Andare, Partire, Tornare ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why can't things stay the same? Decided to go to the fireworks after all, and am very glad I did. The fireworks were organized to a set musical program, and although the music was pretty trite, the fireworks were definitely spectacular. I've been told that this is the fourth best ranked display in the country. It's kind of boggling that it occurs in State College, of all places, but there you have it. I didn't want to fight traffic exiting the stadium area, so ducked into the grad office to futz around on the computer and get a few more things out of my desk. The place looks so bare - everybody who's leaving has taken down all the postcards, photos, and what have you from off the walls, and it seems a little bleak. I'm going to severely miss this place. The two years here put me into a strong bond with a really great bunch of people. While I'm going to stay friends with a bunch of them (I hope and trust), the simple fact is we're scattering to the four winds. Some of us are staying, some of us are heading elsewhere to work or are planning to pursue doctorates elsewhere - the result is that the core group of people isn't a group anymore. Other friends are feeling the same way. It's a really upsetting notion. While I'm going back to two friends I've had for ages and ages, there is a difference between them and these friends, with whom I've shared an intense experience. Too bad I can't stay here at school and hang around the grad office - just not doing any work! Oh, well. Enough with the maudelin whining. It must be these bare, dingy white walls, in this place that used to be a janitor's closet. (Yes, our office is a former storage area, shows how important we are in the grand scheme of things!) The big joke is that it's a horrible, windowless space, and somebody put up a quote on our door from Frank Lloyd Wright - "There is no architecture without natural light." The door is directly opposite the department head's office, and the department head...guess what...works on American modern architecture! Too bad he hasn't taken the quote as a desperate cry for help, and relocated us to sunnier spaces. Well - we *are* the minions, after all. Can't be treated too well, or we get spoiled! 10:14 p.m. - 2001-07-04 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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