Ten minutes into my soccer match this morning, I tweaked my hamstring and could not play for the remainder of the match. The temperature on the field was 95F and by the end of the game, our team had zero subs compared to our opponent who had 8. They literally ran us into the ground and handed us our first defeat of the season (0-2). I spent the rest of the day trying to take it easy and helping Jeanine to select the final handful of images needed to complete her book. Unfortunately, these pictures were taken some time ago and none of the subjects were on hand for sampling.
DJI recently announced a new drone and controller that is about half the weight of my current kit with nearly the same quality camera on board. Having strained to haul my kit to the top of many a tall mountain, I placed my order for the latest model on the day it was announced. Now it is time to sell off my current gear so I took some product shots and posted the kit for sale on Craig’s List.
At long last our construction drawings are complete, and our builder will file for a building permit next Monday. If there are no glitches with the permit, our project will be officially underway. Working with Steve Baczek, our architect has been a real pleasure. His expertise in building science is unsurpassed and his practical understanding of the construction process is equally impressive. We started our work together operating under the premise that “the best idea wins.” I feel like the design process was a true collaboration every step of the way and could not be happier with the outcome. Above, is one example of a construction detail that is one part of the full set of plans.
Planning for our fall excursion to Turkey has officially begun with the arrival of a travel book I ordered online. The plan is to make a family vacation of our trip to Istanbul to watch Nicolai play in the Amputee World Cup. Our initial thinking is to spend half our time in the capitol and half visiting other parts of the country.
My consulting work took me to Watertown for an early meeting this morning. I arrive 30 minutes early and used the extra time to take a stroll along the Charles River. When I reached the Newton Yacht Club, I was able to get a nice view across the river of the Howe Building tower. It is the iconic feature of the main building on the Perkins School for the Blind campus. On my next visit, I must be sure to bring my drone for an aerial perspective.
No matter how grown up they have become, I still think of them as my boys. Kyle heads to Costa Rica next week for a surfing vacation and Nico has arranged to take a leave of absence in the fall to train for the World Cup.
It’s official. Maya is now a graduate of Olin College and has earned a bachelor’s degree in Robotics Engineering. This right of passage is not complete without the kissing of the graduate by the parents, a tradition started by my cousin Heather and one which we have continued with our kids. On hand for the celebration were her brothers, aunt Susan, and cousin John William. Later in the evening, we hosted a party on campus for Maya, her suitemates, and their parents. The entire day was full of joy and we count ourselves truly fortunate to have been blessed with three children who have grown up to be such nice people, each with their own unique gifts.
As Olin graduates cross the stage to receive their diplomas, a narrator reads words that each has chosen to share with the audience. “Seek first to understand, then to be understood” were those selected by Maya; ones to live by for sure.
Not only did the day have a wonderful ending, it also started well. Having missed a week due to injury, I was happy to be back on the pitch this morning. I scored one goal and had one assist before leaving the game early to shower and change for the graduation ceremony.
Maya will graduate from Olin College tomorrow. Today, she asked if I would take some photos of her and her close friends. Pictured here are all but one of her suitemates. Not shown is Lauren who tested positive for Covid earlier in the week. Later in the session, we were able to get her in some specially designed socially distanced shots. The full set of photos can be found here.
We are making every effort to keep all of the trees surrounding the River House. Unfortunately, the ones standing where the attached garage will be located have to be moved. We are hoping to transplant them but their survival can not be guaranteed. One of the trees contains a bird’s nest. As demolition day approaches, I plan to relocate this home to another tree on the property.
Nico and his friend Oliver took the kayaks out on the Sudbury River this afternoon. He provided this wonderful photo taken by Oliver while on the water.
Jeanine and I were able to attend Maya’s SCOPE (Senior Capstone Program in Engineering) presentation at Olin this afternoon. Her team was sponsored by Amazon Robotics to develop the ability to operate fulfillment center robots at a great distance where network latency becomes a serious problem. All the Scope presentations can be seen here. Maya did a great job with her portion of the presentation and later we got to play with the prototype that the team built. Jeanine had to attend to some urgent Open Table business but I was able to hang around for a tour of Maya’s dorm suite followed by a father-daughter dinner at Sweet Basil.
For almost two years now, I have been jumping through hoops to get our new home construction project approved. This process included gaining signoff from the following parties:
Concord Department of Natural Resources
Concord Historic Preservation Commission
Concord Building & Inspections
Concord Board of Health
Concord Planning Division
Concord Tree Preservation
Concord Municipal Power
Concord Water & Sewage
Concord Highway Department
Concord Fire Department
Concord Police Department
National Grid
Last week our Building Permit (demolition phase only) was approved and I picked up the physical permit this afternoon. It is the most expensive sheet of orange paper that I have ever seen. Fortunately, all of the groundwork for this permit will apply to the Construction permit that we will file next week. With any luck, demolition will commence in June.
Jeanine celebrates the arrival of new furniture for their office. Until now they were using second-hand furniture donated by a local bank. The new items are light and colorful and much more fitting to the image of the organization than the dark and heavy bank furnishings. She is joined by the local business owner who donated the furniture and the designers who helped with the selection.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
