going going going

This has been a very busy week. Busy for me, anyway.

Last Thursday my pal Erin came into Boston. I met her last year when we were both STLs in Sacramento. She is now a field TL but came to her home in Rhode Island for a vacation. I hadn’t seen her since last August and was so happy to see her again.

On Saturday I took the train to Providence, RI to visit her. It was my first extended trip to the state and it was beautiful! Erin took me around Providence on Saturday night and on Sunday took me to Newport. Newport was gorgeous! There was a cute little touristy strip with shops and restaurants. We also drove along Ocean Drive where there are dozens of HUGE mansions all along the coast. These houses were magnificent. And for only a few million $$$ I could live there!

Tuesday was a Jumpstart fundraiser to kick off their annual Read for the Record campaign. For the past three years, Jumpstart has set the world record for the most people reading the same book in one day. They pick a new book every year and this year it is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I remember this book from 1^st grade and it still holds up today as a classic. I plan on sharing more information about this event as it comes closer (October 8), but if you’d like more information and would like to sign up your classrooms or libraries now, go to www.readforthrecord.org.

Wednesday I had dinner at Mae’s house where her old teammate Casey was visiting.

Thursday I went to see Keane in concert! Why? Because it was FREE!

I’ll back up a bit. On Tuesday I was given a ticket to see the band Keane in concert. A donor had given a bunch of tickets to Jumpstart and one of them was given to me. Yay! I would be going with a couple of other VISTAs. Then on Wednesday I go to my desk and there is another ticket there. They had more extra tickets, so I got to bring a friend. I hadn’t seen my pal Nikkole in a while, so I invited her to come with me. The openers were Helio Sequence, which is two guys from Beaverton, and Mat Kearney, who was really good as well. Then Keane came on and they gave a really good show. Before last night I really couldn’t tell you what songs they sang, but I remembered that they were on Saturday Night Live (how I know that it was the same show that Paris Hilton hosted is a mystery to me). We were sitting 14 rows from the front and center stage. Super cool, in my book. I want to listen to all of the albums from all three of the bands now.

So now it is Memorial Day Weekend. I, thankfully, have no plans. I think weekends with no plans are my favorite because anything can happen and even if I don’t go out and do something, I still have the time to relax and rejuvenate for the work-week ahead.

My internet is acting strangely or else I'd post pictures from the show. I shall do that another time.