I Need More Weekends Like This One

For starters, I wasn't on-call for work. Yes, my crackberry did record a few alerts in general email but they weren't my issues to fix so I could let them go.

I spent much of Saturday helping friends move from one apartment to a somewhat larger apartment in the same campus complex. (I think this is the third time I've helped them move over the years.) They had already packed most items in the days previous and were using movers to schlep the furniture and heaviest items, but I was among the small team of friends who were entrusted with the more delicate, treasured and/or intimate of their possessions, to ensure all everything arrived intact. Let's face it: we all have items which are too personal to show to complete strangers but at the same time wouldn't want to have revealed to our mother.

The move itself took most of the morning and all of the afternoon. The light drizzle didn't help but I'm at least happy that it wasn't raining or snowing and that it was cool but not cold. The old apartment was on the third floor; the new apartment was on the ground floor but still have a half-flight up to the building's main entrance and a corresponding half-flight down to the apartment door. In all, I got a lot of exercise, probably more than I've had in a year.

And it was actually fun. I haven't seen Skip & Josh in a while so I was very happy to have some time with them, even if working. I personally think it an honour to be entrusted with a friend's more delicate and/or intimate possessions. And the exercise was welcome, even if I needed a hot tub, a massage and a manicure following.

cuyahogarvr and our delightful guest, Karen, spent the day being touristy around town. After dinner, I casually suggested we might pop out to Bethesda for gelato. I was slightly deafened by the sonic boom created when both grabbed shoes & coats at mach 3. Despite the extreme difficulty in finding parking in Bethesda that evening --our preferred municipal parking garage was full-- and the gelato place was practically cleaned out --apparently, HQ didn't think there would be much demand on a cold, rainy day-- we still managed to have a dish each before returning home.

This morning, cuyahogarvr, Karen and I piled into the PrincessMobile to head to Rehoboth Beach, DE. Traffic was light and driving conditions were superb: clear blue skies, moderate temperatures, no snow or slush. We did miscalculate a little in that the town was abuzz with their annual polar bear dip in the Atlantic in support of the Special Olympics. There was little parking to be found but from prior visits we knew of a municipal lot adjacent to the community center which had space available.

The disappointments kept on coming though: the seafood restaurant over which cuyahogarvr and Karen were salivating was closed for the season. Their next pick was closed for February. Our preferred chocolate shop at which we were prepared to spend millions thousands hundreds a significant amount of money was also closed, despite their web site indicating they would be open for business per usual. I briefly considered throwing cuyahogarvr through the window and grabbing everything I could reach, but opted against because I'd then have to kill several thousand witnesses. It would be messy.

In the end, we had a lovely lunch at the Seafood Cafe, then bought chocolate at a competing store; they didn't have exactly what we wanted but it was close enough and they had the virtue of being open. We also collected some red velvet cake and double-chocolate muffins at a nearby coffee shop.

The drive home was a little sluggish at first because of the exodus from Rehoboth Beach at the end of the polar bear event, but we made good time on the highway home.

This evening, I went to a planning meeting for the upcoming ACDC 2011, the Advanced & Challenge square dance festival in downtown DC coming up Feb 18-20. We're currently at 114 registrants, higher than we've had in a while. Our hotel room-block is full. All else seems to be in order for the weekend. We also worked out the slate of callers we'd like for 2012 and 2013... now we just have to check around to see if they're available.

I Need More Weekends Like This One

For starters, I wasn't on-call for work. Yes, my crackberry did record a few alerts in general email but they weren't my issues to fix so I could let them go.

I spent much of Saturday helping friends move from one apartment to a somewhat larger apartment in the same campus complex. (I think this is the third time I've helped them move over the years.) They had already packed most items in the days previous and were using movers to schlep the furniture and heaviest items, but I was among the small team of friends who were entrusted with the more delicate, treasured and/or intimate of their possessions, to ensure all everything arrived intact. Let's face it: we all have items which are too personal to show to complete strangers but at the same time wouldn't want to have revealed to our mother.

The move itself took most of the morning and all of the afternoon. The light drizzle didn't help but I'm at least happy that it wasn't raining or snowing and that it was cool but not cold. The old apartment was on the third floor; the new apartment was on the ground floor but still have a half-flight up to the building's main entrance and a corresponding half-flight down to the apartment door. In all, I got a lot of exercise, probably more than I've had in a year.

And it was actually fun. I haven't seen Skip & Josh in a while so I was very happy to have some time with them, even if working. I personally think it an honour to be entrusted with a friend's more delicate and/or intimate possessions. And the exercise was welcome, even if I needed a hot tub, a massage and a manicure following.

cuyahogarvr and our delightful guest, Karen, spent the day being touristy around town. After dinner, I casually suggested we might pop out to Bethesda for gelato. I was slightly deafened by the sonic boom created when both grabbed shoes & coats at mach 3. Despite the extreme difficulty in finding parking in Bethesda that evening --our preferred municipal parking garage was full-- and the gelato place was practically cleaned out --apparently, HQ didn't think there would be much demand on a cold, rainy day-- we still managed to have a dish each before returning home.

This morning, cuyahogarvr, Karen and I piled into the PrincessMobile to head to Rehoboth Beach, DE. Traffic was light and driving conditions were superb: clear blue skies, moderate temperatures, no snow or slush. We did miscalculate a little in that the town was abuzz with their annual polar bear dip in the Atlantic in support of the Special Olympics. There was little parking to be found but from prior visits we knew of a municipal lot adjacent to the community center which had space available.

The disappointments kept on coming though: the seafood restaurant over which cuyahogarvr and Karen were salivating was closed for the season. Their next pick was closed for February. Our preferred chocolate shop at which we were prepared to spend millions thousands hundreds a significant amount of money was also closed, despite their web site indicating they would be open for business per usual. I briefly considered throwing cuyahogarvr through the window and grabbing everything I could reach, but opted against because I'd then have to kill several thousand witnesses. It would be messy.

In the end, we had a lovely lunch at the Seafood Cafe, then bought chocolate at a competing store; they didn't have exactly what we wanted but it was close enough and they had the virtue of being open. We also collected some red velvet cake and double-chocolate muffins at a nearby coffee shop.

The drive home was a little sluggish at first because of the exodus from Rehoboth Beach at the end of the polar bear event, but we made good time on the highway home.

This evening, I went to a planning meeting for the upcoming ACDC 2011, the Advanced & Challenge square dance festival in downtown DC coming up Feb 18-20. We're currently at 114 registrants, higher than we've had in a while. Our hotel room-block is full. All else seems to be in order for the weekend. We also worked out the slate of callers we'd like for 2012 and 2013... now we just have to check around to see if they're available.

New Toy!

The DC Lambda Squares has purchased a new mixer/amp combo for our club nights and weekend festivals. To this point, we've been using Hilton amp/mixer turntables; while none of our club callers actually use vinyl any longer, the turntables are perfectly good for mixing a music feed from our laptops with two active microphones.

The newer unit is vastly smaller and lighter, making it easier to transport and requiring less space on the caller's table. Being able to have four callers connect in simultaneously is a huge win for us as well. The lack of moving parts also leads me to think it may have a longer working lifetime than the older turntables.

I can't wait to use it this coming weekend when we're teaching a Mainstream class!

New Toy!

The DC Lambda Squares has purchased a new mixer/amp combo for our club nights and weekend festivals. To this point, we've been using Hilton amp/mixer turntables; while none of our club callers actually use vinyl any longer, the turntables are perfectly good for mixing a music feed from our laptops with two active microphones.

The newer unit is vastly smaller and lighter, making it easier to transport and requiring less space on the caller's table. Being able to have four callers connect in simultaneously is a huge win for us as well. The lack of moving parts also leads me to think it may have a longer working lifetime than the older turntables.

I can't wait to use it this coming weekend when we're teaching a Mainstream class!