Edinburgh and Durham

Ah…Edinburgh, the city of…something, I guess.  And of course the capital of…well, something I guess (the confusing entity that is Scotland).  But what Edinburgh may lack in snappy city monikers and political influence, it more than makes up for in style and history.  And metal giraffes…

Definitely the best metal giraffes I've ever seen

Heat Wave!

A virtual heat wave has swept through the south of England today. Temperatures have reached a sultry 90 degrees Fahrenheit in Cambridge.  Without air conditioning, this is a bit uncomfortable, but I guess it will prepare us for our return to Florida next month.  And on the plus side, the hot weather provides a cornucopia of topics for conversation.  You know the type, "It's blazing out there today...a real scorcher...it's so hot!"  There won't be a moment of awkward silence as long as the heat sticks around.  Of course, it's supposed to be back in the 60's by Wednesday...

Wimbledon: Wednesday

On Wednesday we were back for more…this time queue style.  One of the big traditions at Wimbledon is the queue, which is pretty unique for major sporting events because you can line up the morning of (or night before for the more hardcore fans) and gain entry for reasonable prices. Plus, a substantial number of tickets for Centre Court, Court 1, and Court 2 are made available.  Unfortunately for us, the British favorite Andy Murray was on Court 1 on Wednesday, so the queue was longer than Tuesday.  We got in line at 7:30 and just missed the last of the Court 2 tickets.  I wanted those because my old nemesis Mardy Fish was first on Court 2.  Anecdotally, the Murray effect is quite large as the person sitting behind us on Centre Court on Tuesday said they got tickets from the queue and they said they entered also around 7:30.

The Queue

Working it out in the queue, guns like those don't make themselves

 Anyway, we landed grounds passes and got to see a lot of this to start with.

 

I have to say though that the Wimbledon weather forecasters are pretty solid.  They said at 11 a.m. that it would dry up by 3 p.m. and play ended up starting at 3:30.  The weather delay gave me that chance to try clock my serve in the Let’s Play tent (a somewhat respectable 85 mph…I could definitely compete with second serves of the women).  And we also had more time to eat 6 to 8 more containers of these…

Apparently the strawberries are special ordered and delivered from Kent.  It shows.  The consistency and quality is incredible.  I really can’t say enough about this.

And most importantly during the rain delay, I learned once again how great my wife is.  The couple behind us on Court 12 during the delay featured the whiniest girl friend/wife ever.  At about 11:30, she was complaining that they had now "wasted the entire day" and that sitting there waiting for it to stop raining was "ridiculous."  I did like the guy's reply though..."It's not even noon yet...how have we wasted the whole day?"  And also while we were waiting for the weather to clear, Venus was playing on Centre Court.  She dropped the first set in a tiebreaker prompting the guy beside us to say, "Venus isn't out of it."  My wife responded eagerly, "No way...Venus is a fighter, she's never out of it."  (I was like, "Huh, where did that come from?  I like it.")  The guy then said, "I wouldn't be surprised if she comes back and wins."  My wife asserted with great conviction, "Oh, she'll definitely win."  (I'm so not worthy...and by the way, Venus won 8-6 in the third). 

We finally got to see some live action on Court 12.  Richard Gasquet versus Igor Kusnitsyn.  Gasquet has an awesome backhand and pretty much dominated.  But the highlight of the match was definitely the chair umpire (see below…it’s pretty obvious why).

Kusnitsyn, Gasquet, and the dreamy chair umpire

Richard

So, I guess that's about it.  We have to run off to Edinburgh now, so that's all I've got time for.

Wimbledon: Tuesday (More PIctures)

Wimbledon: Tuesday

Inside Centre Court

 Wimbledon certainly is another of my British sports promised lands (along with St. Andrew’s).  And while seeing and walking on the Old Course at St. Andrew’s is certainly one of my top sports experiences…I’m not sure if even that can compete with experiencing Wimbledon in full force. 

We made a two day trip down to London and were able to see almost everything Wimbledon has to offer…except Rafael Nadal…

Wimbledon Coverage

Our pilgrimage to the promised land...aka The 125th Wimbledon Championships aka The All England Lawn Tennis Club aka The Championships aka "A waste of an entire day" (seriously...I heard this last one...much more on that later). 

Be on the lookout for wall-to-wall coverage with lots of pictures and commentary tomorrow.  In our two days, we saw a lot of the big names and some of the other fodder.  We had some great weather and some terrible weather...typical Wimbledon.  We had the best strawberries in the world...in copious amounts.  It was a great experience.

For now, here's a bit of video footage I captured from the John Isner v. Nicholas Mahut first-round match.  Luckily for us, the match clocked in at about 9 hours shorter than their match-up last year.  And Michelle's favorite player (Mr. Isner) prevailed.  He is quite dreamy after all...and so tall.

One thing I noted watching Isner is that I really feel like I could make it as a tennis coach for professional players.  First off, Isner is 6'9", so telling him to bend his knees more would almost definitely be appropriate. Second, telling him to hit more aces would be a solid strategy. And finally, all I would really do is nail his size 16 shoes to the baseline during practice until he becomes comfortable taking the ball early. There's really no reason for a man his size to be endangering the lives of the lines men and women by rallying from 6 yards behind the baseline...ever.  Heck, he should never stray more than a couple of feet beyond the baseline. If you lose some points quickly by playing more aggressively, so be it...it will pay off in the end.  In all the points in the video he maintained very positive court positioning...it's no surprise he won them all. Simple as that. The ball is in your court John. $250,000 per year plus travel expenses and I'll put you in the top 10....

Big plans...

Because who doesn't enjoy a miniature pine cone?

Plan for the next 2+ days...

1.  Attend lecture by Nobel Laureate economist and NY Times columnist Paul Krugman tonight. Travel down to London afterwards. Might not have time to blog about this talk, but I'm assuming it will be good.  Krugman is pretty awesome and always seems to be a much needed voice of reason in the economics debates. Also, you might remember him from his incredibly random cameo appearance in Get Him to the Greek.

2.  Tomorrow morning, suit up in our best all-whites, take the underground to Wimbledon, devour some strawberries and cream, and take in some Centre Court action from our front (and by front I mean back) row seats. How cool is it that those of us who are sufficiently tech savvy and quick on the trigger (like me, obviously) can buy tickets for Centre Court at the greatest tennis tournament in the world the day before you want to go for less than 50 pounds? I read somewhere that the Wimbledon ticketing process should be the model for all major sporting events...so far, I would agree.

3.  Repeat #2, but this time joining the morning queue for grounds passes...to get the full experience.  Practice court and outside court action is usually the best watching at the big tournaments.

Feel like I should be blogging…

…since I really have no excuse not to.  Other than basking in the sunny (or as has recently been the case, not so sunny) bliss of post-exam glory, I really don’t have much going on.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, having to wake up by 11:30 (or so) is pretty rough, but we’ve been managing to pull it off with flying colors.  And watching six full seasons of How I Met Your Mother in less than two weeks was no easy task, but we managed (I know, please save your congratulations and direct any congratulatory gifts to your favorite charity).  I really don’t know how we’re going to adjust to a return to the working world, if…and I shudder at the mere thought…that day should ultimately come.  Big props to all you long-time 9-to-5-ers out there.  I don’t know how you do it.  I personally think that such jobs, with rigidly fixed hours as opposed to those mythical creatures that require 80 hour work weeks (not saying I believe the latter actually exist, they are most likely fantastical creations that give people something to talk and complain about at dinner parties) are absolutely the most taxing. At least jobs that require extra effort and longer hours must have some level of challenge and interest (I would think)…while the typical 9-to-5 is simply soul sucking. Trust me, I know.  I held such a position for a solid 11 months.  One of the worst experiences of my life. 

Hmmm…how did I wander into this topic?  Oh yeah, boredom.

-  I did forget to mention a couple of fun points from our recent Yorkshire trip. One night in the hotel, I was quite ambitious while sleeping (this brain never shuts off) and decided to head butt the corner of the bedside table not once, but twice.  The first one was rather tame, but the second head butt clearly showed the table who was boss.  It did leave me with a nice knot (or knott?) on my forehead, but it was worth it.  I hated that table.  Michelle commented that I was flopping around all night like a fish out of water.  Solid simile.  Another good one would have been, “you were flopping around all night like a Duke basketball player trying to defend someone athletic.”

Also, the great thing about having a car for a few days was it gave us the chance to catch up on our radio music.  Hipness like this doesn’t maintain itself.  A couple of comments. If the incredible Jessie J hasn’t taken over the American music market yet, just wait…she’s coming. Great voice…plus, I’ve been asking for a long time, “When is someone finally going to write a song that pays homage to price tags?”  Finally! Thank you Jessie J…you earned a follower on Twitter with that one.  Also, great to see Chris Brown making a comeback. However, it’s really confusing when he, JLS, and LMFAO have the exact (and I mean exact) same intro to their hit songs.  What…you haven’t heard of JLS? Get with it.  And speaking of Chris Brown, Rihanna’s new song is beautiful.  No, not that one…the other one.

-  Let’s see…what else have I been doing to kill time?  Well, I have started reading books by Eric Hobsbawm.  I had never heard of him before hearing him mentioned by several of the students in my program.  Turns out he’s one of the top historians of the 20^th century…apparently somewhere along the line my education failed me. Anyway, his books are quite interesting and informative.  I read a good chunk of his autobiography, which was fun because he studied and worked at Cambridge for many years during the 1930’s and 1940’s (and he’s still alive today…which is pretty incredible).  Also, he’s a committed communist/Marxist, which provides a really unique perspective. I know, I know…communist?  “Communists are evil…blah, blah, blah,” says every closed-minded person. However, history…and especially 20^th century history, looks a lot different (and is probably more accurate) when the goal of the historian is not to espouse and defend the unquestioned virtues of capitalism.  Open mindedness is a good thing…yet it is sadly lacking from American life outside of a few intellectual centers.  Case in point, publishing this paragraph likely forecloses any possibility of me ever running for elected office. Oh well…

-  Wimbledon next week!  We’re so ready to get our queue on.  Hopefully it won’t rain the whole time.  Quick comments on the men’s draw.  Mahut-Isner first round rematch of their 70-68 fifth set classic last year…how crazy is that coincidence?  Also, Nadal’s draw seems pretty smooth through to the semis I would think.  Murray’s is trickier with Roddick floating in his quarter.  Federer and Djokovic should get through, I think. Would not be surprised to see a repeat of the French Open semifinals with the top four seeds all getting through.

Yorkshire, Thirsk, Nottingham…and parts in between

With exams safely in the books and nothing left to do on the academic front but anxiously await notice of whether I’m worthy of being a human being or not, Michelle and I sallied forth on a little jaunt into the northern hill country.  We rented a car for the trip because we’re American and therefore hate public transportation.  Really, it was just more convenient and cost-effective this time because we were going to places off the main rail lines…and the rail system is pretty much rubbish and over-priced now since privatization (darn you Thatcher!).  Anyway, the good news is we managed to score a…wait for it…Mercedes Benz as our rental car.  Yeah, how do you like us now?  Apart from the Benz, I had been eagerly awaiting this trip ever since we came to England for several reasons…which shall be elaborated on in due time…

What I'd been waiting for...

Perhaps I never consciously realized what it was, but there was something that has drawn me through much of this past year to the 3rd floor cafe overlooking the River Cam.  I've mentioned the cafe before, it's my favorite chill out spot in Cambridge.  But several weeks ago, I finally experienced what I'd probably been waiting for all along...

It was an ordinary afternoon.  I was on my laptop, sipping a cappuccino, and distractedly watching the punts and row boats passing by in the river below.  When suddenly it happened.  A young couple hired a row boat for an afternoon outing.  There boat was the type where the guy sits, facing his lovely lady and controls both oars with what can only be described as impeccable virility.  You know the type of rowboat...they are often featured in old romantic movies and Andy Griffith episodes when escaped prisoners try to escape but are foiled by a leaky boat.  Anyway, this particular guy was having some trouble steering his boat (no, that's not code).  The poor guy was bouncing off the side walls of the river and ended up pretty much spinning the boat hopelessly in a circle.  Eventually, the woman that runs the boat hire had to come rescue the couple and pull them back to shore.  How emasculating.  I, however, was thoroughly entertained and was a bit sad that the ordeal was over.

Much to my surprise (and delight), minutes later another different type of boat, one where each person controls one free paddle, came bouncing from side to side down the river.  It was the same couple.  Brilliant!  While still trapped in the harbor area, the boat started spinning around again...like a toy boat in a draining bath tub.  By this point, the girl had pulled her oar from the water, placed it across her lap, and folded her arms across her chest in the classic, "I'm done with this" pose.  As a guy, I had serious pity for the poor chap hopelessly trying to salvage his boat trip and maintain his dignity.  We've all been there.  Anyway, I have to give him big props for persevering and directing the boat out of the harbor and down the river...ricocheting from side to side the entire way.

By this point I was thoroughly delighted and all the hours I'd spent in the cafe seemed well worth it.  I do wonder though...did that couple ever make it back?