Fun Summer Diversions

It's been another series of busy weeks!  As I look back at my previous posts, there seems to be an ominous pattern of decreasing frequency.  Once a week, then once every-other week, now a span of three weeks.  I can only attribute this to having such an amazing time in the LGO program and packing my hours with so many fun things that I haven't had much time to post here.  A quick catch-up...

Several of my classmates have posted fantastic articles about summer classes and recent activities, so I won't spend any time repeating it here.  We're two weeks away from the end of the summer term and I'm having mixed feelings: on one hand, very excited to have a week off before MBA orientation starts, but on the other hand sad to be closing out the summer here at LGO that has been so much fun.  Our class has grown into a strong community over the last two months and we have had some good times together.

At the beginning of the summer, my team set a goal of leaving weekends open for fun or individual coursework.  We've since discovered that that goal was a little ambitious, and have been getting together on Sundays to work on some group assignments and to get ready for the upcoming week.  That still leaves Saturdays open though, so we've been taking full advantage of the chance to get out and about.  Here are just a few highlights from the last few weeks...

Karaoke
I'm happy to report that the LGO tradition of Karaoke Thursdays at the Thirsty Ear pub is alive-and-well!  We've had a pretty consistent showing over the last several weeks and have had fun getting to see a different side of our classmates (and occasionally professors!). 

[SIDE NOTE: Just about a month ago Cynthia Lin and I became the first "LGO 2015 Couple" and since then have been having a wonderful time together.  The rest of this blog will make a lot more sense with knowledge of that fact :-)]

Rock Climbing
Cynthia is a big climber and has been itching to get to one of the climbing gyms in the area.  Last Friday we rented a car for the weekend and finally had a chance to make it to MetroRock.  It's been about 8 years since I climbed last and I was definitely rusty (and quite sore the next day), but it was a lot of fun to try something different.  There's also a new climbing gym in town, Brooklyn Boulders, that we've been trying fruitlessly to find time to visit.  Someday...

MetroRock Climbing Gym

Fishing / Lobstering in Maine
Last Saturday we headed to Maine with Cynthia's sister and parents (who were visiting from MD), with the intent of fishing on the Atlantic.  They had arranged for a charter boat to take us out from Wells, ME in search of striper fish.  But before we could fish for the stripers, we had to catch a bunch of mackerel for bait.  So we spent about an hour trolling around catching mackerel after mackerel (sometimes 3 on the same line!).  Feeling confident in our abilities, we headed out to seek the larger stripers.  What had started out as optimism soon faded as we managed a few bites and one broken line but couldn't manage to reel anything in.  As a consolation prize, our skipper offered to pull his lobster traps and split any of the catch up between us.  So we went out and pulled 6 traps and found 5 keepers.  Before heading home, we stopped at a local lobster shack to eat some of the local fare...complete with the outrageous lobster bib!

Cynthia and her Lobster (plus an awesome sister photo-bomb)

Tourist Shot

First Red Sox Game
The Sloan School organized an outing to a Red Sox game last week, so I finally had a chance to experience a game at Fenway Park.  Unfortunately,  they were playing the Mariners!  So yes, I was that annoying out-of-towner cheering for the visiting team amongst a throng of Red Sox fans.  What looked to be a cake-walk win by the Mariners (7-1 heading into the 8th inning) soon turned into one of the most exciting baseball games I've witnessed.  Through a combination of bullpen confusion by the Mariners and an incredible rally by the Sox, Boston ended up pulling off an improbable 8-7 victory.  Not the result that I wanted, but it was an fun game with a great group.

A Night at Fenway

LGOers celebrate an improbable Red Sox comeback
(while fellow Northwester Dan and I wonder what the heck happened)

Building a House
This weekend we chose something a little different for our off-day: building a house for Habitat for Humanity.  12 LGOers and SOs headed up to Danvers for a day of shoveling, flooring, painting, and drilling giant holes through concrete walls (Nicely done Ammar!).  More info here.

LGO at Habitat for Humanity (Photo Credit: Ammar Asfour)

Running
With the busy class schedule and so many diversions, it's been a little hard to get into a regular running routine, but I took a big step (or stride?) a few weeks ago by joining the Cambridge Running Club.  It's a great group of very good runners, and one of the first times I've been towards of the back of the pack while running 6-to-7-minute miles.  They push me every week, and their twice-weekly organized workouts have been keeping me motivated.  Every Saturday morning they host a long run from Cambridge, including fully stocked water stations and a post-run feast.  Now that's my kind of running!

CRC "Magnificent Seven" during a recent club relay race / BBQ

Cooking
As a nice diversion during the weekdays, we've been having fun cooking some wonderful meals (and making lots of left-overs).  It's a nice excuse to learn some new recipes and eat some great-tasting and (mostly) nutritious food...

From-scratch lasagna with stir-fried eggplant and roasted brussel sprouts

Chicken piccata with bell peppers and noodles

French Toast + Bacon = Happy Sunday Morning :-)