Out with the old, in with the new

Last month marked the changing of the guard at LGO, when the Class of 2014 graduated (CONGRATS!) and the Class of 2016 started (WELCOME!).  It also means that those of us in the Class of 2015 have become "2nd Years" which is still a little hard to believe.  I've been going back through some of my old posts this week remembering all the adventures we've had since last June.  Needless to say, LGO has been and continues to be an incredible journey and I'm looking forward to another great year!

As for the internship, I've been going through a full gambit of emotions.  Some days it feels like I'm making progress with my project and feeling pretty good.  On other days I find myself digging too far in the weeds and feeling like I'm taking several steps backwards.  The one constant part of the experience is that I'm learning a ton about applying the tools we learn in LGO to real-world projects. Working in supplier management is a new experience for me and I can now fully appreciate the expression that it's "like herding cats"!  With five weeks left in the internship, I'm working to switch from a "get it done" mentality to a more reflective "what can we learn" mode.  In five weeks I'll be standing in front of the SVP for Operations telling the story about what I've learned and what I can recommend; no pressure!  At the same time I'm working to figure out which aspects of the internship I can apply to my thesis, which is quickly becoming a looming priority.

But it's not all work and studying these days; the free evenings and open weekends have led to a whole string of fun times.  Most notably:

Trip to Oregon
For Memorial Day, I booked a last-minute trip out to Oregon to join in on a family reunion.  I was only on the ground for 48 hours, but it was great to see everyone and I'm so glad I made it!

Uncle-Nephew Selfie

Fresh Oregon strawberry shortcake...can't beat it!

Four generations playing croquet

Helping Cynthia move to Detroit

As the new 16's were heading to Boston to start their LGO experience last month, I was heading to Maryland to help Cynthia start on the next chapter of hers: an internship at GM.  We spent a day with her family making Zong zi and picking Strawberries before packing the car and heading towards Detroit.  We made it to Youngstown, Ohio that first day and onto Detroit on the second day, just in time for me to catch a flight back to Hartford.  When we arrived in Detroit it was a full 116 degrees warmer (accounting for the wind chill) than the last time we were there.  No more Polar Vortex!

Learning how to make Zong zi

Fresh strawberries!

Forgot to take any pictures in Detroit, so here's a view from the flight back

New York City

Taking advantage of my proximity to NYC, I headed down for an overnight trip to visit the Sloanies on summer internships and do some more sightseeing around the city.  I made it down there in time to catch some of the World Cup games, eat some fantastic food, and catch up with friends I hadn't seen since the end of last year.

On Sunday I set off to explore the city.  First stop: the 9/11 Memorial and the new Freedom Tower.  The last time I was there was the summer of 2000 when one of our stops was the rooftop observation deck of the South Tower.  It was pretty powerful to be back in the same spot 14 years later.  The line for the new museum was over an hour long, so I decided to just wander around the site and memorial.

From there, I headed down through the financial district and wandered the empty area around Wall St. (it was Sunday afterall!).

New York Stock Exchange; where all the magic happens!

The last stop was the area along the waterfront near Battery Park and the East River Piers.  I had planned to head to the Empire State Building in the afternoon for a birds-eye view of the city, but I stumbled across something even better: a helicopter tour!  On a whim I bought a ticket and within 30 minutes I was high above the skyscrapers on a crystal-clear day taking in the amazing views!

Buzzing past the Statue of Libery

Turning around and facing Manhattan

Passing the Financial District

Looking North towards the Empire State Building

Back on the ground (sorry, not a Sikorsky)

Mt. Washington Road Race / BAA 10k
Due to some pretty terrible planning, I ended up signing up for both the Mt. Washington Road Race in New Hampshire and the BAA 10k in Boston on the same weekend.  I left early from work on Friday and made the 6-hour drive up to the White Mountains, passing through some beautiful countryside in Vermont along the way.  After meeting up with some teammates from the Cambridge Running Club, we crashed at a local B&B before getting up early the next day to tackle Mt. Washington.  For those of you unfamiliar with the area, the Mt. Washington Auto Road goes up the side of Mt. Washington, climbing 4500 feet over the course of 7.6 miles (13% average grade!).  For one day a year, the road closes so that intrepid runners can make the climb.  Without many hills to train on in Connecticut, I wasn't quite sure what to expect but it was definitely the most challenging run I've ever done (though "run" may be an overstatement of my actual performance).  Oh well, I'm happy to report that all of us made it to the top!

Driving through Vermont to get to the race

Entering the starting area; notice the warning on the sign

The race motto is "It's only one hill"...yes, but what a hill it is!

So happy to make it to the top!

Shortly after the race, I headed back to Boston just in time to reunite with friends for dinner and settle in for the night.  Early on Sunday, I headed downtown for the BAA 10k which is among my favorite races to do.  Somehow being surrounded by 8,000 other runners and thousands more cheering on the streets made me forget that I was supposed to be sore from the race the previous day.  I ended up finishing well within my sub-7:00 goal pace.  Still almost 3 minutes shy of the winner's pace, but I'll take it!

Finish line of the BAA 10k.  What a wonderful day for running!

The winners of the race Stephen Sambu (27:25!!) and the fastest-ever marathoner Geoffrey Mutai

Two down, one to go for the BAA Medley

 More adventures to come, but those will have to wait till another day...

P.S.  Cynthia's blog from her Global Health Lab trip to South Africa is now up and running.  Check it out!