Bridgey Speaks

Yeah, that’s right, I’m spoiled by Twitter. That’s why it’s harder than ever for me to be up-to-date with my blogs. Most of the stuff going on these days I can pretty much cram into those 140 characters. It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s current.

Later today Dave and I are going to Juniata to judge the Bailey Oratorical. I’m not sure what qualifies us for this other than we are sort of a two-for-one deal. I entered once. I didn’t get past the first round though. I lost my voice the day before. Can you believe it? I’ve lost my voice MAYBE three times in my life and one of them was the day before a public speaking competition. It took me a whole year to get up the nerve to enter the bloody thing. Sigh.

Anyhoo, I am very much looking forward to it. The topic this year is: “Challenge the audience to reflect on social changes new technologies are bringing to our private and/or personal and civic lives.” These kids are smart. I look forward to what they have to say about this. Lots of pressure though, as the first prize is $1,000!

We’ll also get to see some good friends while we are in town. If only the weather would cooperate…

My dad visited this weekend, and we had a great time. It was relaxing with lots of time to talk. He got the tour of the house and met Leela. We made dinner together — sage porkchops with gravy, salad, beer bread, and apple crisp. It was great. Then Dad, Dave, and I drove up to Mt. Washington and had drinks at Monterrey Bay where we could see the beautiful view of the city of Pittsburgh at night. Some pix: here and here.

On Sunday, Dad and I hung out in the kitchen until Dave woke up. Leela was very energetic for about a half hour and then pretty much crashed beside us. After we were all dressed and what not, we went to Point Brugge for brunch. It was delicious! I had Belgian waffles with poached pears, a potato strudel, and a great mimosa. Dad had banana bread french toast stuffed with maple walnut cream cheese over kiwi and strawberries with local sausage on the side. Dave had Gran Marnier french toast with a side of bacon.

The place was packed. We got there five minutes before they open, and there was a line outside. It was freezing out! Thankfully they quickly opened the doors, and we were able to get seated right away. It is smallish inside with a great atmosphere. I don’t think it could or should be any bigger, but because of the size, the wait times can be pretty long. If the weather had been warmer, we may have had to wait!

After brunch, we drove Dad around Carnegie Mellon and walked through Construction Junction. We’d been talking about house projects on and off during the visit, so this seemed a fitting way to end the visit before we headed back to the house for Dad to get on the road.