UCR Chair

I'd been saving up for a while, so some time ago I purchased a university chair--a look-alike to my father's Harvard chair that I grew up with. Mine is a variation of his and it reminds me of his chair, his accomplishment. . . and him. I contacted our bookstore, as I had to go through an "official channel" in order to use the logo. This chair is more typically an East Coast kind of tradition; our buyer had never heard of it, and it took some time and multiple emails to get the thing ordered.

I chose UCR's symbol because that's my Alma Mater, as well as the place where Dave works currently as Department Chair and Professor. I'm really proud of him and love that he works at a university.

After about two months of waiting, the bookstore called and told me the chair had arrived and I could go and pick it up. When I got there, the buyer told me that she'd opened the box to check for shipping damages--and also because she was curious and wanted to see this chair. So much has changed at UCR since I graduated, but taking that little trip reminded me of all the hours I spent in class, at the computer. It reminded me of the help from my mother, who regularly sent me a check to help cover tuition costs. It reminded me of my sisters who have all graduated from college, and particularly of my sister Susan, when I asked if I should attend a Cal-State or a UC school responded enthusiastically: "University of California, for sure!"

I coaxed them all into a photo shoot one day, all of us wearing clothing related to our university. I was the last to graduate from the University of California. Christine, to the right, graduated first from Stanford. Cynthia, to the left of my mother, graduated from Brigham Young University. My mother, a late graduate from Weber State University is next to my sister Susan, who earned her doctorate from the University of Chicago.

While the college I work at is much smaller and my job description is far less lofty than Dave's, I am also in education. I also like it---most of the time--especially now, in summer, when I can file away last semester's work and take a hiatus before next semester's work arrives (sometime mid-June is when things start to happen).

Fiat Lux was the original wording on the University of California seal, a logo originally designed by Tiffany and Company. Some years ago the Powers That Be changed it to the English version: Let There Be Light.

I don't sit in the chair all that often, but I like looking at it as I pass by. It's a tangible reminder of my education as well as my heritage of university life.