The Element and the Ion

On new year's day, 2011, I was out running in my neighborhood, thinking about whether I should run 1 mile, 1.1 mile or 11 miles (since it was 1/1/11).  It turns out I didn't even make it a mile.  Just before the 1 mile mark I saw something that I had been dreaming about for years.  I saw a Honda Element parked next to a Saturn Ion.  An element and an ion together!  What could be more perfect than that?  (I suppose it would be really cool to see two Elements that had smashed into each other, but I digress.)

I ran home at 6:00 in the morning squealing with delight while most people were in bed with a hangover from their new year's celebrations.  I got my camera and ran back (so maybe I did run 1.1).  I took a photo and then ran back home.  I got out my laptop and used photoshop to create license plates that were apropos.

I was giddy with excitement over my epic dorkiness!  I chose sodium (Na) because the Element was orange and the flame test for sodium is orange (duh..).
 
I could not wait for my family to wake up to witness my blend of technology and science.  I emailed it out to all my friends and family before 7:00 a.m. on January 1st.  I will never forget that day...sigh....

Just when I thought I had reached a plateau in my nerd graph, where the value of y had remained constant over time (x), I found that on this numerically significant date I was able to tap into my nerd reserves.  Let this be a lesson to me.  There is always more, you just have to look for it.

1/1/11, the day a dream came true....