March Madness

As I post from Ann Arbor, one of the greatest college towns in the universe, I am faced with a major dilemma.  Just about every school on my son GC's preliminary list has just released statistics that show that 2011 was the year with highest amount of applicants and the lowest acceptance rate ever. So if I post something positive about our experience at a college, I could screw things up for GC and his travel buddy, MM (Mr. Mellow).  Or if I say anything negative, admissions officers might read this blog and decide not to admit a kid whose parent badmouths their school on the internet.

This means that throughout the trip my posts will have to be full of benign anecdotes, like a list of the following bad news/good news situations:

SITUATION #1: NCAA Tournament
Bad News: I created a bracket so I could bond with my son during this trip.  This was a very time-consuming task for somebody who knows virtually nothing about college basketball.
Good News: Three of my teams lost one day after I predicted the outcome of the tournament, so I no longer feel obligated to watch the games.

SITUATION #2: Emergency Landing
Bad News: Our plane developed a hydrolic leak. We sped up, landed in Detroit an hour early, and found ourselves surrounded by dozens of fire engines.
Good News: We weren't informed about the "issue" until after we landed.  And we could continue to play the Online Trivia Quiz while a truck fans cooled our brakes for 90 minutes.

SITUATION #3: Lost Necklace
Bad News: Met a fellow Angeleno in the lobby who complained that the concierge had sent her to a restaurant that served buffalo wings and that the bathrooms in this hotel were ridiculously tiny.  Her criticism seemed over-the-top, but moments later my necklace slipped off the counter and fell into the drain in our sink.

Good News: Jeff from Maintainance came to our room and retrieved the necklace. It seemed as if he had done this before.

SITUATION #4: Misplaced Jacket
Bad News: It was 17 degrees last night, 12 with the wind chill.  But GC still somehow managed to leave his jacket at the A E Pi Fraternity House, where he visited one of my older son CJ's friend. He returned back to the hotel with just a fleece.
Good News: The weather here is clearly not a major deterrent for GC.

SITUATION #5: Zingerman's Waitlist
Bad News: We were deferred, then waitlisted at Zingerman's, the best deli in the midwest. However, if we take a gap year, there is hope for admission in the Fall of 2012.
Good News: We ate a much quicker lunch at a Korean place in the very cool Kerrytown market, (with an architecture student, FFG – Future Frank Geary, our longtime family friend), which gave us time to get to see my cousin EE (Equestrian Extraordinaire) in the closing ceremony of the U-M marathon, in which she had danced for 30 hours straight to raise money for a pediatric hospital.  She told us that tomorrow, on a Monday, we might be able get into Zingerman's for lunch.

 

Comments

March Madness — 3 Comments

  1. Hi Honey! I’m at home just leaving for work (it’s about 60 degrees) and I read your post about the misplaced jacket and the recently recovered lost necklace. Don’t leave U of M without GC’s jacket! And try to set a good example for him by being more responsible.
    Mr. NP

  2. Good thing there’s still good news amid the negative ones. Sorry about the lost items, at least people around you were trying to be helpful. I hope it turns out for the better.