Day on the Isthmus - Night 2

Today I jumped on the Beltline and headed to downtown Madison and the University of Wisconsin campus. My stated goal was a meeting with my potential advisor at the UW (if I decide to return next fall for my doctorate), but in all actuality the prime motivating factor, after three years in the beige mundaneity of the "real world," was to let the captivating physical and aesthetic environs of acadamia blow some wind into my sails. That and State Street is the one place in Wisconsin that offers any sort of a true pedestrian experience. As the placard informed me, State Street is also home to the sole act of domestic terrorism ever commited in the state in which lives where lost. In the late 1960s radical Vietnam protestors bombed a Dow Chemical facility - manufacturer of napalm - located on campus killing a graduate lab student.

Thus, at State Street I began. Being a bit early, i took the liberty of walking the entire length of it down to the majestic state capitol (on the outside at least, the inside as we all know is rife with lawyers and politicians) and from there out to Monona Terrace, which, for those of you architects and hippies, is the first fully certified LEED conference center in the country. It also offers amazing views of the city and the lakes from all angles. To complete my State Street experience I grabbed a copy of The Onion and enjoyed a gyro on Parthenon's upper deck.

View from Monona Terrace

State Street

My meeting with Dr. Paulson reminded me of why I ever considered pursuing a doctoral degree in the first place; i am truly interested in the field of planning and its affect on people and the environment. But it also the lifestyle that comes with being a grad student that is so alluring. Some would say that being a student is a life of leisure; two, maybe three hours of class a day, a couple more of studying, and the rest spent recreating or relaxing. Sure it is no 10 hour day at the office or on the jobsite, but I can say with absolute certainty that in the last few years at my office job there were very few days (the hectic push of Spelter excluded) in which I spent a grand total of 5 hours or more completely concentrated on my work. The few hours of class and studying, however, are just that, times of focused concentration, broken up by periods of relaxing and contemplating. As Csikszenthmihalyi's research has shown, such alternations of intense concentration and complete relaxation are the most efficient and productive manner in which to spend our daily quota of psychic energy. Not to mention the health and intellectual benefits of both....but enough of my tangential rant.

After the meeting I took a stroll along the John Muir waterfront trail, back up through Observatory Drive (during the let out of classes - oh the fine scenery on this warm fall day) and back to Bascom Hill, where after unsuccessfully trying to pilfer some free wireless I promptly fell asleep on the soft grass until I was awoken by thunder from an approaching storm. On my way back to my truck I took a small detour past the hallowed grounds of Camp Randall Stadium, because, after all, what is a trip to Madison without a visit to the home of the Badgers? Strangely, with the wind out of the right direction one can almost hear the faint echo of the announcer's famous "Roooooon Daaayyyyne" call everytime the behemouth ran over some punk DB for another first down.

Camp Randall

What I learned (or rather relearned) today:

People in the midwest are much more friendly than those on the coasts. Passing students in elevators and stairs, and random joggers on the trail, many said hi or at least gave a smile, a gesture almost completely unknown in other parts of the country. While it may be true many of them were not the tanned, lithe, beautiful (and completely superficial) chicks and dudes of Arizona or the pale, intellectually-dressed yuppies of Seattle, but rather a little bit of both, combined with some strange accents, Badgers hats and a few extra pounds....but in the end, entirely geniune and completely friendly.

Disclosure: My apologies for the rampant stereotypes, which are not entirely true or untrue. Their use and abuse has helped explain my point.

written by

exumenius on September 27, 2007 from Madison, United States

from the travel blog: Down Under trip Preparation

tagged Madison, UW and StateStreet

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Yeah but when I was in DC this Spring, that was what I noticed on the trails also. Took a little more energy having to smile and say hi to everyone though...

written by Kim Ramirez on October 20, 2007

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