The Learn to Row Comedy Act

I love rowing. Sorry, have I already said that a million times? But to be honest, I'm not very involved with rowing anymore. With a full-time job it's just not very feasible to commit to 5 a.m. practices four times a week. (I have no idea how Laurissa does it - seriously.)

Luckily though, I have enough friends who are still heavily involved with the sport that I can pretend I'm still involved. Three of my friends actually work and row out of Community Rowing Inc. in Newton, MA and through them I have been able to start coxing/coaching a learn to row group one night a week.

Now let me clarify, being in a learn to row boat barely qualifies as rowing. Most of the two hours are spent praying we don't flip, crash, hit things, and make it back to the dock alive (docking a boat filled with brand new rowers may be one of the hardest things ever). But it's fun (kind of) and it gets me back out on the water once a week which I love.

(Out in the barge the first day)

I think some of my favorite entertainment comes from the questions the learn to row rowers ask. Having spent the past six years around the sport and with most of my friends being rowers, I often forget how little others know about the sport. Below are some of my favorite questions that I've been asked in all seriousness. If you know anything about rowing you'll probably get a kick out of them:

"I bet Olympians bring their own shoes and oars."

"Why isn't your skin more leathery from all the time you spend on the water?" (Uh... ever heard of sunscreen?)

While rowing by fours at 10 spm: "So how far off were we just then from an Olympic time?"

After rowing 500 m: "So that was pretty long race, right?"

"Have you always been a bossy person?"

Looking at a new Vespoli 8+: "How much does one of these cost? Couple hundred bucks?"

"Where do you go to high school?" (Uh... I've been out of college for two years.)

After no one on starboard side understanding the concept of taking a stroke, drifting into a sandbar, and me getting out of the boat to push us off of it: "I bet you have to do that a lot." (Nope, that was the first time in my six years of rowing.)

"These boats are heavy."

"You're gonna steer this whole boat with that little rope?! I don't trust that."

"This is just like canoeing, right?" 

"Is being in time an important aspect of it?"

"Can you just say "stop"? That other word is confusing me." Nope.

"This is a lot harder than it looks."

So basically in conclusion, as much as I love this comedy act every Tuesday night, I miss real boats.

(Michigan State's Varsity 8+ at MACRA 2012)

Sweet, Sweet Summer

This past weekend summer weather truly made an appearance for the first time this year in Boston. Summer is easily my favorite season and I happily welcomed the sunny skies and heat. Even though the heat can get to me sometimes, I'd take it any day over the bitter cold of winter. Plus some of my favorite things come with summer:

The Beach
I'm a beach bum through and through. I like the sun on my face, the sand under my feet and breathing in that salty air. I think that's my new favorite part of Boston - the fact that I can hop on the T and in less than 40 minutes I'm staring at that great, big blue ocean. Last weekend, I spent my Saturday lounging by Pleasure Bay and taking a tour of Castle Island.

(Pleasure Bay)

Eating Outside
From BBQ's to picnics to drinks on a patio I love it all. There is something inherently relaxing about spending an afternoon or evening eating and drinking with good friends in the sunshine. Roof-top decks are extra awesome because they provide a spectacular view to go along with a great meal, I'm excited to try some of Boston's - I know Laurissa has been itching to try the Rattlesnake Bar.

Boats
Coming in as a close second to the beach, being out on a boat is another one of my favorite things to do. It really doesn't matter to me what kind of boat either - racing shell, speed boat, coaching launch, kayak - I'm content on any. Sunday afternoon Laurissa and I took advantage of free sailing day in East Boston and I'm really looking forward to the weekend in July I'll spend on Tudd's boat.

(Sailing in the Boston Harbor)

Sundresses
Sundresses are my favorite article of clothing for several reasons: 1) Wearing them involves not wearing pants. 2) You don't really have to put an outfit together, you just put a dress on. 3) You can wear them anywhere. 4) Being 5'1" I have to get a lot of items altered because they don't fit, however, sundresses almost always fit me which is fantastic. I lucked out at H&M earlier this year and snagged a couple of cute ones for SUPER cheap (how can you say no to $4.50 for a dress?).

Weekend Trips
Obviously, you can take a weekend trip anytime of the year but summer's great weather just makes it all the better. I already kicked off the summer with Memorial Day weekend trip to Maine and have a long weekend in Michigan in July and Cape Cod getaway in August already planned, but I'm excited for some of the more spontaneous trips summer brings. Laurissa bought a Groupon for a water park (awesome!) and I want to take another trip to visit NYC.

Recent Reads: Gone Girl

This book. Oh my god, this book.

I had watched the previews for the movie and read some of the reviews before starting in on Gone Girl and I was still shocked. Like shocked right up until the last page kind of shocked.

The premise of the book is that Nick Dunne is the prime suspect in his wife Amy's disappearance. But the plot quickly becomes more convoluted and twisted with every chapter. Something I thought was crazy was how quickly and dramatically my feelings changed for each of the main characters as the book progressed.

There have been a lot of mixed feelings on the ending of the book. I, myself, have mixed feelings on it. Without giving anything away, I felt like the ending was almost too weird - like too forced. The author, Gillian Flynn, did such a wonderful job developing the plot and the characters of Amy and Nick that I felt she sold herself short with the ending. On the other hand, when reflecting back on it, I also feel it was the only suitable ending for both characters.

One other outstanding question/thought I had from the book was the character of Nick's father. Quite a bit of time is spent on Nick's relationship with his father and he pops up at odd times through out the story. However, I almost felt as though he was a little unnecessary since his random appearances and seemingly senile outbursts do not seem to add anything substantial to the plot.

Despite these small issues, I would definitely recommend this book. It is an easy, summer read. It is also not scary (I had to assure Jess of this because she was nervous to start it) just very twisted, but never scary.

Make sure to check out the trailer of Gone Girl below: