Catching Up (Again)

Since the last post here, we’ve had a few things going on.

We spent an unconventional Thanksgiving in a hotel in Charlotte, NC so Jason could compete in the US Masters chess tournament.  It was good to have a change of scenery even if we did spend most of our time in the hotel room.  There was a nicely landscaped boardwalk area next to the hotel and Grace and Scott got to ride in a paddle boat.  Later on we did a nighttime walking tour of a botanical garden decorated with Christmas lights.

Shortly before that trip, Jason was invited to give a TEDx talk at UVA.  It was apparently recorded, and is being judged…somehow…but so far I haven’t seen any links to the video or announcements about “winners.”  Anyway he spoke on the inequities associated with elite sports and specialized education, something he has some personal experience with thanks to chess.  It’s nice to think that a sharp mind and natural skill would let anyone excel in chess regardless of their place in society, but the truth is a lot depends on where you live, who you know and what kind of financial resources you do or don’t have.  At his request, we didn’t attend the event, but he says it went over well.  Here’s a pic swiped from the TEDxUVA Facebook page.

Last weekend my team and I filmed and streamed VCU’s Fall Commencement ceremony at the Siegel Center, and it was easily the biggest crowd I’ve been exposed to since the pandemic began.  Supposedly the venue holds around 7,600 people and it was at least 80% full.  Anyway it was the most bodies I’ve seen in there for a non-sports event and considering it was open not only to Fall 2021 grads but also whatever Summer ’21 and Fall ’20 grads wanted to attend, that’s not too surprising.  Anyway, like any crowd it ran the gamut from those who were good about mask mandates and sane behavior to those who don’t respect or can’t comprehend the former and are incapable of the latter.  Consequently, I’ve been in isolation in my bedroom here in the house for the rest of the week, to be on the safe side.  So far no symptoms, so I’m hopeful I’ll get “sprung” tomorrow to go pick up Jason at school and bring him back for an extended holiday break.

And that pretty much catches us up, I guess.  If anyone’s reading this and I don’t get around to another post this month, have a safe and happy holiday season, and we’ll all agree to forget that 2022 is pronounced the same as “2020 II”.