I’m sitting in the newly renovated Swem Library and lemme tell ya: there is but one word fit to describe this shiny new house of books and that word is palatial. I flew into Newport News this morning, got totally gouged on a cab ride to Williamsburg and checked into the Ho House.* So far, I’ve seen a few of Mike’s friends that I knew a bit in college, had a sandwich from the Cheese Shop,** and stopped in to say hello to my voice teacher, Martha Connolly, who looks great and is doing well, despite the loss of her partner of twenty years in June. Martha’s as sweet and loving as ever, and though she couldn’t remember my name, she remembered the songs I sang — me, the guy who went from all musical comedy stuff (boring) freshman year to all classical and early music, e.g., Schumann, by senior year. What a doll.

I also stopped by the theater building. There was some sort of all-pre-teen Shakespeare production being rehearsed. I walked right by two professors, said hi, but they didn’t know me from Adam. Yep, giving that department the finger (metaphorically) and becoming a Literary & Cultural Studies major was definitely the right choice.

My girl should get in by 10 pm tonight and a bunch of us rehearsal dinner rejects will be enacting a rehearsal of our own at Chez Trinh tonight. Then I suppose we’ll head to the Leafe*** to swill a few with those rehearsal dinner snobs. Right now? I think I’ll find a bathroom in here no one’s used yet and mark my territory. Then I’ll go break into my freshman dorm and weep a bit, just to bring back old times.

• See how quickly one reverts to college slang? It’s the Williamsburg Hospitality House. ** It moved! The Cheese Shop moved to DoG Street (Duke of Gloucester Street). What once was a busy, cramped little purveyor of fine sandwiches is now a large, busy, cramped purveyor of fine sandwiches by the metric fuckload. *** More slang! Greenleafe Cafe: the only one of the three Delis (read: the only bars W & M students go to) that cards aggressively, thus making it an exclusive 21+ club. Excellent, ever-changing beer selection. **** In the most mundane way, I swear.