OK … I have to admit: I’m a junkie. I’m a junkie with a long of things — news, technology, music … everything. There are many things in life which cause binges, but rarely do they cause binges combined with anticipation. This is finally stirring me to that level, though.

Go back three years. In the summer of 2003 I was working in Seattle and caught a news flash: 2Advanced (the most innovative website/design firm I’ve ever seen) had planned a special media event. The invitations weren’t quite apple-esque (in that they told practically nothing other than what would be on a ‘save-the-date’ postcard), but they were interest-piqueing. They showcased a launch event at a rented theater, a lineup of techno DJs, and a killer new website. Then came by biggest fear: they disabled their current website.

This website was beyond cool. It was extraordinary. Throughout most of my senior year of high school I would spent my Friday nights and weekends learning to do HTML (now I laugh thinking back to that), databases (yeah, the start of a lot), and dreaming of new ways to solve all of the church’s organization problems using technology (even more laughable than working hard to learn HTML). 2Advanced was my site I repeatedly checked in on for creativity.

Creativity comes to me when I see other things that trigger moments of awe. Sometimes it’s a by-product of asking ‘how did they do that’ and other times it’s a tangent that was worth following. 2Advanced was that.

So when I was working in Seattle, they disabled their current website (v3 Expansions) and instead put a timer counting down until the release party for the new version. I stayed up the night before … routinely checking to see if they were leaking it early to the server. Fat chance.

When I got into work the next morning it was the first thing I loaded, and it was SO worth it. The animation flew at me while the music gave it a driving force making me want to stay on the site longer and longer. It was like a thriller book that I couldn’t put down, but I had to since I was at work. I explored most areas of the site that evening after walking back to the apartment.

…

It seems 2Advanced is at it again, but this time there’re even more tell-tale signs it’s coming:
1) In the past couple of days, an overlay layer has appeared in the graphics and Flash on their site showing dirt, grime and noise. The site doesn’t look broken, but it’s not as clean as it used to be. (The update has to be coming soon.)
2) Eric Jordan (the creative genius at 2Advanced), didn’t release a May audio mix on his site (www.neverrain.com) because he had a VERY IMPORTANT project at 2Advanced.
3) On 2Advanced’s website, they announced in December that v5 is coming in early 2006.

So I’m anxious.

I’m ready.

I’m in that mode where hours and hours of techno mixes from NeverRain definitely aren’t helping the time go by. Although they definitely do help me keep pace for my side-projects I’m working on.

Texas – Oklahoma – Kansas – Missouri – Iowa – Illinois – Indiana – Ohio – Kentucky – West Virginia – Virginia

Those are the states I was traveling in during a four-day period. That’s over 20% of the states in the union (or — more if you go by some of the stories we heard in Virginia — some still yearn for closure (on both sides)). It’s been a long two weeks — and it’s going to be an even longer summer.

This past week I hiked with four friends on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia in a 33-mile section around Roanoke. This is my fourth time doing a four-day section during May. Normally I love the trail. This year, however, my schedule was so out-of-whack that I didn’t train nearly as much as I should have. Last spring, while living in Ft. Worth, I trained at least three (and usually four) days a week on the stairmasters at the TCU Rec. Center for at least an hour (usually over 150 flights of stairs). For the past year, ever since I left TCU for the trail last year, I’ve yet to live in the same place for three weeks straight without at least a two-day period of living elsewhere.

That schedule has taken many forms. Last summer I was working in Keokuk but doing camps, mission trips, and moving around periodically to different congregation members gracious enough to host me. Then came Europe. I was all over the place. Then came winter break with my graduation trip to Ft. Worth and then my crazy schedule this spring, with the peak movement during my seminary visits when I woke up in seven beds in a ten day span; and it was never with a girl! (That note was for those friends laughing and thinking they know me better).

So I didn’t train as well for the trail as I should have. Even still, I definitely enjoyed it – as the pictures will show once I get them onto my computer.

Looking back at the events right before the trail, I’ve finally hit an unexpected transition point in my life. Before, for the past year, I’ve always had stuff in multiple places. This spring I had stuff in four places at times – in my office at TCU, in Daryl Schmidt’s and Judy Dodd’s house from when I was housesitting, in David Gunn’s condo for when he let me stay while Daryl was sick, and at my home in Iowa. Two weeks ago, right before the trail, I made my last trip of the semester back down to Ft. Worth. I picked up the rest of my stuff, worked on a bunch of transition issues, saw friends for the last time in a while, and completed a phase in my life.

My motto before the trip: I’m leaving TCU.
My motto after the trip: I’m getting ready for Chicago.

I shouldn’t be able to mark this transition this clearly. There’s one thing that’s adding the clarity: everything is in one place. Having all of my stuff at home hasn’t happened in a LONG time. Having everything that professors, friends, family and others have invested in me coming all together and resting on each next step I make is humbling. Having a 30 lb. backpack resting on my waist and shoulders for each step up and down a mountain when I hadn’t prepared well enough was also humbling.

Each step I now take is training. I’m not sure for what it’s training me. It’s like walking on the Trail without the map – the trails have ups, downs, level areas, and nice views; but, in the end, you only know you’ve reached the end when you stop. You don’t need a map and you don’t need detailed instructions … you just need the training.

I never thought I’d admit this to the public, but I have serious troubles with dating.

One wouldn’t think I’d have such huge issues: I’ve studied abroad and experienced other cultures, I’m pretty easy-going and care-free (in most respects), and I adapt with minimal effort to new situations. So why is dating such a problem?

Well, when I’m stuck programming intensively, it’s a HUGE problem! Let me give an example. In C# (Microsoft’s java-esque language), the issue with dating is showing different values in formats that agree for all parties (namely, the .aspx pages viewing them). I have no excuse, but I completely discarded Globalization in how I’m programming this tool. Europeans write their dates with the day in the month first, followed by the month and then the year. I’d completely accepted it while in Italy (see some of my hand-written journals from the time — only to be digitized at a later, undertermined date … hehehe). Coming back, however, I was thrown for a huge loop (well, in programming terms, a huge bug — yikes!) when I confused the format string: {0:dd/MM/yy} with the format string: {0:MM/dd/yy}.

On a better note: this project is definitely one of the coolest I’ve worked on in a while with ready recipients. Oh, and while I’m programming, I’ve also been watching cooking lessons and trying to learn good ways to improve my dating in the future!

And take a minute to reflect in your own way
Take your time and connect in your own way
– Caleb Kane