Graham-uation

My rock star tour of graduations continued with a West Coast appearance in smoky California. I arrived back in D.C. on Monday morning from Katie's commencement, took a really long nap and called in sick to work. Tuesday flew by and before I knew it, I was transferring my clothes from one suitcase to another, standing in another airport security line, and on my way to Santa Cruz.

Friday morning the house was stirring and by 7:00am, Bob, Mary Ann, E, J, and I piled in the car and were on our way to Berkeley. At approximately 7:15, we hit the worst traffic ever. We passed the time by joking about G's love for basketball shorts, the police officer who was poking at a dead deer on the side of the road, and then J treated us to his rendition of car noises (including the sound of our hubcaps scraping the concrete barriers like the race scenes in Bullitt). Then, a dark cloud covered the Passat because everyone realized that there was no way in hell that we were going to make it to the Greek Theater by 9:00. Luckily for us, the commencement speaker was incredibly long-winded. When we strolled in at 9:30 he was still going strong. Whew. Crisis averted.

Highlight of the ceremony? G's sneakers. When asked if he received the memo that instructed the men to wear dark pants and shoes (about 99% of the graduates were in the loop), he retorted, "hey I wore a collared shirt." J added that at least he didn't wear shorts.

After a nice walking tour of Berkeley's campus, we stopped by Tai and Doug's for cake and champagne. I got great tour of their new house and all the work they've accomplished in the last year. In order to prevent falling over from exhaustion, we all took a walk down Shattuck Avenue while the three brothers headed over to G's favorite happy hour spot, the Bear's Lair.

By the time I arrived at the Lair the boys were well lubricated with pilsner, IPA, and spicy fries. J, in particular, was in rare form. He grabbed a plastic cup, poured me a beer, and embarked on a discussion of the probability of G becoming a major Business "douchebag." Apparently, J is worried about his baby brother's soul and has given quite a bit of thought to the subject. The complex mathematical equation went something like this:

100% Potential for Douchebagdom

- 75 % thanks to G's upbringing by Mary Ann & Bob

+ 35% for graduating in the top 5 of his class at Haas School of Business

+25% for moving to Los Angles

- 60% for wearing the most wrinkled robe ever and soccer sneakers to his graduation ceremony

I can't even pretend to know what the heck he was talking about, but then J gave G a thorough ear massage. Having been on the receiving end of an ear massage or two, I knew at that moment the calculations were all about love - regardless how circuitous they may have seemed. G decided not to sit next to Jesse at dinner when we all met up again at Unicorn (smart guy). We had a wonderful meal and then rolled ourselves out of the restaurant to our respective cars. E stayed behind to celebrate the rest of the evening with G, and J, Bob, Mary Ann, and I headed back to Santa Cruz exhausted from the day, but smiling all the way home.

What a great afternoon!