The first few days of the month were especially busy with finals and final projects due in, which all went well. That week, there was also a luncheon at one of my jobs to show appreciation for graduating seniors. Like myself, a lot of the staff members have been working at Gammage since their freshman year and have really loved it. My boss said something nice to all of us and gave us a small gift as a token of her gratitude.
The next week or so was spent not knowing what to do with myself without work or school… until my graduation night. My immediate family as well as my grandpa, aunt and brother’s girlfriend came up to attend my ceremony and celebrate. We went to a restaurant in Scottsdale where someone I went to high school with happens to work and she was especially accommodating for us. My ceremony was held in the basketball arena on campus with about 1,000 other graduates from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It was surreal to see people I’ve known since freshman year (or longer) walk across the stage alongside me. I’m glad it’s all over and thankful for everyone who wished me well.
Following graduation, I got to see off my friends for the summer (including my friend Jessica who is traveling Asia all summer) and treated myself to a nose piercing. I’ve wanted one for at least five years now, but my parents’ argument against it was that nobody would want to hire me. I was hired at my internship with a government agency without them ever seeing me face-to-face, so I told my dad the world won’t stop turning if I get a stud and he (reluctantly, I’m sure) agreed. It hurt for a few seconds and my eyes watered like crazy, but I’m really happy with it. I’m sure I’ll get used to feeling like I have a perpetual booger in good time.
On a more somber note, on the same day of my graduation ceremony, my grandpa (dad’s dad) passed away. A few days after my graduation, I flew out to meet my immediate family (who was already there) to spend time with my extended family in this difficult time. It seems as though everyone is doing well despite the circumstances and it was nice to see everyone and have such a big support network. I was unable to make my grandpa’s service, but I hope those who attended got the closure they needed.
The last two weeks of the month were crammed with work. For my last run at Gammage, I worked every shift of The Book of Mormon (fourteen shows in eleven days). The run was really smooth despite some drunk patrons. The show got funnier every time I saw it, it was great to go out on such a humorous show. I spoke more in detail about my tenure at Gammage here.
In addition to working at the theater in the evenings, I also trained for my new job as intern at the Arizona Game and Fish Department. This summer, I will be doing field work monitoring Gould’s turkey populations in southern Arizona and hosting education programs at a museum, all based in Tucson. The commute was long to training from my apartment in Tempe (about 40 miles one way) and consisted of long days, either in the sun or listening to lectures (I can’t decide which was worse). I will go into detail about what I did at training in a post to come soon once the ball starts rolling when I return from England in a few weeks.
With that, I’m off to England for a few weeks, so enjoy my queued posts!
What I’m watching: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Prestige, The Big Lebowski, BoJack Horseman (season 1), RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 7), Impractical Jokers (season 6), Master of None (season 2), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
What I’m reading: Dear Future Historians, Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation by Olivia Judson, The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult