these days

It’s summertime and yes, the living is easy. There are no papers or exams or consequential academic deadlines. Only work and friends.

The past week or two have been such good ones, graced with the presence of old friends visiting from all over the country.

Whitney, Christina & I celebrating a thesis-related breakthrough at the Wine Cellar.

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Jacob returned to the Ozarks to defend his thesis, so we made the trip to our Mecca, Hugo’s.

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Lightning struck and Aaron, John, Tifanie and I managed to be in the same town at the same time for a few days.

This meant a few pints at HogHaus

a trip to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

and several spirited rounds of Apples to Apples

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In other news, yours truly turned 25.

I’ve been thoroughly spoiled with dinner after dinner, some cooked or grilled at home and something at a restaurant that was nothing short of a feast.

But my favorite part was seeing all these lovely faces.

these days

It was suggested that I cut back on my freelancing during spring semester so that I could have more time for my thesis proposal writing. I agreed with the logic at first, but just couldn’t help myself. I love what I do. It’s the whole reason I’m working on a master’s degree: I want to write.

I want to write about issues that matter, events that are interesting and people who are compelling, reasons to keep my work a priority. I’d hate to stall my chance for a career by focusing on something as subjective as a grade. Education comes in many forms, including on-the-job experience.

So, here are a few things of mine that have been published lately (thesis proposal or not):

The 18th Annual Greening of the Garden benefited the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks educational programs last week. I showed up to take pictures of all the white tents, pretty flowers & large floppy hats for The City Wire and ended up running into a number of friends. That’s the great thing about Fayetteville. You might intend to go somewhere alone, but you won’t be lonely. There’s always a friendly or familiar face waiting.

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There’s one more week left of the traveling Norman Rockwell exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and a couple more exhibitions to come this summer. In my piece for AY Magazine, I explore the lesser known political side of Rockwell.

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The spring edition of The Arkansas Engineer focused on water quality, which is something I know very little about. After a few interviews, several meetings and countless drafts, I came to a basic, tip-of-the-iceberg understanding of a project headed by the Arkansas Water Resources Center. What happens when two neighboring states have different water quality laws? Research.

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In this feature, I catch up with the Arkansas Engineers Abroad group to see how their international projects for improving water quality is going. The students have such a big heart for making healthy lifestyles possible around the world. Over the years, I’ve seen them spend their nights and weekends working on these projects and even a couple who skipped birthday festivities in favor of raising additional funds for construction supplies going to improve communities that they don’t live in.

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Saturday brought me a story that required a workout to get it. Clubhaus Fitness’ first urban challenge was a series of exercises from rooftops in the city.

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So I hope you find something interesting or informative in these articles. And if you’re reading something great, please, please share! I have three wonderful months to catch up on the books & articles I’ve missed this year.

these days

I went through a box or two of old letters this week, feeling a little nostalgic for friends back home, so I got busy writin’. With paper and stamps and addresses that don’t have @ in them.

Don’t be intimidated.

Also, don’t be surprised if you get a postcard, note or something in your [analog] inbox.

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This week I attended my first media day. It was overwhelming having so many reporters in the same room, but it turned out to be a great learning experience for me as I watched more seasoned journalists make their editorial choices: who to talk to, what to look at, what to record by audio and when to simply listen.

 We were all getting a first glance at the traveling exhibit of Norman Rockwell’s art. More on that to come in the next issue of AY Magazine.

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In my quest to not totally be swamped with research and keep my mind stimulated and creative, I’ve read some entertaining books as of late, such as The Sense of an Ending and the book below.

credit: weheartit.com

Where’d you go, Bernadette was interesting in its structure as a collection of emails, official documents, letters from teachers. It’s a great way to tell a story: from all sides.

My first duathlon is going down in 20 days, so I’ve been commuting to work, riding on my lunch break and generally staying nothing short of exhausted.

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Had brunch with this awesome lady after her six-month foray in New Hampshire. So glad to have her back.

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What have your days been filled with lately?