This past weekend was USC’s parents’ weekend, and it was a lot of fun! Being from Wisconsin, my parents are always happy for an excuse to visit California, and and now that both I and my sister (Jenna) go to school here, there’s no way they’d miss out!
This is my Trojan Family! That's my sister Jenna in the pink shirt, with my mom and dad
On Friday night, my dad and I went out to dinner at ESPN zone and then enjoyed the arcade while my mom and sister saw Tim Gunn (who is apparently from project runway) speak at Bovard Auditorium on campus. Afterwards, we all went together to see Puss in Boots (in 3D) at LA Live, and it was actually really enjoyable. I highly recommend you go see it with your families too!
Saturday was gameday, so I invited them to the Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering tailgate, which we cosponsored with a few grad student orgs. It was a ton of fun to meet everyone else’s parents too, and we had pretty much infinite food, so it was a very satisfying morning
Maybe it was a little weird to tailgate with Panda Express, but it was sure tasty!
If any of you caught the game vs. Stanford, you know it was one of the best, most intense, and definitely most heartbreaking game we’ve had in awhile (probably since last year’s defeat at Stanford…). Side note: that game marked sort of a special moment for the Trojan family, as the coliseum was sold out for the first time in years, and it remained packed until the bitter end, contrary to Los Angeles sports culture. The student section was alive and on fire, as were many of the parents, and it was an amazing experience.We may have lost, but it was a great game nonetheless, and it’s one of the reasons I’m really glad I came here!
That night Jenna and I stayed with my parents at their manhattan beach hotel so we could get up bright and early and hit the Tim Burton exhibit at LA County Museum of Art. It was my first time at LACMA, and it was really cool. Tim Burton is a crazy artistic genius, and yet, the entire time, I couldn’t stop thinking of this video.
This is the only part of the exhibit they'd let us take pictures in
Afterward, we went back to Manhattan Beach to actually enjoy the beach and also check out the local pumpkin races where local kids (read: their parents) painted and attached wheels to pumpkins then rolled them down a hill. It was actually pretty enjoyable and cool, and shockingly full of rampant cheating, which was weird.
Hanging with the parents can be fun, but exhausting!
Overall, it was a great, relaxing weekend. I don’t often feel homesick, but it really is nice to see my family once in awhile!
