139 Kms on the rowing machine in the last 2 months. This is more than my yearly totals in the years before. Really enjoying rowing machine as cross training. I think it has definitely improved my cycling performance.
September 12: “panic”
It will take a moment to realize the panic we felt as we got to the end of this 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle.
September 11: “retrospect”
When we look up in the night sky we are looking in the past. This image of pinwheel galaxy I captured earlier this year is how it was 25 million years ago.
#mbsept
Try hard but not that hard - I like this!!!
The trick—be it in exercise, or anything—is to try for 85%. Aiming for perfection often makes us feel awful, burns us out and backfires. Instead, count the fact that you hit eight out of 10 of your targets this quarter as a win. We don’t need to see our work, health or hobbies as binary objectives, perfected or a total failure.
With all the showboating, the men’s tennis is just so boring to watch. Wish this match gets over quickly so we can move on with life.
20230910 Bike ride
Bike ride around East Lyme, Old Lyme and Lyme. Went down to the coastline and then up into the hills before returning home. This is one my favorite 30-mile route.
#Bikeride
Dropped daughter off at the airport last evening. Woke up this morning to find that she made it safely to Edinburgh and getting settled in university housing. This is the first time ever for her to experience living in the middle of a big city. She is going to have a blast!
September 8: “yonder”
Oh boy! So many photos to choose from. Here is one of my favorites. Flame and Horsehead nebulae from Orion.
#mbsept
A service engineer came in to fix one of the instruments at work and turns out that he is from same part of India as me. Interesting! This is one of the rare occasions when I can talk with someone about instruments and experiments in Marathi with a lot of English words in there, of course.
Trifid nebula (M20) is one of my favorite objects. In one field, there is bright emission nebula, a reflection nebula (blue), dark nebulosity crisscrossing in front of the emission nebula and an open star cluster (M21) to the top right.
Last night, we paid the bill at University of Edinburgh. Turns out that by going there for a semester, my daughter is saving about half the money she would have spent at Bowdoin. And that includes the airline ticket. Why are colleges so expensive in US?
Rode my bike to work this morning. The pedestrian/cyclist lane on Gold Star bridge has been fixed so no need for a bus ride. It was a nice and easy ride today.
The Drop-off
Last week, we dropped off our son at college. They made move-in really easy for everyone. As we pulled up in front of his dorm building at the assigned time, a swarm of 20-25 upperclassmen descended upon our car and in one shot, they took all of our son’s belongings up three flights of stairs to his room. By the time, I found parking and walked back to the room, half the stuff was already put away. This help from other students was really nice and in the spirit of Davidson College.
On the following day, all the incoming students were welcomed at a ceremony held in the same arena where Steph Curry played. I thought the speeches made by one of the students from student senate and the dean of admissions were really on point. The student basically told all the freshmen that for many of them high school was easy but, college is going to be hard work. There will be times when they’ll want to give up and it is OK. This only makes them realize their limitations and give them an opportunity to seek out help, make it a learning experience and grow their horizons. It was good to hear this straight talk from a student.
As the course work gets going and when the students find it hard, it is common to question if they belong there. The dean of admissions addressed this imposter syndrome. He said that this feeling is normal especially when the students are away from their familiar support network at home. He assured the students that the admissions staff looked through thousands of applications and chose this cohort because the staff thought the students belonged there. He was confident that his staff doesn’t make mistakes in these decisions. I thought that was very encouraging and a nice confidence booster for the students.
After an outdoor picnic, it was time to say goodbye and leave so the freshmen could continue on with the orientation program. It was with mixed feelings that we gave final hugs and got to the car to leave. We were all mostly happy. He will be at an excellent institution getting some of the best education available while making new friends and playing great music as a part of Davidson College Symphony Orchestra which will enhance his college experience. He worked his butt off to get there and we are very proud of him. The Covid years were really hard for him and he didn’t do well in school but in the last two years he picked up the slack and was successful with college admissions process. I guess this is normal progression - a child growing into an adult and leaving to find his own place in the world. Of course, we will miss him at home. He is the noisiest member of our family. Always chatting and sharing and yes, arguing about everything. He also makes the most beautiful sounds with his viola. We will miss all that but will also enjoy some peace and quiet at least for a few days.
Now that he has completed the first week of classes without any issues (no missed classes or meals), and FaceTimed with us a couple of times, we feel confident that he will be OK. The Davidson staff also went to great lengths to talk about all the support they provide for physical and mental well-being of students and assured all the parents that their students will be looked after like family. In another month and half, we will visit him for parents weekend. Look forward to hearing about all the new experiences at college.
