Quarter Life Crisis?

A couple of weeks ago, a friend sent out a link to an article about the quarter-life crisis phenomenon. http://www.eyeweekly.com/article/55882 The having meaningless sex part of it certainly doesn't apply to me, but for the most part, this describes how I feel, sentiments I have expressed in recent posts. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me: I tried to leave Georgia for college but I only considered top-notch engineering schools that are in the south, of which there are 2 and Caltech only waitlisted me; I tried to leave Georgia after college to work in California or France but job acceptances kept me in the Georgia. And I'm not wanting to do make this move to be nearer to any particular person, as some of you may think - the cities I am considering have been on my mind for quite some time, it just hasn't been something I ever acted upon or spoke much of before because I knew I would be here no matter what until at least this summer.

Bi- and Semi- Prefixes

I was writing to newspapers to try to get them to publish my bridge column and I was wanting to aim for 2 columns per week to start out. My instinct was to call that bi-weekly, 2 times per week. But then I got to thinking that I get paid bi-weekly and that’s once every 2 weeks. So, semi-weekly must be the term for doing something twice per week. But then I thought of bi-monthly meaning that things get done twice per month. Then I thought about the terms people use for years. Semi-annual definitely means twice per hear. Biannual also means twice per year, but biennial means every two years. Where is the consistency?

These are how the terms are most frequently used in the US and I have heard many people over the years say to avoid using the terms biweekly or bimonthly when describing the frequency of a meeting or get together. Just use "twice a week" or "every 2 weeks" to be clear. It's nice that we have words that allow us to express an idea in one word rather than a 3 or 4 word phrase as long as we all agree on what the word actually means. I think the terms biannual and biennial are rarely confused and, therefore, can be used without potential confusion.

Somehow, these thoughts led me to thinking about the usage of dernière, which means "last" in French. They are consistent. L’année dernière means the pervious year, la semaine dernière means the pervious week (la semaine dernière, j’ai visité Reno). La dernière année and la dernière semaine both refer to the final year of week (la dernière semaine a ce travail et je ne sais pas.)

Green Space in Big Cities

When I lived in Atlanta, I used to love spending an afternoon at Piedmont Park. I could go by myself or I could go with a friend and throw a frisbee or baseball around a little bit. I found it very relaxing to go and walk around, maybe bring a book to read, or just watch the people and the dogs. I miss that now because in Warner Robins or Macon, there's nothing like a big green space to go and walk around and see all sorts of people.

I think this is also a big part of why I have been interested in New York, Boston, and Montreal. Each of these cities has a big park in the middle of the city. There's Central Park in Manhattan, Boston Commons in Boston, and Mont Royal in Montreal.

Yesterday and today I've been wanting to go hang out at a park but the closest thing I could find is the Shops at River Crossing, which is basically a strip mall.

Reasons I Like Winter

I have always lived in the south and thus have always been liked the hot weather. Living in Georgia, 60 degrees is cold, and at even a hint of snow, people go crazy. Anyway, the warm weather is back and I’m actually not too thrilled about it this year. So, reasons I like winter:

1) No need to pack a cooler and deal with ice. The drinks in my car will stay cold just fine.

2) No need to worry about leaving chocolates and other things that might melt in the car.

3) No constant desire to shower and wash my face due to sweating whenever I even walk outside.

4) The added layers of clothing provide more pocket space for me to put stuff in so I may not need to take a bag.

5) No need to worry about the lawn or weeds or ants or spiders or other such things that can be very annoying.

6) Snow. As long as I don’t have to drive in it.

Reno and Airport Praises/Gripes

I am not a gambler and I'm typically not into the kind of vacationing that exists in places like Vegas, Biloxi, and Reno. But I must say that a giant hotel-casino-resort is a good place to have a bridge tournament. The drinks after the game and meeting your peers in the bar/casino is lots of fun and it's not something that exists at most bridge tournaments where people tend to scatter off to different places after the game. In 4 days in Reno for the Spring nationals, I left the hotel once to go out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. If what you're looking for is somewhere to gamble, drink, eat, sleep, shop, relax all in one place, Reno is the place for you. From most places in the US, there aren't direct flights but once you get there, there are free shuttles to all the major casino hotels. Reno doesn't have the glitz and glamour of Vegas or Atlantic City but the idea is the same - you can get the same things in Reno as in Las Vegas, just a litte cheaper and without so much fanciness. There really isn't much else to do in Reno, unless you go out to Lake Tahoe for some water or mountain sports. I wish I had taken a day to go to Tahoe and maybe go skiing, but that requires more planning and finding someone else who wants to go skiing. Skiing is something I've been wanting to try for awhile but the last couple of times I tried organizing such a trip, it failed miserably. Perhaps if and when I move north, my friends will be more interested in skiing.

In other news, I finally realize why people hate LAX so much. In all my travels, it's kind of amazing that I never flew to Los Angeles but my trip to Reno involved chaning airlines in LAX because that's what was the cheapest thing that fit my time parameters. I'd be totally fine if that's my last trip through LAX. It is very inefficient. Signs directing you how to get from one terminal to another are few and far between and a bit unclear. I had no problems with it but I did a little research before hand. The worst part of the airport, though, is that each terminal has a separate security line so delays are lengthened, and it makes passengers connecting in different terminals have to go through security again. It seems that this kind of setup with 6 different terminals each with it's own ticketing, baggage claim, and security comes from an airport that has expanded several times because no one in their right mind would design it like this from the beginning. Yes, if you have a giant security line for all passengers, there may be delays but they will be short and predictable whereas having a different line for each airline creates a much more variable wait time. It all makes me appreciate ATL more. It is the epitome of a well-designed, well-run airport. The fact that it is the busiest airport in the world just makes it even more impressive.

Invention of Lying

On the plane ride home yesterday, I really thought I would sleep like a baby on my 777 flight from LAX to ATL after having had just 7 hours of sleep the 2 previous nights combined. Instead, I found quite an entertaining and thought-provoking movie, a movie that goes hand in hand with many of the issues that had been bothering me the past few days. Actually, these issues of deceit and lying and always bother me but were really brought to the front of my mind again.

The Invention of Lying is set in a mythical world where there is no concept of a lie. The word truth does not exist because everything is the truth. Not only do people only speak the truth but they freely say what’s on their mind. I like that place. I would fit in very well. I wouldn’t spend time wondering things like whether she finds me attractive, or whether she is bored or whether he was just saying something to be nice. The world would be a better place and we would be better people if we all actually said what we like AND dislike to everyone.

Sadly, the movie takes a downward turn when the main character tells a lie, creates God, and then creates fiction. It’s a very amusing sequence of events that follow that ends up with the main character gets the girl of his dreams, who said earlier she’s way out of his league, to fall in love with him.

Relocation

So, now that I've officially told my first level supervisor that I am looking for a new job far away from Warner robins unless conditions change a lot soon, I guess I can be more public about these thoughts that have been floating around in my head for several months.

While Warner robins is a place I would like living in when I have a family to support, but for now, I am young and single and should explore life in a different environment. NYC, Boston, and Montreal have been the places I have been considering. In polling some of the people that know me best and making a pro-con list, Montreal is by far my first choice now. It may be the worst decision I ever make to leave this good job that I have now but it could be the best decision I ever make. Maybe I've been an urban northerner pretending to be a southerner for 24 years but maybe I am a southerner who thinks he now wants to belongs somewhere else. Only time will tell.

And it is certainly would be financial suicide to go to grad school anywhere but mercer while still working in WR but I think that may be what i want to do. McGill, Concordia, and NYU are the grad schools i am considering. If you would like to put your 2 cents in on this matter, please comment or email me.

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