on the road

i have arrived in davis, CA after two days of driving. i left seattle on thursday morning to get down to portland to hang out with anne and her SO chris. on friday, i embarked on the butt-numbing portion of my trip from portland to davis, which clocked in at just under 11 hours with a pee break, two refueling stops, and a little tour of the ice cream options of ashland, OR.

perhaps the most noteworthy part of my trip is the nature of the two street signs in encountered when i crossed the border from oregon to california. as soon as you cross the border there is a sign that is probably about 4 sentences and ten lines long that greets you. i should mention that this is along the "non-scenic" highway route on I-5. though this route actually proved to be stunning, the point is that traffic moves at a swift pace of 70-75 mph. how much can the human eye register of a 4 sentence long sign at that speed? not so much. i know that there is something having to do with agricultural goods and registering or paying (or something like that) that is supposed to happen when you enter california. i was traveling with a tofurkey sandwich with lettuce on it and a bunch of strawberries, so i was probably breaking the law. my thought was that they should post multiple signs, with one sentence per, to give the folks cruising by a chance to understand what it supposed to happen if they've got coolers full of fruits and veggies with them. with my new degree in public policy, i no longer can just complain. i have to come up with workable solutions that will never make it to the ears of decision makers.

the second sign was more terse, and far more disturbing. most of the drive here was very mountainous, with lots of huge elevation gains and descents. just before my first descent in california, i saw signs instructing "brakeless trucks" to use the left lane or some such insanity. i was less concerned with what these trucks were supposed to do, and more concerned with the fact that there were trucks that are casually referred to as "brakeless" potentially barreling down these mountains all around me. it makes my heart race just thinking about it.

the incredible scenery of mt. shasta, lake shasta, various national forests, and the endless farmland north of davis soon distracted me from such concerns. but it does seem that arnie could use an evans MPA or two on the DOT's road sign committee.

Nathalie Jones, MPA

I graduated on Friday. The two years in my graduate program were simultaneously stressful, exhausting, fulfilling, and so much fun.

At our post-graduation party, my friend Lynda put it well when she said that the incredible people we got to meet were an unexpected bonus of going back to graduate school.

For the first year of school, I assumed a serious, studious role. But I was plotting. I was strategizing and figuring out who my people were... and I found them. Above: Nubia, Subarna, Lynda, me, Andrea and Leslie, on the steps of our beloved Parrington Hall. These ladies were a huge part of what made it all worth it... they're smart, inspiring, and hilarious. So along with my shiny new degree, I got some wonderful friends. I am eager to see what the future holds in store for each of us. Hopefully plenty more games of catchphrase and parties around the karaoke machine.