Going 'home' for Homecoming.

As I've already mentioned, I had a lovely weekend retreat to Oxford. It is always so wonderful to be back with my best friends in one of my favorite places.

Thursday, I left for Oxford with my mom to hear the 14th Dalai Lama speak at Millett Hall. We walked from Jamie's house and got there just in time. Miami awarded the Dalai Lama with an honorary doctorate before his speech. Although he was soft-spoken and often difficult to understand, it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience to hear him speak. The title of his talk was 'Ethics in the Modern World,' but he had no clue what the topic was until he started speaking. After learning the topic, he spoke extemporaneously, weaving stories and bits of wisdom in with this speech. He spoke mostly of the importance of kindness to all living things and explained how creating inner peace leads to a much happier and longer life. He also spoke about the importance of harmony between all living things (and all religions). I was surprised at how lovable he seemed. He laughed quite often, made numerous jokes, and even took his shoes off in the middle of his talk (and sat indian-style) to get more comfortable. He even wore a Miami visor throughout his speech! It was an incredible opportunity to hear him speak and I'm very proud that my school hosted the event.

After the speech, Mom and I went to lunch at Smokin' Ox, walked around Wal-Mart, and hung out until Jamie got home from MUM. Then, we went to BW3's for dinner and to watch the Penguins beat the Predators in OT! (Crosby scored two goals and Malkin scored one!)

Friday, I woke up late, went to lunch with Jamie and her housemate Sally, and got in line for the hockey game against Northern Michigan. TJ and Nick met us at the game. It felt wonderful to be back at Goggin, watching a win and doing "Jump Around." Miami won, 4-0.

After the game, we met up with Jenn and CJ before heading to Underground for Latina Locura.

Saturday, Jenn, TJ, Nick, and I went to the Miami homecoming game against Ohio University. As is often the case, the game was pretty painful to watch and we ended up leaving at the beginning of the 4th quarter (like the rest of the crowd). Miami lost the game, 34-13. Yikes.

After the game, we walked uptown for lunch at Chipotle. Later, Mom picked me up to see Bill Maher at the Aronoff Center downtown. He did not disappoint. He was absolutely hilarious and incredibly offensive - just the way I love him. He joked about religion (of course), the upcoming election, the Obama administration, Sarah Palin, and other current issues. I would not hesitate to see him again.

When I got back to Oxford, I went to Neal's birthday party at Derailed. It was strange to be back 'at home.' Of course, it was decorated differently, but I must say that it felt good to have a dance party in the living room (just like the old days).

Sunday was filled with football, football, and more football. The Bengals lost to the Falcons in a nail-biter (39-32). The Bears lost to the Redskins (17-14). Luckily, the Packers beat the Vikings (28-24)! They look to be the only hope I have left this season. We'll see.