#ThinkKit11 Day 5: Standout Event of 2011

As many of you have seen, I have been participating in the Small Box "Think Kit 2011" project. For more information, you can find out about Small Box at http://www.smallboxweb.com/think-kit. Up until now, my participation has been strictly via Twitter, as it's a quick media, and I'm Tweety-bird-ish in my random thoughts (quick, snarky, brief, me). I have this feeling the remaining 26 days of Think Kit might be more in depth and thought-provoking in nature. As I have never created a blog before, I feel it could be good practice to try it out in this challenge. Therefore, without further ado, let's move onto Day 5.

Monday, Dec 5: Events
What event stood out for you this year? Where was it? Who was there? What did it look like?

2011 has been full of different events for me. How about a quick reverse Top-10, and I'll elaborate on my selected event:

#10. Lawrenceville (IL) HS Class Reunion; October 2011

"You can take me out of Southern Illinois, but you can't take Southern Illinois out of me." Thankfully, our fight song is not "Dueling Banjos".

#9. Tour of an IndyCar race shop; February 2011

I was invited to take a personalized tour of an IndyCar race shop in Indianapolis. "Awestruck" understates how my inner 10-year-old felt, just as my outer 30-something-year-old felt.

#8. 4th of July Fireworks, Olney, IL; July 2011

Big city firework displays are phenomenal, but sometimes, urban residents don't get to appreciate small town celebrations. Simple & patriotic sign of small town freedom.

#7. Harry Potter 7 - Part 2; August 2011

I'll admit. I've enjoyed the Harry Potter series. Yes, I'm a grown, professional, single guy - and I'm watching Harry Potter. The stories spur ideation, creativity, & adventure - three elements of reinventing one's self. Dreamers can still dream, can't they?

#6. Inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix; September 2011

It's 1,700 miles to/from Baltimore. I have a rental with no cruise control, 5 lbs. of Gummi Bears, half a gallon of coffee, a jar of Nutella, a 3-day garage pass, and sunglasses. Hit it.

#5. 500 Festival 5K; May 2011

At first glance, most people would not tab me as the athletic type, yet I try. To be able to do a 5K in under 40 minutes - that's saying something. MiniMarathon in 2012 - lock and load 2:35 or bust!

#4. Kentucky 300; October 2011 - Pit/Garage Pass + Hot Pass during race

I was invited to the Kentucky race - primarily because of my Twitter activity and advocacy of the sport. We all have our passions in life, and October in the Kentucky hills - picturesque.

#3. Weeping Water (NE) HS Graduation Ceremonies; May 2011

Watching a cousin graduate high school made me wish my grandmother had been around to see him do so. Watching him now enter college ... now I'm feeling old.

#2. 2011 Indianapolis 500; May 2011

My 17th Indy 500. Everything about this year's race was special. 100th Anniversary. The passion, the pagentry, & the buzz - it was all back. And then the race, which will be talked about for, not just for the next few year, but for all time. Godspeed, Lionheart.

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So, what was my #1 event?  April 11, 2011 - "Defense Day"

In 2008, I took my first course in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and immediately fell in love with the subject. So much so that in 2009, even in these economics, I left a comfortable IT job with a Fortune 50 (not 500 - 50) company, and took a leap of faith into the unknown to complete a certification. The certification led me to going after the full Masters of Science degree in HCI at IUPUI.

The 2010-2011 school year was a labor of love within my two-semester capstone project - a demonstration of knowledge and aptitude in HCI. In January, I was presented options for when I can defend my HCI capstone project to faculty personnel. I chose Monday, April 11th, not knowing whom I would be defending against.

Of course - the Executive Associate Dean of the School of Informatics. Perfect. The head honcho. The big cheese. The Grand Poobah. No pressure.

Months of preparation. Gallons of coffee. Hours of library time. Hundreds of questions. A destroyed jumpdrive. And all boiled down onto 12 slides, 15 minutes of speaking, and ~5 minutes of Q/A.

And in 22 minutes, on a beautiful April evening, it was over. It was a blur, a figment of my imagination, right? Was that it? What just happened? The following week, it was announced I would be graduating. Masters Degree #2 was completed. The journey was over.

Semisonic's "Closing Time" has a great lyric ... "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Graduation is not the end. It is never "the end." It is merely the beginning. As I've seen, the journey is only just beginning. Even though it has been over 6 months since graduation, employment has eluded me, but not without valient efforts. I'm still working the emails, writing the letters, keeping the thumb on the pulse of many. Granted, my savings account would like to have words with me right now, but we're still plugging.

... and I wouldn't have it any other way. Let the journey continue ...

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Now that Day 5 is in the books - and in my first very-own blog - I'll take a few minutes to revisit Days 1-4, and toss them on here, too. Let the blogging commence!