The one thing everyone told me about Grad Alley before I went was that it would be crowded, and it was. But I think the off-and-on showers kept it from being as bad as it would otherwise have been. The whole thing was in the usual style of NYU outdoor events, only bigger - a couple of square blocks were turned into an NYU-only street fair, complete with watergun racing games and cotton candy. And yes, there are pictures of me wearing that dorky purple hat.

We watched the Grad Alley fireworks from my brother’s rooftop, which had the advantages view, beer, and an absence of other graduates. Tomorrow morning is Commencement, which I expect to be more or less like the CAS thing, except hotter, longer, and with more caps and gowns. They’ve been setting up the park for days, and last night we could see thousands and thousands of chairs around the arch, which was lit with purple lights. These events are all a little bit tedious, but it’s still exciting.

There is, of course, a Commencement webcast if you’ve got RealPlayer and want to watch everything.