Houston Regional Cabinet Dinner

Jolene and I went to this dinner last night at the Junior League of Houston. When we got there, the room was filled with a bunch of old people, and I was thinking "What is this?" I felt awkward, but, hey, what do ya do? So we went over to the table to get our name tags. In the bottom corner, there was either small print that read the school you graduated in and what year, the word "parent" or nothing at all indicating that you're a friend. There were a lot of parents of WashU parents including Marissa's. Jolene and I didn't really know what to do with ourselves so we wandered into the room where they were serving cocktails. I had some red wine. While we were talking a couple came up to us whose children had graduated in '99 and '01. The dad was the biggest complainer ever. He asked me if I had to write a thesis. I said not exactly but I did have a "capstone experience". He said something about how WashU makes everyone write a thesis and how WashU doesn't have enough faculty to do that. He was also frustrated with the fact that an A and an A+ are worth the same, but an A- will bring your GPA down. I agreed with that statement, but I wasn't nearly as hostile as he was about the whole thing. Later, at the end of the speech, he expressed his frustrations to Dean McLeod. Dean McLeod handled it so well. He politely listened to this man's concerns, corrected some misunderstandings, and offered to work with him in talking to the right people. Okay, enough talk about that.

During Dean McLeod's speech, I finally realized what the point of the dinner was--a WashU update. He talked a lot about the changes that were going on at WashU. For example, WashU is starting a new International Scholars Academy. You can read the press release at http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/5994.html
It was cool listening to him talk about the changes because we've experienced them, and I knew exactly what he was talking about. For example, he mentioned the renovation of the library and how circulation has gone up 100%. No kidding,-- I mean-- the library is the social scence during the week.

This should next thing should excite you, Lei Lei. A woman at my table asked me if I was involved in APAP (I don't know what it stands for.) It's where alumni interview potential students in the Houston area. She encouraged me to get involved especially since I had just graduated and could really answer current questions. I mentioned how I had a friend who worked for the admissions office and and interviewd a lot of prospective students ;) During the presentation, a guy got up and talked a little more about the program. At the end, I got his business card, so I could email him.

Lastly, for dinner we had a salad with greens and fruit, steak with asparagus and a rice pilaf followed by fresh berries in a hard caramel shell with whipped cream on top. Yummy!

We need an update

No one's updated in a while, so I've taken it upon myself to start.

Not a lot has happened to me per se, but something astronomical has happened in the family. I'm not going to go into much detail her, but my sister got caught with a boy in her room late night/early morning on Monday by my dad. The situation is totally unbelievable; however, a similar situation happened to me when I was 15. As a result, she's had to quit all extra curricular activities including volleyball. She and I have switched rooms, so now she shares with C.C., and I have my own room. It's kind of nice to have my own room, but my sleep is disturbed around 3:30am because Jr. gets up to go to work.

I got an email from the Peace Corps placement office last week asking for a copy of my transcript to verify that I graduated like I said I was going to. I faxed it on Wednesday. Also, on my on-line application, all the appropriate markers are checked including the one that says "placement". I'm hoping that means I'll have my invitation next week.

Career advice

I had a very pleasing conversation with Nick last night. He talked a lot about law school and I told him about my situation with the Peace Corps. I also mentioned that after getting that scare, I've started researching different industries and careers to really discover what I want to do with "the rest of my life." Here's Nick's career advice:

"You know, Adannaa, I think you should go to law school."
"Funny that you mention that because my dad wants me to seriously look into it."
"Yeah, but he wants you to do that so you can have a lucrative career. I think you should go to law school because you're analytical and good at comparing things. You might not think you're good at thinking on your feet or public speaking, but you're [could be] good at public speaking. Law school is for anybody who has common sense and is determined. I had to write this memo for class, which was suppose to involve a lot of library research, and I was thinking--I wish Adannaa was here to help. What's your GPA? At Wash U? You could totally get into law school."

Man, Nick sure knows how to make a girl feel good :)

Parent or child?

On Monday, there was another incident with a parent. This kid, Taurin, who's about 12 or 13 was being extra bad. We tried playing this tag game, but soon enough it got out of control (they weren't playing by rules and they were just getting rowdy). While trying to switch up games, a few of the kids sat on the stage with their feet hanging over the edge. We instructed them to get off because they like to bang their feet against the stage. Well, Tauring was doing everything in his power not to listen. When he finally did get off, he put his arms around my shoulders as if to hug me and just hung there. I made a motion to shrug him off, but he wasn't budging. At the same time all the kids are running around and one little girl was trying to talk to me. In the midst of the chaos, Mr. Wiggs came in. He works for the city and is in charge of the facilites. He came over and tapped Taurin to get his attention to tell him get off of me. Taurin didn't realize that "an adult" was there and started to yell at Mr. Wiggs. When he turned around and realized who it was, instead of controlling himself, he proceeded to mouth off saying, "Don't put your hands on me!"

"I'm not trying to put my hands on you, but you need to get off the young lady."
"You better not put your hands on me!"
"I'm not putting my hands on you. "
Taurin starts to walk off still running his mouth.
"If you're gonna act like that than you can leave."

So, Taurin and a bunch of his siblings/cousins left. Soon afterwards his mother and some other woman came driving up to the rec. They storm in demanding to see the man who put his hands on her son. I tried to tell her that Mr. Wiggs was an employee, but she didn't want to hear it. So, Mr. Wiggs approached her. She was yelling something about how no one should put their hands on her son. Mr. Wiggs tried to talk to her, but I guess she felt more comfortable yelling. I made the rest of the kids go outside. When I came back in she was about done. She made Taurin apologize for being disrespectful, but as she passed me she said, "You're a grown woman. You tell him to get off of you." I didn't say anything; I just smiled. I already saw how her conversation went with Mr. Wiggs--you know--yelling and ranting like a child. There was no use in trying to talk/reason with her. I think she was displeased with my smile, so she yelled, "byyyyye" while looking me up and down as if to challenge me. She continued her ranting as she walked to her car and then burnt off in a mad rage.

Fair on the square

Saturday was Fair on the Square, where the block off a few blocks of downtown and have tons of booths where they sell a lot of hand made things, food, and games. I took Ezinne and Chinyere, but Chinyere and I ended up walking by ourselves because Ezinne ran into some friends. It was sooooo hot outside, but it was fun because lots of folks were out and about.

Also, Thursday I ran into this guy, Duwane, that I graduated high school with. We exchanged numbers and that night he called to invite me to church on sunday and to a gospel concert in which he would be singing. I couldn't go to the concert, but this morning Chinyere and I went to his church. (He also invited my family to come along.) It was really fun. The songs were good and the sermon was lively. The pastor was moving all around, jumping up and down, and making us laugh, which is a drastic change from my church where there's a bunch of old white people. I think our pastor is very nice and is actually young at heart, but he doesn't hold my attention. Even Chinyere came away from the service saying "that was fun."

Oh yeah, by the way, I finished this Italian book called Io non chiedo permesso (ie I don't ask permission). It was a pretty racy and explicit novel. I just wanted to share.