GRADUATION & MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

This weekend was certainly a busy one with it being a graduation weekend and Memorial Day as well. 

My third-oldest niece, Ashley just graduated from high school on Friday. At first, I was a bit hesitant to attend assuming her graduating class was probably like 1000 students, but because Hilliard has three high schools, the students are a bit more evenly distributed, so it’s more like about 250 students.

The ceremony was held at the Schottenstein Center, known by locals as “the Schott.” Darby High School got the Friday night slot in the rotation this year, so that was nice, even though the ceremony only lasted perhaps two hours. It was my first time there, so it was nice to finally step inside and see it for myself.

We made sure to get there plenty early.  My niece, and her dad, who is on the faculty (and was participating) at Darby arrived separately, so we didn’t have to get there as early as them. Since seating is somewhat on a first come, first served basis, we had plenty of time to find decent seats and were quite pleased with them. In terms of being able to get decent pictures from where we sat, that was less of an issue since my new Canon point ‘n shoot has a pretty wicked zoom (but I probably should have made it more of a priority to study how to best use the camera so I could have gotten better shots).

Having not attended a high school graduation since that of my sister’s more than a quarter century ago, it was interesting to see that not a whole lot has changed in this American tradition. “Pomp & Circumstance” is still played as the students proceed in. The addition of a color guard who march in with military precision and then sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” is something I certainly don’t remember from my graduation, though that doesn’t mean there wasn’t one; It was over 30 years ago, so who knows?

I have to say I was really impressed with all the speeches given both by the faculty and the students – so much wisdom to impart; I actually jotted down a few notes myself. I only hope the students were paying attention and heed some the many gems like: ‘Read More,’ and ‘When you feel blessed you can’t feel stressed.’ One of my favorite bits of advice comes from Christopher Robin, “Promise me you’ll always remember: you’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Though, perhaps no one summed it up better than Hunter S. Thompson, “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow! What a Ride!’”

One of the funnier parts of the ceremony was the impromptu rendition of “Country Roads” performed by Darby’s very own five-member boy band who seemed to surprise the principal with this unplanned moment. I later asked my niece about the significance of the song (which was supposedly their class song), and she said there really wasn’t one, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless.

A shout-out should go to the principal, Joyce Brickley, who made it a point to hug each and every one of the more than 200 graduates. My parents were certainly impressed by that, as was I. A shout-out should also go to the trio of Ashley’s coworkers from the Olive Garden who not only attended, but made personalized t-shirts for the occasion and brought visual aids as well.

Probably the best part of the evening was the photo shoot afterwards as everyone vied for their turn to get a picture with the graduate. I did slightly better here as I took enough multiples that I was confident my success ratio would be higher. I also enjoyed getting those unposed, off-the-cuff photos that will be the ones fondly enjoyed later (I hope).

After the last photo was taken and the sun slid behind the horizon, we made our way back home while we left the young graduate to make some more memories with her friends on this most special of evenings.

Congratulations Ashley and may you have a bright future ahead filled with lots of happiness and adventures. In the words of Mr. Miyagi, “Bonzai!” 

"It All Started With a Big Bang (Theory)"

Thursday night was the end of an era, well, maybe not the end of an era exactly. But after spending over ten years of your life enjoying something and counting on that pleasure, it feels a bit sad to see it end. Of course that doesn’t mean we’ll never see each other, but it means we’ll never have anything new in our relationship.

In case you’re wondering what I’m babbling about, I’m talking about the last ever episode of “Big Bang Theory” that aired Thursday night. If you’re not a fan, you might want to stop reading here, but if you are a fan and haven’t yet watched the finale, you might want to look away now too. For all the rest, come with me as I reminisce about 12 years of this fantastic sitcom.

To be honest, I wasn’t exactly a fan from day one as I don’t recall starting to watch it until perhaps the second season. I believe it was my sister who casually mentioned watching it, so out of curiosity I tuned in, and a few episodes later I was hooked.

What did I like about it? The writing was fantastic, the casting was superb, and in some ways, the show was relatable. Hasn’t anyone ever known or dated a science nerd? I married one (he has a degree in Chemistry, so that counts), but he’s certainly not as nerdy as some. Though we’re not exactly Sheldon & Amy, comparisons have been made, and we even dressed up like them for Halloween once.

The show became all the richer, and it was the best decision ever made when Bernadette and Amy were added to the cast. They certainly brought out the best in Howard and Sheldon, whom they were paired up with. It’s only a shame that Raj didn’t find his soul mate (unless things took an unexpected turn with the ‘Slayer’ after the ceremony).

I love all the guest stars they had over the years: Bob Newhart, Wil Wheaton, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, Carrie Fisher, Stan Lee, and Sheldon’s personal hero, Stephen Hawking, to name a few. I love that Wil Wheaton and Stephen Hawking were such good sports and always made their episodes that little bit more special.

However, neither of them probably made me laugh as much as James Earl Jones when he took Sheldon on a guy’s day out, which was definitely appreciated more by us than by Sheldon.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the hilarious actors Kathy Bates and Teller who joined on for a few guest appearances playing Amy’s parents. Of course most of the humor comes from the fact that Teller is a (silent) professional magician who now speaks and actually takes magic lessons from Howard. I also like how Sheldon nicknames Amy’s mom, Greenbean (in “The Consummation Deviation”).

One of my favorite episodes from this season was the Halloween episode ("The Imitation Perturbation") where Howard dresses up as Sheldon,

then later Sheldon & Amy take revenge on them (Howard & Bernadette) at their Halloween party. The character of Howard proved to be good at celebrity accents, so his impersonation of Sheldon was also spot-on in appearance as well as voice.

‘The D & D Vortex’ was also another winner. For those not in the know, D & D is “Dungeons & Dragons,” which is, according to Wikipedia:

           Dungeons & Dragons (commonly abbreviated as D&D)^[2] is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson….D&D departs from traditional wargaming by allowing each player to create their own character to play...These characters embark upon imaginary adventures within a fantasy setting. A Dungeon Master (DM) serves as the game's referee and storyteller, while maintaining the setting in which the adventures occur, and playing the role of the inhabitants of the game world. The characters form a party and they interact with the setting's inhabitants and each other. Together they solve dilemmas, engage in battles, and gather treasure and knowledge.^[4] In the process, the characters earn experience points (XP) in order to rise in levels, and become increasingly powerful over a series of separate gaming sessions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons. 

Leonard gets asked to join a celebrity D & D game held at Wil Wheaton’s house. Of course Leonard can’t keep a secret and afterwards tells Penny (who could care less until she hears who was at the game).

Then we later see all three of the girls at the next game – Penny, Amy, and Bernadette. Like any of us would probably be, they’re slightly less interested in playing, and more interested in socializing (i.e., touching the handsome celebrities in attendance).  Now, every time my husband gets together with his work colleagues to play, I always tell him to be sure to text me if any celebrities show up.

I liked how the last two episodes tied up loose ends and finally answered a few questions like what do Howard and Bernadette’s kids look like? (just as cute as you would think they would be) Do Amy and Sheldon win the Nobel prize? It would be pretty cruel of the writers to not have them win, so this was kind of a given. Why does Penny’s dress have to be let out? (hint – it does have to do with alcohol, but not directly).

However, as much as liked the ending, there was really only one surprise and it wasn’t exactly a shocker. Also, I didn’t really feel that sentimental until I watched “Young Sheldon” afterwards. The ending very much ties in with “Big Bang Theory” in a prequel sort of way, and was just one of those moments that made me say, “Awww,” and get a little teary-eyed.

Good-bye “Big Bang Theory” and thanks for 277 of the happiest half hours of my life over the past 12 years and may you ‘live long and prosper’ in syndication.

2019 Designer Showcase

Last weekend my husband, sister, and me attended this event held every other year at the Columbus Museum of Art.

According to the description on CMA’s website:

“Designer Showcase”
April 19 – Sunday, May 19, 2019

           This year, Decorators’ Show House becomes Designer Showcase (DSC) and moves into the first floor of the Walter Wing. Fourteen local designers will transform blank galleries into 18 creative living spaces, including bedrooms, living room, bath, and kitchen.

           All proceeds support Wonder School and other creative initiatives.

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what Wonder School is, and I don’t really care. I just know that I like looking at fancy room furnishings dreaming about what I would buy if money were no object (and if I had a big enough house to fit it all).

I figured my sister would enjoy this sort of thing as a fellow viewer and fan of HGTV, and I wasn’t wrong. Even my husband could appreciate the creativity and style of the rooms.

Part of the fun was looking at the price list posted in every room. We were told the decorators would rather not have to haul everything back to their studios if they could just sell off the various pieces.

My husband and I agreed these “hand” chairs (which he said reminded him of something straight out of “Beetlejuice”) would certainly be a fun feature, though we don’t have the space, and were told they really aren’t that comfortable to sit in.

If we had the space, this set of infinity mirrors would be a lot of fun to look into every day, or maybe you would feel like you were trapped in an Alfred Hitchcock film?

As we were in the car heading back home we each discussed our favorite room. Mine was definitely the children’s bedroom because of the cute bus/loft conversion. It almost felt a bit like tiny house living (or what I imagine tiny house living to be like) climbing a ladder to the loft-like room with a couple bean bags and a television up there. It was nice to feel so cozy and secluded.

We admired and appreciated all the space savers and practical way the various drawers and cupboards opened in the kitchen even providing for a pull-out work space where you could store your Kitchen Aid mixer when you’re not using it (which would be most of the time for the three of us).

My sister noticed the little shower built into the corner of the Laundry/Mud Room which was designed to be somewhere to hose off your muddy pooch or perhaps your muddy wellington boots.

One of the more unusual features that we all liked were the walls lined with organic materials to mimic the out-of-doors.

I’ve seen that occasionally in magazines or on the television, but have rarely ever seen one close-up. Not sure it’s for me, but certainly an interesting and rare installation that your neighbors surely won’t have.

2017 Designer Showcase

All in all, I think I preferred the rooms in the previous (2017) Designer Showcase. That might partly be because it was the first time I had ever attended the event, but I think it was mostly because those rooms were more to my taste than this year’s were.

my favorite room from 2017

Still, I plan to attend the next Showcase in 2021.