born to run

well, i had grand plans to post pictures, but i haven't been able to find the cable that connects my camera to my computer. i spent last weekend in nj and nyc. my aunt and uncle bought a new house and it was my aunt's 50th birthday, so the entire extended family descended on nj on july 3rd. it was awesome to see everyone, and it was amazing to see how fast some of my little cousins had grown in the past couple years!

saturday morning (the 4th of july) i got up early and ran around the southern end of manhattan. i could see the statue of liberty and ellis island from the route i took, which reminded me (more than the fireworks) what the holiday is really about. as luck would have it, my brother's birthday is also the 4th of july, so there was much eating and merrymaking throughout the day.

that afternoon i got to spend an hour or two sitting in tryon park, catching up with alex and susan, two of my housemates from hawaii, and kakwira, another friend from hawaii and his girlfriend sarah.

i'm done traveling now for several weeks, but i have been grateful for all the reading time i've had lately while waiting on planes and flying. if you haven't read it yet, go read born to run. my father read a description of it in the newspaper and went out and bought it immediately (he's not a runner). after reading it, he sent me his copy and said that reading it helped him understand how i think and why i like to run so much. needless to say i was intrigued by this statement. that is until i read the book. yes dad, you're correct. there are a lot of other things i would like to say along these lines, but its probably all meant for a conversation off line. i definitely recommend the book, especially if you're interested in running or have a significant other who seems absorbed by it (for more than superficial reasons).

i just finished my mid-term exam for my digital signal processing class. the term is half over. i had a meeting with my advisor today, and its entirely possible that i won't have to take a class in the fall (even on pass/fail). maybe the flip side of that though is that there is so much to do!