Travel / Cubs / Marathon / College...

Wow. Just a quick post here. I have been so very busy since my last post. I hope many of you have had a chance to check out my photos from Australia. What a great trip that was (seems so long ago now...) Anyway, what has been going on??

TRAVEL
I traveled all the way to the USA for a quick 6-day trip last week. The itinerary included Dallas and Houston. I had to go straight from my 30-hour journey TO the factory when I arrived. Boy, that was fun.... Over the weekend of 29-30 Sept, I had an awesome time watching American football, cheering the end of the baseball season, and surprising my friends Scott & Vonda Dyer with a spontaneous visit. Then, during my trip to Houston last week, I had an amazing time with old neighbors from BlackHorse. We were all tired by the end of the evening, but couldn't resist getting together.

CUBS
I still need some time to absorb what just happened. I think I am still in shock / surprise. Were the Cubs really in the NLDS for what, all of five minutes? Could they have looked any worse? Did 162 games of fighting for the NL Central crown have to come down to three lousy games from 03 Oct to 06 Oct? Whoa. Still need some time here -- too abrupt...

CHICAGO MARATHON
I am so sorry to hear / read about all the damage caused by the heat in yesterday's Chicago Marathon. Wow! 88 degF heat? High humidity? One death, 300 in the hospital? Yikes. Some of you non-runners have heard me go on and on about what a pain it is to run in the intense heat. Some of you may recall my "complaining" about the nearly identical conditions I experienced at last year's Singapore Marathon. See? I wasn't kidding. This stuff is serious. I can't believe they had to cancel the end of the race, but completely agree. The typical novice runner training for an October marathon in Chicago would have had no idea he/she would need to be preparing for hot/humid summer conditions.

COLLEGE
We are pretty excited at the Boncimino household. We think we have gotten our list of colleges down to just FIVE. Ashley and I have been researching and studying to figure out where she should apply for college next year. We're looking at all the parameters (competitiveness / acceptance rate / degree programs / reputation / campus life, etc). It's actually kind of fun, but she is the one having to write all the essays and take the exams. Cheryl and I just get to be the financiers for this whole deal. Most of these places are $35k per year + $12k room & board. Hopefully the financial aid folks will be kind and gentle with us. So, wanna know which five universities made the final cut?? I can't disclose that -- you'll have to ask Ashley. Leave her a comment on her blog, and maybe she'll publish something for you. (OK, I might crack at some later point, but I HAVE to build some drama here, ya know??)

FACEBOOK MANNERS
I have learned my place as a GOOD parent. I am happy to say that I have successfully stayed 100% clear of Facebook. In fact, I don't think I have EVER gone to the website, and have CERTAINLY never gone to look for the Facebook pages of either Ashley or Brooke. I read an interesting article (I think in Newsweek) that discussed the need for parents to give their teens some space -- such as by NOT crowding in on their personal websites or blogs. So, I consider their Blogspot homes to be fair game, but not their Facebook homes. I think it is good for A & B, as much as I love and trust them, to have some space where they won't think Cheryl or I are constantly reading over their shoulders or invading their territory. We do still have some Internet content management software in use, but have been loosening it up more and more as they have been maturing and moving along... However, as for Facebook, it is parent-free....

That's all for now. It was SO good to be back home this weekend. :-)

greg