On Wednesday I was invited by my friend Naomi to a very fancy party to commence the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. 
This party was held at the MoMA in Manhattan. We arrived (dressed to the 9’s and looking sharp) to a very long line of attendees waiting to get in. Of course being celebrities ourselves we were spotted by ushers and allowed right in. (Ok, it was because Naomi is hooked up with the Clinton Foundation… but it still felt cool). The place was packed with politicians, NGO leaders, philanthropists, leaders in business, social workers, and tourists like me!
The food was laid out, the wine was free, the conversation was stimulating, albeit outside my area of expertise. After meeting some big-shots we went to look at the artwork. Because the party was at the MoMA guests could observe the galleries as a break to schmoosing. Let me just say that some of the stuff that passes as modern art is total crap pretty interesting. One of my favorites was a room in which the lights blink. (5 seconds on, 5 seconds off) Just next to that was a fish tank half full of water with three floating basketballs. Comments guessing at the social statement/significance are welcome!
During the course of the party I only managed to see one really famous person. Mr. Bill Clinton, the undisputed awesomest celebrity in politics. In fact, I almost walked right into him. I saw the crowd part and started long-legging it into the opening. I realized that the crowd had parted to make room for Bill to move. So I had entered his clearing! Oops. All in all it was a very exciting night.
Ah to be a research engineer. Challenging problems that seem impossible at first. Then after weeks of work… they still seem impossible. Damn. Idea after idea is had. Each one seems easily more correct than the last. Thinking, scribbling math onto a page, talking with peers, scribbling more math, programming, drinking coffee, more programming, testing, disappointment… back to thinking (hopefully with some added insight). It’s a cycle that plays out daily in the lives of many (see comic).
Then, one fine day there is an idea which seems somehow more precious than the others. Although I remain skeptical this idea seems special and delicate. I take it through the regular motions of thinking, scribbling, and programming and… low and behold! It works! It freakin’ works!
Woah… that’s the rush. That’s why we do it. When that first correctly segmented image comes on screen… when the robot makes that first turn that it should have been making all along… when the simulation finally fits the model. To anyone else its a line around a gray blob, an unimpressive right turn, or a red line and a squiggly blue line that line up, but for us… It’s the ultimate high. Engineers pay dearly for those moments in currency of sweat, frustration, and sleep deprivation, but they are totally worth it.
Today I went to Brazil. Well, not really. I went to New York where 46th Street (Little Brazil) and a good chunk of 6th Ave. were closed down in celebration of Brazil’s national day. I went with some fellow Brazil-o-philes and met some Brazilian friends from work. Together, we ate some feijoada (fay-ZHWAH-dah), danced some samba, and had a fun little (actually huge) party in the streets of Manhattan. Along the way, I made some tentative plans to visit Brazil… man I hope I can follow through.
What a fantastic time. Dancing for independence, dancing for fun, dancing with friends, dancing with strangers. Dancing “for no good reason.” But wait, dancing is its own good reason! I find the emphasis placed on celebration, revelry, and careless abandon refreshing in this world where people are so seldom shocked to be unhappy. Maybe we should all take a lesson from Brazil and dance just to dance… and encourage strangers to do so as well.
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