Gone to Texas

After getting all sweaty, rained on, and filled up (ha!) on shaved ice, we trekked across campus once again for Gone to Liberal Arts. We had intended to arrive early so we could have a chance at some door prizes, but got carried away with all that handball and other fun we were having, so not only did we get no door prizes (and no free t-shirt!), but we also had to wait at the end of a very long line to get our barbecue.

On the way to Liberal Arts, we passed the College of Natural Science's picnic, and they had Papa John's. Chad asked, "What are we having?" and when I told him, he then asked, "Why aren't you in Natural Sciences?" Hmmm... because I'd like to pass my classes, that's why.

And here we have "Gone to Liberal Arts". Dinner, basically, is what went on here, although there were a few information tables for those who weren't paying attention at orientation. We sat with a very sweet freshman from Houston called Ashley, who was nervous about her first day but was also happy to talk about her experience on campus thus far. I hope she had a good day today; with her being a first-year student who is not in my major, our chances of ever meeting again are slim.

And here's my complaint o' the day: All the other colleges had nice, tasteful t-shirts in navy, or grey, or brown, with small but pretty logos on them. We in Liberal Arts have obnoxious green (bet even my green-loving sister couldn't love this thing) with a cheesy "Price is Right"-themed logo. Ay yi yi.

Then, it was over to the front side of the Tower for "Gone to Texas", which is the new student welcome night and has been happening every August for the past 13ish years. It's meant to be one bookend to our time at UT, with the other bookend being Commencement. More on that to come... in two years.

This is not our most charming picture ever.

There was not a good way to get a shot of these flags without going up to the stage area, which was not being encouraged. But these are the flags of the various colleges. You can see the backside of the blue Liberal Arts flag in the picture above from the picnic.

It wasn't windy. Not at this exact moment, anyway. We were sitting pretty much directly under the flag.

I believe this is when the carillon was playing "The Eyes of Texas" (for some inexplicable reason, they are upon me). The lighting of the Tower changed with the program throughout the evening.

Today (Wednesday) the carillon played "Let it Snow." I'm guessing that the carillon player is tired of the heat. I feel the opposite, however, so I was less pleased at his choice of noontime entertainment.

Apparently, I was pretty well enraptured with whatever was going on.

It's hard to get a picture of moving things in the dark. But this was the band marching in at the end.

Chad & I had to leave a few minutes before the end so that we could catch our bus, but we were nearly trampled by sprinting band students who had apparently been promised pizza after they were finished playing. I personally cannot eat pizza at 10 PM, but maybe I could have done when I was 20.

And the Tower, glowing orange for the finale. The lighted windows spell "14", for the Class of 2014, but because of the trees we could only get the "1". So I'm just pretending that it says "12". :)

So, my friends, I have indeed Gone to Texas. Now for the hard part: Graduating from Texas.