Journalism Geek Reunion

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I was giving thanks for the great group of people I found at PC. Rick and I went down to Providence for a 75th Anniversary Celebration for The Cowl, PC's student newspaper. I was lovingly referring to the weekend as my 'nerd reunion.'

I had been looking forward to the get-together for quite a while and it was great to see so many old friends. I was fortunate to work with such a fun group of people while I was on The Cowl and I was happy to see them in person-- since I've only "seen" many of them via Twitter or Facebook in the past few years.



The event itself was great; we had a cocktail hour and then a dinner and speaking program. We had two talented Cowl alumni speak -- including Mallary Tenore '07! -- and then we continued toasting our journalism glory days at McPhail's: PC's on-campus bar.



However, the highlight of the evening was when someone found a current Cowl editor and he let a few dozen of us into the office. We then became what Rick called "kids on Christmas morning" as we pulled out the old archives, laughing at old typos and remembering long nights in the office. Geek Fest, I know.

It was so much fun to get together with old friends and reminisce. I was also reminded of how much my time on The Cowl encouraged my writing and shaped my future. I'm so lucky to have found nerds like me when I was at school!

Photos: 75 years of word nerds; Kristin and I getting silly; With Mallary and Christine at McPhail's.

Cute explosion

A few weeks ago, we spent a lovely Sunday with J-School friends in Cutetown, USA. Actually, we were in Hanover, Mass., but it might as well have been the headquarters of adorable. Not only did we spend time with a sweet newborn, but we also played with a puppy. A baby and a puppy!

The get-together was the NEU crew's first introduction to little Mr. Teddy! And he is one good baby. We all took turn snuggling with him and he didn't even fuss. (I will admit that I was kind of a baby hog, but I couldn't resist!) Teddy made the funniest little faces all afternoon. I just couldn't get over how expressive he is and he is just one month old!



And just when we thought the afternoon couldn't get better, Korri told us that her family brought home a golden wheaten terrier puppy right before Teddy was born and they named him Casey. Yay!



Casey couldn't look any more like a Muppet if he tried and Teddy couldn't get any more lovable if he tried. And although Teddy's mommy is taking some AMAZING photos of him, I couldn't resist taking a few of my own. They're slightly blurry because I didn't want to use a flash right in Teddy's face, but little Teddybear is still very photogenic--even when he is upset like the photo below!


It was a great afternoon and I can't wait until we get together again! (And try and top the ultimate sweetness of the day.)

A Belated Marathon Monday Recap

Patriots' Day is a time for tradition and celebration in Boston and I'm not talking about the holiday commemorating a Revolutionary War battle. Patriots' Day is time for the Boston Marathon and Marathon Monday is one of my favorite days in Boston.

I love how the entire city focuses on the race and the race route becomes a cheerleadering section and day-long party. I also think it's great to see people of all ages clapping, yelling and encouraging runners on for hours at a time. I had a blast cheering during my first Marathon Monday last year, but this year was even better because I was waiting for Team Bodio to run by mile 23!

Rick and Kelly did very well in their first Boston Marathon experience and they raised thousands for the Melanoma Foundation of New England. A few friends came up for the day and we went crazy yelling and cheering when Rick and Kelly passed us.

Seeing thousands of runners taking part in such an awesome tradition and life list event almost make me want to run Boston someday...Almost...

Fun Spring Weekend

What's better than spending time with a friend you haven't seen in a year? Spending time with that friend the same weekend that you also go to an awesome concert.

Lucky for me, these were my exact plans a few weeks ago.

Lesley, my friend from DC, was in town visiting and we had a great little Friday afternoon. I hadn't seen Lesley in almost year (since my last visit to DC), but we used to spend every day together. We started work within a few months of each other and navigated the waters of the 9-to-5 world together. The 40-hour work week and real world was a tough adjustment, but we had a lot of fun, too.

She happened to visit Beantown two weekends ago, so she thankfully missed the floodfest that was this weekend. We spent the sunny afternoon wandering around Newbury Street and Boston Common. (True confession: my sense of direction around Boston is definitely still lacking, but I knew enough to show Lesley the sites.) She loved Beantown and we had a blast just catching up and joking around.

Big Papi says: Come back to Boston soon, Lesley, and I'll come back for a visit to DC.

After a fun Friday with Lesley, Rick and I went to see Jamie Cullum at the House of Blues on Saturday with a group of friends. The House of Blues is a very cool venue and Jamie Cullum is very entertaining. It was the first time I've seen him live and he was energetic and funny.

I also love his new album, The Pursuit. It's tough to sum up his style in a few words, but Cullum plays the piano, so his music tends to be slightly jazzy. He's a little pop, a little jazz and he also does great covers. My favorite song on the album is probably his cover of Rhianna's "Don't Stop the Music." It's fun and an original take on the tune.


I would definitely recommend checking him out live if you get the chance.

Black and White and Read All Over

Back in my PC days, I spent most of my time in a small, window-less basement office filled with old computers and crappy technology. There were plenty of late nights and the office often smelled like old pizza and breadsticks.

Despite these seemingly harsh work conditions, hundreds of Friars have logged countless hours on the bottom floor of the Slavin Student Center to ensure the college's only student-run newspaper arrives in newsstands on campus each week.

Next year, The Cowl will celebrate its 75th year. This milestone has caught the attention of a few alums who had the idea of marking the occasion. Well, a couple of emails later and now there's an informal committee of Cowl alums on board (including yours truly) to plan a celebration for The Cowl's 75th Anniversary.

My three years on The Cowl were filled with (actual) blood, sweat and tears, and it often stressed me out more than it should have, but many of my fondest PC memories involve Cowl people or Cowl parties.

The Cowl was also where I first thought that I might be able to make a career of writing. I had always done well in school when it came reading and writing and I was an English major at PC, but I didn't have much confidence in my non-academic writing. The Cowl changed all that (even though most of the stuff I wrote back then makes me cringe nowadays) and made me realize that I could write and write well.

I know I'm not the only one with sentimental feelings about The Cowl, as the enthusiastic responses to the 75th Anniversary party-planning emails have shown. I just hope we can plan a shindig that does The Cowl justice.

Funny Business

Caught a show last night at Improv Asylum in the North End. It was the premiere night for "Lost in Boston," a new series of shows with a Beantown theme. Admission was only $15 and it was a good time.

Lost in Boston was a mix of improv and rehearsed sketches, but the Asylum offers different types of shows with different casts Wednesdays through Sundays. Below is a clip on the Asylum that Chronicle did a while back. Definitely worth checking out live.

Long weekend in our nation's capital

Got back yesterday from a visit to DC to catch up with friends. We had a great time, even though the 90 degree heat was a bit more than we were expecting.

We were able to visit some of my favorite old haunts in DC (namely Zoo Bar) and check out my former town, Bethesda. We had a lovely time with our wonderful hosts and enjoyed lots of good food and drink.

I was happy to see all my old friends and I'm already looking forward to our next visit. (But it probably won't be until after the summer due to the crazy DC heat!)

My First Marathon Monday

I spent a good three hours watching the Boston Marathon on Monday when I should have been working on final projects. But I definitely made the right decision.

The route goes right by my apartment, so it was awesome to just walk out of my building and start clapping and shouting and shooting away with my new toy: a Nikon D60 camera. (Thanks, Rick!)

It was so much fun to feel like I was a part of this important tradition and so inspiring to watch some of the runners. It's easy to see how some people get hooked on marathons after experiencing the friendly and festive atmosphere of Monday.

This is the lead women's pack at mile 24 or so. American Kara Goucher was in the lead when she passed us, but she fell to third in the last few minutes of the race.


Here's American Ryan Hall, who also got third. I love how their feet aren't touching the ground here!


A double-amputee with his Marathon guide drumming up support and cheers--as if it was even necessary. Pretty amazing.


Another inspiring shot from a great day.

Happy Crocs Day!

I had a delightful birthday today, even though I spent most of it doing work. The sun was out, I received many wonderful b'day wishes (and a few serenades!), and I wore my ballet slipper Crocs for the first time this season.

These sweet silver babies were a b'day gift last year.

I resisted the Crocs phenomenon for a long time, but they're just soooo comfortable. And I think the ballet slipper Crocs are very cute. (Another find by Rick - nice work!)

If you've been anti-Crocs because you think they are silly-looking, I would suggest taking a pair for a test walk...

flickr photo

I suddenly want to go to dance camp in upstate NY...

I spent this afternoon dancing and clapping with hundreds of older women. That's right -- I saw a matinee of Dirty Dancing live onstage!

And like I really need to say this, but it was SOOO good! I went with my mom, one of my besties and her mom. It was the perfect mother-daughter activity.

Growing up, I saw the movie a few times, but was never fanatical about it. So it's great that the musical is for everyone -- not just die-hard fans. It was very well done and so entertaining.

The show is leaving Boston next week and continuing on its worldwide tour. It's already been a hit in Australia and England and I know it will continue to be one here. Especially if the actor who plays Johnny keeps taking his shirt off in all those scenes...

image from Flickr (that was for you, Steph)

Winter Wonder on the Cape

I'm back in the city after one week visiting my homeland, Cape Cod. Although most people think of the Cape in the summertime, I've always liked winter there. It's a lot quieter and the beach looks beautiful with a few inches of snow.

In my opinion, there isn't much that can take away from the beauty of water...

Non-Geeky Game Night

Even if the economy wasn't going down the tubes, I'd still be broke. And so would all of my grad school friends (and many of my working friends, too).

So, of course we're always looking for low-cost entertainment. And what's more entertaining and cheap than game night? Not much, as we recently learned.

A bunch of friends bringing over drinks and potluck dishes, a few board games and that's pretty much all it takes. Game night may sound geeky, but it can get rowdy, loud and fun - just like a night out at an overpriced bar.

Some of my favorite game night selections are Cranium, Scene It and Trivial Pursuit. But I think my top choice has to be Taboo. Taboo is a true game for competitive word nerds like myself and word novices. And there's nothing like a bunch of grad students playing some late-night Taboo after a few drinks - trust me.