Episode 62: January-March 2013
Highlights of the quarter:
- Visits from Stephanie and Pappa Borg;
- Neal and the guys hit Louisville’s Bourbon
Trail;
- Deb’s girls weekends to Los Angeles and Zurich;
- Winter adventures.
We started off the year in the most wonderful way with a brief visit
from Stephanie who joined us for a week at the tail end of her and Luis’ Christmas
vacation in the U.S. I was responsible
for putting together and emceeing our company’s annual meeting of the top 200
executives, which took place in Miami, Florida, in January. Given the meeting was right on the heels of
Stephanie’s visit, I couldn’t spend too much time away from the office with her
while she was in town, but we enjoyed catching up in the evenings together. The leadership team meeting went off without
a hitch – and was one of the best we have ever had (if I do say so myself) –
thanks to the hard work and expertise of the team that I pulled together to
work with me on it.
Neal and a group of his friends took a road trip in January to wish one
of their friends, Darren, well before he and his family make the move from
Michigan to Texas. Ten hours in a van
later and the six of them arrived in Louisville, Kentucky, where they met
another three who were joining from Kansas and Georgia. The gents spent the next three days exploring
the Urban Bourbon Trail – learning (experientially) about various drinks made
with bourbon – and getting their “passports” stamped at various establishments
so they could return home with the coveted t-shirt confirming that they did, indeed,
complete the Urban Bourbon Trail.
While the boys were away, the ladies had our own fun that weekend back
in Michigan – massages followed by dinner and a slumber party at a friend’s
house, and a lovely brunch and long walk through the snowy trails of the city
forest the next morning before we all went out own ways for the rest of the
afternoon.
Although it was a very cold winter, we did not get a lot of snow which
made outdoor activities less fun – although we had no trouble filling out
weekends with activities. We travelled
to Flint one weekend to catch an off-Broadway production of Shrek the Musical
and have some great Thai food. A group
of girlfriends and I hit the Pink – Truth About Love concert, which is now on
my list of top 5 favorite concerts ever.
(I definitely recommend others to see it – Pink is a true entertainer.) The gents decided to join us on the trip to
Detroit, but instead of watching the concert, they had a cultural experience of
their own by hitting a local bocce club (yes, bocce) to play a few games with
the locals.
The weekends were filled with numerous dinners and brunches with
friends. One memorable dinner was the
second installment of our international dinner series, this time hosted by
Jennifer and Brian and their boys. This
time around we celebrated the food of Ethiopia.
Neal and I were responsible for making a Queen of Sheba salad (a tomato-based
salad) and a dessert made from semolina, saffron, and raisins (and overall
quite delicious). The food was great, with
everyone getting very creative in putting together some new flavor profiles, and
the decorations of many hand-drawn Ethiopian flags, courtesy of the Pfeiffer
boys, made Ethiopia night a success.
We headed to Lansing in February to take an afternoon glass art class
with a group of friends. The artist –
Craig Mitchell Smith – opens his gallery for groups to teach some of his
techniques, and he allows each participant to make something of their own. It was a great way to spend an afternoon and let
our creativity shine. Neal and I each
made a mosaic picture, which was fired in a kiln and now framed and proudly
hung in our bedroom.
Neal was able to get us tickets to the annual Dow Corning-sponsored
women’s tennis tournament, which is held at the Midland Tennis Center (where
Neal now serves on the Board of Directors).
The matches were great, and we had a nice afternoon watching the very
talented young players. My community
outreach also continued with Big Brothers Big Sisters. We attended the annual Bowl for Kids Sake
fundraiser, which is always a great night of friendly competition and a good way
to show support and raise money for a very worthy cause. (Thanks to those who donated to our bowling
teams!)
I escaped the cold in February to meet up with my sister, Carol, and a
group of her friends who were in the middle of a three-week vacation in the U.S. I met them in Los Angeles and my friend, Nat,
drove up from her home in San Diego to join us for the weekend. We spent the weekend catching up, exploring
the local sights around Venice Beach and Hollywood, doing a little shopping
down Rodeo Drive and, of course, eating well. Great times.
A few weeks later, it was another long weekend getaway for me, this
time to Zurich, Switzerland, to catch up and re-connect with girlfriends. Carol joined me there as well, so I was
fortunate enough to see her twice in a few short weeks. I was grateful to have been able to spend
time with my closest girlfriends, even if it was only a short visit.
I headed back to the west coast of the U.S. later in March for an
executive education program at Singularity University – a small establishment
in the heart of Silicon Valley that promotes and educates around the theme of entrepreneurism. It was a very thought-provoking experience
where I got the opportunity to meet many talented entrepreneurs who have
created a living for themselves and others by establishing new products,
markets, and business models. It was an
amazing opportunity.
We ended the quarter with a visit from my Dad. His weekend trip coincided with long-standing
plans we had made to see a dance troop, Momix, who were passing through town,
and an evening of ribs and karaoke at our friends, Jane and Dean’s, house. Dad joined us on both adventures and, much to
my surprise, grabbed the microphone and belted out a few tunes. (Clearly, all the training he had in the
Vatican choir paid off!) It was
wonderful to see him and have him spend a few days with us.
Overall, it was a busy quarter filled with friends, love, and
adventure. Until next time, take care!
