FINALLY

The semester of hell, of sleep deprivation, stress, emotional instability, of mental breakdowns and subsequent emotional apathy, of lack of time for my friends, family, cat, and self, THE SEMESTER OF PAIN IS OVER.

Late Night Rush

I know it's 4am, but still, man do I love the band Rush. I mean, look at these guys (and this and this). I mean, Geddy, Alex, and Neil make the most amazing power trio I've ever heard. And yes, I insist you click on those links. All of them.

I mean, let's face it, THEY'RE PROBABLY THE BEST BAND TO HAVE GRACED THE EARS OF THE HUMAN RACE.

Listen to my msuic
And hear what it can do
There's something here as strong as life
I know that it will reach you


Don't annoy us further!
We have our work to do
Just think about the average
What use have they for you?
Another toy will help destroy
The elder race of man
Forget about your silly whim
It doesn't fit the plan!


...


I stand atop a spiral stair
An oracle confronts me there
he leads me on light years away
Through astral night, galactic days
I see the works of gifted hands
That grace this strange and wondrous land
I see the hand of man arise
With hungry mind and open eyes


...


Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation
Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation
Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation
We have assumed control
We have assumed control
We have assumed control

(I started to just pick my favorite lyrics from the song "2112", but then it just turned into almost all the song.)

Playing Catchup

Instead of writing in detail, get ready for pictures in detail. OK, I know I went to Colorado ~4 months ago, but here you go. I went to visit my friend Eric (who was in my internship last summer) who was currently in Colorado for the summer. I flew to LA then to Denver (most illogical layover EVER, but I did get to see the sun set on the ocean!). I stayed with Eric for his last night in Boulder, CO before we started on our road trip back to Tucson (1000+ miles!). You may ask why I flew to CO, then drove back. We wanted to visit lots of landmarks and explore a bit, so driving was the way to go!

An abbreviated (if you can believe it) history of the trip. I'll skip all the details about getting lost trying to find campgrounds, camping in the middle of some national forest, meeting interesting/strange people we along the way, and all the shenanigans accomplished along the way. Let the photos commence!

Day 2:

The Flatirons of Boulder behind. Crazy Eric in front.

Way above Boulder! How many hikers can you spot??

The sunset on the way to Ward, CO and our campground.

 Day 3:

The drive to the Rockies early in the morning! Beautiful trees (just waiting to be burnt).

The view from Lake Isabelle in the Rockies! The snowmelt made for pristine (and FREEZING) water!

Lake Isabelle below during our short trip into the Rockies!

 What I looked like throughout most of the trip. The scenery was amazing!

Just one of the beautiful scenes on our trip through the Rockies!

Cool patterns on the mountains in CO.

Wait, what is that below the mountains?? THAT'S RIGHT. SAND DUNES.

The Great Sand Dunes in southwest CO. I honestly didn't even know these existed prior to the trip!

Standing on the top of a sand dune... with mountains behind? Nature is cool.

Day 3:

Cliff dwellings on Mesa Verde Park, southwest CO.

More cliff dwellings!

Eric the photographer! The view from Mesa Verde, CO.

Standing on 4 states at once! Four corners, USA.

On our way to Canyon de Chelly, AZ.

The drive in northeast AZ to Canyon de Chelly.

 Day 4:

Canyon de Chelly, AZ. Sheer cliffs!!! Native Americans still live in the canyon!

Don't worry Mom, I didn't fall.

Back in Tucson, AZ!

Quote of the Day

12:59 PM MAN

  I just realized I was supposed to have sent my poster by NOON

1:00 PM Steven: uhhh

  noon tucson?

 me: WAIT

  YES

  YES

  I'm saved

 Steven: ha

  happy day

 me: I actually sent it on monday

 Steven: oh

 me: but it was due at noon monday

 Steven: ahh

1:01 PM one of the east-coast time-zone advantages

 me: actually

  I can't find any evidence in my sent mail that I actually sent it!!!!!

  :(

1:02 PM I swear... I did... either I'm going crazy or I never clicked send?!

  NO I KNOW I DID

 Steven: huh

  that's.... scary

  wrong email account?

 me: I don't know! :(

  no, because I remember I got a reply email saying he was out of town!!!!

  It must have happened

1:03 PM I FOUND IT

1:04 PM i threw it away

  and I sent it at 2:52pm.... I WIN FOREVER

1:05 PM WAIT NO NO NO NO

  it's only 2 hours nowwwwww

  :'(

1:06 PM that was some soliloquy

1:07 PM Steven: haaa

  you're so confusing
-First I doubt my sanity, am saved by time difference, then ruined by time difference.
Also, this is my 100th post. Pretty anticlimactic, eh?

10/11

About this time (but a little earlier) each year I try to write about October Happenings. This year:

-Went to Riley Festival.
-Visited my first apple orchard in Bloomington
-Took a weekend trip with Elaine to the Great Smoky Mountains in TN! (and accidentally took a brief stint to NC...)
-Helped out with a Bloomington city star party for families and their kids.
-Went to the Physics Department Picnic. A rare instance of physicists getting out in the sun.
-Finally got to go to my first Star Party for astronomy club! Notable occurrences include seeing many meteors, star tipping, and astrophotography.
-SAW WAIT WAIT DON'T TELL ME IN INDIANAPOLIS. And yes, Alan Alda was the guest on Not My Job.
-Elaine and I hosted a very interesting Halloween Party.
-Probably more, but I can't remember, since it's now December!!