Rode with Noah to Northwestern University, where much of my senior AP Physics class used to play Ultimate with our teacher Kunal and his friends. Kunal was away on vacation, but we still played. Noah, Scott, Sally Mimms (a girl who I hadn't seen since middle school, I think), and I played box until more folks showed up, at which point we played four-on-four Ultimate in the beautiful warm weather. I covered Noah when possible. He is tall, fast, and long-armed, and a good challenge for me. Several times I imagined myself in position for a good defensive play, only to find the disc somehow snatched away from where I reached. The best way to get better at Ultimate is to match up against someone who is better than you. Incidentally, Noah plays for the Yale Ultimate team, which competed at Nationals last spring.
We went to the classy Winnetka McDonald's and sat outside and ate. Noah marveled at the consistency of flavor in Quarter Pounders across McDonald's establishments and geographical locations. My theory is that the flavor is easy to replicate because there is so little of it.
Called up David Finkelstein, with whom I enjoyed many an hour of piano playing and humor and other good stuff in high school. He was home, so I went over there and we played some stuff and listened to some stuff and chatted. Then, at his recommendation, we up and went to Matt Birnholz's house at 2AM, without calling or anything. David assured me Matt would be there, as would his friend Charles.
When we arrived, Charles had just left, probably because it took so damn long to convince me that he would have been there. But Matt was there, just about to go to sleep (early flight the next morning), and we hung out for about an hour. Matt and I were on the track team in high school; now at Colby College, he's given up track and taken up improvisational comedy, and he is very, very funny.
On the way home, I drove past Highland Park High School, Edgewood Middle School, Ravinia Elementary School, and North Suburban Synagogue Beth El. A huge swath of my life occurred in and around those buildings. I may only be 20 years old, but I feel entitled to engage in nostalgia from time to time, especially when I visit home no more than once or twice a year. I had a terrific and enjoyable childhood that is lovely to reflect upon.