Draft Horses and Shakespeare

So, among the many job applications that I've been working on, I've had time to hang out with friends, including (on a couple of particular occasions) Miss Jenny "Marquis" Whitener.

On Sunday 22 October, we headed to Michigan State University for the final day of their Draft Horse Show. Though I'm not much of a draft horse afficianado, it seemed like a fun way to spend time on a Sunday afternoon. Jenny (the major horse fan who was super excited for the show), Trace, and I went to the show and spent much of the time chatting instead of appreciating the parade of large mules and horses. The show was quite fun, but more in the sense of the company, the very patriotic organist playing Americana classics, and the delicious fresh cheese curds. After, we headed for a delightfully scrumptious meal of cider and fish and chips at the Claddaugh Pub, purused the stores of the mall, and giggled ourselves back to our respective automobiles. All in all, it was a surprisingly enjoyable afternoon. (photos: Jenny just that excited about draft horses; mules doing their thing with all the avid spectators doing theirs; and Jenny and Trace just that excited about the cheese curds.)





That following Thrusday, I went to Ann Arbor at the very last moment to visit Jenny and to attend a wine, cheese, and cured meats tasting with the Royal Shakespeare Company (who are doing a residency with the University of Michigan). Jenny has become a huge fan of the RSC and aggresively urged me to come to A2 for the event. I met her in town at a small boutique with a very strange but friendly Turkish proprieter as Jenny picked up some emergency "vamp" tights before we went to the Power Center for the reception. The event itself was very pleasant, though we were some of the only non-RSC/non-academic staff present... and it showed. We did our best to attempt to mingle, which we successfully did after a man suggested that Jenny looked like the daughter of the president of the University Musical Society. He introduced us to a couple of the RSC actors and we chatted briefly but pleasantly before the event ended. After, a bit giddy for various reasons, we postponed our trip to Ashley's (a local pub, for those that may not be familiar) and instead attempted to go to a movie. At Ashley's later, we saw more members of the RSC, which made Jenny even more exceptionally giddy. Little did we know that next to us sat two members of the company, one who was playing Julius Ceasar in the company's production of the same name, and we chatted over pints and a pizza. The evening ended with Jenny and I still giggling as we went back to her swanky Ann Arbor pad and both getting up very early the next morning. (photos: Jenny pretending to not be super excited about Patrick Stewart and the RSC; wine, cheese, and cured meats at the Power Center; Jenny and me upset that we couldn't see the movie "The Queen"; at Ashley's with the c. 50 different beers on tap; Jenny trying to hide just how excited she was about the RSC people behind her and her friends; and the ad in the bathroom, for those of you that would appreciate it...)