Dakota Land

So here I am, back in Dakota, following a bus ride from Madison to the Twin Cities. While in the Twin Cities, I was able to meet the new child of my old friend, Brady Storhaug, and his lovely wife, Jan. After just a few hours there, I was on the bus to Fargo, where I watched my cousin, Pinto, run in the Regional track meet (where his relay team qualified for state), and then watched him graduate from High School the very next day. So a good weekend for him. Now I'm back in Bismarck, hanging with my ever-loving parents, and sorting out a few things before I leave.
Hope to have some pics up soon. Hail progress!

Master's of the Universe (or, of Science, actually)

Well, it appears I've officially finished my Master's of Science. The only work that needs to be done is to print it, deposit it at the library, finish the paperwork, and pay the ridiculous fees. The only problem is that my advisor, Dr. Kaiser, is ill at the moment, so the paperwork portion has been held up. I hope we can get it done soon, because I really want to get out of town tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get it all done in the morning and get to MSP and hang out there for a day or so.

But it feels good to be done. Hail progress!

Retirement of Toki

Toki, my favorite sumo wrestler, mostly because of his prominent sideburns, retired last week. Sumo will never be the same for me. Good luck in retirement, Toki!

The Re-entry Blues

Here, I am, two weeks into my return trip to the Estados Unidos, and the Re-entry Blues are beginning to set in. Most people who've spent a significant amount of time abroad, unless they were soldiers or doing some other unpleasant duty, will tell you that one of the most difficult parts, if not THE most difficult part, is coming back to their own country. While it's good to see your old friends, eat your favorite foods, and watch baseball or football again, it's typically a depressing experience. You've had significant experiences and want to tell people about them, but most people either can't relate or don't really want to hear about them unless you can sum it up in less than 30 seconds. Also, after spending all of that time surrounded by new and interesting things, the same old place where you spent most of your life can seem really grating. It was especially difficult when I returned from Semester at Sea nearly six years ago. It took me nearly a year to feel normal again after my return from Japan. This time around, they are less severe. Perhaps it's because I'm with a more sypathetic crowd here in Madison, where many have experienced simlar feelings, or perhaps I'm just more experienced and know better what to expect and know to keep my mouth shut about it unless asked.

The biggest contribution to my Re-entry blues this time around has been my attempts to put the Thesis to bed and call it a day. You see, this past Thursday, my computer, a Dell Inspiron Notebook which I named Krakatoa (so appropriate that it's named after a volcano, isn't it?), didn't respond at all when I pushed the power button. I took it to a shop, and they told me that it's as dead as fried chicken - the motherboard was gone. She's as useless as a car that has a blown-out engine. So this has made work much more difficult, and set me back at least two days. This has also caused me to have to make the difficult decision about whether to buy a new computer, not a cheap proposition, or just to live without one for a while, which is something I would not like to do. Fortunately, my wonderful ex-roommate India, with whom I am staying while I'm here, has allowed me to borrow her Apple I-book to attempt to finish my work. I'm not accustomed to using an Apple, so it's been slow going, but I've been making progress and have even bulked the thesis up by ten pages or so. Nevertheless, my targeted date of departure, this coming Friday or Saturday, is in serious danger now. However, I want to take my time while writing this, as turning in a less-than acceptable draft will only require more revisions and will require my advisor, a very busy man, to read it an give comments, which will delay the whole process even more. Plus, it's really difficult to write about this stuff any more - this must be sort of how it feels to be running a marathon and reach mile marker 24, knowing there's just a little bit left but really not wanting any more of this. So I'm being careful, taking my time, and hoping I can finally make the gods of academia (er, my advisor) happy enough to give me passage and my Master's degree.

I had best get back to work. Hail progress!

A trip to Wrigley! Cubbies lost, 8-0, to Pittsburgh, but nobody seemed too sad...

With the noted Urban Geographer and author (wrote "Hyde Park, Illinois" - look for it on Amazon!) K. Max Grinnell, the man responsible for getting the tickets. Big thanks, Max!

The 7th innning stretch - a hallowed baseball tradition 

Decent zoom on this little camera, isn't there? 

an action shot 

Another view of "The Friendly Confines" 

The Ivy 

The scoreboard 

The view from our upper deck seats 

Pregame Buzz in Wrigleyville... 

Various shots from around Madtown and around Chicago in the springtime

The cathederal at DePaul University, on Chicago's North Side

The Sears Tower, world's third tallest, at sunset, from the platform at Western Station on the Blueline 

flowering trees 

Lake Monona on a beautiful May morning 

The back yard, in the heavy weather of this past weekend 

Historic Science Hall, in all its splendor 

Tulips.