Harvard Grad

It's taken a while for it to actually sink in that it's over, that I've got my Master's degree and it's got Harvard on it*.  I think I'll still be putting "Bachelor's" on those forms you fill out that ask about your level of education for years.

If you're a guest coming in from anywhere other than a Harvard Square hotel you get up at 4:00 in the morning to get a shot at a seat (and that's if you've got a ticket, mind.  No ticket, no entry).  I started at the Extension School itself and found most of my Capstone class right off the bat;  I think all but one of us walked.  We followed a set of bagpipes across the Commons, around the outside of the Yard's iron fence, and in through the Sever Gate -- to stand around waiting for about an hour while everyone shows up.   Then all the schools yell like mad to let everyone know they're there and the procession starts. 

I really can't describe Morning Exercises.  It's similar to other college commencements I've been to, while at the same time being very different.  A *ton* of music, all live.  A student address -- in Latin.  Way too many honorary degrees (in the heat, I think if they'd have gone for one more, there may have been a riot).   The local sheriff in a top hat and silver cane yelling his lungs out.   More bagpipes.

Seriously, you may want to watch it for yourself.  Unfortunately this year the recording missed the call to order, so if you want to see the sheriff, you'll need to look up the 2014 (and I recommend it; it's everyone's favorite part).  

Evidently while all this is going on the parents are pretty much acting like heathens.  Wish I was kidding; Dad had to keep his foot hooked through his chair when he stood up to take a picture or else someone might have yanked it out from under him and walked off with it.   I wonder how many fist fights security has had to break up over the years.

Diploma ceremonies are separate, because there's an insane number of people to deal with (I can't get exact number, but estimates are 32,000 people in attendance), and ours was in a local church.  It was about a million degrees in there, and everyone just wanted to get done and out.  I suspect my acceptance picture, when it comes, will pretty much look like I got hit with a brick.  A sweaty brick.

The diploma itself is entirely in Latin, v's for u's and all, which appeals to the nerd in me in a big way.  And no, I can't remember how to translate it any more (though I did get the gist of the Latin address, so I'm not THAT rusty). 

And I guess that's really that.  We didn't stay for the Afternoon Exercises -- too hot, and we were about worn out (and it's all speeches anyway; exciting maybe when it's Oprah, less so when it's an ex-governor).

*Even if it is the Extension School, which Harvard itself swears up and down is the real thing, and which HBS and HMS grads look so far down their's noses at that they get a crick in their necks.    Whatever.  I learned a ton. 

Extreme Weather

I've meant to write about a number of things -- my capstone course, the new apartment, the madness that was the Balmer gift announcement launch, all kinds of things.  But stuff kept getting in my way (in fact, most of those things on that list got in each others' way).

But I can't not write about the weather.

Boston has been smashing winter weather records in the last two weeks.  It started with 2 feet of snow, continued with another 16 inches within a week (breaking the 7-day snowfall record) and just blasted past the 30-day record with almost 70 inches in the last 17 days.

Know what storm season previously held that record?  Yeah, the infamous Blizzard of '78.  That year.  The year that was so wintery that it's enshrined in "back in the day" jokes everywhere.   There were actually two major blizzards that year, so back home got hammered as well (and actually got the heavier-accumulations, I believe).  Boston's great blizzard was about this time and was incredibly damaging.  We've been lucky this time -- our problem is so much snow that we've got nowhere to put it.  The damage due to winds and flooding, though not completely absent, has not been nearly so bad.   We're only now starting to see roof collapses.

I don't have may great pictures of this one.  Of the last 11 workdays, I've made it to the office for 5.  Of the 6 that I was snowbound, 2 were Harvard snow days, something that's virtually unheard of.  I was unable to shop one weekend, and barely made it the next.  So I'm only going to give you two pictures.  If you're really interested, you can hit up the major news outlets; they have tons.

That weird little bump?  That's a 3' light post. 


The interesting thing to me in all this has been how disastrous the commute has been.  My move required me to start taking the bus (an experience in itself).  I have three routes I can take.  One comes up the hill right to the complex -- but not in the snow.  The other two require a 3/4 mile walk through uncleared sidewalks (you can be fined for this, but due to the accumulation, most cities aren't bothering; they know people can't keep up); one takes me into Alewife to pick up the train and the other takes me all the way into Harvard.

Tomorrow the trains won't be running.  All the routes with snow routes will be on them and all services will be intermittent.  It's a real mess.

Before you go smirking at the fact that we shut down over a little snow, keep in mind that Boston already has three major transportation problems that the snow just makes worse:

• The T's old, and an awful lot of it is above ground
• The streets are narrow, as are the sidewalks.
• There's no parking.  Anywhere.  Ever.

You put those three together, and you essentially have no way to get anywhere.  I've had days where I could have driven to work (with some teeth-grinding and dents in the steering wheel), but wouldn't have been able to park anywhere.   I've had mornings where I tried to walk and was given the choice between a foot of powdery snow or walking in the road -- something that many people do, and a number of people pay heavily for when they get hit by someone who didn't see them or couldn't stop.  And even if you make it to the bus stop there's no guarantee you'll fit on the bus.  Two of the days I made it in, we deadheaded most of the trip due to a full bus.

I can't find official numbers anywhere, at least not that are quickly accessible, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen this much snow in my life.

Edit: I snagged this chart from Boston.com* that shows the current totals for this year and where they stand in the records.

*Epstein, David. "The Great Snow of 2015." Boston.com. N.p., 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.