a Geographer's Place

It took three days and nearly 1000 miles, but I finally arrived at my new digs in Denver, CO. All of my things fit snugly in a 5’ x 8’ U-haul trailer and the back of my Jeep. The third-floor apartment (with five flights of stairs) is spacious for a one-bedroom, and located in a gentrified/gentrifying area. The deck faces south-southwest, and looks over the green tree tops of neighborhoods while providing a beautiful view of the Front Range (Rocky Mountains). The summer thunderstorms put on spectacular lightning shows in the evenings. It was a bear to move-in, what with five flights of stairs and all—my calves took four days or so to recover from the torturous stairmaster experience. But the views are sooooo worth it! My campus office is nice too. It’s the rare corner office on campus. Apparently it was created a decade ago for a Department Chair, so I have this terrific 180-degree west-and-north view. Although the architecture (both inside and out) leaves something to be desired, the ...

As I sit here in my IKEA Poäng chair amidst boxes, I’m reminded how it’s the simple things that really make my life enjoyable. I have very few things . And what I do have are good quality items. I've learned to pursue good quality over the years. It’s a personal choice, but I’d rather have one very nice thing than a dozen mediocre things . Living in apartments for the past several years, I’ve seen a lot of people come and go, and most folks have very large trailers. I’ve always wondered how they fit all that stuff in a tiny 600 or 700 square foot place—even 1000 square feet. My mind then wanders to how they acquired all that stuff. Where do they store all that stuff? And WHY do they store it? Is it something in our genetic code that says, “Look…we might need this in the future, so we’d best keep it…” Sure, I see the logic in that genetic trait. But unless you’re consistently using the stuff, why keep it? I have a great friend who LOVES books. She always reads the latest novels....

After returning from Europe for the first time, I made a self-pact; a goal, really. I told myself I was going to visit at least one country per year of my life. If that meant I had a few years where I had to miss, that was okay. It could be made-up by traveling to more than one country in the following years. The only thing I wanted to avoid was being 85 and having only visited 60 countries (try visiting 25 countries when you’re 85—you’ve probably already visited all the “comfortable” countries!) I’ve been pretty good with this goal since then. As of today, I’m five countries short of my goal. But the only reason why I’ve missed the goal the past few years is that I’ve visited some countries more than once (and some several times). I view travel as a way to destroy stereotypes. It’s also a terrific way to learn, grow, and expand the mind. Especially if you really get into the place (like, avoid staying at five-star places the entire time because it removes you from everyday fol...

The other day I wrote about the high temperatures we have had (the Valley of the Sun IS the desert, after all). Some would say it’s due to global warming. But then, yesterday (Wednesday) the temperature dropped dramatically—to the mid 80s. Today (Thursday) it’s below 80. And it has RAINED most the day. In fact, it’s raining as I write this! Hard. Global warming? Well, most scientists are careful to use the term “climate change” rather than “global warming” nowadays, since evidence of the earth “warming” is ONLY similar to what has happened in our past (I’m talking geological time-scale). What scientists DO know is that climate is changing—more so in some places than others, it seems. So, warming? Well, only in some places. Other places are actually getting cooler ! Go figure. While fires rage in California, a single State away, it’s pouring rain…it’s even snowing—right now!—on parts of the Colorado Plateau! But that’s science: uncertain, yet attempting to make sense of trends and pat...

Yesterday the Valley of the Sun SMASHED its previous May record for Temperature. We hit 110 degrees. To get a sense of 110 degrees in a “dry heat”, try this: Set your oven to 110. When it reaches the appropriate temperature, sit in front of the oven and open the door. The term “dry heat” is silly, when you think about it. That implies there must be a “wet heat”? I mean, anything over 98 degrees is hot—even if you’re naked. Anything over 110 degrees is BLOODY hot (even if you are naked)! And studies show that after 117 degrees, the body stops functioning normally. Having lived in both “dry” and “wet” heats (the US Southwest, the Amazon, Grenada), I would have to say each “form” of “heat” is equally (in)tolerable. I’m convinced this is the reason natives in “hot” regions are naked or nearly-naked. When I was in the Amazon Jungle for example, as soon as I shed my “modern” clothes for a yanchama (bark skirt of the Bora Tribe), I immediately felt cooler. LOTS cooler. So, “dry heat”...

Today I got “hooded”. The entire ceremony was about two hours—though it felt like longer. This is one of the rituals accompanying advanced degree awarding in Academia. The entire graduation ceremony is based on medieval practices, so it has robes, gowns, hats (mitres?), and other vestments, like hoods (see image). For a PhD degree, the hood is traditionally dark blue (#1 in the image). The robe is usually black with different colored “piping” (the stripes down the middle) and chevrons (hash marks on the sleeves). Although many schools are going with other-than-black colors for robes (mine was maroon). In Academia, the regalia can get quite outlandish! Each robe has different piping and chevrons…every (undergraduate) discipline also has its associated color (for example, education = light blue, natural sciences = gold). And each school can be as creative as they want. Oxford (UK) has some particularly interesting garb…their “tam” (hat) alone is a sight to behold! (just google “oxford ac...

I've moved, on average, once per year since I was 23 years old. That’s a lot. I have a cousin who LOVES to move. “It’s like Christmas,” she told me once. “I get to open boxes and boxes of stuff! And if I forget to label them, it’s like a huge surprise!” She’s an optimist. Moving every year or so certainly keeps down the clutter: how many folks who’ve collected stuff for 12 years can fit everything they own in a 6 x 12 U-Haul trailer? But then, I'm also rather minimal when it comes to material things. Whether that’s been by choice or circumstance, who knows…I like to think it’s by choice. I am looking forward to being “stable” for a while. You know, put down some roots. Live in one place for more than a couple years. Get involved in the community without knowing I'll be leaving shortly. Although that will have to wait, since I'll just be moving to another, temporary apartment until I have time to find the home and location I want. Until then I’ll just pretend...