Trying to keep up

Adventuring rule #10: Some moments cannot be captured in photos. Be present. 

          For the restless participants of parkour and freerunning, the world is a playground. The neighborhood playground is a gymnasium. The gym is a practice hall, cushioned to protect the bodies and muscles they push to the limit.

     Walls are not barriers but launch pads. Trees work equally well. Cars are oversized matchbox toys suited for jumping into, out of and over. Solid brick and cement are springy mattresses. An average sidewalk is likely made of lava since their feet avoid it at all cost.
  
     They are men and women of a range of ages and experiences, all looking to move from point A to point B as simply, efficiently and effectively as possible using human strength. The freerunners among them will never pass up the opportunity for a showy trick.

            What they require is simple: energy and a place to go. No gear, no pads, no armor. More often the uniform is a pair of track pants and some running shoes. The shirt is optional. No one cares how you’re dressed when you’re trying to plan your own escape route. Doorways are too pedestrian for these modern ninjas who chose flight over fight. 

The little email that could

Adventuring rule #9: Do not be afraid of perceived power.

      Professors are sassy. They have a kind of power, knowing they posses more degrees and years of education than you do, and some like to throw it around a little. So when you outsmart them, it feels so right.

     In searching for proper sources to complete my senior project articles, I was directed again and again to a certain English professor. Originally she didn't seem to have time for me. Her office hours conflicted with my class schedule and weeks went by without a response to my request for to make another appointment.
Because professors are like the dentist. You have to ask for a special time to experience the privilege of them scraping your teeth with little metal hooks. Or maybe that pain is in my head. I avoid office hours.

     The point? When I sent her a followup email, asking again to interview her, I got this:

Hi, SUPER POLITE STUDENT--
I responded to you quite awhile ago, when you first wrote to me, and at that time I invited you to come and talk with me.  Now, I'm afraid, I won't be back on campus until after Spring break, but you would be welcome to come and see me then.  My office hours are Mondays from *** to *** and Tuesdays from *** to ***...and by appointment.  O.K.?!
With all best--
SUPER SECRET IDENTITY

One short day

Adventuring rule #8: Go for the fullest experience.

     On the evening of April 5, my feet were filthy. Nearly black with dirt. I was worried I'd leave a trail on the carpet of my apartment. My feet were tired and they hurt, and I think a tiny rock was jammed between my toes.

     I had gone the whole day without any shoes. From riding my bike to campus to walking across the pebbled quad between classes, my bare feet felt every step.  My soles were alternately burning on pavement or icy on indoor tiles. One professor asked for an impromptu presentation, while a friend asked if I had forgotten something while looking distastefully at my dirty, exposed toes.

     It wasn't much fun. People looked at me funny. I avoided public restrooms and taking out the garbage for fear of germs. I have about a dozen pairs of shoes in my closet, so why hadn't I worn them to protect and comfort my feet?

Save Ethnic Studies

Adventuring Rule #7: Pay attention to the things that make you uncomfortable. 

      I am continually surprised by this country, and the things that happen here. Just as a reminder, it's 2011, in America. The land of opportunity and Horatio Alger.

     So there's these cops in Arizona who, as part of their job description, drive around looking for people who look illegal (read: Hispanic).They pull over, interrupting these people and their lives, to ask for ID to determine their legal status. If they can't pull out the ID, they get arrested. If they can, then they simply feel harassed.

     I don't think the internet has a database of how often people are arrested compared to those who are harassed, but I do want to know. I find this ridiculous. It leans a bit too heavily toward Cold War fears of Communism and Nazi era fears of pretty much everything other than white, Christian and able-bodied. It's a law in that state, and it's wrong. But it doesn't end there.