commencement!

7.15, and the bagpiping lowell (?) house has just passed by under my windows! i wonder if i should get out of bed and go down and wait for darryl and mihaela to go by, or if i should just stay in bed and watch them from here. probably from here; it's 57 degrees out. hee! a shuttle bus just sounded its horn in salute to the stream of gowned students, and many of them waved back! all the drama i need from one window, she says.

7.30, it is now cabot house! they have got a brass band (old men wearing straw hats) which are a good deal more delightful than bagpipes, i can tell you.

i shall get dressed anyway and sit in the kitchen with a cup of tea and wait for currier to come by. if they do it would not be too late to run downstairs, and if not tea is tea.

hee! a woman in an M.A. gown just rode by on her bicycle!

i am dressed! with warm coat and scarf in reach, so that i can dash downstairs at a moment. no sign of any other house yet. i shall, of course, take this opportunity to locate my glasses and more importantly, my id. this is not a day to be walking around harvard square without it, because of the nuisance of commencement security. nay, i have changed my mind. i'm going to nip down to see if the buttery is closed today. there might be some muffins for the having, and i can see better from the buttery.

i have had my sausage and egg muffin, and i have seen no other house go by, and as it's now close to 8.20, much too late for house processions still to be peregrinating, i expect i should simply wait for the webcast. but there people coming back. the old men in straw hats and the marshals for the procession. they look cold.

hee. i caught a mistake in the subtitles for the latin oration, where "it's" was used for "its." i love the latin oration - link to webcast coming soon.

larry summers made a slight mistake when he was conferring the degrees for forest science - he corrected himself quickly, of course. i know people go on about the performative acts of speaking and how that is built into ritual, but then we'd be back at esmerald margaret note spelling of lancre -

and now the class marshalls and summas (see the red piping) have "drawn near" and are being presented to the president and the fellows of the college and the board of overseers. larry summers said to them "fellow members of the class of 06!!!" fellow members. it is the last year for him but that was rather - .

do you know, after all that excitement i think i'm going back to bed.

oh no no! here are the honourary degree recipients. this is one of the loveliest parts of harvard commencement, i think.

ooh! commencement will be over in the next 15 or so minutes, so i'm going out to buy myself lunch now, before they all get out of the yard!

i go!