hello from the hurricane

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying the end of their summers and I’m thinking of all of you moving back into Amherst! I hope my namesake hurricane didn’t mess up too many moving-in activities and celebrations.

I’m currently in bed with the flu and I realized it’s been far too long since I posted on this, so here’s a brief update on basically the second half of my summer:

1. Caddying has been awesome. I’ve gotten paired with a handful of characters, including some guys who told me to stop caddying and start playing with them and offered me beer and cigars on the course. Can’t think of a better way to make a few bucks.

2. The Hickey house has been hopping with guests! Both Eric and the Monty sisters made back-to-back trips in August. Playing tour guide 2 weeks in a row, I got to do a lot of the same activities twice…2 Cub games, 2 nights laughing at Second City, 2 days pointing out the sights of Michigan Avenue and Millenium Park. I played a few rounds of golf with both visiting parties. Eric got into a heated match against my 12-year-old brother Peter, and Liz kicked my 16-year-old brother Michael’s butt in a head-to-head match. Other highlights included risking my life as Liz drove me around on our first experience jetskiing on Lake Michigan, touring the Art Institute of Chicago and seeing West Side story with Eric, and taking everyone to meet all my friends and family at my favorite hangouts. Eric and I also celebrated our 1 year anniversary a little bit early since we both won’t be on campus in September with a nice dinner downtown and a boat ride along the lake front.

3. Since my visitors left, I’ve been spending the last few weeks of summer working at a small law firm downtown. The work has been alright, mostly just taking care of whatever projects they ask me to handle. The firm mostly works with patent enforcement, so I’ve been looking through a lot of scientific/technology-related documents I don’t understand at all. The attorneys are awesome though, and have been really friendly and it’s a really relaxed environment. They also have the most beautiful office I’ve ever seen: right on the top floor of a famous old building on Michigan Avenue with gorgeous views of the whole city and the lake. It makes you not want to get anything done and just stare out the window all day.

Those are the highlights at the moment. Next weekend one of my cousins is getting married in Chicago (the 2nd of the 20 Hickey grandchildren to be married), so I’ll be preoccupied with festivities for that. I’m also starting to get ready for Scotland! Liz and I have been looking into travel plans, and I’ve been spending probably way too much time looking at guidebooks from various European cities I’ve checked out from the library. I leave September 9 with my dad and we’re spending a few days in Scotland together (mostly just playing golf near St. Andrews and Edinburgh) and then I meet up with my program on the 14th for orientation in Edinburgh before moving in to St. Andrews on the 17th.

I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s fall travel and Amherst adventures.

Missing all of you,
Irene