Sky is always blue

Sunrise in Ithaca. I still couldn't avoid the rooftop even when I tried to step on a chair to elevate my height by 8 inches.

The first night sleeping in any hotel has always been hard for me, doesn't matter if it's a 5-star hotel in New York City or the little motel on the roadside somewhere along the lonely interstate highway. I tend to toss and turn, then adjusting the layers of sheets and comforter, sometimes I toss the duvet off the bed, other time I search the closet for another extra blanket. The feeling of sleeping on a bed that has been used by other strangers, the number could be countless, is utterly unsettling. Not only it's a strange bed, but also the unidentified pungent of trapped air and the mixture of left-over body odor of those who used to stay in the room. Although Statler Hotel is a nice place in comparison to other 3 or 4 stars hotels I have stayed in New York, the feeling of uneasiness was still prevalent. Nonetheless, I slept in a little this morning, and now getting ready for the conference.

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Update at 9:20 pm

I have had a marvelous day at Cornell University. Somehow I wish I were here as a student.

This is my 2nd meeting with this group of people who work in the same profession as I do and every single time I attended the event, I felt completely overwhelmed by the dedication and undeniable passion that have been clearly demonstrated in their profesSional lives. I praise them for being the pioneers in many possible ways in the work that they do in spite of the obstacles that have come their ways. More notably, I look up to the senior members of the organization who started the mission almost 35 years ago to advocate and provide access to students of color. During the afternoon session, one of the provost from the hosting institutions gave a speech with 10 valuable advices for young professionals in the field. I sat there mesmerizing with her personal stories and was completely washed over with admiration as well as respect for the courage she has given me. I felt empowered like the bunny rabbit with rechargeable batteries to keep "going..and..going."

Anyway, food...big indulgence throughout the day, going from lunch to dinner. I have to commend my colleagues at Cornell for the hospitality and their earnest efforts in hosting the organization for 2 days. Now I am back in my room, sitting here, wondering if I should take some Alka-Seltzer to relieve the heartburn or not. Either that or I should do some exercise and burn those calories. I know, I know...I should have had some limit as I consumed the food. But they were so good :(

Tonight is the second night. I miss home already!

I am trying to do the last-minute rush to finish up a few left over projects from the summer before taking off for a 5-hour drive to upstate New York. It's going to be a fun drive with another colleague in the car. I might not need my iPod at all for this trip because for the next 5 hours, we will be chit-chatting our ways through the interstate high way and also enjoying the pre-autumn landscape.

This is odd, but I do have the adrenaline for traveling. It's like a worm sneaking through my internal organs. Very pervasive!

Just a little note to capture such mundane moment in life.

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My hotel room is located on the third floor, looking out to the rooftop of the 2nd floor and beyond the rooftop is part of Cornell Univ. campus as well as the mountain top where the sun sat slightly on top of it. Right as soon as I checked into the room, I cleared all the obstructions to the view to capture this shot. It's not the best shot with my cheap camera but that's all I could do before the sun hid away behind the mountain top. I wish they put me into a higher floor like 7th or 8th to have a better view of the sunset.

The drive from South Hadley to Ithaca was pleasant; we passed through mountains and valleys with green rolling meadows and well-manicured lawns. It was aesthetically spectacular from one end to another. The fall foliage is about to begin and the views from the mountain notches looking down to the valleys were breathtaking in all front. This is the typical countryside landscape that you might have seen from paintings and photos. I just hope that I can come back when the fall foliage is fully in season.

It's 9:30 pm and I am sitting in the Statler Hotel at Cornell University. My colleague and I just returned from a fabulous dinner that filled me up with all the good and healthy dishes. I had baby clams and organic green salad with blue cheese for starters, then I proceeded with sea bass for the main entree and ended with a ginger créme brulee. Absolutely fabulous and it was a wholesome dining experience. I ate so much and am getting ready to crash for the night. Tomorrow is the first day of the two-day conference and I sort of looking forward to seeing colleagues from other schools. Did I ever mention that I am a full member of an exclusive organization only for staff and administrators of color from the Ivy Leagues and Sister Schools? Well, this is it and I think it's the only organization I have ever been involved in that gives me the elite status in the academia. Oh dear, allow me to feel a little snobbish just for a second. I do need such feeling once in awhile when things got stuck and work is overwhelming. But just want to let you know that I am a humble and modest individual all around!

Anyway, Statler Hotel provides free internet connection. What more can I ask for? Other hotels I have stayed often charged an arm and a leg for the internet and put a damage to my bills everytime. The most criminally overprice charges are the hotels in New York City. They think they can charge you anything just because they are in New York City. Such absurd entitlement.

Enough for today. I am going to have a nice and warm shower and then hit the shack.