The Weekend

Oy, I'm exhausted.

Here's the rundown from the past weekend.

Friday, graded papers in the morning, went to see the Arizona Ballet at a Tempe Park. Dance under the stars--pretty cool. And Ciela actually watched the dances for a while, and was not to ornery just sitting on a blanket playing with toys and talking to all the people around her.

Saturday. 50 mile ride around Central Phoenix. Lots of time along canal path, which is just like Venice if you squint into the direct sunlight. Ciela and Judy went to the zoo, and we all had a nap in the early afternoon. Saturday night, Dinner at Nick's--great little storefront Italian restaurant. Gnocchi for me, tagliatare for Judy, both for Ciela, and cheap Chianti for everyone. Then shopping at Wild Oats. Having a baby certainly redefines what constitutes a wild Saturday night.

Sunday, 3 mile hike up to Pinnacle Peak, which isn't as impressive as it sounds. Yes, it does go uphill, but not that much. Most of the peaking is done in the car beforehand. PP park is apparently hugely popular now that the weather has broke (meaning highs only in the very low three digits), so the trail was very crowded. But Ciela likes this and says hi to everyone from her backpack. Great views of the valley, and we could see the tops of very expensive homes surrounding very cool and inviting looking pools. When jaunting about north Scottsdale, one must keep reminding one's self that money cannot buy happiness and that one has chosen a different, more enlightened path in life, and that a private swimming pool set amidst a gorgeous courtyard at the base of spectacular grannite outcroppings really isn't all that special compared to the life of an English adjunct.

And BONUS! we saw our first diamondback rattlesnake on the trail. Cool and only a little bit scary until we were sure he wasn't interested in eating us.

Sunday afternoon, naps, crappy NFL football and cleaning bathrooms.

Sunday night--soccer season started. Yahooo.

Yahoo until the actual game when I boot a free and clear breakaway in the first half. Then score an own goal near the end of that first half. We lose 0-3, and my goal was the last one, so we would have lost anyway. The captain had me playing out of position, sticking me at center midfield; the perfect place for an out of shape guy with no dribbling skills. But in my defense, I did produce some very nice through balls, and was at least in the right position to create the breakaway attempt. And I scored zero own goals in the second half. Judy said I did fine, but then again, she is married to me. We have cool purple uniforms. Well, we have purple uniforms.

Then monday was back to earth, grading papers, schleping Ciela over to the park. Getting the car cleaned out. The mindless day to day of keeping entropy at bay.