A la recherche....

A la recherche....

Last Saturday, Harold and I drove down to USD for the annual Alumni Mass. This year's was special, in that I and the other Bishop Buddy Award winners received a medallion at the end of the mass. The medallion is quite attractively designed--I'll post a picture on my Web site as soon as USD forwards photos to me. After the mass, there was a reception in Founders Hall, near the French Parlor. I got to meet a few of the other winners, and some old alumni. The university's new president, Mary Lyons, greeted us all pleasantly and she appeared to really want to make the event worth remembering.

Since we arrived an hour before mass, Harold and I wandered around the old grounds a bit. Many changes have occurred in the last 28 years since I graduated. What was once the cafeteria is now a small arts building. Inside Camino Hall, we passed what used to be named "Camino Theater" and is now "Shiley Theater." Back behind the theater, down a side corridor, we slipped through an unmarked door into the music rooms. There is a narrow corridor with small rooms on either side, in which students can practice on upright pianos. Harold and I entered one and he sat at the bench and played Debussy's Arabesque and some Liszt. A student heard him playing, and dropped by to watch, fascinated. He told us that he too had been practicing Arabesque and wanted to demonstrate how he plays it. Although he missed a few notes, his technique showed promise.

USD has preserved its traditional, Spanish Renaissance architecture. The floors are still tiled in deep red. Tapestries still drape along the white-plaster walls, dark, heavy European furniture still sits in the foyers. The sounds, the way the light reflects, the smell of cleaning fluid, wood and dust, almost made it seem as though we had gone back in time 30 years. Has it really been that long? Tom Wolfe said "you can't go home again,"  but I believe if you keep a place and time close to your heart, you can always return for a visit.

On Tuesday evening, I attended my final Technical Communications 1 class for the quarter. Bonni devoted the final session to questions and answers, and the time passed swiftly and painlessly, considering it's December and everyone has his or her mind on Christmas shopping. The course was very well designed, Bonni is an animated, involved lecturer who makes able use of humor to keep things flowing. We awarded her a round of applause at the end, which she richly deserved. (All this commentary assuming I receive an A, of course!)

I'll be seeing Bonni and a few of my fellow students next quarter, when I take "Critical Thinking for Technical Communicators." One of the books for that course is Freakonomics, which I planned to read anyway.

Tonight, my parents are coming over for the first time in a few weeks. We will watch Spielberg's War of the Worlds. I hope it's good!