Another Cap and Gown?

I'm back from the outer reaches of the world, and I have something to say today: I might matriculate (verb: to enroll as a member of a body and especially of a college or university) in January. I've been accepted.

Culinary Concoction

There is no other explanation besides the fact that I had no control over my body. Since when do I have culinary caprices (noun: a sudden, impulsive, and seemingly unmotivated notion or action)? I've known myself for a very long time, and I can give you first-hand knowledge: never (at least that I can remember).

I grabbed the cutting board and became a sous chef out of nowhere. It just happened. I have food left over for tomorrow too. And Milan, a food diva in her own right, gave me a thumbs-up. Jordan said he liked it too. Milestone. (Ahem.)

A Birthday, Unbeknownst to Us

Sunday. It was Tyler's birthday. Of course we had to do something. Good thing Rachel saw the fact on Facebook late Saturday night. Being the laconic (adj.: using or involving the use of a minimum of words : concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious) person he is, we knew he wouldn't have spread the word about his annual celebration. 

 We trekked to Harris Teeter—risking the crazy squawking noise they installed at the grocery store entrance—in order to buy cake, ice cream, and candles. The gathering was well attended. On his way out the door, he said, "thank you so much. That means a lot." Goal accomplished!

Persuasion

Astonished at his ability to take every potential area of interest to me and use it to prove his point, I sat and listened to the man—with a mentally dropped jaw. His practice of pedagogy was a half an hour of masterfully crafted persuasion. I've decided Andrew is genius. He had a point to make: it is important to have nice clothes. He had a tough audience: me.

What angles did he take? All the right ones. And that blew my mind more than anything he actually said pertaining to his argument. He knew what would have the most impact on me. He talked history, architecture, theory (sartorial morality?!), aesthetics, practicality, parsimony (noun: the quality of being careful with money or resources : thrift), personality, opprobrium (noun: something that brings disgrace) [welcome to your daily double] and vocabulary. (You probably didn't know you could tie all these things into fashion, did you?) Beyond that, he said the most ridiculous, pretentious things, which always make me laugh. I studied his study of me; I am an expert on myself, and I'd have to say, he got it right.

But I guess I knew I would be persuaded since I was calling in a personal wardrobe consultant. It's nice to have friends who know what they are talking about.

Here's what's left of my clothes . . . 

Dinner Group

Thursday. Oh, yeah! It was dinner group inauguration. And I cooked for it. Stop your white horses, it's true. What I cooked looked something like this:

This was really fun, and I can tell that dinner group will serve solidarity (noun: unity [as of a group or class] that produces or is based on community of interests, objectives, and standards) in addition to food.