Numbers Don't Lie

Today is my 42nd day living in Chicago. When I think about that number in days, it seems like a long time! That's more than a whole Lenten period! Seeing I have given up my family and friends for 42 days, does that mean I can get out of giving something up for Lent this spring? I think I'm going to need to keep the usual sacrifices of chocolate, ice cream, caffeine, etc. to get me through school!

Other interesting things associated with the number 42:

*It is the atomic number for molybdenum, aka Mo, or the Ancient Greek word for lead.

*Another Mo associated with the number 42... Yankees closer Mariano Rivera (eww, I just referenced the Yankees in my blog post). I always wondered how Rivera still gets to wear that number, despite the fact that the 42 jersey is retired across all of Major League Baseball in honor of Jackie Robinson. It is also retired by Arizona State University in honor of Pat Tillman, an alum and NFL player until his death in Iraq in 2004.

*42 is the name of a track on Coldplay's latest album (the lyrics are kind of creepy... raise your hand if you are now going to google them. Did you seriously just raise your hand?)

*A rainbow appears at 42 degrees.

*And finally, 42 is probably most known as the answer to "the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything." Well, at least according to Douglas Adams in his book trilogy Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (I think they made that into a movie featuring The Rock).

Forty-two days into my new life adventure, I haven't found the answer to life, the universe or everything. Or anything really at that. Last night in class I had a hard time trying to figure out how to edit the footage I took last weekend at Oktoberfest for my project and got discouraged and frustrated. I'm not comfortable trying to navigate my way through a new field or not knowing what I'm doing. However, after thinking it over for a day, I realized that's the reason I came here in the first place. I'm not comfortable in front of a camera or shooting video, but after last weekend I'm getting more comfortable with that. So, this too shall come.

But--and I really hope this doesn't sound as cheesy as I think it is going to--I have learned some stuff about myself that I didn't know before I changed time zones. Most important of those things: I've realized that I can live on my own in a strange city and embrace new things as they present themselves. However, I couldn't have made it through without my friends or family. So in my version of Adams' world, 42 equals friends and family. Not because I have 42 of them, but because my friends and family have been the answers for me during these 42 days I have been living in Chicago. I guess I never really gave them up after all.

Strangely, it's 8:42 p.m. central time. Seems like a good time to end this thing, and a good time to start thinking about what I'll give up for Lent this year...