November 2006 Archives
Wow, it's been a long time! I'm sorry for that. It was never an intentional neglect of my little Ramble On (it never is), but after a while, it almost becomes a habit to not write as much as you need to make it a habit to write. Nevertheless, I'm back with full force as the semester winds to a close, and I have a plethora of things to be excited about, with a multitude of topics to discuss!
Topic the first: tomorrow night at 7:30, the Tolsia Rebels will be playing in Wheeling, WV for the AA State Championship in high school football. This is the first time the team has made it to the championship in school history, and what's perhaps even more exciting is that they are facing another Wayne County team, the Wayne Pioneers. I wish I was back home for the excitement for so many reasons. Obviously, it's great for school spirit, but I'm also happy for what this means for Wayne County in the eyes of the state. Often ridiculed and filed away as a bunch of rednecks by our upstate friends, this should at least lend some credibility to one aspect of our schools (if our test scores could follow, I'd be tickled pink). I'm also excited for my dad, who is joining the team on their trip as a VIP of sorts. I'm excited for my nieces, who get to join in on the sense of pride a situation like this builds inside a school. I'm excited for the parents, the alumni, the students, the coaches, the local businesses - everyone. Wayne County is going to be emptied out this weekend, if it's not mostly there already. Wheeling won't know what hit it!
Tomorrow night, I believe I'll put on some orange and blue (which is acceptable in this situation and slightly different from the bad orange-and-blue) and tune in to MetroNews' webcast and live score updates (with some side trips to TristatePreps). I'll definitely be yelling and jumping around and cheering, too, just like in my high school days. This, my friends, is a big deal for Tolsia, and while I wish I could make the drive to Wheeling, I'll be content forming my own single-man student section here in Falls Church. Go Rebels!
(I've also been making recent headway on my Flickr galleries. Give them a look!)
Tonight was the Northern Virginia Wesley Alumni dinner. It was great to be able to go to one of these alumni gatherings, now that I actually am an alum. (Amanalum. Is that a new element or something? Right next to Unobtanium?) Anyway, a good range of graduating classes were represented tonight, from as far back as '61, right up to Matthew's class of '06. Only Gerritt was missing from our group of freshman who entered Tech back in 2000.
We had a catered dinner, reminisced about our favorite memories of Wesley (the fish electrocution incident naturally came up, like it always does), and listened to Glenn give us some updates on how Wesley is doing this year. Though I've seen part of this close-up through my visits with Gina, it was good to get the feeling that we were all part of an "official" Wesley event again. I also learned a few things about this year in the process. It's just good to know that some of the seeds and traditions we planted while we were there have not only been perpetuated, but they're also expanding and growing and evolving into new traditions for the kids who are there now. And even though I hang out fairly regularly with a lot of the people sitting at my table already, it was good to catch up with all of the older alums I don't get to see as much, with all of us under one roof again. Well worth skipping class, I say! Er, actually, forget I said that.
Tonight's picture of the day, er, night comes to you courtesy of my Flickr archives.
Despite the graininess and my bionic eye, I still like it. And as an extension, I still like glass elevator ceilings.