Was at my parent's house this past weekend looking through some stuff that my Mom had to move from underneath my old bed since they were putting in a new bed. Mostly some indepth volumes on aircraft but also some grade and high school yearbooks and two photo albums, one with pictures taken during the Loveboat program (if you need to ask, you don't need to know ;-p), and the other of pictures taken during my summer at the Brown University Summer Academy. Looking through those pictures, I was becoming rapidly depressed because I couldn't remember what the hell I did there. Actually, that's not true, I retain a bunch of memories from that summer but the pictures contain more things and people than I remember. It's quite possible that a bunch of the pictures I have were taken by others but I don't even remember enough of that to say for certain. Anyway...
I also found the thin "yearbook" that everyone left there with along with the requisite messages and signatures of people that I had met, the majority of which I no longer remember. I mean, c'mon, it was 2 months over a decade ago! I remember thinking while looking through it, "Good lord our handwriting SUCKED back then!" Not that my handwriting has gotten any better but talk about unintelligible chicken scratch by some of these kids. Plus all those in-jokes that I assume made sense back then but looking at it now just serves as a reminder as to how severely my memory has regressed. And apparently I was big into Erasure back then.
The other stunner that hit me while I was browsing the album... "Wait a minute, is that SETH????" Seth was, if my own failing recollection is remotely accurate, a fellow undergrad in Shoreland, Fishbein House (7th Floor) during my stint at the UofC. Tall, curly hair, ruddy complexion, from Vermont. Apparently, we had met earlier than that cause here he was in a picture taken during the summer of 1990. At first I wasn't sure it was him. But luckily I had also kept a sheet that listed all the colleges/universities that the Summer Academy attendees had went on to attend and there he was, "Seth Finnegan - University of Chicago." Small world.
So I have this list of people who had attended Brown Summer Academy in 1990 (conveniently highlighted with the people I personally knew, but could, for the most part, no longer put a face to), and a relatively uneventful Sunday evening. So what do you think I did? That's right, start running names through Google.
Ahhh, the power of the Internet. And Google. Armed with a name and some other little piece of info about a person, you can find some pretty interesting things about said person online. Suffice to say, it was very interesting to see what some of these people had gone on to do with their lives. For the most part, all very accomplished: doctor, patent lawyer, president of own company, nurse, paleontologist, the list goes on. And got kinda depressing at times cause you get to thinking, "Wait a sec, they accomplished all that and they're the same age as me! Ughh...." And in some cases there's even semi-up-to-date contact info if I so choose. But I figure what's the point? Would probably be kinda freaky in a stalker-ish type of way. But ah well, I'm glad they're all doing well and I'm glad I spent that summer with them. 'twas a good time.
Comments (10)
I was at the Brown Summer Academy in 1990 and all I seem to remember was seeing Sonic Youth at the Living Room. Well, that and meeting my first real hippie.
Posted by gordon | June 12, 2004 2:56 PM
Posted on June 12, 2004 14:56
OK, I have to ask -who wrote this? Yes, I was at Brown summer academy, and yes, I did live in Fishbein House -but my memory is just as degraded by time as yours, and I don't remember that I knew anybody else with a BSA-Fishbein connection. So the suspense is killing me here... give me a hint at least!
The internet is a truly strange thing.
Posted by Seth Finnegan | June 30, 2004 1:53 PM
Posted on June 30, 2004 13:53
Hey Seth, dunno if you remember but this is felix, was roommates w/ Ben (the writer of this blog) as well as.. the other guy, first year.. shit.. the hockey player. I don't remember much about him except for he felt that running stairs was the solution to all lifes problems and he wanted to name his band Robust, which I still think is one of the greatest names ever.
Now stop looking up yourself on the internet.
Posted by felix | June 30, 2004 2:53 PM
Posted on June 30, 2004 14:53
Hockey player = Drew Worseck
And because I feel like joining the walk down quickly-diminishing-memory-lane:
Hey Seth... it's your 1st and 2nd year Fishbein roommate Roberto. I don't remember much from school, except your limbo dancing knee-blowout accident. Good times.
Posted by Berto | June 30, 2004 4:09 PM
Posted on June 30, 2004 16:09
Holy crap -Felix Sheng. Of course I remember you. We used to torment Alejandro the Narcoleptic together, among other things. What the hell are you up to? And, assuming you're reading this, what are you up to, Ben? I'm in Ft. Collins for a meeting right now, and I just saw Ellen Graham in Denver last night. Its a regular Fishbein reunion. Anyway, let me know what you are up to. I won't reply for a while because I'll be out in Utah doing fieldwork, but I should be back in contact by July 10th or 11th...
Posted by Seth Finnegan | June 30, 2004 4:44 PM
Posted on June 30, 2004 16:44
Oh, and the hockey guy was Drew Worsek(sp?). I think he's a lawyer now, but I don't know why I think that...
Posted by Seth | June 30, 2004 4:46 PM
Posted on June 30, 2004 16:46
Yeah I think Drew is a lawyer now. Take a look at:
http://www.mayerbrownrowe.com/probono/Projects/SupremeAppellate/firstimpression.asp
There's a picture at the very bottom. He's in the back row, far left.
Posted by Ben | June 30, 2004 5:03 PM
Posted on June 30, 2004 17:03
Berto, man! What are you up to these days? Wow, we've got a pretty good chunk of Fishbein here now. I remeber bits and pieces, but its hard to stitch them together into anything coherent. Limbo, though... yeah. That was one of the first in a long line of spectacular knee failures. I also remember the window/radiator wars we used to engage in almost every night. Never put someone from Florida and and Someone from Vermont in the same room.
Posted by Seth | July 11, 2004 5:44 PM
Posted on July 11, 2004 17:44
Wow a lawyer! That kicks ass!
How is Ellen doing? Is she still friend's with Beth?
I'm a freelance programmer now. Working alongside the man, I suppose. I forgot about Alejandro being a sound sleeper! Heh, good times. Of course, I did not forget making the Skibo house map.
What sort of thing are you doing now?
Posted by felix | July 13, 2004 12:19 PM
Posted on July 13, 2004 12:19
I went to Brown Summer Academy in '89. There was this great guy I met there named Claude and I wanted to see what he was up to. I cannot for the life of me remember anyone's last name. How is it that you accomplish this?
Posted by margalit | December 23, 2007 3:32 AM
Posted on December 23, 2007 03:32