Category Archives: Parties and social gatherings

Not strictly outdoor adventures, but sometimes parties take place outside! Or near a window! Thus: it counts.

The final class of my MBA

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Thursday, 17-July-2025



And with that… my classes are complete. The whole MBA program, nearly a year… all that’s left is a final paper, and then nothing. No lectures, no group meetings, none of those.


A year ago, I didn’t know this classroom. I didn’t know my classmates, and I didn’t know my way around campus.

A year ago, I was still on my Grand Adventure, traipsing through Europe, with stars in my eyes and hopes in my heart.


I still have some of those stars, and I still hold on to some of those hopes. My time in this classroom was… interesting, if nothing else. Time alone will tell how valuable it was, but I hold onto the hope that it will be valuable – as a growth opportunity, as learnings, or as a tool in my career…

Time will tell.



But for now – I found my way back into the building, after everyone else was off at celebrating at the pub. I took a moment to appreciate the quiet of the classroom that I’m unlikely to step foot in again (at least as a student), and let the whole quiet of the moment sink in.

Then, I headed home.


After all – I had a bottle of very nice scotch waiting for me – a celebratory gift that I very much intended on opening.

A picture-perfect birthday

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Saturday, 12-July-2025



I turned 38 this year.

It was a perfect July day – sunny, but not painful, and warm, but not oppressively hot. A few classmates of mine had birthdays close by, so we combined them all into one big shindig; a day in the park, followed by a cookout at my apartment’s grill deck.

It was, simply put, lovely.

Fun, pleasant, fairly relaxed, and a lovely escape from classwork or job hunting. A chance to kick back and enjoy the sun, chat with friends, and just… chill. Just chill.



And hey – it started with a ladybug landing on my hand, so… win, right? Right!

Dublin Pride

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Saturday, 28-June-2025



Interestingly, I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to a pride march.

Now, I’ve been to countless meetings of the Northeastern pride club, supported them in a few adventures, but… yeah. Growing up in Massachusetts, Pride wasn’t really a thing that I considered. Mass legalized gay marriage ages and ages ago, and I’ve just taken it as normal fact, I guess, especially having lived in such stereotypical cities as Boston and Portland.

Andrea, on the other hand, grew up in a slightly less egalitarian community… To the point that she’ll tell a story about, during Bulgaria’s first Pride March, having to pause and wait for a Molotov cocktail that had been thrown in their path to burn out.

So, very understandably, attending Dublin Pride was very important to her. And, thus, to me.



Pride march in Dublin wasn’t what Andrea expected.

It was huge. It was organized, and there were rules about who could walk. The whole city turned out for the event, it seemed, with absolutely no one and nothing protesting against the walk. We couldn’t even join the march, officially, without joining an “official group” who had registered (and donated…) to the organization of the event.


So we joined. We walked. I took it all in, and then we got burgers. It was… normal? Normal.

And that’s a good thing, in my mind.