moving on up

Helped with the office move and then relaxed in one of the 8 breakout rooms at our new office.

Where are the bottles?

an office with a view

Will miss looking out my window at this, but looking forward to the move

Shamrock Shuffle 2012

A great sunny day with a new 8k personal best of 36:51, a 7:24 pace, made me very happy.

kCurians sporting their pedometers for a work competition

one of the only times Eric has ever seen me drink a beer

beautiful spring morning

cherry blossoms

Was very fortunate to be in DC for the centennial anniversary of the gifting of the cherry blossoms to the United States from Japan.

p.o.v.

Jen and I met mom and Dan at P.O.V., found atop the W Hotel with a great brunch and spectacular views of DC.

The Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. 

Amazingly close to the White House, can you see the snipers?

serendipity

Jen did a fantastic job of picking out restaurants for the long weekend, she just needs to do a better job at getting there on time. I love eating after a race, there is no end to my hunger.

great release

DC to run with Jen in her first half-marathon. The race was on St. Patrick's Day and it was funny to see people had set up beer tables for runners along the 13.1 miles. Great race that took us around DC and the monuments, somehow I missed the White House. 

Early morning race smiles.

Congrats, Jen!

Thinking about that new PR of 1:42:29.

Had to visit Abe.

kRave

To celebrate 50,000 users of our software, the company threw a party at the Redmoon Theater. An interactive theater experience with performers, pyrotechnics and partying.

Pre-craziness.

The DJ went mobile.

An old-fashioned dive suit complete with bubbles shooting off of his back.

These skeletons marched around with guns and then fired confetti onto the crowd.

iCarly, Vemparty and Shana escaped to Public House.

some nights

A random Wednesday evening after work touring many fine establishments in the loop and river north.

Sunny

Ran into Fresh

Hustlers

Ran up all 94 floors, 1632 stairs, of the John Hancock building with teammates Ed, Shana, Megan, Josh and Scott.

It's time for the escalator.

my road to recovery

same as it ever was

so easy to fall right back into my routine, even claimed my same spot here on the grass.

airport beach to black rock and back, 1.4 miles of turtles, crabs, fish and the sounds of whales. against the current or with current, my favorite place to swim on the planet.

sound the conch

need sleepy

The endangered Hawaiian monk seal basking in the setting sun on Kaanapali Beach.

Ad infinitum

Spam

As soon as the race was finished I knew what my meal would be. I can't even begin to explain how much I have missed eating spam musubi, an odd favorite of mine.

you know, for the whales

despite a tough week on my liver in Chicago and a misinformed race official adding an extra mile to the route, I ran fairly a decent half-marathon. it felt great to hear the waves crashing and to smell the ocean air. always good to be with friends and running this course again.

Steve and Brian

lake street bridge

Polar Dash 2012

Ran the 10K along the lakefront and turned in a decent performance considering all the snow and ice. 

Another medal for the sock drawer

Off-Season

Day drinking with friends easily turns in to night drinking around here.

Shana, Mia and Loc

The Little Prince

Spent Christmas Eve with the Vo's and their extended family. Great food and always fun to see Christmas through the eyes of children.

Kayden

New Favorite

Great food, great logo.

Do you believe in Father Christmas?

Josh, Father Christmas & Kristina

Everyone loves Father Christmas, even the girls from Essex.

Santa in a kilt, always a crowd favorite.

My First Hookah

Sitting outside for dinner at a great Middle Eastern restaurant in London, had to try some flavored Shisha. 

hits from the bong

London Calling

Walked into Bill's flat yesterday, he took one look at me and started laughing. "I guess we won't be going out tonight", he correctly stated. Apparently the late nights had taken their toll on me. Today I woke up refreshed, took a run through Hyde Park and was ready to play tourist once again. I rode the Hop On Hop Off Bus around London, make sure you get a guide who tells bad jokes.

Amsterdam

I did make it to Amsterdam for one evening and was able to have the Amsterdam experience I had been hoping for; meeting people, coffee shops, making friends, bars, clubs, and the red light district. No pictures were taken, it's probably best that way.

Musee de l'Orangerie

Having seen them in Chicago and New York, I went to the Musee de l'Orangerie to see more of Monet's Water Lillies. All over the museums here people are told not to take photos yet I see them doing it constantly. I decided to take one here and heard a very loud, "Monsieur" and then received an extremely disapproving look.

Loved this oval room that was built specifically to house these pieces.

My favorite.

Sacre-Coeur

Rode the Metro over to Montmartre. Was warned about the people trying to sell you crap, yet I still let a guy, was from Trench Town who told a good story, sell me an overpriced bracelet for myself. The day was rather rainy and after seeing the Basilica I walked to a cafe and sat in front, under an awning, drinking too many espressos, making friends and watching the rain. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. 

One of the best views of Paris from up here.

Sainte-Chapel

My friend Emily told me to check this place out and said that the stained glass windows were breathtaking, especailly when the sun was right. I showed up and was unimpressed, and then I realized there was a second floor to the building. "Oh my God" was actually muttered as I made the last turn of the stairs into this great room.

Each set of stained glass told a story from the bible, in order. They are over 50 feet in height.

The rose window.

Notre-Dame de Paris

Had a moment here.