MBA Graduation – UC Davis

Travelers' Map is loading...
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.

Last Saturday was my graduation ceremony for my MBA degree. It was a bit bittersweet. I was proud to be done, but sad that my friends would all be going their separate ways. I’ve loved the program, and made friends with some incredible folks. I’d thought about a graduate degree for many years, and it was everything I wanted and more, so I was sad to be over with it, but excited about the future.

My Mom, Lynda, and my Grandma Joan had talked about a trip out west, and when they found out my graduation was happening in that time frame, they were keen to be here for it. I was excited to have them here. I haven’t had many chances to hang out with my Grandma over the years since she lives in England. And I never get to spend enough time with my Mom. We had a great few days. They arrived Wednesday, and we just hung out at the house, and I made Shish-kabobs on my new grill. Then we went and walked around old Sacramento. Thurs they went to Napa Valley and San Francisco. Kim and I got up early Friday, and took the train in to meet them there. We had a great day Friday playing tourist, then back to Sacramento Friday night.

The BIG day– Saturday was graduation. I rose early and got dressed and headed to the Mondavi center. There were a few tears, but mostly smiles, laughter and jokes as we prepared for the ceremony. The ceremony was nice, my friend Brian gave a really good speech. It was mostly a blur to me, I had a hard time not just looking around at all my classmates. Everyone looked so happy and proud. I was proud of them, of us. It was great. Then we received our hoods, with each person having someone special to them place the hood over their head. Some had their small children in their arms, others had spouses, many had their parents do the honors. I was very pleased to have my wonderful and supportive wife Kim, my Mom, and my Grandma all on stage with me, to present me with my masters hood. After the ceremony, there was a reception, tons of photos, then it was back to the house for a nap and later an open house to celebrate.

To all my classmates: Congratulations. You guys rock. I’ll miss you. Stay in touch.

[nggallery id=”1635″ nggid=”99″]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Snowshoe trip to Fuller Lake

Last weekend, we were fishing around for an idea for something to do, and had the brainstorm to go backpacking in the snow. Two sets of rental snowshoes and some furious packing later, we were heading to the mtns.

North Fork American Kayaking – January/Febuary 2009

It's been a slow year for whitewater paddling in CA so far. just not a lot happening. Although it's gotten better over the last few weeks, we're looking at a potential drought this year. I've done a number of low water trips down the North

Christmas 2008 – Kim and Geoff tour Texas

Christmas with Geoff's family is no small affair. It goes for days. It's always a little tough to make it to Texas for the holidays, but it's always worth it.

My Mom and Dad visit for my Birthday

Geoff's parents come to visit for his Birthday. We visit Sacramento, Davis and a cold Lake Tahoe.

US Waveski National Championship

In 2008, California hosted the US national surf kayak championships at Davenport, CA. We had amazing conditions, and a great contest.

Bodega Bay – Surf Kayak, Camping, Crabbing

Kim and Geoff went to Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco, for a weekend of camping, surf kayaking and crabbing.

NF of the Feather River Release

Thanks to American Whitewater, we had releases on the NF feather this weekend. I only made it up for sunday, but had a good time paddling with my friend dan, and running into dozens of other paddling friends. Not much water for paddlers this late

Dave Matthews Band at the Greek in Berkeley

[singlepic id=”1994″ nggid=”298″ w=320 h=240 float=]I’ve seen the Dave Matthews Band perform something like 40-50 times since ’93-’94. Nearly without exception, I leave every show thinking, “That was the best show I’ve seen.” Last night was no exception. [singlepic id=”1995″ nggid=”299″ w=320 h=240 float=] [singlepic

Napa Valley Bike Tour and Paddling on the South Fork American

Kim and I had another fun weekend. Saturday we joined our freinds Erol and Paula for breakfast, then did a bike ride in Napa, stopping at several vineyards. Sunday I went to the Farmer’s Market, then we paddled the SF American with Jeff, Michael and

Staycation

With the crazy rise in gas prices, and the fear of recession, papers and magazines keep talking about people taking “staycations”, where you take mini-vacations close to home. I think Kim and I did it this weekend, we had a great time. Saturday we chilled