Sad End to a Great Weekend

Well this weekend I went with Jena to Syracuse for Homecoming. Jena was invited back by the Information Sciences school to an Alumni Career Panel where she spoke and attended a reception for current students. She did great, like I knew she would...so I got in Friday and we woke up Saturday and took a nice walk around Syracuse's beautiful campus. I can see why people want to go there. It's a great campus in a town with a lot of old-school character. The students are excited about the school and the sports. This was my second visit, the first time to watch Hakim Warrick have a dunk contest with himself against Providence a few years ago (there was also a basketball game that Syracuse won by about 30). This time I attended a football game where SU jumped out to a 14-0 lead against a tough Rutgers squad, but proceeded to lose 38-14. It was fun to take in the game - we met Jena's aunt and uncle and her cousin, also a SU alum. We then hung out in town, the flew back yesterday morning, where we watched the Redskins fumble and drop a sure win into a disappointing loss. To top it off, we walked outside as the game ended to find that my bicycle was stolen! Hrrmph. If you see a crackhead riding around the streets of DC on a bike that looks like this:



Please feel free to smack them. I loved that bike!

The trip did give me a chance to complete the Magellan book, which was an entertaining read, and then a chance to crush through George Pelecanos' book, The Night Gardener. It was a great read, as they all seem to be. Gritty crime novels all, the stories are based in Washington DC, which is great for me, as I can really picture the scenes that he sets. Pelecanos has developed a wide range of recurring characters that you can empathize with, and despite the very dark nature of most of the novels, he always sprinkles in some hope. I definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes crime novels, especially if you are a DC resident and/or native.