Is it technically green?

Today I was talking with a co-worker about going back to school.

It got me to remember that I really love technical writing. I don't know why I am attracted so much to this career - it certainly has not been stable for me. Nonetheless, I love writing about things that I know very little about. It forces me to learn how things go together, and how things work.

Too bad none of it has to do with household repairs!

After many years, I've realized, too, that I like to be a leader, and manage things. As such, I don't think I could pick a better job than the one I currently have. Well, maybe one with some longevity....

I've been vacillating between going back to school for my master's, or for something else.

And I think I chose:

Something else.

Alternative energies anyone?

Once again, it's stuff I know nothing about. It's relatively new, and it is definitely ready to explode (so to speak!).

A couple of decades ago, I loved the Vampire Lestat books by Anne Rice. There were times that I would think about being a vampire. "What would be the coolest thing about being a vampire," I used to ponder. The answer was that I could become an expert at a lot of things - I would live long enough to learn everything. EVERYTHING.

I could spend a lifetime as a marine biologist, a lifetime as a mercenary, a lifetime as a priest, a lifetime as a monk, a lifetime as a geologist. I could have a flipping blast!

I could be a technical writer of vampiric proportions, and sweating my schooling moves would involve no sweat at all.

But here I am... human, living a life as a tech writer.

... About to turn this b!tch green!

Summer Saturdays

During my ride into work this morning, I passed the Madison Heights library. I often pass the library on my way to and from work, but this morning triggered a happy memory from my childhood.

In 1976 and 1977, I was 10-11 years old. Down the road from our house, there was a bus stop... for the library bus to take us to the library.

I really loved taking the library bus. I would go down to the bus stop on a Saturday morning, where it would pick me up, and then we would cruise all around Madison Heights to pick up other people who wanted a ride to the library.

The bus ride was a rush - I always liked exploring different areas of our neighborhood, but the bus took us beyond the places I could ride my bike to. For the bus driver, it was simply a drivin' job. But for me... it was always an adventure!

Eventually, the green and white bus would stop at the library, and I would run inside, and feast on all of the great books there. I remember that they had spongey yellow cushions on the floor, where you could take a book and read. Man, I knew that library like the back of my hand - talk about exploring!

Yup, back in '76 and '77, we lived 4-5 miles from the Madison Heights library. But every Saturday, it could have been 1,000 miles for this 11 year old boy.

Somehow, I always knew when it would be time to get back on the bus for the trip back home. I bet I always had stories for my mom about my great library adventures. 

There is nothing in this world like a morning bike ride.

 

The dew on the grass shimmers like glitter on the fresh lawns as the sun creeps from its sleep.

Houses and trees silhouette themselves on the horizon,

And the day feels brand new.

There are billions of things that can - and will - happen on this day, and new hope raises her skirt for just a quick electric peek into possibilities.

The silent woosh of noiseless air brushes past your ears, and the humid dawn erotically wraps itself around every inch of your senses.

Birds dance from tree to tree and wire to wire.

Squirrels race from yard to yard unworried about cars and trucks

and bicycles.

 

There is nothing in this world like a morning bike ride.

Whether the day ahead promises stress or peace,

Wisdom or stupidity,

Or all of the above.

 

A morning bike ride proves divinity.