A Frosh GAP And An Open Gym

Bellarmine College Preparatory hosted a get-together party for freshmen. The event started at 10:00, but we arrive about 10 minutes earlier. We were able to park by the Matthewson building, instead of the general public parking across the street, close to the football field. We were greeted by volunteer students and was handed the agenda for the day.

We proceeded towards the Student Life Center, where we registered with our area rep (Area #14 to be exact) and got our name tags. Since we were quite early, we took advantage of the fewer people and headed for the Campus store to get a few more shirts for James, including me and the wife as well. By the time the crowd grew larger, we were done and headed out.

We hung around outside the Campus store, and was on the lookout for some people we might know. While we waited, our boys were being escorted around the campus by their big brothers. They also had their pictures taken for their school ID, and their finger-prints taken for the cafeteria food program. After a while, the wife and everyone else we saw headed for the quad, where mass was to be celebrated at 11. Meanwhile, I proceeded back to the car to put away the shirts we bought. I didn't want to be carrying them everywhere we went.

The weather was hot, and the sun's heat was just a little too much to bear. We tried the sit under a shade, but I guess we miscalculated the sun's movement and missed the shade completely. Bell's president, Fr. Paul Sheridan was the mass celebrant, with other Jesuits co-celebrating it with him. In his homily, we welcomed the freshmen and their families, and promised that our kids will grow up to be good "men for others" by the time they leave Bellarmine. I know they will. The Jesuits have a way of doing it. I should know. I was educated by the Jesuits for 12 years.

Immediately after mass, lunch was served. Everyone had a larger-than-normal hotdog sandwich (or was it a sausage link), chips, cookies, and water. After lunch, the boys headed back with their big brothers to begin their orientation and, eventually, the distribution of their iPads. Meanwhile, all the parents were herded to the theater at the Sobrato Center to listen to Bell president Paul Sheridan, principal Chris Meyercord, and other key BCP personalities speak.

By 2:20pm, we were done, and so were the boys.

James had an open gym for Endline volleyball that he needed to attend, so we dashed for the car, and headed for Mission High. Actually, the open gym had already started at 2pm, but we were hoping that he could arrive before 3pm and stay on till the session ended at 4. I had informed his former coach about being late, so they were aware. All they wanted was to see him there. His BFF, Coby, and his mom were with us and watched as well.

After the open gym, Coby tagged along with us to do a little shopping for James' shoes, while his mom went home. Next, we had dinner at BJ's on Mowry. We had a little snafu because our main dish came out first, while the appetizers never did. The manager apologized and asked if we still wanted it. Obviously we didn't because we were already well into our main dishes. And she didn't offer to comp them either. Our server was so apologetic, and offered a dessert of our choice. By then, I wasn't in the mood to stay any longer and wanted to leave. But the boys took the server's offer and got a dessert.

The next day, the boys will have their mandatory orientation at Bell. Coby's mom volunteered to take them and back. But she shouldn't be leaving Fremont till around 7:30m. This was an issue for us since both the wife and I had to be at BART before 7:30, or we run the risk of nothing having nowhere to park. Instead, we suggested that James sleepover so we don't have to taking him. Of course, the boys loved the idea.

From dinner, we stopped by the house so James could take  a shower and get his stuff. Then, off they went to Coby's for the evening.

Note: Author wishes to acknowledge Bellarmine College Preparatory (Facebook) for the photographs used on this post.