Yesterday evening, in preparation for the event, I went for a run. The length wasn’t too long (just a bit over two miles), but it was the first time since my sophomore year of high school that I had run any appreciable distance.

Maybe it’s just the endorphins (or anandamides?) talking, but the run felt rather good. I enjoyed the feelings of energy and euphoria that so often accompanies exercise.

The challenge now is just to stick with it.

In the recent past, I decided that I would make the most of my youth and start doing the things that I’ve always wanted to do. I started playing hockey, I learned to snowboard, and I’m going to Europe (twice!) among other things.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to motivate myself to do anything. It might be a function of the end of my terms as Associate Educator and MC in Pike, or maybe it’s a classic case of Senioritis. The differential diagnosis is inconclusive.

In any case, I’ve decided to add a twist to my life: I’m going to run a triathlon in May. Challenging? Oh, hell yes. Even more so when you consider my athletic prowess or lack thereof. It’s not a joke — I’m going to give it my best shot. Even if it means stumbling across the finish line. I’m going to do it.

After a two-month hiatus, my photoblog has returned, essentially recreated from scratch.

Yay photos!

This morning, I woke up to the sound of my buzzing alarm clock.

Strange thing, though: I distinctly remember having a dream in which my alarm kept going off and I kept hitting the snooze button. That’s all there was to the dream: me sleeping, waking up, and hitting snooze.

It seemed absolutely real, and indeed, the dream became a memory of reality. This acceptance lasted until I looked at my alarm clock and realized that there was no possible way that I could have been hearing my alarm clock and hitting snooze. I suppose that I could have been hearing Tyler’s alarm clock, but the perceived volume was inconsistent with that scenario. After pondering this for an appropriate period, I scratched my head and got up to greet and face the world.

Ever since my server issues in mid-December, I have been reluctant to post to my blog. I kept telling myself that I would recode my photoblog before making any posts in my regular blog. With the end nowhere in sight for my photoblog, I decided this afternoon to bite the bullet and slap up a post.

Hmmm… what to write about…

Much has happened. I would like to write about all of the things I found interesting. I keep telling myself that “Someday, I’ll have some free time and be able to write about the neat experiences of December and January.”

But I’m not naive enough to believe myself.

I could wax eloquent about the snow in Minnesota, about how I went snowboarding for the first time since last March. I could talk about Christmas, musing about the greater importance I now place on my ever-less-frequent visits with my family. I could scribe prose about hockey in Minnesota, about going to a Gophers game with Mutak (but nearly not getting in). Maybe I could mention my Fraternity trip to the Indy Ice game.

But where is the time?

I could enter into this electronic archive records of Ditch, the Fraternity event where, despite my best efforts, my little brother caught me. Perhaps instead I should talk about the great fun I had when I was the target of a prank by my little brothers (led by one in particular) and the Associate class. There would be a lot to write about — my couch, my chair, my paddles, my liquor, and the journey of my hat.

But could I do the events justice?

Maybe I could mention how it snowed (!) in Indiana. I could snicker as I type accounts of the school closings and delays (not Rose, of course). I could smile as I think about the youthful exuberance I experienced while sledding down the front hill with Edmonson, Ted, and Sabrina. Fortunately, Wojo has written something that faithfully recounts the spirit of the night.

But what could I add without tainting my own blissful recollection of the experience?

Senior Project might be interesting to write about.

Except, it’s not done yet, is nowhere close to being so, and is still technical enough that nobody would appreciate the development nuances anyway. Give it a few months — I’ll mention it again.

I know what I’ll do. I’ll start from the present and go forward.

——

Last night, we welcomed four outstanding people into association with us. I am referring, of course, to the spring Bid Tuesday

Yesterday marked the last time I will likely ever be involved with Bid Tuesday. It was sentimental in a way, more so because I was the only senior who participated. Was I the only one who cared? Or maybe it was because all the other seniors were too “busy,” as everyone claims to perpetually be. Despite my slap class’ conspicuous absence, I was happy to see the new class, happy to see the high level of participation by the freshmen and sophomores, and happy to carry on our traditions. (I’ll save reminiscing about my Fraternity experience and the upcoming “real world” for another day)

I took some photos of the event.

Ah, photography. I enjoy it. I enjoy capturing moments in time. I enjoy learning about techniques and improving my own. I enjoy the challenge — I’m not good at it now, but I know that I can, will, and am getting better. I enjoy playing with the technology. I enjoy the pleasure others experience when they enjoy a photograph that I took. I enjoy the surprise of the finished product — with an SLR camera, if you see it when you take the shot, you didn’t get the photo.

Perhaps the only downside to being the one taking pictures is that it becomes rather difficult to be in the pictures. Self-timers mitigate this to some extent. Entrustment of the camera to a bystander is a crap shoot — assuming that they don’t run off with it, drop it, or scratch it, they will most likely not understand how to use it, not know how to take decent photos, or take decent photos of everything except what I am interested in. Of course, sometimes the fates align, and they (intentionally or not) take a bunch of great pictures.

An example of sheer luck turning out alright occurred at the Indy Ice hockey game. At the end of the game, we wanted a group photo, so I loaned my camera to Snyder’s girlfriend. She appeared a bit overwhelmed by it but put forth her best effort. She took what we thought were a couple of shots and then returned the camera. It turns out that she didn’t realize that the camera was in continuous drive mode, so she took 12 photos of the group over the course of roughly 5 seconds. I’m glad she took so many, even if it was unintentional; in the twelve, I found one where nobody was blinking and everybody was smiling at the camera. In retrospect, this is a great technique, and one I plan to repeat in the future: throw quantity at the stranger-has-your-camera situation!

Next quarter, in addition to senior project and (now two) graduate-level engineering courses, I’m taking Beginning Photography. I’ve never shot nor developed black-and-white film before, so it should be an enlightening experience.

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And now, as a teaser for some future blog entry, here’s something which is sure to come as a surprise to a number of people, including my family:

I’m going to Paris, France for quarter break.