Because of the Altitude
Things now are different than they were a year ago.
A lot of the differences are bad.
But, if you frame the right combination of bad differences in the correct way, you can get some interesting results.
For instance, online classes, remote work, and cheap airline prices are not good on their own.
But if you put them together, and you're lucky, it gives you the flexibility to go on a fun trip with your friends.
And that's just what we did.
Colorado
Adam and I visited Andrew out here earlier in the summer. This time Willem and JD made it too.
This time we were able to stay for a week so that the dry air could fully convert us into prunes.
The running joke was that everything had to do with the altitude.
Why is the air so dry?
The altitude.
Why are my lips chapped?
The altitude.
Why is the car making that noise?
The altitude.
Why is Adam the way that he is?
Yeah that's probably the altitude.
Why is the universe expanding faster than the speed of light?
Idk probably the altitude.
I think it's fair to say that Colorado is more beautiful in the Fall than the Summer.
The Aspens that were green before are now unreasonably yellow.
And it's off season for this area, so places were particularly empty.
This sequence summarizes daily interaction between these three quite well.
Colorado is a bit different from NYC.
Everything is so open.
But even so, there are hints everywhere of things people have created.
Mount of the Holy Cross ✙
For my birthday I wanted to climb a mountain. That's not so much to ask for, right?
Some of my best memories are from hikes. The more of those, the better.
Naturally, we picked the highest mountain in Eagle county, Mount of the Holy Cross.
The trail to the summit is over 14 miles round trip and includes over a mile of elevation.
I like to think of the elevation as a ladder going straight up for a mile. Good luck climbing that.
Everyone gave it their best effort to reach the top.
But it really was brutal.
As Willem said, asking to climb this mountain for my birthday is "like asking for a tiger cub."
I have no doubt that everyone could have made it to the top, but John Dale and I were the only ones who did.
Graciously, Andrew, Adam, and Willem soaked in the views and waited for JD and I to catch the tiger cub.
It put up a good fight, but we caught it.
At the top of the mountain, there were two people celebrating Mass.
As the name of the mountain would suggest, this place used to be the destination of Catholic pilgrimages.
And I can understand why. To look over all of these colossal mountains is humbling.
Even if you aren't particularly religious, like me, there's no choice but for something like this to be a pilgrimage. If you disagree, take a look at the definition of pilgrimage here.
That guy was at the top smoking a cigarette and drinking a Bud Light. He is 53 years old and direct proof that, with a baseline level of fitness, getting to the top is all mental. If you can tap into your 5th or 6th wind, there's not much you can't do.
He took this picture ⬇ of me and JD at the summit.
This trip was only half vacation. Work and school still had to happen during the week.
There were a plethora of activities.
We played tennis, went for walks, did business analysis or whatever you do in the real world, made dinner, took a quantum mechanics exam, played halo 3, you name it.
We went grocery shopping, did laundry, watched political debates, participated in political debates, played whiffle ball, did problem sets, etc.
It's quite fun to live with your friends.
In the mornings everyone got ready to start the day (usually quite early because of the time difference) and retreated into our dedicated corners of the house.
There, we commenced discourse with the universe roughly until lunch, when we would loosely convene for a break.
Then the second portion of work would occur.
Then activities.
Instead of managing the work/play balance of one person, we were managing it for a group.
If one work/play balance is a solution for one person, and a different balance is a solution for another, is the combination of those balances a solution for both?
What if you combine 5 of them? Is it a solution then?
I think it's not so simple. The group has a natural proclivity for play, whereas an individual may be more inclined to work.
Maybe that's why we form groups in the first place: to stress our individual tendencies.
Regardless, it was a great trip with a great group.
Back to Reality
School is not so easy.
But it wouldn't be worthwhile if it weren't difficult.
Sometimes it's disheartening trying to understand something because in order to understand it, you need to understand these other 10 things, and in order to understand those 10 things, you need to understand another 100 things.
Before too long you're up to your neck in things you need to understand.
Feynman does a good job explaining this.
At some point you have to accept that things are the way they are because they are. Sometimes that point is easy to find, sometimes it's not.
