As if getting my Ph.D., training for ultramarathons and volunteering wasn't enough to keep me busy, I decided to take on a new project.

I found out about this project from my friends Kathy and Alex. Kathy just moved to Hong Kong with her new husband and word on the street is that as a newly minted lawyer, Alex is off to London. Cool, exciting things for these two. I love photography so I liked the idea of this project but I was worried: what if I was boring. I mean really, I basically run and study a lot. So I expressed my concern to my friend Kristin while we were on a picnic in the park. And in the kind of brilliance that is so natural to her, that I’m not even sure she’s aware she has, she exclaimed: I love the idea! I would think that it would make you look for the beauty in the world.

Sold. I have no idea what most of the next year holds- I know there will be some big races (JFK and I'm toying with the idea of an Ironman which I'll post more about later) and some professional milestones (defending my comps, prosposing my disseration and maybe applying for internships). A little international travel is planned with Ray Zahab and impossible2Possible. But maybe the big things aren’t the important or exciting parts of life. Maybe it’s the beauty that we take for granted every day. So wish me luck as I embark on a project where, in the next year, I will seek to find and document the beauty in Pittsburgh.

You can follow my project here

9 September 2009: Sunset from my condo