Dog days

Hello friends. I hope this blog entry finds you enjoying those crazy, hazy, lazy days of summer. I have been doing just the same for myself... well, at least for the last week and a half.

The summer began for me with a few shorts weeks off from classwork. Once May ended, though, I was back in the classroom for a summer course. Basically, for all of June - five days a week, 2 hours a day - I was taking a questionnaire design course. It was a very practical experience, but, man, was I constantly tired of reading, listening to lectures, and completing homework! The course itself was interesting, given that our instructor (a British woman) was teaching us through a projection screen (from U of Michigan). She could see and hear us, and vice versa. It was my first distance education experience, and I can see how that might have been a huge turn-off if we hadn't had such a dynamic instructor.

Since I've neglected you for so long, I should tell you that June was not just all work and no play. I spent a fun weekend mid-month at my friend Kristan's parents' home outside of Princeton, NJ. We spent the weekend sunning ourselves by the pool, eating really well, and walking/running through the neighborhoods. Beyond that, my friends Sacha and Douglas moved out this way at the end of the month. As well, I spent some time hanging out with Danny and seeing my cousins. We made it up to Baltimore for a street festival called "Hon Fest." And, early in June, Chris and I celebrated his birthday with a wonderful dinner in Georgetown.

Lots of other good, clean fun took place in June, but my memory is simply terrible. I do remember, though, the past week! On July 2, my parents came out to DC. We spent three days playing serious tourists. We walked a lot and saw Arlington National Cemetery and the Iwo Jima memorial. Then, we spent a day in Annapolis, where our time in the Maryland capitol city was complete with a boat ride along the river leading into the Chesapeake Bay. For the fourth of July, we went to the National Zoo. I have my love of zoos because of my folks, so I always am happy to visit one with them. We then grilled at Chris' place, walked around Georgetown, and watched the DC fireworks from the Key Bridge. My folks left Thursday, and on Saturday Chris' mom and step-dad came for a day, and the highlight of that for me was our outing to the Nats-Brewers game at RFK stadium. We got seats from the Post, so we sat three rows behind the home team's dugout. Sunday, Vinnie, Chris and I went into the city for the last day of the Smithsonian's folk life festival. All in all, I had a very tourist-y week of vacation.

I suppose that's enough for now. I didn't take any photos, but my mom and Chris' mom did... if I have any to share, I'll update the post :)