Category: Weekend Update!

Friday was the start of my fall semester. This is both exciting and tragic. It’s tragic because losing Friday nights (and selected Saturdays) tends to put a damper on fun, especially if those nights full of potent potential are replaced with sitting in a classroom. The start of the semester is exciting because there are only two semesters left of this feisty MBA; that means the countdown is on. As of right now, I have a mere 29 classes left. That’s 156 hours. Look out friends… we’re close. Friday was okay. I love the professor of my Organizational Change course, but it’s still course work. And like a college shower, the classrooms at RPI have the unfortunate characteristic of being either Way too hot, or Way too cold. Friday was way too cold.

One good thing about class in Hartford is that it’s amazingly close to Darcy’s house. Post class I met up with Darcy and Schuyler. They introduced me to the fantastic Jobonga and we all hit up Plan B for burgers. Have I talked about Plan B before? Oh man. It’s a place in West Hartford and they really know how to make some delicious foods. If you’re a CT resident or a lover of beef, you must must must check it out.

Saturday, I worked. Afterwards, I zipped up to Darcy’s yet again. This time to meet with Vivienne and James. We did some crafts, ate Ethiopian food, and watched some movies. It was a welcome release after a day of work.

On Sunday I went to the New Britain American Art Museum with Dr. Scott. There was an exhibit on Chihuly’s glass work. Whew. That guy can Glass it up. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take pictures of the glass exhibit, but there was this cup exhibit which was pretty impressive. The photo doesn’t quite do it, but it certainly gives an idea of the glory.

Art can be pretty fun, I need to spend more time at museums.

Unfortunately, despite the beautiful beautiful weather, I really didn’t get outside much yesterday. There was some mighty climbing going on, but I felt like I needed something with a little less time requirement. Frisbee would have been perfect or perhaps just a BBQ on the grass with friends. Sadly neither of these things came to pass. Next time good weather rolls through, I’ll have to plan a picnic.

This weekend had too many highlights to point out a single all encompassing winner. It’s like a chili contest too close to call; everyone might have a specific favorite but each chili has its own unique quality that pushes it past delicious. This weekend started with a Friday night of guitar and a fun visit to Tony and Paulette. Saturday kicked off with a Kung Fu class where I was promoted to Brown belt (picture pending) and concluded with a fun dinner out with Darcy and Kate at Plan B in West Hartford. Sunday, I visited the family and then ventured over to Kurt’s house warming party.

Oh man! What a house! There’s a game room which immediately reminded me of this. It has dark walls, huge soft couches, and a fireplace that bring a sort of mysticism to the room. At the party Ian owned me in Horseshoes and I got an opportunity to talk a bit to Math Tim about prime numbers. You very well may see a new mathy link show up in features this week. Also at this party was a whole ton of Meat. Crazy amounts. Kurt manned the grill like a champ providing all sorts of meats to the guests. Oh, and needn’t I forget the baked beans. Whew.

After more chatting and more fooding, I departed and promptly got dinner with the folks. Eventually returning to CT for Labor Day proper.

I was hoping to start off with some climbing, but it didn’t happen. What did happen was some more wakeboarding. I went out with Brandon, Jesse, and John. I saw some fantastic improvement from my first attempts. I consistently got out of the water and started maneuvering more comfortably around the wake. Hopefully I’ll have some video by the end of the week.

After wakeboarding, I went tubing. This was… more than just a ride. It was a trip of insanity. Brandon was driving and was effectively trying to get me to fall off. After about 5 minutes he succeeded. I was thrown from the tube and bounced across the water like a well thrown pebble. As I pulled my beaten body back onto the boat, I looked down at my arm to see a streak of bloodied bruised flesh. This battle wound surely came from the moment when I was first flung into a spin, I lost both of my hand grips but whipped my arm around the tube itself in time to maintain some control. My full body was in the water, just a single limb desperately draped across the tube keeping me on. Yes, it was an awesome awesome ride.