Episode 40: September & October 2008
Highlights of the month:
• University of Michigan football;
• Seeing the musical “Chicago”;
• Deb’s trip to Switzerland;
• Neal’s trip to Oklahoma.
September was a relatively quiet month for us. It started with a visit to Ann Arbor with some friends to see the University of Michigan football team play the team from Miami University (not the one from Florida, but rather the one located in Ohio). The weather was perfect for watching an outdoor game and having a few beers. The atmosphere of college football is something we both really enjoy and we had great seats for the game. Our poor friend, Christy (a Miami graduate), was clearly outnumbered in the stadium, though this did not stop her from proudly wearing her red Miami shirt amongst the sea of Michigan maize and blue. After the game, we grabbed a few drinks and dinner. After saying goodbye to our friends, Neal and I stuck around and caught up with Neal’s business director and his wife who were in Ann Arbor also that weekend visiting their daughter.
One of Deb’s friends from work, Rose, announced her retirement earlier in the year and we had the opportunity to host a retirement party for her at our house. It was a really fun evening, with many of Rose’s colleagues and friends joining to “roast” and wish her well on her retirement in her home state of Iowa.
Since mid-summer, work has been busy for both Neal and I and the month of September was no different. Many of our evenings were consumed with work-related events. Outside of work, Neal resumed his schedule of tennis and Ultimate Frisbee games a few nights a week. I kept active with my Latin dance class two nights a week and a weekend dance class on Saturdays. The weather was very cooperative throughout the month, giving us the opportunity to take the occasional long walk or bike ride. We also enjoyed watching the leaves on the trees slowly change color, from greens to intense yellows, reds, and oranges.
The Broadway musical, “Chicago”, made its way to our part of the country in September as well. Being the avid theatre supporters that we are, we went to see it, of course. It was a great show, so much so that afterwards we added it to our list of the top five musicals we have seen!
October brought more busy work days for both of us. It also brought some traveling into our schedule. I decided to take a break from the office politics and headed to Switzerland for a 10-day trip. Unable to totally get away from work, I worked from the Zurich office while I was there but also got to catch up with friends and family and had a fantastic getaway. Immediately after arriving, I headed to Lausanne to meet up with my dad and stepmom, Julie, for a long weekend. The fall colors in Switzerland were even more impressive than what I left behind in Michigan, and it was amazing how quickly my memories of Switzerland came back – almost as though I had never left! Dad, Julie, and I took a rather long hike through Les Pacot, a town that is a short drive from their house. The next evening, we were fortunate enough to get tickets to the Ukranian Philharmonic Orchestra, who put on a beautiful performance in Montreaux. I headed back to Zurich on Sunday and spent the ensuing week catching up with friends. I got to meet Gatien, Daphne and Pierre’s beautiful baby boy, and Eva, Ana and Adrian’s adorable baby girl, for the first time. My friend, Vicki, spoiled me with a fabulous, home-cooked lunch of mussels and fries (my favorite!) while we caught up on all the gossip of the past twelve months. Our friends, Ces and Steve, and their beautiful boys, Lawrence and Elliot, hosted a dinner for me where I got to see some of the regular “gang” in one place. I also spent time with my friends, Jen, Michelle, and Maria, revisiting some favorite places and discovering new ones. It was wonderful just to spend the day shopping in Zurich, exploring some of my favorite places in the old town and along Bahnhofstrasse with Maria. Overall, I had a wonderful mini-break reconnecting with Dad, Julie, and some of my dearest friends.
While I was in Switzerland, Neal decided to take a weekend trip to see his parents and grandparents in Stillwater, Oklahoma. His timing was perfect to enjoy the festivities of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Neal’s trip was shorter than mine, at three days, but he managed to squeeze in quite a bit. He spent time with his parents and grandparents as well as visiting with family friends and attending a Diwali celebration and dinner.
The end of October brought some calm back to our schedules, though we filled our calendars reasonably well with many after-work and weekend activities, including card nights, pedicure parties (not so much for Neal), dinners, and even a wine tasting. All in all, September and October blended many things: calm and busy moments, local and international adventures, and family and friends!
