This past weekend was USC commencement, and as a friend of ours was graduating, we attended with her family (several of whom were also staying at our house). It was quite the orgy of celebration – it started with dinner the night before, then continued all day Friday, concluding with a final blow-out meal at Arnie Morton’s Steakhouse in Los Angeles where you can get massive slabs of steak for pretty high prices, and much like The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, they bring the food to your table and introduce you to it. We met a lobster, for instance, that really wanted to be free and not become somebody’s dinner. The waitress would pick it up, set it down and then the little guy would take off the back of her large tray. I felt bad for him, and admired his spirit. I admired it so much, in fact, that I had lobster tail for dinner.

It’s quite a nice place, and is fairly popular with the meat-eating Hollywood crowd. Towards the end of our long and indulgent dinner (cocktails, followed by champagne, followed by red and white wines, followed by dessert wines, followed by liquers – you get the picture), I went to the ladies room and encountered none other than Doris Roberts, from (among many other shows) Everybody Loves Raymond. Yes, my butt sat on the toilet seat recently vacated by Doris Roberts! The seat, I’ll have you know, was still warm! I almost never recognize celebrities, so was quite jazzed that I caught this one. I didn’t do any stupid fan girl thing, just pleasantly nodded my head, and she nodded back. All quite civilized. Am I cool or what?

Pics of all the goings-on here. I hadn’t been to a USC graduation in years, not since I was working at Doheny Library, and actually had to WORK on the day of graduation. Glad I went, but am also glad we don’t know any other kids whose graduations we’ll have to attend. 40,000 people jammed on that campus makes for a pretty crazy environment.

I didn’t attend either of my college graduation ceremonies (Bachelor’s or Master’s). Seemed like so much hoo-hah at the time, and lo these many years later, I still think it’s a lot of hoo-hah. I went to state schools, though. Maybe if had been forking over $30,000+ a year in tuition, I’d feel differently.