Perspectives

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day. I hung around in the morning and walked into town to find a big bike race. After lunch at Cafe Bernardo where I watched the race, I went to see Wall-E on F Street. The previews looked bad, but all the comments on facebook gave it praise. I have to admit it was pretty great. An environmental scare movie for the young and old. There was an older gentleman behind me who laughed at just about everything and it made me laugh, too. A little robot alone in the world.

At 5:30, I got home and took a nap. But honestly, I could not stay in once I awoke. I put feelers out earlier in the day with Chad, Jennifer and JT but as of 8PM there was no word back. Chad went hiking and might have been back by 6 or 7, Jennifer was in San Francisco and JT went to his brother's house. There were fireworks in Davis at the Community Park off of B Street and 14th starting at 9:30PM. So just before 8PM, still a little drowsy from my nap, I got on my bicycle and headed over to the park. I saw the advertised skydivers advancing, but I really was not sure where to go, so I parked my bike and followed the crowd. There were tons of people around and I grabbed a slice of pizza and a beer and found a place to park my towel and my butt. I really don't like being alone in such a large crowd, but it was so much better than being at home. I took out my phone to check the time and noticed that JT had called 20 minutes prior. He was on his way to the fireworks with Binky and he would let me know where he was so we could meet up.

It was good to see the friendly faces of JT and Binky. We sat with Jossie and Joey and their mother and then another group of their friends joined in. The fireworks were truly fantastic. I was quite surprised at the size and professional quality of the show. I was so glad that I went and happy that I was not by myself.

After the fireworks I made the round of goodbyes and met Jossie's friend, Laura. She arrived just as the fireworks started. Jossie kept saying how talented she was. She graduated last year and is the accompanist for Mindy Cooper's Musical Theatre class. When I finally met Laura she said "oh, you're Hope, the famous actress." Upon my surprise, Jossie added, "everyone talks about you." JT then added "didn't you know that?"

Um, no.

I know I'm doing well at UCD and the few reviews I've seen have been favorable, but I don't get a huge sense of accomplishment from my professors. Actually, I get little from them. So, there lies the disconnect. Either way the comment made me humbled.

In any case, there's no reason to worry about an enlarged ego, because I am truly aware of the scale. I am still a big fish in a small pond and right now I'm just a grad student alone in the world.