On sleepless roads the sleepless go

Sighing I shut the lid to my laptop. Done, I say to myself. That last homework assignment only took me 12 hours to complete. It wasn’t hard exactly, just long.

Who am I fooling, it was hard.

‘The first part of your midterm will be posted online tomorrow, there will be both a written part and a project requiring the use of MATLAB,’ Dr. Adams foreboding voice rings through my mind with a hint of dread. I slip my contacts out and feel the instant relief.

I’m sure I could have written better code for that last problem, I think. A for loop maybe? I’m sure I did it the hard way. Maybe I should redo—stop! I shake my head slightly in an attempt to clear it. It’s done. The matrix images turned out correctly. It’ll be ok.

The soft hum of the electric toothbrush is soothing while it massages my gums. I will need to be familiar with all 3 ways to project a vector onto the range of A. The SVD is easy enough, QR factorization, and then, uh, does that other one have a name? Of course all of that depends on the matrix having full rank.

Back in my bedroom I slip on my favorite chemise, the white one with blue flowers printed on it. Then there was that one homework problem on the eigenvalue decomposition of a matrix, why didn’t we cover that in class? It sure helped knowing U and V are unitary. “Ugh,” I hiss under my breath as I sit on the edge of my bed. I’ll never get to sleep like this, I need an ‘off’ switch.

Glancing down I see the one thing that will save me. I slide off my bed and onto the floor grabbing my electric guitar conveniently sitting on its stand just feet away. The smooth white surface is familiar to my fingers; a small grin appears on my face. Playing a handful of chords I test the sound before jumping into my most recent song project. A very simple song but the beat just makes it fun to play.

All thoughts of math and homework are quickly slipping away. I wonder to myself, where is my music for that Jimmy Eat World song I love so much? Switching to the acoustic guitar and grabbing my capo I play through the chords, my smile increasing as I go. I can almost hear his voice singing,

May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.

Before long I gently place my guitar back on its stand where she waits to save my sanity another day.

A Small Chance to Serve

Many women have fabulous talents they use to serve others. Some cook, some make quilts, some make little intricate cards to send to others. Me? I do math. I’ve often wondered how my talents in math can help someone else. I mean, other than what I already do as a math tutor.

Friday I had the chance to volunteer as a math scribe for the University of Washington. One of the students in an upper level math class has a disability which does not allow him to write. Math is full all sorts of odd symbols to make it difficult for anyone to do this job. That’s me and my talents came in quite handy. It was a fun to be able to help him out.

I walked away from this experience with two things on my mind. Number One: I am selfishly ungrateful for my own body. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking about what is wrong with my body when I should be thinking about everything that is right. Number Two: I am highly impressed with this guy for his ambitions and for doing everything he has accomplished. It was a reminder to me that my life is exactly what I choose to make of it.

I needed a change.

Some have called it the color of fall. Some ask if it's for Halloween. However most say it looks like the color of fire.

And I convinced Carly to go Red at the same time :)

Holly

For lunch today I met up with Holly who is fabulously interesting and fun. We were roommates for 3 months in an apartment in Seattle just before I left on my mission. We shared a large bedroom where we stayed up late talking, laughing, burping the alphabet, and having all sorts of riotous fun. Plus making our 3rd roommate insanely jealous that she did not share a room with us as well. That was 9 years ago.

Today Holly lives far away on the other side of the state. She has a degree in Anthropology which means she is basically Indiana Jones.

While rooming together I had a pile of 'Just Do The Math' window stickers and I hung one of them in our window by my bed. When moving out I left it so Holly would always remember me. Turns out she took that sticker and put it in the window of her car. So. Cool.

Third Times the Charm

Note: The events of this blog post took place one week, three hours, ten minutes and thirty-four seconds ago.

One of the most amazing experiences of my life happened at 13,000 feet as I stepped out of a plane into the open air.

The first time I experienced this was for my 29th birthday. I did a tandem dive with a few friends.

The second time was exactly 1 week later when Jason and I returned for the day-long class and jumped out on our own. Yes. I had my own parachute, pulled my own rip chord and did everything just right... up until I came in for my landing and, well, it was slightly ungraceful. I ended up with a minor tear in my MCL and on crutches. No fear, this did not stop my desire to go again.

The third time was just last weekend with a few new friends, 2 of them celebrating birthdays of their own. I must say it was even better this time! I went tandem again, to be on the safe side, and because this allowed me to go with my friends as well. This time I knew what to expect, I knew how everything worked, I didn't have to worry about my own landing. All I did was sit back and enjoy the ride.

The most thrilling part is the moment I left the safety of the plane and began to free fall. I cannot describe this, you must experience it for yourself. 13,000 feet is above the clouds, it's amazing to be there, in the sky, above a cloud. However we did not remain above the clouds for long. We quickly approached a small cloud and then went right through it. I've touched a cloud! It feels just like air, only slightly thicker air, if that makes sense. Breaking through suddenly we saw the beauty of the Northwest all around. Mountains, lakes, trees, airplane hangar. My friend Keri described this as "God's view" of the Earth.

Free fall lasts about 50 to 60 seconds before they pull the chute. Dennis, my tandem instructor, gave me a little tap on the shoulders to let me know just before he pulled the rip chord. Whoosh! We slow down and my legs come flying down back under me again. Once flying under canopy we are going slow enough to talk and Dennis points out some of the surrounding areas before handing me the toggles and letting me steer for a little bit. One hard pull to the left and we go swirling to the left--another sensation you'll just have to experience! After a couple minutes floating through the air we slide in for a smooth landing on the grass. (One day I'll figure out how to do that on my own).

Wow. Wow! Seriously, wow! What a rush!

I'd do it again any time the funds are available! Anyone else wanna come next time!?

I didn't get the pictures this time around, but here are a couple from Melissa's batch.

Melissa ~ Carly ~ Windy ~ Christie ~ Brenda
Here we are just before leaving the hangar, we're dressed up in our finest and ready to rock!

Dennis and myself walking out to the plane. This picture makes me laugh.

And here we are just moments after landing. Notice the smiles on our faces!!

This wouldn't be a complete blog post without at least one actual sky shot of me skydiving. I have a few older pictures from my first dive for your viewing pleasure. But remember, these are just about a year old now.

Classic. I love the look on my face.

I'm free!!! Free fallin'!!

And safely back on the ground.

A note on Dennis who you see in several of the pictures: I adore this man. I hardly know him at all, yet I just adore him. Dennis has been there for all 3 of my dives, my tandem instructor for the first and third, but he was also one of the instructors who jumped with me to make sure things went ok on my own. On that dive I noticed my altimeter was broken while flying up for the jump. I pointed this out to Dennis and he immediately, without hesitation, gave me his altimeter off his own wrist and jumped without one. What a guy. How could I not just adore a guy who has, quite literally, saved my life three times.

For another fabulous post and even more incredible pictures check out Brenda's blog.

____________________

"Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward; for there you have been, there you long to return."
-Leonardo da Vinci-

Oneirology

Did you know Oneirology is the scientific study of dreams? This is a topic that has always interested me. I even own a dream dictionary or two.

I have been blessed with extremely vivid dreams. I used to think everyone had these until I started describing the detail to friends who would always be shocked. Typically I enjoy my dreams as I find them immensely entertaining. Although last nights dream was not entertaining all. It's now 15 hours later and I still can't shake the images.

So to take my mind off things I spent some time looking up songs that talk about dreams. Here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order.

Dream On by Areosmith

All I Have To Do Is Dream by The Everly Brothers

A Bad Dream by Keane

Dreamin' by Weezer

A Kiss To Build A Dream On by Louis Armstrong

Daydream by Lovin' Spoonful

I Have A Dream by ABBA (Mamma Mia Soundtrack)

Book Review: The Well of Lost Plots

The Well of Lost Plots
A Thursday Next Novel
by Jasper Fforde
Rating: 5 starts out of 5
"it was amazing"

It is true: Fforde gets better and better with each book! This is number 3 in the Thursday Next Series and I enjoyed it the most (so far).

There is so much detail I hardly know where to begin. Our last book left us off with Thursday pregnant and her husband eradicated. She decided to take a vacation and go somewhere safe to have this baby, where the Goliath Corporation cannot touch her. Only there is no place in her world they cannot touch... so she must leave her world and enter the Book World. Thursday decides to particpate it the Character Exchange program and resides in a book that is still being written in The Well of Lost Plots. She is also apprenticed to Mrs. Havisham, of Great Expectations, at Jurisfiction (the book world policing agency).

As usual where Thursday goes trouble will find her. This time a new and improved Operating System for the book world is about to be unleashed. It's perfect. It will be the ultimate reading experience! Except the Jurisfiction agents assigned to test out the new system are dying in what appears to be normal everyday accidents. At the same time Thursday is fighting off Aornis Hades who is out for revenge for her brother's death. Aornis is a mnemonomorph capable of altering anothers memories, slowly she is removing all memories of Thursdays husband. Thursday finds herself fighting the BookWorld enemies by day and Aornis by night.

There are 2 things I love about this book. First the attention to detail Fforde uses. There were so many little seemingly insignificant things that all managed to come into play at some point in the book. Clever. Brilliant.

Secondly is the style of writing. There's only one way to know what I am talking about, and that is with a sample that had me laughing and confused and rereading a number of times. This will be taken out of context, but all you need to know is Jurisfiction is meeting to discuss the proper use of certain terms in books. These things need policing, or they could get out of hand...

'Good. Item seven. The had had and that that problem. Lady Cavendish, weren't you working on this?'

Lady Cavendish stood up and gathered her thoughts. 'Indeed. The use of had had and that that has to be strictly controlled; they can interrupt the ImaginoTransference quite dramatically, causing readers to go back over the sentence in confusion, something we try to avoid.'

'Go on.'

'It's mostly an unlicensed usage problem. At the last count David Copperfield alone had had had had sixty-three times, all but ten unapproved. Pilgrim's Progress may also be a problem owing to its had had / that that ratio.'

'So what's the problem in Progress?'

'That that had that that ten times but had had had had only thrice. Increased had had usage had had to be overlooked but not if the number exceeds that that that usage.'

'Hmm,' said the Bellman. 'I thought had had had had TGC's approval for use in Dickens? What's the problem?'

'Take the first had had and that that in the book by way of example,' explained Lady Cavendish. 'You would have thought that that first had had had had good occasion to be seen as had, had you not? Had had had approval but had had had not; equally it is true to say that that that that had had approval but that that other that that had not.'

'So the problem with that other that that was that—?'

'That that other-other that that had had approval.'

'Okay,' said the Bellman, whose head was in danger of falling apart like a chocolate orange, 'let me get this straight: David Copperfield, unlike Pilgrim’s Progress, which had had had, had had had had. Had had had had TGC's approval?'

There was a very long pause.

'Right,' said the Bellman with a sigh. 'That's it for the moment.'

Dang it Carly, I'm a Mathematician, not a Writer!

{said in a Dr. McCoy voice}

I don't recall how it came up, but after mentioning the fact that I have no talent for writing Carly exclaimed, "Yes you do, I know you do, I've read your blog!"

Flattering as this may be, every English professor I've had appears to disagree with you. Perhaps that had to do with the fact I was being forced to write about topics I could care less about. Here I can write what I want. Although I'll stick to being a Mathematician as it's what I do best.

On the subject of my writing I recently stumbled upon my essay for my application to grad school. I think it's funny and I enjoyed writing it. This is for you Carly, and anyone else out there interested in sampling my writing.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Master Math Geeks

Throughout my undergraduate studies I would look at my geeky mathematics professors and secretly swear to myself that I would never end up like them.

“Does he realize his shirt is only half way tucked in?”

“I didn’t know glasses still came that thick.”

“Bet she hasn’t bought new clothes since 1985!”

Ouch. That was a little too harsh. A few years have gone by and now I look back at those professors with a feeling of hypocrisy as this is everything that I aspire to be. Not a geek exactly, although that title officially came after receiving my bachelor’s degree in mathematics, but a brilliant math professor who inspires students to learn more about such a pure subject.

Mathematics has inspired me to learn and to teach for years already. The other day my mother reminded me that when I was just 8 or 9 years old I would drag my younger siblings into our play room, sit them down in front of the chalk board, and proceed to teach them how to add. I considered this our play time, but looking back, I’m not sure my siblings enjoyed it as much as I did. Now years have passed and I find I am still doing the same thing. After graduating in 2005, I started my own business doing private instruction for mathematics. I primarily work with high school students and a handful of college students as well. I still consider this my “play time” and I enjoy what I do immensely.

Although I enjoy teaching, my real passion lies with math, specifically, applied mathematics. I discovered the subtle differences in these two departments as an undergrad. I found my applied math classes more invigorating. They involved sitting in the computer lab watching models of math problems come to life verses sitting at home working through a proof I was pretty sure someone else had already proved. More than once I found myself saying, “If I were to ever come back for a Masters Degree, it would be in applied mathematics.” I should probably watch what I say, as that will likely prove to be an expensive statement. Nevertheless, the time has come. I am ready to push myself a little more.

I am excited and look forward to the opportunities and flexibility an online degree can offer as I continue with my current career. Even more than this I look forward to one day teaching math at a higher level institution. There I will be able to use the skills I will be acquiring from a Masters Degree in applied mathematics every day. I will secretly enjoy my students chuckling to themselves about how much of a geek their math professor is. Even though I have learned to tuck in my shirt, and instead of thick glasses wear contacts, everyone who knows me will know that I am a math geek—and proud of it!

This one's for you Josh

Happy Birthday Josh!

Today is the birthday of my long time friend Josh. We met over a MxPx t-shirt he was wearing. I commented on it as I liked the band and mentioned I'd seen them live... Josh was amazed I knew who they were. We became instant music friends.

Before long we were going to every concert we could. Here we are in the pit just before we saw AAR in 2006.

And here is a picture I took of Josh before our Green Day show. I think it's easily said we've seen well over 100 bands together, wouldn't ya say Josh?


Josh has a love of sports as well. He always has season tickets to all Seattle sports. Here we are at a Mariners Game earlier this year. "Hey! At least we still have the Sonics!!"

Ken Griffey Jr hit the 5000th home run that night!

Josh has introduced me to a lot of firsts, he took me to my first professional soccer game (Go Sounders!!) and my first professional football game too. Here we are in our Seahawks attire at the game. (Thanks again for letting me borrow your sweatshirt!)


We've seen musicals together, midnight showings, and had countless 2am Denny's/Sheri's runs after the shows. Thanks for all the fun times Josh. You've been a great friend. I hope you have an awesome birthday this year.

Josh, this song is dedicated to you.

In which Windy gets crafty

Sometimes I crochet. I used to do this all the time and now miss having the time for it. I've made most of my scarves and hats for winter, and I have a couple full size afghans around, lots of baby blankets and even some doilies too. But yesterday I decided to try something completely new: a little teddy bear. It's was given away this morning as the bearer of a gift card for a baby shower present. I think it turned out rather cute. The bear sits about 4.5 inches tall and even has a cute little tail in the back.