Pi, Pi, ADPI

I spent the last hour reading up on the ADPi Convention.  Oh, that is Alpha Delta Pi, for you non-Greeks.  I joined ADPi in 1989 (technically initiated in 1990, but whatev) but haven't been an active alum.  At all.  The blog has some good stuff on it and reminds me of the good ol' college days.  When life was full of simple choices.  And the consequences weren't much more than having to ask Mom or Dad for more beer grocery money or explaining that the reason your GPA dropped wasn't because you were having slumber parties at your boyfriend's fraternity but in fact, it was because the professor clearly didn't like you.   Duh.

For me, college was the stepping stone to grown-upville. For example...

I changed my major seven times.  Yes, seven times.  Now, I end up changing outfits seven times and make myself late for work.

I learned all about booze at college.  Ya see, I never drank alcohol before college.  Good ol' WSU broke me.  I learned that turning 21 after all my pledge sisters sucked ass.  I learned to like beer.  Most importantly, I learned to not mix beer and hard alcohol, even on your 21st birthday.  I'm planning to remember that rule when I turn 40.

I learned about boys too but my grandma reads this blog so I'll refrain from saying much more on that subject.

I learned that a dessert fork or spoon goes at the top of your plate and you use utensils from the inside out.  I learned that you pass the salt/pepper together, with the pepper on the outside (in case the person you are handing it to is blind).  Or was it salt on the outside?  Damn, I always got that part mixed up at formal dinners.  But at least I know what to expect for dessert, based on the silverware.

I learned how that it didn't matter how out of tune you sang an ADPi song, as long as you sang it as LOUD AS YOU COULD, just to see if you could make a sister break out in laughter.  Turns out this skill works well in the classroom, when your students need a shot of laughter..

There are days when I would gladly flash back to that time...except for that super-fat stage I had.  Blach.  Let's not go there.

I don't have many online pictures from college but I did manage to sneak one or two off of facebook.  Matching shirts.  A definite must-have in a sorority.

Over the years, we would gather for weddings, baby showers, or in support of our beloved Cougs during Apple Cup.  Again, if I knew how to work the scanner, I'd have some lovely photos for you from the past 20 years.

By 2005, I met up with the digital age and had someone take our group photo. 

This was a meet and greet a few years back that I couldn't attend but sorely wanted to.

 Last year, we met up to celebrate Marianne's legacy (baby M).  Notice Marianne is wearing the shirt from the above 1991 picture.  This is particularly funny because she didn't understand we weren't wearing our shirts.  Next time, Marianne, I promise.

  Several from our "group" couldn't make it and they were missed.

 Obviously, these pictures don't include everyone that I hung out with for four years.  Several of us meet once a month for book wine club and even though we end up reminiscing about something and drive everyone else batty with our stories, it's just so fun to see their faces again.  I love these girls.

These are my sistas.  They loved and accepted me when I was at the peak of insecurity. 

And they made me a better person.

Good people.