Identify Yourself

"I'm a physicist, a runner, and (most recently) a dad."

This is what I wrote to shortly and sweetly identify myself. The middle one is not really a very big part of the picture at the moment. That's not to say I'm not identifying myself as a runner any longer, but in life's ebbs and flows, running is in a cryogenic freeze these days.

So what's been happening that I might let this blog fall off? The three weeks in Santa Barbara were extremely productive physics-wise. I've got a really cool new project that I'm working on now because of it. I also "learned" to surf (I at least managed to stand up and ride a wave as far as it would take me). Then I had family visiting as soon as I got back. The next weekend was this most recent one, where the whole fam went on a house hunting/interviewing/job settling trip. My wife interviewed for a job (and got it! She rocks!) We found a house we love, and are now trying to put together an offer that will chain us to a hefty mortgage. A couple of decisions remain, but the paths are narrowed down to all the most promising ones, and everything is looking sunny, to our great delight.

I ran with some old friends, and had dinner with some others. Very good fun. Realizing we're really sick of Chicago has been an important step.

So why the title? We've been struggling to identify ourselves these days. What kind of place do we want to call home? Are we the type of people who want to live in a little friendly neighborhood? I don't think we are, in the end. I'd rather live on 7 acres, build a trail-style track around my land, swim in my pond, and chop wood than get together with "the guys" for poker on thursday nights or whatever. I guess for some of the same reasons that I chose a rather solitary pursuit as a hobby, I'd rather keep the neighbors at a decent arms-length.

So to wrap things up:
Sorry for disappearing so suddenly.
I'm still running a bit (a nice 4x800m 2:42 - 2:37 -2:35 - 2:37 yesterday).
Shit's still crazy, but it's all good shit.
Hopefully I'll post again sooner rather than later.