RyanHarne.com

Before I go on a long ride, I find it imperative to brush my teeth thoroughly, apply ample chapstick, strrreeetttch, and listen to “Smartbomb“. I’m the type of exerciser who requires hard-hitting electronic or rock to push me through a workout, no sissy trance comes out of my iPod earbuds at the gym. For safety and commonsense reasons, I don’t listen to music while riding, so it must enter my routine prior to the occasion. The manufactured adrenaline rush is time-again effective.

Nik and I rode 48 miles today through a gorgeous, moving scenery. The steep precipice shown on the graph represents a back-and-forth winding required to descend that slope. Keep in mind, the road is made of smooth, compacted dirt, and teamed with the significant acceleration downwards, the average descent is a quick race to 30 mph before you lock those brakes in order to make a 180º turn. It’s a wild experience - one that I was taking with supreme caution while Nik raced ahead, clearly more adept in road riding than I am, no surprise there.

The temperature cooled quickly in that region, aided by a modest mountain stream that encouraged a few log cabins to take root in nearby soil. The sights and fresh air were wonderful. We took the long ascent towards the 40 mile mark at a rapid pace, along a well-paved road, occasionally following a brook and occasionally seeing people relaxing on their porches. It was a religious experience.

To recover, I devoured one-third of a large cheese pizza. Plus, others.

This last week of semester-related responsibility is going to be very dynamic, I have foreseen it. A portion of my stuff is already moved into Nik’s apartment, the rest arriving Sunday afternoon. This is exciting. And, the more I consider it, the more I am looking forward to meeting my nephew next week. Three cheers!

While sitting in on one of the regular FDI gatherings today, I discovered that IT people are a different breed than I first expected. Macs are progressively being adopted everywhere in the university, at an accelerated pace thanks to Boot Camp and Parallels, so this FDI meeting was targeted at IT people having to deal with Mac support for the first time, or their own first Mac.

Maybe it is only the case here at Virginia Tech, but the IT people are remarkably patient and intuitive. And they sometimes speak a language I cannot understand. Any technologic English beyond HTML and I am lost in a matrix of variables and indecipherable characters. Yet, despite this new tongue, most of the IT people are very kind and sincere. For years, I envisioned the IT guy to be something like Dwight Schrute, a person who actually does have spare pairs of Birkenstocks on hand and who takes martial arts classes weekday nights. In fact, IT is a challenging profession highlighted by amazing people-handling skills, similar to a telemarketer or an airline steward[ess]. Plus, you usually get the top-of-the-line computer technology before everyone else in the office (again, at least here at VT).

Now that I consider it, my favorite jobs, or my favorite employed moments, have been ones where my people-handling skills are the most challenged and stretched. Dealing with rude students at the Math Emporium was a joy because I aimed for changing their mindset towards math before I left their desk. That entire job was a test of patience and physiological caffeine limits, a year-long bench press of sanity.

I salute you, IT.

It is wrong for me to entertain the idea of purchasing a candy dish, despite the tempting design elements. Furthermore, it is wrong for me to ever keep candy on my desk, or within arm’s reach. Quite akin to Rufus Wainwright’s confessed addiction to jelly beans, when I buy a bag of M&Ms, they must be consumed in one sitting. It is not a voluntary action, but an instinctive response to seeing uneaten M&Ms laying around. “Oh, you poor thing…” CRUNCH.

The only time of the year I encounter candy is the end-of-the-semester swing. The rest of the year I forget that the food group even exists, and frankly have little taste for quick fix chocolate. But a few errant grocery store visits later, and subsequent habit-forming choices, I am awash in candy, be they encased in Easter-pastel bags or typical Hershey’s product line attire. Awash in my own demise.

My demise is rapidly expanding its territory, too. Once again, today the topic of pursuing a PhD came up, out of the blue in a conversation with a professor/friend. I remember when I was first thinking of a M.S. and the conversation that gave me boldness to keep going. That was two years ago and the moment took place in a Starbucks nearby, chosen for the location by the person I had met, who was in town from Chicago for a couple lectures and BOV meetings. Considering the amount of sleep I have already lost thinking of a PhD and what that would entail and what that would lead to, I may not require an epiphanic talk this time around.

Certainly, a demise.