Travel day/day 1

The international-travel-right-from-work concept does make for a bit of a long day. We got to our gate in Cleveland in plenty of time, which allowed me to hunt and gather pizza from the in-airport Pizza Hut. This was followed by king-sized Snickers bars. Thus fortified, we made it (with only a minor 30-minute delay for de-icing) to Philadelphia.

The City of Brotherly Love’s airport is not so loving to the tech-savvy traveler. I wanted to live-blog from the airport (we had an almost-three-hour layover), but during the week, wireless access is only free to college students (and free to everyone on weekends). I did not even bother finding out how much it would cost. I was tantalized and teased by the wireless network “US Airways Free,” but it did not work for me. I did get to see a Liberty Bell replica made out of Legos, and that was pretty darn cool.

The flight to London was long, but that is to be expected. We had choose-your-own-movie videos, but the system did not work for the first two hours or so. I polished off a 200-page book (Piano in the Pyrenees, by Tony Hawks), and then toyed with watching a movie, but decided against it after my first attempt to re-watch Iron Man was thwarted by a system reboot. I had loaded up Christmas music on my Nano (thanks, Shannon and Jo!) for Mer to listen to while she graded (for the entire flight), and I loaded up my Touch (thanks, Dubbs!) for me to listen to music and play games on. It is a bit odd to hear cannons firing while playing Risk on the Touch while Christmas music is singing about peace on earth.

We got to London ahead of schedule (said with a British “ssshhhhh”), and got through customs with no hassle (the customs line was about 10 minutes long). My bag was on the carousel and was quickly reclaimed. Mer’s bag came out within a minute, and we thought we could be off. However, her bag was wedged between two huge bags, and I had to move one of them while Mer tried to get her bag off the world’s fastest moving belt. She succeeded at the cost of my scraped knuckles, only to have her bag fly open on the floor. She gathered the stuff up to find that she was missing (and this is suspicious) her bra, every pair of her underwear, and one old shoe. It looked as if her bag had been inspected, and then the two zippers failed somehow – they now only work in one direction (they used to zip in either direction). This caused a minor delay while we filed a report with U.S. Air’s baggage claims. We then turned our attention to getting our mass-transit passes.

London is a very cosmopolitan city. Our first of many indications of this was when we were asking about passes at the information booth – the man inside was from Pakistan, and was hard to understand through the glass. We finally figured out that we needed to use the live-attendant booth (as opposed to the self-service kiosk). We queued up and got to our very friendly (and equally hard to hear) British attendant, who helped us get 7-day “Oyster” passes for the Tube and bus lines. The Oyster pass is expensive (about 27 pounds, or 40 dollars, each), but allows unlimited travel on London’s excellent transit system. Since individual tickets are based on how many “zones” you cross, paying for each ride can get expensive and confusing. Since we rode the Tube four times (on four different lines total) just on the first day, I think the Oyster passes will work out just fine (and take any worry about being cheap on transit away from us).

We made our way onto the Tube with limited trouble (it took a second to figure out the Tube gates – the Oyster cards swiped near sensors to open the gates, and some gates were “in” gates and some were “out” gates). Our hotel was in a section of London called the Docklands, which is east of downtown. Armed with our trusty Tube map, we figured out we needed to use three lines to get to our hotel. That did  not seem like such a big deal. The Tube was very crowded, even at a terminus like the airport, but we were on early, so we were okay. Our first transfer went well (the joys of speaking and reading English!), but the second transfer happened to be at a station that was under construction. It required us to leave the station, go to the street, and walk about a quarter mile to the next station. This was a little taxing with luggage, but not too bad. Until we got to the next station. The lift (elevator) did not seem to be working, so we used the stairs. Being gallant, I carried both suitcases down the stairs. All eight stories of them. Thank goodness it was down instead of up! Happily, since then, Mer has figured out we can use another line, so we should be spared the stairs on the way back.

The Docklands is an interesting place. It reminds me very strongly of Chicago. The Thames is diverted here (presumably for the docks that I have not seen), so the river is very prominent. This appears to be the new business area – lots of small- to mid-sized skyscrapers in steel and glass, and lots of construction. It is full of business-suited people bustling about at 9:00 and 5:00, and has turned out to be relatively quiet (bordering on abandoned) at night.

Our hotel was right next to the Tube station (which by now was a Light Rail station, above ground). We got to our hotel at about 2:00, and were very grateful when the non-British person checked us right in. We took the elevator to the 10th floor, and found our room. It was very nice – the room was fairly large, and the bed looked very welcoming. The British double beds must be about the size of our queen beds, because we did not feel unusually crowded once we climbed into bed. The major downside to the room was the internet situation. Taking a page from the Philly airport, the hotel charged for internet. They wanted 15 pounds (about $25) for internet access! What a rip-off. Then, just to rub it in, it was not even wireless (it was a standard wired connection). Needless to say, I dropped my plan of blogging each day as I had done in San Francisco this last summer.

Meredith long ago figured out a quick cure for jet lag. When you get to your destination, take a three-hour nap, and then get up and tour. The nap gives you energy to get through the evening, but keeps you tired enough that you can get back to bed at a normal hour. By the next morning, you are more or less on the local time. It works well. So, after about 30 hours of work and travel (although I did get a two-hour nap in at home from 10 to noon), we slipped into bed and grabbed some sleep.

We slept for three hours, and then headed into town. Mer consulted her constant companion, Rick Steves, and found a shopping district. We jumped on the Tube and headed into our first night in London! To go underwear shopping (or “pants shopping,” in England). Not even the nudge-and-wink kind of underwear shopping in London.

Still, the shopping area was nice as shopping districts go – lots of people, numerous stores, and lots of lights. We successfully took care of Meredith’s garment needs, and I was rewarded for my patience (and picky palate) by being allowed to pick the restaurant we went to. On the way to the store, I had seen a sign for a restaurant one block off the main drag; it was called Spaghetti House, and I strongly suspected that might indicate Italian foodstuffs. I was right. Moreover, it was run by real we-speak-Italian Italians. Mer was quite pleased with the atmosphere and the food. The meal was very authentic, with Mer’s pizza being very thin and extremely good. She proclaimed it the most genuine Italian pizza she had had since being in Italy over 10 years ago.

London is an expensive place. Essentially, things in London cost roughly the same as they do in Chicago, except in pounds instead of in dollars, and a pound is worth about $1.50 or more. Our little meal (with appetizers, meal, desserts, and tip) came to about 60 pounds. And it was worth it!

After our repast, we took the Tube to downtown (man, those Oyster passes rock!). Oddly, the most touristy sections of the city (near the Eye and Big Ben and Parliament) all close down between 8 and 9. Since it was 9:30, everything was closed, but we had a grand time making a loop from Big Ben, across the Thames, down by the Eye, across a cool pedestrian bridge, and back to the Tube near Big Ben. We made it back to our hotel via a slightly different line that Mer found, one that did not require climbing eight stories of steps and made three fewer stops to boot. It also allowed us to cross another cool pedestrian bridge in the Docklands. Bed was most welcome, and we slept quite soundly. Not a bad day, considering the work/travel involved in the whole day.

(I owe the title of this entry to my ever-clever wife.)

We arrived safely. Our hotel charges almost $25 for Internet access, so I’m doing this from a hot spot on my Touch. More later!

Last Saturday was a date day for me and Mer. We listened to a very excellent Wait Wait, although we listened separately because Mer was coming back from singing practice at church and I was at home. We did laugh about the show once Mer got home. We made some lunch, and then watched a movie (Bon Voyage) about a man in WW2-era France who was framed for murder. It had romance, intrigue, Nazis, and heavy water. What was there not to like?

After the film, we jumped in the car to go to an early supper at Olive Garden, where we had a gift certificate we could use. We were fairly surprised that when we showed up at 5:00, there was a 45-minute wait for a table! I guess restaurants on Saturdays are recession-proof. We put our names in and wandered over to Borders for 20 minutes or so. We did finally get a table and ate too much good Italian food.

When we finally left the restaurant (around 7:00 or so), we went straight to Actors’ Summit to see Nixon’s Nixon, and play about, well, Nixon. The play was a fictionalized account of the meeting between Nixon and Kissinger the night before Nixon resigned. I really liked this play. I did not know too much about either Nixon or Kissinger, and although the play was fiction, the playwright worked many real situations into the play as Kissinger and Nixon talked. There was talk about the Soviet Union, and Israel, and China. There was a fair amount of cursing going on, but we have lots of tape of Nixon swearing a lot – the director said the language was actually toned down from the White House tapes.

The actors put on just enough Nixon-esque and Kissinger-esque accents to make the roles distinctive. The actor playing Kissinger said that Kissinger is so monotone that if he had tried to play Kissinger accurately he would never be heard by the audience. The play focused on Nixon and Kissinger both trying to figure out how to protect their legacy in history books. There are many funny moments with Nixon insisting they role play some of Nixon’s greatest moments, so he has Kissinger play Mao, and the Russian premier and Golda (the president of Israel). It is a fine play, and Mer and I both like getting our history on the stage – it is most entertaining.

Last Friday, we had the joy of a half-day of school. The occasion? CVCA was once again in the Division 2 soccer state finals, and the administration wanted to give everyone a chance to go see the game.

Given the tough choice between going to see state-level soccer or staying at work, Mer and I quickly pointed the car towards Columbus. We were a little anxious when it started to sprinkle about 1/4 of the way there. We started getting worried when it started to rain 1/2 way there. We began planning contingency plans when it started pouring 3/4 of the way there.

Happily, the rain stopped as we got to Columbus. We got into the stadium and sat next to Phil and his wife, and then Dubbs and Joy came over and sat in front of us. The school had given out 500 CVCA towels as spirit and cheer things, and they came in very handy in wiping down our seats.

Things got under way around 3:30. I don’t know much about soccer, but it looked like our guys were not really sharp for most of the first half. Much of the half was played on our side of the field, and our passes were not crisp and accurate. We did score first, so that was exciting, but the other team tied it 1-1 (while I was in the bathroom, of course). End of first half – 1 to 1.

The second half opened with our guys playing much better. The field was reversed (ha!) and most of the game took place on the other team’s side of the field. They did manage to score, but then we scored about 90 seconds later. In the last three minutes, we had two balls bounce off the crossbar and out – it was really close. End of two halves – 2 to 2. (Oh – the downpour came back for much of the second half, so things were pretty wet. It seemed to take just a little speed off of the game.)

Soccer then goes into two 15-minute overtimes (if both are needed). The first overtime was played on our side of the field again (2-2 at end of 1st overtime), and then the sides switched again. A few minutes into the second overtime, we had a breakaway with an excellent pass and shot, and the ball went into the upper corner of the net. Our guys ran onto the field to celebrate the second state title in two years, and we were all going crazy. That is when people started to notice the side judge had called offsides (don’t ask me to explain what offsides is in soccer – it is a weird and complicated rule that I don’t think anyone really understands). Everyone calmed down and played the rest of the second overtime. It ended with a tie, 2-2.

Soccer then goes to perhaps the lamest way to decide a contest in all of sports – a shoot-out. 5 players from each team line up and shoot at the goal which is only defended by a goalie. The goalie basically can only guess which way the ball is going, and so jumps to the left or right when the ball is kicked. CVCA lost the shootout 4-3, so the final score was 3-2. (For those wondering, I would have the teams keep playing, but with one team missing a player for five minutes each – like a power play in hockey).

I was proud of how our students conducted themselves in the game and in receiving the runner-up medals. They never threw a fit on the field, and while downcast, they seemed gracious after the game. I heard that on one soccer discussion board, a man said that he was in a mall where the team went to eat, and he could not tell if they had won or lost because they were excited about their medals. Nice job, guys! What a great game it was.

My muse mostly knows to stay silent, but this popped into my head, based on a poem by Robert Frost.

When I see my birches bend to left and right

Across the lines of straighter higher trees,

I like to think I’ve been swinging them.

But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay.

Ice-storms do that.

Sometimes storms bend birches to where heads touch the ground,

Where I know they cannot be repaired.

I can’t will them to stand again.

But the straighter tree speaks hope and shelter,

Lifted up so high.

It whispers that these birches have been through storms before,

And more will come. The brunt is borne.

When I see my birches bend to left and right

Across the lines of straighter higher trees,

I like to think I can fix them,

But my fixing doesn’t straighten them to stay.

Grace does that.

This last weekend was a pretty good ‘un. Friday after school, I decided I was sick of cooking, so I asked Mer and Zach if they would be open to the Cheesecake Factory for supper since we still had a gift certificate for there. Zach got in touch with Londa, and the evening was a go. Zach was good enough to drive, and we left the house just as the trick-or-treaters were hitting the streets; I was glad to get away since I had forgotten to get any candy for kids. Ooops.

The drive was pleasant, and uneventful. We chatted and laughed and had a general good time. The shocking thing came when we got to the restaurant. I have been going to the Cheesecake Factory on and off for about 12 years now, and have checked out at least three different locations. The place is always mobbed unless you show up at precisely 2:37 in the afternoon. We got there right in prime time – 7:00 on on Friday evening. I was braced for an hour wait or more. Imagine how happy all of us were when we were shown right to a booth. The restaurant was only about 3/4 full – I guess Halloween keeps folks out of the restaurants. We had a great waiter – he gave great service and was really funny. He was sarcastic without being mean, and he was friendly without compromising his performance. The food was grand, as always (I checked out a chicken sandwich), and Mer and I split our usual Factory Mud Pie for dessert. Certainly much better than cooking yet again.

We slept in late on Saturday – until 10:00, getting almost 12 hours of sleep. Needless to say, I did not go running. We puttered around, and went for a quick park outing (more on that later), before getting home at 4:00 for a 5:00 rendezvous with some of our CVCA students for the evening’s festivities. We were going to drive to Grove City College in Pennsylvania (about 90 minutes away). We ended up with three of Mer’s students, two of whom I know pretty well, in the back seat of our car. It was much fun listening to them chat and laugh. Being around younger folks helps me stay young, at least in my head, and it was an easy drive to the school.

We were going to Grove to see Shakespeare’s As You Like It. It is a wonderfully funny play. In the last few years, we have seen it now three times live and once on film, and it is always a good time. It has great characters – the Fool (Touchstone) is a typically brilliant Shakespearean fool. Jaques is very funny by being hopelessly depressed and melancholy. The really wonderful character is Rosalind. Rosalind is smart, resourceful, and funny. She has more lines than any other woman in Shakespeare, and is on stage for about 2/3 of the play.

Before the play, we met up with one of Mer’s former students, Weston, who gave us a quick campus tour. Grove has many new buildings, and they went with the can’t-go-wrong approach of red brick. The 3-year-old buildings look harmonious with the 100-year-old buildings. It is a pretty campus.

We were at Grove because the play had three CVCA students in it that we know, including Kevin, the CVCA alum who has worked with me for the last four summers when I have needed help. He is very funny, and was playing a pathetic, love-sick shepherd.

Grove’s theater program is part of the English department, not its own program, but the theater and set was still extensive. There were multiple roll-away sets, several fly-away screens for backdrops, many fake trees, and a thrust orchestra pit that could be raised and lowered for different scenes.

The actual play was excellent. The sound was clear, the sight lines were good (we were in the front seats), and the energy in the room was fantastic – I’m not sure I have ever been to a show with that many young people in the auditorium. It really added to the evening.

But what stood out was the acting. The actors were flat-out great. There were one or two performances that were less strong, but all the major roles were tremendous. Kevin did a great job with what is otherwise a small role; it is a pleasant experience to know an actor on stage. Touchstone and Jaques were top notch. Rosalind was electric – she delivered her lines naturally, her body language was near-perfect, her emotions were obvious to the audience, and she had really great comedic timing. I was deeply impressed with her, and the show in general. Apparently, I am not alone. There was a reviewer at the show that night who liked the show enough that they may get to do scenes from the play for a special showing in either New York or DC (I forget which).

As an aside, it was like a CVCA reunion at Grove – we ran into at least five different current or former CVCA students (in addition to the three on stage and the three with us). My boss and running partner was there with his family to see his son, Kevin, in the play.

The drive back was also entertaining with the three teens in back (especially the two girls talking about how hot Jaques was in the play), although I was disappointed in that I did not find a Dairy Queen on the way home. I was in the mood for a little snack. That would have been how I liked it.

The only family tradition that Mer and I have that we have observed every year is the carving of pumpkins for Halloween. We even carved pumpkins for a year or two before we were married (illegitimate pumpkins!), so we have been doing this for about 12 years.

This year Meredith once again outdid me. My pumpkin concept was cool, but exceeded my artistic grasp (that of a small child). Mer decided she wanted to carve a scary pumpkin, and she succeeded.

My pumpkin, for those needing help, is supposed to be the constellation of Orion.
Mer’s is two houses in a falling market. The eyes are two houses, the nose is falling (a “down” arrow), and the mouth is a sideways dollar sign. Kudos to Mer for being clever AND for being able to actually make it happen.

Jim and I ran really long runs on the 4th and again on the 11th. Our goal was 20 miles, and to try something different, Jim wanted to park at the train station on the towpath, which is usually my southern terminus for my runs. I was game to see new parts of the towpath. The only downside was we had to run past the sewage-treatment plant that is just a half-mile south of the station. Jim calls the place the “poo-plant” and I have been referring to it that way as well. The first Saturday was cool and foggy, and the poo-plant was in gag-worthy form. We pressed past the stench, and settled into new (for me) territory.

The trail going south becomes fairly wide, easily accommodating three and even four abreast. About 3 miles or so into the run we came out suddenly near Weathervane Theater, which is a theater Mer and I like that is located in the Valley. That was a fun surprise. We crossed under the road, and ran back into the woods.

There are happily three water stops on this section of the trail. The trail itself is very pretty, with a golf course and a few long bridges, and with the Cuyahoga River plunging down out of sight from the trail. Jim and I got to an old Towpath general store that now houses exhibits on the history of Akron and the Towpath. Jim had thought about turning around here (and we did on the 11th), but I wanted to run to a full hour in that direction, and we were only at 55 minutes, so we pressed on. And up. The trail became paved and went up a fairly long 5% grade. We turned a corner, and there it was. Akron. The actual city of Akron. Not in the distance to the south of us, but right there next to us. We had actually run all the way to Akron. We finished up this segment of the run by crossing over the MLK freeway, which put us right at the edge of downtown. It was amazing how quickly you could go from woods and trails on the Towpath to being in downtown Akron. 

We finished the runs both weeks, but they were very difficult. 20 miles is running for 2:40, and everything after 2:00 is hard, and everything past 2:20 is trying.

Last weekend we had to run on our own, and without Jim watching our pace (usually 8-minute miles), I ran 6.5 miles at a 7:25 pace and that is all I could do.

Usually I take Sundays pretty easy, but a couple of weeks ago (Sunday the 5th), we hooked up with our friends Zach and Londa. Oddly, we have built up a tradition of going to see the singer David Wilcox whenever he comes to town. He was in town in Westlake, a western suburb of Cleveland, about 45 minutes away. Zach was kind enough to drive, so we piled into Zach’s car, and away we went.

It was a pleasant enough trip – lots of talk about CVCA (not surprisingly with three CVCA employees in the car), and we got caught up on Londa’s job as well (she is a proofreader for a Christian publishing company). We made it to Westlake Methodist Church (where the concert was being held) with time to spare. We grabbed a pew in the second row, and we waited the half hour or so for the concert to start.

I love folk music. David Wilcox wandered around the church briefly before the concert. He appeared to have guests there, which makes sense since he is from Ohio, so they could have been family. Once the concert started, we were only about 20 feet from David. I have to give LOTS of credit to Westlake Methodist – I don’t know if I have ever been in a better acoustic space. Both the guitar and lyrics came through richly and fully – it was great. David did a number of his more spiritual songs, but he also sprinkled in a few others as well (including “Captain Wanker” and “Rusty Old American Dream.”). It was a very good concert, and I believe it is the third David Wilcox concert that I have seen with Zach.

After the concert, the audience was invited to the church basement for snacks. David was there, selling CDs and signing them. I had some cookies, and then waited around to tell David thank you for his music. I had to wait a fair while, as the man in front of me was a guitar nerd and was asking David a lot of questions about his guitar and his tunings. That was okay. I thanked David, and the man next to David (whom I took to be David’s engineer) offered me some of his sushi. Did I mention I love folk music (but not sushi)? The man even later offered sushi to everyone that was still around in the basement. It was a fine evening.

Using my spiffy new Nike+/iPod combo, I have been logging my running. I like being in shape, and I hope to be in training for a marathon sometime, but the major driving force of my running is trying to lose some weight that I put on last spring and summer. I have had the iPod working for 16 days (11 workouts) now, including my run today. Let’s review the results! How fun!

12 hours of actual running time
About 88-90 miles of distance covered
About 12,000 calories burned

Wow! That is spectacular, I hear you say. I’m pretty proud of it. Net result: 2 pounds lost. Sigh. Back to the pavement (or the Towpath, which is more likely).