Visitors to the site should barely notice anything, but RSS subscribers will soon see a flood of posts with older dates. Please pardon the disorienting shift in time as I catch up — we’ll be back to normal again soon.

And so today is the big day. The movers are here packing up the bulk of my belongings to be shipped off to storage. My flight to Chicago is tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll spend the next five weeks or so living with Marie and supporting her as she wraps up classes at Kellogg. Tonight I sleep on an air mattress in what will be an otherwise entirely empty apartment.

All this begs the question: what do I do on my last night in Berkeley? Pig out on pizza at Cheese Board? Wander the campus where I’ve spent the past two years? Go get loaded on cheap beer at The Graduate? (Um, no.)

No, instead of dwelling on the past, I think I’ll order Thai takeout and focus on the future: planning my time in Evanston, Seattle and beyond. Things are starting to move real fast; there’s no time right now for sentimentality.

Yet I’m still loath to buy some gas-guzzling highway hulk. I would want something environmentally conscious and nimble to maneuver Seattle city streets. Relatively inexpensive, too, since I’m beginning to face the reality of student loan payments coming due in December.

The idea of a Vespa scooter is actually starting to sound appealing. They’re very popular around Berkeley (among other brands), and one sure would have changed my experience and ability to fully explore the Bay over the last two years. Though I never, ever before thought of myself as a “scooter guy” (nor even a “motorcycle guy”), could there be two wheeler in my future?

2. Exams. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with assignments and projects, and I certainly know they’re not going away in my working life. I even rather enjoy cases, at least those that focus on technology, marketing and general strategy. But it’s the exams that drive me crazy: one-shot opportunities to prove your mettle to your professor or, more likely, some anonymous PhD student with an overactive red pen. Granted, a ubiquitous curve serves as a grade safety net, but still exams seem counter to the ideal of learning for learning’s sake.

3. The Berkeley crazies. I’m talking about the loonies and schizos on Shattuck Ave., the stoners, tweakers and gutter punks on Telegraph Ave., the societal drop-outs in People’s Park, and every pot-smoking, dreadlocked, tree-sitting, Che Guevarra t-shirt-wearing, everything-protesting wacko in this town. Good riddance.

4. Dress-up parties and other ridiculousness. I hate to sound like a square, but sorry, classmates, I already experienced undergrad (and yes, I partied pretty hard). Been there, done that, glad to have moved on. (Here I’ll also mention 4b: Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” If I hear that song one more time in my entire life, it will be too soon. Haasies know what I’m talking about.)

5. Living apart from Marie. This is obvious, but it has been a defining part of my Berkeley experience: wishing I were still living with my fiancée. Nothing is quite as fun when you’re doing it without your best friend!

Amazingly, however, this is the last time Marie and I will say goodbye and return to different homes. In a few days or a couple weeks we’ll be living together again, this time for the rest of our lives. What an incredible thought.

After parking in the Financial District, we walked along the Embarcadero to Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghirardelli Square (Marie had never been to either one). A few chocolates and a bit of store browsing later, we hiked up to the top of Nob Hill, down to Chinatown, and eventually meandered our way back to the waterfront for late afternoon drinks and tapas.

Not a bad way to spend an amazingly beautiful day in San Francisco.

So after waiting backstage for what seemed like an eternity, the Class of 2010 finally walked into the Greek Theatre and took our seats before the stage. It was absolutely surreal seeing everyone’s families applauding, waving, hollering and snapping photos as we shuffled in.

Dean Lyons eventually took the podium on stage and quieted everyone down. His speech was, of course, bittersweet as he touched on the accomplishments of the class and how we represent Haas’s culture and values (though, amazingly, unless I didn’t hear it I don’t think he once uttered his favorite expression “confidence without attitude”). Following the dean came Richard Blum, founder and chairman of Blum Capital. His address, while worth a few chuckles now and then, seemed rather generic “work hard, give back” fare. No matter, we didn’t come here for the speeches, we came for the diplomas.

And then we filed on stage one by one, first the Evening & Weekend MBAs, then the Full-Time MBAs. When my time came, Julia Min Hwang, executive director of the Full-Time MBA Program, called my name and I walked across the stage, shaking hands with Prof. Terry Taylor (our class’s designated recipient of the Earl F. Cheit Award) and Dean Lyons. I remember smiling a lot but little else; it felt surreal.

After closing remarks, the dean finally pronounced the words we all wanted to hear: “By the power vested in me by the regents of the University of California and the chancellor of UC Berkeley, I now confirm upon you the degree of Master of Business Administration.” Wow, I have an MBA!

The class stood and proceeded out the theatre amid the roar of our families’ applause, and before long we were hugging, shaking hands and snapping group photos in the afterglow of the celebration. It was a great day in Berkeley for the Class of 2010.