pineapple tidbits

i'm two days back from my two-week trip to Hawaii. i woke up this morning again not knowing where i was for a moment and then feeling a little disappointed to discover i was in my own bed. the trip was better in every way than i had anticipated, but i couldn't help but compare it to the trip to Greece (more entries on that still pending).

in Greece, i was alone for almost the entire trip, separated from nearly everyone by a language i don't understand, while on this trip i shared a house with 10 friends and my alone time coincided with my limited unconscious time. in Greece, i had my choice of what to do, eat, and see, while in Hawaii decisions were made by committee. it was one of the most informed, effective committees i've ever seen, but a committee nonetheless (picture of one deliberation at right). in Greece i was responsible for only my own entertainment and could change my mind on the spur of the moment, while in Hawaii i was the driver of one of the three rental cars and the owner of the only in-car iPod hookup which bound me to the desires and needs of others (and there are strong opinions when it comes to music choices). my time in Greece was inward and meditative, while in Hawaii my energy was almost always focused outward, which was sometimes stressful. when i'm surrounded by friends i can't help but attend to and be strongly affected by their moods and amusement, and there were many moments of tension and disagreement. i kept a journal in Greece. i didn't even send postcards from Hawaii.

the question this raised in my mind was, which did i like more: being alone or having the benefits and drawbacks of company? and i realized this isn't just a trivial travel-related question. i am single and living alone for the first time in my life, and over the last 14 months i've come to rather enjoy the perks of this lifestyle. the thing is, while there were a few moments of frustration and strife on the trip, i am deeply grateful to those with whom i shared the many fantastic moments, and those bright spots cast all the rest in a warm glow. hands down, i would take companionship any day.

so that's the big thought. here are snippets for some of the highlights of the trip: "nonacid" white pineapple (the "champagne of pineapples"). banyan trees. floating in warm ocean water, watching the sun set behind kiteboarding sails. late-night games of mafia. the most sincere, touching, and unique wedding i have been to. really good mai tais, blue hawaiians, and lava flows. watching a sea turtle swim. partying all day on a sandbar, surrounded by ocean. doing karaoke with the local characters in Kona. sucking on fresh sugar cane. walking on the crater of a breathing volcano. a full rainbow across a barren lava field. tons of laughter and good conversation. finally getting to bond with long-time acquaintances.

but still i haven't seen liquid hot magma, dolphins, or a big waterfall up close. and i need to work on my surfing skills. so, who wants to go with me next time?

o lolli lollipop

it's been seven years. (well, if you don't count the two years i spent at Berkeley making the transition from Environmental Science to Computer Science and the semester of intro CS i took before that when i was still working in Virginia.) okay, fine, the point is that it took a long time and now it's over. today i filed my thesis and got my lollipop. technically, i'm not a Dr. until they confer my degree in December, but it's good enough for grad work, feel free to call me doctor. i'll even answer to Dr. Dre.

as my friend Jaety pointed out, at the end of our trying intellectual and emotional journey we are rewarded like kindergartners, with a lollipop and a gold star. so here it is (as requested by my Aunt Linda), a picture of me getting my lollipop, and one bonus pic of me with my rewards on the steps of Sproul Hall. (for the full action sequence, you can go to my photo album.)

lastly, two acknowledgments that didn't make it into the thesis. first, a big thank you to Emily and Paul Reichardt who joined me for the last leg of the journey and served as my historians. second, to Garrison Keillor for a quote that has provided much-needed perspective the last seven years:

Intelligence is like four-wheel drive. It only allows you to get stuck in more remote places.

notes from Greece (after the fact) - day 2

some people swear by melatonin or Xanax, but i think my weapon of choice against jet lag is sleep deprivation and unsatisfyingly short naps. to my amazement, i almost slept straight through my first night in Greece, despite the 10 hour time difference, and woke up to my alarm, refreshed, at 6am. the word is to go to the Acropolis early or late in the day, and try to avoid the hot midday hours. especially good advice, given the minor heat wave while i was there. i wish i could tell you how hot it was, but i don't remember, the temperatures were always in celcius and every time i started to work out the conversion i was distracted by something shiny. (i missed the worst of it, apparently. a couple days after i left, it was above 110 and fires were raging.)

by 8:30am of my first full day, i was walking the hill up to the Acropolis, stopping to look at the sites along the way, like the Theatre of Dionysus. it was the prototype for all the theatres in ancient Greece and apparently for Berkeley's Greek theatre as well (if you click the pic at right for a larger view you can see the throne chairs just below the main stands, just like Berkeley's). this was my second time to the Acropolis, and just like the first it activated my imagination. i worked to imagine what the buildings would have been like whole and the crowds of young philosophers in togas and sandels gathering on the steps of the Parthenon. i also struggled to imagine away the scaffolding and hoards of tourists. and i tried to put back in the Temple of Athena Nike, my favorite Acropolis structure, which they apparently dismantled and took away for repairs.

being at the Acropolis alone among so many families and tour groups was my first taste of what it meant to travel alone. one upside was that i didn't have to take pictures of my family or friends in front of the Parthenon like these giddy fools. the downside was that i didn't get to take pictures of my family or friends in front of the Parthenon like these giddy fools. i made a couple rounds and ducked and weaved my way back out amongst the snapping cameras.

i spent a few more hours wondering the Plaka neighborhood near the Acropolis and some other ancient sites. i hit the Roman Agora (agora being the word for markeplace), then the Ancient (Greek) Agora, which was the political and commercial center of ancient Athens. it was amazing to think i was standing on the ground from which our culture grew.

in the afternoon i went back to Christos' and Efi made me more food, including tiropitas, savory cheese-filled pastries, just like my grandmother used to. then i napped through the hottest hours of the afternoon, and after i got up, the Papadimitrious family arrived home. i was more relieved than i expected to speak again in full, English sentences. that night they had a small dinner party out by the pool (they live in a small enclave of duplexes clustered around a clubhouse and swimming pool). everybody there spoke English, but most of the conversation was in Greek. it was actually fun to figure out the tone of the conversation, if not the subject, from the pattern of interactions between the nine people at the dinner table. every once in a while Christos' daughter (who goes to an English-speaking school) would lean over and fill me in on the current topic. i went out that night with a guest from the dinner party and her cousin to the patio of the Hilton's top-floor bar, where i sat in the warm night air, sipped Jameson and looked out over downtown Athens. he's from South Africa, living in England, and she's born and raised in Athens, just back from university in England and working for Coca-Cola in Athens. our main topic of conversation? American politics.