City Hall surprise!

Monday afternoon, my parents and I took a tour of Philadelphia's City Hall.  The building is extremely ornate, with more carvings inside and outside of it than any other building!  It's also the largest city hall in the country; when it was designed, it was the tallest building in the world.  (during its 30 year construction, the Washington Monument and Eiffel Tower overtook it...but they aren't "buildings") 

About 20 minutes into our tour, we were outside the SE quadrant admiring the statue of William Penn.  Suddenly, people started flooding out the doors.  The fire alarm was going off!  Much to our dismay, we waited outside for about 25 minutes as all 700 rooms were evacuated, the fire department was dispatched, and order restored.

While we were waiting, we noticed several cars parked in front of the building.  An off-duty police office who was touring with us said that they were the mayor's cars, and that he worked in the very quadrant we were in front of.  Sure enough, Mayor Michael Nutter decended the steps and walked safely into the crowd around us!  After some coaxing from my dad, my mother and I walked up to him, shook his hand, and talked with him for a bit.  He was very friendly--despite all the PA budget issues--and was willing to pose for pictures. 

Our tour soon resumed, and we dashed in and out of several gorgeous rooms before ending at the tower: a 22-story elevator that takes visitors directly under Penn approximately 500 feet in the air.  What a view!

We managed to make it to the top and down before our parking meter ran out.  Thankfully, the tour guide refunded our money due to the tour interruption.  It was a City Hall tour unlike any other!

Parents to Philly

This weekend, our De Boer parents came to Philadelphia.  We had perfect weather for it!  Our fun events included eating outdoors multiple times, touring City Hall, going on an Old Original Walking Tour, watching the Phillies/Cubs game, and reshuffling our living room decorations.  Here are a few photos from the fun:

Improv Everywhere

Now I've mentioned the fun-loving urban prankster group Improv Everywhere before, but the mastermind just released a new book about his pranks (or "missions"). He was on the Today Show recently promoting it. And yes, this man is still my hero.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This was their latest prank: a random wedding reception for a couple married at City Hall!

Wonders of Craigslist

Sarah started her residency training this week at Jefferson Hospital.  Fortunately for us, we only live about a 1.3 miles away from the main location.  She's been biking to the training and hopes to bike to most of her rotations.  Since her bike is her main form of transportation, we're doing our best to keep it in top condition.

On Tuesday, however, her tires were low.  We grabbed the carlighter compressor we keep in my trunk and tried filling up the tires.  Part of the way through, the compressor died!  We resorted to the hand pump we kept upstairs, but there were a few parts missing.  Where did we turn to next?  Craigslist.

I searched for air compressor and found one for only $10.  The only catch was that it was listed in the "South Jersey" area instead of near us.  When I called the woman, she asked where we live.  I told her near the Art Museum, and to my surprise, she said she'd drop it off at our house that night!  So, not only did we get an air compressor for our bikes that evening for a great price, it was delivered to us for no extra charge!  We were both thrilled.

In the spirit of this post, here's Weird Al's new song (courtesy of the Doors) called Craigslist:

Summer job

After school ends on June 12, I will be giving walking tours of Philadelphia!  My friend Libby is starting a company called Old Original Walking Tours.  We were even listed in Frommer's Tourbook!  Should be a fun way to spend the summer. 

Eric's graduation

Last week Sunday, Sarah hosted a graduation party for me! I had finished my coursework in September and received confirmation that I had graduated in January, but my diploma only arrived a few weeks ago. Our sister Elizabeth Gardner was staying with us for the weekend (she was presenting some of her research work for her masters degree in rheteric at a communications conference in Philly). Between the three of us, we put together a pretty nice graduation ceremony! It reminded me of my high school/homeschool graduation in that it was intimate, we designed the whole ceremony, it was meaningful, and graduates helped provide the music.

The weather was just stunning. We held it on our roofdeck on Sunday morning before church. A refreshing breakfast reception followed in our apartment. Personally, it provided a good deal of closure for my degree. Before, I had felt like graduating was somewhat anti-climatic, but this ceremony made it feel like I had accomplished a goal. Thanks to all those who came to support me!

Here's a video I spliced together from pictures and movies from the event:

April Fools

I just love the fact that every April Fools Day, Google does something crazy on their homepage.  I look forward to it annually!  This year, it's CADIE and Gmail Autopilot.  Other websites get into the fun too: Expedia says you can book a trip to mars.  Hotels.com lets you rent a room on the moon. 

This begs the question...what did YOU do for April Fools Day today???