A Day For Memories - Hamilton College

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After a rather brief and restless night of sleep, it was time to face the day at Ham-tech (that's Hamilton, for you non-insiders). Luckily, we didn't have to face it too enthusiastically, easing into it with a quick breakfast at the dining hall and then off to our morning massages!

We grabbed our meal tickets for breakfast and headed over to the Soper Commons, or Commons, as it's more commonly known. Its original purpose was as a church, as directed by its benefactor, but when he passed away, the college repurposed it as a dining hall. It still has its architectural charm though, which is handy, since the food isn't any good. We've had a debate raging about its quality all weekend, with all the ladies on the side of rating it "bad." Although the dining hall always promised a variety of choices, really, we ended up with plain pasta, bagels, cereal or salad once too often. But we felt it was necessary to pay homage to one of the most soul-draining parts of our college experience at our reunion - eating here. By the time we arrived, breakfast had been picked over multiple times, but I did manage to find an edible muffin and some French toast, which turned out to be rather tasty for a change. It did take some effort to hunt down the orange juice, and both the coffee cups and sugar had disappeared by the time we found them. The highlight of the visit was certainly Marge, our former lunch lady and everyone's surrogate mom while at Hamilton. She loves all of the students like her own children, and she greeted us so enthusiastically that we felt right at home again. She made any visit to Commons better, and no trip to Hamilton would be complete without seeing her!

Then we zipped over to Time For You, a new day spa just a few miles down the road. Set in a house, it was more like going over to someone's home than a spa, which added a nice casual layer to the morning. I was one of the two up first for a massage, and once again, I was in with a male masseuse. Only this time, he was a lot closer to my own age, so that was a little bit strange! But once again, I have to highly recommend the male masseuse, because men just have stronger and bigger hands, which results in a deeper, more relaxing massage. And I don't know what he did, but it worked out the kink in my neck almost entirely, and I almost have no residual muscle pain at all. I am certainly planning to head back there!

After my massage, I was ready for a nap, so we just relaxed while the other two girls were enjoying their massages. I felt as though I was sitting at someone's kitchen counter as we snacked on some grapes, and cookies off of a plate, and enjoyed our water. It was a great way to spend the morning.

Since we were running a little late, we thought we would call the boys to meet us at one of our old haunts - the Ground Round. Everyone poked fun at it when we first got here, but it really turned into a staple of our dining out when we were students here. No matter what your budget was for the night, you could always find something to eat, from the cheaper sandwiches to the more expensive pasta entrees. We had many a celebration and pity meal there, and it often saved us from total and utter starvation because of the dining halls (I mean, it's a wonder I didn't get scurvy). So we were looking forward to a nice meal there for old times sake.

Then, we got a call from the boys saying that it was closed. What a letdown! It would only be the first of many things today that would show us how much things have changed since we left. We decided to head over to the Sangertown Square Mall right across the street, another of our favorite places, to go to Ruby Tuesdays instead. We told the boys to meet us there, and we thought we would cruise up the road a little first to see if there was a better choice. We found an Applebee's and tried to reach the boys again to tell them of yet another change in plans. They called us back to say that Ruby Tuesdays was also closed! We did end up eating at Applebee's and it was a good meal. We were making sure to have a filling lunch in case the semi-formal dinner that evening was less than appetizing. Since it was being catered by the dining hall, that was a very distinct possibility.

The plans for the afternoon involved some serious inspection of the campus, which has undergone a number of changes since we left. The school refurbished the old science building, and used the old chemistry building to build a whole new athletic facility. We also wanted to see our old dorms from freshmen year to check out their upgrades, and take a peek at the new admissions building. We headed first to the new gym - the Blood Fitness and Dance Center. It was as impressive as I expected, and made all of us regret that it hadn't been there when we were students. We agreed that we would definitely have been in better shape with such a state of the art fitness center to use! And the flat screen tvs don't hurt either! The building has an impressive weight lifting room and separate cardio area, overlooking the football field. Although Hamilton's team only won four games in the four years that I was a student, it would be cool to be able to work out and watch the team play at the same time. Better than watching football on tv! The building also houses a three-story climbing wall and even though I'm afraid of heights, I did think about conquering that wall. Maybe someday…

There are three floors to the building, which has the coaches' offices and a dance studio as well. When we left, we were already jealous of the benefits that all the students are enjoying and this only intensified when we arrived in the science building. This is truly a beautiful building. The ambient temperature alone was enough to make it a pleasant experience, but that could just be my desperate need for air conditioning talking. The front of the building has a lovely lounge area which had been set for one of the alumni dinners for that evening. We wandered past it and towards the stairs, which were almost a work of art in and of themselves. We peeked into modern classrooms and had a little rest in the geoscience lounge. I felt a tug of regret as I imagined spending time in the different rooms, taking intellectually-stimulating classes with challenging and passionate professors, having in depth conversations with fellow students, and the camaraderie of late-night projects in the labs. I loved nothing more than being a student, and being a student here was inspiring - most of the time. It made me very nostalgic for times past. We all hoped that the current students have an appreciation for what they have on this campus.

Next it was off to the library, which was locked to my disappointment. So we tried to take a step back in time to our first dorm, North. When we moved in back on August 25, 1998, I remember being so nervous and intimidated about being away from home for the first time. And my fears were not put to rest by the state of my dorm. North was truly a hole - the rooms were designed for at least one fewer person in each of them and boasted a dirty linoleum tile floor, concrete walls painted white, and a questionable closet space. The hallways reminded me of cheap apartments and the communal bathrooms would prove to be the most disgusting of all. With absolutely no ventilation and only a garbage can to prop the door, it was always humid in there and you just never knew what germ culture was growing around you. And some of the other girls on our floor lived like pigs and it extended to the bathroom. But, as I said before, all of this gross-ness is what brought us together and made us survivors. And that's where I met my roommate and best friend - as I sat on the floor of our bedroom that first day, right behind the door as I put things away in the bottom of my closet, she came into the room and hit me right in the butt with the door. The rest is history, as they say. We had some wonderful and terrible times in that room, and it was where we first bonded. So we were looking forward to seeing where it had all begun.

We brought with us another North survivor who had lived on the first floor. I had seen that they walled over the original door and changed the whole layout of the floor, but he was shocked to see it for the first time. What we didn't know was that our own North 212 had also been walled over - it's silly but it felt like the end of something, seeing that doorway to our room gone. We reminisced about dancing in the hallway to "Like a Prayer" and "Roxanne," which were popular with the boys downstairs. We remembered bonding with the girls across the hall, whose room had also been walled off. I could still picture those times and the change felt like the closing of that chapter in our lives. It was a little sad.

After we ran our hands along the walls as if to confirm that the doors were truly gone, we headed out again, this time to AD, also known as Eels House. We had lived next door senior year in Ferguson, but two of the girls had lived in AD. We checked out the set up for the evening alumni dinner there (again, not ours - we weren't that lucky), and checked on what the meal was. It was confirmed that rosemary would play a central role in the meal, my least favorite flavoring. Many people enjoy rosemary, but Hamilton must have purchased a rosemary farm, because it was certainly overused here. I had rosemary so often that one time, it actually made it's way into the morning's French toast! That will really turn you off to the whole idea of rosemary, so I can't even smell it anymore without feeling slightly ill. I hoped to avoid it altogether by sticking with the pasta dish.

Being in AD reminded us of our senior formal, for which we had a cocktail reception on the balcony of the AD House. It was a rather windy day, so all of our photos look as though we are being blown away. But it was a lovely reception and a great night. It's funny what memories come up as you talk and wander around campus - I wouldn't do it all over again, but I so loved my college days that I did miss all of those memories and the times we shared.

Then it was on to our final destination: the college bookstore. The selection for "Hamilton" gear has greatly improved since I was a student, so I was happy to pick out a couple of new tee shirts for my collection. I do still wear my college name proudly! I also picked up the new Buffers cd - the Buffers are Hamilton's all-male a cappella group. I know what you're thinking, but you should give them a chance. Not only has every Buffer I've heard been a very talented singer, but they are greatly entertaining - I don't know any high school senior who has come to Hamilton and seen a Buffer performance who hasn't come here! They were always a hit with the whole school. Hamilton also has a co-ed a cappella group and two all-female groups, but the Buffers are still the best. And I'm not biased because I was friends with some of them while I was here! I'm really looking forward to checking out the new cd on the way home tomorrow!

After we made our purchases, we wandered back over towards Dunham and I lost my friends to the Saranac tasting and went to relax and get ready for the evening's dinner. In true college student form, one of my friends locked herself out of her room when she was taking a shower, so we were able to experience another former college activity - waiting for campus safety to come and let her in. Luckily, I remembered the phone number to call them. It's great that my mind contains a great deal of useless information.

We cleaned up pretty well, I must say and walked over to Annex B (the Tolles Pavillion) for the class of '02 dinner.

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Photos

Check out the cafe!
Obviously, I notice the important features of the gym, like the availability of food

Our door used to be right behind us!
My friends admit that they don't mind being famous in my photos!