A Drop of Time

     The idea that we're alone in the universe is either arrogant or ignorant, in my opinion. It's such a huge universe--why shouldn't life exist elsewhere? If we believe that humans on Earth are the only form of life (ignoring the idea of sentient life for a second) it's saying the miracle that put us in just the right place with just the right nutrients couldn't possibly happen in this great big universe of ours. Next, even if there is life, thinking that it couldn't have become sentient is completely ignoring the fact that we don't even know what makes us sentient. If it's so mysterious who's to say it won't happen again somewhere else, far away from us?
     Okay, so sentient life is a possibility, but not life that's able to evolve to the point of space travel. We did it. Why shouldn't some race that's been around longer than we have be able to travel the universe? Isn't the hope that we will be able to travel the universe, someone else has probably had the same desire and achieved their goal.
     I recently had a conversation about the possibility of life in the universe and there's a theory that says (and I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember exactly how it was described) humans are a single blip in the amazingly expansive measure of the universe so we're either not the only ones out there or we're destined to destroy ourselves before we actually make an impact on the greater environment.
     And, as depressing as that sounds, in the grand scheme of things it's true. But when we're living day to day each second seems like so much more than the minuscule drop of history that it is.

Just a thought...
Stephie

Happy Tidings!

     Just a two weeks ago my younger sister sent me a text while I was at work. Unfortunately so did all the rest of our mutual friends. My sister was trying to tell me the wonderful news: her boyfriend asked her to marry him! While I'm completely ecstatic for my sister, I am a little frustrated with everyone else's responses. They ranged from "I thought she said they weren't getting married" to "How do you feel about this?".
     I am kind of stunned that my friends would want to talk to me rather than just wish her congratulations, but at the same time I understand that they might want to confirm what they're seeing on Facebook and other social media. Not only am I not the expert on their life together, but I was supposed to be pleasantly surprised by the news. A surprise that was ruined because of this instant communication we now live with.
     The one surprise they couldn't ruin was her request upon seeing me for the first time: "Hey, will you be my Maid of Honor?". I have never been so proud of my sister as when she started behaving like the adult she is with a request rather than expectation or demand. And I am honored to be asked to share such an important part of her most anticipated day.

Congratulations Kaitlyn & Robert!

Old Family, New Friends

     I love it when I can visit with family. It's been a long and frustrating few years since we all lived close to each other and gas prices made it easy to just plan a trip for the weekend. When we were little it was easy because our family lived in Portland, Gra'ma and Papa lived in Central Oregon, and out of my seven aunt-uncle sets the furthest lived in Central California. Since we moved everyone else has moved too, but it seems we're moving closer together.
     What is it about Central Oregon that draws us all back? Is it that my parents' generation grew up there, or is it that all of our best memories are there? I don't know, but for me it's that my family is mostly close by no matter where in Central Oregon I am.
     I came down to Madras to visit my aunt and her kids. I wasn't expecting to see much of my oldest cousin, but I've been given the opportunity to meet his children and I absolutely adore them. The older two are girls and sweethearts. They're brilliant for a nine and seven-year-old, they love to cook, they're outdoorsy, and we all get along so much better than I'd have thought with our age differences. The youngest is a four-year-old boy who looks just like daddy. Their boy is a ladies man, as young as he is, and I can't sit in a room with him without him curling up next to me.
     My cousin's kids are wonderful, so is his wife, but I'm most glad I got to know him again. He's several years older than me and when the family started going its separate ways he was just starting his family. Now that we're adults it's great to become friends as well as family. There is something to be said for creating friendships with family, even the ones you don't see very often.

Just thinking...
Stephie

Back to School--Without the School

     It's August and that means time for school to start. This year is different for me though; I'm not going back to school. For the first time in seventeen years I won't be donning that new-school outfit and worrying about where I'm supposed to be and when, hoping I don't walk into the wrong class, and hoping I'll be on time. It is sort of a surreal feeling, but not a bad one.
     There is some of that nostalgia everyone says you'll have when you graduate. For some reason I didn't really have time for it after high school, but now that I'm leaving my friends, coworkers, and fellow Lutes, I'm starting to get what everyone was talking about.
     Why now? Well, I'm in my last week of work at the University and saying goodbye to people I've spent the last four years worrying over tests, schedules, and building relationships with is becoming more and more difficult. Today I realized we all have been only getting so close at work; the great friendships are formed by people who have class together or see each other outside of work. This week is letting us cut loose a little and have some fun. That fun is letting us get to know each other better and making it harder to let go and move on.
     I'm glad for all the friends I've made in college: from class, work, clubs, and other extra-curriculars come different kinds of people and different friendships. That's going to be what I miss the most, not the endless readings, not the twelve page papers due in two weeks, not the professors who want your entire attention while the groundskeepers are mowing the lawn outside, the friends and experiences you can only get in a place where so many people are trying to discover themselves outside of their pasts and the influences that make them into children.
     What will I do? I don't know. Maybe find a job, pay off those pesky student loans, and become the adult I always wanted to be. But not all grown-up, I'll still remember how it felt every September to look in that mirror and think, who am I going to be this year? I'm going to be me, just a little bit different.

Just a thought...
Stephie

Graduation!!

      Yesterday was Graduation Day for my university! On one hand I'm ecstatic to be finished with my undergraduate years, but on the other I'm going to miss all the friends and the experiences and I'm terrified of the "real world." These last four years have been some great times, starting with my freshman year and learning how to function again after tearing my knee apart and having surgery to fix it and finishing with this last year and the insanity of Capstone and preparation for today--my first day as a college graduate.
     There's that worry and stress about "What are you going to do after college?" Well, apparently I'm going to sit on my computer and talk to the world... I don't have a long-term job lined up like some of my classmates, but I'm positive about discovering what I enjoy and working toward the goals I've set for myself. I'm willing to let those goals change, and move with where the world flings me. I'm not exactly just letting it happen, as my family thinks, but I will look around and maybe do something a little unconventional for a while.
     What will I do after college? I will have fun, make people smile, read for pleasure, do my own research on topics that fascinate me, and I will cultivate the relationships my undergraduate years have allowed me to develop. But I will start all of that by packing up my apartment and moving back home until I have that semi-permanent job and can afford my own place.

     I want to say "Thank You" to all of my wonderful friends, my crazy family, and the myriad of professors, mentors, fellow students, and other people that have supported me, pushed me, and been the person I prove wrong when I accomplish the impossible--you have helped to create the person I am today.

Just a thought...
Stephie

New Obsessions: BBC America

     This last week was Spring Break for my university so I've had some free time on my hands, actually I've had a lot of free time on my hands. I started watching Doctor Who this evening--it's the first new episode since Christmas--but got caught by the new shows that followed.
     Orphan Black and The Nerdist were interesting: Orphan Black is about a woman who watches someone who looks just like her jump in front of a train. She takes on the woman's identity and strange things start to happen in the dead woman's life. The Nerdist is about all things nerdy. The host, Chris Hardwick, described the show as a place where any thing that people can obsess over, talk about, argue about, then talk about more can be explored and talked about. I thought it was an accurate description of being a nerd; it's also a description John Green used when talking about nerds and nerdiness in his vlog. But it's also an accurate description of Tumblr, so The Nerdist is Tumblr in a television show.
     It looks like we, as a society, are becoming more interested in talking about our interests in an informal and impersonal manner. What happened to book clubs and other organizations where people meet up in real life and talk about things?
     I know I'm a culprit of this same anti-social mingling; I am, after all, talking to you from my computer while you're out there on your computer or smart phone, but what happens outside of these glowing boxes? Will we revert to finding meeting places and talking about things just as people have started writing letters again? Or will we stay tethered to the magic box that allows us to travel to an alternate world where all the other people are traveling to talk about their obsessions.

Just a thought....
Stephie