Weekend in Newport

We went away for the weekend as my time here in Boston is dwindling. We headed to Newport, Rhode Island which is about 90 minute south. The weather was great and with our bikes we got to ride and see some of the huge mansions that Newport is known for. I definitely got that sense that the city is nuts during the summer months.

We also stumbled upon a brand new restaurant (opened ten days prior) that was fantastic. I had the best Egg In A Hole imaginable. Yes, it was that good.

Where I'm off to...

Now that I've given my notice at work (see last week's note), I start to move towards some exciting new happenings. In the fall it'll be grad school. But first I'm off to Africa to work for the non-profit Kiva for three months.

Kiva is involved with microfinance and lets anyone loan $25 to people in the developing world. Their website explains it in much better detail. And if you've got ten minutes, the video below walks through the process. (And it was made by a Kiva Fellow, someone in the role I'll soon be assuming!)



p.s. Just found out I'll be working in Sierra Leone in west Africa. Awesome!

Giving notice

I had the scary/exciting experience of letting my boss know I'd be leaving the company. It was scary only because I put so much thought into it. In the end the conversation was pretty easy. But given that I've been here for years, the finality of it seems dramatic.

Despite this, or maybe because of it, the clean break is really a great thing! How often will I get the chance to so clearly draw a line between what I've been doing up to now and what I'll be doing next.

I can't wait!

Olympics

It was a fun two weeks while the Olympics lasted. If nothing else, it gave everyone something in common to talk about -- even if that meant discussing the intricacies of short track skating relays. The thinking behind the modern Olympics was to promote peace and understanding, which today means being able to talk at the water cooler with coworkers or announce something on Facebook or talking about it with utter strangers on Chat Roulette (yes, I tried it.)

Funny headline from the Vancouver newspaper: