Dad's Graduation

Last week, my dad graduated from college for the first time, Summa Cum Laude (gpa 3.97), at the ripe old age of 61. Anyone who can explain to me the difference between Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, and With Distinction, please do so, cause I don't remember.

I wasn't sure at first that my being there really mattered, but I decided to go, despite the 7 hours of driving time in one 24 hour period, not to mention the whole not getting paid thing.

The ceremony was held on Tinker AFB outside of OKC, with 200-300 people in the room, including the new graduates. Since Tinker has an apparently enormous distance learning population, there were a number of schools represented, each with its own person to confer degrees or hand out diplomas or both.

My first impression was driving into Tinker, seeing the 15 foot fence, hearing the activity from the flight line, going through the ID check at the gate. To this AF brat, it felt familiar and welcoming, safe. I overheard my sister and stepmother discussing the very same thing, except that they were commenting on how "civilianized" they've become, because it all looked so strange and surreal. Maybe it's because I was born into the Air Force, and was 24 before I stopped being considered a dependent, but I love the whole atmosphere. I told my dad that Kid was deprived, having never lived on a flight line. He laughed and agreed with me.

Next, I was overwhelmed by the number of service people, in uniform, gathered in the room. It's been twenty years since I saw so many blue uniforms in one place, and I doubt I've ever seen so many men in BDU's at once. After I got over being overwhelmed, I was delighted. At the risk of being sexist, there is something special about a man in uniform, no matter his age or appearance, that automatically makes him more attractive to me. My blood pressure went up just sitting in the same room.

Only one group of graduates, my father's group, were in gowns and caps. The first group, from the Community College of the Air Force, were naturally all in uniform. The rest were dressed according to their status. Active duty personnel were in uniform (with one odd exception, a Captain), and Civil Servants were in a variety of dress. My father's school's graduates included a woman from the Beauty Shop on base. Go girl! One older woman is apparently a pretty popular person, because there was a huge Hoo-Rah! from the room as she walked the stage.

My dad had paid for a family photo, so afterwards we had to fight the crowds to get back INTO the room to do that. Then we snuck out the back door and headed for food! Kid was the only one with suggestions, which were all vetoed by someone, and my dad finally decided on a steak place. The service was adequate, the food was wonderful and the company was superb.

After we got back to the house, like any other self-respecting kid, I did laundry.

Kimz recs

A few weeks ago, I happened upon a passing mention in kimonthejourney's LJ, and jumped at the chance to finally find a good stylist.

I went to my trusty yahoomaps to get directions, because he's in an area with which I am sooo not familiar. I parked two blocks away because I couldn't find parking (I didn't know that there was parking under the very building the salon is in) and hoofed it on over there.

I think her words were something to the effect of "He's bald, yummy and fabulous."

He is bald. Yep. He is yummy in a buff and ripped sort of way, assuming you like that sort of thing. He is fabulous. He knows that a woman looks for a good stylist not so that she can get a good haircut, but so that she can get her head massaged while she's being shampooed. The good haircut is just a bonus. :) He knows that a woman looks for a good stylist so that she can have his undivided attention for an all-too-brief period of time. He knows that a stylist who knows these secrets gets big tips. Must have been the pheremones overtook my brain and made me tip him 30%, cause it sure wasn't the logical side of my brain working. Still, he's worth it.

He's okay with not coloring my hair, since I like the silver. He asked me who referred him and when I told him, he corrected me by saying "Kimberly." Heee. He told me the story of how he met Kim, which means he remembers her from one time to the next. Another secret of a good stylist which I failed to previously mention. He even walked me out and showed me the parking garage, so next time I wouldn't have to walk so far. To top it all off, he's funny and just the right amount of flirty.

So, thanks Kim! I think I might have joined the ranks of his-girl-for-life.

dancing off happily.......

trip to the $ movie

Last night I took a little trip to a local dollar movie, to see A Man Apart and maybe The Core.

A Man Apart, while much less action oriented than, say, XXX, still had plenty of action. Vin Diesel got to act in this one, though, and I liked it. ymmv. He cleans up nice. He looks real good in a dark suit. He looks just fine with a little hair growing on top of his bald head. mmm mmm mmm. The movie itself was enjoyable, full of hood-speak and fast friendships. I liked the end of the main plot muchly. "Finish the job." Simple and direct.

Boo, boo, boo to the family that brought four or five children, ranging from about 4 to about 11, to see a movie rated R, containing lots of tits and ass and sexual situations and bad language. Double Boo to the couple who sat down next to me as the movie was starting. He got a phone call almost immediately. For his sake, I'm thankful that he went outside to have the conversation. The woman sat next to me and tried to find a good way to put a teensy cup into the cupholder which has no bottom. When she went to get it out, she spilled it all over me. I told her so and she did not bother to either acknowledge or apologize for my discomfort, nor did she offer me a napkin. She left the theater later for about 30 minutes and when she came back, the two of them proceeded to talk for the whole rest of the movie, until they left just before the end. Grrrrrrrr. I was going to firmly and politely explain that common courtesy still went a long way, but since they left early, I couldn't. Probably a good thing.

After seeing A Man Apart, I bought a ticket to The Core, went inside and played Ms. Pac-Man like any normal 80's girl, and then waited in a line to get in. The guy taking the tickets was so beyond unfriendly that I just don't have words. He mis-directed customers to their theaters, he was rude to the people waiting in line, and he made me never want to see a movie again. I told the manager this. He didn't seem to care. He looked at me like I was unbalanced.

Anyway, The Core. The birdie sequence was a bit creepy and went on too long. The ship was phallic, in a big way. There was, unfortunately, no sex between the two leads on the way back, because that would have made the trip from the center of the earth much more pleasurable. I liked the movie, despite how it may sound in this description, and may even go see it again. I missed the part in the trailers where the hacker says "an endless supply of Hot Pockets and Star Trek tapes" because they changed it to "Xena tapes and Hot Pockets." Didn't have as much impact, I'm afraid. I like this kid, DJ Qualls, whom you may also remember from The New Guy and Road Trip and some other less memorable movies. He's an odd-looking bloke, and has a charm about him that is hard to resist.

While I was in the second movie, I missed a call from my brother, a Marine in Okinawa, about which I was a bit disappointed. Email sometimes doesn't quite seem real, and it's good to hear his voice sometimes, just to know he's really OK.