More Falls...More Fomals

Unfortunately, the rain has started to fall in Syracuse. But that can't put a damper on memories of this jam-packed and excellent weekend!

All week long, Justin told me to keep Friday morning and early afternoon free. I wondered what on earth he was planning at such an odd time slot. At 11 am, he picked me up and started driving. When we got on I-81, I knew this wasn't an ordinary adventure in Syracuse! We exited in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere, and I still hadn't a clue where we were going. We seemed to be driving through farm fields and country roads when all of a sudden I saw a sign that said "Pratt's Falls State Park." Justin had secretly packed a picnic and taken me to a lunch in the woods! The falls were formed by retreating glaciers, and were the site of Onondaga County's first mill operation in 1796. It was beautiful and warm, and we munched sandwiches and freezer pops until it was time to head back to campus for afternoon classes. 

Later on Friday night, we'd head out into the rural countryside again, but this time I picked the destination. My friend Andrew is a student at Colgate and is a member of their elite accapella singing group "The Colgate 13." The group is nationally acclaimed and has sung at the Superbowl and the White House, and all over the country on tour. Every year I managed to miss his concert, but this year I decided to make the trip. After all, there won't be any more chances to hear him sing as we will both be graduating in May! Colgate has always astounded me: in my opinon, its a little more country club than college, totally elegant and elite. After the show, we went back to a beautiful huge house owned by the singing group and used exclusively to house visiting parents. There, we enjoyed cocktails and another impromptu concert as we mingled and caught up on stories. It was great to see him!

Saturday dawned sunny, much to my delight. I hate being in a dress in the rain, and I had another formal to attend! This was the spring version of the ESF December Soiree, and everyone I know and love had plans to go. While I'm not technically an ESF student, I am in clubs where I've met many of them. It's a great event to bond the two schools and this spring it was held downtown at the OnCenter. Open bar, gourmet dinner and a night of dancing were all included, and we took advantage of all three! Ironically, it was the APO kids (mostly SU students) that were the last ones on the dance floor. My left calf is still killing me from "Cotton-eye'd Joe," and I earned the title of "Master of the Line Dance." Shocking. As the pictures show, everyone looked beautiful!

Finally, Sunday I went downtown for a moving and beautiful event. Syracuse University's chapter of Habitat For Humanity sponsored its first complete house this year, and Sunday was the "House Dedication." The family receiving the house was on hand, along with city officials, Habitat workers, campus leaders, students, professors and friends. Many moving speeches were made and the family was presented the ceremonial bible. Prayers and blessings were given in the hopes that the house would be a place of love, joy and hope. A particularly moving moment for me was when the mother and homeowner spoke about her 8 year old son, a young man with autism. She talked about how hard it was to keep everything together and support her boy without a home. My cousin is autistic, and my family understands the challenges of the condition. Looking at those challenges through the lens of poverty was particularly profound. I wish the best for that mother and her family. 

The week ahead promises mayhem...in the form of MayFest... pictures and stories to come next week!

Peace and Love. 

A Hillbilly Easter

Shana Fisher is one of my best friends at Syracuse University. She was my roommate in Spain, my friend in APO, my guide through the Teach For America interview process. And aside from an unwavering dedication to social justice, a sometimes sick sense of humor, and a mutual respect for each other's good looks, she and I could not be more opposite. 

Shana grew up in a huge Jewish family on the middle of Staten Island. Her high school memories are about Jewish Youth Group, the illegal immigrants that mow the Staten Island lawns, and her highschool's metal detectors. Before I went abroad, I was lucky enough to taste a little Staten Island life: Kosher delis, delicious pizza, the city skylines. I was amazed at how different her childhood was than mine. I declared that she MUST visit my home in the Berkshires, meet my family, see my highschool. And this Easter weekend, we finally did just that!

Shana will be moving to the Mississippi Delta next year as a member of Teach For America. My dad and I decided that it was time that she get a little hillbilly education. We called up my good friend and fellow Hinsdale native Mark, packed our pickup truck with a variety of fire arms, and did what any good country family would do: drove to the firing range to give the city girl her first experience with a gun. 

The weather was grey and drizzly but spirits were bright. We did everything of course with the utmost of care and safety. My dad is an excellent teacher and we all tried our hand at a variety of weapons. We fired pistols, shotguns, rifles, and Shana's favorite: the black powder. The day whizzed by and with a panicked look at our watches, we realized that we were going to miss Good Friday mass. We packed up quickly and got there just in the nick of time. 

Shana was a trooper and made it through the entire Easter Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday masses. It was great to have her there and introduce her to family friends. 

We also did a lot of Easter celebrating, including the annual Hornstein Easter Egg extravaganza. Shana made joyful happy eggs, and as the pictures show we had Harry Potters and Homer Simpsons, eyeballs and happy faces, and even a Jesus egg. (Dad's handiwork, of course.) Shana also got her first ever Easter basket! Peeps and bubble gum, DVD's and chocolate rabbits: the Easter bunny really knew how to treat us this year. 

The weekend went by way too fast. Before we knew it, we were back on the road to Syracuse. I'm shaking my head realizing I only have a few more days of class. Let's put life on rewind!

Peace and Love. 

AE Pi Spring Formal

THEN and NOW

I love it when life comes full circle. Spring of my Sophomore year, my wonderful friend Justin Liang needed a date to his spring fraternity formal. I was the lucky nominee, and after much ado, had a dress picked out and camera batteries charged, ready for a night of craziness in Toronto. As it turned out, Justin had a terrible flu that week, and spent only 15 minutes at the actual dance. The poor kid had such a fever he couldn't see straight, and went to bed before the music even started, leaving me stag at a dance in Canada where I knew no one. Lucky for me, the AE Pi brothers were friendly and sympathetic, and all made sure I had a good time. One of the nicest guys there was a kid named Brian Rodin. I met him that night at dinner, I knew him only as the wine connoseur, and I took a few great pictures with him. Little did I know that he'd be one of my best college friends!

The next year, Brian went to Spain with me and was fully responsible for making sure my 21st birthday was a blast. We spent countless afternoons together visiting museums, sipping sangria, and discussing deep philisophical topics from relationships to religion. To our surprise and delight, we realized that we had signed a lease in the same apartment building for the following year, and now would be neighbors! 

The frienship continued through this year, and our doors were always open to each other for dinner exchanges, episodes of Entourage, or just a good old-fashioned venting session. It's been a crazy and stressful year in many ways for both of us. Brian came out of the closet to his close friends in the fall, and I was happy to be a supporting friend through the process. Likewise, when I was terribly sick with mono over Christmas break, I heard from him almost every day, wondering how I was doing. It's not every day you find a friend like that. 

Fast forward to the A E Pi spring Formal this year. Brian needed a date, and I was the first he asked! I couldn't be more excited. I met my great friend in Canada two years ago at this dance, and now I would be his date. Again, I got the dress picked out and the camera batteries charged, only to be faced with another full circle: Brian knocked on my door, with a terribly sad look on his face. "I have mono," he sighed. Another sick date. I wondered if I had given it to him. I didn't even think that we would make it to Canada. I assured him that I'd rather him get better than go to another AE Pi formal stag again! He assured me that he was going to make the best of it and we were going to have a great time. 

Sure enough, we made it to Niagara Falls and enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner. Brian of course took it easy and actually stayed awake the whole night! We looked wonderful and were so happy to be there with all our friends. Even though we didn't tear up the dance floor, the night zoomed by with lots of pictures, great conversation and friendly faces. Enjoy the link to the photo album from the night below!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2273703&id=5515657&l=36bd70ed05

Peace and Love! 

The Relay Review

This past Saturday night, the moment that I've been working on since last fall finally arrived. At 4 pm, the committee and I converged at the Carrier Dome, armed with banners, cash boxes, t-shirts and a whole lot of caffeine. The RELAY FOR LIFE was finally here!

Katie arrived at 2 in the afternoon on a greyhound bus from Boston. "I'd say it was a God forsaken bus, if there weren't so many nuns on it," she joked. I was so proud of her for getting up at 6 am to hop a bus and meet me in Syracuse for the big day. We just had time to shower and gobble down a lunch before heading off to the big event. 

When the committee met at 4, we debriefed for a few seconds then set to work. Hundreds of cones had to be laid out on the Carrier dome turf, marking off the "campsites." Thousands of white paper bags had to be set up, and filled with a glow stick for the luminaria ceremony. The stage needed sound checks. Registration, silent auction, and T-shirt tables had to be in place. The bone marrow drive team arrived as well as the inflatable jousting crew- it seemed like there was so much to do all at once! Somehow, in 45 minutes just about everything was in place. We stood back to survey everything- and believe it or not it was perfect, with an hour to spare. 

Mom and Dad arrived right on time at 6pm with the rest of the teams flowing into the Dome, down the aisle and setting up their campsites. Everyone from College Republicans to the Asian Student Association, Fraternities and Sororities joined us- there had to be close to 2200+ people there. Everyone set up on-site fundraisers. Some teams had bake sales, some teams had raffles. One team painted fingernails for a dollar, and the Army ROTC kids took kids on litter carries around the track (my buddy still can't move his shoulders.) Cash was flowing and people seemed to be having a really great time. 

For our family, the most emotional moment was the survivor lap. Cancer survivors and their families did a lap around the Dome while everyone applauded and cheered. Dad refused to wear his Miss-America style "Survivor" banner, opting to tie it around his waist Karate style. Another emotional but beautiful moment was the Luminaria ceremony, where the entire Dome goes dark and the glowing bags light the pathway. Quiet music plays and the names of those we lost are read out loud. 

Katie and I each had really amazing moments at the Dome. She sold her own artwork for a fundraiser, and couldn't keep the pictures flying off her sketch pad fast enough! It was wonderful watching her get commission after commission. #44 Jerseys and artistic ballerinas were the best sellers. And in a last minute emergency, I had to sing Amazing Grace during a ceremony, as our scheduled girl got violently ill. I think we both made really wonderful memories of the night. 

All in all, the Relay was the most smooth event that I have ever participated in or been a part of organizing. I can't believe that everything flowed as well as it did. I think it really speaks to a wonderful committee that did a lot of hard work and planning and was absolutely ready to go for the big night. I also commend the students that joined us for the night- everyone came with such enthusiasm to celebrate, remember and fight back. Wherever I move and whatever I do, I know that RELAY has to be a big part of my future !

Peace and Love.