The U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA today. We are still waiting to hear the ruling on Prop 8. I included a link to the ruling in this blog: SCOTUS Ruling on #DOMA It should be read - even if not entirely (It's 77 pages long, although only the first 4 pages contain a summary of the ruling by the court, the rest is the description of the suit and the full ruling and dissenting opinions.). This may be the most compelling part that I have read though:
"2. DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment. Pp. 13–26."

First Trail Half Marathon in the bag - Now marathon training begins

In March 2013, I ran my first trail half marathon on Racoon Mountain in East TN at the Rock/Creek Scenic City Trail Marathon & Half Marathon (http://www.rockcreek.com/trailmarathon.rco). It was my second trail race (my first was the Rock/Creek River Gorge Trail Race 10.2 miler: http://www.rockcreek.com/rivergorge.rco.) and my second half marathon (first: 4 Bridges Half Marathon: http://www.7bridgesmarathon.com/). I managed to PR on this trail half with a time of 2:11 (7 minutes faster than the flat road half I completed 6 months earlier), despite the 1100+ ft of elevation gain, which made me happy. I still haven't reached my target time of <2:00 a="" but="" eventually="" font="" get="" half="" i="" in="" nbsp="" there.="" will="">

I was prepared for this race despite the fact that I had missed several training runs leading up to the event. I started out around the middle of the pack and just ran my race the whole way. Other than a few steep hills near the end, I managed to run the whole thing which was a first for me on a distance that long. 

I now have my sights set on my first full marathon in December at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon where I hope to raise $1000 for the hospital's research and cancer treatment. You can find my personal fundraising page here:  http://heroes.stjude.org/Stephen-wren if you wish to help me raise money. You can also read a number of factoids on the hospital, the research they do, and the children and families they help. 

I have a hard week of training ahead of me with 14 miles between now and Friday and then 18 miles on Saturday and another 8 on Sunday (40 total).  I have never run that far before (for a weekly total or a daily total), but I know I will get there. I may have to stage some water along the way though just so I can stay hydrated throughout. I will post more updates as I feel they are warranted. 

BTW: Happy Runners Day. Go out and log some miles. See you on the roads/trails. 

One Year Anniversary with Current Company

I recently celebrated one year with my current company!

I am happy to report that last month, I completed my first full year with my current company. I have had some incredible opportunities this past year; I have traveled to several customer job sites, met with numerous client representatives, participated in a number of highly visible projects, and built several important professional networks in the engineering consulting industry.

If you had asked me a couple of years ago what I wanted to do with my career, I would have described my current role with to a "T." I just never thought I would find a company that was so tailor suited to my professional goals. - I get to travel to numerous customer locations, work on a diverse project portfolio, and learn more about fossil, nuclear, hydro, solar, and wind power generation.  I even have the ability to only work four days a week so I can have more time at home with my family.  I just don't know too many people who get those opportunities in their line of work. The only downside to my job that I have seen is that I work in a cubicle about 40% of the time, but the other 60% is spent in client meetings, at job sites, and educating myself on the customers and power plants they operate. 

I know there are a lot of jobs that pay better, but I would be willing to bet that the stress levels are much higher and the personal rewards for a job well-done are not as significant.  I know, because I have had some of those jobs, although most of them paid less and were less rewarding and more stressful. (Active Duty military - enlisted: low pay, high stress; In-home sales: moderate pay, high stress; University Research Assistant: low pay, moderate stress; Military Civilian Engineer: moderate pay, high stress)

If anyone else is considering a career in engineering, I would highly recommend you learn more about it, do a little research (talk to professors, professional engineers, engineering students, etc) and see if engineering is a job that would be a rewarding career for you. Feel free to email me if you are interested in learning more about what an engineer does and where we work.  I would be glad to help you learn more about it.