finally got the message then.

The second time I returned was in February. I was asked by my company to help recruit juniors and sophomores for our internship program. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect or what I wanted to accomplish by going. I was just more excited to have the chance to go back to campus for free and get away from real work for a couple days. As such, I'd say the trip wasn't so meaningful. I did have an EXCELLENT dinner at Pod. :) But my hotel wasn't even on campus, and I didn't even have much time to walk around or hang out. I was on campus for dinner and went downtown with a good friend to a bar I had never even been to in my 4 years in Philly. I was then recruiting the entire next day. I sat in Career Services all day greeting candidates, which pretty much brought back awful memories about On Campus Recruiting. We ordered in Cosi for lunch, and then I left for the airport. All business and no time for nostalgia.

This third time, though, and likely final time (at least for a while), was just great. I arrived around lunch time and met up with a senior friend who is anxious to finish with classes but sad to soon be leaving college behind- just as I was this time last year. (See blogs from Spring 2005. :) ) We ate MexiCali burritos at the tables outside of Huntsman/ABP for lunch. Lunch was familiar and comforting. We then went to Bucks County Coffee where I got my favorite hot chocolate. I walked her to her class and then proceeded to just walk around campus. It's Spring time in Philadelphia, and during this time the campus is in its early days out of hibernation. There was so much hustle and bustle outside. The awful but oddly familiar smell of flowers and the manure surrouding them was comforting. That's definitely a sign of Spring at Penn and it was one of the first things a best friend/4-year college roommate and I noticed about the campus during our initial visits as accepted, eager beaver high school seniors.

I then spent time in the bookstore- the cool place to go on your first Friday night in college. :) I of course bought another shirt and just sat by the escalators reading magazines. (No one ever buys those magazines.) Next up was dinner. I went to Walnut Hill College for the PwC sponsored etiquitte dinner, hosted by Wharton Women. It was three hours of hell, but the students at my table were freshman, and they kept it fun. We made faces at each other when, for example, the instructor showed her velcro encrusted plates and silverware that helped her show just how to place your knife and fork between bites as opposed to being completely done, for both American and Continental styles of dining of course. It was sort of like having your first class ever in college with a grad student for an instructor who called herself a professor and breast fed the whole hour and a half of class. (Yes, I can make the comparison because that was my first college class experience.) It brought back some amusing memories and made me happy that Penn still seemed to have happy but skeptical and sarcastic students, like me of course. :)

I then went out to New Deck's kareoke night with two 5th year friends who were great friends of mine during college. It was great just sitting around, having drinks, trading politically incorrect stories, and having cheese fries at midnight. It was just like old times; the scene, faces, and banter were all so familiar and comforting. We stayed at the bar til closing at the early hour of 2 AM. I wasn't quite drunk, but I walked back to my hotel room at the Inn at Penn, which is situated across the street from my senior year dorm and as "on campus" as you can get for a hotel (location-wise, of course, and not quality of the mattress, let's say- gotta love those 30 year old mattresses in Penn dorms).

The next morning, instead of taking a cab to the airport, I walked through campus one more time and took the train to the airport from the University City SEPTA stop. I took it all in one last time, especially since I didn't know when I'd be coming back. I rolled my suitcase across Locust Walk and along Houston Hall. Oddly, that was exactly how I first visited Penn on my own- walking from the train to Logan Hall along Houston. I made it to the University City train station, and as expected, the SEPTA train was 10 minutes late and the ticket machine ate two dollars before it started deducting the dollars I inserted from the amount I owed for the ticket. How appropriate.

My likely final trip to Penn for a while was, I think, the best one. The first one was a bit overwhelming. It was the first time back to campus. It also entailed seeing all my friends from various aspects of my Penn life at once, which was not how I hung out with friends in college. And it was soooo crowded with plenty of other nostalgic, old alumni. It just wasn't what I was looking for. The second one was just all business. I had barely any time to see anyone or anything. I felt as though I might as well have been recruiting at another nameless and unfamiliar college. This last trip, I felt, resembled what my life was like in college. I saw one friend for lunch, had "class" (or work at the dinner), and then went out with a couple more friends and ended the night barely buzzed and wreaking of smoke. (You can still smoke in Philly bars and restaurants.) I think this trip was my true closure. I came into it knowing not to expect things to be the same as before and that everyone had moved on. Yet I got to relive, just for a day, my college life while already leading the once uncertain life away from college and knowing that this one day was it. I feel lucky to have had this chance to satisfyingly and peacefully close the Penn chapter of my life and truly appreciate the new, wonderful life chapter that is writing itself as I write this blog.

I Can Feel It in the Air

I can feel it in the air. Spring has arrived in Boston! I was able to bike without a jacket, hat, and gloves on Friday. I could feel the cool breeze through my hair, well through the holes in my helmet. Today, I was able to wear a thin, long-sleeved shirt and a spring jacket. It's here!

Although this winter was relatively mild for a Boston winter, Spring has been a long time coming. Until Friday, I forgot how wonderful it feels to ride a bike without layers and layers to avoid frost bite and windburn. Until Friday, I forgot what it was like to not wear a winter jacket. I think I started wearing thicker clothing in layers in October, and by the end of October winter coats were a necessity; it snowed on Halloween. I can finally retire my wool coat and ski jacket after 6 months of non-stop abuse.

And to boot, it snowed for the first time in San Francisco in thirty years! Apparently the city shut down since it has no resources, e.g., snow plows or salt, to clear the snow off the roads. San Fran drivers have gotten into several car accidents since they don't seem to understand that snow on the road requires slower driving. Those pampered Californians can't handle it. :) So to all those in San Francisco who always gloat about the glorious weather SF experiences year round, especially compared to the Northeast, I enjoyed the sun and warmth today in your honor. That's exactly what you weren't doing today, for once in your sun-filled lives; my how the tables have turned, for a day. :)

Dooring a Cyclist is NOT COOL - Part Deux

On my way to work this morning, I was nearly doored again almost at the same spot! This huge SUV was parked on the side of the road but had it's motor running, so I knew someone was in there. I took special care to ride a few feet from the car as I passed it. Right before I passed it, the driver quickly opens his door to spit on the ground! Luckily, I was far back enough that I was able to go around it! UNBELIEVABLE!!! I was close enough that I could have been hit had I not been aware of the situation! Everyone just needs to look before they leave their car on the side of traffic - not just to make sure they don't hit cyclists, but that they also don't open their door into an oncoming car. It's really for everyone's safety.

THEN I get to work this morning and call the claims representative handling last week's accident (at the insurance company of the guy who hit me) to ask for her fax number so I could fax her the estimate of bike damage. She tells me that the guy who hit me is BLAMING ME for the accident. UNBELIVABLE!!! He says I ran into his car and that I lost control of my bike!!!!! There's just no way that could have happened. The outside of his car door hit me and my bike lock holder. My bike lock holder is still broken to prove it!!! I fell sideways right next to his car. The way in which I fell indicates that he hit me; I didn't have enough momentum to fly forward off my bike. If I had run into his car, I would have run into the inside of his car door, forcing it open. I would have run into the car door forward and probably flipped off my bike. And EVEN THEN it's his fault since he didn't look at oncoming traffic to make sure it was clear. Passengers getting out of the door on the traffic side are responsible for making sure the path is clear. If it's not clear and they recklessly open the car door onto traffic, they are fined $500 in Cambridge. I CANNOT EVEN BELIEVE THIS!!!! The nerve of this man to claim it was my fault!

Still, the claims representative seemed pretty sympathetic to my case. She said that it looks particularly bad on his part that he didn't call this in earlier, and that it took her a week to get in touch with him, after several phone calls and a stern letter. Also, I explained to her just what I wrote above, that the way in which the door hit me means that he must have doored me. She agreed. She's trying to get in touch with him now, so we'll see how this saga turns out.

When it first happened, I was considering not even reporting it. I felt bad that he would have to pay $500 to the city of Cambridge for what he did as well as potentially have his insurance premium go up. He was pretty apologetic at the scene of the accident, even though he told me I was going too fast. He was driving a mid-90s Toyota Corolla, so I assumed he wasn't exactly wealthy. Still, he did hit me, so it was only right for me to report what happened, however reluctant I was. But now that he says it's my fault, all bets are off. I guess I'm just too nice and have too much sympathy. I'm not going to try to get anything more than what I deserve- the damage to my bike covered by him/his insurance. I do hope his insurance premium goes up for this and that he's fined for what he did. I can't believe he's not owning up to this. It's an eye for an eye now.

Staten Island Chuck

Staten Island Chuck predicted that Spring would come early, unlike other groundhogs (e.g., Pennsylvanian ones). In a discussion with a Masshole co-worker today, I learned that no one even knows who Staten Island Chuck is! Even in NYC, the Pennsylvania groundhog, who I will not refer to by name to respect Chuck, was the one making the headlines!

Needless to say, it's getting warmer, even in gloomy Boston, and it's not been 6 weeks since Groundhog's Day. Staten Island Chuck deserves more respect and publicity for his weather predictions. Chuck is one of the few things Staten Island could have going for it. In the 18 years I lived there, Staten Island's only other claim to fame has been the Wu Tang Clan. Staten Islanders need to start building Staten Island Chuck up as the national groundhog. This blog entry is just the beginning.

As a side note, I believe this is me rooting for the underdog again. Honestly, Staten Island Chuck has no chance. I don't think people in Staten Island even know who he is.