The Surprise for Prof. M and Last Friday

Last Friday was my Roman Lit Exam. It went well. Had to pick two essay questions out of four. Picked the questions on Virgil and Propertius... Didn't bother with the ones on Ovid, since I don't like him...

Before that though we had our last Latin class, so that some of the class could take the Final exam, and the rest of us could plan mischief. You see, we love our Latin Prof. She's amazing. So back in February, we started plotting what we could do for her the last day, which would have been the previous Thursday, but as I said in the "Officially the Last Day of Classes" post, we didn't have class. Poor Prof. M had developed dry socket from having her wisdom teeth removed, and other complications as well, which required immediate medical attention. She actually might have died if she hadn't gone to the hospital when she did. Scared the rest of us half to death!

But she was back to her normal self by last Friday, so our plans were on. We had taken up a collection and bought her a pretty watch pendant and 24" inch silver chain for it. Here's a picture of it:


And because Prof. M had expressed how much she liked the plaque I made for my parents' new farm: I made her a plaque of her own:

The translation of what it says is:

Oh, our Minerva,
for your patience,
for your skill,
for your cleverness,
for your help,
for your wisdom,
for your kind spirit,
always your loving and
mindful students
will give thanks to you.

On the back are the signatures of everyone who donated money for the watch, under an additional inscription which says, "For Professor Manolaraki, in appreciation, from the Beginning Latin class 2006/2007. Thank you for everything that you do!"

I was going to add an owl to the center top, but I didn't like how the stylization turned out. All the stencils I used were hand cut by me especially for this project because I couldn't find any that I liked in the local crafts stores.

But here's the story of what happened Friday:

I didn't have to take the exam and neither did Olivia, who was my partner in crime. We showed up anyway since Prof. M had requested that everyone show up, regardless of whether or not we had to take the exam, so that we could fill out the course evaluation forms that we were supposed to have filled out the previous week, and we didn't have to hide like we might have otherwise. Still we had to hide the presents. We took the plaque and the watch to an empty classroom several doors down from the one our class is held in and I stayed there while Olivia directed people down to the other room to sign the plaque. When Prof. M was spotted leaving her office, we turned off the light and closed the door of the empty classroom and returned to our classroom without the plaque or watch. Prof. M said what she had to say about how much she had loved our class and about the exam, passed out the exams and the class evaluation forms and asked that if we weren't taking the exam that we fill out the form and put it in the envelope at the front of the room before we left. Both Olivia and I did that quickly and I totally couldn't look at Prof. M before leaving, I was just too excited about our surprise.

So once back in the other classroom, I started varnishing (with water-based varnish - it dried in just a few minutes) the back of the plaque. The front I had finished the day before. Olivia kept a lookout at the door, and as others finished the evaluation and/or the exam, those who wanted to stay for the surprise came into the classroom and we sat around and waited for the signal from Stacey (in the form of a text message) that everyone had finished the exam. Stacey had been asked by Prof. M to be in charge of taking the evaluations to the Language Department Office upstairs, so she would be the last to leave and stay in the classroom until everyone had finished the exam anyway, so it was quite the perfect plan.

It took about 40 minutes for the last person to finish. One of the other girls came to the classroom after finishing her exam after about 30 minutes and said that Prof. M started tearing up when she had handed in her paper. So we knew she was going to really cry when we gave her the surprises. They would be tears of joy though so...

So the second to last person to finish came into the room and told us that everyone was pretty much done, so we left the classroom with the surprises and headed back down the hall. Peaking in the window we could see Stacey punching keys on her phone, getting ready to text message Mia as planned, and Jordan was talking to Prof. M. Well, since we could see that they were done, we went in. I opened the door and walked in with Olivia on my heels and then everyone else behind. Prof. M looked up when I came in and started saying "What are you doing back here?" and then she saw Olivia and then everyone else and she just covered her face and started to cry, saying "No, no, you guys..." And once everyone was gathered Olivia said, "Now that the exam is over, we aren't technically your students anymore, so we can do things for you whether you want us to or not. So... since you're late for class so often - not that we really minded! - but since you have problems being on time, we got you this." And she handed Prof. M the watch in its box. Prof. M tearfully opened the box and exclaimed her gratitude, kissing the watch face, saying it was "Too much." And I said, "Oh, but there's more!... We also made you this." And I took out the plaque, which I had had hidden in a paper grocery bag, and handed it to her. She was speechless as she read the inscription and then kissed the top of the plaque as well (it makes me wonder if this is something that Greeks do with gifts). She said, "Rachael, you did this, didn't you? I can see your hand in this." And I told her that I had made the plaque. She told us how much she loved all of us and how sad she was that the class was ending. At some point, I stepped forward and hugged her because she looked to be in desperate need of one. She cried the whole time, poor dear. And then, she went around the entire group, there was maybe 15 or so of us, and gave us all hugs. And then said she was going to go back to her office to cry some more. We were so happy she liked it.

The class started breaking up after that. Stacey, Jordan, Olivia, Mia, Candace and the other Stacy stayed in the hall taking pictures of various combinations of us for several minutes. Someone remarked that it was like the last day of high school.

Then we went to Prof. M's office to see if she were up to taking pictures, which she really wasn't. She hadn't been kidding that she was going back to her office to cry, poor thing. And so we assured her that this might be the end of the class but that all of us would be back to visit, that this wasn't the last time she'd see us. And she made us promise that we would get together with her at some point in July to have a reunion and that we would keep in touch through the class blog if nothing else. So I for one most certainly shall. She also said that even if we didn't want to or couldn't sign up for Latin 3 with her in the Fall, we're more welcome to sit in on the class. I signed up for it, but I know at least Mia has a class conflict at least one day a week, so she'll probably sit in on Latin the other days.

After leaving her there, Candace and Stacy left for other things they had to do, and Olivia, Mia, Jordan and I we went upstairs with Stacey to turn in the class evaluations. Then Olivia had to leave and Mia, Jordan and Stacey and I had lunch. Mia remembered at some point that she had done an entire section of the final incorrectly. The exam had asked for the 1st person plural of all the verbs, but she had done the 1st person singular. So she went up to ask Prof. M if she could fix it. Then Stacey had to go to the Library and then Mia came back... At some point, Meredith, a girl in my Roman Lit class, joined us for a few minutes because she also knows Jordan... It seems like everyone on campus knows Jordan... And then around 2:15, Meredith and I headed upstairs for our Roman Lit exam, Mia went off to pack and leave for home and Jordan left to do whatever it was that he needed to go do.

All my friends from Latin hope to keep in touch over the summer and into next year. I really hope that we do. That was one amazing class... haven't experienced anything like it in my six years of college... It was more like high school... or even middle school, in how close the class got.

When I turned in my Roman Lit exam, Prof. M took a moment to tell me again how much she loved the gifts, especially the plaque. She said that when she had seen the one I had made for the farm several months ago, she had thought of asking me to make something for her, but hadn't. I told her I was just glad she liked it, but she said emphatically that she loved it and that I'm an artist. It really is way better to give presents than to get them when you can make other people feel so good.

Other cool pictures Mia took in Tampa

These are my feet (on the left) and Mia's feet (on the right) after we got pedicures several weeks ago:


C'est Mia, going somewhere all dressed up:


This is the Ringling House and Museum in Sarasota:

I went there many years ago... It's very pretty and they have some neat art and artifacts from the late 19th century circus world.

Evidently, Mia attended the Gasparilla Invasion back in February... or maybe late-January. I honestly can't remember when it is that they hold it anymore.

This is just one of the many pirate ships that enter Tampa Bay to inagurate the Gasparilla festivities... Tampa General Hospital, located on Davis Island, is visible in the background. I was born at that hospital.


These last five pictures are from the Renaissance Faire in March. It was raining and pretty cold that day, but we still had fun.

It was pouring rain at this point, but the knights still made a good showing at the joust matches... Or maybe this was when Mia went to Medieval Times in Orlando... hmmm... Anyway they are knights fighting with pointy things:

More hand-to-hand combat:

Because the Ren Faire is in a magical forest, many of the trees have eyes:

Kissing camels:

During the Human Chess Match, it wasn't raining too hard, so I let one of the wenches borrow my umbrella. Because she was a gypsy wench, she seemed to think it was a magical thing and could not figure out how to open it, so she just crouched under it without opening it, but was grateful for it all the same... Also, the guy in the background wearing the black doublet and pants and a white shirt was a total hottie and on the "bad side" of the Chess Match. He was also very funny. Totally our favorite, but of course did not win (because bad never wins at RenFest).
I love RenFest!

Photo Tour of the University of South Florida

My friend Mia and I both got nostalgic with our cameras... She during the last week or so before returning to Del Ray Beach on the East Coast of Florida, and I on the very last day following my last exam at about 4:30pm. My photos, because they were taken on a camera phone and not a "real" digital camera as hers were, are of much poorer quality. (Oh, yeah, and I have the pictures of the exorcism of the Pentecostals posted below... just scroll down.)

First, my photos...



These photos are of the courtyard/lunch area outside of Cooper Hall (which is the Arts and Sciences Building). There is a Subway where the green awning is, where we often buy sandwiches for lunch... like two to three times a week... You would think that we would hate Subway at this point, but we don't...


This is a big old Live Oak tree near Cooper Hall. We often sat under this one for lunch early in the year when lots of people were eating in front of Cooper and we didn't want to vie for tables. Toward the end of the first semester though, fewer and fewer people come to school, lots start to drop out and so for the rest of the year, one can usually find a table somewhere... Also in the colder months, it's not particularly comforable to sit in the deep shade, so we would sit on the middle lawn in the sun where it is warm.


Palm trees and the side of Cooper Hall.


This was taken lying in the grass. In the distance through all the greenery, you can kinda see the Burger King. I hate that we have a Burger King on campus...


This is the view to the North of Cooper Hall and that's the corner of the relatively new Education Building that is visible there. My friend Maria is walking toward me with her cell phone out...


This is the side of the Education Building.


We have these super-uncomfortable benches all over campus... People sit on them, but it usually is not for very long. There are more comfortable ones as well, but I don't have a picture of one of those...



These two pictures were taken while I was sitting in my absolute favorite spot for a solitary picnic at USF. It's under a very big Live Oak tree, one of the largest I've found on campus, whose branches stretch out very far over the lawn on a rise next to this nice pond. I think it's an Ent. Across the pond is one of the newer, nicer dorms - Castor Hall, named for Betty Castor, one of the former Presidents of the University. Her daughter, Kathy Castor, is now a US Congresswoman from Florida.

Now, on to Mia's photos...


As if the "Go Bulls!" banners on all the light posts and the huge "USF" sign at the entrance weren't enough of a clue, they have road signs... ;P


This is the Sundome and the Sundome parking lot. This is where I would usually park my car as it is the closest student parking lot to the buildings I usually have classes in. Still, it's about a quarter of a mile walk to just get near Cooper Hall. The Campus Recreation Center is just to the left of the frame of this photo. The Sundome is a pretty nice concert venue and it is also where graduation ceremonies are held.

Here's the west-facing side of Cooper Hall.


Here's the sign on Cooper Hall next to the Subway on the north side.


Here's the biggest Live Oak outside Cooper Hall in the middle of the courtyard.


Here's Mia's bike parked outside Cooper Hall:

A lot of people who live on or near campus get around on bikes because it's cheaper and in some cases much easier than having a car on campus.

These three photos are of the Communication and Information Sciences Building, aka Mass Comm or CIS, located directly south of Cooper Hall:


It's one of the newest buildings on campus.

This is the inside of CIS. I love the sky light and it has real trees growing in the atrium (I don't know what kind they are though).

In between Cooper Hall and CIS is this big, metal, solar swirly thing:


It creates fun shadows on the cement...


As you can see, in the center is this:


At various points around the plaza are significant events in history, like this one...

Not all of the events are linked to space, however, some are significant in Florida history or are significant yearly events, such as the summer solctice, which is when the circle is around the center piece of metorite, pictured above.

The cardinal directions are also marked:


This is the east lawn outside Cooper Hall, in between that building and the street that borders the Sundome Parking Lot:

ROTC uses the east lawn to do formations and whatever else it is that they do...

This is another view from a different angle. The Business Administration Building, aka BSN or "the bunker," is visible in the background (where the rise is in the center and toward the right). It's called the bunker because the building is earth-sheltered and two of the three floors of it are fully underground. It think it's pretty cool. Should get more pictures of it...

A stone's throw to the west of Cooper Hall is the Library:

A six-floor plus basement repository of knowledge... The first floor also contains a Starbucks (one of two on campus - the other is in the Marshal Center in the Bookstore).

It was recently repainted... It still looks old...

Mia also took pictures of her dorm, Epsolon, which is one of the oldest not-recently renovated dorms on campus. It is the "ghetto dorm" according to Mia.


As you can see, it has tiny windows when it has windows at all... Why is it that school architecture in the 1970s hated windows? Were they afraid that the Vikings would attack that they needed buildings that looked like fortresses?



Between Epsolon and the Student Union (the Marshal Center) on the north side of the campus (Cooper is on the south side) is a parking garage. I think it was the first parking garage built on campus to try to cope with the parking crisis we have.

They put "art" in the elevator banks on every floor. Most of it isn't all that bad, but on the first floor, the pieces of canvas which were superglued to the cement walls are peeling off...


The Marshal Center is pretty small for a school with over 35,000 students. They are in the process of building a new Marshal Center which should be finished about a year and three months from now if it will be on time. One of the nicest places to eat at the Marshal Center (because it largely serves as a glorified food court) is on the patio, which is shaded with a wide overhang:

In the summer on days around 90 degrees or hotter, they turn on this water misting system to keep people cool on the patio. It's actually really nice... What's not nice is that they leave the fans on all the time, no matter what the temperature is...


Connecting the Marshal Center and the Administration Building (where the office of the President is as well as the cashier, where you go if you have to pay your tuition in person) is the MLK Plaza Colonade.



In the above photo, you can see the blue contruction fences surrounding what will be part of the new Marshal Center.


We have fun squirrels all over campus who like to steal food and pose for pictures because they aren't very afraid of people:


We also have ferel cats on campus, but Mia didn't get any pictures of them.

Mia also didn't take any pictures of the MLK Plaza for some reason, and I should get some myself. It was designed to mimic the Mall in Washington, DC, where a lifesize bust of Martin Luthor King, Jr. is in the position of the Lincoln Memorial, then there's a reflecting pool and on the opposite end there's a Lincoln Memorial shaped granite slab, where the Washington Monument would be, inscribed with the "I have a dream" speech. And then there's a very large lawn several hundred feet long stretching out to the West, just like the Mall. It's pretty cool.