Should have been 1-14-2011...

Sitting at 33,000 feet I never cease to be amazed at what is possible. Think about it, untold thousands of passengers all around the world walk into a multi-ton metal tube. Minutes later they are not only airborne, but comfortably doing so and enjoying a book, music, movie, or even connected to the vastness of the internet. It is simply mind-blowing to think of where we have come as a society in the last 100 years.

I’m probably thinking about time and such since it was my birthday yesterday. I am now 25 years old, which still feels remarkably young since I’m still in school. I suppose however that my awe and appreciation of today’s modern technology stems from the things I’ve learned in school. An appreciation for fluid mechanics, turbulence, material properties, chemical reactions, and gas dynamics makes the flight of an airplane simply amazing.

Where am I going? I suppose I ought to answer that question. Lauren is running her first half-marathon this weekend in Phoenix, AZ and I’m going with her. Leaving the snow will be a nice break for a few days. I wish I could find a way to have brought my mountain bike along, but that isn’t the point of this trip. This trip I get to play support person. I’m the photographer, team cheerleader, masseuse, psychologist, nutritionist, general go-fer, and husband. I’m comfortable in my role(s) and I’m pretty good at it. The biggest challenge will be containing and putting up with Lauren’s nerves. That challenge is incredibly small however in comparison to dealing with my dad’s nervous energy on a 3000 mile drive to Alaska and waiting in Anchorage for a week prior to the start of the Iditarod. Putting up with my wife, who is much better to look at and generally smells better is going to be much easier.