Happy new year +3!

What follows is my experience in 2007 as a graduate student and the opportunities it afforded me, as well as what I will be doing in 2008. Finally, I mention the blizzard that is about to hit Mammoth Lakes, California, where I currently am.

Design School and 2007

Two thousand and seven was a great year for me. I have no regrets about taking two years out of my work life to indulge in the grad school experience. People say that you don’t need to go to grad school and that you can get the same experience in the working world. While that may depend on the program, in my case, I wholeheartedly disagree.

The interaction design program at the CMU School of Design has changed the way I think about what my purpose is in the world and how I think about life. I’ve had a chance to learn under some great people—Shelley Evenson, Richard Buchanan, Dan Boyarski, John Zimmerman, Jodi Forlizzi, Ben Fry, Golan Levin, and Kristin Hughes. And I have had the pleasure of being in the company of my peers, a range of interesting folks from various backgrounds with perspectives I truly appreciate. I learn a tremendous amount from them. My coursework has also provided me with real-world experience working for clients like Motorola and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

This past fall semester I taught Design Computing (digital prototyping with Flash) to a mix of graduate and undergraduate design students. It was my first time teaching, and was both challenging and rewarding.

I also had the opportunity to direct the school’s second annual Emergence conference, which was a great honor and privilege, though a lot of freaking work. But becoming acquainted with folks from Adaptive Path, Apple, Cooper, Core77, Electronic Ink, Engine, GM, Google, IBM, IDEO, live|work, Method, and Swisscom Mobile, eased the pain a bit.

Most of the companies listed above also recruit from the school. This past summer I worked at Adaptive Path in San Francisco, which I would not have had access to without going through the IxD program. There I worked on the Charmr project, a diabetes management device with a focus on the diabetic experience. It was very rewarding and a lot of fun.

Finally, my grad school experience has also truly turned me into a designer. So to answer any question as to whether grad school is worth the $70,000 I will owe upon graduation, for me, the answer is yes.

2008

Enough about last year. The year ahead will bring a slew of new adventures. For one, I will be graduating in May. After that, I will likely move away from Pittsburgh, where I have been living since 2003, to wherever it is that I find work. To prepare for this, during the winter break, I have been building a new portfolio and redesigning this site, which I hope complete before the semester begins on January 14.

This semester I am taking courses with Richard Buchanan, Kristin Hughes, and Shelley Evenson. In addition, I am teaching Basic Interaction Design to design, computer science, and HCI undergraduates. Given my enthusiasm for interaction design and the design process, I am very exciting about this.

In February I am heading to Savannah for Interaction08 to the first ever interaction design conference. I would also like to attend SXSW Interactive, but it may not be in the budget.

Speaking of conferences, I am also currently working on a Work-in-Process submission for CHI 2008 in Florence, Italy, due January 8. My paper is on my thesis project work regarding opportunities for interaction design to support identity change. Submission to CHI is a requirement of my thesis advisor.

Mammoth Blizzard

I am writing this post from Mammoth Lakes, California, where my brother, Matt, and his wife live. I have been here (Flickr photos) since December 20. It has been quite relaxing and a good break from my near constant design thinking. That said, I started off 2008 on somewhat of a design note when I met up with Dan Saffer (Designing for Interaction author, Adaptive Path Experience Design Director, and Interaction08 co-chair, MDes IxD CMU) who just happened to be in Mammoth at the same time as me. Dan will be guest lecturing at CMU on January 16 in Jodi Forlizzi’s Seminar 2 class for the first-year interaction design grads. Good beer and good conversation with Dan in an unlikely meeting place provided a fitting start to the new year.

Dan left Mammoth the next day, due to the upcoming storm. Conversely, I extended my stay.

The National Weather Service has issued a Blizzard Warning for Mammoth Lakes warning of significant snow accumulations and strong winds that have the potential to create dangerous winter driving conditions Friday through Sunday. Four day snowfall totals of 5 - 8 feet are possible through Sunday in the Sierra.

To leave Mammoth, I need to fly out of Reno, Nevada, which is already a harrowing experience given the winds the whip over the surrounding mountains. The impending storm will only increase those winds. So I changed my flight from this Friday to Tuesday, January 8, so I could both avoid potential delays or cancellations and also see such a massive amount of snow. Friday’s prediction is three inches per hour.

The fear of storm produced the longest grocery store lines that I have ever seen, stretching from check-out all the way down the aisles to the back of the store. The shelves were being emptied. Got to love people. (We were only there for a few ingredients needed for last night’s meal.)

So day three of 2008 finds me well, looking forward to the storm, the semester, and whatever lies beyond. I hope it finds you well, too.

It’s spring break and I haven’t been on my computer much as I’m in Mammoth Lakes, California, visiting my brother, Matt. I’ve been snowboarding, bouldering, rock climbing, and also just hanging out and doing nothing, and sleeping!

My brother has been totally impressing me with his climbing skills. When I arrived last weekend, he was working as an ice climbing guide. And this week we’ve gone to the Owens River gorge in Bishop a couple times for some rope climbing, where I have received private lessons.

Matt

Apparently climbers like to name their climbs with bizarre names. Matt finally conquered Sex yesterday. Here are the climbs I’ve done:

• Stella
• For Patricia
• It’s a Gaaazzzz
• Crotalulsley Challenged
• Silence of the Poodles
• P.D. Time

Silence of the Poodles was my first crack climb and removed a lot of the skin on my hands. Evidence of effort and accomplishment.

I’m heading back to the ‘Burgh on Sunday night. Madness continues on Monday.

Spring break! Spring break!

Who would have thought that at 32 I’d be chanting those two words. But thank goodness for it, because I definitely need a break.

While I haven’t been stressed out in the same way I was last semester (probably because I kind of feel like I know what I’m doing, maybe, probably not), I’ve been working non-stop since January. Not one day off.

I was describing the feeling to a fellow grad the other day. It’s like I’m swimming in front of a huge wave that’s about to crash down on me. I keep waiting for it to hit, but it just lingers there above me, threatening.

I’m at Pittsburgh International Airport waiting for my flight to board. I’m going back to California to visit my brother and his wife and their dog in Mammoth Lakes. I’ve heard good weather reports, and excellent conditions for riding and climbing. We’re planning a couple day trip to red rocks outside of Las Vegas early next week.

I will, of course, also have work to do (generative research for Motorola; Emergence website updates). But the fact that my bro doesn’t have Internet will keep me in check. And the trip to red rocks should keep me off line altogether for a few days.

I can’t wait.

I spent the past 10 days before the semester began visiting my brother, Matt, and his wife, Ericka, and their dog, Zoey, in Mammoth Lakes, California.

They didn’t have an Internet connection, so I had to rely on a local coffee shop, which provided free wireless—a beautiful concept. However, I only checked my email every few days, and obviously, did not blog at all.

Sometimes you just have to live life and say nothing of it.

But in case you’re curious, I did a lot of snowboarding (photos), managing to nearly kill myself only once. I fell and slid 300 feet down a steep slope before being able to stop myself. A shot and a beer immediately followed.

I also went cross-country skiing (photos) a couple times, once at night, where we found ourselves, and the two dogs with us, surrounded by a pack of coyotes. Fortunately, no dogs were eaten.

Also, since my brother and his wife are rock climbing fiends, we traveled a half hour south to Bishop for top rope climbing and bouldering. I’ll post these photos later.

Tomorrow I’m heading to Mammoth Lakes, California, to visit my brother Matt and his wife Ericka. Although Matt moved to California six years ago, this is the first time I am visiting. It’s also the first time I’m visiting California.

One reason it has taken me so long is Mammoth is in the middle of nowhere. The closest city is Reno, which is nearly three hours away. That’s where I flying to tomorrow. So after two flights and eight hours, it’s just another three hours in the car. Yippee!

On the bright side, Reno has a Patagonia outlet, and Mammoth Lakes is a ski resort town and the home of Mammoth Mountain, where I will be doing much snowboarding.

My bro doesn’t have Internet, so I’m hoping a neighbor does…with an open wireless connection. Not sure I’ll do much blogging. We’ll see. I got a new camera (Nikon D40) so I plan to take lots of pictures.

I’ll be back right before school begins, which is January 15.