It’s not surprising that my neighbor decided to make noise (through playing loud music and other high-volume activities), but it surprise me he started so early today.  So I decided to do something that I had never before done — just get in my car and go get breakfast somewhere new.  I have visited a new place to breakfast before, but never on a whim; it has always been planned out in advance.

The new place is one that I had passed by a time or two or three — the Sunny Day Café in downtown Bel Air, Maryland.  I love breakfast, so a new place to catch a bite of breakfast easily makes my list of places to visit.  But this place tots itself as “voted best breakfast in Harford county,” so naturally I had to check out the claim.

And since I am verifying that sort of claim, I had to make sure that my favorite breakfast item, a.k.a. biscuits and gravy, was a part of my meal.  To this “side dish” I added scrambled eggs, home fries, and turkey sausage.  It took a while to get my order out, which is fine since that probably means that they were fixing it fresh.  But was it worth the wait?

I’m not sure.  Something about the turkey sausage was off.  It didn’t taste right.  I’m not sure if it was the blend of spices wasn’t quite right or if there was something wrong with the meat itself.  Whatever it was, it just tasted off, and given my previous experience requiring a stay in the hospital, I decided not to eat both sausages.  The eggs wee fine, but the home fries were very bland.  Good thing I had the gravy; it was the perfect complement that the home fries really needed.  The biscuit was okay.  It was essentially an old-time powder biscuit.  I don’t mind that so much, since the gravy paired well with it.  But I do prefer biscuits that are flaky and flavorful in their own right.  Again, good I had gravy, gravy, gravy.

The price was about what I would expect for a local joint.  If everything about the meal had been downright fantastic, I would say it would be worth the price.  But if this is what passes for the best breakfast in the county, I should set up my own shop.  It wouldn’t take much effort in my kitchen to snag that prize.  Still, for an impromptu visit, not bad.  I give it 3 stars.

Few would dispute the idea that Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest US presidents.  A racist assassinated him on April 14, 1865.  Seeing the anniversary of that fateful day just around the corner, I thought it would be best to remember Lincoln by returning to the scene of the crime.  And so I planned a visit to Ford’s Theater in downtown DC today.  I have to admit that I turned out to be a bit more adventure than I anticipated and yet not enough.  Let me explain.

The day began with a drive into downtown DC, which I try to avoid because many of the streets have a higher probability of confusing me, even with the GPS app on my phone (although I do confess the app does help some).  I considered taking the Metro instead, but somehow it seemed that I would actually save time by driving in myself and parking at a nearby garage.  So this morning I took off and headed into DC.

The morning was cloudy, overcast, and very windy  when I left.  By the time I arrived, the sun was starting to come out.  Apparently the parking garage I chose from the options I saw online did not materialize, or at least I didn’t see it anywhere in sight when the GPS app said, “You have arrived at your destination.”  Like I said, the app helps out some.  I thought the best thing to do would be to keep driving; surely another one must be nearby.  After driving a few blocks and not seeing anything, I turned right, went down a block, and then turned right again.  At the next light that stopped me, I repurposed my GPS app to find any parking garage.

Then I saw one just to the left.  I quickly turned in, and after a short conversation with a confused attendant, I found myself going further and further below ground within tight spaces to find a parking space.  The maze I had to go through to get out of the building was even worse, but eventually I surfaced.  With 10 minutes to go before my tour started, I consulted my GPS app and was misdirected around the corner.  I should have just walked straight ahead and crossed the street at that corner.

Rejoining the line, I followed along down very tight and steep steps into the lower portion of the building where a museum is housed.  I know some people like taking lots of pictures of the exhibits inside museums, but I’m not one of those folks.  Something about me just feels it’s somehow uncouth or just downright wrong.  My attitude is that if you want to see what is inside a museum, then go see it for yourself.  What’s the point of the museum otherwise?

I did make an exception — OK, I made a few exceptions.  First, I saw this fantastic framed document in the gift shop that I just felt I needed to capture about the similarities between Lincoln and Kennedy.  I did not before realize that these two American presidents had so many similarities, some of which are just downright uncanny.  Lincoln’s Rules of Conduct was also on display, though like the previous document was also out of stock (making me feel a little more easy about taking photos).

But the exception that really baked my bagel was Booth’s deringer pistol, or rather I should say a replica of Booth’s deringer pistol.  All the promotional material for Ford’s Theater, and as can seen even the display in the museum, touts the displayed object as the actual pistol Booth used to assassinate Lincoln.  The photo I took is a little blurry, but it is clear that what is on display is not Booth’s deringer but a plastic replica made from a mold fashioned with the actual murder weapon.  It’s nice to “touch a piece of history,” but I would prefer that piece of history to be real.  Of course, I don’t blame anyone associated with the museum for not displaying the actual piece; if I were in charge, I wouldn’t have it out on display for anyone to put their hands on.  But neither would I be touting a replica as the real thing.

Outside that one exhibit, what I saw in the museum is well worth the trip to see.  Lots of exhibits that were very educational.  After seeing everything, and taking my time to do so, I learned that I misunderstood the tour description.  I thought that everything I purchased with my ticket would take 30 minutes to run through.  No, the 30 minutes is just the museum.  So after that half hour, I followed folks in line up the stairs to the actual theater area.  I went upstairs another level to find a seat in the balcony area with a good view of the box where Lincoln saw his last theatrical performance.  The public doesn’t go in there, and it’s clear to me why, so I’m OK just to be in eyeshot of it.

After a few minutes, a park ranger appeared on stage and began a history presentation about the events surrounding Lincoln’s final days, which was educational but also kind of creepy since the stage was all set for the current run of Little Shop of Horrors.  I regret not recording the presentation.  Even an audio format would have been engaging after the fact, especially since it was filled with all sorts of interesting tidbits that I did not know previously.  A lot of good the presentation did, though, because as I write this I can’t remember any of those interesting tidbits — more reason why I regret not recording it!  So if you plan a visit to Ford’s Theater, going out of your way to attend a tour with the ranger talk is a definite must.

Following the ranger talk, we all shuffled out to the street, which was behind the old-time doors I had stood in front of when I was in line at the very start.  People began filing across the street for a tour of the Peterson house, and another long line awaited me.  This one took much longer to get through — a whole 45 minutes! — mostly because the space inside being so small only 15 people at a time could enter.  But eventually I did get inside.

The actual room and bed where Lincoln met his end were interesting to see and are the last things seen inside the house.  A walkway then leads you to stairs with an interesting quote on the wall.  I was so impressed with the quote that I decided to snap a photo.  I think the quote speaks for itself.

Between the bottom of the stairs and the outside street is a final exhibit room with the highest stack of books I have ever seen in my life.  I tried getting it in a photo, but it was so big that I couldn’t fit it all into a single shot.  So I made a quick video.  As I bibliophile, I just couldn’t stop geeking out over this “Tower of Books.”

Once out on the street again, I had to get back to my vehicle.  I wanted to linger longer and check out on of the nearby restaurants; there was a Greek place serving “yeeros” and a French café that both looked intriguing.  But I had told the parking attendant earlier I needed only 2 hours, and my 2 hours were just about up.  Getting out of DC was a bear, and I saw that it would have been much better to take the Metro, which I recommend for anyone visiting the theater.  Overall, though, I don’t regret going.  This is a definite bucket list item that is worth every minute.  And since the theater is still being used as a theater (it wasn’t always so), I may have to go back some time to see a play in the house that Lincoln loved to visit.

This morning I attended a presentation about the Fulbright program offered by the US Department of State.  I didn’t much about it going in, and honestly more than anything I was attending simply to think about possibilities.  As I mentioned in my earlier review of The Professor Is In, I need a Plan B, something to bridge the gap into the full-time teaching job I want.

And as it turns out, the Fulbright program might be a part of that solution for me.  The program pays for one year of teaching English in a foreign country or one year of research study in a foreign country that can apply for a master’s or PhD degree or even a post doc.  You could even get in on this action a few years after graduation.  Recipients are expected to serve as ambassadors of US culture to other nations, and in exchange they get a modest living stipend for a year in a foreign country as well as paid travel to and from.

You need to a have a plan, though.  It’s not like you throw your ring in the hat and hope you get sent somewhere great.  Your application is essentially no different from a grant proposal, so you propose research in a specific country because something about that country holds an essential element for your research.  For example, a biologist studying a species found only in a particular country could propose a research project in that country because only there is found the species that is the focus of the study.  In my case, it would be working with a particular researcher.  I would propose going to a particular country because in that country lives and works the particular researcher who can foster my research.

I didn’t start my PhD program with the idea of taking my research international, but as I sat listening to the presentation, it all felt right.  A peaceful calm and assurance enveloped me.  As I have thought about that experience throughout the day, it continued to feel right, like this could be the path for me.  I don’t know that it is, but following it makes sense.  One thing that sets more qualified candidates for academic positions from the rest of their hopeful competition is an expanded network.  The more qualified have recommendations as well as a CV that shows evidence of a network expanding beyond one’s degree granting institution.  Simply having a nationwide network would set me apart from the bulk of my competitors, so imagine what an international one would do.

Plus I’m still single and can really more easily accommodate doing this while I still am.  And who knows?  Going to a foreign country might be what I need to change that!  Depending on the country, I might also have access to a healthier diet.  I’ve heard over the years people talk about how “polluted” food in the US is.  I never gave that much thought until recently.  After years of trying to lose weight without much success, I wonder if there isn’t something to that idea.

At any rate, I’ll need to think about this some more.  But it could be that an international adventure lies in my future.  I’m open to possibility.  Maybe this opportunity holds the possibility I really need.

Today I completed what appears will become an annual tradition for me.  I took a vacation that I am calling Retreat 17.  The idea was to get away from everyone and everything in my world so that I could reassess everything in my life.  This last semester especially was rough on me, notwithstanding the great love and appreciation my students expressed at the end of it all.  Add to that some bleak circumstances in my personal life, and you get my need to just get away, reassess, and rejuvenate myself to embrace a clear path with better alignment to what I really want out of my life.

I chose Wyoming’s Star Valley for several reasons: surrounded by scenic mountains, fresh air, cooler temps from the higher elevation, and not a lot of people and certainly not anyone I knew.  I spent most of my time there (4 days in all) doing some deep thinking about everything in my life.  And I didn’t just tackle anything randomly.  I made a list of all the aspects of my life I wanted to reassess and start anew.  With that list in hand, I took each aspect individually and applied a five-step process:

1. Identify what you want.  Clarity is power, so I sought to be as clear and specific as I could in describing exactly what I want.
   
2. Identify why you want what you want.  As creatures of emotion, we base our actions in something we want to feel.  Identifying that specific driving emotion provides added clarity.
   
3. Compare your WHY with your WHAT.  Is doing my WHAT the best way to feel my WHY?  If not, then I need to adjust what I want to align better with why I want it.
   
4. Identify what you can do to move towards what you want.  Here I list 10 specific actions I can take to start me in the direction towards what I want.  Note my actions aren’t designed to get me what I want but rather move me in that direction.  I don’t need to know every step to get there, just the next few steps in front of me.
   
5. Commit yourself to your plan.  Here I identified the specific tools I would use to account for each of the six influences of personal change discussed in the book Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success by Kerry Patterson, et al.
   

I used this book very successfully in my first-semester-experience course this past term.  It uses social science research to support a model for making positive changes that last.  This model cites six influences that can derail our change efforts unless we account for them.  Most people plan for one or two of these influences at the most, leaving the rest of those influences to work against them.  It’s like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

I followed these steps for every individual part of my life, so little wonder I filled 71 handwritten pages in my notebook.  From those pages I extracted the individual action items (271 in all) that can get me started taking my life to the next level.  Admittedly, 271 action items is a lot, but I need do only one item at a time.  And having lots to do is great.  It gives hope I’ve got endless opportunity to turn my life around, a realization that brings with it great empowerment.

I returned home yesterday feeling very powerful and very hopeful I can live the life I want.  I spent some time today finishing the process for the final few items on my life aspect list.  Now I have a new attitude.  In that sense, my vacation was truly recreational because I came back re-created.  This truly was the best vacation I’ve ever had.  I’ll have to do this again next year!