Looking Back at the Present

I spent my undergrad years in Ithaca, NY. Ithaca isn't known for it's warm, sunny climate; in fact the weather is quite horrible during most of both semesters. It lies in an odd geographical situation where weather systems seem to hang over campus for longer than they should. It's hilly and surrounded by gorges. The lengthy walks to class each day kept me from developing a larger beer gut than I did. So I had that going for me.

Most days I was thinking how great it would be once I graduated. No more classes, no more studying, much more fun.

The summer of 1990 came and went and I began my working career. Earning money was great, especially since I lived at my parents house for a while after graduation. Talk about disposable income! You would have thought I'd be excited to be finally out of Ithaca.

You'd have thought wrong.

The first few years after graduation, my thoughts wandered back towards upstate New York quite frequently. I longed for an easier time. As difficult as an engineering degree can be, life was still far less complex and less stressful.

It was just unfortunate that I didn't realize how great things were while I was there.

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I generally don't offer unsolicited advice to anyone for fear of sounding like a pompous know-it-all. So the following should be perhaps considered a recommendation to some friends of mine.

You guys are doing an absolutely fantastic job out there covering the WSOP. Superb. Because it is actually a job, those of us on the outside looking in probably can't appreciate how much work it truly is.

I hope you can take a step back from the chaos and enjoy the experience while you're having it. I'm sure it's easier said than done. Undoubtedly, you'll come away from this experience with fantastic and unbelievable stories to tell. I sure look forward to hearing the unbloggable ones.

Smell the roses while they're in bloom.