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The remainder of my time in Boston was as excellent as the first couple days. After Kelly and I spent Tuesday together, I had the rest of the week to spend at the MIT Information Quality Industry Symposium, and then spent some more time with Kelly on Saturday. The symposium was excellent—especially the keynote speakers—and I met a number of interesting IQ professionals.

I’ve been in New York since Thursday, first in NYC visiting Devon and then in Canandaigua visiting Nathan and going to see The Black Keys and The Flaming Lips. I’ll post a more detailed update tomorrow (along with notes about the rest of my Boston trip) but I wanted to share pictures from the concert, skiing on Canandaigua Lake and my day trip to Niagara Falls.

I’ve been in Boston since yesterday, as I’m attending the 2010 MIT Information Quality Industry Symposium later this week, and I thought I’d use the opportunity to spent some time visiting Kelly. We’ve had a good time hanging out—we had dinner and drinks at John Harvard’s Brew House last night, and visited the New England Aquarium this afternoon.

Last weekend I went into the great city of Chicago to help my buddy Devon Sharma celebrate his being accepted to the New York Bar. (We were also celebrating his brother’s completion of medical school. Smart family, the Sharmas.) A bunch of us were invited to Maggiano’s in Oak Brook for Saturday afternoon.

I arrived at Tom’s apartment around 7:30 Friday night. Since the Blackhawks were about to start, we ordered some Indian food for delivery and settled in to watch some hockey. I gave Tom a hard time for eating with his left hand as we devoured the chicken tikka masala and tandoori chicken. The Blackhawks destroyed the villainous Canucks 7–4, and Tom and I decided to go out and meet up with our cousins Kelly and Kara.

Months of planning paid off in an Illini (fan) victory yesterday, as the Orange Krush (plus Kelby, Dan, and I) invaded Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Illinois beat Iowa 57—49 as the Krush chanted “This is our house” as time expired. Iowa fans are understandably bitter…

(There’s more coverage online from Hawkeye Insider and the Cedar Rapids Gazette; also, check out this YouTube playlist and the rest of the pictures in the gallery.)

I visited Tom, Terry, and Devon in New York with Kelby and Nathan last weekend, and we had a great time. Great tastes, brilliant nightlife, and excellent company led to a fantastic weekend. Tom’s company putting him up in an extended-stay hotel was the primary impetus for the trip, but it was great to see Devon and Terry, and hopefully it won’t be long before I’m back.

I’m writing on board the Amtrak #4 train bound for Chicago, traveling into the city for New Year’s Eve. Despite the fact that the train arrived in Princeton an hour and a half late, it’s still definitely the way to travel. And hey, during the delay I chatted with a cute young lady named Desiree, so even running late isn’t all bad.

NYE should be a blast. Makeshift, a band composed of a bunch of guys with whom I went to college, is played at Goose Island, and a bunch of my fraternity brothers will be in attendance. I haven’t seen a lot of these guys in a while, so I’m really looking forward to catching up. We’re staying at a hotel for the first night in the city, and should be crashing at a buddy’s condo later on, while we recover from NYE and wait for the Illinois–Gonzaga game on Saturday. 

While I still need to blog about Christmas, and potentially a couple of other things about this year, this will probably be the last post of 2009. I know it’s been a tough year for much of the world, and lots of people are ready to forget and move on to the second decade of the millennium, but on balance, 2009 treated me pretty well. I spent the first half in India, came home to a promotion, and bought a new house. So, while I’m looking forward to 2010, let’s celebrate the close of the year with gusto.

A mini-reunion of some of the folks with whom I lived in Ireland took place this weekend, as Ashley, Kristin, and I descended upon Albuquerque to celebrate the wedding of Melissa and Elias. While I didn’t have a whole lot of time in New Mexico, we certainly had a good time, and it was great catching up.

Well, I’m sitting at 37,000 feet flying to Albuquerque, and since Delta has installed in-flight WiFi, I thought I’d take the time to update PlanetHolt. The last few weeks have been crazy. Let me explain. No, there is too much; let me sum up.

After the glorious debacle of the Arch Rivalry weekend in St Louis, most of my weekends seem to have been occupied with one thing or another.

Nathan hosted a tailgate party before the Illinois-Missouri Arch Rivalry game Saturday, and Tom, Luke, and I drove down Thursday night to attend. We spent Friday touring Monsanto facilities and preparing for the tailgate, and most of Sunday recovering, before enjoying the St. Louis nightlife. Monday involved video game rock and a brief stop to see a wind farm in west-central Illinois.