Tucson Happenings

The Trolley Car

Tucson is under mass construction downtown for a trolley car. This is an event that seems like it's out of the t.v. show Gilmore Girls. The city is putting a trolley car in for the sake of making it quaint and historical. However, no one seems to see the point of it and everyone is frustrated by the construction. The shops on 4th Avenue have all banded together and created a discount card for people to use - they're afraid the construction will slash their business revenues. I find it funny how something so cute is making everyone so irritated.

Chess Fest

A few weekends ago, I attended the annual chess fest in Tucson. It was an event mainly for kids, but all were welcome. It took place downtown at the Hotel Congress. Everyone was playing pick-up games, from small children to the older adults. The event was all about empowerment through chess. Former world chess champion Alexandra Kosteniuk attended and played games with forty players. She wrote a book (see photo below) entitled Play Like A Girl, in which she wrote about becoming a chess champion at the age of fourteen and encouraged girls to take up chess. I was impressed. 9 Queens, the local chess nonprofit, presented her with an award for being an inspirational role model.

Cinderella Ballet

One of my friends from the sushi restaurant - Lisa - is a ballerina for the Ballet Tucson company. I had an opportunity to see her dance in Cinderella, and she was beautiful. She had several solos, which impressed me - I didn't know she was so good! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to say hi to her afterward (ballet dancers don't meet the crowd afterward, I guess), but I managed to talk to her later. She was excited that I had come and was sorry she missed me, too.

 Hanging Out with Megan

Megan and I met at the hostel when she was a guest here. She's been housing-sitting in Tucson for the past few months and we finally took some time to hang out together. Our outing included a trip to the the University of Arizona Museum of Art and a stop at the eatery WILKO. A cool thing about our day - aside from spending time together :-D - was that we found $20 when we left the museum! So our dining and parking were paid for. Pretty amazing. Megan is heading up the California coast next and then making her way back east for school (she's studying linguistics). I wish her the best!!!