"I feel like a weirdo, but I guess that's okay."

Last night was Rains' Stanford-wide graduate student party.

Very nice. A lot of fun.
Got to see some people I had met before, and meet some new people. Stanford is a MUCH smaller place than U of T.

Leslie, Alexis and I got there and... I recognized a guy I went to high school with!
Guillaume Chabot-Couture, the son of... Jacques Couture, prof à Garneau!!!
Vraiment bizarre.
He did not recognize me of course, but I did him. So he faked it for a while before daring to ask... "Where do I know you from?"
Mouahahah!
He later figured out that he had heard about me through his father. Hum. Quebec City is DEFINITELY a small place.

***

Also: Alexis and I met Guy A. Lepage... 20 years younger.
Here is the proof (although he looked more like Guy A. in real life...)



***

This morning, as always, I woke up early and went for a stroll on the party grounds. I looked around, picked up a bunch of empty beer bottles and brought them to a lady who was picking them up from the garbage bins. I saw a hummingbird, and a blue jay. In the fountain where FIVE PEOPLE fell last night out of drunkedness, I saw the poor goldfish and their new friends: a couple of beer bottles and a few plastic cups. So I went fishing for them... when a middle-aged couple arrived and caught me beer-handed. "I fell like a weirdo, but I guess that's okay," I said. They laughed, and we started talking. Very nice couple visiting from Virginia.

Continued my stroll, didn't find any gems, did my meditation outside and... came home for breakfast.

***

Now. We are picking up many great, important skills at the Stanford University School of Ed: to sound so much like you know what you're talking about that they believe you when you tell them you are going to save the world.

A guy named Rohan (I think that's how you spell it) asked me last night whether I had saved the world yet. "Maybe a soul or two, but not the world, yet. I'll let you know, though." "Please do!"
Interesting.

***

I saw Prof. P. climbing up the stairs yesterday, and thought I would take advantage of this random encounter to discuss my first week's experiences with him. "Prof. P!" I called while running after him. "Who can be calling me by this name..." he answered, "except a first year foreign student!"

I laughed. He laughed. Made it to his office and talked shop.

***

The first research group meeting was very interesting. Lots of interesting projects under way. And I might be able to do some research on them next summer, while in Toronto and Quebec city.
Yesssssss!

Enough blabbing.
Time to work.

Kisses!