We’ve only just begun

Got back from commencement about an hour ago. This year there was no processional, because of all the security precautions for Vice President Cheney, so I showed up at 1:45, found my friends, and got in the massive line. (Line is the wrong word, actually; it looked more like the Nile Delta.) Luckily, they were having all the graduates push their way to the front of the line (thus overriding my politeness circuits), so we made our way to the front.

The security checks weren’t as bad as I thought. We were supposed to arrive with our cap in hand and our gown draped over our right arm. When I got to the table, I took everything metal out of my pockets and put them there along with my cap and gown. I walked through the metal detector and thankfully the jacks I swallowed as a kid didn’t register. ;) (Just kidding.) Detectors of all sorts make me feel guilty, even if I have nothing to feel guilty for. I just imagine what it would be like if the thing went off, and then I blush and start sweating, and then I think about the security guards seeing me blush and sweat and that makes it even worse, and so on. Overactive imaginations are not always a boon. Every single time I walk through the detectors at the library, I get short of breath and have to swallow hard. Heck, a few times they’ve gone off even when I checked my books out legitimately (not implying that I often try to smuggle books out — I don’t), which is embarrassing. It’s no fun feeling like a crook.

Anyway, Cheney’s talk was quite nice. I really liked how he BYU-ized his talk by mentioning the HFAC and SWKT and other buildings on campus. Oh, and President Hinckley was there. He didn’t talk, though. When they first came in, there was a huge round of applause, and I couldn’t help but pity Cheney, who probably thought it was for him. It was obviously for President Hinckley. (But then again he had to have realized that our prophet would garner a lot of applause.)

I was there for three and a half hours, but it wasn’t too bad. The entertainment was, well, entertaining, and I brought Sweet’s Anglo-Saxon Primer to tide me through the parts I wasn’t interested in. I guess technically I have my degree now, since they conferred it at commencement. But tomorrow’s convocation will seal the deal. And then I’ll get my diploma in the mail in a few weeks, assuming I passed all my classes. ~fingers crossed~ ;)

One last thing. The cap was bothersome — I can’t stand hats of any kind; I guess my head needs its personal space — but I loved wearing the gown. Felt like Harry Potter. Almost pulled out my pen and waved it around. Seriously, I’d be fine wearing a gown like that all the time here at school. It’s a pity I didn’t go to some British university… And it’s another pity that I have to give the gown back tomorrow after convocation. ~sigh~ Walking back across campus with the wind blowing through it was a transcendental experience. If only there were a cliff nearby for me to stand on, leaning into the sunset as the copper rays paint my face with light and shadow, the wind ruffling my lion’s mane and the John Williams soundtrack in the background. Mmm. :P

I can see how being in the presence of the prophet (you didn’t hide this time, did you?) and listening to an inspirational speech while wearing the garb of Europe’s oldest scribal brotherhood could be a transcendental experience for you. My last trip through a metal detector wasn’t nearly as fun… I rarely ever wear jeans as a result. I know your grad school plans are set, but an English university is always a possibility for a PhD. If that falls through you can always volunteer to read Harry Potter stories to little kids in a public library – you can even dress up. All jokes aside, it was fun to see you light up after reaching this benchmark. Congratulations!

Wow, I thought I was the only one with a serious fear of security detectors! I’m glad I’m not alone.

If by lion’s mane you mean Aslan a.k.a. the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, then it’s a Harry Gregson-Williams soundtrack, not John Williams. Not to be nitpicky or anything :)

There’s a third for the metal detectors…I hates them (although I totally approve of their purpose).

I really get a chuckle out of your desire to wear robes. Really, you could just wear them if you wanted to. You’d stick out in a crowd, but who really cares if it gives you that transcendental feeling all the time. Just might be worth it. And you might create a fad…who knows?

…unless you’re talking about in Star Wars when Luke goes out and watches the two suns setting and the music swells…in that case you’re right about John Williams. Just not the lion’s mane. I think it was more like a mullet :)

Heather: No, I didn’t hide. :P And while I would love to head to Oxford for a Ph.D., I think that a masters degree will be quite enough school for me. But we’ll see. :)

Haley: LOL, I actually wasn’t thinking of Aslan, though the soundtrack is great. The Tatooine scene is much closer to the mark. Sans mullet. ~shudder~ :P (But I love the music in that scene. Swelling music is my favorite.)

Mali-Wan: LOL, I’m already weird enough as it is. ;)

ooh ooh ooh so I had jury duty today, and it suddenly dawned on me that the judge was wearing robes, and I thought of you, and I was like, “So Ben can wear robes if he’s a JUDGE!!!” Anyways, something to consider :)

A stroke of brilliance. :) I think I’d pass on the wig, though…