New Beginnings

There have been a lot of changes in my life recently…some good, some not so good. But, I guess that’s the way life goes.  I remembered that writing in this blog used to be really cathartic for me, so I’ve decided to try to get back into it.  I’ve had a lot of time over the past few weeks to do some heavy thinking, and come to the realization that I’ve been given a chance at a fresh start.

I’ve finally started grad school at the University of Oregon, which has been an interesting experience so far.  I’m both taking graduate level courses and teaching my own section of Precalculus. It’s a lot of work, and I find myself spending most of my time in class, doing homework, or preparing lectures.  And while I have reaffirmed my love of math over the past few weeks, I’m still glad that I can find time for some of the other things that I love doing.

The last few Friday nights, I’ve been going out salsa dancing at a club about four blocks down the road from my apartment. After a week full of math, it’s nice to be able to just let go on a Friday night and have a good time dancing.  I definitely miss everyone from SalsaTech back in Blacksburg, but have met a bunch of interesting people at this new venue, including some really good dancers. One of the things we always stressed at SalsaTech was that the best way to get better was to dance with as many people as possible, so I see this as a way of doing just that.

I’ve also been trying to take breaks during the weekends and explore the areas around Eugene. It’s nice to be able to just get away and get out into the wilderness. Here are a few pictures I’ve taken over the last three weeks or so:

The following two are from last weekend, and, in my opinion, are some of the best shots I’ve taken in a long time:

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Lighting

This photo shows the late-day sun shining through some tall grasses along the edge of the duckpond.  I was walking by these plants when the sun suddenly came out from behind a cloud and lit them up.  The illuminated plants themselves are really cool, but I also like the contrast between the streak of brightness running from the top right to the bottom left and the darker areas in the top left and bottom right.  I think it also helped having a fairly solid, dark background to the shot that was out of focus and blurry.  Though you can make out a tree trunk in the background near the left side of the picture.  The little bit of light coming in from the top left corner almost makes me think this picture comes from more of a steamy jungle setting than a relatively cool evening in Blacksburg.  I also like that all of the plant stalks are leaning to the same side, as if they were reaching out toward the light.

Sorry again for the long time between photos, I’ve been stressed out about a lot of school-related things over the past couple of weeks.  However, I’ve made a couple of changes that I think should help settle things down again.

-Ben