usc trojans – *the gratitude-a-thon

Ok, this cracked me up. There was a green screen with real marching band members and you got to pose with them and look like you were on the field with them. giggle.

My first Parent’s Weekend was kind of awesome. I’ve sort of always fantasized about what it would be like when I was the mom and not the kid in the college equation. I had my kids so late, I always wondered if I’d be like the oldest parent at one of these shindigs. Fortunately, I wasn’t. And guess what else, I practically walked a marathon while I was there, and my bunion-less foot got a big fat A+. This had been a huge worry for some months, whether I’d be able to really do any kind of walking while I was there, but I aced it, baby.

Anyway, L.A. is great. I mean, every time I’m there, I want to stay, Peter and I scheme about how we could move out there, I smile a lot. Let’s face it, I am no longer cut out for a cold weather landscape, if I ever was. While it was snowing in Brookline, it was sunny in lala land. Sunny and warm. And pretty. And yes, there was traffic, a lot of it, but it was sunny. And who doesn’t love a palm tree. They just scream vacation, even though they’re just regular old trees doing their thing.

My first HUGE college football game. I hate football, but this was a blast.

Tommy Trojan, the mascot, on his white horse!

I went to my first big time college football game. I mean, I have been to Harvard games, but this thing was huge. The Trojans (and no, I will never get over the fact that the team name at USC is also a birth control device) play at the L.A. Colliseum, which seats 93, 607 people. So, it was, uh, kind of BIG. And very cool. It was televised, so the camera was on wires, floating around the field, which was one of the most fascinating things to me (I really must up the ante on what impresses me, or get out more), and the fans are rabid. The USC Trojan (there’s that word again) marching band is really, like crazy exceptional. These guys blow it out of the park every time they open it up. So, that was super cool, and then there is Tommy Trojan (how about that for a name), the mascot, who rides around in a Roman gladiator get-up on a white horse! This was an event, I can tell you.

Peter and Bruce Furniss, an Olympic gold medalist and Peter’s childhood idol.

Frat barbecue. The guys of Phi Psi are really nice.

The rest of the weekend was spent walking around campus, meeting roommates, frat brothers, roommate’s parents, frat brother’s parents, eating and laughing. Our first glimpse of our son’s apartment was of it having a party with an intense beer pong game, an ice rink of beer on the floor, and a bathroom so dirty, I almost cleaned it right then and there. Ah, boys. We went to what was my first water polo game, even though my husband used to play it and coach it (pre-me). What a sport that is. You gotta be in some majorly great shape to play this. You’re treading water or swimming the entire time. There is not one moment when you’re on break during the game. We’re talking superhero cardio shape. We won in an exciting match up against Berkley. We had a Mexican dinner in downtown L.A. with the frat pledge class, and Peter met one of his childhood swimming idols, Olympic gold medalist, Bruce Furniss, who was super nice, and who’s wife is my new bestie. We went to a giant barbecue at the Phi Psi frat house, with the entire frat. We stayed in Santa Monica, so we got to go to Urth Cafe, my favorite coffee place, and gaze at the beach every morning.

Water polo.This is a fun sport to watch.

Seen at the USC Roski School of Art & Design.

It was so much fun, I was immediately depressed to land at the end of a gray day in Boston. Of course, heading almost immediately to the end of year soccer dinner, where Ally was named captain of her team (more on that later) cheered me up A LOT, but I still wish I was back in L.A . with the sun, and my son (who we shamed into shaving by telling him he looked like a pedophile, which he did, but now does not).

Well, the boy has been delivered to college. It’s been a long wait, as a spring admit, but finally, he is ensconced in his apartment, with four other nice guys, a workout room on his floor, and a courtyard with grills and lounge chairs, right near the Shrine Auditorium, where lots of red carpet events and concerts have been held (“And now, from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angleles, California, it’s the Academy Awards”).

This is an auditorium at USC that was really pretty. Do I remember the name. Uh, no.

The campus is pretty, with a mix of old stately buildings mixed with more modern architecture. And while it’s large, it seems fairly easy to manage. I thought, being downtown would mean a lot of traffic and mayhem around the campus, but several days in a row, we’ve been there, and it’s almost what I would call quiet. A real surprise. Everybody has on their USC gear, and Tommy Trojan, the USC mascot stands nobly in the middle of campus to remind the students and faculty, alike, to “fight on.”

I am finally used to the fact that the sports teams at USC are called Trojans, but I have to admit that I think it’s just plain hysterical that they are named after condoms. REALLY? But there it is. They have this thing called “Trojan Alerts” for when something on campus happens and you need to know about it, you get an email. I asked Jake if he thought they might send one to students before they had sex to see if they had trojans. I mean I think that’s an alert situation if you ask me.

There’s Tommy Trojan, the mascot. No, it’s not a giant condom, but it could be, right?

One thing that’s bantered about like the word “like” at USC, is “fight on.” This seems to work in any situation and is accompanied by putting one of your hands up in peace sign position. We have taken this phrase to heart in our family and are now using it heartily. “Ally, I know you’re math is hard but fight on.”

Another thing that’s big on campus, is that we’re now all part of the “Trojan Family.” And apparently this is a really big clan. The alumni deal here is huge. We have a friend who says it’s one of the biggest and strongest alumni organizations in the country. He also says there are some companies out here that won’t hire you unless you’re a USC graduate. Kind of impressive.

We went to a Trojan basketball game last night and it was really fun. A million of those alumni were there. We lost, but it was entertaining with lots of cheerleader and dance breaks, games and giveaways.

Today is convocation, and then we leave to go back to the real world in freezing cold Boston, leaving our son to enjoy palm trees and warm weather, and you know, higher education, too. Wishing my boy all the luck and love in the world. Hey Jake, fight on.