Getting ready...

I've been scheduling and packing away (with help from my mom, thank God!) for the past few days. ETD is this Tuesday morning. I'm trying to prepare everything, but I have to accept that there are some things you just can't prepare for. But that doesn't mean I can't worry irrationally!

Tonight at dinner my parents, my 17-year-old brother Pete and I were discussing some concerns about safety while I'm out on the road. You know--snow tires, flares, warm clothes. Pete's helpful suggestion was always to keep food in the car, "because unlike the Donners, you only have yourself." Nice.

An inbox full of Texas

I've gotten a few complaints that I haven't updated this blog at all...I'm still trying to make blogging part of my regular routine. Despite the claim in my profile, I'm not actually on the road yet...I'm just too lazy to change it later! Right now, I'm planning my trip around the U.S., preparing for the trip and finding people to interview and places to stay. This week the alumni regional director of TX and OK forwarded my requests to the clubs in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, three places I'll be stopping in early December, and the next morning I woke up to 25 new emails, all from people wanting to participate and offering to put me up...and they just keeep coming! I'm really impressed and honored by their generosity. Now I'm trying to respond to their emails and figuring out how to reach as many of them as possible!

Meanwhile, I'm packing and doing a few interviews here in South Bend. Last week, I spoke with Eugene Henry '54 and his lovely wife, Alice. He's a professor emeritus in Computer Science and Engineering, and he had some great stories about how he proposed to Alice, devising gadgets and stereos in his dorm room, and his days in the Notre Dame Marching Band (the oldest marching band in the country, for those of you who have never been to a ND football game). He still plays the trombone for a band of faculty and staff here at ND, and we played an impromptu game of "Name That Tune," which I failed miserably! But I learned a few new songs, and got a few tips on trombone technique. I'm not sure I'll ever use them, but it never hurts to know something!

Ok, back to email...

Starting from scratch...seriously

This is my first blog post ever, and it comes on a momentous day. Today I did something I haven't done in eleven years and 2 days: I passed my Indiana drivers' test. I just moved back to Indiana from Maine, and I had to register my car and get an IN license. I walked in expecting to just get my picture taken, fill out some forms and be on my way, but it turns out that "out of staters" have to take the written test. I guess they were worried about the bad driving knowledge I may have acquired during the year that I had a Maine license. Fortunately I passed without incident, and I even learned a few things along the way. For instance, it turns out the best way to avoid getting into an accident in winter weather is to stay off the road altogether. Who knew?

Anyway, the other highlight of my day was the squirrel photo shoot I did with my friend Danica. She and I ate lunch at South Dining Hall on campus at ND, reveling in the preparedness of all the food in front of us. I love SDH for many reasons, going back to my love of the old PayCaf as a child (extra points to anyone who knows about the PayCaf!), so it was a big treat. Then we headed out on God Quad, where we lured a few squirrels with trail mix, then photographed them. It went pretty well, and we had a great time. Exhausted by all that cuteness, we went down to the lake and gave the rest of the trail mix to the ducks...turns out ducks REALLY like trail mix...I haven't been that scared by nature in awhile. I'll post the results once I've figured out how to do that!