How do you Measure a Year in the Life?

"525,600 minutes. 525,600 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes. How do you measure a year?"  - Rent - Seasons of Love

Since the song is officially stuck in my head, I am going to run with it. Today is my one year anniversary. Is it coincidental that I decided to kill some time this morning and start a new blog on my anniversary? Probably  yes, although I am sure that some psychologist out there somewhere would have a different opinion! Anyways, one year ago today, I defended my dissertation, thus embarking on a new life chapter.

So, how do I measure this year? In daylight? In sunsets? In midnights? In cups of coffee? In inches? In miles?... Miles sound good to me. It was a year of adventure and a year of miles. Miles on the road, miles in the air, and miles on the trails. If I was not already planning on naming my first born son Anthony (if the day ever comes), I might seriously have to consider Miles.

I thought about adding them all up, but I should probably be grading exams instead of doing that, so instead I will reminisce for a bit. The summer months were full of fun times with the three marriages of six great friends. One in Boston, one in Cleveland, and one in Dayton. I also got to check out a Red Sox game with my brother and best friend, and take a cruise on the mighty Androscoggin River with some crazy Canadians! Late July brought on the big road trip with Dad up to the UP. After hitting up some baseball games in Cleveland and Chicago, along with some Long Island iced teas and deep dish pizza, we made our way to my new home in the Upper Peninsula. Though it is far away from any sizable city, my new home is a wonderful place to live and work.

The late summer in the UP was spent settling into my new home, exploring the area, and getting ready to be Professor L! The fall brought with it football games a plenty, new classes to prepare, and a whole United Nations of friends. I squeezed in a trip to Calgary and Banff for a economics conference and took a break for Thanksgiving down in Florida where I played some shuffleboard and cribbage with my memere. After a Friday spent at the beach in Florida, I found myself facing winter the following Friday on the ski trails of Michigan.

Despite the dark days, the winter was filled with fun things to do. Spending the holidays in New Hampshire with friends and family top the list, as did a first time visit to the lovely city of Denver, an excellent beer destination. Took a weekend trip to Madison and Milwaukee and saw my beloved Orange lose to the Golden Eagles, a preview of what was later to come.Winter Carnival at Tech brought with it amazing snow sculptures and snow mini golf! The fun continued as I took a 10 hour road trip to Battle Creek, MI with some of my students to attend a conference in the city which smells eerily like frosted cereal.

Winter was capped off with a 26 kilometer ski race in Calumet, MI. Though I was far from the front of the pack, I did win 2nd place in my age group. March Madness rang true for me this year, as I took a spontaneous trip to Houston for the NCAA Final Four. Spring semester was capped off with another trip to Florida, to attend another conference with my students in Orlando and make a quick trip to say hello to memere again!

So, with all of these miles and milestones behind me and grading final exams before me, I close out the year. It has been pretty amazing and I am thankful for all of the wonderful opportunities that have been along my path.

Today is my one year anniversary, but today also marks one week until my next adventure- South Africa, squeezed between pit stops in Boston and Montreal. Stay with me, my friends, because as the great poet Robert Frost wrote, I have "miles to go before I sleep."