The life of a high school kid can't be serious all the time.

Yes, once again Lane is under the pressure of knowing that even being in the top 2% is just a minimum starting point.
A location a distance from the optimum destination. Sure it's a long way from "Based Camp" but that last 1,000 feet up Everest are the most demanding.

So, sure it makes sense take a moment out to act silly before he to needs to take a deep breath and climb those last steps to the summit. 

So let the fun Begin.

Florida 2012- 2013

First bit of good news, it appears that the Earth did not end on 12/21/2012.

Since Mom and Dad bought a townhome in Delray Beach, we have spent Christmas break in Florida. There is something nice about getting out of the winter for 10 days. It is a part of my nature to feel compelled to see each museum, and local attraction, often to the annoience of Ilene, and the confusion of most everyone else. I also, had an obsesion about getting a "Show-off Tan". time has mellowed me, or at least I have lost some of the desire to fight for beach time and 8:00am wake-up calls needed to ccheck off the long list of "Must do, Must see" items on my list. OK, truth be told, we have been there enough times that I don't have much on my must do list, and as I move further from the fantasy that I still look "Cool" on a beach; I have adjusted to the "Hang out game plan.



The truth is, our plans in Florida can get confusing. This is really a GOOD THING. We have a rather large group of people that we need to, and want to see. People laughed when I made my chart, but I did make some use of it over the time. Granted I had a few errors, and ther must be an easier way than using "Paint"

Now the first night we got in, it was near 2:00am; so we pretty much went right to sleep. The next morning we got up walked out to the car, I turned and saw The BATMOBILE parked in the space next to my parent's car.

Now it seemed reasonable to me to call my Dad and tell him the news, His response was,"Oh year, that car has been there for weeks, he lives in the unit next door."  Funny, maybe it's just me, but it seems like that is something worth menssioning in one of the 4 phone cals we have daily.   The 1966 Barris car is probably the coolist car ever built.

Most of the focus of the trip was to just relax and spend time with as a family, and with people that distance limits the amount of quality time we have together.

 

Ok, So I can't totally say ways from attactrations, or for that matter, any opportunty to take photos.

                            Now the city of Palm Beach was created so that very wealthy people have a way to spend large sums of money.

 While South Beach stikes me as a place where people have fun spending month, Palm Beach apears to be a location filled with people who feel it is there obligation to rid themselves of large amounts of cash.

Lane in Play it Again Sam

Lane had a performance as part of his acting Class.   

Latin Acting Company

This is a compilation of members of Latin Acting company class giving their semester performance.


 

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Lane has spent the past two months preparing for the school play.  Saturday I took the day to watch them take photos as well as run through the production. I must say I was both impressed as well as I gained a better understanding of just how much work goes into bringing a play to the stage.

These kids invested between two to three hours per day for many weeks.

Latin School of Chicago presents the world premiere of a new adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, written and adapted by Emily Schwartz.



Emily is a Chicago playwright who is the Artistic Director and resident playwright of the Strange Tree Group.



The play follows Alice as she falls down the rabbit hole into the strange world of Wonderland, as envisioned by a group of 19th century performers. Using acrobatic and tumbling skills, props, and their own bodies, the performers create a world of wonder for Alice to explore.


The cast was trained in movement by CircEsteem, one of Latin's Uptown partners. The full cast went through a week long intensive training session before rehearsals started.



The show is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 24 through Friday, October 26. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults and can be purchased at the door or ahead of time at the upper school reception desk.

Bike Rides Around Chicago

Since I have recognized the lack of wisdom of spending 8 hours baking in direct sun coated in baby oil; we have began to take more bike trips around Chicago.

I try to drag Lane along as often as possible, but play practice, homework, and plan with friends, results in him making about half of the trips.

The distance traveled is dictated in large part by the amount of available time; so our rides can rang from 10 to 30 miles.

This sounds more ambitious than is the case.  I'm not sure what the conversion is, between biking and running, but one trains for a year to run 26 miles, to do that on a bike, you just get on and ride. It is worth mentioning that we are not challenging any of Lance Armstrong's times. We ride a while then stop for a late breakfast. between all the stops and eating, I'm not sure if I consume more calories than I burn off.

We have a few different routes, but we really should add a few for to our repertoire. I see pictures of people, far more adventurous than us, that are riding down mountain paths, one turn away from a 1,000 foot drop. Our ride are far more tame, which is not to say that moving through Chicago does not have it's owe level of risk.

First you have the bike path along the lake-front. This is the most scenic route, and there in lies it's danger. It's popularity guarantees every conceivable mean of conveyance moving at a similar diverse set of speeds. As a result you have "Clipped in" riders flying by at sports car speeds, passing woman pushing baby strollers. Roller blader's side by side trying to get around a kid on his tricycle, joggers following behind some guy on a unicycle as it seems everyone is simultaneously calling out "On your left."

If we choose the streets, we are in constant threat of being hit by a car. The city's definition of a bike path, is to paint a white line on to a busy street. In Chicago it is common to find a car double parked and therby blocking the path, as well as the constant dange of someone opening their car door just as your bike is a few feet away.. The risk is bought home in a sad way when you come accross a "Ghost Bike." marking someone who was killed on that very spot while riding.

Needless to say we do use care when out on our bikes, and yes we do wear helmets.

 

Happy Birthday Judy

Judy got a Birthday surprise when two Long-Time Customers Jake Komay and Rosa Irizarry, Arrive with a Cake inscribed “Happy Birthday Judy"

Read More