"stay away from people who high-five and call you bro when they're not a sibling."

there was some serious life-changing advice happening yesterday at the Hampshire College Commencement. i'll get to that later, let me start by telling you about my great Friday.

(aliya! elizabeth! joe! graduated!!!!!)

FRIDAY, 15 MAY 2009

i had a great day full of adventure. woke up fairly early. i think by 1. got up. made some eggs and coffee for breakfast. did some business online. not really business, though. probably celebrity gossip research. for the blog! so, i guess it was businessy.

decided not to wash my hair. i was going to. but then i decided i would wait and wash it later that night so i wouldn't have to wash it saturday morning. good decision, j.

got dressed. packed up my things. i needed to run errands and i had a lot of things to pack up. checks to deposit, netflix to return, mailing to mail. it was just a lot.

so, i left my apartment just after 4. i had to stop in the office to pick up some money from baby girl watching, and i stopped in at just the right time!!!! i got to meet Venessa Acham - the president of the board of directors for Hannah House!! it was great! she was so happy to meet me and kept saying how happy she was that i was working there, etc. i mean, i have no idea if she had even heard my name before, but it was still nice to hear some praise. she was really beautiful, too. she just seemed like a nice lady.

then she headed out and it was just me, Sue and Diane in the office. i asked them both a simple question:

JULIE: Do you know of any bead stores in the area?
SUE AND DIANE: ENFIELD.

then they went on and on about this supposedly amazing bead store in Enfield, New Hampshire right on Mascoma Lake. neither had been before, though. so then they were trying to give me directions and they were getting all excited about the thought of me going.

apparently, Sue has a sister who makes a lot of jewerly and always goes to this incredible bead store. but, it's very out of the way and nobody really knew anything factual about it.

so, Diane was getting very excited about learning all this new information, and the thought of me having an adventure, so, she did some googling and found the address, directions and a phone number. and then she called them to find out their hours and everything. she is so great. and they were both so excited for me. so that made me super excited!! so, i made a plan to go and then report back to them.

SO. i left the office at 4:45 and headed to the post office. closes at 5! yikes! got a great parking spot right out front. ran in, checked my mail. i got something for the wrong box. and i also wanted to make sure that my letter that i was mailing wasn't over the weight limit. IT WAS! good thing i checked. i had to pay $.17 extra. which, should have been $0.00 since postage should be free. whatevs.

left the post office. drove over to the bank. another great parking spot! the ladies at the counter were talking about all different kinds of alcoholic drinks. one of them mentioned a raspberry white russian which i think sounds incredibly good. i didn't ask where they were talking about, though. i thought that might seem awkward. so, i deposited some checks which is a good deal.

then, i headed over to Best Buy. i needed a memory card for my digital camera. i need one for Ireland because without it my camera can take a grand total of 9 pictures. and that wasn't going to cut it.

now, i had never been into this Best Buy yet, and i was kind of dreading it because i don't really understand anything about technology. so, i walk in and quickly find the camera section. and then i find the memory card section.

now, i had looked up exactly what i needed the night before, but of course, i had absolutely no memory of what it was supposed to be. so, i'm standing, staring at these alien-life form products, when i hear a voice behind me,

MAN: Excuse me, could I find someone to help you today?
JULIE: Umm....actually, that would be great.
MAN: Great! I'm Sean, and you are...?
JULIE: .....I'm Julie.
SEAN: Thanks Julie, I'll bring someone right over.

now, i thought this a bit odd. this Best Buy worker was not wearing a blue shirt and khakis. he was wearing a white shirt, black pants, had a very important looking headset on, and was carrying like, 5 clipboards. (actually, maybe only 2) and now we were like.....friends? it was strange.

so, i'm standing there still, and then Sean comes back with a blue shirt and khakis Best Buy employee.

SEAN: Hi Julie, I'd like to introduce you to Gary, he's going to be helping you out today.
GARY: (holds out his hand) Gary. Nice to meet you.
JULIE: (shakes his hand) I'm Julie....nice to meet you too.
SEAN: Great!
JULIE: Thanks Sean...

now, i'm still thinking this whole thing kind of strange. like, he wanted to introduce me to Gary....like we were on a date or something. whatevs.

JULIE: (takes out her camera) So, okay, this is my camera and I need a memory card for it.
GARY: Alright......it's a cybershot blah blah blah foreign technology speak blah blah....

and i ended up with a memory card! success!! Gary was a lovely gentleman. i was now very grateful for his help. and the fact that we were introduced.

so, then i also wanted to take a peek at the external harddrives. when in rome. so, i walk over to the computer section and find the hard drives. i see the two that i had been comparing online. they both look pretty much the same to me. i was just going to compare boxes and take off. but then! i heard that sweet familar voice behind me......

SEAN: Hi! Can I bring someone over to help you out here?!!
JULIE: Um....actually, I think I'm all set.
SEAN: Great! Just let me know if you need any help.
JULIE: I will! Thanks so much!

what a great guy, that Sean. so, i must have momentarily forgotten that i don't understand technology speak. and i had no idea what i was reading. and i really just wanted a hard drive that wouldn't crap out on me. so, i decided that i DID want some help. but now...where was Sean....

so, i'm peering my head over some of the aisles looking for him and i can't find him anywhere. so i go back into my aisle and wait. he would come around eventually, i had a feeling about this.

AND THEN THERE HE WAS! asking every customer if they wanted help. i could tell everyone was saying "no thanks." but not me!

JULIE: Hey Sean, I actually think I do want some help over in the hard drives.
SEAN: Great! I'll send someone right over.
JULIE: Thank you so much!
SEAN: No problem!

my new BFF. so, i waited and then around the corner, he came. with another guy in a white shirt and black pants.

SEAN: Julie, I've brought over Jason from the Geek Squad.
JASON: Hey.
JULIE: Hi.
SEAN: Alright, great!
JULIE: Thank you!

i could tell Jason kind of thought he was hott stuff. those geek squad guys all do.

JULIE: So, I had an external hard drive but it recently died, and I'm just kind of wondering what you would recommend.....I've been looking at either the Seagate, or the -
JASON: Western Digital?
JULIE: Yes!
JASON: Yeah, those are basically the two top brands in the hard drives. You really can't go wrong with both.
JULIE: Is there one you would recommend over the other?
JASON: Um...well, I've owned both of them before. I've got a couple Seagates right now on my desk. But, I think they're pretty interchangable. Really, whichever is the better deal.

so, we ended up having a nice conversation. he was a nice guy. ONCE AGAIN - Sean chose the right guy. he does his job pretty damn well.

aanndd....i ended up with this on-sale, green external harddrive that's 320gb and not too much bigger than my iPod. CR-AZY.

i left Best Buy in SUCH a good mood, it was insane. those people were nice and helpful. Sean just made my day. i might see if i can compliment him online or something.

i just wanted to hang out with every best buy employee!!!! they're the best!!!

anyways. so, after that, i stopped and got a coffee. i said, "what would make me even more happy right now??!" and the answer was a coffee.

and then i headed on my adventure to the bead store. which, was open until 9pm. so, for those of you who have visited me and taken exit 17.....you know how you take a left at the end of the exit? well, i went as if you would take a right! the other way!

and i had never been down there before. as soon as i drove onto uncharted territory i shouted,

JULIE: Adventure BEGIN!!

it was pretty easy. route 4 to 4A. then a left onto Shaker Boulevard. and then it was on that road. so, there's a huge Shaker Village in Enfield, NH. i had only ever heard about it.

so, i'm driving, driving through all this farm land and sweet little cottages and things. and then up on the right, there is this HUGE church. and it has a three-tier cemetary behind it with all kinds of fancy things. it's like, the cemetary was going up the hill. and it was seriously huge. i couldn't believe it.

and then, just as i'm focusing back on the farmland, i drive around a corner and there are these ENORMOUS stone buildings. it looked like Gringotts from Harry Potter. like, a giant stone building with large stone columns and everything. in like, the middle of a field. and there was another huge stone building right next to it. it looked insane. and there were all these farm houses behind it. all part of the Shaker Village. i definitely want to go see what all this crazy-ness is about.

and then! just past the Shaker Village is this gorgeous lake! Mascoma Lake! it was so beautiful! and lots of nice lake front homes. and in the middle of all these mountains. lovely.

so, i totally drive right past Shaker Boulevard. eventually, i turn around and find it. it's a little tiny road that's hidden in the woods. and i'm like, "where the heck am i going!?!" and it's up all these narrow, windy roads next to the lake and then suddenly - i see it! the bead store!



Gemstar Gemstone Company. a sign told me to park on the street. so, i did. and i get out of my car and there's a kitty in the road! a black kitty rolling around in the dirt. prety much begging me to come over and pat it. so, i did. and kitty started purring and being extremely sweet. i loved it.

and then my beading adventure began. i walked up the little hill to the store. and it's like, behind this fence. and i enter the fence and it's like a Narnia world transformation. all outside there are giant crystals and gemstones. like, HUGE ones. just like, piles upon piles of sparkly rocks. everywhere. just hanging outside. it was probably the second most curious place i've visited since moving up here. (White River Junction, Vermont takes the cake)





so, i'm kind of exploring this Gemstone yard and then i see a bead table! just outside. so, i walk over to it. and i'm like, "oh, there's just one table....hm, okay." i mean, it was a pretty big table, but still. i thought there would be more.


so, i'm browsing through the beads and then a lady appears around the corner.

she was probably a witch. she had long grey hair and a long black dress and she never made eye contact with me.

WITCH LADY: Can I help you find something?
JULIE: Yes! I'm looking for some fancy red beads!
WITCH LADY: Dark red or bright red?
JULIE: Umm....I'm not sure yet.
WITCH LADY: Come this way...

and she beckoned me! like, with her finger. witch confirmed. and i'm thinking she's going to take me into this secret red bead room. it very much reminded me of being on Canal Street in New York City. and you go into the store and ask for a particular knock-off handbag and they take you to the back of the store, open this secret door in the wall and there's a whole other room full of knock-offs.

but really, she was just leading me to the main store. there WAS a bigger bead store.

we walk up this ramp to the store and she opens the door........BEADS EVERYWHERE. hanging from the ceiling, in bins and bins on the counters. twists and turns of shelving and cabinets just pregnant with beads. i felt like i was underwater for some reason. with strands and strands of beads hanging everywhere. it was so beautiful. so many colors, textures, shapes. loves it.

and she gave me a mini red bead tour of the store. and the store was packed! i was shocked! other people come here too!!!

so, she gave me a bead basket and i was on my own. i wandered a lot. dug through piles and piles of beads. simply beautiful beads. it was incredible. i wish i could find photos of the inside of this place.

and i quickly filled the basket. everything was pretty cheap on it's own. but then it's like, "oh, i'll just get this, and this, and this, and this." i kept finding amazing beautiful things. i could have spent a whole day in that store.

i probably spent a good hour. the witch lady would frequently pass by. there were two nicer guys working at the counter. and i got some nice red beads. and some nice not-red beads. i'm super excited about everything.

and then i went to check out...

WITCH LADY: Are you all set?
JULIE: Yeah!
WITCH LADY: Alright. (walks over, starts to ring everything up. then, one of the guys walks over. she says to the man,) Do you want to finish this up?
MAN: Do you want to finish it?
WITCH LADY: Well, I have other things I could be doing.
MAN: Okay, I'll finish it.
(finishes everything)
JULIE: This store is so beautiful!
MAN: Thanks so much for coming in!
JULIE: I'll definitely be back.
MAN: Thank you.

and then i left Gemstar Gemstone. what a great place!!! i can't wait until i need to go back. so curious. and the whole thing overlooked Mascoma Lake. incredible!

oh, i was just in the loveliest of moods. such a great day. such wonderful places i went and people i met.

came home to the even more perfect thing: a quiet house. nothing was going on. exactly what i wanted.

upstairs. watched Bride Wars. really good actually! i cried a lot in the end. it's a great best friend movie. and it left me feeling conflicted about weddings. like, super big fancy dream weddings. like, everything looked so beautiful and elegant. but, it was all so stupid. a seven tier cake? come on. it was just all so unnecessary. a june wedding at the plaza. that was the dream setting. ugh, no way jose.

if i get married, i either want a spring or fall wedding.

anyways. enough about that. went to bed saturday morning around 4am.

SATURDAY, 16 MAY 2009

Hampshire College Commencement!!!! woke up at 7am. got ready. took longer getting ready than anticipated. left the house around 8:15. stopped at dunkers for coffee and bagel. delish.

and then i was on my way. had some good tunes all set. it was a good drive. an easy drive. 91 south brings you right into northampton.

i had to park on the grass. there were Mount Holyoke pub safety on segways all around campus. it looked really strange.

i had plans to sit with Julia and Kate, because they were saving seats for Elizabeth, Aliya and Joe's families. so, i quickly found them and then the ceremony started very soon after that.

SO GREAT to be on campus. i can't believe it's been a year since i graduated. it was strange to see people who were my orientees graduating. some of the kids in the group that Emily, Jenny and I led. weird.

overall, it was a great ceremony.

Ralph spoke first. good thing. i have no idea what he even said. as always. he said a good movie to describe Hampshire would be called, "There's Something About Hampshire." and then he said something about how nobody should ever be defending their education at Hampshire. i don't know.

so then, Nick Lane, the student moderator got up and moderated. Julia told me he had this awesome Div 3 where he created this musical about being gay. sounded pretty great. so, he gets up and he's like,

NICK LANE: I have to respectfully disagree with the President. I would say a better Hampshire College movie would be....Brokeback Mountain. Ya know, hanging out in the mountains, trying to work things out with your buddy...

that was funny.

Unique Robinson did a great job as the student speaker. she was enthusiastic and beautiful. i thought her shout-outs in the beginning were very touching. and there was this girl sitting a few seats down from us who kept shouting things like, "SAY IT GIRL!" i think she really liked it.

Bobcat Goldthwait was the keynote speaker. he was really funny. he did this thing where he was like, "yeah, i've never done this before, but Oprah has done it a bunch of times, so i'm just going to use one of her speeches." and then he started reading an Oprah speech that she gave at Wellesley College. it was pretty funny. his daughter was graduating from Hampshire yesterday, so he talked some about that, which was really sweet.

i thought he was much better than Dean from Dean's Beans, who was our graduation speaker. he was basically like, "so, this is what you do if you want to start your own organic coffee company. do exactly like i did." he was lame. but Bobcat was cool.

and then the alumni speaker was Ken Burns. he made a really lame but awesome joke about how his graduation was inside, but this one was 'in-tents'. Unique had said something in her speech about how everyone uses the word "intense" to describe everything. it was funny. oh, ken burns.

he gave a really good speech. it was very thoughtful. definitely more of a traditional speech compared to Bobcat's, which was a great combination. i think it helped to not have two organic food guys. whatevs.

all i could think while Ken was speaking was, "OMG YOU'VE BEEN TO THE ACADEMY AWARDS." that's the definition of a true success.

there was one part that i liked. he was generally talking about life and he said, "it's not about having the answers, it's having a relationship with the problems." i liked that. it was also funny when he was talking about giving Hampshire money.

nicely done, Ken Burns. he really had some great things to say about Hampshire.

if you would like to watch all or part of the ceremony (and i would encourage it, of course) please click the link!!

everyone was dressed pretty tame, i thought. there was one girl who was wearing a neon teal wig and i was super jealous. Aliya made her own dress for the occasion, and Elizabeth did some gorgeous pinning of a sparkly teal scarf to her outfit. they looked beautiful, duh.

and it was so great to see Aliya's parents and grandparents again! and to meet Elizabeth's parents and Joe's father!! and to see Julia's mom again! they are such wonderful, amazing people!!!! we all felt like one family.

we had lunch. i saw Jenny and Gwen for about 35 seconds!!!!! that was lovely, but i wish it had been longer. it's such a great feeling to have all these generations of friends!!!! and to see them all in the place that i miss the most.

on me and Aliya's way to see Matt and Amanda, we were quietly walking when suddenly -

WOMAN: JULIE!!! JULIE EVANS!!!

i look and who is it?!?!?!?!?! my creative writing professor and Div 2 chair - Nell Arnold. she was shouting my name and running over to me.

i was shocked she recognized me and remembered my name. we talked for a few minutes. she was very curious as to what i was doing now and if it was a good place to be in. i said that i was very happy and that right now, it feels like a good thing. she was glad to hear that. and then!

NELL: So, do you have a copy of your Div 3 in the library?
JULIE: I don't! I have to do that.
NELL: Oh! Yes, you have to do that, because I've been referring students to go read it!
JULIE: You have?! What?!?
NELL: I've been telling them to go read it because it's a great piece of writing with a strong female character.
JULIE: Wow, thank you so much.
NELL: So, you must get a copy in the library!
JULIE: I will! I will!!

so now i have actual motivation to do it. she's been referring students to my div 3!!!?!?!!?!?! i couldn't believe it. it was like, exactly what i have been wanting to hear ever since i graduated. because, as proud as i am of my div 3, i was kind of thinking, "okay, so it's done. that's that." and like, what was it all about? but THAT'S what it's all about! she's been telling other students to go read it!! YES!!!!! success. it made me so happy. and especially coming from a professor who is so respected and admired on campus.

*

i have much more to say!!!! but, i have to go now and get ready for work. working 3:30-10pm. which actually means 3:30 - 8am. i really don't feel like working. i'm tired. i just want to lounge all day. and my right cheek keeps twitching which i don't like.

ah well.

but! i will leave you with a preview of my next entry, which will be part 2 of this one, to entice you to come back and read more!!!!!!!

PREVIEW SECTION:

I am currently sitting in my new rock garden.

END PREVIEW SECTION!!!!!!!!!!

wow. what a great preview/hint to the next entry!!! you're so excited.

well, have a great sunday evening/afternoon. i guess it should be afternoon/evening. i'll write the part 2 tonight, so check back tomorrow for it. or, late tonight if you're awake.

love you. i'll talk to you soon!!

<3,
Julie