Here and There

The countdown is on! I'm entering into my final week of classes, and I have to say I cannot wait until I'm done with all of the work. The weather has been gorgeous lately, and it's getting harder and harder to stay inside and write papers. All I want to do is lounge on the quad with my fellow seniors and soak up some sun, but instead I am trapped on my room, forced to work. This week, for instance, I've been writing a paper on the origins of the Philistines (don't ask). Instead of boring you with Philistine talk, let me tell you what else I have been up to...

So last weekend I went up to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, to visit my good friend Elizabeth. It's a tradition every spring that I make the journey up the Hudson to have a ridiculous weekend at Vassar. It's a way more laid back school than Fordham; it's not uncommon to see streakers, enormous bonfires, spontaneous dance parties, and people having epic make-out sessions on the quad. Fordham always appears tame in comparison.

Elizabeth threw a huge party at her house Saturday night, and by midnight the event had quickly turned into a dance party. I danced for awhile and then kicked butt in beer pong, vanquishing every challenger (I tell you, people always underestimate my pong skills). The night slowed down and we ordered pizza at three o'clock in the morning (probably some of the best pizza I've ever had) before going to bed. It was my final springtime visit to Vassar, and I'm pleased to say that it was fabulous.

Other news from the past few days- I recently bought tickets for senior week. Senior week is the final week at Fordham in which all the underclassmen have gone home for the summer and only the seniors remain on campus. It's a week full of class-bonding activities, including a cookout with the Jesuits, a luau under the bleachers, a parent-appreciation dinner dance, and a baccalaureate mass the night before graduation. The biggest event of senior week (besides graduation) is the Senior Ball, which is a formal dance downtown at Chelsea Piers. Tickets were pricey, but Chelsea Piers is a pretty nice venue, and there's an open bar. Many kids go stag, but I wanted to have a default dance partner, so I asked my good buddy Xavier to be my date, making sure to stress that the night was going to be platonic. He agreed to go.

Yes, it would have been nice to have a boyfriend to go to the ball with, but it wasn't in the cards. I know I will have a good time with Xavier; he's a great dancer, and we've been friends for a long time. The fact that I asked him and got it out of the way ensures that I won't be worrying if or when some other guy is going to ask me to the ball. Little did I know that my asking Xavier caused problems almost immediately...

On Wednesday of this week I was accosted by my good friend Mary.

"What did you do last night?" she asked. "Were you hanging out with Xavier?"

It was a bizarre question to ask, but her assumption was correct. "Yeah, I was actually," I replied. I hang out with Xavier and his roommates (also good buddies of mine) all the time; we drink beer and watch sports.

"I heard you're taking him to the ball," Mary said, smiling as if she had just uncovered a dirty secret.

"Um, we're going together, but it's strictly platonic," I replied, raising my eyebrows.

"Oh, sure it will be platonic," Mary said, her voice laden with sarcasm.

What was going on? Was she about to launch into 'Annie and Xavier, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G'?? Why was she razzing me? Then I realized it. Mary liked Xavier. I had inadvertently stepped on her toes. Crap.

"It will be platonic," I replied eventually.

"Sure it will be," Mary repeated, and I made up some excuse about homework and hastily removed herself from my presence. We'll see how this pans out, but I am fully expecting a drunken Mary to show up during the ball and try to steal my default dance partner. Why are formal dances always such ordeals??

A final story from this week- this past Thursday was the last of the senior nights. Senior nights happen once a month; they take place in the student center and are hosted by the university. They are strictly for members of the class of 2008 and feature loud music and cheap two-dollar beers served in plastic cups. Each one has a theme; this one was simply entitled 'Fordham Pride', meaning we had to wear Fordham clothes.

The event itself was alright- nothing beats a hot sweaty gathering of Fordham students in the basement of the student center - but it was after the party was over that things got strange. I was walking back to my dorm with some of my friends when there was a commotion from the quad. We walked over to the quad and saw that there was a small fire burning on it! Drunken seniors were vaulting over the fence lining the quad and running pell-mell towards the fire, like moths to a flame. Soon there was quite a crowd of seniors dancing around the fire, and many more were climbing up on the fence to watch the commotion. They were even shouting encouragement:

"Yeah, FIRE!"

"SENIORS! THAT'S HOW WE ROLL!"
"CLASS OF 2008! WHOOO!"

The weirdest part was when two Fordham security vans drove over the sidewalk, through a gap in the fence, and unto the quad. I've never seen the vans off-road it before. Security guards broke up the crowd and put out the fire, much to every one's disappointment.

So all in all, a very bizarre Thursday evening. I guess my class wants to graduate with a bang and burn the school down. Now I'm off to tackle more of my Philistine paper. Until next time...