Helping Move

About a month ago one of my good friends and his wife moved from one house in Western Mass to another. He's helped me move a few times at least, so it was really no trouble to wake up a little early on a Saturday and head out there to help. No trouble until I sat stopped in traffic on the Pike for an extra hour, anyway.
Traffic, and the 90+ heat aside, the move went about as well as it could have. It's essentially standard procedure now that I'm one of the goons who crawls around in the recesses of whatever truck is being used, cramming oddly-shaped things into oddly-shaped spaces. My goal is to make myself useful by lugging heavy things around the hot truck and keeping the number of required runs as low as possible. You'll have to ask the people I've helped if that is actually a useful thing to do or not...
The movees are renting space in a friend's house, which was essentially already full of stuff. I felt a little bad about piling all of their things in either the garage, the living room, or their bedroom, but hopefully they have it all sorted out by now.
I unfortunately had to leave early in the afternoon to make it home in time for dinner plans, but as far as I know nothing was seriously damaged in the move, which is about all you can hope for. The leg of a table or couch or something made a bit of a mess of the plastic frame around a TV screen, but as far as I know it still works fine. Besides, now it has character.

Walking with Dinosaurs

Last month Amanda and I went to Walking with Dinosaurs at the Garden. I didn't know anything about it other than a vague promise of animatronics, and I was not disappointed. The show was actually pretty awesome. We were guided through a history of dinosaurs and their evolution by a nearly fearless human guide, who was dwarfed by the massive dinos walking around him.
The show was immersive, with elaborate and clever backgrounds and environments for the dinos to lumber around in. The lone flying dino required some slight imagination, but the effect came off well.
The dinosaurs themselves were surprisingly lifelike, and it required as much imagination to figure out how they worked as to think of them as real.
It was definitely worth the price of admission, and not nearly as campy as I would have thought.

New England GP

Last month the American Le Mans Series came to Lime Rock Park in Connecticut for the New England Grand Prix. Six of us made the three hour drive down and it was a blast. If you've never been to an auto race before, the first thing you'll notice is how loud it is. Some of the cars are absolutely deafening. One of the draws of the ALMS is the variety of cars racing against each other. Most series, like NASCAR, essentially use just one kind of car, and this is completely different. You can close your eyes and easily tell if a Corvette, Ferrari F430, or Porsche 911 just went by.
Lime Rock is a short, fast, narrow track so the racing is exciting for the whole race. There were no major wrecks, although one of the Audis pitched itself into a barrier pretty hard.
Basically the whole day was sitting out in the sun watching loud, fast cars scream by. I really can't think of too many other things I'd rather do.

July 4th on the Cape

This year Amanda and I spent 4th of July weekend at her parents' Cape house. Her parents were in Chicago for a wedding, so there was plenty of room for three of our friends, too.
The weather was not great, although it was warm the entire time. There was a period of good sun on Friday afternoon, which we took full advantage of by playing bocce in the immaculately-maintained yard. Saturday was a total rain-out, but we got to the beach on Sunday.
Most of the weekend was split between sleeping, eating, and drinking, but we managed to get some bowling in as well.
Unfortunately there wasn't anywhere for us to go to see fireworks, although there were enough backyard shows going on to remind us what day it was. Other than that, it was a great weekend, and a nice follow-up to the Jersey vacation.

Stone Harbor

Towards the end of June, I went with Amanda and my family to the south shore of New Jersey. If you've never been to the beach there, it's a lot nicer than you think. The sand is really fine, almost like a powder, and the beach itself is very well maintained. We stay in a cottage a few blocks away and for the most part it is completely awesome. Amanda came down with us last year, too, so everything was pretty routine. We've gone down there basically every year since about 1981, and I'm definitely looking forward to next year already.

Celtics

"Amazing" is about the only word that covers it.

Scoring 131 points in four quarters

to beat the LA Lakers

in the Finals

to win the first title in 22 years

Actually being in the building for that was one of the most incredible things that I have ever done.



The craziest part of the game was when we were up by 30+ in the fourth quarter, the Lakers got the ball after another Celtics basket, and the whole place was still chanting "DEE - FENSE! DEE - FENSE!"

To say that we've had a good run in Boston recently would be a colossal understatement.

And to say that I've been lucky to see Manny's 500th and the Celtics' 17th in the span of a month would be just as colossal an understatement.

I guess "colossal" works, too.

Paintball

We headed back down to Upton for more paintball this past Sunday. It was hot. The thermometer, sitting in the shade, read 90 for most of the day. The upside was we were mostly in the woods. The downside was we were mostly running through the woods. The other downside was that our team got its ass kicked. The teams are essentially random, with the refs mainly concerned about equal numbers. It usually shakes out about even, if not in our favor, but we looked like kids this time out.
For some reason we took a fair number of nasty hits, too. I started it off by getting shot directly in the Adam's apple. Fortunately the shot was from a pretty good distance and I was wearing a neoprene neck guard specifically for that purpose. Nonetheless I ended up with a scratchy voice for a few hours, and a bruise that's still visible four days later. Another one of us came across a kid who didn't exactly know the rules, particularly the ones about close-range combat, and got blasted in the arm from something like three feet away. 280 feet-per-second is the maximum velocity allowed on this field, and it turns out that a paintball hitting your arm at 190 mph will raise about a 3/4-inch bloody welt. Totally nasty. We were all sure that was going to be the worst of it until the last round of the day. One of us got tagged right in the throat, but from much closer than my hit and without the benefit of a neck guard. You should see what it looks like when someone has a golfball-sized bloody welt right in the middle of their neck. Actually, you shouldn't, it's friggin' disgusting. He was a wicked trooper about it and thought it was "awesome," although I'm not sure if he still thinks so.
Don't let any of this deter you from thinking it's a good time, because it is. Let me know if you're interested in going next time and I'll kick you an e-mail.
And yeah, I have extra neck guards.

Baltimore

Two weekends ago, Amanda's parents brought us down to Baltimore to catch some Sox games. The trip has been planned for months, and none of us really thought too much about it other than to be excited to finally get to Camden Yards.
First, the bad news. Shortly before the trip, we learned that one of Amanda's relatives passed away as a result of complications from a recent, and extremely unexpected, heart attack. Everyone took the news hard, although in some weird coincidence all of the proceedings happened in North Carolina that Sunday, so essentially Amanda and her parents were halfway there already and headed south after the games.
Being huge Sox fans, and somewhat in need of a distraction, the trip to The Yards was still on. Of course, we get down there only to realize that Manny Ramirez is sitting on 499 career home runs. Friday night's game was great, as it was the first time we had been to the park, and our seats were good. The crew directing people to their seats even escorted us (and everyone else, of course) right to our seats before Windexing and wiping them down for us to make sure we didn't have to sit on Oriole poop. No Ramirez home runs that night despite the game going 13 innings, but the Celtics booted the Pistons out of the playoffs and there were numerous Celtics banners getting run through the stands. Remember, this is in Baltimore.
Saturday night's game was incredible. We were sitting in left field, just beyond third base. Watching Jacoby Ellsbury steal absolutely everything was wicked fun, but then the 7th inning happened. Manny absolutely cranked the first pitch he saw into the right field seats, and the place went berserk.

The rest of the trip, Sunday's game, the Harborside area of Baltimore, Babe Ruth's house, Annapolis, seeing the Sox in the lobby of their hotel, was all great. Seriously though, 500 home runs.
Wow

F1 Outdoors

F1 Outdoors is a go-kart track in East Bridgewater we've been meaning to get to. It's run by the same company as F1 Boston (an indoor track in Braintree) but is, as expected, outdoors. A group of us finally made it over there, and it was awesome.

The karts felt like faster versions of their indoor counterparts, although the time sheets suggested they were actually about the same speed. The biggest difference was the fact that there were no guardrails immediately next to the track; the whole circuit had standard red-and-white racetrack curbing and ample runoff before getting to the barriers. The track layout was also a little more conducive to flat-out racing, as opposed to the extremely tight and windy indoor courses. Both of these details not only made it feel faster, but actually allowed for better racing and more fun. I had a couple of come-from-the-back runs that I wish I had on camera.

We're definitely heading back there fairly soon, and we're toying with the viability of starting a race team; it's that much fun. Let me know if you want to come with us next time and I'll shoot you an e-mail.

Celts/Detroit

People can be loud. I've been in a lot of loud crowds and I thought I was reasonably familiar with just how loud a building full of people could actually get. The roar of the crowd at Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals was without any doubt the loudest human-generated noise I have ever heard in my life. Seriously rock-concert, so-loud-you-can't-hear-yourself-scream loud.
Loud
Even though we lost, the game was great. Both teams played well, the aforementioned crowd was unbelievable, and right up until the final seconds of the game we thought the Celtics would take it. Being there for the first home loss of the playoffs obviously isn't the best thing, but since we now know that the Pistons won't be getting new rings, it's all good.

Birthday

A couple of weeks ago, Amanda and my sister took me to a Sox game for my birthday. The weather was awesome, which was good because we were out in the open; it just started to sprinkle as the game ended, but otherwise it was sunny and warm.
The Sox won, and I had a great time.
Afterwards, we went to a bar to watch the Celtics knock the Cavs out of the playoffs. It was an absolutely awesome day.

D.C.

My grad-school-bound little sister graduated from college this past weekend down in D.C., and the whole family headed down to watch. It was actually the first time in a long time that the five Copes went anywhere without additional company, and it worked out pretty well.
D.C. is a neat place with a lot of interesting monuments, although basically everyone upon entering the District gets a strong and vocal opinion about all kinds of political issues and isn't afraid to share. Even people who don't normally talk about politics decide it's a good place to start, including myself.
We took a bicycle tour around the city, and that was a great time. We were led along the numerous walking/bike paths to some of the monuments, where our travelling guide would tell us about them. After a few minutes of wandering around we'd get back on the bikes and head to the next one. I forgot how much fun it was to get air off of bumps in the sidewalk and it almost made me want to get a bike to ride to work. Almost.
The graduation ceremony was indoors and out of the rain, and it actually wasn't too bad. They break the students up by school, and we only had to watch two schools' worth get their names read. The speaker was Dr. Vernon Jordan Jr., and he was actually pretty interesting.
I can't believe that my little sister just graduated from college... It's amazing how nobody ever gets any younger...

Paintball

A couple of weekends ago a bunch of us dusted off our paintball gear and headed down to Upton for the day. We played a couple of times per month last summer, but we definitely didn't start until later in the year. The field, which is usually pretty dry, was loaded with mud and running water, and it was a great time. It threatened to rain all day but all we ever got was a quick misting mid-day.
I personally played fairly well, especially considering it was the first game of the season, although our team as a whole wasn't particularly dominant. Our pack is still relying too heavily on the actions of the other goobers that are there, and that never works out. Hopefully we'll figure it out next time.

Westford Road Race

Earlier this month Amanda ran the 5k part of the Westford Road Race. Almost, but not quite a coincidence, she ran with a friend of ours who is dating another friend of ours who went to High School with me there. Amanda kicked it out in 36:40, which is probably about twice as fast as I could do it.
I have basically no desire to run for distance, but I definitely think it's impressive.

Good work, babe!

Philly

Last month, Amanda and I headed down to Philly to see a few friends of hers from college. Philadelphia is a pretty bi-polar city, with all of the crappy parts on one side, all of the nice parts on the other, and Broad St. running right up the middle. It seems like anyone who has been on the wrong side of Broad street looks at me like I have two heads when I tell them I like it there.
I do feel pretty badass heading down to Philly just to hang out for the weekend, and Amanda's friends are absolutely awesome. Aside from them, and the obvious draw of cheese steak, Philly is packed with stores, bars, and parks. It reminds me a little of parts of Boston, and that's definitely a good thing.
While I was there I learned about the Curse of William Penn, which essentially blames the lack of success of Philly pro sports teams (no championships in any sport since 1983) on someone constructing a building taller than the statue of William Penn which sits atop City Hall. Apparently the contractor who oversaw the construction has died, leaving his son (a friend of Amanda's friends) with the blame.

Celtics Playoffs

Last Thursday I took Amanda to the Celtics game (second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers). I went to a few games during the regular season, and this was way more intense. The crowd was going absolutely nuts from about the middle of the first (when we started scoring) until about the middle of the fourth (when we were up by 20 and everyone started going home). The show put on by the Celtics as an organization is incredible. They always have something going on when there's a break in the action, and the combination of the announcing, music, and scoreboard is a great compliment to the game.
Of course it helps that the Celts are motoring through the playoffs, although their inability to win on the road is a serious cause for concern. Keep your fingers crossed.

Back to Cali

Amanda and I are taking a vacation to SoCal this summer, and I'm wicked excited about it! I haven't been back to Cali since I left almost two years ago. She's never hung around the LA/San Diego area so it should be fun to show her around. I never really got a chance to do all of the touristy things while I was out there, so that will be fun too.

Boston Marathon

Proving that both of my sisters are more capable (or at least more motivated) than I am, my non-grad-school-bound little sister ran her second Boston Marathon this year. She kicked total ass, cranking out a time somewhere near 4:13, about a minute faster than last year. There aren't too many things I can do for four straight hours, and basically none of them require physical exertion.

Good work, sis!

Grad School

My little sister got into grad school! She's officially "one of those smart kids," and clearly doesn't take after her brother. I did spend six years in college, but I definitely only have one degree to show for it.

Good work, sis!

Easter

Easter weekend, Amanda came out to Longmeadow with us to spend the day with my family. My cousin brought Rock Band for his XBox 360 and it was an absolute blast. I was shocked to see not only my cousins but my aunt and uncle all playing. Amanda even sang a few and gave the drums a shot. I don't think that many family members have ever had so much fun doing something non-competitive.
Dinner was delicious as usual, and it was great to see the family since I haven't seen most of them since Thanksgiving.