alma mater hear us, as we praise thy name...

...make us worthy sons and daughters, adding to thy fame. Time will treat you kindly, and some years from now you'll be ever dearer to our hearts, our university. From the halls of ivy, over to the campus scene, chimes ring out with gladess for our dear Bowling Green. When all is but a memory of the bygone days, hear our hymn, dear alma mater, as thy name we praise.

I visited BG today for the first time in almost two years, since Nick and GT moved away. I found out the Black Swamp Players were doing Anything Goes again, which I had a great time playing the piano for back in 2000 (and it was such a good show, my parents drove from Elyria to see it twice). This production wasn't quite as good; I was glad to see a few actors reprising their roles from last time, and Reno -- aside from her Carrot Top hairstyle -- fit the bill nicely. But the comedic timing and pacing wasn't always there, and that coupled with minimal laughs from the audience made for a less-gratifying experience than 2000. Still, it was nice to see one of my favorite shows and catch up with Bob Hastings, the director.

That wasn't really reason enough to drive an hour and 45 minutes to BG, so I made a day of it by going to the Methodist church I attended while in college, reminded them I used to sing in the choir and announced my triumph over Hodgkin's, then had lunch with Jason and Schutze and finally got to see his new (to me) house.

I had about 15 minutes to kill before church, so I parked near the library and was instantly reminded of the notorious bitter cold wind upon exiting the vehicle. I took a walk through the art building, which had exactly one human being inside. I realized I'd never been in there on a Sunday morning, because I'd always had church, but I figured there'd at least be some Matt Milizia-esque students in there toiling away with no sleep. Then I went across the way to Saddlemire, where the large open room on the first floor is now occupied by a large-format printing services company, which of course moved in a year after I graduated.

After the show, I went back to campus and walked through the student union that opened during my last semester. I got a berry smoothie for old time's sake and stopped to find my brick on the wall (was a graduation gift from my parents).

I didn't really feel anything. I don't think I'm yet far enough removed from college to get all sentimental about it, although I did sing the alma mater as I was coming down Bowling Green Road into town. I walked through the art building and just... really didn't care. But then, I'm not sure what I was expecting to feel. Even if there had been anyone there, no one would have known who I was, and it's not like I'd stand out from people just a few years younger than me. (Plus, I look considerably different without glasses, so I doubt former profs would recognize me, even if they did remember me.)

It was nice to shop at Meijer again, though. :) What a great store. Too bad Giant Eagle holds the market around here so Meijer is afraid to move east. But I'm sure the new Elyria Super Wal*Mart will be just as good... *cough*