A vow to never be alone.
When I get home, my roommates are typically talking about such varied topics as ultimate fighting, computer programming, and escapades I can't particularly disclose in public.
This is something I spent the first 18 years of my life without.
I'm about to graduate from Northern Arizona University. My parents and American society in general told me that I needed a degree to get a good job. That's probably true, but what I've gained the most from this college experience is not an education. It's social conditioning.
Social nuances between my domestic upbringing, such as sharing a bedroom with another person, community bathrooms, and having to cook for myself, seemed a bit daunting when I first entered the undergraduate scene. Since then, like most, I've come to like these facts of living, and I recognize that they actually have helped me develop into a better person.
Today marks the start of Spring Break. Normally I would be with my family, but this year, I've had to dedicate the first half of the week-off to various production and broadcast engineering projects. My roommates have left, my girlfriend has left, and my good friends have left. Campus is virtually empty, and I'm basically alone.
What I've discovered is that cooking for one is boring. When I'm done with a long but good day of work, I don't have anyone to talk to about it when I get home. Likewise, no one is around to tell me the stories of their day. This is utterly, and completely, boring.
I don't know how I lived like this before. My typical routine before college would be to go to school, go to work, then go home and dabble online for the rest of each evening - maybe chat online with a couple of friends. What was I doing with my social life back then? Obviously, not enough.
foreveralone.jpg, courtesy of the Internet.
For the remainder of my life, be it through friends, roommates, or a wife, I genuinely hope to never be alone.
Kurt Vonnegut once said, "I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different." I just want to make sure my farting around is around other people.
Southern California Edison demolishes Mohave smoke stack
The smoke stack in mid-fall. (Photo: Brandon Neuman/NAZ Today)
LAUGHLIN, Nev. – Southern California Edison demolished an approximately 41-story smoke stack this morning, which had landmarked the Mohave Generation Station and the Colorado River Valley. The plant had been decommissioned in late 2005, and today, the first major phase of demolition was completed.
“It was a great resource for power and it was also a great resource for jobs locally,” said Steven Conroy, spokesperson for Edison.
Future plans for the station involve demolishing the two large boilers next to where the smoke stack stood. They will be demolished by implosion in July, with the site being completely deconstructed by 2012.
The coal-burning station was shut down due to expired contracts for coal and water supplies. Plans were in place to upgrade the station to pass new emissions standards; the projected cost of the upgrades was $1.2 billion according to Gil Alexander, media relations for Edison.
(In this video: Steven Conroy, Media Relations for Southern California Edison)
NAZ Today – Director’s Cut 3-7-11
There were some interesting camera movements necessary to pull off this particular show. Fortunately, my floor director and camera ops were able to move quickly and get the shots we needed. Getting the end-of-show smooth, though, is always so difficult!