Buster Busts By Binghamton

Don't like the title, get your own blog. 😉 I'm here to entertain myself.

On the Friday of February break last week, Buster, Buds, and I headed over to Binghamton University for an open house and to check out the campus and town. It was another snowy, freezing day, with the promise of eventual sun on the horizon.

The drive was easy, and we were right on time for the welcome lecture at 10 a.m. The only mishap occurred as we walked through the student union to get to the room where we were gathering with all the other visiting students and parents.

Buds and Buster were walking in front of me, and I was proudly wearing my yak trax, the shoe grippers Jenny lovingly mailed us when we moved to Rochester.

I adore my yak trax, and they have served me well.

I forgot that they are for outdoors, not for slick ceramic tile floors.

I am trotting behind the men folk, and as I turn the corner I find myself falling sideways.

I was in my bulky winter coat, landed on my shoulder, and was not hurt at all. I fell in such slow motion I had time to think, "Hey, look at me keeping my arms in so I don't break anything." Much like when that tree above bounces off the stump, that's when I fully landed and made a cartoonish, "Oooff" sound.

Buds and Buster turned around in surprise to find me laying on the floor laughing up at them. They helped me to a nearby chair where I could remove my yak trax. Then I told them to go on ahead so I could collect myself.

I told myself that none of the students waiting in line at Starbucks had seen me. Confirmed I wasn't physically injured, then I gathered up my bag, my yak trax, and my dignity, and went into the meeting. Buds and Buster were sitting near the front, chatting with one of the student tour guides about why she chose Binghamton and all the other questions they had about the school and community.

As expected, the first hour of the open house was spent watching a slide show about how amazing Binghamton is. It's an R1 school with great retention and graduation rates. There are 450+ student clubs, in addition to the opportunities to conduct research with professors, intramural sports, student government, etc.

Aidan, our tour guide, was a sophomore who wasn't sure what he wanted to study when he began undergrad, but he has happily found a place for himself at Binghamton. He gave a great tour and answered all our many questions.

After the tour meandered us all over campus, we made our way back to the food court marketplace to choose our lunch. Buster and I enjoyed sushi while Buds chose Indian food. Campus food has come a very long way in 30 years.

Refreshed by lunch, we made our way to the Financial Aid office to meet with a counselor to understand what the potential costs would be. Sean, the counselor, was affable, informed, and also a Firefly fan, so we hit it off well. He had solid answers for us, and also assured us that more complete information would be coming in the next month or so. Plus, he gave us the link for an additional scholarship Buster can apply for.

We briefly explored the bookstore, then headed out for a drive through the downtown.

We drove home in time to pick Yessa up after she got off work. (Renee had taken her to work for us.) For some reason when we got home for the night, the 3 of them wanted to do push-ups?

And that was a wrap. Buster liked the school, and now we wait for final decisions to be made after financial aid and transfer credit information is received from the various schools.

Definitely a good day to be out together.