Poshdeluxe

as you all know, i have now officially graduated.

there are a lot of benefits to finishing graduate school, like being able to put yr shiny new degree on yr resume and NEVER HAVING HOMEWORK AGAIN and people calling you “master.”

wait, people don’t call you “master” when you have a masters degree?! are you serious? WHY DID I WASTE ALL OF THIS TIME?

anyway, all of these benefits are great, but my favorite part is CELEBRATING THE FACT THAT I’M DONE.

cos i am reeeeally good at celebrating things. so good, in fact, that i managed to pack ALL of my favoritey favorites into one weekend. read this list and be amazed:

1) my parents

2) my friends

3) tasty business

4) alamo sing-alongs

5) radiohead

this was no cookies and punch reception, people.

friday night, my parents took henri and me to a posh dinner at mars on south congress. i’d never been there before, so it was even more exciting!

we started off with the tuna tataki, which was EXQUISITE.

for the entree, i ordered the butternut squash gyoza with sake cream sauce. IT WAS AMAZING. OMG. looking at this picture makes me want to lick my monitor. and that is gross.

of course i saved room for dessert, cos hello, it wouldn’t be a poshdeluxe celebration without baked goods!!!! although i will forever love the donut holes at parkside, these glazed donuts (with espresso gelatto) absolutely took my breath away. LOOK AT THEM.

ok great now i’m starving. thanks for nothing, lean pocket from lunch!

it’s been so wonderul to have my parents close by in round rock, and on friday, i was especially grateful for their presence (and not just cos they bought me food). they’ve always been so supportive of me– honestly, i’ve never met two people who are more encouraging, to *everyone*, than my parents. when i saw the pride and happiness in their eyes, i felt like a million buckaroos.

yay, now all three of the pitres have masters degrees! we are, as meredith likes to say, so freaking scholarly!

since i knew i’d be seeing many of my VIPantsers over the weekend, i decided to ask them for advice, cos their opinions and perspectives mean the world to me.

i started with mom and dad:

see? aren’t they the best?!!

then i asked henri, cos i think he is v. v. smart, and he’s also business-savvy, which i am not.

i’m starting to feel like a children’s book character, gathering advice from adult figures, but ha ha i’m an adult, too. i just forget sometimes.

josh met up with us at the stephen f. austin for a drink so my parents could ask him a billion questions about his new job and his engagement (another great thing about my parents– they are like second parents to all of my friends). josh has been there for several major milestones in my life– the first day at rice, the first day in austin (he helped me move, bless him) and now graduation– and i feel lucky to have a person like him as a constant in my life.

plus, he totally knows how to enjoy a sing-long, which is where we went next.

thank you, josh, for always letting me take ridiculous photos of you and then singing to weezer’s “buddy holly” at the top of yr lungs.

the alterna-90s was the perfect theme for the night, considering the nostalgia invoked by songs like “mr. jones” and “smells like teen spirit.” as i danced around and sang angst-filled lyrics, i thought about how far i’ve come since seventh grade slumber parties and late night journaling sessions at dietrich’s.

the show ended with “it’s the end of the world (as we know it)” which was, well, wildly appropriate.

afterwards, i asked josh for advice, which he gave while wearing his glasses.

the next day, henri and i drove to houston to see RADIOHEAD!!!!!!

not only is radiohead (still, after all these years) my favorite band, but they also happen to be intrinsically connected to graduation for me. back in may of 2001, i ran back to my dorm room after the rice ceremony to sit at my desk, still wearing my cap and gown, and buy a ticket online for the radiohead concert later that summer.

and so, of course i had to see radiohead after graduating from grad school. it’s just in the stars.

i don’t usually like “big” shows, but there’s something so fitting about seeing radiohead in a place where you can sit comfortably, surrounded by yr friends, and let the music wash over you.

note my awesome new bling, a graduation gift from my parents. cos P stands for pitre, poshdeluxe, pants, pretty much everything that is awesome in the universe!!!!

while we were waiting for the show to begin, it started to sprinkle, so henri, matt, meredith and i took shelter under a blanket. it totally felt like an elementary sleepover where everyone gets under the bed sheet and tells ghost stories with a flashlight.

i realized that all i need are these faces, cos even under a blanket in the cold rain, i had the time of my life. some people throw massive catered parties to celebrate their graduation, but i’ll take my best friends and a blanket any day.

josh, erica and teresa showed up to join our little party, which just made me happier. yay!! radiohead with people i love!

and THEN mark lewis came! i sweart, it felt like, “POSH DELUXE, this is yr LIFE!!!” the best part was that mark and meredith finally met in person… it’s the greatest feeling, when two of yr most cherished friends meet each other with wide smiles and outstretched hands and say, “i recognized you from the blog!” ha ha.

the radiohead show did not disappoint. LIKE I NEED TO TELL YOU THAT. it was AMAZING. first of all, the sound was incredible, and i give radiohead’s engineering skills full credit, cos the acoustics at the woodlands pavilion aren’t always that great. second, they had INCREDIBLE LIGHTS!! WOW!!!

look!!!!!

and they changed colors!! and displayed designs! look!!!

the colors would change in time with the music, so the show was a feast for both the ears and the eyes.

even though i love ALL of their albums, i was especially gratified when they played not one but TWO songs from “the bends.” here’s a video of “planet telex,” which was part of the encore. you can see the lights go CRAYZEEEEE.

when i listen to radiohead, my mind reels… sometimes just about life, sometimes about specific memories attached to songs. every track from “amnesiac” reminds me of falling asleep in european hostels, cos i bought it when kendall and i were in london after college graduation. “the bends” takes me back to freshmen year, when life was exciting and scary and frankly, overwhelming.

as i stood there and let the music seep into me, i thought so much about that summer, seven years ago, when i saw radiohead for the first time. i had just come back from europe, rented a house in montrose with mary, and had absolutely no job prospects. i didn’t have a clue about my next step, and somehow, i found that exhilarating. the music soared around me, and the world was open to receive it, open to receive *me*.

and even though so much has happened since that concert, i felt the same way as i stood there, a girl with a master’s degree but no master plan, a girl with a lot of possibilities and a lot of (sometimes conflicting) directions. but i’m not really the same… i’ve learned things and made mistakes and collected even more incredible, amazing people in my life. and that realization made me feel a little bit stronger.

i looked up at the moon as the music and sounds of the crowd rose up into the sky, and i felt precious in my insignificance.

as the crowds streamed out of the gate, i took advantage of mark’s concert attendance to ask him for advice.

the next day, a group of us accompanied matt to st. arnold’s brewery to support him in a beer brewing contest he entered. his final score was incredibly high, and all of us practically exploded with pride (meredith especially).

go matt! you are a master brewer, and i will enjoy the fruit of yr labor anytime you need me.

i love that my graduation celebration included celebrating someone else for their fantastic achievement, esp. because it makes me appreciate the support of my friends and family even more. in fact, the weekend went from a celebration of graduation to a celebration of ALL of the wonderful things in my life, and for me, that’s even better than a new diploma.

before we left, i asked one more friend for advice: meredith.

after gathering all of this advice, i feel like the richest girl on the planet.

because yes, meredith, the world IS my dance party. and i’m going to enjoy the pants out of it.

LINKS

have you guys seen the new trailer for joss whedon’s “dollhouse”?!!! ZOMGGGG. (thanks erin for the link!)

no matter who you’re voting for in the presidential election, i think we can all agree that misogyny in this country has yet to be conquered.

becky sent me this link about meatloaf cupcakes. i’m not sure how i feel about that.

she also sent me this kool-aid, like, database. remember saving kool-aid points?!! so you could get awesome kool-aid prizes?!! yeah!