Hot chocolate and a freshly baked chocolate croissant, comparable to what he remembers from France, has Nicolai very happy with our choice of restaurant, The Butcher and the Baker. He is less pleased by the delay to his food enjoyment imposed by the taking of this photo.
On the way to breakfast, Nicolai cannot resist an opportunity for a little rock climbing.
Our hotel is located in Mountain Village, a 15-minute gondola ride from downtown Telluride at an elevation of nearly 10,000 ft. Today we have no speaking engagements and we start the morning enjoying the spectacular views from our balcony.
After an enthusiastic response to the film, Nico and I take the stage for a ten-minute Q&A session with the audience. Nicolai seemed very comfortable and did a great job responding to questions. He became a little tongue-tied, however, when he was asked by the mother of two teenage girls, seated beside her, if he was currently dating anyone.
By show time the intimate theater is packed to its 200 person capacity. Nico and I join the audience for what will be our first viewing of the film on a big screen.
During the interview a queue starts to form behind us at the Sheridan Opera House where Nico’s Challenge will screen for one of two showings.
As guests of the festival we have four assignments to complete. The first is an interview with Outside Television during which we respond to questions about the film, our climb, and future plans. The crew included two cameramen, a sound engineer, a producer, the interviewer (pictured here) and several assistants.
Nicolai and I have been invited to attend the Mountainfilm Festival where the short film documenting our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro will be screened. Nico’s Challenge, masterfully edited by local producer, Steve Audette, was one of ten documentaries selected from a field of 600 entrants. Even before picking up our credentials, which gave us Carte Blanche access to the entire festival, Nicolai is stopped several times on the street by local students and Mountainfilm volunteers who recognized him from an advanced showing of the film at the high school earlier in the day. I felt like I was traveling with a rock star.
Nicolai and I flew to Montrose, Colorado this morning where we rented a car and made the 90 minute drive to Telluride enjoying spectacular views of the San Miguel Mountains along the way.
It was very sweet watching Maya and Nicolai play Frisbee in the back yard this evening. Neither could be bothered to stop for dinner and Jeanine and I just sat back and enjoyed the sibling harmony. Maya started out wearing a blue skirt over her leggings but that was soon shed to increase running speed. Her catching skills are quite good and Nico was very patient as her throwing accuracy continues to improve. No posts until next Tuesday when Nico and I return from the Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride. Meanwhile, Jeanine and Maya head to Ferry Beach, Maine for the weekend, leaving Kyle in Concord to make money with his new landscaping business.
Each morning I review my meeting schedule at work and choose the most casual/comfortable clothes that are consistent with appropriate business attire for that day. Yesterday, I hosted a meeting with the Chairman and CEO of Texas Instruments (30 billion dollar market cap) so I dressed up. Today I had no external meetings so I dressed down (polo shirt, cargo pants, hiking boots). A few minutes before lunch I got an e-mail from my boss asking me to make a 15 minute presentation to the iRobot Board of Directors at 3PM. Needless to say it was a busy afternoon which included a return home to snarf down lunch, change clothes and give myself a haircut followed by an intense workout with PowerPoint which I finished at 2:59PM. I entered the Board Room, pictured above, minus the 20 person distinguished audience, tried to appear calm and did 30 minutes off the cuff. Going forward, I plan to leave a full change of formal clothes at work for just such occasions.
The peonies are popping all over the yard. In addition to the variety pictured here we also have them in white and pink. Needless to say this all makes Jeanine very happy.
We learned today that “Nico’s Challenge,” the short documentary film by Steve Audette of Nicolai’s Kilimanjaro ascent won first place in the 2010 Emerging Filmmaker Showcase sponsored by the American Pavillion. The showcase is timed and located to overlap with the Cannes Film Festival with the goal of exposing attendees to exceptional films by students and emerging artists. Winning films are featured in a a screening for an invited audience of industry professionals. We are thrilled for Steve, who produced this piece on speculation and is now receiving the recognition he deserves. A reduced resolution version of the 15 minute film can be viewed by following this link. Although Nico will not be strolling down the red carpet at Cannes pictured above, we are delighted that his story continues to be told.
In my hands is a jar of Number 9 Salsa earned for scoring a goal in my soccer game this morning. I arrived at the Wayland Veterans Memorial field dressed as shown with no intention of playing due to pain in my knee (arthritis I am fairly sure). By half time with no score in the game I was so frustrated being on the sidelines that I decided to try and play. I borrowed a set of cleats (half size too small), shin pads, socks, shorts (from a kid on the sidelines), and a jersey to join my team for the second half. I scored a nice header to help our side secure a 2-0 win. We’ll see if I can walk tomorrow.