Guess What I Did Yesterday

By my fancy look, did I:
A) Buy a new slimming black dress and matching hat for the summer cocktail circuit.
B) Founded the first Gay-Straight Alliance at Hogworts.
C) Sacrificed a chicken to Olofi.
D) Joined a cult
or
E) Finally went through my graduation ceremony.

That's right, D, joined a cult. Nothing serious, our only tenants being to promise to be able to recite from memory numbers like 35.453 and boor people to tears at discussion of our work.

You can't see it in the picture but that hood is really odd, with, like, a big cloth spike on top.

Anyway, though I got my doctorate last semester, they only do the ceremony once a year, and yesterday was my turn. I don't usually care much for ceremony, save for when it comes to family; it often just strikes me as silly. And don't get me wrong, being be-hooded and wearing robes with stripes was comical too; I felt like I should have brought one of the boys' light sabers. But I can see the reason in it; I was glad to have our boys witness the event:
and I can't say I wasn't hit by emotion when my adviser, now colleague, attached that hood to my back. He was a great adviser and is now a good friend:
That is at the celebratory dinner we had afterwards. Almost everybody there was asking me how it feels to be Dr. Lastname, and to be honest it doesn't feel any different. I'm just relieved; that and I now have a lot less respect for doctors. I mean, even I, knowing all my weaknesses and sure there are some I ignore, even I got one of those dr's :-).

The party was just with my closest family and friends, all of whom I've had since my early teens. I know I've been lucky, greatly blessed in the area of friends and family. I don't imagine most people as adults are as close with their teenage buddies, and it's wonderful to have people in your life who know you so well, people you know have your back and with whom you can't remember the last misunderstanding.

Funny though to notice last night how our parties now have an atmosphere more like a Chuck-e-Cheese than the Frat House atmosphere of our teens. We almost all have children now, and the only friend who doesn't is like an uncle (oddly though ours boys are the oldest of the kids; the gay guy of the group had children before all the others :-)). Ah, good times...