Bringing Classy Back

The weekend started early for several ladies and even some guys as about 2 dozen girls were shuttled over to the San Diego airport by some very loving ΑΓΩ brothers at approximately 4:30am. Luckily, for the few of us that left Thursday night we were able to wake up a bit later. The Beta girls at the UC Berkeley campus hosted us at their cozy house. Friday was spent, mostly, perusing the streets of downtown Berkeley. Telegraph Ave. is the most eclectic collection of thrift shops, tattoo parlors and incredible hole-in-the-wall eateries and the home of Zebra Inc. It is my favorite piercing place and it turns out that I sparked a trend and can say I'm nothing less than a proud blogger of my honor students who got pierced there this weekend. We came together around 5:30pm and made the great migration to the First Pres Church. We must of looked a fool waltzing down several blocks in misty rain tugging along our giant suitcases. Of course, I fit right in with my army style backpack packed with all the goods, just like a true Berkeley vagrant.

After mingling with girls from all kinds of chapters, we were cut loose to find dinner for ourselves. My group settled on Crepes-a-Go-Go as well as Fat Slice. So good, I think I just drooled a little bit. The rest of the night was reserved for talking, laughing, screaming, joking, smiling, dancing and all the things that make ΑΔΧ so amazing. After cleaning the new holes we put in our faces, ears and bellies it was time to curl up on the oh-so-comfy carpet floor and sleep the night away. Hey Kix, keep it down next time ok?

Saturday was when all the legitimate business went down. You know it's serious when nylons and high heels are involved. We made our way over to St. Mark's Episcopal Church and ate a plentiful breakfast and came to order. We were blessed with an incredible speaker who shared about her challenging life and left us all very encouraged and strengthened. God worked miracles in her life to break the chains of bondage and He will do the same in our lives. We don't have to hang on to that which drags us down. Be FREE! Breath, stretch, shake, take some photos and the let's eat some Hawaiian BBQ for lunch and scheme only the greatest prank of all time. Chapter reports commenced after lunch and we got a glimpse into the blessings of the other chapters. Our Pi chapter in Colorado is literally blowin' up with 51 actives and 21 pledges! Get out! God is doing some crazy things across this country and ΑΔΧ is playing a huge role in that. Now business aside there was a raffle that was literally owned by Delta. Ferrari was the first Delta named to win a sweet lanyard (you know you want one) and Madagascar walked away with the grand prize, a sterling silver lavaliere. Lucky girl.

By the time we were able to peel out of there, it was pouring rain! Some waited to be shuttled back to First Pres but the rest of us braved the elements in our dresses and heels, holding the edges of our umbrellas so they wouldn't fly inside out. Nylons were flying everywhere as girls were tearing out of meeting attire to slap on a sexy pair of letters and head out for nothing else but a piping hot cup of coffee. Dinner was served around 6:30pm and thank God for Costco pizza, I had four slices. No, I do not feel guilty in the slightest. 8pm rolled around and we broke into eight crazy teams and battled to the death in The Great ΑΔΧ Tournament. Dodgeball, Bible trivia, scholastic trivia and craftsmanship all put to the test to conclude in the obstacle course of your life! Team 4 and Team 5 made it to the final round which included soda chugging, Cheese-Its stuffing, egg tossing, bat spinning, ball throwing there and back to which Team 4 threw down and took the win. Moulin Rouge, Madagascar and Matrix were the Delta reps on that team. It was Wild 'n' Crazy Kids meets Sorority Life.

I feel like so much happened that I can't even put it all into words. As elegant as my writing is, there are some things you just have to be there to experience as a story just does no justice. However, one really big thing happened, which just seals the fact that Delta owns ΑΔΧ as our own Casey Jean 'Schroeder' Pintaric-Chan will now be representing as National Board President. Taking her place as our chapter advisor will be Nicole Lynn 'Beaker' Rainey-Shard. Love.

I bounced around 10:30pm but I heard there was a Delta/Iota dance party so hot that the roof was on fire. Raise it up! Convention ended with a seriously dramatic shuttle ride back to the SFO airport with rainy interiors, sleepy drivers and borderline crying passengers Sunday morning. San Diego welcomed us back with open arms but Berkeley dearly misses the madness and passion that comes when Delta makes its presence known.

If you thought that was a fun weekend, just you wait. Things are about to go ape crazy at retreat this weekend in San Clemente. They won't even know what hit their pleasant little beach city.
Italia 92D