The beginning of the story...

...it all goes back to 2002. At that point I was at the beginning of my graduate career at University of Utah, and, despite we already lived in a post 9/11 world, I still felt carefree and full of youthful enthusiasm. After all, all the stars seemed aligned right at that point: I lived in the best possible house in the best possible city, surrounded by the best possible mountains. I had swiftly gotten rid of all the technical nuisances of grad school, prelims, oral and such ... all was left to do was to write a thesis. With the very reassuring blessing of Angelo Vistoli, I signed off the next few years of my life to Aaron Bertram, who was to lead me down the path of becoming a mathematician.