Girls vs. Boys at Northwestern

Went to the workshop production of the House's upcoming Girls vs. Boys. It's their next big hit, you can tell. And it was so cool that the son of one of Mr. P's workmates was in a major role!

Grant Park: Luna Negra and Luciana Souza

We didn't get to as much of the Grant Park Music Festival as we wanted to this year, but this was a nice music and dance concert.

Wedding Anniversary at Takashi

A pretty lowkey wedding anniversary, but a very nice dinner at Takashi.

Ummmm, pork belly buns. Ummmmm.

Planning retreat at Argonne National Lab

The usual summer work retreat, but part of it was at Argonne National Lab.






Touring the Advance Photon Source was cool.

500 Clown and the Elephant Deal

This was a bit of a mess. OK, a big mess. Really messy. Some fun moments. But a mess.

Cubs v. Atlanta

Wow, so much baseball this year. Ms. S's workmate had some tickets she couldn't use.

Carlos Zambrano started on short rest to fill in for Ryan Dempster, who missed his scheduled start due to a fractured toe. Big Z couldn't deliver a win, but pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits. A quiet Cubs offense cost Chicago a chance for the win.

Liked this kid:















Guess what promotion night it was?

Brewers at Cubs on the Fourth of July

Game, what game? We were at Wrigley on the Fourth in great seats thanks to my season ticket holding workmate, Mr. E.

Oh yeah: Milton Bradley homered for the first time since May 25, launching a two-run shot in the third, but that was it for the Cubs' offense -- and far from enough after Rich Harden yielded eight runs on seven hits before being pulled in the third inning.

Hot Doug's

What were we thinking going to Hot Doug's the day before 4th of July? Before they were going to close for 10 days? That we would enjoy standing in line for two hours? It was a beautiful day, and it was worth it.

South America

A long work trip with the Dean (and family) to three cities in South America. Sao Paulo, Santiago, and Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires was the recreational highlight. Good food, good museums, good neighborhoods, and we saw a Tango show!

The contemporary museum in Sao Paulo.
















The view from my hotel window in Santiago.















A wonderful lunch at La Brigada in the San Telmo neighborhood in Buenos Aires.




















Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires.