An experimental approach to The Year of Happiness...

1.19.13

I thought it would be really interesting to do a little year long experiment during The Year of Happiness.  Specifically, I created a (very) short survey to keep track of people responses to the question 'What makes you happy?'.  At the end of the year, I'm going to try to compile all these answers and do a little analysis.  I promise to report back!

Please participate if you have time, or better yet, go out there ask someone and send me their response!

Click here for a link to the survey!

In other news, I ran 5 miles today.  It was really beautiful out (~46F and sunny) and worth fighting against the little bit of wind.  My legs were only slightly sore at the end of the run with a little twang in my knees, but I felt great nonetheless.  I'm training for a half-marathon (13.1 miles) this coming March in DC.  My first time ever running that much.  I'm not really sure why I decided to do it.  Maybe because I needed a goal or maybe because I just wanted to hang out with Ada, Tom, Ben, and Alex.  Wish me luck!  More on training later. ;)

2013: The Year of...

1.9.13

On the first day of each new year, my good friend Shelley declares a yearly theme for us to wonder about, discuss, and maybe even help to catalyze some personal change in our lives.  Last year's theme was 'The Year of Cups' and I should admit that I didn't really take it to heart.  Mostly, I just thought of cups as a means to get together with people, to stay warm, and to nourish myself.  Maybe Shelley could say more if I interviewed her about it.  She also took many pictures of cups, which I'm sure have sentimental value.  Anyway, enough of 2012.

With some help from her friends, Shelley decided that the theme of 2013 would be 'The Year of Happiness'.  To overcome my lackluster participation in 2012's theme, I'm going to try to think and do a little more to make this yearly theme worthwhile to myself and others.

I met up with a good friend of mine, Ashley, today at the library cafe for lunch.  During our conversation she told me about a saying one of her family members had told her.  Ashley said, 'the key to being happy is having each of the following: something to give you purpose, something to love, and something to hope for'.  Without any one of these you begin to feel out of balance.  I liked this and thought it was definitely appropriate to share.  With Google's help, I found a similar quote by the 18th Century Scottish writer Alexander Chalmers, but it doesn't have the same gusto as Ashley's version.

May your 2013 be filled with happiness!

Getting Back to It

1.5.13

My last post was about two years ago (plus two days) and I think it's about time that I get back to writing my blog.  There are so many things going on these days that it's often difficult for me to find time to write.  However, I think this whole experience is really good for me in terms of helping me reflect, sharing what I'm up to, and brainstorming new ideas.  I'm hoping that 2013 will be full of awesome adventures, new experiences, thinking, obstacles, and enlightenment.

Because I've been so bad at posting, I ought to give a quick whirl-wind recap of all that I've been up to....

I completed my first triathlon, the Cayuga Lake Triathlon!  Friends from college and graduate school joined in for the fun too.  Here are Ada and I sporting out wet-suits just before the start of the race.

I rode 100 miles around Cayuga Lake to raise money for AIDS services in Tompkins County.  Thank you to everyone that helped me reach/exceed my goal of $300!  (Radical Riderz from left to right: Roger, Eric, Elizabeth, me, Tammo)

This past August, Shelley and I went on a best friends trip to Seattle.  It was so great to explore/adventure with her.  Here we are at the farmers market downtown.

This is the biggest piggy bank I've ever seen!  Here I am at the Seattle Farmer's Market.

Shelley and I took a day trip to Mount Rainier, which is about a 2-3 hour drive from Seattle.  It was nice to have a little break from being in the city.  The air was so fresh and smelled like wildflowers.

Here is Mount Rainier with some of her beautiful wildflowers.

Shelley and I did so many things but one of the best was seeing a Seattle Sounders (soccer) game.  The fans are just as amazing as the players.

For Ben's birthday, we took a trip in September to climb in the Adirondaks.  Lots of friends joined in for the fun.  (Left to right: Brenton, Scott H., Andy, Meg, Collin, Scott C., and Johan)

I was so ready to climb!

I did some exploring in Ithaca as well.  You never know what types of wild animals you'll find lerking in the grass outside of Wegmans.

In October, Ben invited me to join him on a climbing trip to the Gunks.  While we were there we visited/climbed with some of his family friends.  Here are Chuck and I at Giannis, a yummy Greek restaurant in New Paltz, NY.

This is Ben's other family friend Preston (and his wife Sheri not pictured).  It was fun climbing with Preston and Chuck because they are so knowledgeable.

Back in Buffalo, I went to check out the farmer's market on Bidwell and Elmwood.  They had so many gourds!

I fit!

On the same trip I took Ben to see Niagara Falls.  Even though I've been there many times, I'm always amazed by the amount of water going over the falls.  It's breathtaking.

Ben looking silly in his free panco.  We still got really wet...

For Halloween we carved a punk pumpkin (punk'in) complete with carrots for spiky hair.

Ben and I dressed up for Halloween as Finn and Jake from the cartoon Adventure Time.

In November, Jayce, Shelley, and Hammy came to visit me in Ithaca.  I had never been to Robert Treeman  (not Harry S. Truman) State Park so I recommended that we go on a hike there.  It was so beautiful, especially Lucifer Falls, pictured above.

The first week of December I attended the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference in San Francisco, CA.  I presented a poster on water quality data that I had collected at my field site in Bedford, NY.  After an amazing conference, Ben and I hung out in SF.  We went to the National Academy of Sciences and saw some amazing wildlife including these Lion's Mane nudibranch, pictured above.

Speaking of fish, we ate some great sushi in San Francisco too!

After spending the weekend after the conference wandering around San Francisco, Ben and I flew to Palm Springs, CA, rented a car, and drove to Joshua Tree National Park.  We spent the next 5 days climbing everything we saw.  It was my first time in the desert and my first time bouldering outside!  (You can see the Joshua Tree in the background of the photo above)

Here I am all decked out in my climbing gear at Joshua Tree National Park.

After returning home from California, I worked for a bit and then headed to Buffalo for Christmas.  It was great to hang out with my family and friends.  I'm especially greatfull for having the chance to see/hang out with my sister before she moved to Jackson, Wyonming.  I'm so proud that she's taking her own adventure!  More on that later....

Just this past weekend, I went to see a documentary on glaciers called Chasing Ice.  The premise of the film is to provide visual proof on the impacts of climate change.  It definitely convinced me and I would recommend it to anyone.  Even if you're not interested in documentaries, the photos and videos of ice are breathtaking.  I still am amazed at how blue glacier ice can be (because it is so dense and compressed).

Thanks for reading!

P.S.  Today I am 10,000 days old!