"The wheels on the bus go round and round"

When we moved to NC, we downgraded to one car. Jared's Saturn found a new home with his brother to help their family with the high fuel costs of driving a huge truck and a van. Our only vehicle is my 2002 Toyota Corolla, and aside from a few minor glitches, having one car hasn't been too bad for us. Part of the reason for that is the good old Triangle Transit Authority.

I had been told prior to my interview that there was esentially no parking available on campus. My boss shared with me that if she had to do it all over again, she would move somewhere near the bus line and just ride the bus in to work every day. I kept her thoughts with me as the process continued forward.

When I got home from my interview, I started looking at some of the additional benefits I could qualify for as a university employee. Because the university recognizes the parking issue, they established the Commuter Alternatives Program. I could get a free TTA bus pass for a year, as well as a sticker to park in certain park-and-ride lots, and a card for discounts at supporting merchants. Plus, I would be using public transportation, which has always seemed like a great idea to me! After I was offered the job, we found an apartment complex not far off of a bus line, so it seemed practically perfect!

So now, after about two months of using the bus, I have generally positive feelings about it. I walk about 10 minutes from our apartment to the bus stop, catch the bus at 7:26 a.m. and ride to work. The bus stop lets me off about 10 minutes from my building, so I get to walk through the rose garden on campus on my way to the office. Compared to my hour commute each direction last year, riding the bus for 20 minutes is really great. I am able to read or just sit and relax. I have made some acquaintances on the bus who I see nearly every day, which is kind of fun. My morning driver is much better than the afternoon driver, but they both get me where I need to be, so I can't complain too much!

From a carbon emissions standpoint, I have reduced my carbon footprint from 37.04 tons of CO2 last year when I was commuting to .20 tons of CO2 since I started taking the bus. Awesome. Every little bit helps!

Change We Need

This election season has been really interesting, to say the least. I basically knew that I would vote for Obama after the 2004 DNC he keynoted when the rumors started circulating that he would run in 2008. Although I voted for the losing candidate in 2004, I didn't feel like he was really the right person to lead our country (my thoughts about the current president aside).

But Obama. Wow.

I have often heard people talk about JFK's campaign and presidency and how he really just was able to boost the country's morale in a time when we needed it. And I think in many ways, we are in a situation now where we need someone else with that sort of charisma, vision, and power. The economy is terrible, we are in a war that more than half the country disagrees with, the current president has one of the lowest approval ratings, the environment is being damaged more and more... The list goes on.

I feel like Barack Obama has been able to put a voice to the concern that so many American's have not been able to express. He has identified some of the problems and given us outlines of his solutions. Granted, not everything that he has proposed in his candidacy may go through. I understand that. But at least he has given hope to people who have lost some faith in our government over the past few years.

There are discussions that record numbers of young people may vote in this election. I have heard stories of 90-100+ year old people voting for the first time in their lives because they truly believe in the message that Obama is bringing.

I think it's just a great time to be a part of this nation. Regardless of who actually wins the election, we are voting for something new. We could have the first African-American president, the oldest elected president, the first female vice-president. It's pretty spectacular to think that in the past eight years our country has developed these new ideals to actually have the opportunity for the government to more accurately portray the American people.

Whatever your political leanings, I hope you take the opportunity to share your opinion on November 4 (or earlier, if you live in a state that has early voting).

May God bless you and these United States of America.

Trying something new...

I have been thinking for a while now that I should start a blog. I have occupied similar web space in the past, especially in high school, but fell away from the cathartic exercise of writing during undergrad and grad school when that action became a requirement. Now that I am in a "professional" position and am not burdened by the looming graded writing assignment over my head, I feel like this may be a good opportunity to expound on some of the things I am learning, gripe about the reality of things I learned in grad school, and mainly just to let everyone know what I am up to these days. (And I have found that I slightly miss having to turn in reflection papers every month!)

So, bear with me as I attempt to make writing a priority again. It feels good to stretch my vocabulary a bit more these days.