Hello and welcome back for another elaborate and elegant edition of AAA! There are few things as heartwarming as reunions, and this weeks newsletter features a number of exciting reunions including but not limited to: high school friends, college friends, burgers, long runs and snow…. (The cold stuff and not the president from Hunger Games).
I’m also excited to announce the location of my next international travel location but like the good author I am, you’re going to have to read more to find out - Let’s get to today’s piece :).
Life
Our story begins right where it left off in Neverland South Bend, Indiana. After a beautiful and sunny first weekend in town, the temp dropped and the clouds returned but that didn’t stop me getting outside to play with some pups!
Not only was I reunited with my Dad’s Dog, Bella, but I also got to see my high school friends Natalie and Amanda who are both making their AAA Debut! After high school Natalie moved to Bloomington to attend IU while Amanda and I moved to West Lafayette to attend Purdue #FriendsDivided.
Natalie still lives in Bloomington where she works for IU and is now a professional cyclist. Amanda lives in the Twin Cities in Minnesota and works for 3M. The last time I saw Amanda was when she came to Visit me in Singapore for New Years 2022→2023 and the last time I saw Natalie was pre-covid!
This doggy playdate was much more than just a reunion old friends since it was my first time meeting my god son and Amanda’s Dog, Bernoulli, as well as Natalie’s dog Winston. We got coffee and hung out in a local dog park till we got cold #WeLetTheDogsOut.
This year I have much to be thankful for - Family, Friends, a loyal newsletter subscription base and being from a small town where you can bump into lots of people during Blackout Wednesday! On the eve of thanksgiving, Amanda George (Below) and I met at Corby’s Irish Pub (one of few bars in South Bend) to consume potent potables and chat about life.
As the evening evolved the bar quickly filled up with many people that we went to high school with. This was a pleasant surprise as we got to spend the evening catching up with a number of people that we fell out of touch with for a reason.
One exception to that last comment is Zach Credi. Zach was my mentor in the Purdue Engineering Student Council at Purdue and is also from South Bend. Amanda was my mentee in the student council which means that our family of Short Royalty was together again for the first time in years.
This was the first time I had seen Zach since before covid! I would share more of the details of the evening but true to the name “Blackout Wednesday” things started to get a little fuzzy after the below photos.
After the week of Thanksgiving, I flew home to Austin where I reunited with the Burger Boys/Men/Bros (please vote for your favorite in the comments) and we successfully conquered another one of Austin’s finest burgers at Justine’s French Bistro in East Austin. The vibes were immaculate, the burger was delicious, and the french make everything hard to pronounce #FreedomFries.
On Thursday (Nov 30th) I was reunited with another one of my Purdue friends - Sasha Kipnis! Sasha was a part of my core group of friends at Purdue and now works for Capital One and lives in the DC area. The last time I saw Sasha was the summer before I left for Singapore.
On Friday Dec 1st we went to the monthly shabbat at the local YJP and then hit the town afterward to show Sasha the full Austin nightlife experience with my friends Alex and Jordae.
On Saturday, Dec 2nd, Sasha and I once again color coordinated to attend a Lucas Zelnick comedy show at the Creek and the Cave comedy club with my friends Micah and Savannah.
Let’s give a warm round of applause to Jordae, Micah, Sasha, and Savannah who are all making their AAA debut!
In addition to going to Jewish events and exploring Austin, Sasha also joined me for my weekend marathon training runs!
We explored the “Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike River trail” which I am told can be shortened to the “Town and Lake Trail”. We also took fun pre/post work out pics which you can see below.
Quick humble brag/knee surgery update. My knee doctors all told me that it would take it at least 1 year for me to “fully recover” from surgery. November 22nd, 2023 marks one year post surgery and on Dec 2nd I ran my first half-marathon since May 2022.
I am right on track for the Austin Marathon in Feb and very thankful that so far my recovery has continued to progress smoothly! Also quick self plug to follow me on Strava :).
Work
In other exciting work news, my team presented our Fiscal Year 2024 business plan to our business unit president on Nov 30th. During this presentation we formally requested head count approval for me to permanently join the cybersecurity team when my program ends in summer 2024. I didn’t get a firm yes but the president responded positively and indicated that we would work out the details over the next few months.
Travel
After holding out on you for quite some time, I am excited to announce that my next travel adventure will be a “Christmas” trip to Portugal with my Mom and Sister and then my Mom and I will continue on to celebrate New Years in Barcelona!
Until then I am spending my time in Austin but there will be plenty of fun updates to come in my next post including which ugly Hannukah sweater I will wear to all the local Hannukah parties. As always, thanks for tuning in and I will see you in two weeks :).
Love you and love your updates❤️❤️
Perusal, a great re-cap and update! Mazal Tov on the half Mary. A great time at that! And all the dogs are ❤️. What a fun-filled Nov you had!!! Have a blast in Portugal and Spain!