Departure Day--Take Two

Yesterday it was Columbia and Cornell and today it was the Brown-I cohort that were sent east to shine as they represent the ILC, the District and their communities.  We expect nothing short of excellence from all five members of this cohort.

With Kevin Mahoney and Jack Giddings ready to learn about the world of macroeconomics, Jing-Yi Chung, Brandon Chow and Arnold Dimas are to set to expand their knowledge of DNA based biotechnology.  Underwater Basketweaving this is not.

Unlike yesterday where the wind made the mild temps seem like Antarctic Katabatic winds, this morning was technically cooler (51º) but it felt warmer.  Still, for two days in a row I sported a jacket over my aloha shirt (shorts and sandals were still mandatory).

Between the ILC cohorts, their chaperones and family members yesterday, we had about 25-30 people milling about in front of El Cerrito HS.  Today, we had but one cohort and the number of friends and family was significantly fewer in number.  And even though we met later in the morning today, this group seemed either half asleep or just plain docile.  They were quiet and verbally unresponsive (probably thinking about what they would out in their blogs).

As is the usual custom, we weighed their luggage, affixed luggage tags, gave them a pep talk and—the group photo.  Unlike every other time I assemble an ILC group for a photo, this time there were no parents crowding around with the mobile phones snapping away.  Like their children, I think they were equally sleepy and ready to slip back into their nice warm beds.

Right on time, the shuttle van arrived and, with a little prodding, the ILCers moseyed over to the van to give the driver their luggage.  With a little more prodding they were made to understand that until they actually got in the van, it could not leave.

We finally reached a point where the luggage was stowed, the ILCers were seated in the van and the doors were securely closed.  We waved our goodbyes and quickly returned to the warmth of our cars where we knew they would take us back to a comfortably warm bed.