I love summer.

Subscribing to Ali's belief that non-smokers need breaks too, I just went for a walk down to the White House and back.

It is beautiful outside!

The sun is warm, and the grass is fragrant.

More good ESC press

From The Second Life Insider:

If anyone is going to be involved in the future direction of the Internet (with all the latest ramblings currently going on about 'Web 2.0'), it's [the Electric Sheep Company]. Among its constituents are the well-regarded and influential residents Satchmo Prototype, FlipperPA Peregrine, and Forseti Svarog. Currently, their most visible product is SL Boutique, the one-stop-shopping site for all your SL needs.

Keep an eye on these guys; they're plugged in to the future... just look at their logo! And any company whose name derives (as I guess) from a Philip K. Dick novel is the company I want to keep.

Exuberant for no particular reason.

I guess most of my posts are more interesting to me than to anyone else, since I'm just talking about myself, but I'll warn you that this post is probably particularly boring to anyone who's not me, because I basically write about two dreams that I had, and it's never as interesting to hear about someone else's dream as it is to talk about how crazy your own dream was. You have been warned.


This morning I had one of the most joyful dreams I can remember. It started off at home in Duluth, where I was asking my mom what she wanted for her birthday. I suggested a new journal to write in, but she said what she really wanted was the diary she had written in as a child. It had gone missing, but she thought it might be at the library, because she had donated a bunch of books there a while back. (During this exchange, I opened up my dad's journal, to see if he needed a new one, and was pleasantly surprised to find it filled with beautiful caligraphy that he had been practicing.)

So I went to the library, and started looking through the shelves for a little book with a black and white photo of a girl and a horse on the cover. Then I realized that the diary wouldn't have a Dewey Decimal number on it, and that thte librarians probably would have put it in the lost and found, not in the stacks. So I went back and asked the guys at the information desk. They looked at me, and then looked at each other and said, "I wonder if...she's the one??" They jumped up and sprinted to the front of the library where the lost and found was. They were so excited! They were screeching and skidding around corners! I ran after them, and sure enough, there was the diary. We were all ridiculously happy.

I had another dream about Duluth on Wednesday - both that one and today's were packed with vibrant imagery and real people and places. Pretty fun.

Wednesday's dream was about Scott visiting Duluth for the first time. We went to see Swan Lake at the DECC and sat next to Robert, the Minnesota Ballet's ballet master. But the auditorium was slowly filling up with water, so we had to move to the balcony after the intermission. We also met Nancy Lokken (my first violin teacher) and my mom, who was catsitting three of my uncle's huge orange tomcats.

It's been a great morning since waking up.

1. Today's the day we leave for a camping trip!
2. On the ride to work, there was something in the air, and the way the sun was rising, that reminded me of being at the cabin. I can't wait to go. Maybe I'm homesick, and that's why I'm having all these dreams?
3. Thomas Circle is paved! It's so nice to have that big, ugly construction site nearing completion!
4. I faxed in paperwork to enroll in the company's health insurance plan. Finally!
5. Alissa got accepted as a transfer student to the University of Minnesota's law school! Yaay! I'm so happy for her.

3 x (2 Reviews)

Movie Reviews

I got to see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest last night. Arrrgh! Parts of it felt too silly, like when 3 guys are having a sword fight inside of a giant wheel that’s rolling down a hill. First, it’s silly that they’re even able to fight each other, when normal people would be holding on for dear life and/or breaking their necks. Second, the wheel would just run into a tree and fall over instead of rolling straight through the forest at break-neck speed. But when I let go and suspended my disbelief, it was fun – definitely exciting to see it on the big screen. The fish-ghost-pirates are wonderful; I would have loved to have been on that design team! Johnny Depp is wonderful, especially the way he runs. I can add him to my list of actors with good physical humor. (Rowan Atkinson and Jim Carey are the other two so far.) The ending doesn’t feel like an ending. I understand their desire to create a cliff-hanger to encourage everyone to go see the third one (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End), but that’s not an excuse for this petering-out. Paul said it felt like half a movie. I heartily agree, matey.

The movie I really enjoyed this weekend was Bubba Ho-tep, which Scott and I watched on Friday night. It contains a good deal of absurdity, and it’s absurdly good. It takes place in a Texan rest home where Elvis and JFK live. They have to battle an Egyptian mummy. There’s campy B-rate horror but really good suspense. There are neat camera shots and great colors. There are musings on the meaning of life. Rent it!


Book Reviews

I finished The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald this morning. We’re going to see it performed at the Guthrie Theater in September, so I wanted to reread it. I last read it sometime in middle school, but I couldn’t remember any of the plot. I think I’m going to go back read it again this week. It’s a short book, and I feel like I’ll get a lot more out of it the second time through. I feel like I’ve gotten “bad” at literature, like I’ve forgotten how to think about how symbolism works. That bothers me, so this might serve as a good little brush up. Where’s a book group when you need one? (Actually, for all of you readers out there: Let me know if you want to read and discuss Gatsby. Seriously. What’s up with T.J.Eckleberg?)

This afternoon, I started The Non-Designer’s Type Book by Robin Williams and am thoroughly enjoying it. Kenneth gave it to me yesterday. He’s a graphic designer, and I’m toying with the idea of learning graphic design, and he said this book was one that got him started on his career. I can see why. Reading it makes me want to go out and do it. (My first project will be redesigning this blog. I’ll need to figure out more HTML before major changes occur though.)


Miscellaneous Reviews

I got to go swimming yesterday! Armand brought Brooke and Kenneth and I out to Scotts Run. It’s a short drive from the city and then a short hike from the road. There are enough rocks in the river and fish dams built between the rocks that it’s pretty easy to make your way out to the middle of the Potomac. There, you can sit right in the rapids, so it feels like a jacuzzi and sounds much nicer. A serenade, Kenneth said. Absolutely perfect on a still, muggy day. We ate our picnic lunch, basked in the sun and talked about all the great blue herons we saw.

Scott and I visited Busboys and Poets today, down at 14th and V. I’ve been meaning to go there for a while, and this afternoon’s need for caffeine and air-conditioning provided the perfect opportunity. Good pizza, good espresso, and a server who let us sit and read (and nap, in Scott’s case) long after we had finished eating make me pretty excited about going back.

Niceties of the week.

Tuesday was nice, because Scott and I went climbing after work. I was feeling pretty tired and weak when we arrived, and he was nauseous from the long, hot metro ride. But we ended up having a really great night there! I climbed 5.8's more easily than I ever have in the past, and I started into 5.9's. I was quite pleased with myself. I think I must have learned a lot from climbing outdoors... like how to trust small holds. I felt much more aggressive/confident than I have in a while. It was so much fun!
Tuesday continued to be nice, because we arrived home to find that my apartment contained brand new carpet and, wonder of wonders, brand new linoleum in the kitchen! (Up until now, there's been carpet in the kitchen. Stupid.) The place still smells like it's full of new carpeting, but I can't complain. It's much better than it smelling like toxic death mold.

Wednesday was nice because we had a little dinner party. I made a lovely cucumber soup that I got in an e-mail from Lynne Rossetto Kasper's weekly Splendid Table "Weeknight Kitchen" e-mail. Usually I just daydream of getting around to making her recipes, so it was fun to finally do one! It was even more fun to hang out with Scott, Liz, Jack and a pair of Danes staying at Delafield. Jack brought some amazing chocolate-flavored mint from his garden that Liz mixed with french vanilla yogurt and served over fruit salad. Fantastic!

Thursday was nice because we're having a company meeting here, and I finally got to meet a bunch of sheep I've been working with for a while but have only known via e-mail or Second Life. We're a great group of people, and it makes me that much more excited to be working with them.

Friday is pretty nice so far. My U-lock broke this morning, but I had a nice breakfast with Scott and a nice workout at the gym where I decided that I need to improve my form on deadlifts to prevent top-of-the-knee bruises. It's muggy out, but I like it. (I probably wouldn't like it if I didn't have an air-conditioned office to retreat to.)

Tomorrow I get to go to Scotts Run (no relation to the bf) for a picnic, hike and swim. I'm very excited!

2 good reviews

The Electric Sheep Company put on a mixed reality event on Monday night - they brought the Home Run Derby into Second Life. And it went darn well!

Eric Rice: Home run kings: MLB, ESPN, Second Life, & The Electric Sheep
CNET: 'Second Life' makes an All-Star pitch

What to do in DC if the weather is amazing.

A glorious weekend.

Scott picked me up after work on Friday, and we biked down to the sculpture garden for a picnic dinner accompanied by live jazz. This was the first time I've been able to "Jazz in the Garden" this summer, and it was wonderful: just the right temperature, and packed with families, couples, groups of friends. Such a perfect way to end the week! Dinner was comprised of Whole Foods delicacies: fresh ciabatta, mustard seed gouda, tomatoes sprinkled with salt, mixed olives, a dark chocolate-y beer, and blueberries for dessert.

We didn't get moving quite as early as we had intended on Saturday morning, but we did eventually make it out to Carderock where I got to climb outdoors for the first time ever! It’s a beautiful location, and we had perfect weather. I was surprised at how different it felt from indoors. Grippier. Greater friction let me trust tinier holds. But it meant that my fingers and toes got worn out before the rest of me. (Usually my arms go first.) Hopefully I can stay out a little longer next time I go. I’m definitely impatient to go again soon!
I spent the afternoon wandering around the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and through DC while Scott got caught up on work. I saw a great band, AfriCaribe, in the Nuestra Música: Latino Chicago section of the festival, as well as a neat hip hop group. From there, I moved on to the Carriers of Culture: Living Native Basket Traditions section, which didn’t look all that exciting on the Smithsonian website, but which was definitely worth a visit. Each tent represented a different region of North America, and just about each one had live demonstrations going on. The baskets were beautifully constructed and patterned; seeing them made me want to learn how to weave them myself.
The Festival was closing down for the night at this point, so I didn’t get to see the Alberta tents. Instead, I took a walk up through the city to Dupont – something I haven’t done in a long time. When I first moved to DC, I had all kinds of time on my hands, so I walked everywhere. I didn’t really see anything new, but I saw it at a new pace. I read the names on the bases of statues and eavesdropped on tourists’ conversations.
At Dupont, I watched some breakdancers and tried to block out the whiny singer with a guitar. I read the New Yorker, dozed off for a bit, and eventually went back home with Scott.
We spent the evening playing games with LT, Taren and Mike. Taren taught us a new game, Things, which I will certainly spread to new circles of friends. It’s a riot.

I had a peaceful, New-Yorker-filled Sunday morning, and then did chores while Scott had Ultimate practice. I went for a long-ish run, which felt good even though it demonstrated how out of shape I am. Around 2, Scott and I helped two of his friends move into their beautiful new house. We all hung out to watch Italy’s victory, got dinner (falafel!) and then split. Poor Scott had to go back to the office, so I put together a vegetable-bean salad for the week and had a peaceful New-Yorker-filled night.

The weekend felt long and relaxed without being lazy. Maybe not as exciting as a tournament or touring another city, but easily as desirable.

(This is my first 5-day work week in over a month! How am I going to survive until next weekend?)

Good things underfoot

One highlight from the weekend I forgot to post about is my purchase of a new pair of cleats. I knew I was going to need a new pair at some point, but when the grass started tickling my toes during a dump drill at a recent BRDM practice, the purchase became inevitable. LT kindly took me cleat shopping with her, as it is an activity that requires a car in the DC metro area (grrr). But I failed to find cleats to my liking. Or I was indecisive. In any case, I played my first game at potlatch in my old cleats, both of which were held together with athletic tape. They looked like saddle shoes - cute! But as soon as the game and the cheers were over, I ran over to the Gaia tent (Gaia specializes in Ultimate gear) and purchased a truly wonderful pair of shoes. The white feels a little flashy, but it's worth it for the way they let me cut.

Conversation with my old cleats:

Me: Oh! Let's cut now!
Old Cleats: Huh? Now?
Me: Yeah, a nice sharp V-shaped cut. Here, I'll plant my foot so I can turn and run the other way.
Old Cleats: How about a nice U-shaped cut? We wouldn't want to do anything drastic here...

Conversation with my new cleats:

Me: Hmm, maybe I should cut now...
New Cleats: GREAT idea! Yeah! Now! Here we go!

Seriously, cutting feels effortless in these things. Maybe it's because my old cleats were just so decrepit, or because the new ones have pegs instead of flat cleats, or because they have the extra toe cleat, or because they're flashy looking. I can't wait to play in them some more!


The second good thing underfoot is the bare cement in my apartment. I returned home from Seattle to find the carpet still soggy from the insane rain we'd received, but by this time a healthy crop of mold had also developed. Black mold. Toxic death mold, even. But today, a crew came in, ripped all of it up, and carted it away. It needs to stay exposed for a few days so that everything can air out completely (we've got a killer fan going to hasten the process), and then we'll get brand new carpet... and maybe even linoleum in the kitchen instead of carpeting!!

Death Mold Attacks Nation's Capitol
(You should click on this link just to see the great photo.)

The Seattle Report

My apologies for the posting delay. I got back from Seattle on Wednesday, but have been tired and busy since then! But now it’s Friday afternoon, and I feel like I’ve done enough work today to warrant a little posting.

Scott and I took off bright and early on Thursday morning and had nice, uneventful flights. We picked up our rental car and headed north to the University of Washington where I met with two members of the Information School. I’m thinking of getting a Master’s of Information Science, and UW’s program is young but supposedly very good. A pleasant, helpful visit all around! I’m not convinced I want to get an MSI, and this helped clarify the pros and cons for me.
Scott and I took in the UW art gallery, which had a great Maya Lin show. It was all about landscapes, which was particularly relevant and exciting, because the entire plane ride from St. Louis to Seattle, I was peering out the window and admiring everything below. Very different from the DC-to-MN flight, much drier and rougher.
Note to Dad – Maya Lin has been commissioned to do a piece along the Columbia River to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It’s beautiful, and reminded me of your trip down that river.
From the University, Scott and I headed south and spent some time wandering around downtown Seattle. We started at Pike Place Market, went down to Pioneer Square, and back again before we got hungry. We ate at The Islander because the first thing listed on their menu was a Pu Pu Platter. On the flight out, I was working on a crossword puzzle. One of the answers was “pu pu platter”, which prompted me to wonder what a pu pu platter really is. Scott was as clueless as I, so we decided to search out Seattle’s finest Polynesian establishment in order to quench our thirst for knowledge. We actually stumbled onto The Islander rather than sought it out, but we quenched our physical thirst with crazy cocktails (a Pain Killer and a Dark & Stormy) in addition to our academic thirst.
Not quite ready to call it a night, we stopped for coffee and a slice of Marion Berry pie. We were sure it was a pun on DC’s illustrious ex-mayor, but in fact there really is such a thing as a marion berry. It’s tasty!

Friday morning saw us an Irish pub with 8 of our teammates watching the Germany/Argentina World Cup game. It went into overtime, and Scott and I left before it was over to go to the Pacific Science Center. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3-D Imax movie featuring narration by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, music by Danny Elfman, and tons of really crazy deep sea creatures. Can’t remember the last time I watched a 3-D movie… it’s so much fun!
We met up with my friend Paul and took in the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Lovely! Scott and I wandered through Chinatown before heading home for the night. (Our team got to stay at a friend’s enormous house, which makes hanging out and cleaning up so much easier than hoteling or camping.)

The tournament was on Saturday and Sunday. We played 4 games each day, and won 2 per day. Couldn’t ask for nicer weather or nicer teammates. We were largely a BRDM team, with some DC and Canadian pickups. The neat thing about Potlatch is that the games and gifts at the end of each game are as important as the game itself. We sang songs, did shots, played games, and traded MVP/spirit/misc awards. The “102 Damn Asians” team gave us a dog dish full of “puppy chow”, and the fiesta team (who’s name escapes me) gave us a pitcher of margaritas. Our drink gift was Dickel and Pickle – whisky and pickle juice – which is not as bad as you’d think. I actually kind of like it.
Anyways, the tournament was great. I love my sport and the people who play it. Many thanks to my teammates and to my opponents for giving me the opportunity to play! Also, a HUGE thanks to Paul for captaining this team. It takes an enormous amount of energy to coordinate a trip across the country, and an enormous amount of energy to manage them on the field. He performed beautifully.

Monday started off with a team pancake breakfast, and people started to part ways. Scott and I, along with Nate, Jess and Caryn, headed south towards Mt. Rainier for some camping. We spent Monday afternoon at a mosquito-infested campsite. Fortunately, it was on a pretty little alpine lake. The scenery, and being able to jump into just-melted water, made up for the bugs. We hiked (bushwhacked) up to a ridge that evening. It’s one of those experiences where I know I was miserable at the time, but now the thing I remember most the amazing view of Mt. Rainier when we got to the top… and the relief we felt when we discovered that we could take a road back down to the campsite.
One more swim, a campfire, quesadillas and big bottle of cheap wine, and then we were off to bed.

Tuesday started off with a swim (a much colder swim than the previous night!), and then we drove down to the Carbon River Glacier. We hiked 3.5 miles on a pretty trail (no bushwacking!), ate lunch overlooking a glacier, and headed back. We dropped off our 3 companions, got dinner (Mongolian!), and went to the airport. I’ve never slept so well on planes/airport floors in my life!

I missed this year's Fire Wheel party.

They even torched and rolled an octadecahedron!

5.19 + 4.22 = 9.41

My carpet is still sopping wet. We had another puddle form in the living room last night. Ew.

According to the National Weather Service, we got 5.19 inches of rain on Sunday and 4.22 inches on Monday. That's just shy of 10 inches in 2 days. Uf da!

I sold my first virtual goods!

My goal today was to learn how to sell Second Life items on three of the SL buying sites. I didn't have anything to sell, so I just stuck two boxes together. A boring, useless item.



I uploaded it to the sites (here it is on SL Boutique), priced it at L$1 (about one-third of a cent), and then bought one myself just to see if it worked. (It did.)

To my amazement, I've sold 5 "Cubes Stuck Together" today! I can't imagine what anyone else would want with it, but it does feel nice to get that e-mail alert in your inbox, and to see your account balance creep up as the Linden Dollars get deposited.

Rain, rain, and more rain

Friday -
Thankfully, it didn't rain Friday night. I hosted Charles' going-away party, and most of the team came over for it. We had bread and beer in honor of Charles' yeast studies, which he'll be pursuing in a PhD program, and we stenciled jerseys with an "H.R. Hucknstuf" logo so that we can wear them at Potlatch this weekend. A very nice evening.

Saturday -
Scott and I went to the Phillips Collection in the afternoon. It was fantastic. The "Klee and America" show was neat, and I also really enjoyed the "Celebration of Masterworks" exhibit they had up. Lunch at Baja Fresh, and then he went back to his office, and I went down to the Reflecting Pool fields for a scrimmage with WonderBred. It was warm, but it felt good to be outside running around. At 6, Scott and I reunited at my office, where we researched grad school programs for a few hours before enjoying dinner at Coppi's.

Sunday -
It started storming sometime during the very early morning, and so I got to listen to thunder and pounding rain as I drifted in and out of conciousness. It rained all morning, and even though it stopped around noon, the fields were waterlogged enough to cancel our 2 pm BRDM practice. I took the opportunity to read my latest New Yorker and call my parents, who had just arrived for a week's vacation at the cabin and were enjoying sunny, 70° weather.

At 4:30, Alexia picked me up and we headed out to the BRDM barbecue, graciously hosted by Jess and Kevin. I got to offload the beer that had been left at my house on Friday, and we watched (1) the USA Rock Paper Scissors championships on A&E and (2) Ultimate Frisbee games from the '70s and '80s... back when people didn't throw forehands and the stall count was to 15 and the fashion was terrible. Pretty amusing.

Alexia and I took off around 8:30, and it took us two hours to get home! I don't know if I've ever been in rain that heavy before. DC issued a flash flood warning, which I realized was obviously warranted when we saw an ambulance and fire truck doing a water rescue - the ambulance was pulling a boat on a trailer, and the men were wearing life jackets and kayaking helmets. Apparently, people were stuck in their cars in some places.

The carpet inside my front door often gets soggy after a hard rain, because the drain outside is slightly clogged. But when I walked in last night, there was a puddle an inch deep on my living room floor. (Fortunately, it didn't ruin any of my stuff. No books or photographs or computers or anything got wet.) Poor Scott returned home to a basement flooded with water and mud, and they were all up late cleaning it up.

Monday -
The indoor puddle was gone when I woke up this morning, but the carpet is still wet enough that when you walk across it, a little puddle forms around your shoe. Ick. DC issued another flash flood warning for this afternoon, and there have been a few more bouts of heavy rain since I've been writing this. It will take at least a week for my floor to dry out.

Inconvenient, but sort of exciting. And listening to all of this rain is nice.

Success!

We did it! We finally got to see a ballet! Not just any ballet, but the opening night of the Royal Ballet's production of Sleeping Beauty at the Kennedy Center! It was absolutely wonderful. Alina Cojocaru danced Princess Aurora - simply incredible. Weightless, graceful, supple... Obviously it's The Royal Ballet, so everyone's going to be an incredible dancer. But she was stunning.

It made me remember how exciting it is to see live performances, where there's always a chance that things might go wrong. If you're watching a video, you know that everything is going to work out perfectly, otherwise they wouldn't bother selling a tape of the performance. But last night in the audience, I felt this amazing tension as I watched the ballet unfold - something about the uncertainty, the riskiness of it all. It made those moments when a dancer did something truly amazing feel like a gift to us, the audience. Cojocaru's arabesque balances in the Rose Adagio. Kobborg's (Prince Florimund) quadruple pirouette that ended only because the music was continuing and he had to come out of it in order to stay on beat. The four princes' enormous, lighter-than-air entrechat sixes.

And the music! It's not a score that I'm very familiar with, but much of it was recognizable as trademark Tchaikovsky: big harp arpeggios, cello solos, melodies for birds and other animals. The violin solo accompanying Princess Aurora in Act III was gorgeous. It was as if there were just two things happening in the entire theater - the violinist playing, and Cojocaru dancing.

Enough gushing. A few details from the rest of the evening.

Scott took me out for a lovely dinner beforehand at Legal Sea Foods. We both hesitated a little at the thought of going to a chain restaurant, but it really was a good meal. We highly recommend the Apple and Goat Cheese Salad with Grilled Scallops and a chipotle and orange dressing.

We had a dramatic eleven o'clock ride home. The predicted thunderstorms were just starting up, and there was nearly constant lightning flashing all around us. Thankfully, we got home before the storm arrived. And it was LOUD. Crashing thunder, pounding rain, a doozy. Listening to a storm like that is one of the nicest ways to fall asleep.

Farewell Elsa!

So many good-byes this week. I went to a good-bye dinner for Jess and Nate on Tuesday, and Aaron and I are hosting a good-bye party for Charles tomorrow. Last night, I said good-bye to Elsa, the cat I've been fostering for just over four months now. She's going to a husband and wife from Louisiana who were also displaced by Katrina and whose 14-year-old tortoise-shell cat just died. The wife in particular was really excited to get Elsa - it seems like she was trying to replace her old cat. She kept exclaiming how much Elsa looked like her. And she kept cradling Elsa so she was on her back with her feet sticking up in the air, even though Elsa was obviously struggling to escape. She much prefers sitting on laps than being picked up.

It was a little hard to watch, but I'm sure this couple will give Elsa a much better life than she's had so far. I'm not home nearly enough to give her the attention she needs and wants. Really, it's a relief to have her gone, since I felt like I was only cleaning up after her and never got to enjoy the benefits of cat ownership - petting and getting curled up on. Still, I woke up a couple times last night vaguely worrying about her and wondering what small space she found to hide in while she's adjusting to her new house.

A few wedding photos!

Thanks, Cherie, for sharing these!

Pre-wedding shots:


Kate, the Pirate Queen:


Jaime, the Pirate Queen:


More to follow, I'm sure!

Boston and Amherst!

A wildly successful trip to Massachusetts!

Scott and I flew up together on Friday afternoon. Jess and Nate whisked him away to Amherst, and Alissa and I headed to Boston. It was a great chance for us to get caught up before the wedding weekend began. The first stop was the Four Seasons Hotel, where Kate and Jaime were spending the weekend. (A wonderful gift!) After a gleeful reunion with the brides and Cherie (Jaime's sister), and a quick change of attire (Kate was parading around in her dress), we set out in our matching "Collins Peters Pirates" t-shirts that Jaime had printed up for us. The backs read "Putting the F-U-N back in Wedding" - they're great. Dinner was quick, because we didn't want to be late for our manicure and pedicure appointments. By 8 pm, we were sitting in massage chairs, soaking our feet in bubble baths and reading fashion magazine quizzes to each other. I contemplated getting a serene/docile color, but then I reasoned that since I only get this kind of treatment every 3 years or so, I should go for something memorable. So my toenails are silver and my fingernails are Barbie-doll pink. I *still* get a kick out of looking at them.

We did a few shots at a bar with two of Jaime's friends, and then retired to the Four Seasons, ordered room service dessert and breakfast for the morning, and crashed.

We spent Saturday morning in the hotel, enjoying our beautiful breakfast, putting on makeup, deciding which jewelery to wear, etc. We left for Wellesley around 1 and met up with Kate's family to help decorate the College Club dining room. Instead of having one big wedding cake, the brides put one little cake, decorated with flowers, as the centerpiece of each table. Lovely! By 3:30, everyone had arrived and we took photos, including piratey arrgh-ing photos. The ceremony started around 4:30.

The ceremony gets its own paragraph. We stood in a circle on the grass. Kate and Jaime were on opposite sides, facing each other. Kate's brother Peter welcomed everyone; I played my violin* while Kate's little sister Grace scattered rose petals around the circle; and then Peter invited those present to offer their thoughts and wishes to the brides. The brides gave their vows to each other - Jaime read a poem she had written, and Kate told a fable. Misty eyes ensued. Peter asked us to "speak now or forever hold your peace", we all gasped dramatically (as instructed) at the mere thought of objecting to this wedding, Peter announced the union, and they kissed each other. Beautiful.

* I was nervous and trembling and didn't sound as good as I do when I practice alone in my living room... but I'm still glad I got to play for them.

Cocktails, hors d'ouevres, dinner, dancing to Peter's band (a fabulous Blues-Brothers-inspired affair - really fun!), and a stroll around campus with Alissa, Merritt and Mike. We waded in Lake Waban, took in the new campus center, reminisced about Beebe's pirate flag. Alissa and I left around midnight. (We did NOT intrude on the brides at the Four Seasons again and stayed at a nearby Marriot instead.)

So that's it! That's their wedding! They're married! Yaaaay! I'll post pictures when they're available. I regret not taking any.


Sunday morning, Alissa drove me to South Station where I boarded a Peter Pan bound for Springfield. Scott picked me up and drove me the rest of the way to Amherst. His parents greeted me very warmly; I've been waiting to meet them for a long time now, and it felt so nice to be welcomed into their home! We had lunch at the "Taste of Amherst" festival that was happening downtown and chatted with friends we met. Around 3, we drove out to a lake (whose name I forget), rented a pair of canoes, and paddled out to see a bald eagle nest... complete with real bald eagles! It was a beautiful, sunny day, and it felt wonderful to be out on the water. For dinner, we took Whole Foods salads up to the top of a mountain (Sugarloaf? I'm terrible with names.) and ate while the sun set on the valley around us. Hard to beat. Scott and I spent the night at The Moan and Dove with Jess, Nate and Mike. Click here for a .pdf of their incredible beer selection. It was "Voted the #1 Place to Have a Beer in 2006 by BeerAdvocate.com reviewers", and I think it lives up to its title.

Monday began with breakfast on the deck and continued with coffee at Rao's Coffee and then take-out Bueno Y Santo burritos, which we ate with Scott's dad at the school where he teaches. Scott showed me the houses he used to inhabit, the salamander tunnels built especially for a rare species' safe traversing of a busy road, and Puffer's Pond, where we went swimming. We met up with his parents at a local farm for homemade ice cream; I tasted the asparagus-almond, but opted for blueberry-maple in the end. Scott's ginger-peppermint was great. At home, I perused Scott's baby albums while we disgested. (He and Julie used to be so blonde!) We lingered over dinner and fresh strawberry shortcake before retiring for the evening.

In the morning, Scott's dad dropped us off at the Hartford airport for an early, uneventful trip back to DC.

MANY thanks to Mr. and Mrs. McNiven for their hospitality! Thanks to Alissa and the brides for orchestrating such a wonderful weekend. And, of course, congratulations and good wishes to Kate and Jaime in their new marriage.

Duluth!

I had a wildly successful trip home to Minnesota last weekend. Fred graduated, and all of us celebrated.



Fred was the elected class speaker, and both he and the valedictorian gave really wonderful speeches. (Here's a link to Fred's, and here's a link to Drew's.) It was obvious how much they loved their school. Drew actually had a hard time finishing because he kept choking up, which led to plenty of misty eyes among his classmates and the audience.



Back at the ranch, my mom whipped out her ever-ready hospitality super powers, demonstrating once again that "domestic engineer" is more than just a politically correct term. Over the course of the weekend, she directed a team consisting of her husband, daughters, mother and sister-in-law, artfully employing the skills and talents of each. She managed the cleaning, manicuring, decorating, and general beautification of the house, yard and gardens. She hosted a brunch for 30 relatives. Under her supervision the shopping, cooking, (timing of the cooking) and serving of the meal came together seamlessly; the house, yard and gardens looked beautiful. It made me realize how much I have to learn!

Apart from all of the entertaining/celebrating and visiting with my relatives, I had a good time being in Duluth with my family. I got to walk on the Lakewalk (easily one of my favorite places in the world) with my parents (easily two of my favorite people in the world). I got my annual dose of rhubarb, in the form of cake, muffins, sauce and crunch, always accompanied by a cup or two of coffee. I got to hang out with my cats.





A few more photos of the not-so-little bro.
Here he is with his wonderful girlfriend Hannah:



With Mr. Sippel and his friend Max. (They decided pipes were classier than cigars. No doubt their canoeing/kayaking/voyageur-esque fathers inspired them.)

I just bought googly eyes for my avatar!

I'll post a real post soon, but things have been busy-ish at work since I got back.

Wholesome Sproats

A heckuva hectic hour.

Last night was hectic, but then it got better. I got home around 5:15. My living room smelled bad, because Elsa's litter box hadn't been changed all weekend. My room smelled bad, because the weekend's wet clothing was all over the floor. My bathroom smelled bad, because, well, it always does these days. I think there's a dead mouse in the vent.
I practiced violin first, because I promised myself that if I had time to go climbing (which I wanted to do later on), then I'd better make time for violin too. But I had too much on my mind and felt too crunched for time for it to be as enjoyable as usual. I'm glad I did it though. Then I cleaned the litter box and brought the trash and recycling out to the garage. Then Elsa escaped into the backyard, snuck into the neighbor's yard via the hole that Dublin keeps digging, and couldn't be convinced to come back. Then I gathered up the trucks, books and sneaker that the neighbor kid had thrown from his deck into our backyard. Then I realized that I was tracking dog shit into the house. I cleaned up the carpet and my shoe to the best of my ability... which didn't amount to much, at least on my shoe. It was pretty potent poo. Then I wrote a note to Ross, asking him to keep the back door open, in hopes of Elsa's return. Then it was 6:15, so I grabbed my bag and left for climbing. Uf da.

Happily, all of the hectic stuff of the day was condensed into that hour. I had a great night climbing. I'm getting better at using smaller holds, and 5.8's felt just a little bit easier... but maybe that's just because Scott was there to encourage me. We got back to Delafield around 11, at strawberry pie, and went to bed.


Tonight's post-work chores include picking up my sister's paycheck, a tabata workout, some laundry and vacuuming, and maybe some violin. Then Team Dinner Party is coming over and we're making pizza! Yay!


Elsa did, by the way, return of her own volition 6 hours later. Thank goodness.

Mixed Easterns Nostalgia! Already!

The worst part about tournaments is having them over and done with. You're not running around, catching or throwing, cutting or marking. And you don't get to look forward to those things. Instead, you're at your desk thinking, "That's one less tournament I get to go to this summer. I have to wait FOUR weeks until the next one. Did I really take advantage of the chance to play this weekend?"

I'll stop being mopey in a moment, but I feel I should document the physical unpleasantness of the weekend. It started on Friday, when our flight from Baltimore to Boston was delayed four hours. We spent two hours in the airport, because of bad weather in Boston. And then we boarded and spent two hours on the runway, because of mechanical problems. We shared these four hours with fifty eighth-graders returning home after a week-long school trip to DC. Fortunately, they were pretty well-behaved and more entertaining than annoying. And fortunately, there were a bunch of BRDM-ers in the airport to hang out with. Still, we landed in Boston around midnight and didn't get to bed until 1:30 or so. Saturday was unpleasant because it rained all day long, and the temperature didn't get above 60°F all day long. We were soaking wet. Enough said. Sunday was a compromise between Friday and Saturday. Still chilly, but not as wet. Still got to bed late (12:30), but at least the flight was on time.

On to the good parts (which are always so much harder to articulate and write about!)
I got to play 7 games with a team I love against fun, spirited teams. I have a lot to work on, but I'm mostly happy with how I played. I think this goes for the team as well. We managed to play in the A bracket on Sunday, and broke seed, finishing 13th instead of 16th (I think).

A huge thank-you to Rob's mom for hosting all 20 of us. She cooked us all kinds of amazing food (the highlights being chili and barbequed chicken) and helped us get cleaned up and dried off when we returned from the fields. (I can't imagine trying to deal with all of our wet stuff in a hotel room - we probably would have suffocated.)
Thanks also to our illustrious captains for their leadership and encouragement on the field and their organization off the field. Thanks to Rob and Michelle for driving me to and from Baltimore, and thanks to Rachel for doing laundry.

Sad I'm missing Poultry Days. Can't wait for Potlatch.

Potential Energy. Potential Career.

I'm hoping that a nice, active weekend will make up for what felt like a lazy, low-energy week. I was sick on Monday and Tuesday, so yoga and BRDM practice didn't go so well. Wednesday's climbing excursion with Scott and Nina was fun, and Thursday's practice felt more productive. But I haven't gone to the gym or done a sprint workout this week... and I'm not doing anything today. I feel so antsy... too much pent-up energy. Maybe that's why I couldn't sleep last night. Maybe I can transfer all of this energy to the tournament this weekend. I'm leaving for the airport by 3:00 today, arriving in Boston by 7:30 tonight, and cleating up by 8:00 tomorrow morning.

Looking forward to:
- Lots of running around
- Nice, soft fields. These are the fields where I played my first tournament ever, during my sophomore year at Wellesley. It was the first time I had ever worn cleats, and I still remember how sharp they made my movements. No more skidding around on sneakers. A huge lightbulb - so THIS is why cleats exist!
- Team bonding. It's a great team.
- More running around.


My latest career musings... I'm thinking of studying graphic design. Or website design? I don't know much about these fields at all. User interface? Information architecture? Abstract art? I don't quite know where to start. I'll keep mulling. Input/advice always welcome!

Solving DC Problems - Vote today!

If you get a chance, go to this site to vote on the three best ways to solve some of DC's problems. You don't have to be a resident, but you do have to vote by midnight tonight.

Romesick

Feeling really homesick for Rome today. Would love to go back and visit the city, just for a few days. Maybe I'll go back next spring.

Dancing with WonderBred

From the Clique League tournament a few weeks ago. Fun!

92°F

As Paul says, "Je-Zus, it's hot." I concur, and I love it. I just stepped out for a photocopying/mailing/lunch excursion, and it felt so good. Days like today make me glad I'm a woman who works in a casual office and gets to wear sleeveless sundresses. And I'm glad my office has a shower, because I took a nice cold one after I got to work pretty sticky.

Ballet, Take 3

Alright, Scott just bought tickets for us to go see Sleeping Beauty in June. I've never seen Sleeping Beauty in its entirety. And it's being performed by the Royal Ballet, one of the best companies in the world. This will be the third Tchaikovsky ballet we've planned to see in the past six months, so wish us luck!

Enter Pirates.

A lovely weekend, punctuated by pirates.

1. Chris and Alissa arrived on Thursday night, bearing gifts of french roast coffee, fresh produce from a Maryland farm stand, and a Jolly Roger that Chris picked up from "The Flag Guy" in New Haven. So exciting! I've never owned my own Jolly Roger before! We had a quiet night at home - cooked dinner, met Ross the New Subletter, bought a video at Blockbuster (because they only rent DVDs nowadays), and enjoyed cantelope and champagne.

2. We'd planned on a picnic dinner and live jazz in the sculpture garden for Friday, but a bunch of rain canceled those plans. Instead, we had a Chinatown Express fresh noodle dinner and saw X-Men. And I got to see the preview for the next Pirates of the Caribean movie! This time, there are not only ghost pirates. There are fish-ghost-pirates. Can't wait to see it! X-3 was good - I haven't seen either of the first two, so Alissa filled me in on what was going on and who was who.

3. On Saturday, the weather was nice, and we managed to get our picnic dinner/Shakespeare in the Park in. The play was Pericles, and one of the (many) absurd plot twists was a band of pirates kidnapping a girl who was about to be killed. A fun moment in a really fun production.

No pirates on Sunday, to my memory. Chris and Alissa took off in the morning, and I went to church - my last chance to see my pastor who's resigning in June. I'm not sure what the conflict is, but I wish she weren't leaving. I think she's great. I wanted to do a track workout but couldn't find an open track, so I went to yoga instead, which was pretty nice. A little violin, and then up to Delafield.

Social networking

I joined Facebook last week *, and my sister added me as her friend this morning. I looked at her profile, and she has all these really nice photos of the two of us posted there. It was really sweet to see - I was just expecting a few shots of her friends and teammates, but there are a bunch of our family in there too. I'm not sure why it was a surprise; maybe I forgot that we love each other? We're really good friends, and really good roommates, but we're also sisters.


- Fall '04, the picture we ended up using on our Christmas card

I guess I'm being kind of sentimental. But that's OK sometimes, right? I mean, I do have strong sentiments for her!


- Winter '06, the night of the Minnesota party, recreating a photo taken when we were 4 and 6

Exactly 2 weeks from today, I'll be back home in Duluth, getting ready to celebrate young Fred's graduation. Definitely looking forward to it.


- Spring '06, at the joint birthday party for Margaret and my mom and I. Margo made the excellent carrot cake.

See you soon sis!


* I've been doing social network research at work, so I joined all kinds of cheesy "add me as a friend" sites. Have you seen MySpace lately? It's HUGE! Jeez! I had no idea! I'm so glad I play frisbee and have a strong offline social network.

10,000 Sheep

Along the same lines as yesterday's post. Hours of entertainment!

Infinite detail!

A really cool use of a fractal-concept in art. Just keep zooming in on any part of the picture.

Good tools make a big difference

Margaret and I cleaned last night. A nice, deep, summer-is-coming (along with weekend guests and a subletter) cleaning. It's kind of like Christmas - if it happened all the time, it wouldn't be special. The most exciting thing about this Cleaning was the vacuum cleaner. We borrowed our landlady's, which is eleven times more powerful than ours. It glows red when you turn it on, so you can see how powerful it is. And it has a hose attachment. For someone who lives with a cat and a carpeted kitchen, it is a godsend. I cleaned the bathroom, and for the first time in my life wished I had a mop. A mop would have been eleven times more effective than the kitchen sponge I was using to clean the floor.

Bell Crack tournament recap

It was a great weekend! LT and Sasha and I got off to a late start on Saturday morning and missed the first game... but after that it was great. We won one game that day and lost the others, but played well as a team - definitely improved over the course of the day. Sunny, windy weather. Absolutely gorgeous fields. Pizza and beer provided by the tournament at the end of the day, so we hung out and consumed, stretched, played games, napped, generally enjoyed each other's company. Eventually went back to the hotel, showered, made our way to an Italian place for a 9:30 dinner. I didn't get to bed until midnight, but I was up at 5 on Sunday morning with images of Ultimate already flashing through my mind - too impatient to play to be able to sleep, I guess. We lost both our games on Sunday, but continued to play really well.

I'm so excited to be on this team. At the last tournament, I was still a little nostalgic for Ono. But this weekend, I felt much more integrated into the BRDM family. And that was wonderful.

I'm mostly happy with how I played. My legs felt really weak, for some reason, like I couldn't get them out of first gear. Sprinting took a lot more effort than it usually does - I'd come off after a point and feel completely drained of energy. I'm not really sure why. But it's amazing how much energy I got from my teammates - watching them play hard and hearing them cheering on the sidelines. They made a huge difference. Thanks guys! In terms of my goals from last Friday: I didn't layout. I dropped the disc more than I should have. I wish I'd been able to sprint more consistently, but I'm glad I was still working hard at it during the end of our last game. My cuts were alright, not spectacular. I'm definitely impatient for practice this week and for our next tournament (Easterns, in Boston, June 3-4).

52 hours until Scott gets home!

One more list...

10 hours until the first game
5 days until Scott returns
3 weeks until I go home
1 month until Kate and Jaime's wedding

Good luck Paul!

Paul's running a marathon this weekend! Go Paul!!

Lists

Things to do after work:
- Pack for the tournament
- Make a batch of energy bars (for the tournament)
- Meet Margaret for dinner at the Diner

Things to pack
Field things:
- Cleats!
- Socks, socks, and more socks.
- Shorts, or a skirt and spandex. Hmm.
- Dark and white jerseys.
- Sports bra.
- Pants, long-sleeved shirt, rain jacket.
- Ibuprofin, sunscreen, nail clippers, sports tape.
- Nalgene, apples, energy bars, ginger snaps.
- Cowbell.
- A frisbee. An orange or blue one, so I'm less likely to lose it.
Other things:
- Pajamas, toothbrush, shampoo.
- Jeans, t-shirt, hoodie.
- Directions to the three Dairy Queens located within five miles of our hotel.
- CDs for the car: The Wellesley Whiptails mix, and the Duluth Ultimate Soundtrack, volumes 1 and 2.
- Phone, charger, wallet

Goals for the weekend?
- Don't drop the disc.
- Make real cuts.
- Layout. (Yeah right!)
- Sprint hard, from the first point of the first game Saturday until the last point of the last game Sunday.

Not too much to report. But I'll report it anyways.

Sunday.
The great room cleaning of May 2006 was a success! I told myself that I couldn't call Scott until the place was shipshape.

Monday.
A great pilates class in the morning, a productive day at work, and an enjoyable evening at the climbing gym. Liz came along for the first time and did fabulously. Margaret was home by the time I got back, so I got to chat with her for a few minutes.

Tuesday.
Woke up thinking it was Wednesday, which means BRDM practice. Alas, practice was still 36 hours away. A sort of productive day at work. Went to the gym and had a decently hard workout. Wrote haikus to Scott, who is out of phone and e-mail contact until Friday night. Sometimes it's fun to be pining, you know? Tonight I get my first taste of The Vegetable Garden, where Liz is celebrating her birthday. My gift to her is The Gotan Project's new album, Lunatico. I just downloaded it this week, and I love it. Dad, I'm sending you a copy too - it reminds me a little of Talking Timbuktu and Laurie Anderson.

A messy room on a rainy day.

I'm sitting in the middle of a very messy room, mine, contemplating the next step of cleaning it. I've already dragged everything out of my closet, packed away the winter clothes, thrown away the dead running shoes, and reorganized the remaining items. It's sort of funny how much my wardrobe needs have changed since I (a) started riding my bike everywhere and (b) stopped working at Walter Reed. I don't wear "nice" clothes anymore. My uniform used to be a neat Italian skirt, a black top, and a scarf. Now it's jeans (the loose ones that I can bike in, not the tight Saturday night ones) and a tank top. Maybe a necklace if I think of it. I only miss my dressier clothes a little bit. As in, it might be nice to have non-casual Fridays.

I've been working on this mess on and off since I got up this morning. I took a break to go to church, and then I did a track workout. And sometime during the afternoon I got to talk to Scott and my mom. My mom is in the car with Dad and Fred, in the early stages of a 10-hour drive from Kansas to Minnesota. They had gone down on Friday to see Margo race in collegiate nationals. She had really strong races on both Saturday and Sunday... except she got a flat tire right at the end of Saturday's race, and she had a pretty bad crash on the last lap of Sunday's crit. Bad enough that she had to go to the ER for her road rash. I feel so bad that she wasn't able to complete either one; my parents said she probably would have finished in the top 10, which is SO cool. I'm definitely proud of her for being a competitor!

But apart from church and my phone calls, I really haven't talked to anyone today. It's good though. I need to get my room organized - there have been piles on the floor for months and months and months now. And the next 5 weekends are going to be super fun, but not super restful. I feel like it's a little day of meditation before summer sets in. I get to sit on my floor, lotus-style, listen to the rain fall and Elsa sneeze (she's exceptionally sneezy today, which is strange and pretty cute), and sift through papers - last summer's calendar, recipes, bank statements, birthday cards, lots of memories of what I've been up to. I'm pretty bad at organizing this stuff. I mean, I let it pile up for so long before doing anything about it, and then when I DO sit down to do something about it, I end up just blogging about it.

Right. I'll get back to work.

Happy Birthday Minnesota!

From The Writer's Almanac

On this day, in 1858 the state of Minnesota was admitted into the Union. It's the home of the world's largest Paul Bunyan statue, and it was from Minnesotans that we got the stapler, water skis, and roller blades—not to mention Scotch tape, Bisquick, and Spam.

A nice day so far. In fact, the past 15 hours have been lovely. BRDM practice was good and productive, despite my legs feeling super tight. I stopped at home to say hi to Elsa and then headed up to Delafield for one last dinner with Scott before Guatemala steals him away. We got up at 5 am. He left for the airport, which gave me an hour's worth of coffee, breakfast and New Yorker before a really wonderful 6:30 yoga class.

Elsa the Cat

Cats and Dogs

I don’t entirely trust people without pets. Sure, they may have allergies, busy schedules, an aversion to fur balls on the white carpet or suspicious paw prints across the kitchen counter. But caring for an animal gives a person something unique, a centered balance that affects each aspect of life.

My sister and I have been fostering Elsa, one of the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina. She's a wonderful little thing, affectionate and playful and surprisingly vocal, and we're happy to foster her as long as she needs it. But she deserves a permanent home. If you know of anyone who could use a cat, let me know!

From the adoption website:

Elsa is a curious and friendly cat who came to 4Paws after surviving Hurricane Katrina. After spending the first two days hiding in the tiniest of places, Elsa relaxed and became very open and affectionate.

Elsa likes plenty of human contact although she is too young to be truly a lap cat—probably less than a year old. The bedraggled cat has developed into a healthy one with an appetite for wet and dry food and now looks sleek and well nourished.

Elsa likes to play with anything that rattles and that she can bat about. Although she seems happier to be the only cat in the room, she has spent several months in one room with her step-sister, Heather, from Mississippi so she could certainly co-exist and probably befriend another cat. Elsa demands plenty of petting, and wants to sleep on your chest or even share your pillow. If you’re looking for a second cat to keep your cat company because you’re not home enough, she’s not the cat for you.

Elsa is spayed; tested negative for Feline Leukemia and Feline AIDS; and current on vaccines.

(I beg to differ with the "not a lap cat" comment. She loves sitting on our laps!)

a brief reprieve

Guess who missed his flight and has to spend one more night in DC before heading down to Guatemala?

It's a good day for other reasons too... like the burrito lunch Paul and I had on the grass at McPherson Square, and the BRDM practice coming up in an hour and a half. I'm still sore from Monday's track workout, but I can't wait to get out and play. It's gorgeous out today!

Adieu!

Margo leaves tonight. She'll be gone a week, first heading to Duluth for a fellowship interview and then down to Kansas for collegiate cycling Nationals. Good luck sis!

Scott leaves tomorrow morning for a two-week trip to Guatemala.

I miss this!

Here's a NYT slideshow and article about girls in New York who have cerebral palsy and who are learning ballet. I got to help teach a similar class when I was in high school, and it was wonderful. I wonder if there's anything like this in DC. I'd love to do it again.

Here's a short article from Boing Boing about a Dairy Queen ukelele!

Climbing last night was fantastic. Finally met up with my friend Adrian and his friend Aaron - we've been talking about climbing together for a year now. I felt like I learned to move more slowly and deliberately, which is good. 5.7's are still challenging, but I know that I can finish them. 5.8's are almost attainable, depending on how tired I am. Wish I were going back tonight!

Weekend plans - Cinco de Mayo margaritas with the Wellesley ultimate alums tonight, and then some violin I think. Tomorrow a bunch of us are heading to Baltimore to watch the Kinetic Sculpture Race. After that, we'll go to Blob's Park where they have traditional German food, hundreds of beers, live polka music, and a big dance floor. I'm most excited for that last item. Sunday = BRDM practice, which I'm definitely impatient for.

I'm such a sucker for tournaments.

Just bought tickets to Boston for the weekend of June 3rd. I couldn't help myself. It will be a busy month, but what would I rather be doing with myself? I also told Jeremy and Jerry that I'd play in the Clique C League tournament in a few weeks. I'm excited - WonderBred is a super fun team that I haven't seen enough of lately.

On the Fred Front, he told me today that his classmates elected him to be the student speaker at their Baccalaureate this June. He'll be great. What's really cool is that he also spoke at my Baccalaureate seven years ago. The fifth graders, the youngest students at Marshall, wrote down their hopes and wishes for the graduating seniors. Fred was the one who got to read them to us.

On the Job Front, here's a NYT article about being able to withdraw cash from real world ATMS from a virtual world. And here's an editorial about it.

On the Things That Make Me Happy front, Scott and I are going climbing tonight! I haven't gone for a week and a half now, which feels like forever. BRDM practice last night felt wonderful, depsite being sore from Tuesday's track workout. I caught things that I usually don't. Scott and I had dinner at Astor afterwards. Kebabs and greek salads. Mmm.

I have tickets to Potlatch!

I got to play in a tournament over the weekend, and I just bought my tickets to go out for Potlatch in Seattle in July. It feels like summer (i.e. the Ultimate season) is really starting now!

The tournament this weekend was a little frustrating because it was so windy. It's just demoralizing when basic things like throws and catches don't work as well as they're supposed to. Nonetheless, our team had fabulous spirit from the first point on Saturday morning to the last one on Sunday afternoon, it was sunny and dry, and we got to hang out in a gorgeous, enormous beach house. Highlights – walking down to the Atlantic with Aaron and Charles on Saturday after our games and inspecting the horseshoe crabs; coffee and pancakes from the little deli in town; a nice little inside-out forehand I threw to Shamik (I have an awful memory for plays, but for some reason this one stuck in my head.); playing with Ono on Sunday afternoon (I love my current team, BRDM, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss Ono!); and, because I really am this sappy, getting to watch Scott play.

Pretty impatient for another tournament. Hopefully I’ll get to go to Bell Crack in Philly in two weeks! Probably won’t go to Mixed Easterns in Boston, as there are already a bunch of women going. No Poultry Days (Versailles, Ohio) this summer because it’s the same weekend as Fred’s graduation. But then there’s Potlatch in Seattle at the end of June, Wildwood (New Jersey) at the end of July, and maybe Chesapeake Open (here) at the end of August… unless I’m in Minnesota then.

Not much other news. But here’s a picture of my brother on his way to Prom! He’s second from the left, in the bowtie.

The Midweek Update

Climbing on Monday night was phenomenal. Scott and I went with Nathan, who I’ve met once before when we all went tango dancing, and Rachel, who I just met that night and who made a great climbing partner. I felt nice and strong and was much closer to completing some routes that were pretty inaccessible the last time I went. Yay!

I did a track workout on Tuesday - I don’t think it took as long as last week’s – it was a bunch of short sprints, between 20 and 100 meters, instead of all those 400’s, but it certainly felt harder. I guess it’s because I’m just not used to that kind of workout. The Cardozo track right by my house was open, so I got to use that instead of the one up by Scott’s house. I had forgotten how much nicer (softer) it is. My warm-up laps felt like moon walking!

I spent the rest of the night at Scott’s house. We watched Walk the Line, which was a pretty good substitute for Swan Lake. Every time I woke up during the night, I had Johnny Cash music in my head. Not a bad thing – I really like it and am thinking of downloading some.

Tonight I’m off to a Josh Ritter conert – Aaron spearheaded the outing, and convinced Jesseca, Liz, Scott and I to join him. We’re missing BRDM practice on a beautiful evening, but I’m pretty sure it will be worth it.

Tomorrow… climbing or violin? I should practice. I haven’t practiced since Sunday, and I’m going to a tournament this weekend, so I won’t have another opportunity to practice until Monday. Also, going climbing means getting to bed pretty late; I’m already a behind on sleep this week and certainly won’t get caught up this weekend! But climbing is so fun, so addictive. We’ll see what my muscles have to say about it tomorrow.

Good Monday Morning News

Jesseca passed her exams, and Alissa and Chris found a beautiful little house to move into this summer. Hooray!

My sister was racing all weekend, but I haven't seen her yet. Hopefully the rain didn't make things completely miserable for them...

Practicing Handel instead of handling

One of the nicest things I did this weekend was practice my violin. Wet fields suddenly opened up my Sunday afternoon schedule (BRDM practice was canceled), so I played the violin for two hours. I surprised myself - I expected to get sore or frustrated after 20 minutes, but in fact it felt wonderful. My brand new D string is still getting stretched out, so I had to retune it between every piece, and sometimes in the middle of a piece, but besides that my instrument sounded good.

Last night I dreamt about playing. I heard this story on NPR, about a violin exhibit at the Library of Congress, and I dreamt that my violin was on display there. I was visiting it, and even though the library had just closed, the librarian let me take it out and play it. My alarm went off just as I was trying to tune the D string.

I'm impatient to play again, but I'm going climbing tonight instead.


Another nice thing I did this weekend - danced in the kitchen with Scott while we made dinner and an apple pie to celebrate his birthday.

This Friday feels like a Monday.

Remember how in December I was really looking forward to The Nutcracker but then it was canceled and we couldn't go?

You know how I was really looking forward Swan Lake next week? I just found out:

MATTHEW BOURNE'S SWAN LAKE

Cancelled

The producers of Matthew Bourne's SWAN LAKE -- Back Row Productions and NETworks Presentations in association with New Adventures -- informed the Warner Theatre on April 20, 2006 that the international touring production of the show will be going on hiatus effective April 24, 2006, thereby canceling the planned engagement at the Warner Theatre. Future engagements for the show are planned for Paris, London, Australia and Moscow.

Business Week cover story

A big story about Second Life. Yay for more coverage in mainstream media!

Climbing, climbing, climbing, I get to go climbing tonight!

Turtles, turtles, turtles, I get to see (not be) Trampled by Turtles tomorrow!

Exciting news at work today.
1. It's our birthday! A year ago today, The Electric Sheep Company was incorporated in Delaware.
2. We trying out a Skype-like program in Second Life, which enables an avatar to call himself in Real Life. Crazy!

Big things of the world can only be achieved by attending to their small beginnings. -Lao-Tzu

I did a track workout last night, by myself. I wasn't sure I'd be able to. Running 400m ten times is a daunting task, particularly when you're out of shape from a winter of not playing, and you've got nothing but your conscience to make you do them. Add to that the fact that I hate 400's with a passion, and you'll see why I was fairly certain I'd come up with an excuse for myself to get out of doing them.

But no! Miraculously, I did the workout!

After work, I went home and got changed. Then I got myself to the track. I got warmed up and stretched out. I ran the first three 400's. And then I ran two more and was halfway done. A little while later, I had only two more to go. And then, somehow, I was on my last one! My body hurt, but I finished! (Many, many thanks, by the way, to Jerry for supplying the soundtrack. I listened to a fantastic dance mix he gave me last year. Definitely more fun to think about dancing than about pounding down the track!)


An hour before The Workout, I was in a state of absolute dread. I was almost in tears on the bike ride to the track. But an hour after it was finished, I was kind of wanted to go back and do it again. Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

Although "adrenaline junkie" is usually used facetiously without any genuine implication of addiction, there may be an element of truth to the term. Many of the key elements of addiction are present in the behaviour of an adrenaline junkie:

1. An altered state of consciousness (in this case called an "adrenaline rush") causes desirable physiological and psychological effects.
2. The altered state eventually disappears, leaving a "crash" in its wake, usually involving feelings of disappointment and depression.
3. During the crash phase, craving for another rush manifests itself, prompting a search for a new rush.

This creates a pattern which is reminiscent of the classical addiction cycle.

An adrenaline rush is usually accompanied by an increase in endorphin activity. Endorphins are responsible for feelings of well being, as well as pain relief. Due to synaptic plasticity, increased endorphin activity creates an increase in endorphin receptor sites, which in turn can create a stronger desire for endorphins. Synaptic plasticity and receptor site proliferation are widely believed to be the mechanisms by which chemical addictions are developed.

However, the same can be said for any endorphin-stimulating activity, whether laughter, physical exertion, artistic expression, religious experience, or sexual intercourse. Although synaptic plasticity may responsible for chemical addictions, it is also believed to be involved in reinforcement, the mechanism by which animals learn to differentiate what is desirable from what is undesirable. Seen in this context, chemical addiction could simply be seen as an aberrant form of plasticity.

Although the effects of adrenaline is largely positive, increasing cardiovascular activity and oxygenation, extended or chronic adrenal stimulation can eventually lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and other stress-related diseases.

Instead of feeding the addiction, I fed my body. Margo had never been to Pasta Mia, so I took her there for a birthday dinner. It was excellent, and we had to wait just long enough to allow me to get hungry. We got gnocchi and ravioli, half a liter of the house red and, of course, tiramisu. Happy birthday Sis!

Jazz in the Garden starts May 26

Mark your calendars!

Enjoy summer evenings of jazz in the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden from May 26–September 15, 2006. Every Friday evening from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., rain or shine, experience an eclectic mix of top Washington-area jazz artists. Concerts take place in front of the Pavilion Café next to the grand reflecting pool and fountain. The café also offers a seasonal light fare menu and cold beverages during the Friday evening series. Sculpture Garden hours are extended to 9:30 p.m. on these nights.

Easter Weekend

A quick recap...

Lauriol Plaza after work on Friday was great. Good company, good sangria, AND we got to sit right next to the tortilla-making machine. Darn cool. I went to the Good Friday service after that - my first in a few years. It's a somber affair, but it felt good to go. I rounded out the night at Delafield; Scott and I put ingredients into the bread machine so that we could have fresh bread for breakfast and played Scrabble.

My father's daughter, I got up early on Saturday for coffee and some reading. Saturday morning might be my favorite time of the week. I spent the afternoon running errands and doing chores and then met Scott down at the National Gallery to see the Dada exhibit. We only got through a few galleries before it closed, but I'm not quite interested enough to go back. First I want to see the Housaki show at the Sackler. The gallery closed at 5, and it was absolutely gorgeous outside, so we laid down on the Mall and worked on the crossword puzzle for a little while.

We went climbing later on, but we arrived late and the gym closes early on Saturdays, so I didn't get to do much. I did buy a pair of climbing shoes for myself so that I won't have to rent them anymore! They're nice and tight and barely comfortable. After pointe shoes and cleats, though, I can't imagine what other damage they can inflict on my feet. A trip to DQ, a meandering drive home listening to Johnny Cash on WETA, a collapse into bed.



On Sunday, I had breakfast with my sis, and then we went to the 10:30 Easter service. We got to sing all of my favorite Easter hymns, and it was so nice to see the church full of flowers after being stripped bare on Friday. Such an uplifting service. BRDM practice that afternoon went well, but I should have worn sunscreen. Am definitely feeling the effects today!


An interesting tidbit from the Writer's Almanac:

The word "Easter" comes from an ancient pagan goddess worshipped by Anglo Saxons named Eostre. According to legend, Eostre once saved a bird whose wings had frozen during the winter by turning the bird into a rabbit. Because the rabbit had once been a bird, it could still lay eggs, and that rabbit became our Easter Bunny.

Also, I'm thinking of volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. The next orientation meeting isn't until May 11th, so I won't be able to start for a little while. But I think it would be fun.

Swan Lake!

Only 11 days to go. Here are some dance videos to watch...

Thinking in Four Dimensions
The bottom video is the famous Four Little Swans variation, quite truncated. (The top video is a neat modern dance.)

From the Edinburgh International Festival
Video Clip 1 shows the Four Little Swans much more clearly.

Wiki has a few videos, towards the bottom of the page.
Two pas de deux, plus Odile's 32 fouettes!

A post for the sake of posting

A quiet, slow Friday. Looking forward to 5 pm when I get to meet up with Liz, Michelle and Jesseca. Only one drink for me, though, as I'd rather not be fuzzy-headed at the Good Friday service.

Did a track workout last night with Scott. I definitely would have skipped it if he hadn't ignored my whining and dragged me out. I'm really glad he did! I hate 400's... but when they're over the feeling of accomplishment is wonderful. I guess they'll make me faster and stronger on the field, and that could be a motivating factor in getting me to do them. But really it's the fact that the sooner I start, the sooner I'll finish, that gets me out there.

Waking up at 6:00 this morning to meet Liz for a 7:00 pilates class was about ten times easier.

No big plans for the weekend, besides attending an Easter service and BRDM practice. I might go shoe shopping; I want climbing shoes of my own.

What a boring post! My apologies. Go watch the Italian scooter ad again.

I Dream of Rimini

Tonight is the opening party of Paganello, a big beautiful international Beach Ultimate tournament in Italy. I got to go in '04 and '05, but not this year. I opted for Guatemala instead, and would do so again in a heartbeat. But that doesn't mean I'm not dying to be there right now!

On the Italian theme, here's a really terrific ad for an Italian scooter. Thanks for finding it Aaron!

Climbing Rocks!

I saw that on a tee-shirt, so I take no credit/blame for your groans.
I got to go climbing with Scott and Jack last night!
As usual, I can't wait to go again. I wasn't ready to leave at the end of the night, even though my muscles were like Jell-O. My hand and forearm muscles didn't tire nearly as quickly as they did on my first two excursions, and little by little, I feel like I'm getting the hang (if you will) of new moves. I'm going to get shoes and a harness for myself sometime soon...

Australian suicide dream

Crazy vivid dream sometime last night. Something about climbing beautiful sunny cliffs in Australia. The woman (I couldn't tell if it was me or not...) kept wanting to roll off into the ocean as some sort of beautiful, heroic suicide. Her partner (either me or Scott, I'm not sure...) kept preventing her from doing that, and they/we kept climbing to one more ledge. But eventually she rolled off and he followed her into the ocean.

And then we were ghosts together, but very tangible ghosts. And my cousin Jeremy was there warning us about the extremely dangerous guinea pigs. They'd attack and gnaw you or something, or maybe they were more like the bunny in Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail



A visually beautiful dream, but strange.

I was reading plot synopses of Swan Lake today, since Scott's taking me to see it later this month. Different productions give it different endings, but

In the version currently (2005) danced by American Ballet Theatre, Siegfried's mistaken pledge of fidelity to Odile consigns Odette to eternal swanhood. Realizing that her last moment of humanity is at hand, Odette commits suicide by throwing herself into the lake. The Prince does so as well. (From Wikipedia)

So maybe I had a Swan Lake dream last night?


I had another dream, a nice simple one. I dreamt that my left big toenail was no longer bruised and lumpy. It had miraculously shed its ugly top layer and was smooth and white. I didn't realize it was a dream until I changed my socks at the gym today and saw the offending toenail. It's going to take forever to grow out. Sigh.

Monday PM

I tried to practice my violin last night; it's one of those things I've been meaning to do for quite some time, and finally found the time, energy, motivation, lack of people to disturb, etc. Sadly, I took out my instrument and discovered I had a broken D string. So I picked up a new set of strings today after lunch (a nice kebab lunch with Team Dinner Party). Cheap, not the brand I usually get, but convenient. Good enough until I can order a nicer replacement online. Good enough to let me practice tonight! I'm excited!

We didn't get to go climbing over the weekend. It was pretty wet outside. But a lazy day at Delafield is nothing to sneeze at, especially when it involves baking banana bread and playing Scrabble.

Sunday was gorgeous. Palm Sunday service in the morning, first BRDM practice of the year in the afternoon.

Right now I'm waiting for immigrants' rights demonstrators to come marching past my office. Sixteenth Street is still open to traffic. I thought they'd close it by now.

Duluth!

Hey, I just bought my plane tickets to Duluth so that I can go see my brother graduate in June! Hooray!

AND it's Friday afternoon.
And it's not raining anymore.
And I might get to go climbing with Scott tomorrow. Outdoors!

Trampled by Turtles!

Hailing from Duluth, Minnesota, Trampled by Turtles (TBT) is an original, non-traditional bluegrass band whose raucous live performances put a unique spin on the genre, tweaking the tradition with their own mix of punk, alt-country, rock and pop.

Fredachi introduced me to this band, and as I was downloading some of their music this morning, I noticed that they're coming to DC (well, Arlington) on April 20th! There's more info on the IOTA Club and Cafe site. Yay Duluth bands!

IOTA is also hosting Cloud Cult, another Minnesota band, on the 16th. Yay for Minnesotan music!


I got to go climbing last night with Scott, Erin and Nina. I was tired and sore from a long-ish day at work but left the gym feeling rejuvinated. I was definitely tired and sore, but as the result of physical challenges instead of computer screens. As usual, I can't wait to go back.


On my bike to work this morning, I passed someone mowing a lawn. It smelled wonderful. It's so exciting that summer is on its way!

There

What I did at work today...



Here I am at an astrology gazebo in There.com, a virtual world sort of like Second Life.




Here's a view up a hill to the St. Louis Cathedral in Cabildos. I tried to go inside but couldn't find a functional door.




Here I am talking to another There.com resident. We're trying to figure out how to look up. I imagine this church has nice spires, but I really can't figure out how to raise my virtual head to look at things above eye level. Sadly, you can't fly in There.

220 of My Favorite Photos from Guatemala

I finally got my photos up and organized on Shutterfly.com!

The Sproats Go to Washington

The past weekend was pretty darn nice.

1) It started on Thursday night. My parents flew in, and Margaret and Scott and I met them at Coppi's for dinner. Margaret made friends with the owner and scored a free t-shirt when he discovered she's a cyclist. It was my parents' first time meeting Scott, an event that went well by all accounts. And, of course, the meal was excellent. It's organic Italian cuisine. If you live in DC and haven't been, go!

2) While my parents admired the peaking cherry blossoms, Scott and I drove down to Fredericksburg to join the Mighty Mighty Hurricanes (Amherst High School's alum team) at Fools Fest. I was nervous going into it - I hadn't played in months and wasn't looking forward to being rusty and out of shape. But I didn't feel all that bad after all - it would have been nearly impossible to feel bad under such great weather conditions and alongside such fun, spirited teammates. We played (and won) three games, and then

(3) Scott and I headed back to DC for another dinner with my family - this time a birthday celebration at Chez Limon for the women. Mom and I have March birthdays, and Margaret is an Aries. We arrived exhausted and hungry and very appreciative of my sister's vegetable lasagna. Carrot birthday cake, a little gift exchange (hooray for buying presents in Guatemala!), the Guatemala slideshow for Mom and Dad, and bed.

(4) Will kindly picked us up on Saturday morning for Day 2 of the tournament. Again, gorgeous weather, fabulous teammates. We won 2 of our 3 games and played really well all day long. We finished around 4 which meant we had a long time to crash at the hotel before the tournament party. Showering, eating pizza, watching the George Mason basketball game, napping.

(5) It's a good thing I volunteered to help out at the party. Otherwise I would have gone straight to bed and missed it entirely. Instead, Scott and Nick and I (Nick, who I met 5 years ago as a coworker at Explo and haven't heard from since!) headed downstairs where we poured beer for an hour. I managed to dance and socialize until 12:30, and then I was very done for the day.

(6) My parents came out to watch on Sunday! They saw our 14-13 win over Donkey Bomb and our 15-8 loss (but well-played loss) to the Brown University alums. It was really really wonderful to have them there - they haven't seen me play real (non-Duluth pickup) Ultimate before. They couldn't have picked nicer weather or a more exciting game to watch. Many thanks to my friends who chatted with them on the sidelines and filled them in on what was going on! My parents headed back to DC while the rest of us lingered - we had finals to watch, sun to soak, alcohol to consume.

(7) We stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home.

(8) Super quick showers before meeting the parents and sister at Tono Sushi in Woodley Park for dinner. Lovely! I often feel like I'd be friends with my family even if I weren't related to them. I wish we could have spent more time together... but I'll be heading home for Fred's graduation in June and will spend about a week there, so I'll get to see a lot of them then.

I feel like this list should extend to 10. So... 2 little post-weekend tack-ons.

(9) I went running after work yesterday, because I wanted to see the cherry blossoms one more time. They were beautiful, and they smelled beautiful. I was doubly glad I went when I did, because there was a big storm last night and the petals were all rained and blown down.

(10)Only three weeks now until Swan Lake! Scott's taking me since our Nutcracker date was such a sad failure.

Go Scott go!

This guy makes me so happy!

Almost as Cool as Pi Day

On Wednesday of this week, at two minutes and three seconds after one o'clock in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.

One more article

One more Sheep article - this is the best one I've seen so far that describes what our company does.