Its official

So I woke up at about 630. Was suppose to be at Heep at 7. Got dressed for graduation- blue jeans, blue shirt, blue socks, blue everything- trust me. It wasnt planned, just happened, but hey blue is my favorite color so i guess its not unexpected. Blue runs my life really- I have to use blue toothpaste and a blue toothbrush. I also use blue soap and shampoo (the lids are even blue). So I guess saying i like blue is a bit of an understatement. But yall arn't reading this entry to learn about how monochromatic my life is, but rather to see if I actually was allowed to graduate or not. So after putting on my blue ensamble, I grabed my hat (both my blue p-fund hat and my bugified graduation hat) and ran out the door, only to realize that I would probabily need my black gown deal if I expected to actually walk. So back inside to find the thing. Luckily it was where I though it might be- Maria's closet after being used as a Harry Potter opening night costume. Back in the truck and sped over to Heep for the graduation breakfast. Everyone else was already there and had already been introduced to Woolley, Wharton, and Oz so that spared me the need to. I showed off my hat and woolley and wharton scored it. They threatened to deduct some points for a bug missing antenna and also for the elytra, but I think I prevailed. I ate some sausuage out of the pigs and a blanket deal and talked to cammack for a bit. The breakfast started to break up and everyone else headed off to Reed. Woolley and I signed the INHS loan form for my bugs and then he left. I waited around for Cammack then figured I should probabily head to reed since it was almost 830. I walked to my truck to grab the gown and cammack called me to see where I was. I met him in front of the building and we walked over to Reed. He decided to sit with my family so I had to call them and figure out where they were but we got it straightend out ok. We parted ways and I headed upstairs where the ag people were. I got up there and found out I got a honors deal since I was a research fellow. So I checked in with Mandi, discovered that Andy had also came to line us up. So I talked to Andy for a little bit, it was really cool that he came also. I gave my stuff to Kyle then ran back downstairs to find the honors people. Got it then back up the stairs. At this point we were all lined up and started heading down to the floor. We walked in and I looked all around trying to figure out where they were sitting. I was talking to them on the phone and texting like crazy. Eddie and I started texting diseases to eachother such as Ebola, Ecoli, Anthrax, and Infulenza. It was quite amusing. Once I sat down I was able to figure out where they were sitting since they were taking a bunch of pictures and so kept telling me to look at them. Balancing the boxobugs was kinda tricky and it was rather heavy so I took the lid off so at least there was less weight. The speakers were pretty good. At one point they asked for all the vetrans to stand up so I was able to look up and see grandpa ike standing, that was pretty cool. The intro was right off the program, almost word for word. Pretty soon I got board and read the entire program and then started playing games looking for different patterns in the book. I was also texting with Aubrey and eventually spotted her. They went through ENTO first, so got to yell for a couple of my friends that were graduating in that group. Then it was time for the wildlifers to go. We stood up and walked over to the other side and started walking up. We got stopped by the ento people so I got to talk to them for a bit. I told them after I walked I'd come back and sit with them til the end since realistically more of my close friends were over there than with wildlife. As i walked up to the stage I heard them call my name and announce that I was graduating with honors as a reserach fellow. It was very exciting. I walked up and shook Gate's hand as they took a picture. So I had my deploma handed to me by the secretary of defence. How cool is that. He signed it also. I walked through and shook all the random people's hands. A bunch of them asked what was in the box on my head and I told them it was part of my insect collection. They seemed to be amused by that. I walked down the steps and was greated by a couple of wildlife profs- slack and gelwick I think, but it was all a blur. Then I saw that the ento profs had stuck around also. I was really excited to see that. Oslen, Teal, and Heniz were all down there along with a couple that I didn't know. Ento actually had a better represntation than wildlife did. I hugged them all and went back to my seat to gather my stuff. I got a text from cammack through maria that said "hell just froze over". So true on a couple different levels. after a few min of congradulating my fellow wildlifers I went over to ento and sat with DiAngela and the rest of them. We talked through the rest of graduation and then all walked out together after a fianl word from Gates. We were the last group he was graduating, hes shooken over 40,000 hands over his time here, but we were his last. That was really cool. Once out DiAngela and I walked towards where our families should be and eventually found them. I got congradualted and hugged by everyone, guess its official now, i'm a college graduate. Scary aint it? We met up with Mika (who arrived shortly before the end) and Aubrey, then started to head back to heep. Cammack stayed to help DiAngela's family find eachother then met up with us shortly there after. We walked back to Heep, while dad and grandpa went to get the car. Mika and Aubrey headed to biocontrol and it was picture time. Mom tried to take a picture of me and Cammack, finally after the 3rd time it worked. Then they tried for a picture of all of us, but the wrong lens was on the camera so in order for it to work cammack had to be almost at ground level and all of us 30 ft away. Typical catanach camera debacle. Grandpa said no pictures of him cause he was an indian and to take his picture you have to pay a fee. We then headed off to HiKu, the Japanese place I wanted to go to. I rode over with Cammack and we met everyone plus Steven, Dasiy, and Aubrey over there. Mandi showed up after a few min too and we ordered. I got my traditional bento box with terioki beef and 8 california rolls instead of sushi. They came with avacados as always so I used cammacks chopstick to de avacado them. Its become tradition to do so, and even with other options it was the one we used. I think everyone else though we were crazy but o well. Lunch was great fun and was wonderful as always. Everyone pretty much knew everyone there so that made it easy. Daisy and Steven brough me flowers and a balloon and Mandi got me a pair of boots. Grandpa Ikie wasn't quite sure what to make of the japanese food so we got some good pictures of him inspecting it before maria's camera ran out of batteries. Daisy then took some pictures of me and my family. By now everyone was done and my family needed to get back on the road since they were going home. I got a ride back to Heep with Cammack then decided to run home to put my bugs away. I got home just as everyone else was about to leave so said good by to everyone then headed back to Heep after putting my bug hat in the deep freeze. I put my new bugs along with the ones I had taken up north for ID in my cabinet- which now has a full set of drawers. After a while Cammack came back and we attempted to get some work done. I got hungery and we decided it was time for dinner. Cammack said hed fix something, so we went to the store and got some beens and meat. He cooked it all up while I had a Sam Adams (I was reintroduced to it up north and now its one of my new favorites). Dinner was great as it always is when Cammack cooks for me. I also got my first introduction to a spoon holder. Its this little deal that you put on the stove and rest spoons your using to stir or whatever on it so they dont drip on the stove. It was pretty cool. He was in shock that I'd never seen one before so I called my parents and told them about it. They agreed I'd never seen one since Grandma Mary'd never used one as far as they knew and I didn't do much in Grandma Stella's kitchen (who did have one). The concept is quite facinating to me although I think its easier just to balance it on a pot or make someone else hold it. After dinner he took me back to Heep and I went home and was asleep pretty fast since I hadn't gotten much over the last week. Sunday was prety uneventful, went to Mass then tried to figure out what I would need for my Guatemala trip. Got a little bit of work done and got together with Cammack for a bit before heading to Dallas.
Monday and Tuesday were filled with Drs Apointments- physical, dental, and eyes. Great times. I hate doctors. I got the 2nd of my Hep-B series so that made it even more exciting. I hate needles. Other than that just hung around the house played with the dogs and all the normal home stuff. I went up to the Heard for a bit and saw some of my friends up there. Found out Debbie died a few days before. That was pretty sad to hear, she was always so nice to me and asking after my family. They have a new exhibit- anamatronic dinosaurs. It was pretty cool looking.
We headed out to New Mexico on Thursday mid morning. It was a typical Catanach exit- hurried and hours later than planned. Me and Eddie were in my truck following the renta van. The drive was pretty easy, weather was good almost the whole way, except for a little bit of ice in Clines Corners. We stayed in Albequerque for the night at Patty's. We were greated with Pasole (kept on the porch as is tradition) and chicarones- not pork skins like people here think they are but rahter balls of fried pork fat. Heavenly. I must have eaten 50 of them before deciding it was time for bed. I slept on the couch and was woken up by Patty's dog jumping on me. Tiny little dog, very soft. I needed to pick up my upgraded permit so got dirrections to Fish and Wildlife and drove over to the building. I walked up only to have to go back to my truck and unload my pockets since apparently you can't take knifes into a federal building. I finally deweaponed myself and was allowed to enter the building. I took the elevator up to the 14th floor then wandered aimlessly in hopes of finding Camilies office. I eventually figured out where it was hiding and went in. I met God herself and actually sat down for some coffee and cookies with her. She was quite funny and apparently has 2 JRTs that the spoils. I spent about 30 min talking to her before realizing I was suppose to meet Maria, Eddie, Grandpa, and Patty for lunch. So I left and met everyone at Golden Corral. I had the shrimp as always- must have eaten a plate full. We drove back to Santa Fe, Eddie and I following Grandpa and Maria. It was a bit of an adventure since we got seperated a couple times but we managed to figure out how to get home. Chaco didn't attack me as I went in so i figure thats a step in the right direction. We spent most of the day doing nothing, as seems to be our past time in Santa Fe. It was nice to sit still and watch TV for a change. We went to PCs for dinner, my mom and I did the bar run since there was a pretty long line for tables. I had a Negra Modelo which my dad thought was pretty nasty. I don't know why he doesn't like them I think there pretty good. I had an enchilada, sopapias, and natias for dinner. Nice to have real new mexican food again. You cant find a decent sopapia in Texas, enchiladas are differnt and people think your crazy when you ask for natias.

So you though I was joking about possibly not making it back in time for graduation?

Friday I went into the lab and spent most of the morning making copies of lit to take back to texas. Cammack had to turn in my tuition rebate form so I talked him through the signature foraging and form filling out while making copies. My flight was suppose to leave around noon so chris said wed leave about an hour before then. After making copies I looked at bugs and spent some time just digging through the collection. Dani came in shortly before I left and I got some reprints from her. So between those, all the books and other lit I'd gotten from Chris I had to do some serious rearranging of my luggage. Then I had to load up the specimens I'd gotten on loan and fit those into my backpack also. Chris helped me carry all my stuff into the airport then left for a retirement lunch. I had Dani's number incase I had trouble getting the pinned material through security. I checked in and found out my plane was running 30 min late. No big deal since I had a 2 hr layover in chicago before catching a flight to dallas. Security was closed so I grabbed lunch (a brautwust) and watched the news until security finally opened. I made it through with no problems and found a seat at my gate. This airport is bigger than the college station airport but not by much. There was an announcement saying the plane was now an hour late and that someone would be avilable to assist us shortly. Well I sat around and noone appeared. Another 30 min passed and another announcement, this time saying it was now 2 hrs late and someone would be coming at assist. I called my parents and told them things might get a bit interesting and maybe they should leave a truck for me in dallas incase i couln't fly to college station. After waiting for the desk person for a while I gave up and took a nap. When I woke up I called Woolley to tell him my quest was successful and Cammack to just see what was up and tell him my plane might be running way late. I dozed back off to sleep and when I awoke there was actually someone at the desk. Only an hour so so after they said there would be someone. So I went up to the counter and asked the status of my connecting flights. The guy said my flight to dallas was running 30 min late so I should make the connection. Apparently the radar at O'hare was down and thats what was causing the delays. They called us for boarding and I gathered all my gear and got on the plane. I was still rather concerned about the connection since it was going to be pretty tight. If i missed the flight to dallas then I would miss the last flight to college station also. Not good since I had a meeting with the secretary of defense at 9am the next morning. I called my parents and cammack to tell them i was leaving Urbana, so there was at least a hope of me getting to A&M. The flight was uneventful, rested up for what I figured would be a pretty stressful fight to get on the dfw bound plane. The flight attendant came by shortly before landing and I found out what gate my connecting flight was out of. I looked it up and it was quite far from where we were landing. As soon as we touched down I called my mom to check the status of the connecting flight. It was suppose to be leaving in 15 min. Getting off the plane took a while since I was near the back and people were moving super slow. I tried to push past as many as possible but not much luck. I was practically bouncing off the walls trying to get out. I made it into the terminal and started running in what I hoped was the right dirrection. I had a couple boxes of bugs on loan so I was trying to run gently in hopes of not knocking them off their points. I checked the status as I ran by a monitor and I had 5 min before it was suppose to leave. I kept running, narrowly avoiding hitting old ladies or strolleres. They do get in the way though. I ran over to a counter and asked if they could call the other terminal or something to let them know i was on my way but she said she had a plane to start boarding so no. Nice. I kept running. Just as I though I was going to die I saw the sign for the terminal I needed to be in. Of course my gate was almost the entire way down the terminal. I looked at my watch and I was out of time. I sprinted up to the gate and saw a huge crowd of people. Good i thought theyre just boarding now. So I asked a guy if this was the flight to Dallas and he said nope, its boarded this is for the next flight out. At this point I was freaking out and ran up to the counter. I handed the ticket person my boarding pass just as they were paging Therese Catanach, final call we're closing the doors. So I guess I had about 3 seconds to spare- plenty of time. So I called the parents and Cammack to tell them I was on the plane, not much telling really, mostly just panting. Guess I need to run more. I slept most of the flight down to dallas, then read a couple of the articles Dani had given me. Since we were running a bit late out of Chicago I figured i wouldn't have a very long layover in dallas but that I should have plenty of time to go between flights. Honestly, even 30 min would seem like eternity compared to O'Hare. Plus I know that airport a little better. Landed, rode the skytram or whatever over to my next gate, and walked leasurely down the terminal. As I approached my gate I wondered if Andrea had made it back ok. I looked up and low and behold Andrea was at the gate. Odd since she was suppose to get back to A&M a few hrs before me. Turns out her flight had gotten canceled after the piolet didnt show up. There were a bunch of people stuck hoping to get onto my flight. She said a group of people were trying to get down for graduation so had rented a van together and were going to drive down. My plane was running a bit late, and they kept changing gates. We must have walked between the 3 or so gates 6 times before they finally picked the right one and let us board. It didnt look like Andrea was going to get on since she was number 6 on the stand by list. The flight down to college station was fast and pretty uneventful. I sat next to a guy who was coming back from antartica. Hed spent the last 40 hrs or something like that on planes or boats trying to get home. We landed and I gathered up my checked bags. Maria and Eddie picked me up and we drove by Heep so I could drop off my bugs. We met up at Ozonas for dinner. They had just gotten into town. Dinner was great and it was nice to be back in sweet home college station drinking a shiner. I actually looked up the shiner distribution map and discovered that mishigan would be the closest place to urbana to get shiner. Have to buy it in bulk i guess. After dinner I went back to the house to get ready for the actual graduation. I had to get my hat ready. During Aubrey and Mikas graduation I had had this idea to put an entire 301 insect collection on my hat. So I had my work cut out for me. Luckily I have tons of mounted specimens to choose from that I had prepared over the last 3 years. I started by finding 2 clean A trays and then pulled out the sorted and labeled drawers. I went through and picked the smallest bugs from the various families. After thinking about it a bit more I decided to try and limit it to as few orders as possible since the ordinal pen and label took up additional space. After some trial and error I managed to get enough Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenotptera, and Diptera onto my hat to have a complete collection. It was in phylogenetic order (oviously) and all the specimens were in decent condition. I scored it and assuming I got no deductions for the fact that one of the beetles was missing an elytra it would be exactly 100 (including extra credits from when I took it). I was quite proud. I then glued a mailer onto the hat and put the 2 A-trays in the mailer and put the cover over it. By now it was close to 2 am and time to get some sleep.