Spring a Leak

Hi. Happy April.

My trip to Vegas for the first weekend of March Madness was fine. Georgetown lost in the first round again, but at least VCU, who beat them, went on to the Final 4 and proved they had some game. Improbably, I won my bracket pool, mostly thanks to Kemba Walker, as UCON was the only Final Four team I selected correctly.

There was some late snow here in Charlottesville, that caused snow to fall on the trees blooming outside our apartment. (photos pending) .

Again this year, for April Fools weekend I joined the ladies of Flash Taco at the Fools Fest Ultimate Tournament in Fredericksburg, VA. Much fun was had. This year was quite a reunion and I got to play with a number of people I hadn't seen in ages, some of whom were new moms that brought the babies. We also had a bachelorette weekend to celebrate, so antics were at max capacity. Dave came to watch for a day and see what all the insanity was about. I had a lot of fun.

Me & Dave.

Me (in the Taco) running down to get on D.

Jen, baby Bella and the Taco

This weekend we are headed to Charlotte to see a junior girls soccer tournament. Go Lucy! Coming soon is Derby in Louisville. Hope your spring is going well.

Your Humble Courtnespondent, Reporting On Location...

Howdy. Against all odds, I am still surviving south of the Mason-Dixon line. Apparently one can breathe down here. I have some cred, since I was actually born in North Carolina, but after 11 years in NYC that hardly counts.

Charlottesville is fine. There are plenty of restaurants and bars, so I'm fed, and watered. I've been cooking a bit more than I used to, since we have a big kitchen. I'm luxuriating in doing laundry at any hour of the day in my own home. I thought I would be really excited about the microwave too, but I haven't used that yet.

Here's how Dave is doing, after living with me for almost two months. I'm looking into a prescription for Levatol for him:
And maybe some Paxil.

We're at a tourist trap on VA-I64 between Charlottesville and where Dave's parents live called the Natural Bridge. It's a tall gap carved into the limestone by a stream. It's actually really pretty:

Dave took me to Blacksburg, VA to see College Game Day when Duke was ranked #1 and came to VaTech. It was a crazy time. The kids jumped around and screamed the whole game. It was hard fought and a close game all night and the 'Hokies*' pulled out an upset victory. (*As far as I can tell, Hokie is a hillbilly term for turkey.) Here's us at the game:
The whole stadium was shaking. After the final seconds ticked off the clock, the kids stormed the court. They danced and cheered for ages:
The Turkeys went on to lose their next two games, but beating Duke was an ACC conference grudge match, so they were happy. They'll likely get their first bid to the NCAA tournament in years, largely due to the expansion from 64 to 68 teams.

Speaking of the tournament, I am all jazzed about the Madness of March. Look out for the Big BEast!! This year's tourney at MSG was great. Kemba Walker could be this year's Carmello Anthony so be aware. Of course, I was disapointed in the Hoyas showing, but they may be a bit better in the NCAAs when Chris Wright comes back. Then again, I am still smarting from the round one-and-done exit last year, so I won't count any chickens...

Once again, I'll be watching the first weekend of the tourney in Las Vegas, so I can bet on all the games. I'll let you know how that goes.

After that, it's not too long until Fools and the Derby. Get amped.

Don't Look Back Like Dylan in the Movies

So, I had an amazing going away party at Blue and Gold. There was strong representation from many friends old and new and many, many PBRs were consumed. Thanks to everyone who made it by. I'll miss you! Let me know when you are coming to Charlottesville!

At the going away I was presented with a pretty Fing awesome cake. Yep, that's me. And me again wearing a taco costume at Fools (which has been tucked into a spirit award in the form of tie-died tighty-whities) and me again in Copenhagen in 2006 with Ambush. I've had some really amazing times with my ultimate ladies in NYC and I will miss them so much.

Here's me and the amazing cake:
And me and Erica and Tucker (and some of Ali):

And me and Ali, Georgia, Erica and Tucker:
Me and 55:

And me with Taliesin, Erica, Ali, Georgia and Tucker:
Thanks Guys. I had a blast!

That was Thursday.

Friday, I packed all day, (with a hangover, thank you shot buyers) and Dave took the train in around midnight. Saturday, we rented a U-Haul and drove to Charlottesville. The drive went pretty well. (Thanks to Dave for doing all the driving.) Sunday, we had movers help us with all Dave's stuff from his other apartment and also unload the Uhaul. Worth every penny! Then there was much unpacking and picture hanging. I like the place a lot. Here's two views of the living room from opposite angles:

We get a lot of light and there is a nice spacious kitchen. We have a spare bedroom so be sure to let me know when you are coming to town.

So far, I have been traveling for work to Knoxville, Reston and New York. When I'm home I've been getting settled in. Since most of the boxes are gone, I've really been enjoying Charlottesville. I've been running. I took the bus to give blood. I ran a track workout (8 200s) and today I crashed the winter league and played a game. It was a nice bike ride to and from. I've been cooking a little more (I made some pretty good chili.) So far, so good. I'll keep you posted.

Happy New Year!!!

Hey there. I hope your 2011 is going great so far. I had a nice Christmas at my sister's house in Raleigh, NC. Due to the blizzard in NYC, I changed my travel plans and got to see Dave for his Grandmother's Christmas in Virginia. We took the train up to have New Year's Eve together at my place, where a game night was held. (Apples to Apples, Wii Boxing, Celebrities.)

I have very limited recollection, but apparently I had a great time:

(Thanks to Jesse for my awesome new jacket for Christmas.)

This weekend I am excited about the NFL wildcard games. My pics are Saints, Ravens, Colts and sadly, the Packers. Go Eagles! Prove me wrong!

Things are very busy. I just got back from working in Knoxville, TN and next week I am off to Reston, VA. Next Thursday I fly to Louisville, KY for my Grandmother's funeral. After that I'll be back in NYC for packing and a final send off. What?!?!? Oh yeah:

I'm moving to Charlottesville, VA. I'm moving there on January 22. Sorry, if you were planning on visiting me in NYC, you will just have to visit someone else. Charlottesville is the home of UVA and nice fall foliage. I'm sad to be leaving NYC, but it had been 10 years, and NYC isn't going anywhere. I may be back.

Come and see me in Charlottesville after I get settled. It's a nice little town.

Courtneyspondence will take a turn again. What was once a travelogue for my adventures in Melbourne will now be an ethnography on life in the small town south and a withdrawal journal on going cold turkey on the convenience of NYC. As always, please stay tuned.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick…

Greetings all and Happy Holidays! Here’s hoping this annual letter finds you healthy, happy and well. I’ve been writing holiday letters for a long time now, and this is the first year I have ever considered giving it a pass.

As many of you know, this has been a tough year for the Kellys. In August, my father Mike died suddenly in Maryland from epilepsy. It was quite a shock and has been very sad. We miss him terribly. This December, his mother Mary Kelly also passed away. Losing my father, and subsequently my grandmother, has cast quite a shadow over this year.

However, the holiday letter tradition was one of the many important things I learned from my dad. As children, all year long, my sister Lynn and I were motivated to try and accomplish things that might make his annual family year-in-review. (Looking back, I think it was the only reason I won the science fair in 7^th grade.) Total number of mentions was the best way for me to take the measure of a year. (Even a major illness was worth it; any press is good press.)

I think my Dad thought that a holiday letter was a good way to stay in touch with friends far and wide, and to show that he cared enough to reach out with glad tidings. I agree.

To that end, I offer this 2010 edition:

This year, I continued to live in Brooklyn, NY (in Ft. Greene) and take advantage of the proximity to the park, the shops and restaurants. I love this neighborhood.

I am still working as a consultant at Perfect Sense Digital, and my client is still Scripps Networks (the parent company for Food Network and HGTV). I am still traveling to Knoxville, TN regularly and my exhaustion with spending time in airports is exceeded only by my respect and fondness for the folks I work with down there in that beautiful city. I still work Monday-Wednesday, and I strongly recommend that.

In my free time, I had the privilege to coach the Beacon High School Girl’s Ultimate Team (with my co-coach Dave, who I would not have survived without). I learned so much from coaching. It’s harder than it looks! The dedication of those girls, who practiced at 6 AM on Thursday mornings in the cold and dark, was a source of inspiration. We had some great tournaments and the highlight of the season was a trip to Vermont where the team beat their cross-city rivals (Stuyvesant HS) for the first time in many years. Why drive 9 hours in a mini-van full of screaming girls to play a team who is also based in NYC? Why indeed!

This summer was a blur and I was almost never home.

I attended a beautiful wedding in Kennebunkport, Maine. (Congrats again to Ali & Dave!)

(Here's me and Emily, another guest, at the wedding.)

I had a great trip with my extended family to Oak Island, NC in July. It was wonderful to see all my aunts, uncles, cousins and second cousins, and the trip is now an especially cherished memory of my dad enjoying time with the whole family.

In August, my niece Kate came up visit the big city for a weekend and wore me out, dragging me to dance performances, art museums, restaurants, musicals, Coney Island and Central Park. It’s pretty awesome that she’s old enough to be an independent person and fun to hang out with. Look out world. Her parents and her sister Lindy still live in Raleigh and are all doing great. I expect a visit from Lindy any day now when she hitchhikes up on her own and tells me she is starring in her own one-woman show on Broadway.

(Here's Kate eating a Famous Fry at Nathan's Famous on Coney Island)

This year, as usual, I also spent a lot of time and energy on Ultimate. I became a certified coach, hosted a coaching clinic, and I volunteered to be the Metro NY sectionals coordinator.

I also started a second women’s club team in NYC, Women’s Team Frisbee. We hadn’t had a second team in town in years and it was a lot of work coordinating tryouts, practices, rosters, tournament entry bids and jerseys. As a team, we traveled to tournaments in Devens, MA (twice), Ottawa, Canada, Philadelphia, PA, and Connecticut (twice). We qualified for the North East Regional Tournament and had a lot of fun playing all season. I enjoyed competing in the Womens’s division again and playing for the first time with so many new faces.

(Here's the team, me in the bottom middle with visor.)

(And here's me Narrowly throwing over the mark.)

In September, we had a Funeral Mass for my father in Maryland where I saw so many long time family friends, and in October we had a small ceremony on his birthday at Oak Island, NC. Thanks so much to everyone who attended, wrote or called to express his or her sympathy.

In November, we celebrated Thanksgiving at my Mom’s house in Maryland, and I’d be lying to say it wasn't weird or hard, but we got through it with help from my friends Dave and Sarah (who brought reinforcements in the form of her sister, sister’s fiancée and beagle, Annie). It was very sad, and concurrently quite fun, in the impossible way that those things often are.

December finds me planning to head to Raleigh, NC for Christmas as usual and reflecting on a hard year. I feel fortunate to have such wonderful people around me. Thanks to all of my friends and coworkers who have given me so much love and support. I do plan to return the favor, so consider this an IOU.

Wishing you the best in 2011! Happy New Year!

Prepare!

It's almost time for the 2010 edition.
Here's a refresher on 2009:
http://courtneyspondence.blogspot.com/2009/12/not-creature-was-stirring-not-even.html

It seems that despite my expectations, life goes on. We've had a funeral mass in Myersville, MD in September and commitment ceremony down at Oak Island, NC last weekend on his birthday. Both were very sad.

So many of you have called, written and sent cards. Thanks so much. I haven't replied to most of you, I just don't know what to say and I don't really like talking about it. Of course we miss him terribly. The initial shock is wearing off and the dull realization of the new reality is setting in. I still forget most of the time, and catch myself thinking that I need to tell Dad about something I saw on Sportscenter. Support from so many people has really meant a lot and made this time more bearable.

Mostly, I feel tired and listless and not interested in much, so there's not much to blog about. We are getting ready for Thanksgiving, which will be at Mom's house and will certainly be very strange.

I am on the floor.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/louisville/obituary.aspx?n=michael-william-kelly&pid=144989863

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87YKGdB4IYVQI1zNSnKHBCZSWiitFt0RG9egLHOIa1eEOGrIJIbDARi8RAaR4qP_H0DBlA8fpzpjwLHqMHm4DH6nRLV_QhBJsKNofeSHB3ijeOlVU3uNUGO-taYYz0bbpfXm7p4XjV6a4/s1600-h/barbandmike+031.jpg

kate. books. links.

This is the view from the Ferris Wheel at Coney Island. I was out there with my niece Kate. She came to NYC to look after me for a few days.

Here she is eating a famous fry at Nathan's famous:
Needless to say I was quite complimented whenever anyone asked if she was my daughter. We had a pretty fun time. We went to a dance performance by Pilobus. We went to the Broadway Musical Wicked. We did some back-to-school shopping. We took the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and saw polar bears at the Central Park Zoo. We saw Despicable Me in 3D, which I liked a good deal. She had to get back to Raleigh to take a babysitting course, but I'm pretty sure she knew everything she needed to after taking care of me for four days.

In other news, you know I've been flying around and running around a lot, like I do.

I was in Ellington, Connecticut last weekend with 15 fine women from Brooklyn's Women's Team Frisbee. We had a rough go of it, but had fun nonetheless.

All the flying for work and play has me madder than ever about the freezing temperature on airplanes. I'm planning to get a thermometer and keep it with me at all times. Take that airlines, I'm taking readings. And recording them. So there! (I'm too busy to start that project up right now, but consider yourself warned.)

One upside of all the time on planes and at the gate is a bit more time to read.

I finished David Foster Wallace's Consider the Lobster essay collection. It was fun reading that on the plane to Ali's wedding and getting dirty looks. I had always though of DWF as too condescendo and cute with all the footnotes of footnotes, and I'd pretty much dismissed him as a dry pedant. I had based that on one essay, "Host" which I had read years ago. That essay is particularly heavily footnoted, and in an artsy, postmodern way that really does not work in print format, but should be a linked webpage. I'm really glad I gave him another chance. While some of the essays in the collection are pretty dense and would at best only interest those already intimate with the subject on which he is training his microscope, others are hysterical, touching or both from the first sentence. "Big Red Son" in particular was fascinating. My take away from finishing the collection was that each essay pretty much holds it's tone and form, so if you hate the first 3 pages, skip it, it's going to be more of that. Skip to the next essay right away because it might make you laugh and cry at the same time.

On books that elicit both tears and laughter, I urgently implore you to get your hands on a copy of Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You as fast as you can. I cannot recommend this strongly enough. I got this book from a tip from a friend at work in Knoxville. She was right. I laughed out loud on the plane and people looked at me funny (like reading Sedaris). This might be my Corrections for this year, a book I give everyone for Christmas. It has a dysfunctional family in common with Corrections, but one not quite so dark.

I also quickly finished Paul Harding's Novella tinkers. This was trying a bit too hard to be Faulkner and missing for me. The Pulitzer Prize winner segs seamlessly between three generations of Crosby men and their musings and hallucinations, with lengthy nature description passages and detailed clock repair passages woven in between. The novella was like a pretty quilt, but I like my fiction with a bit more plot and purpose.


Odds & Ends:

Jesse just reminded me to stay up on Zach Galifianakis.

No one needs to remind me to stay up on Kenny Powers. He's keeping the pen.

Dorks sent this along, which reminds me of my flying adventures. I wish there was a cartoon of him trapped in a block of ice.

Periodically the NY times runs a story, the gist of which is, "people play ultimate." I think we all recall in May of 2009, when they broke the story "ultimate is a sport and girls can play it."

Someone just anonymously posted this picture of me to my other blog as a reminder. I'm playing that game where the last one to touch their nose is it. I was not it!

The Gastronauts were in the New York Times again too. Breaking News!

14 years later and they got a hit on me in the Bone Marrow donor registry. Thanks Charlotte! Stay tuned for how that progresses.

Platinum Elite?

8 flights in 9 days. 6 of them were late. 8 of them were freezing. Why does it have to be so cold on planes? Every flight I wear a long sleeve sweater or hoodie and every flight I almost cry from the cold and it is July and otherwise I would be wearing shorts. Why airlines, why? I got stuck in Atlanta overnight when my 'on time' flight sat on the tarmac waiting for a gate until my connection left. There are about 35 hotels that function to serve the rotisserie city that is comprised of stranded travelers from that airport each day. I couldn't believe the scope and scale of the operation.

Ottawa was tough. It is far away. Everyone was exhausted from the 8 hour drive. We had a torn ACL in the second game of the weekend. It seems like there is one every year and I just hate it. I am so sorry Cash Money Smith.

I went to Oak Island and got to see most of my extended family. It was great to see everyone. I always forget how much I like it at the beach house. I like biking around. I could stay there all summer, but as soon as I leave, I can't find time to get back for a year. Ultimate ate my life.

At the beach I borrowed my sister's Bonobo Handshake. I had been a close follower of the blog so I thought I knew it all, but the book was still a compelling read. If you have any interest in animals, African politics, humanity or sex you should check it out.

My niece Kate will be here in 4 days to visit NYC for the first time. Should be a lot of fun.