Archive for the 'Dover' Category

Reflection in Decimal

Published on December 31, 2009 in Dover, Ideas, Ricky and Tufts. 0 Comments

People have a lot to say about the upcoming year. I’ve been monitoring the #10yearsago hashtag on Twitter. If you cut through the noise, there’s a lot of interesting stuff there – examples of humanity. Collectively, we like to reflect on change and the passage of time, especially when we hit our arbitrary big base-ten milestone years. There’s no harm in that, and I am no different.

Ten years ago, I was nine years old. My family had not yet moved to Dover Plains or even to Carmel, the community I lived in before moving to Dover. I spent most of my time playing video games, and struggled in school. I had a hole in my ear drum that prevented me from taking normal showers or swimming with my friends. Never had I operated a modern personal computer. A good deal of my mental energy was absorbed by jingles on TV, some that celebrated a new millennia.

In these ten years, I studied, worked, laughed, and cried. I took hundreds of standardized tests, met many people, and spoke dozens of million of words. I grew closer to some people, and drifted away from others. I had my fair share of heartache, but publicly and unashamedly fell for a beautiful woman at Tufts University.

Although that brief story seems pretty special to me, I bet it’s unremarkable to you. With some luck, your story has similar themes of progress and development. After all, a lot happens in ten years. In these last ten, many of us became completely different people, with something still recognizable from our pasts.

I love looking back every once in a while. It’s comforting, and I benefit as a person by remembering who I was, where I came from, and who helped me get where I am; it’s that benefit that pushes my evangelism of journaling.

If you’re not already taking a few moments a day to jot down what you’re thinking, you’re not really getting the full benefit of these collective, reflective moments. Although I’m not an expert on memory formation, I know you’re missing a lot if you don’t write stuff down. To reflect on what remains in our heads over a long period is incomplete; leave notes to yourself to piece together a more complete narrative.

Entering this new year, give journaling a shot. If you’re celebrating the dawn of a new decade tonight, remember to remember it.

Summertime Traditions

Published on July 16, 2009 in Computer Academy and Dover Carnival. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .
Summertime Observations
Although I haven’t written about it this year, yet, I’ve been really enjoying my job at the Computer Academy, just as I have in years past. This year, I’m teaching children all day; in the morning, I teach a programming class, and in the afternoon, web design.
Teaching at the Computer Academy is very rewarding. I’m teaching topics that I’m passionate about, and the students, for the most part, seem to share my passion. After all, that’s why they’re there.
Besides, what could be better than a job where you get to teach children, while they’re still impressionable, that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is responsible for somewhere near 90% of the world’s problems?
Just as in years past, the Dover Carnival is happening at the same time as my four-week summer job. I attended last night. What used to be a full-fledged obsession for me has deteriorated to something between a nuisance and spectacle. I’ve been giving it some thought, but I can’t pinpoint what, exactly, has changed. Although there was the notable escalation of violence last summer, I assume that I have changed more than the Dover Carnival.
I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing; it’s just a thing.

Although I haven’t written about it this year, yet, I’ve been really enjoying my job at the Computer Academy, just as I have in years past. This year, I’m teaching children all day; in the morning, I teach a programming class, and in the afternoon, web design.

Teaching at the Computer Academy is very rewarding. I’m teaching topics that I’m passionate about, and the students, for the most part, seem to share my passion. After all, that’s why they’re there.

Besides, what could be better than a job where you get to teach children, while they’re still impressionable, that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is responsible for somewhere near 90% of the world’s problems?

Just as in years past, the Dover Carnival is happening at the same time as my four-week summer job. I attended last night. What used to be a full-fledged obsession for me has deteriorated to something between a nuisance and spectacle. I’ve been giving it some thought, but I can’t pinpoint what, exactly, has changed. Although there was the notable escalation of violence last summer, I assume that I have changed more than the Dover Carnival.

I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing; it’s just a thing. It’s interesting to publicly document my changing feelings for my Summertime Traditions.

Testing, 1-2-3. Is this thing still on?

Published on May 13, 2009 in Computer Academy, Dover, Ricky and Site News. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

I’m home, back in Dover Plains, with plenty of time to write. I’ve moved beyond apologizing for abandoning this blog – I’m here to tell you why I did for most of the year, and what I plan to do about it.

College is hard. That is to say, time management is hard. In a ridiculously social environment, it’s hard to make time to sit in front of a computer for the sake of sitting in front of the computer. I took five classes this last semester, and have been funneling tons of time into the Tufts Roundtable, a new publication at Tufts. I’m the head web designer.

What I’ve run against over the last year is the ongoing debate between living life and broadcasting life. It’s a debate I’ve been struggling with, and over the last eight months, I’ve focused on living over lifecasting. With my new pool of time, we’ll see how that changes.

This last semester was amazing, and I’ve actually had the time of my life at Tufts. For better or worse, I’ll be passing my time in Dover Plains until September, and because I’m Ricky, I have goals for that time.

  1. Resting.
  2. Reading.
  3. Getting outside.
  4. Tinkering with computers.
  5. Spending time with friends.

This July, I’ll be working my standard summer job at the Dutchess Community College Computer Academy, a computer camp for kids. Other than that, I have no concrete plans. I’m looking for another job, or some volunteer work in Dutchess or Putnam counties. Let me know if you have anything in mind.

Oh, and welcome back! I’ll be writing much more often than I have now.

Feeling Fantastic

Published on November 27, 2008 in Boston, Dover and Tufts. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

As you can see, I haven’t written on the blog in a long time. That’s okay. I’ve given myself permission to slip, to fall, and get back up again. Let’s not dwell on it, because really, I write when I need to write and never for the sake of writing. My life doesn’t start or end on this blog; there’s always Twitter, Facebook, and Last.fm, if you’re wondering what I’m up to.

Now that I’m back home in my bedroom in Dover, life has slowed down for me significantly. Let’s catch up!

Academically

I’m doing well at Tufts academically. After my first set of midterms, I had a huge panic that involved the expectations I was setting for myself in a more challenging environment than I was accustomed to at Dover High School. After some work in managing my expectation and tightening my studying skills, I’m growing happier with how I’m doing.

My classes are challenging, and I’m learning so much, both “inside and outside the classroom”. Although I find that phrase very cliché, it’s cliché because it’s true! Always being surrounded by highly motivated people was initially terrifying, but now that I’ve gotten more accustomed to it, I thrive off of it. I’m only just beginning to grok the plethora of opportunities I have at Tufts, and the most exciting of those opportunities are my peers.

On a more serious note, over the last 13 or so weeks, I’ve been studying in Tufts’ School of Engineering. For better or worse, although I tend to think better, I’ve decided to transfer to the School of Arts and Sciences. I’ve decided that I have so much more to study, so much more to learn in so many different areas, than the focused course disciplines in Engineering can ever give me.

Personally

I’ve been having a wonderful time in the backyard of Boston, as I like to call Medford. In the last three months, I’ve seen more and done more than I ever could have back in Dover. The list of people and groups I’ve seen includes Jonathan Coulton (with the wonderful Paul and Storm), Death Cab for Cutie, Nicholas Negroponte, and Barack Obama.

The new friends I’ve made at Tufts are delightful and charming people, and although I already miss them all, it’s great to be back home. I’m overjoyed to be spending time with my family (and dog!), and I’ve been catching up with my hometown friends, which is always a pleasure.

Giving Thanks

It’s no coincidence this post is going up on Thanksgiving in the United States. In a funny way, this is my way of giving thanks to all of the people and circumstances that have made my life amazing over the last three months.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that the people and circumstances in your life are healthy and pleasant, as well.

Writing a Constitution

Published on October 18, 2008 in Dover, Ideas and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: .

Back at Dover High School, my greatest accomplishment was leading a committee to rewrite my Student Council’s constitution. Earlier this week, a friend sent me a Facebook message asking me for my advice in accomplishing the same task for an organization at his college. This is my public response to his question.

To start, I’m flattered to be asked for my help like this; I really appreciate it. However, there are far more qualified people to ask than I. Perhaps the Student Government of the college has an official “historian” or someone well-versed in writing constitutions. I’m very confident there’s plenty of help to be found on the campus itself.

Regardless, I’m more than happy to offer my help. In this instance, however, there isn’t a formula for producing a perfectly polished document. Writing a bullet-proof constitution for an organization is inherently a very customized task, one that needs to be fine-tuned to the organization’s needs and goals. I can’t possibly pretend to offer any truly targeted advice for an organization I’m not a member of. It’s a personal journey, and with time, any group that cares enough can pen the guidelines for a system they care about.

There are some basic guidelines to follow, for sure. For example, you must define all of your terms, layout your articles logically, and keep the document internally consistent. This doesn’t even come close to scratching the surface. I recommend learning by example.

My two favorite constitutions are United States Constitution and (selfishly) the Dover High School Student Council Constitution. The former document has guided our nation to where it is today, arguably, very successfully. The latter document was written over the span of a year by seven different people and has since been easily amended twice. Every sentence, article, and punctuation mark was placed where it was for a reason. If you reverse-engineer both of these examples, you’ll learn more than enough to do a great job.

Look those two documents over, read up for advice on Google, and never be afraid to take your time. Rushing something as fundamental as a constitution will only lead to problems down the road.

And finally, good luck!

Years

Published on September 11, 2008 in Dover, Ricky and Stories. 0 Comments Tags: .

One year ago, I wrote this:

I had an intense experience this morning, and I’ll never forget it. At Dover Middle/High School, HS Student Council members have to say the pledge and read the morning’s announcements each day. This month is my assigned month (and some other people’s), and I had an additional duty this morning. Directly after saying the pledge, I was to instruct the student body to remain standing for a moment of silence to remember everyone impacted or stolen from us six years ago.

While reciting the pledge and this unique announcement, I became very emotional. I was certain that I would be fine before doing it, but upon saying, “I pledge,” I felt immensely sad. Completing sentences was painful, and I’m amazed that I was able to finish the task without stopping completely.

It was obvious that I was troubled by the task, but people were kind enough not to say anything to me about it. I wish I didn’t have to do that this morning. To a much greater extent, I wish no one had to.

That morning was one of the most profound experiences in my life. I remember it, second by second, in its entirety. One year later, the memories of seven years ago elicit the same emotional response from me. My most sincere condolences to those affected by that day.