Driving Back to School

How time flies. It seems like only yesterday I was making this drive for the first time. Now I've driven it for the last time. Somewhere on a lonely northbound stretch of interstate I found myself thinking back to that drive, a few years and a lifetime ago. I was in the same car, driving on the same roads, the back seat and trunk filled to the brim with boxes. Both times I found myself looking to the future with excitement and anticipation for the opportunities that would await me in the place I would spend the next several years. Both times I experienced the melancholy of leaving the familiar behind and facing the great unknown.

Of course, my first drive up to Tech was quite different from this one. With my bachelors degree almost behind me, I'm now making plans for graduate school. The familiar town I'll now be leaving this time is not the town where I grew up. Most importantly, this time there's someone in the passenger seat who's coming with me.

Things that Last

To my mind at the time, permanence was both a given and a foreign concept depending on the context. Some things around me like my house, school, and yard seemed to be perpetual. Most of my possessions on the other hand were seemingly transient. Clothes no sooner fit than were too small; some toys just weren’t as fun to play with as they were in the past. Then, I got my backpack. It was a nice one; with two cavities to keep my books separate, padded so my shoulders wouldn’t get sore, and even had a water bottle holder. Oh, and it cost more than I realized you could spend on just about anything. This was something I’d have to take care of.

Since then my backpack has traveled a lot of miles, though a few less than it’s owner. It’s been on beautiful mountain hikes, climbed the Eiffel Tower, and of course attended classes. It’s survived the ravenous jaws of middle school lockers, treacherous northern Michigan winter walks to school, and been unceremoniously crammed into the back of various vehicles for the long treks home from college. Still, apart from losing a couple of the frilly bits on the zipper pulls, it’s always ready when I need it.

Memories on a Run

My run today took me past a place long familiar; a place where my cousin and I once climbed vast jungle gyms and scaled giant concrete pipes. Memories of building block towers and scavenger hunts abound there. The lawn is overgrown now, and the metal jungle gyms and concrete pipes have long ago been removed lest children be exposed to the hazard. In their place a plastic play set sits unused on its bed of recycled tires. Inside on the floor once strewn with blocks and other toys are scattered shards of broken glass, while vines make a steady, beautiful assault on the sidewalks and brick columns. As I ran by, I realized that my hometown is changing and so am I. My kindergarten is for sale, but my memories will remain.

Misplaced Priorities?

I saw the Apple iPhone ad linked below on TV last night. While I would be very happy to have an iPhone to use (read: play with), I did take issue with some of the scenes presented in the ad. Specifically, in a couple of scenes what looks like a businessman in a hotel room is using the video-call function to view either his child crawling or his wife. While this is an undeniable advance in wireless connectivity and should be celebrated as such, couldn't such technology be put to better use?

Being separated by about 600 miles from my fiancee this summer due to internship assignments, I would like to be able to video-chat with her occasionally. On the other hand I would much prefer being able to telecommute to my job so that I could be with her in person. Why isn't there 'an app for that'? Shouldn't we be making it easier to stay close to our families rather than making it more convenient, even seemingly attractive, to be apart?

Of course, maybe if I had an iPhone I would understand...

A Different Perspective.

There's a place in a lonely desert that nobody on the planet has named. It stretches on for miles in all directions without any signs of civilization, or life for that matter. It is in this lonely wilderness that an alien spacecraft landed. The craft released a robot that went about collecting data to send back to the civilization that sent it. The civilization sent the craft to discover whether there is life here, and whether they might survive here if they came. Perhaps in the future they will send explorers or settlers here.

This is not science-fiction. The civilization is us.

My Best Photos

I've recently had the time to sit down and go through my photo albums searching for those occasional great pictures. The ones that surprise you with color or landscape and just beg to be framed. I can't post them all here, but you can view the album.

Labor Day 5K

This Monday I ran a 5K on the Tech Trails (mountain biking and cross country skiing trails near campus). I heard about the race at the end of last week and decided it would be a good thing to do. It turned out to be a small race, with only around 20 runners competing. The course was fairly difficult with hilly, narrow trails that made passing difficult. It would be easy to twist an ankle on those trails, and several people fell during the race, though I was not one of them. I was glad I didn't sign up for the mountain biking version of the race, as running those trails was hard enough. I finished well overall, 6th place and 22:10. Not bad at all considering the terrain, and the fact that I haven't been training all that consistently. Overall, a very fun way to spend the morning.

Getting ready for the start.

The starter told us "It will look like the trail ends, it doesn't!" This is what it turned into.

Coming in for the finish.