Welcome

Five seemingly unrelated things that are in a way related.

Last weekend I went to Chicago to see Tom Petty. I have been a big fan of Tom Petty for a while and he has been very high on my list of concerts I had to see. I heard this tour might be his last so I planned to go before I started school. It was a bit of a mistake since things are really crazy right now but I had a good time.

I had never been to Chicago before and will hopefully post a more detailed post about the trip later.

Tom Petty is sort of Gainesville's equivalent of John Mellencamp but he doesn't live in G-ville anymore unlike Mellencamp. If you talk to some of the musicians that have been in the G-ville music scene for a while you will find people who can tell you about hearing Mudcrutch, Petty's first band play the bars around campus.

I am one of those people that finds inspiration in music. I know I do especially in times of stress. A few of my favorite inspirational songs are Tom Petty songs so that is another reason I wanted to see him live.

I relate a lot to "Learning To Fly". Before he played this song he said that this was a song many people relate to and was probably one of the best songs he wrote.

A few verses of the song I find particularly pertinent to my current state.
"Well I started out down a dirty road
Started out all alone
And the sun went down as I crossed the hill
The town lit up the world got still

I’m learning to fly but I ain't got wings
Comin down is the hardest thing

...

Well some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I started out for God knows where
But I guess I'll know when I get there"

A few other favorites I Won’t Back Down

"Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down

Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin me down
Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down

Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down.

Well I know what’s right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin me around
But I'll stand my ground and I won't back down"

Runnin’ Down A Dream

"Yeah runnin down a dream
That never would come to me
Workin on a mystery, goin wherever it leads
I'm runnin down a dream"

Right now I and many of my classmates are pretty stressed out about our first year of HCI/d. In a way I feel like they are trying to weed out the people who are not serious about this. I am very serious about this program and determined to succeed. So I am sure you can see even more why I identify with some of the lyrics above.

The unfortunate thing about group work, projects, readings etc. is that it takes up a ton of time. I have been working as the editorial assistant for the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication but I have found very minimal time to work on this on a consistent basis. I have time on the weekend but the editor needs someone to help everyday and right now I can't guarantee anything on a regular basis. Therefore I had to make a tough choice today, I need the money from this regular job but I haven't had the time to devote to it so I had to give it up today. It was a tough choice but I could potentially pick up some coding for the journal. I am also getting tossed a few high paying freelance items that I find more interesting so it may work out better in the long run.

Everything happens for a reason.