Skytop.

Living in Syracuse is sort of like living in a walled city. You don't want to venture too far out, because there's so much going on at any given time. The walls sort of appear when you're on the interstate and realize that going to far means running into a toll booth. If you turn around immediately after entering the toll booth and try to come back, they charge you the maximum. No bueno.

Anyway, if Syracuse is like a walled city, then the university feels like walking in the sky. Granted, Ole Miss feels like heaven on earth, but up here, you feel like a denizen of the astral plane itself. Maybe that's just me as a grad student talking—having ascended from undergrad. Walking up University Avenue presents a distinctive path; the steps leading up to the quad and the clearing between buildings gives the sense that, in the middle of this city, you've entered the inner sanctum. From any point on the campus, you realize that the campus is—literally—elevated above the rest of the city; you can look out across the city on one end and across a valley at the other end. I was given a crash-course walking tour a few weeks ago. All the while, I was in awe. This feeling of being in the clouds while on campus is heightened when the sky is overcast. Certainly, this feeling will be elevated further when snowfall besets the campus.

I'm quite literally in love here. The best feeling is knowing I'm in the right place.

Orientation happened today, and the reality of the program set in. It will be intensive. It will not be easy. It will require long hours. Most of all, it will be immeasurably rewarding.

I've met new people, made new connections... almost like freshman year again, in a way. We're all relatively eager to get to know each other; our group has become fast friends in a week. We already have our inside jokes (this took no time at all), we've already declared the banes of our existences, and we have all made the solidarity to suffer through our collective (and sometimes individual) challenges.

Yeah, I miss Oxford. I miss my old friends. More than that, I miss my brother.

Pretty soon, I'll travel beyond the invisible walls of this city. There's a lot more to see.

Start Today With A Laugh.

I was reading articles this morning about notable public figures who dumped their twitter accounts for whatever reason. Among them—Chris Brown, after a vulgar word feud with a comedienne; Alec Baldwin, for no reason; Charlie Sheen, for no reason; Adele, for arbitrary murder threats against her then-newborn child...

And then Kendrick Perkins. Which didn't really ring a bell, until I looked it up. He plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder (#who?), and was apparently so odiously ridiculed after a run-in with Blake Griffin's nether regions that he needed to shed his online presence altogether (and that's fair—I wouldn't want to be dunked on by Blake Griffin, either). I submit this video of the nastiest dunk I've seen in a while—we've seen it before, but I can't get enough of it.

Now, granted, this video is old. It's no less awe-inspiring, though. Perkins looks like he has the I'm-gonna-beat-my-puppy face...

That aside, I've settled in nicely in central New York. I won't drive too far in any direction, because they force you through toll booths eventually, and you wonder how you got there. I can navigate the city—I don't live far from SU's campus. I've met some awesome people. I've run to Walmart countless times (it's not a short drive), and I'm supposed to go to Wegman's eventually. It's apparently something of a religious experience.

I had a crash course tour of Syracuse's campus. Obviously, yes, it's not Ole Miss. However, they don't fit in the same class by any means. Ole Miss is situated in its own corner of Oxford, with its own zip code. Syracuse is more or less integrated with the city, and tries to expand that integration. The campus is downright beautiful. No, there is no Grove, and the density of flowers is not quite near Ole Miss (I think... I don't really look at flowers). Glass is to SU what columns are to UM. I rather like the look. In lieu of the grossly abundant springtime pollen, we are subject to overwhelming amounts of snow and frigid conditions (again, don't know, haven't experienced it). Looking over a wall near the law school, you can see a valley to the west, and hills in the distance. I fell in love with this view instantly. This brings me to the next point. Apparently, some SU undergrads feel privileged (yep, never have seen this before) and believe the university is the center of the city universe—this is false, of course. The doorknob to the universe, in fact, is on the Ole Miss campus in Oxford, MS. We know where the center of everything is, of course.

There's a disconnect between students and the less-affluent areas of the city—UM's Big Event, UMS Fusion... I believe these would have a place here. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has ever thought of such a thing.

Northern culture is radically different from everything I'm used to. It's exciting. I miss my friends, but they're coming to visit at some point, and I'm making new ones, so I'll survive. The only universal constant is change.

Happy Friday.

A Man In Time.

Question for you, dear reader: Look at your music library. Do you have the Tarzan soundtrack? Of course you do. Find "Son of Man," by the incomparable Phil Collins. Give it a listen. Go ahead, I'll wait [Achievement: FOURTH WALL BROKEN].

"In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn..."

That line resonates with me more than ever now. Since I'm going to be an instructional associate, my duties will be to assist professors. I don't really know, but I'm prepared for the possibility that I might be actually teaching.

That line carries a lesson: I can be taught theories and concepts until I get tired and flee to the bar, but the real learning emerges when I have to make sense of them and reteach them. Inherently speaking, it's undesirable to be teaching something that's incorrect (or so I hope—I know some of you have had some professors who couldn't be bothered to care). It dawned on me that the professors who encouraged discourse understood the concept that learning is a two-way avenue.

There you go. Wisdom brought to you by Phil Collins.

Functional Independence.

My family helped move me into my apartment a few days ago. This apartment, situated right on the edge of downtown Syracuse, gives me an excellent view of the downtown skyline, which I love. It's a five minute drive to the positively gargantuan Destiny USA mall, and Armory Square (Syracuse's version of The Square—can't be beaten, by the way) is a short walk away, with all the bars, Starbucks, Subway, and ice cream that an urbanite could ask for.

It's a studio apartment. One room. Can't really get away with not cleaning it. That's what I've been doing today. Cooked food for myself for the first time; I have pretty high hopes for my domestic abilities. Got my wifi network set up ("Bill Wi The Science Fi"), got cable, got my wine/rum rack set up, hanging up some artwork. I still need to put speakers in here.

Because I'm still partially an introvert, I actually can survive living here without being in contact with anyone. I don't really get lonely that easily, since I see it as banking the alone time an introvert requires before going into all-out extroversion (thank you, past job as an orientation leader). It slipped my mind that I'm not the only Oxford export here—just remembered that while typing that last sentence.

The first thing I learned was that Newhouse is a big deal. Dad likes to brag about his sons, so while in the Doubletree Hilton Hotel's restaurant, he started talking with some strangers people who hadn't met him yet (there are no strangers with Dad) and telling them I was attending SU for grad school. When I told them I was a Newhouse master's student, they groveled at my feet were impressed; it's not an easy school to get into, I've found out. You must be smart and you must have an impressive track record of involvement in and outside of your field and you must have sterling recommendations and you must contend with 850 people who have the exact same qualifications (or thereabout). I joke about having a large ego, but in reality I have to extend my gratitude to every instructor I've had since the 11th grade (and most before then); they all had a hand in helping my parents raise me.

One thing I've learned about myself is that I can very easily detach and move on. On one hand, it keeps me from becoming stagnant. On the other hand, it means I can leave people behind with frightening efficiency. Being at Ole Miss, however, has made that very difficult to do. There are so many awesome people I got to know. I've seem some of them hit the ground running, commendably pursuing their dreams and careers or traveling the world and enjoying their lives. The truth is, I miss those people dearly and I'm elated for them.

As for me, I'm excited to take on this next step. I receive my orientation (and Newhouse-branded iPad mini) on Monday, and classes begin Tuesday. The best thing is that should I ever feel that I am faltering, I always have the encouragement of those I love to keep me going.

Unsealed.

You know,  I didn't realize people still read this. I happened to check on the view count today. Anyway, a week into 2013, and I'm getting my mind back into shape. Grad school applications, thesis work...and I've started feeding my dream of becoming a producer (bedroom producer, but essentially all the same). I've become interested in EDM as of late; nightlife and nighttime culture have held my interest pretty much all through undergrad.

I've been trying to regain my drive. Sort of lost it during the fall semester. Came home after the dust settled, and felt positively listless. I've been barely able to motivate myself to do more than two major things in one day (workout, grad school application, thesis progress, composing). Some days, I feel the spark again, but it takes far more willpower than I seem to have these days.

I'm out of shape, and that probably contributes to my diminished will. That, and my sleeping habits have been horrible.

At the end of next week, I'll be returning to Oxford for my final undergraduate semester.

That's all I've got for now.