Commencement
Because Carnegie Mellon University only has one commencement per year, in May, I was not able to traditionally graduate when I finished my master's degree last December. I received the diploma in March, and that was all well and good, but this past Sunday's official commencement really made me proud to be a graduate of Carnegie Mellon.
My parents, sister, and aunt and uncle from Massachusetts turned up last Thursday to spend a long weekend here, graze through some of Pittsburgh's best restaurants, chat and drink wine, visit The Andy Warhol Museum, and attend my rainy-then-warm-and-sunny commencement. Yesterday, their flights all departed within about 20 minutes of each other.
The commencement was incredible, with bagpipes, formalities, and even Bill Cosby walking a Scottish Terrier up to the stage, where he would later receive an honorary doctorate and give a humorous but inspiring keynote address. We took a number of pictures after the ceremony, many of which are quite good. I'll post them here after my mom downloads them from her camera and sends them to me.
Excepting a problem my mom experienced with Continental Airlines food on her flight to Pittsburgh, we all enjoyed the diverse food we ate over the weekend. Following is a list of the restaurants where we dined, hopefully in roughly chronological order.
- Quaker Steak & Lube (Traditional American)
- Yokoso (Japanese)
- Point Brugge (Belgian)
- Le Pommier (French)
- The Church Brew Works (Traditional American)
- Isabela on Grandview (New American)
- Mad Mex (New Mexican Fusion)
- Tamarind Flavor of India (Indian)
If you're ever in Pittsburgh, I advise eating at as many of those restaurants as possible. Well, maybe not Quaker Steak & Lube, since it's generally overrun by high school kids with nothing better to do.
Oh, and in not-at-all-related news, Carnegie Mellon recently inducted Data, of Star Trek notoriety, into the Robot Hall of Fame. How very cool!
Update (May 23): An entry containing commencement photos has been posted.