My thesis continues to be the center of most of my daily life. Not too different from a baby, perhaps, except that conceiving a baby is WAY more fun than conceiving a thesis topic. I'm closing in on the finish of the thesis proposal, which is actually a pretty major chunk of the effort. It should be done very soon!
Liz Stein (S7 power mezzoalto) married John Ruark on 7 August, in a nice little ceremony at her family's place in the Berkshires. It's just over the New York border from Bashbish Falls and Camp High Rock, where Rites and EDC gatherings are held, and includes a beautiful big house on land sloping down to a big lake. S7 sang one song as part of the ceremony, but my sound system was working all day, providing some background music for the outdoor area. It's fun to have the capacity to do this kind of thing! Afterwards we had a great meal, and got pretty silly, eating the rosemary table decorations, flossing our teeth with the raffia and so on. Most of the rest of S7 was staying at a little country inn, but I was trying to save money, so I parked in their lot and slept in my van. This worked fine, although people stared at me while I was doing taiji in the morning.
S7 also put on a show at Ryle's Jazz Club in Inman Square, 19 October, with two other local bands (In The Mix and AKA Pelican Groove), which was a good show and a nice opportunity to compare ourselves to other talent. Steve, the new bass, seems to be up to speed, and fairly well integrated into the group.
The only movie I've seen all summer has been the Blair Witch Project, with Jen Safford. Good movie, but too many noisy teeny girls in the audience, who wouldn't shut up.
I had one good hike this fall, on 28 September. Fran and I scaled Sandwich Dome, which was a good hike. Pictures and hike report are here.
My relationship with Lee continues to be fun but a little bittersweet. I've had several good weekends at her place, and she travels to visit me when I'm busy with thesis work (which is most of the time). We also went to PanThea together, which turned out to be one of the rougher times (background issues, no harm done).
On 25 September, Jeff Fabijanic (friend of mine from the old days at MIT) had a house cooling party to bid farewell to the fantastic place he's been living in Jamaica Plain. This is the place with the cupola and roof deck, and the speakeasy in the basement. A truly wonderful and unique place to live, and Jeff is sad to see it go (but it's just not affordable any more, rents are skyrocketing all over town). Good party anyway!
I've done some brewing. Over the summer I tried a mead from orange blossom honey, to see if the orange flavor would come through, but it didn't really. I also started a hearty ginger mead at fall equinox, which is already killer, and a light cyser (apple juice and honey) at Samhain. Should be good! The Brewers Offering at BU (20 August) was a great opportunity to sample loads of fine local brews. It gets awfully crowded, but I got to see quite a few friends there, and compare notes on our favorite styles.
Happy fall everyone!
Wil