One-Way

As I write this entry, I'm already on the east coast, and thinking about all that have occurred in the past few months. I realized that my airline ticket to Baltimore is my first one-way ticket.

Sure, I've travelled one-way before, but never on a plane. It has always been via bus or car. Call me economically savvy.

One time, my family and I all hopped into a van and brought my stuff (which wasn't much) from Arizona to L.A., as I finished college.

One-way always signifies the end of one journey and the start of another.

There's no doubt that Baltimore is a different place to live. I think the humidity was manageable to start. Although any hotter and I would be screaming. The weather has gotten much better over these past two days. Almost Fall-like! Maybe I brought the great L.A. weather here. :)

I've seen plenty of cyclists and runners, so that is certainly a good thing. I was worried that exercise would be low in humid conditions, but nevertheless, they just seem to endure it. Speaking of which, I did manage to fit a short run in during the afternoon. It was a must given the great weather today. I felt so inactive with my bike gone for almost a week now and the lack of running because of long days at work before I left.

The run was overall good considering how long I've gone without running. Legs felt so refresh. It's been the longest distance that I've ran in the past two years on asphalt without having something that bothered my shin or my achilles.

People here seem more friendly than L.A. They also dress differently. I found out the other day that bars are closed on Sundays. Talk about being Puritanic, but it's probably best to just drink six days a week...

An astrophysicist walks into a bar...

Have you ever analyzed a situation and then thought, "I just had to be at
the right place at the right time!" Those instances happen far to few,
but such unusual moments are what some may say are worth living and
certainly bloggable.

It was a nice Saturday night in June of this year. Yes, this is months
overdue, but better to blog now then never.

I was venturing into Pasadena for a little high school reunion.
Ten years do fly quickly. The evening was great; we had dinner together
and caught up on all the good times back in the 90's and the new adventures
and what many had endured.

Everyone congratulated me with getting my doctoral degree. After awhile,
it did get a bit annoying. After all, I would never raise my hand when
a stewardless asked, "Is there a doctor in the house?!?!"

After the reunion many of us just stucked around to grab drinks and share
some good laughs. I was dancing, and chatting, and wandering as my usual
self, checking out the scene. I looked to my left and to my surprise, I
encountered a fellow astronomer. A colleague if I must say. This is too
surprising.

Yes, there are astronomers in Pasadena. It's probably the second city
with the largest number of astronomers. But then again, this is my first
time in a Pasadena bar and what's the odds of me of running into another
astronomer when I'm not working? Maybe I should have gone to a liquor
store and just bought a lottery ticket.

Either way, such moments are certainly a reminder that life is always
unexpected.