Congrads

First of all, airline travel has become absolutely unbearable. Unless you're the first flight out of a New York airport (meaning an ass o'clock departure), delays are likely to be several hours. And for no real reason other than massive cockups on the part of air-traffic control. My flight from New York (JFK) to Chicago (O'Hare) was scheduled to leave at 8 p.m. last Thursday. The weather in both areas is beautiful. I get to the airport the requisite hour-and-a-half-ish early, after checking Delta.com to make sure my flight is indeed on time, and see the departure time is now 8:40. Great. Luckily, I brought a book.

9:00.

10:25.

We board at 10:15. The cabin doors close at 10:35. I am wedged between two people who apparently have not bathed in several days and spent those days exclusively outside. Every time they shift, a new wave of odor hits my nose.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I'm not sure what number in line we are for takeoff, but it'll probably be about an hour."

I look out the window to see a line of airplanes stretching out to the horizon.

Takeoff comes at 11:25. I arrive in Evanston a little after 1 a.m. There has got to be a better way to travel, people. It's just absurd at this point.

The weekend itself was...interesting. Sad, for the most part, but it wasn't all bad. I know I made the right decision, choosing to get out a year early, but it was a lot harder than I expected. I never fit in the the class of '08, not really. They had a whole year of bonding before I even appeared, and once they all turned 21, that just opened one more door I couldn't walk through. Then there's the thought of leaving behind all those good friendships I so carefully crafted. Sure, there's Facebook, there's IM and Gchat and the phone. But that doesn't negate the fact that I might never see some of these people again.

So, sure, it was a practical decision. My life is easier without that extra $25,000 tacked onto my already impressive debt, and Steve and I are on the same level now. But for me, graduation wasn't one of the happiest days of my life, nor was it especially exciting. Most people I know don't seem to grasp the why, and I wish they would, so I would stop having to lie every time someone asks, "How was graduation? Aren't you so excited to be done with school?"