Graduation Weekend

Well, after four short years, suddenly I'm a college graduate. Armed with my BBA I will now move onto conquering the world. But first, let's revisit what went on this wondrous weekend.

FRIDAY NIGHT: IAN'S GRADUATION PARTY

I didn't have a high school graduation party, I think because I was working camp that summer and I didn't have time or something. That was used for justification to my parents for footing the bill on a college graduation party.

The party was at the Reata, at the rooftop bar. Once people started showing up, I gave my camera to Nathan, and put him in charge of photographing the event. There were a lot of underclassmen and past TCU graduates there, which is sort of why I threw the party. The only 2004 grads that were there were Scott and Jose, and they brought their families along too. So did Jane, and I'm glad I got to see the Housers again. A lot of family friends from Flower Mound made the drive, too.

Pam bought a cake for the event. You should see the cake-making technology they have these days. The TCU logo was scanned or something and right there in the icing. Her oft-made joke was "I had so many TCU bills around the house, I just took one of those to be scanned." Hilarious.

Ironically, I only had one bacon-wrapped shrimp that night, and that was all I ate. I was took busy mingling and schmoozing to eat, I guess. Everyone said the food was delicious though.

In this picture, I may be holding the knife, but I didn't cut the cake. Cici was very excited to serve it. Apparently one of her loves is serving cake.

Some of Nathan's great photography:

Rob and Jose were discussing serious topics at length. Pam finally met Jose after the party. He's always a character in the stories I tell, but during the introduction, Pam says, "ah, Gambling Jose." So nice that of all the characteristics she could have mentioned, she chose gambling. With the stories I tell, he could have been Softball Jose, Spring Break Jose, BYX Jose, Drinking Buddy Jose, etc.

Upon further review, I think Cici took the photo at left. That's Nathan in the background in the red shirt, so it obviously wasn't him. Case, Billy, Matt Loo, and Dave all came to the party, representing the Sons of Voorn well. Amanda took a picture with me too, one day before she crawls out of her comfort zone to fly overseas for the FIRST TIME!

Derek and Blake showed up, Blake all the way from Austin.

Sheena, Kristen, Allison, and Jen showed up together, as Jose remarks, "they only travel in a pack."	David Durnil was there, representing the "TCU Alumni" party guests.
Andrew's presence was expected, but Rob's was not. That's Rob...always keeping me on my toes.	Amber and Beth came as well...also traveling in a pack.

SATURDAY: THE CEREMONY

My first reaction to the graduation ceremony was how laid back it was; very unlike the strict and militaristic Marcus High School graduation. Before it started, I did plenty of mingling in the "staging room." Nathan and I found more e-business majors and we all took a picture with Dr. Jones and Dr. Mackay.

(from left) Brandt, Ian, Dr. Jones, Nathan, Dr. Mackay, Jason, Steve O, and Sanjeev

Luckily, I was sitting between two good friends. Seriously, what are the odds of that?? Tiffany Verduce and Cameron Wallace bookended Ian Voorn in alphabetical order of the BBA graduates. Tiffany brought her MP3 player, which was shared, and Cameron did a lot of text messaging with his family in the crowd. We made sure to cheer our brothers as they walked the stage too.

Before we knew it, the ceremony was over...and then it was time to party.

SATURDAY NIGHT: GRADUATION PARTIES

The first party I went to was at Dietz's parents' house. Dietz's mom is Dr. Dietz, chair of the social work department at TCU. The Hatter and Marroquin families were also at this event. Any barbecue and/or party that happens there always has bratwurst. This one was no different, and they certainly were delicious.

Scott and his dad are seen here having a blast in the backyard. It's not a party unless someone wears a Hawaiian shirt, and thankfully, Scott made it a party.

After leaving the house, I took Geoff back to campus and then I went to Joe T. Garcia's for the Alpha Chi Omega senior party. This was the second time in about 10 days that I was at a location with Suzanna's dad drinking. I'm pretty sure he didn't remember meeting me at the Pub due to his...state. But this time, he was in introduction mode, so we shook hands again. Robyn's dad was also there (I met him before when I valeted his car), and the other families, but I didn't know them.

Suzanna and Robyn were very excited to have me at their party, I'm sure...

There were other notable party attendees too. Greg Beauchamp, Eric Fare, Ben Williams and his dad, Dr. Chuck Williams, author of one of my textbooks.

And then...Jay Rubottom showed up. What a guy. And he was still cordial and buddy buddy with Suzanna's dad (they used to date FYI). We left soon after to go downtown. At this point, Suzanna's dad was refilling my cup with Joe T's margaritas too often, and when I said thanks and goodbye, he ruffled my hair like I was 8 years old.

Downtown, I met up with Scott, Dietz, Nathan, Jose, and Jose's brother. 8.0 was charging a cover, so we went to Fox and Hound, whose drinks aren't exactly cheap anyway. But there was a great crowd already there - Cameron and Brie, Brooke, Jay, Brandon, Mike and Miriam, and Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Harrison. I realized that Alpha Chi-BYX couples span many generations, from Stuart and Katie to Cameron and Brie, and all the way down to James and Lynn and Bobby and Scotti.

(Left) Jay was so happy that we are graduating. I didn't want to spoil his evening and tell him that Brandon isn't graduating until December. Maybe he already knew...

Brooke and I attempted to make it to 8.0 before Carrie and David left, but we were too late. The cover charge girl apparently worked in the admissions office. Brooke knew her anyway, and she reported that Carrie had left. Brooke called "DWB" on the cell and he confirmed it, so we didn't get a chance to celebrate with Carrie as she earned her MLA this day.

After Fox and Hound, we went to the Library for a bit. All the downtown bars were busy, but it was possible to walk around and have some elbow room, unlike the situation at the Pub on Friday night. Very refreshing. After the Library, the post party happened at Slippy Magee's Bar (Scott and Dietz's apartment) before it is retired, as Scott and Dietz are moving out. Quite sad.

And so that was the fun times of the graduation weekend. It was cool to see Jay and Matt Ravanesi come to town and enjoy our graduation. Makes me think I'll have to come back next May...