Homecoming Zen and the Art of Delaying the Inevitable

So,

This past weekend was Homecoming here at Western.  While alumni dusted off their old leather jackets, left their children in the able care of non-Mustang relatives and descended upon the sleepy Forest City for a weekend of imbibing and reminiscing, I took a different tact.  I simply got out of bed and started drinking!

Just kidding.

I didn’t even get out of bed. I just drank from a bottle of red wine that I keep in my nightstand!

Again with the kidding.

But truth be told, even though I’m not an active alumnus yet I do find Homecoming weekend to be an exciting time.  While graduation day next June (fingers crossed) will certainly bring about a mixed-bag of emotions (like excitement on the one hand, but punishing, debt-related uncertainty on the other) it’s this time of year, the first flirtatious weeks of school where class is still optional and you’re not sure whether throwing on a sweatshirt will be too much or not enough clothing for a night of patio beers, that resonates with me the most.

I don’t think I’ll ever feel a sense of whimsy about any of the exams I’ve written here (although, there is a certain fraternal/sororal quality to writing first year law exams) but I think I may feel a certain nostalgic twinge when, at the end of August, I won’t be cleaning out my desk ahead of moving back to London for the start of the school year.  In effect, it’s as if, with the beginning of an “adult” existence, I will have to accept a drastic change to the almost circadian quality of the school/summer pattern that has charted one third of my life. 

What will next September be like?  While sitting in an office building high above the Toronto concrete will I feel as if I should be unpacking boxes or buying books?  Will the urge to fritter away whole afternoons with sheer nothingness tickle my senses like a phantom limb?  Will I ever refrain from using rhetorical questions as a stylistic crutch in my writing? 

But I digress.

This, my ninth homecoming, was different, the beginning of the end.  Where I used to sit back and watch alumni with a sort of bemused detachment I kept an eye on this year’s revelers with a greater degree of self-awareness.  I will one day be these alumni, adorable in my nostalgia, eyed with the same kind-spirited condescension by the youth of tomorrow.

But for the time being I’m just going to ride out my final university autumn with all the aplomb of a chap half my age (although I can do without any of the attendant insecurities and poor skin that plague a 14 year old).  Full seasons of television shows will be watched in rapid succession; Little Ceasar’s “Hot and Ready” pizzas will be considered reasonable sustenance, sometimes even twice in one day; and, mark my words, I will be easily convinced to ditch the library for Monday Night Football, the chance to watch The ‘Burbs for (quite seriously) the 35^th time, or even something as small as being able to grab coffee with any and all of the rotating cast of characters who have helped to shape my time at Western.  It may be the last time I see them before my hair turns gray (or disappears entirely), my metabolism finally catches up with me, forcing my old leather jacket to bulge in unmanageable ways, and I constantly bemoan things like a tricky back, the cost of the movies or the unparalleled comfort of Dr. Scholls inserts.

I need to get while the getting is good, you know?*  

Chris

*Special thanks to Dave Reynolds for his help with this line.  He’s just chock full of such folksy diction.  Good for you, Dave.

Posted by Chris Crighton on October 6, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

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Comments

Great post Chris! Nice, tight writing my man.

XOXO

Colin

PS: I miss our tender moments together.

Posted by: Colin Fleming | Oct 27, 2009 10:05:35 PM

What a gem this blog is. This is not an attempt to pump your tires, but to thank you. Though you've stated a lot of your readers are fellow students, you're hitting the prospective bunch as well. Reading your blog got me excited about applying to Western Law. It also made me want to erase my personal statement, but that's another issue. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. Well done, sir.

Posted by: Cait Waring | Oct 29, 2009 12:44:49 PM

Amazing! The power of printing by hand! Wish I could see the show. Love random collaboration like this. Cheers to all involved.

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