Congratulations to Jake Long!

I am not sure if anyone has heard about this, but some guy that went through Winter Commencement at the University of Michigan with Therese was the overall Number 1 pick in the NFL Draft.



Jake Long would have been a top 5 pick if he had gone pro after his Junior season but decided to come back for his Senior season and get his degree. This turned out to be a very wise decision. By all accounts he is a great guy and deserving of his $30 Million guaranteed contract.



The wolverines will miss Jake's dominating presence on the offensive line next season but will somehow find a way to have a great season despite all the changes happening in Ann Arbor.



Go Blue!!







Jacki, Jake (not Jacki) Long and Therese prior to U of M Winter Commencement last December

Six word memoir - from Brad

Here it is....

Don't let regrets replace your dreams!

Brad

The Proclaimers in Ann Arbor! - I would walk 500 Miles....

The Proclaimers, the Scottish band that recorded the famous Roth Family classic wedding reception song; I'm Gonna Be... (500 Miles) will be in Ann Arbor for a concert later this month. They will be playing at The Ark which is a lengendary concert venue in Ann Arbor that has hosted many famous acts over the years.

I would love to see this band in person but unfortunately I will be out of town for a business meeting on 4/30/08. If anyone else is interested in seeing them you can check out one of the links here.

Brad

Dalai Lama Lecture

Brad and I went with our friends John and LeeAnne to see the Dalai Lama give the "Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability". He was in Ann Arbor for three days, and this was the final talk- the other talks were on “Engaging Wisdom and Compassion”. On Friday, he was at Hill Auditorium for a discussion on "Buddhism and Art".
It was a fun day: we all went to early mass, then out for breakfast at Angelo's. I also gave them a short tour of the Biomedical Sciences Research Building (BSRB) and the Life Sciences Institute (LSI) where I work. The weather was gorgeous and we had a nice little walk around the medical campus before we headed to Crisler Arena for the lecture. We were able to find a parking spot nearby and walked past hundreds of Chinese protesters to reach the venue. It was a peaceful protest against the Dalai Lama's teaching about Tibet being separate from China, and to promote a peaceful Olympics in Beijing this summer. It was interesting to see and to read some of the literature they were handing out.
The lecture itself was general admission (I stood in line for 1.5 hours back in March to get tickets), but we were able to get great seats with a straight view to see and hear the Dalai Lama. I was glad that he gave the lecture in English, since the other talks had been through an interpreter. His English is very good, but he wanted to have the advantage of knowing all of the nuances of his native tongue for his spiritual teaching talks. He was a very interesting speaker, but the arena was pretty warm and stuffy, so it was hard to concentrate and stay awake. He also answered questions at the end and handed out some scholarship awards and gifts to the event organizers and sign language interpreters. He was very gracious; I am glad that we got the opportunity to see him speak.
*Update: The Dalai Lama lecture has been archived and is available here.

Almost 5K

Brad and I went on an "Almost 5K Walk/Run" this morning to benefit the U-M cancer survivorship program. We walked it-we are not runners-and it wasn't as bad as I had thought. I seem to have developed some exercise-induced asthma recently and I forgot my inhaler, but it was a pleasant morning. The last half was uphill, so it was a little harder going, but we actually ended up somewhere in the middle of the pack. Brad could have gone much faster, but we walked it together. I spent most of the rest of the day working on a PowerPoint presentation for our lab meeting on Tuesday morning. Brad did chores around the house and cleaned out my car for me :)

Caitlin had her NHS Dance Marathon last night (7PM-7AM) to benefit Mott Children's Hospital. Thanks so much to all the people who donated money; it is of course a cause very close to her heart, since they took such good care of her there in February. She had a fun time, and slept until the middle of the afternoon, then we went to feed the fish at the BSRB.

Six word memoir

About a month ago, Heidi tagged me to write a six word memoir. I couldn't really come up with anything and I sort of forgot about it. Well, I just remembered and decided to give it a shot. The rules are posted on Heidi's blog.
Here is my attempt:

Always an enigma, especially to myself

Brad and Caitlin may come up with their own later.
Here is one for our dog, Buddy:

Always on guard, protecting my family

I will tag a couple of other people, but I don't know many bloggers other than ones already tagged.