the weekend was completely without sleep. but a blast. new friends and old. and lots of old hangouts. i love homecoming weekend.
saturday: woke up, and after the gentlemen ran to get some rehydrating drinks, we all got ready in our purple and gold, and headed out to procure some football game tickets for those who forgot. we dropped off the car at the next location, and then wandered through campus trying to reconnect with nate and jake who had run to get tickets. they managed tickets (cheap!), and we all headed over to get into the reunion tent for free food and drinks (*included in the price - but free sounds better!). after presenting the alumni gift on the football field to the president of the university, i returned to the tent, and ate my food, drank my beer, and got to hang out with my old goodies - spending a day at a football game with university friends is like a dream come true. after the game (let's not talk about the score), we all headed over to matt and caits for some hangout time (to see the baby!), and some food. and for some of the boys, a nap. we met up with jeff, and all of us piled into the house, and spent the evening eating pizza, hanging out, catching up, and getting to catch little bits of sleep every now and then. we ordered some cabs, and headed out to the bar, and ate some fries, and drank some beer, and laughed lots. once we had our fill, everyone cabbed (jeff and i walked) to the turret - the on campus laurier bar - and danced the night away. when it was time to leave, josh, nate, jeff and i walked over to get a burrito (in the pouring rain), and procured a cab home. i felt truly in university again (and not just because there were 7 of us in 1 hotel room).
sunday: we all woke up early enough to check out, and then after a bit of shuffling to get cars left in various places, we all met up with breakfast/brunch in waterloo. since the service was awful, and the food took an hour, we had plenty of time in the sun, on the patio to catch up. when all was said and done (almost 2 hours - and a complaint to the manager - later), we all said our goodbyes (boo!), and departed in our separate directions. jeff and i headed back to ancaster, where we got in a 3 hour nap (i'm too old for this stuff!), a good drive in the rolling hills of his new neighbourhood, and an indian food pickup before dinner with his parents. we spent the rest of the night watching dexter (he hasn't seen season 4!!), and it was early to bed.
yankees/jays game with jake - 5th row, behind the yankee's dugout!; my pin for pete; changes are inevitable; the bike for pete; momentos; the remainder of my work day; jake got iced; when at homecoming for university, act like you're still in university; baby gift presentations and demonstrations; hats for everyone!; dressed in purple and gold; bringing a guelph girl into the mix; alumni; we bring the 'class' to 'class of '07'; love love love; the omnimous sky over the football game; the crowd; cuddles with a future laurier grad; nap time never gets old; baby clothes, pre baby!; where everyone knows our name.
friday: woke up early, as there was going to be a memorial bike ride in my friend pete's honour. since his crash site was blocks from my house (and since i can't ride a bike), i planned to meet up with the bikers at the site, where they were installing a white 'ghost' bike in his honour. it was a much needed ceremony to be at peace with the whole thing. after the memorial, i headed out to waterloo for a client meting, and to work the remainder of the day. after working, i met up with a good friend from high school for dinner - a reminder of why my job that allows me to travel sometimes, can be a great thing. then, headed out to the hotel where we were staying for the weekend to meet up with everyone. after the hellos, the changing, the showers, and the chatting, we left to meet up with nate at the on campus pub where we used to spend our weekends. spent the night catching up with old friends, meeting some new (hi scott!), and dancing on the stage. required, to relive our university nights. we all went back to the hotel and crashed - for the long day the following day.saturday: woke up, and after the gentlemen ran to get some rehydrating drinks, we all got ready in our purple and gold, and headed out to procure some football game tickets for those who forgot. we dropped off the car at the next location, and then wandered through campus trying to reconnect with nate and jake who had run to get tickets. they managed tickets (cheap!), and we all headed over to get into the reunion tent for free food and drinks (*included in the price - but free sounds better!). after presenting the alumni gift on the football field to the president of the university, i returned to the tent, and ate my food, drank my beer, and got to hang out with my old goodies - spending a day at a football game with university friends is like a dream come true. after the game (let's not talk about the score), we all headed over to matt and caits for some hangout time (to see the baby!), and some food. and for some of the boys, a nap. we met up with jeff, and all of us piled into the house, and spent the evening eating pizza, hanging out, catching up, and getting to catch little bits of sleep every now and then. we ordered some cabs, and headed out to the bar, and ate some fries, and drank some beer, and laughed lots. once we had our fill, everyone cabbed (jeff and i walked) to the turret - the on campus laurier bar - and danced the night away. when it was time to leave, josh, nate, jeff and i walked over to get a burrito (in the pouring rain), and procured a cab home. i felt truly in university again (and not just because there were 7 of us in 1 hotel room).
sunday: we all woke up early enough to check out, and then after a bit of shuffling to get cars left in various places, we all met up with breakfast/brunch in waterloo. since the service was awful, and the food took an hour, we had plenty of time in the sun, on the patio to catch up. when all was said and done (almost 2 hours - and a complaint to the manager - later), we all said our goodbyes (boo!), and departed in our separate directions. jeff and i headed back to ancaster, where we got in a 3 hour nap (i'm too old for this stuff!), a good drive in the rolling hills of his new neighbourhood, and an indian food pickup before dinner with his parents. we spent the rest of the night watching dexter (he hasn't seen season 4!!), and it was early to bed.
it was a gooooooooood (tiring) weekend.
also, photographer martin ho took some beautiful photos of the 'ghost bike' and the ride on friday.... amazing. for you pete.
hope everyone had a fantastic, lovely weathered, and fun weekend - with lots of laughter. 5 sleeps until thanksgiving!