And... We're Back

We had a great trip home for Thanksgiving. It was nice to be back in Indiana. It was a relaxing week with no responsibility or work to do. I got to try out the new camera a little bit, but not much as I thought I would. Here is a shot of the woods behind the barn at my parents' house.  I miss that scenery.  It's amazing how you can't truly appreciate something until you leave. When you come back only then can you understand how much you loved it. I spent a lot of time roaming around our farm, and I took it for granted.  I had a great time growing up there.  One of the good parts about moving away is how it has allowed me to recognize the unique and wonderful experiences I had as a child/young adult.  Only now do I truly understand how lucky I was to have such a great family and great environment in which to spend my formative years.

Short Visit To Purdue

Yesterday we made the drive to Purdue to watch the basketball team play Austin Peay. I went with my 2 brothers and brother-in-law. I only had 3 goals. I wanted to buy a new Purdue sweatshirt, see th new Niel Armstrong building, and eat some Mad Mushroom cheese sticks. Mission accomplised on all fronts. Plus I got to see the Boilers play in person.

The power of facebook let me know that my friend Lindsey and her husband were also at the game. It was a nice bonus to get to see them.

We didn't stick around campus after the game was over as we had to drive home. We ended up spending more time in the car than actually at Purdue. Still, it was nice to go back and see the place. I was surprised that other than the construction on the new sports complex and the aforementioned Niel Armstong building the campus looked pretty much identical to when I had been there. We didn't go everywhere around campus but what I did see looked the same. I don't know why I expected it to be different, but don't we always when we haven't been somewhere for a while. Then we always come back and act surprised when it is pretty much the same.

Alma Mater

Tomorrow I will set foot on the campus of Purdue University for the first time since I graduated over 5 years ago.  It is sad that I haven't been back for so long.  I truly loved every minute of the 4 years I was there, even though they were the most stressful of my life thus far.  (This may change when baby gets here in several weeks.) However, I am not too upset that I haven't been back.  Even tomorrow will be a quick trip. I am not going to spend a lot of time walking around campus reminiscing.  

College was fun, but when it was over it wasn't something I tried to hang on to.  I don't think I will ever be the guy that walks his kids around campus and tries to tell stories about the "good old days".  I might change, but at this time I don't have any emotional attachment to the place.  In Latin "Alma Mater" literally means "nurturing mother". In my experience Purdue wasn't very nurturing.  If she were a mother she was the hard-ass kind that made you cry every now and then and didn't let you have fun until your homework was done... and homework was almost never done.  Still, I appreciate everything Purdue gave to me. Now I feel a little like the kid who put mom in the nursing home and went on with his life.

Tomorrow I will go back and probably buy a hooded sweatshirt just like every other poor sap that visits the place.  Hopefully we get some Mad Mushroom cheese sticks before we leave.  I've missed those things. Maybe we'll walk by Grissom Hall where I spent most of my last couple years during school. Oh great...  In the few minutes I have been writing this post the memories are coming back. I am starting to miss it a little bit.  I better start exaggerating refining my stories so they won't be so boring when Amelia is forced to listen to them.

No-Shave November: The Halfway Point

I last shaved on October 30th and have not done so thus far in November. I guess that means no-shave November has been a success. My beard is looking... beardy, and I have made it through the itchiest part.  I just need to keep letting it grow longer so I look even more like a hippy. As the cold weather moves in at least my face skin will be nice and warm.

A Few Test Shots

I didn't get as much of a chance this weekend to try out our new camera as I would have liked, but I did take a few shots. I am impressed by the indoor performance with no flash, and the outdoor full-light shots are great. I am surprised by how easy the manual adjustments are, and find that I am not using auto-mode much at all.  I am able to get better color without it.  Here are a few shots I took yesterday and today. So far it looks like we made a good purchase...

Keep going to check out more photos...

Smart People Stay Up Late

This makes total sense. No wonder I can't ever get to sleep at night... I am just too dang smart.

Smart People Stay Up Late and Sleep Late - Asylum.com: "There is evidence to suggest that those with high I.Q.s stay up later and sleep later.

Researchers from the London School of Economics have found that people with high I.Q.s are more likely to be night owls, whereas folks with lower I.Q.s are more likely to wake up early and function their best during the day. Other studies have found a link between 'eveningness' and getting good grades in school.

However, all is not well with those who burn the midnight oil. People who are disposed to staying up late are less reliable and more likely to suffer from depression and various addictions when compared to early risers."

New Camera!

I have wanted to get an interchangeable lens camera for a long time, but I never had enough motivation to spend the money.  The baby's impending arrival gave me the incentive to finally pony up the cash.  I thought I would get a Nikon DSLR. They take awesome pictures. However, the large body and huge lenses are a lot to lug around. We're already going to be carrying enough junk around for the baby; we don't need a dedicated backpack for our camera. There is no replacement for their performance, but we were willing to live with a lesser camera in order to save money and size.

Most likely I was going to buy a mid-range shooter; not one that would allow me to swap out lenses.  Then I discovered the micro 4/3 cameras.  They offer most of the same benefits of a full-sized DSLR, but in a much smaller package.  The body and lenses are significantly more compact.  You surely don't get everything that a big-dog Nikon would offer, but I am not enough of a photo snob to notice. Not yet anyway. I chose to get the Olympus E-PL1. It has really good reviews. I also like that it looks "retro", and not like every other DSLR you see. I would still like to get a DSLR down the road, but this will be a fun camera to get me started.

That Didn't Last Long

Last week I did a really good job at waking up on time.  I had prepared myself to take advantage of gaining an hour in the morning. I was hoping to get to bed on Sunday night before 10. That did not happen. For some reason it was one of those nights where I just layed there and couldn't fall asleep. The last time I remember looking at the clock it was just before 1.  

Monday morning was the exact opposite of how I imagined it. Not only did I fail to get up early, I slept through my alarm and woke up even later than I usually do. I jumped in the shower and got out the door in a hurry, but I still missed my 7:30 meeting.  I started the week off at a disadvantage. It always seems like when I sleep in once I have a hard time getting on schedule for the entire week.  

The only thing worse than having a bad habit is failing to correct it every time you try.  When you are trying to form a new habit what steps do you take in order to make sure you follow through? Even though I want to go to sleep earlier I can't force it to happen. I have tried to do things that are supposed to promote sleep, but it never seems to work. When I am consciously thinking about getting to sleep earlier it never seems to work out well.  

I haven't completely given up on this week. I will try again tomorrow morning to wake up earlier.  I am already looking forward to the weekend.  Maybe I can relax and reset, then get things on track next week.  

Standing Room Only

Tonight my wife and I decided to go have dinner at one of our favorite places; Marketplace Express.  It is never busy on a Friday evening, it is pretty fast, and the food is really good.  When we first walked in I noticed a group of about 10 people that had a few tables pushed together. They seemed to be finished and were standing up getting ready to leave.

We placed our order then went to grab a seat.  The group had all stood up by now, but were gathered next to their table in the middle of the restaurant talking.  We sat down a little ways away and waited for our food.  The group had formed an oblong circle along the one side of the restaurant and they were still just standing there exchanging pointless dialog that did not warrant their continued presence.  This went on for quite a bit longer.  It seemed like it was about to break up and they were going to finally get out the door.  A few people shuffled around in order to say goodbye to those on the other end of the amoeba shape they had now formed.

New Neighbors

When I came home for lunch there was a bulldozer clearing the lots behind our house.  There was a decent sized tree back there, which they took out.  There is going to be a house right behind us within the next couple months.  We have had 4 years of a nice open view from the back deck, but that is all over now. It is sad.

It is a good sign for the economy that our subdivision is filling up.  It will probably make it easier to sell our house someday if there aren't a ton of empty lots.  I'm not looking forward to the next few weeks with the construction going on. Hopefully it won't be bad.  It is getting cold so we haven't been spending a lot of time outside. Still, it isn't fun to have to hear the trucks and hammering all the time, especially right out our back door.  I guess we will make it through these tough times.

I am not extremely excited to be getting new neighbors right behind us.  We will be able to look right in their back yard, and visa versa.  I'm not feeling too good about that.  Hopefully they don't have a dog.

A Small Victory

This morning I was able to wake up on time. I definitely didn't get up "early", but I didn't have to scramble around. I had plenty of time to make my coffee. This is pretty good for a Monday morning after staying up and watching Sunday night football. I will be up again tonight watching the Colts game. Hopefully tomorrow morning will be a repeat performance. If I can get up with my alarm every day this week maybe I can form a habit just in time for daylight savings time to end.

While I am creating habits I have another one I need to work on. I don't know about you, but I hate mail. I have a tendency to let mail stack up for weeks. Most of the time I open the important stuff, but every now and then something that requires attention gets lost in the junk mail pile. This weekend I spent over an hour going through mail. I need to stop letting it get to that point. If I spent a few minutes every couple days it wouldn't be a big deal, but I never make myself do it. I consider myself a fairly organized person, but I stink at managing our mail. Any tips?

Anyway, happy Monday. I hope you have a great start to your November. I've decided to let my beard grow again. Let's see if I can get through the first couple weeks of not-shaving without going crazy.