Dear Friends,

Happy Friday! What I really hoped to share with you is this amazing networking event I went to Wednesday night, but I something else came up which seemed to be of higher interest. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you a little bit about the former as well. Let’s get this party started…

So, I was sitting in Rittenhouse trying to find inspiration (err, distractions) for my French minor thesis, the subject of which is feminism in France. I quickly realized that sitting in a park is the worst place to find inspiration for such a topic. Why, you may ask? There were couples everywhere. They were cuddling. Either each other or their babies. Needless to say, I was left without a snuggle buddy. Very difficult to maintain a strong-willed independent female mentality when this amount of cuteness engulfs you. I first thought to myself, as I usually do when I see people running, playing, skipping through the streets of Philly during working hours: don’t these people work? And if yes, what do they do for a living? (I need to be doing that). Of course, completely forgetting about La Femme en France I got sucked in to what I call the Rittenhouse vortex. As soon as the weather gets nice, Philadelphia comes alive and everyone who’s been hiding all winter comes out to play. And they bring their babies.

The babies were the worst part (read: best part). I think the main reason I get so excited is also because of the baby deprivation I suffer as a Drexel student. Don’t get me wrong, there are so many things I love about Drexel, but in terms of baby watching, we lag behind those other guys across the way (I dare not mention the name), whose campus is more park-esque and through which people and babies alike tend to frolic more freely. Another place where babies serve as the ultimate distraction is at church. I understand that these people are just trying to attend the liturgy like good Christians do, but let’s be real. Who pays attention to the liturgy when instead you can be playing peek-a-boo with the baby sitting in the adjacent pew? Not me. It’s pretty embarrassing actually, both my parents shh-ing me as I try to get them involved in the game. In the end, my parents win and I must avoid eye contact with chunky little person trying to share their Cheerios with me, as a proper, respectful young woman should.

But anyway, I’m in Rittenhouse baby-watching, in as non- creepy a fashion as possible, when I’m attacked! Now, picture as you may this “attack.” But I’m here to tell you, I wasn’t mugged or anything, but rather suffered a baby accostment (not a word, I realize)… a lot more welcomed and preferred than other forms. The mother comes up to me and starts apologizing for losing control of her child and quickly grabs him and as she walks away I assure her, no no, it’s okay, playing it nonchalant. All the while I’m thinking, COME BACK!!! Can we be friends (me and the baby, that is)? This also makes me wonder if it’s something in the city water that makes children like this. They tend to be so sociable. It’s like the city squirrels who don’t run away as you walk by (similarly to the pigeons on the steps of St. Mark’s Square in Venice). At first I thought there was something wrong with these squirrels, like they had been hit by a bicyclist or brain had been zapped after chewing through someone’s internet cables or something. But I soon realized that’s just how they are here. Growing up in the burbs I never had this issue of squirrels scurrying up to me wanting to share a park bench. Now I get squirrels and babies. I much prefer the latter. I also realize I just compared children to squirrels and pigeons. Please don’t hold it against me. All of these things considered, I decided I had procrastinated enough and to avoid all mental and physical distractions I made my way home, having learned my lesson . I vowed never to sit in a Rittenhouse again with false hope of getting work done.

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Getting back to business, I’d like to reflect on my Wednesday night, when I went to the first event held by the newly formed (read: active) Hellenic Alumni Association of Drexel. I usually love going networking events (almost as much as I love baby watching) but this one was especially great. Actually, it’s possible that the love for these two things to be consolidated. I mean…the correlation between these two things might be quite strong. Think about it. “Networking” (in all its interpretations) can lead to babies, right? Yes? No? Just kidding (maybe). Anywaaay… moving on.

The event was held at Estia restaurant, and was, in sum, a great success (Borat voice)! Seriously, though. Great company, great cocktails, really perfect recipe for success. But in terms of a networking event, it was just the right amount of people where you had time to go beyond just meeting each other and actually get to know a thing or two about them and their professional experiences and career paths. It was great to meet some new Greek faces who live in the area but also to learn about what people have done with their Drexel degrees. Looking forward to the next event and keeping in touch with these new additions to my “network”.

Filakia,
Steph