Convocation 2006: Just dripping with sarcasm.
7:14 p.m.
The reason it was not held in the gym, as I discovered, is because the fire marshall forbade it. Last year the place had been packed past capacity and if there had been a fire, it would have been a disaster. So the committee (all men) decided to have it outside with no contingency plan for rain. They could have had it in the hockey arena, that would have been sufficiently large, but no one thought of that, I guess. It was one of the most miserable experiences ever. The podium people (faculty, honorary doctorate receivers, chancellor and vice-chancellor, clergy, etc.) were relatively dry under their tent, but they froze nonetheless. The graduands, their parents and friends, and everyone else got drenched, despite the free ponchos handed out. Very early on I latched onto the wife of one of the honorary doctorate honorees, a former politician, so I was shown to a VIP seat which was actually a chair with a back and not a bleacher. That was all right, except that I think the people in the bleachers were slightly protected from the wind. We weren't.
The ceremony started a half hour late and the pipe band, which I had thought wasn't going to play for fear of their instruments getting ruined, serenaded us with several numbers from the protection of the covered podium. They eventually marched off into the rain, playing staunchly away, and were replaced by the academic procession. The speech delivered by the other honorary doctorate was very entertaining. I am really glad I didn't miss that. However, after she was done and the chancellor was inviting the recipients of the Masters in Education to get their degrees (this after sitting in the rain for about an hour and the wind picking up), I turned to my neighbour and said, "I can't take any more of this," and she said, "Thank God!" which was the signal for getting out of there and finding somewhere warm and dry to sit.
We eventually found some hot tea in the dining hall where we sat until we felt human again, and then wandered back to the gymnasium where the reception was set up. As graduates received their diplomas, they were leaving the stadium, so that by the time the valedictorian delivered her speech, there were hardly any people left, which is rather sad. By then the rain had stopped, but it was still freezing.
We hung out at the reception for a while, congratulating people, hugging, kissing, and eating finger food. Little Princess' physics prof had to tell us what a wonderful student she was. She received the physics prize for having the highest science marks in first year. We all think that's groovy.
Now we have a movie to watch, Eulogy, about which I know nothing more than what I read on the DVD box at the rental place, and that it's supposed to be funny.
Oh, and before I go, it's raining again, harder than ever.
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