An Early End to Winter

For two weeks now, at least, we’ve had temperatures in the sixties and seventies almost every day. Some days, it’s even gotten up to the eighties. It feels like as soon as February ended, Winter become a bygone memory.

I’ve been taking advantage of the unseasonal weather by walking to work, enjoying the blooming of the cherry trees and dogwoods along Charles St., and trying to enjoy myself in the outdoors. Last weekend, I even went sailing with Erick and Ali. Erick needed to move his boat in Annapolis from one slip to another, so we ‘took the long way around,’ so to speak, and spent some time out on the water. It was a bit chilly and foggy when I drove over, but after we had been on the water for only ten or fifteen minutes the sun came out and it was absolutely beautiful.

At first it was just the two of us. I fumbled around a bit and tried to remember how to handle things on the boat, then Ali came by and we swung by the red dock house to pick her up. We hit the water again and this time Erick tried to teach us a few things: which sail is the main, which the jib, the sheet, how to tie knots, and things like that. We had a good time, then got some sushi for dinner afterward.

Other interesting news: I had a phone interview with University of Hawaii last week. It went pretty well, but they said they still need a recommendation for me. I’ve e-mail Dr. McCann and Prof. Kundu to try to get them to send one in, but neither of them has replied to me yet. Maybe I’ll have to call one of them up? I’d had to miss an opportunity like this because of a missed piece of paperwork.

Other than that, I’ve been trying to return to swing dancing, eat healthier, and meditate every day. It’s going along in fits, but I think I’m starting to get better at this stuff. Maybe I’ll even get into size 34′ pants again by summer. It would be nice to work off my beer gut, especially if I’m going to be enjoying some Hawaiian beaches in my not too distant future.