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May. 26th, 2006
(no subject)
May. 26th, 2006 01:22 am... in five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, how do you measure, measure a year?
Perhaps one of the best measures of an academic year, at least, is the wastepaper that you throw out at the end of it. Drafts of my thesis, with comments and corrections penned in by Doc and Chris. Photocopies of graduate school applications, that I no longer need to keep. Solutions to Physics 8 and Physics 14 homeworks that I graded. Travel brochures for Madison, Wisconsin. Drafts of a 115 presentation on Schrodinger cat states. Random announcements from the Deans' Office. An invitation list for my birthday party last fall.
And then, too, the things you don't throw out. Succombing to one of my favorite packing procrastination techniques: reading articles in magazines that I unearth that I never had time to read when I got them. Thus, much time was spent this evening perusing back issues of American Scientist and Physics Today, the magazines of Sigma Xi and the APS.
Tomorrow: more packing. I haven't even started picking up stuff in my room, and parts of my floor are so dusty that I must sweep it before![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
areyououtthere comes for graduation. But there'll be lunch at Lacroix with friends, hanging out with nightengalesknd, and the physics reception too.
Perhaps one of the best measures of an academic year, at least, is the wastepaper that you throw out at the end of it. Drafts of my thesis, with comments and corrections penned in by Doc and Chris. Photocopies of graduate school applications, that I no longer need to keep. Solutions to Physics 8 and Physics 14 homeworks that I graded. Travel brochures for Madison, Wisconsin. Drafts of a 115 presentation on Schrodinger cat states. Random announcements from the Deans' Office. An invitation list for my birthday party last fall.
And then, too, the things you don't throw out. Succombing to one of my favorite packing procrastination techniques: reading articles in magazines that I unearth that I never had time to read when I got them. Thus, much time was spent this evening perusing back issues of American Scientist and Physics Today, the magazines of Sigma Xi and the APS.
Tomorrow: more packing. I haven't even started picking up stuff in my room, and parts of my floor are so dusty that I must sweep it before
areyououtthere comes for graduation. But there'll be lunch at Lacroix with friends, hanging out with nightengalesknd, and the physics reception too.(no subject)
May. 26th, 2006 09:40 pmCame from doing a bunch of packing with my parents, who've hauled off a carload of things, including my refrigerator. There is still a lot left to pack, but at least my closet is now mostly, except for things that I might need over the next few days. There still remain a ton of papers to go through and pack in the Common Room, but a large box of books is out. I also packed up a lot of books from my own room, though a lot of other things remain.
My mom and dad came and we went to the physics department senior reception. We shared a table with the families ofcrystalpyramid and blaketh. Amy said nice things about all 21 of our majors and minors, and installed Carl as the next department chair. My dad took lots of pictures, including some of the three SWIL physics seniors that I'll have to put up on Facebook sometime. It was a convivial gathering and a very nice gesture by the department.
Prior to that, six of us, myself,crystalpyramid, js20, arctangent, mumbly_joe, and blaketh went out to lunch at Lacroix at the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia. The food was superb; I'd certainly go back there some time when and if I have the means.
Despite some initial awkwardness when it came to ordering the wine (we settled on a Burgundy white), the meal went well. Three of us shared a Kampachi tartare (a sort of Hawaiian yellowtail) for an appetizer. The fish was served on a bed of cucumber and topped with popped wild rice and nuts. The dish was absolutely delightful -- the neutral taste of the cucumber went together very well with the richness of the fish. And the nutty popped rice was a wonderful contrast, both in flavor and texture, to the soft fish. I ordered the 4-item business lunch plate. The tomato bisque was good, if not particularly remarkable, but the pasta following it was special. It was fettucine in a light cream sauce, topped with thin slices of squash that matched the shape of the fettucine, providing visual as well as textural appeal. The salmon was also well prepared, with a touch of crispiness outside but tender flesh inside, and paired with a rather acidic cherry tomato-based sauce. Yet this sauce did not overwhelm the fish. The duck confit with baby bok choy was also very nicely done.
Afterwards, we got ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's off Rittenhouse Square. I then met up withnightengalesknd and we chatted over oolong tea served gong-fu style at Great Tea International, a delightful little Asian teahouse on Sansom Street between 17th and 18th. That place is certainly worth a return trip, and I would highly recommend it as a nice place to take a tea lover for a light lunch or afternoon tea a la chinoise. doneril, you would love it (as would you, lywen!). Alas, it is in a basement down a narrow flight of stairs, but sometime we'll have to figure out how to get you in and out of there.
A wonderful day... Now time for more packing. Senior breakfast, Baccalaureate, luncheon, math department reception, Phi Beta Kappa induction, Baccalaureate Mass, Last Collection, fireworks, and a final roundsing are on the schedule for tomorrow.
My mom and dad came and we went to the physics department senior reception. We shared a table with the families of
crystalpyramid and blaketh. Amy said nice things about all 21 of our majors and minors, and installed Carl as the next department chair. My dad took lots of pictures, including some of the three SWIL physics seniors that I'll have to put up on Facebook sometime. It was a convivial gathering and a very nice gesture by the department.Prior to that, six of us, myself,
crystalpyramid, js20, arctangent, mumbly_joe, and blaketh went out to lunch at Lacroix at the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia. The food was superb; I'd certainly go back there some time when and if I have the means. Despite some initial awkwardness when it came to ordering the wine (we settled on a Burgundy white), the meal went well. Three of us shared a Kampachi tartare (a sort of Hawaiian yellowtail) for an appetizer. The fish was served on a bed of cucumber and topped with popped wild rice and nuts. The dish was absolutely delightful -- the neutral taste of the cucumber went together very well with the richness of the fish. And the nutty popped rice was a wonderful contrast, both in flavor and texture, to the soft fish. I ordered the 4-item business lunch plate. The tomato bisque was good, if not particularly remarkable, but the pasta following it was special. It was fettucine in a light cream sauce, topped with thin slices of squash that matched the shape of the fettucine, providing visual as well as textural appeal. The salmon was also well prepared, with a touch of crispiness outside but tender flesh inside, and paired with a rather acidic cherry tomato-based sauce. Yet this sauce did not overwhelm the fish. The duck confit with baby bok choy was also very nicely done.
Afterwards, we got ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's off Rittenhouse Square. I then met up with
nightengalesknd and we chatted over oolong tea served gong-fu style at Great Tea International, a delightful little Asian teahouse on Sansom Street between 17th and 18th. That place is certainly worth a return trip, and I would highly recommend it as a nice place to take a tea lover for a light lunch or afternoon tea a la chinoise. doneril, you would love it (as would you, lywen!). Alas, it is in a basement down a narrow flight of stairs, but sometime we'll have to figure out how to get you in and out of there.A wonderful day... Now time for more packing. Senior breakfast, Baccalaureate, luncheon, math department reception, Phi Beta Kappa induction, Baccalaureate Mass, Last Collection, fireworks, and a final roundsing are on the schedule for tomorrow.