PIFA returns!

That's right, it's once again time for the biennial Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts! Last time the theme was France (or maybe Paris?), this year it is time travel. So not only is our backyard trapeze back (yay!), but there is also a dinosaur in front of our building.

His arms and head move, and they even trucked in sand and little palm trees for his environment. In other parts of the street, they brought in lots of sod and flowers to create pop-up parks.

This usually looks like this.

You can also see some of the street performers in that picture, those ones were dressed like giant sparkly insects. There were also some on stilts "riding" metal bird-horse creatures:

They could even make the creatures' mouths open and close

The coolest street performer was one of those living statue people, who danced to operatic music. She was the only living statue I've seen with a water feature.

Water streamed out of her fingertips, and even out the top of her head!

In addition to the street performers, there seemed to be a decent number of Renaissance Faire people, I think as part of the "time travel" theme.

A knight

A guy with a portable bellows-driven bubble machine

Lest we forget that time travel can take us to the future as well as the past, there was a robot that drove around talking to people.

Other things in the street that aren't usually there included a Ferris wheel:

And a bunch of guys welding something unidentifiable:

The centerpiece of everything was an elaborate "time machine" inside the Kimmel center, but it was probably the least interesting part of the festival, given that it was basically just a  walk-through tube that lit up and played odd noises.

Ben about to enter the "time machine." Time did pass inside it, but only at the usual rate.

Happily, there was another time machine that was much cooler:

Complete with flux capacitor!

Springtime in Philly

Most houses in Philly don't have yards, so when it's spring people show off their green thumbs via elaborate window boxes. It makes going for walks up and down random side streets very pleasant this time of year.

My favorite house

Spiral mini-trees

Not sure what this is, but it looks neat

Not a window box, but still pretty

There are also lots of community gardens scattered throughout the city, which also make for nice scenery.

This one is right by the Schuylkill

The only downside to this season is Philly's abundance of Callery Pear Trees, which have a certain distinct and unfortunate smell when they flower. Happily, my spring allergies usually make me too congested to be bothered by it.

Friend friend friend

Our friend and wedding officiant visited us last weekend! It was the first spring weather we've had, so we spent a good 6 hours just walking around the city.

By the real bridge

By the mini-golf bridge

Seriously, we walked all over. Google maps says 8 miles, but it was probably longer since we took lots of random detours down interesting-looking streets.

Home, Penn's Landing, Elfreths Alley, Reading Terminal Market, Franklin Square, Logan Square, Art Museum, City Hall, and home again. Whew.

Triumphant atop the art museum steps at the end of the day

All that walking totally justifies the ginormous ice cream cone I had from Bassett's in Reading Terminal, right?

I went to St. Louis for work last month

I forgot to write about it here, but I ate a lot of barbecue and visited the arch. It was bigger and more impressive than I had anticipated.

My boss and I were really excited about the arch.

We also saw the courthouse where the Dred Scott decision happened, but that inspired less happiness.

WE DISAPPROVE

In May I'll be traveling to Chicago and Denver for work, and in September I'll go to Tulsa. Lots of frequent flyer miles ahead!

Oh frabjous day

LOOK WHAT JUST OPENED AROUND THE CORNER FROM US:

They are open until 3 am. And they deliver.

 If you never hear from me again, it's because I OD'ed on cookies.

All Things Go

Everything in my life has been just wonderful lately. We went to NYC for a weekend of hanging out with college friends, and spent 24ish hours doing nothing but eating, drinking, and bullshitting (just like college!).

View from my spot on the couch in the room of happiness.

I got promoted at work, and also got funding to run a conference I've been wanting to make happen for over a year. It was this past week, and it went awesomely - it looks like I'll be able to turn it into an annual event based on how successful it was. I don't really have any fun pictures of it, but here I am in a hat made for me by my colleague in St. Louis (a coworker from Hawai'i came and brought me delicious candy, but I ate it before thinking to take a picture):

I love this hat!

Lastly, I finally remembered to order the recently-published book of one of my former professors, and I am in the acknowledgments section (I helped transcribed interviews for her):

I am famous!

In conclusion, it's only a matter of time before I get hit by a bus,  because no one gets to have this much good luck and happiness all the time.

Robots robots robots!

For the third year in a row, Ben and I were referees at the UPenn FIRST Lego League competition this weekend.

You can tell Ben is the head ref because his hat is bigger.

The competition has grown larger every year we have participated, and this year was even crazier than usual because snow caused a delayed start, meaning what was supposed to be a 10 hour event was compressed into 6 hours. As always, it was super fun to see all the kids so excited about their robots, and have them tell you all about their brilliant designs. But removing all the transition times and breaks from the schedule did result in a constant state of barely controlled chaos as multiple teams at a time jostled for position while referees, design judges, coaches, a photographer, and a videographer all tried to find space to do their jobs as well. This picture does not do it justice at all:

Imagine all these people cycling through every 2.5 minutes, with several hundred middle schoolers watching and cheering.

I guess it's all worth it in the end for a shot at the lego glory!