Last week proved to be quite exciting. I attended my first Red Sox game! On Wednesday a friend called with an extra ticket; and, having nothing else to do, I went on a whim. I had a fun time hanging out with folks from MIT. I was surprised to see how small Fenway Park is. The Ballpark at Arlington (home of the Texas Rangers) absolutely dwarfs Fenway.
Thursday was equally exciting as I had the opportunity to attend a screening of American Violet at a nearby cinema. The film did a great job telling the story of a young woman wrongly accused of dealing drugs and pressured to plead guilty. The young lead actress, Nicole Beharie, was simply amazing. I look forward to seeing her in future roles and, hopefully, receiving an Oscar, Tony, etc. for her work. Definitely check out the film when it debuts in your area.
Besides these events, I have been continuing my piano lessons. I must say that piano players are some amazing people. In a sense they are reading two languages (bass and treble clef) and playing two instruments (bass line and harmony) at the same time. I had a hard time in elementary school playing alto saxophone and just treble clef. In any case, I am getting better and learning more as I continue.
I also started work as the webmaster for the International Development Design Summit. During my visit to Ghana in January I collected some information for the conference planners and met with the Ghanaian planning team in Kumasi. The new site is currently located at https://2009.iddsummit.org. Feel free to take a look and offer any suggestions for improvement.
Finally, I am adjusting to working life at VistaPrint. In the past I worked constantly: as soon as I returned to my apartment after leaving work, I would log onto the VPN and continue working! It was crazy and quite stressful. Now, with the help of my mentor, I have learned to push projects back and focus on a few tasks and doing them well. This has worked out tremendously and I am much happier with my work. I even had time this week to volunteer during work, helping to build a boardwalk on a trail in the woods behind our office. We completed 182 feet of the proposed 900 foot boardwalk; other volunteers will continue construction during the coming weekends.
That’s it for last week. This coming weekend, I may attend a motorcycle class. Don’t worry; I’m just doing it to learn how to ride a motorcycle. Given my history of bicycle accidents and high-speed driving, I have no plans to purchase a motorcycle anytime soon. I did, however, test-drive an Audi while I was home for Easter; and, I must say the new A4 offers some serious competition to BMW’s 3-series. Alas, I shall continue to take the train and shuttle to work as insurance is just too expensive.