what a long strange trip it's been

Above is a figure I made for my paper showing the human, natural, and economic resources needed to attain sustainability - if you don't get what I mean you'll have to wait and read the book - it's being bound at the library this moment.

It is done! It is done! It is done! ... and all will be well, and all will be well and all manner of things will be well! (I hope) I have pulled four all-nighters in the last 10 days (plus keeping up with teaching all my classes - planning the year-end bbq - research projects etc.) -- I wasn't sure it was worth it, but there is a slight glimmer of satisfaction starting to fill my heart.

Title: Interior Ecology: Developing a Design Methodology for Space Planning Using Principles of Sustainability and Ecosystem Models

Dedication: To my mother, Saundra Stephens Toole, I am so sorry I lost you before you could witness the final project. Mom Forever.

Acknowledgments: Completing this degree has been part of a demanding but rewarding journey. There are numerous individuals that I am indebted to. From the beginning Steve Mansfield has provided generous encouragement, competent educational and design skills, a listening ear, and an example of brilliant character. Carol Nicholas has continually forged a path through the impossible that I try to remember to follow. Much appreciation goes to a man of incredible integrity, creativity and enthusiasm, Dusty Wickham, my office partner, for tolerating my many distractions and obsessions, to Darrin Brooks whose limitless energy and passion for design are legendary, and to Sandra Turner for her kind compliments and hard-work making this paper look good. To Robert, Carolyn and Sue: thank you. To Jenny and Angus and the promise of meeting in a pub in Sydney when this endeavor was completed -- I'm privileged to have such great friends.

And most importantly to my family... to my father Doug Toole who never doubted that I could do this, and for time that otherwise would have been yours, my deepest gratitude goes to Chase and Land, and to Darren, the person who supported this adventure more than anyone else; it is you that has sustained me.

how to have the perfect day...

Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard from ONCE -my camera phone photo

Dean Kiger and a sweet view of my hood - Sue makes sure the hood looks good
Steve and I - DeAnn & 'the Boys' -  Me Outside

Part One - I don't think you can plan your perfect day -- there is serendipity involved. Mine occurred on Friday, May 2nd. I woke up super early for a swimming bootcamp. I rested for a bit when I got back home and overslept (luckily, Chase came to the house and woke me up). In a mad dash I got ready for GRADUATION! When I arrived at the Spectrum (wrong location) at 12:40 to get my cap and gown I remarked to the woman at the desk that I couldn't believe that so many people were arriving almost 2 hours early. She looked at me with an "are you on crack" expression and emphatically stated, "Graduation starts at 1:30 and the procession starts at 1:00 and you my dear need to be at the fieldhouse now to get a cap and gown". I didn't even let her finish the sentence and I was on the phone to Darren in a mad panic, "Go get Land out of school now, call Chase and tell him to get here stat"! I called my professor Steve and said, "Did you know this starts at 1:30 and not 2:30". He, thankfully, is so calm and replies, "Yes, I'm here in line, where are you?" I was running at that point across the field and sweating profusely. I paid for my cap and gown and when I went to pick up my name card the sweet young girl attending the table asked if she could help me get ready. I readily accepted; cap on, tassel hanging to the left, hood over left arm with the white portion toward your elbow. I can write a thesis, but those instructions are much too complicated in a panic state. I was the second to last person in the processional. So we are marching to the Spectrum and as we pass along the sidewalk by the green field the students from Edith Bowen are lining the path. The kindergarteners are waving yellow ribbons and shouting, "huzzah, huzzah". So many memories from when my boys were at Edith Bowen. Sharon Cook gives me a huge hug and all the teachers are congratulating me and the older children are putting their hands out to slap five. Matthew, my favorite 5th grader says, DeAnn, and I give him a hug and I swear, his little 10 year old buddy made all the work worth it. He asks Matthew, "Is that your sister"? The procession continues. Carolyn is standing along the sidewalk saying, "I have been waiting for you". I receive another congratulatory hug. As we enter the Spectrum the faculty are all greeting us. I'm all smiles as I pass Steve and Jeannie, and since I'm one of the last in line, President Albrecht is behind us. Darren, Land and Chase finally get there and I'm looking at them and thinking those those three men are what makes the earth turn. [sidenote: Chase realizes soon after that he has lost his wallet and leaves to retrace his steps -- eventually finding it, but missing the hooding of his mother] I told him that it is in his genes, look at my mess in arriving late and at the wrong place. It is finally my turn to be hooded. I politely ask if I can wait for Sue to do the honors. She tells the man helping her that I need to look extra good and then she asks me for yet another hug. I feel great. They say my name, and I proceed across the podium. The gentleman announcing the names has a British accent and I learn later that the boys were mocking him a bit and saying,"Harry Potter, receiving the Master of Science in Wizardry". Dean Kiger shakes my hand and gives me another hug and says congratulations and I reply, yes, congratulations! I always get tongue tied. I am elated. Something I thought I would never do, but deep inside always harbored the desire to get one of those fancy smancy hoods... that is what I was in it for. After the ceremony I am so pleased, I have my family with me and it is good.
Part Two - Ksenia, a friend of mine from Russia, had asked if I wanted to buy tickets to the Swell Season months ago. We drove to Salt Lake to see the Academy Award winning duo from the movie ONCE show their stuff. Hands down unbelievable! Marketa started with that haunting voice, "You have broken me all the way down, down upon my knees..." It was at the Depot and the Jazz were playing game six against the Rockets and the town was buzzed. The group played for nearly three hours and we wiggled as close to the stage as we could and stood the entire time. I about wet my pants when Liam, Glen and Marketa covered Van Morrison's Into the Mystic (I love that song) and then Forever Young (I want this sung at my funeral). I couldn't help myself -- I sang with abandon. And all I thought as we exited the venue and the streets were crowded and horns honking in celebration of the Jazz winning was this has been the perfect day.