recent tracks:

Halloween Weekend

It has been a horizon-broadening weekend.

Friday evening Summer and I attended the Brown Official Grad School Halloween Party. To save our preplanned costumes, we went as priests (picture forthcoming). It was ok, but not the best.

Saturday morning we took Kristen to Lincoln Park to rescue a greyhound. While the experience unexpectedly took five hours, it was fun helping Kristen find a good match, and in the process I realized that I probably wouldn't mind having a greyhound as a pet...they don't have the doggish qualities that I dislike, but do seem to develop the whole loyalty thing, which is a nice quality. Kristen narrowly picked my favorite of the bunch, Ozzum Freeway (Ozzie), over Sponge Bob, who peed on me twice. We're heading back Thursday evening to actually pick Ozzie up.

Saturday afternoon Kristen took us out for a thank you lunch and then we all went to Petco, Kristen to prepare for Ozzie and Summer and I to get the growing-up-oh-so-quickly Nory a collar and tag (and a feather teaser).

Saturday evening we went to the Brown Neuroscience Halloween Party, this time as Artie, the Strongest Man--in the World! and a demented Precious Moments figurine (picture forthcoming). The latter costume was well-appreciated by those who got it, but NO ONE got my costume. In fact, generally those people who asked responded with something passive agressive and snotty, like, "Oh, I never watched tv as a kid. I read books." This was probably even more grating than it sounds. But I ate some snacks, admired the other costumes, and Summer and I got home in time to watch SNL.

This morning Summer and I got up confused about the time difference, had cereal, and picked up the apartment a bit. I dropped her off at the hospital to participate in an fMRI study and then sped down the beautiful extraurban Rhode Island highways, resplendant with the changing leaves, to Jamestown for the Jack-O-Lantern Jog. I'm still not sure why I was as nervous as I was. But nervous I was. I managed to pick up my number and my t-shirt (which is pretty amazing), and get to the start like everyone else, but got a little more nervous when I heard people discussing the difficulty of the course. Turns out just about everything except the last 200m or so was uphill (the course didn't start and finish at the same place). I didn't have a watch or any way of knowing what distance I'd gone, so I started too quickly, chugged along as others passed me, then came across a dad riding alongside his son on a bike telling the kid that everything from then on was downhill, so I went into a sprint and passed a few people, finishing around 26 minutes. It was a fun experience, and I have a number I should be able to improve on next week...plus the great t-shirt, and the chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery (Jamestown is here) at a slower-than-drive-but-faster-than-walk pace. Now hopefully I'll get faster, but at least for now I feel good as a former shot-putter having run his first 5k.

Soon I'll go pick Summer up, then try to get some homework done in front of the Eagles (if they're on, which I think they are). I don't know whether I mentioned, but my Criminal midterm was postponed a week, which makes me happy and a bit less stressed.