Hey amigos, I need your help. My dad and I are applying to The Amazing Race to be filmed in June 2006, we figured, why not. We could see the world, possibly win a million dollars and get to spend time together. Anyways, one of the application questions is "What famous person reminds you of yourself?" and I'm pretty much stuck. I was thinking Audrey Tautou as Amelie... but that's a character not a famous person. So, do you have any suggeststions? lol. the questions they ask are all pretty interesting. We're also trying to come up with an idea for our three minute audition tape too.
Oh, this is funny!
Gracias!

That is awesome!!! oh my gosh, it'd be so cool if you guys got on there. I love that show! You'd be my first friend-turned-reality-show-contestant! As far as the questions go, that's tough. You kinda remind me of Eleanor Roosevelt- very humanitarian and wise. Or think of someone funny. You gotta stand out, of course. They want TV drama. Sound super competitive. Good luck and let us know what you end up doing on the tape!
Posted 12/29/2005 9:46 AM by steph421

Thank you, and Happy New Year's as well!!! You know, I watched the first season of the Amazing Race but haven't watched it for a long time. I would totally make time to watch if you made it on - that would be so cool!! Haha! And you definitely wouldn't be one of those fighting teams! I'm not sure if I can help you with the question, though. Have you decided on anything yet?
Posted 12/30/2005 2:42 PM by uruka

I am happy! Life, despite my car being in the repair shop, and being incredibly behind at one of my jobs, is good. I'm looking forward to a new year and a new semester and the challenges that it will present. I'm looking forward to this new relationship that, for the first time ever, is actually something good that might just last a bit longer than the last relationship (wait, it already did... lol). I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my family tomorrow before work starts up again Monday. I'm looking forward to life. Even the car bit, I've learned a bit more about cars and what you do when the car breaks down and you have to get it towed somewhere. I've learned not to work three jobs during the same week and much less, during the same freaking day, especially the week before Christmas. Last night Logan and I went to a caroling party thrown by a friend of mine from high school. It was actually, really nice and I got to see tons of people I hadn't seen for years, including one long-lost friend from 9th grade and part of 10th who has been in Croatia for the last year and a half. Then we went to my apartment and watched the Skeleton Key and basically, it was good... it was all good.

God Bless you all and Merry Christmas!

Hanging out ended up being picking Logan's younger brother, Ian, up from the airport last night. It was nice though. On the way down we just talked, I met Ian, and then on the way back was more chatting and comfortable silences. That's pretty rare, the only person I've ever had comfortable silences with is my Dad... maybe Mom and I'm sure a friend or two. Tomorrow night we're going Salsa dancing and then probably watching the Skeleton Key.

I'm ready for a break. I know it is break, but I can't wait until this week is over because then there will be just less in general for me to cram into each day. The new job working on vacates for I-House is going well, but I'm behind. I don't think that matters though. Especially because yesterday I went in to talk with the office manager and she found a bunch of vacates that weren't done by one of the managers that I now add to my growing pile. I wish I'd said no to this job, it's kinda ongoing and something I should take an hour each day to do, but can't necessarily. After Christmas it will get better however.

I'm off to LSOP to work and then the library to work and then some vacates and then a staff meeting at I-House.

**edit** I passed all my classes with As and A-s (apparently in grad school A- is not a 4.00, though) and that's super exciting!

Woo, back at home for the next week or so. The roomie doesn't seem bad so far, but she is slightly messier it seems, but not bad. And the room smells different, but she is a different person than Karin blah blah. I feel kinda bad leaving her there while I'm home with family for Christmas when I could be getting to know her. But it was her decision to come back here right when everyone else will be out of town. I don't know why she did that. Do Armenians celebrate Christmas? I should ask when I next see her.

I'm just glad to be off of school, whatever I end up doing during the days during my vacation. Even the trying to manage multiple jobs isn't bad considering I don't have to worry about having to read anything or do any homework. I needed the break so bad. And now I'm crafting myself to death, which I like. Though knitting is a bit harder than I thought, I really messed up something on my sister's scarf today and after taking out 5 rows still didn't figure out what I had done, but somehow fixed it. lol

I'm also going to be reading alot. I really wanted to pick up the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but found, to my dismay, that I packed it away when I was back in my parents' house in September because I just had too many books to fit on the shelf. Why did I think it was one that I wouldn't read again in the near future? Curses. Tomorrow perhaps I'll find a copy at the library, but I doubt it (stinkin movie).

Tomorrow night I am also going to be heading for coffee with Logan, and then just general "hanging out." Any clues as to what this might mean to a guy? In any case, it will be nice.
'night and Merry Christmas to everyone!


Yay for being back home! I feel the same way about jobs- I'd rather manage odd jobs full time over break than be in school. School is stinky! And yay for another date or get-together, whatever, with Logan. You'll have to let me know how that goes!
Posted 12/20/2005 9:34 PM by steph421

I'm done! And Karin moved out tonight, which was sad. As the semester went on we ended up talking a lot more and I like her, she was just so different from anyone I know, but cool. So my new roommate, Natalya from Armenia moves in Saturday, which means that tomorrow the custodial staff will be cleaning the apartment all day. Ugh. The funny thing is, Natalya is the same girl who moved out from my room in September so I could move in, and now she is back.
I've heard horror stories about the dishes she leave in the sink forever, and the food she leaves uncovered in the fridge and lets mold, and this dish she cooks that smells bad... but I've also heard that she is very nice. So, I'm hoping for the best, and stocking up on plastic wrap and remembering that nothing can be as bad as Sophmore year (despite the good friendship formed!)

Good point. Why would someone lie about a thing like that! Lol! Best of luck with the new roommate. Maybe you can lay some ground rules together at the beginning so that things don't get tense later on? Grossness should not be tolerated!
Posted 12/16/2005 10:23 PM by uruka

Test? Completed! Left? Two smallish papers for my Ecotourism class. My goal is to have them done by Thursday afternoon.

Today starts my Christmas Break work-athon, or what ends up looking like one anyways. Suddenly I find myself with four jobs, and also advertising to the Mom's Club that I will be babysitting over the break. That on top of all the reading I'd like to do and the craft-making I'm doing for Panama fundraising along with craft-making for Christmas presents and just other things I'd like to do, like hanging out with friends, going out with Logan (though apparently he'll be working a ton too) and being with my family.

I think I can manage it:) And I'm excited to be working all these different jobs.
My passport is supposed to come tomorrow, which is super exciting!

Tonight I got to participate in some package wrapping at the new Barnes and Noble in Loveland with Clayton, the director of service learning at CSU. He's going with us on the Panama trip because he knows Spanish. He's such a neat guy, and we had just wonderful conversation the past two hours. I met him before Panama because he came to chat with my research methods class about service learning and involving the community in your research etc. And then I met up with him after that to just discuss how my project will be different becuase I'm going into the Peace Corps.
So tonight was great because we just had lots of conversation about how the country is treating change towards being more inclusive of different cultures and how we deal with the change, and how it isn't inclusive and stuff about indigenous cultures and how people alienate themselves and then come back to the culture depending on what is more beneficial. Anyways, incredibly interesting. So during this 2 hour period I came along alot further in my thinking about grades verses just having great life experiences. I have an awful statistics test tomorrow morning, but I would rather have had this conversation tonight than an A on my final and in my class. I feel much better about life if I have these experiences, rather than focusing so much on my studies. Maybe it's a handy way to excuse myself from the studying that needs to be done, but so far my life experiences haven't gotten in the way of anything I want to do academically.

So now, I do continue to study:)

haha, I think I called you back like right after you entered this post! I like to disrupt people's studying! You better watch out or you're gonna like two boys :) Heather's such a guy magnet.
Posted 12/12/2005 10:10 PM by steph421

Oh Kansas and evolution...Grades are sooooo overrated.
Posted 12/13/2005 11:32 AM by Shannona

Currently Listening
Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast)
By Jonathan Larson, Jeff Potter, Anthony Jackson, Daniel A. Weiss, Ira Siegel, Kenny Brescia, Steve Skinner, Adam Pascal, Aiko Nakasone, Anthony Rapp, Byron Utley, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Fredi Walker, Gilles Chiasson, Gwen Stewart, Idina Menzel, Jesse L. Martin, Kristen Lee Kelly, Rodney Hicks, Stevie Wonder, Taye Diggs, Timothy Britten Parker, Wilson Jermaine Heredia

What I'm so excited about and thankful for:
1) Good movies
2) Amazing dates!
3) Long lost friends suddenly calling you!
4) Being invited Christmas caroling with old friends
5) Getting that 4th job (the Manager's Assistant)
6) Holding hands:)
7) Samantha, Laura and Amy who listen and are happy when I'm happy!
8) The prospect of calling good friends with good news
9) Getting Christmas cards out on time
10) The (almost) end of the semester

I'm feeling pretty good right now... most of the above (ie: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9) happened today too:)


Awwww! Yay! So many good things! I'm glad tonight went well! ; )
Yes!!!! I thought Aslan was wonderful. Some of the other cgi characters were good, but every time he was "on screen" I was so impressed! Haha! I just wrote more about the movie in another post....guess I really enjoyed it! Happy almost-end-of-the-semester to you as well! (too many exclamation points!)
Posted 12/11/2005 11:22 PM by uruka

Currently Listening
Our Little Corner of the World: Music From Gilmore Girls
By Various Artists

The proposal is done and turned in! Another good thing about today... I learned that I don't have hallucinations when I'm stressed.

earlier...

I've decided that I really hate the APA 5th edition style of formatting and citing papers. The citations are not that bad or hard, but for someone who was trained many years ago that two spaces go between sentences, and now they have to write an entire proposal with only one space between sentences, you begin to hate the space bar. It might be because it is late also, but I don't think so. I think it's just the stupid APA. Why do they do this to us students? It's just so they can make some money, sell this stupid style manual to the dopes who decided that their discipline would use this style manual over one of the millions of others. I'm still working on my proposal. I should be done relatively soon, especially since the lit review portion is the longest/hardest and it is about half done and then all that is left is the methods. I may actually get a tad bit of sleep tonight... that is if I start working again.

Next semester... I'm not doing this to myself again.

ps-just so you know, I'm actually quite happy and content with life, things get out of proportion when you have a proposal due tomorrow and a guy who asked you out a week ago but never did call again and who you have to ask about that tomorrow with little to no sleep in your system. yah, that tends to make one a bit grumpy... ;)

Aww, Heather, sounds like you are overwhelmed. Good luck on finishing your proposal and with the guy. Perhaps he's just as overwhelmed as you and that's why he hasn't had a chance to call you? I dunno, just a thought. He could also just suck and not be worth your time, but I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt first :)
Posted 12/8/2005 10:32 AM by steph421

OK, so now onto the proposal itself. The presentation turned out good, really good in fact. I got a 49/50 on it, and compliments as well. If only they all knew that what they took 2 weeks to prepare I prepared in a day. I feel like I'm cheating. I think it's because I do most of my work (before I ever sit down to type anything up) in my head. I've always been this way, I have to think about it a long time before anything coherent will come out on the page. It makes for long nights usually, but it works, I guess. I do need to change though...

Tonight I have an interview for the manager's assistant job I'd like to have the rest of the school year. I hope it goes well, because it would be a great way to be more involved in the apartment!

Good luck on your interview!
Posted 12/7/2005 11:20 AM by BluesOn22s

Good job on the presentation!! And good luck with the interview. I will post more sometime, but you're right, it is about the car.
Posted 12/7/2005 7:30 PM by steph421

Working on my proposal presentation for tomorrow... something I present on but I haven't even written the proposal yet (due Thursday). Oh fun. The background is done and I have maybe 10 more slides to go, but they're the hard ones... stuff like what theories I'll be using and my needs statement/problem statement. YUCK! I can't wait for this to be over.

My favorite thing is waking up in the morning and looking outside to discover the first snow of the season!


Sooo jealous!
Posted 12/3/2005 8:53 AM by uruka

Thank you so much for your comment, Heather. I guess I just never expected my parents to get older, as silly as that sounds!
Posted 12/4/2005 1:47 PM by uruka -

Happy December! I gave blood today and it didn't hurt much at all, and she stuck me in the middle of my arm unlike normally when they stick me further to the side! I knew it could happen!

I'm on to working on my proposal. Did I ever say what I hope to study? That is, if I get a favorable Peace Corps placement. I want to study Community Based Natural Resource Management in Latin America. WOO!

Yay Panama! Tuesday was a day for filling out a plethora of forms for the trip.

The end of the semester is fast coming to a close. I'm excited about it, and excited about my classes next semester and about the new start I get. I'm not excited because that means everything now comes due... my proposal and my proposal presentation, my paper on the Galapagos, my letter of inquiry and list of funders... ick. I'm also really not looking forward to that stat final I have to take either.

But I do love this season. I love the way lights in your window look when you wake up pre-dawn. I love how the smell of snow is in the air. (if only it would just snow!). I love the decorations going up around the town and I love the anticipation of the gift-giving season and the anticipation inherent in advent. It makes me smile despite the bitingly cold wind we get sometimes.

Girl, don't sweat it... I'm hoping to have some portfolio goodness by break- Dec 16th-ish. Take care of yourself and enjoy the winter season=).
Posted 11/30/2005 2:09 PM by Shannona

RENT is a great movie:)

Being with family this week has been really nice. The two boys are growing up so fast... Scott is no longer the smallest kiddo, I think Sam is now the shortest, and Mom is the shortest of the entire family... she wasn't happy about that.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to try and get some shopping in, just a little little bit of it. Mostly I'll be making presents for Christmas this year.

Happy belated Thanksgiving! Haha, I called Purina this mornin and they're sending me some coupons for free dog food...I don't think that'll have us set for life unfortunately. At least it's something! Doesn't pay for all the money we spent exterminating the place or the hours we lost in our day.
Posted 11/28/2005 8:45 AM by steph421

I'm back from Lander, WY and it was a really amazing trip! We visited two schools, one on Monday and one on Tuesday. Monday was Wyomin Indian Elementary School, and the kids were all so excited about the science we brought to show them. There were a few times I was completely mobbed by a group of young Arapahoe girls and dragged around the light room to look at the different activities. At lunch I sat down with a group of fourth graders who innundated me with questions enough so that by the time they left to go back to class, I looked up and saw the rest of my group of Little Shoppers standing around waiting for me to finish my food, and I was only half-way through what I was eating! Also at lunch I had this one little girl come up to me and ask "Are you a scientist?" and when I said, "Yes!" she ran back to her group of friends and I overheard her informing her group that yes, I was infact a scientist, to a chorus of "woooowwwww!" :):):):):) SOOOOOOOO COOOOLLLLL!Tuesday was good too... I can't remember the name of the school we were at, but it was mostly Shoshone kids. A completely different atmosphere from the day before... very laid back. The kids were excited, but not as crazy. And we had some really great questions from interested kids about how the experiments worked. Also the moment with the seventh graders taking around the kindergardners to look at the experiments was precious too. They were so nice and kind and made sure to show the kiddos what was going on with the experiments. Good stuff!

Additionally... the trip was me and three guys and Brian. For not having spent this much time with four men entirely unrelated to me before, the trip went really well, and not as much teasing occured as I thought would. However, there were a few more inappropriate comments than I expected, and that wasn't the greatest, but it mainly came from Kenn, who I would have expected to say awful things anyways. We stayed in this great place called the Bunk House, which was just a little room off a storeroom at the Lander Llama Company. The loft had three twin beds, and downstairs had a fireplace, bathroom, stove, minifridge, pull-out sofa and double bed and food! A great, relaxing place to stay... complete with llama puzzle:)

Oh, and now I've been picked up and thrown over someone's shoulder twice. Both were sneak attacks after some body slams (where you run and jump into someone, throwing them across the ground). Very fun stuff.

Crazy, I had no idea you were going to WY! It looks like the place you stayed was awesome though- big job perk :) Happy belated Thanksgiving!
Posted 11/25/2005 9:50 PM by steph421

I am so thankful for this Thanksgiving break! Funny how life works out so that you do end up incredibly thankful just when you are 'supposed' to be.
I'm sick, too, so the break was needed right when it came, but hopefully I'll be much better by tomorrow so the trip with LSOP isn't awful.
I've started in earnest today making some napkins for my apartment. If I finish them, I'll probably start on some Christmas presents/crafts to sell for Panama fundraising. I suddenly have all these ideas of what I could make, which is just fun!
So today, I'm taking the day off. I've got to do laundry, and I'd like to clean the apartment before I leave town, but otherwise I'm resting and recouperating!

Well, the literature review is done! It isn't the best thing I have ever written, but that doesn't really matter at this point. Also, the EPA grant isn't going to happen, but some other grant is, so now I'm working on a prospectus, which is a one page summary of the grant that is sent out to various foundations that look like they might support what we want to do. I'd done a lot of work for the EPA grant, so it's slightly annoying that it ended up being this wild goose chase, but I learned some incredibly valuable information. If you want to get your project done, look for a grant that fits what you want to do, rather than trying to fit your project to a specific grant. And since we did get everyone to sit down together for once, I have a much clearer idea of what these videos are going to be all about.
I also learned something pretty valuable from my advisor yesterday after the meeting was all over. Now everything that I do needs to relate to my project so that I can get it done and get out of CSU as fast as possible. No dallying along the way. If I work with this grant, it has to be because it will benefit somehthing having to do with my thesis, and also it would be good if I could get me some money too. What a different perspective. I thought I didn't want to become a doctor because I had to focus... but I guess anything post graduate level you have to focus:)
I can still make rocking apple pies! I made one last night for our staff meeting at work today. I have to make another one tonight for FAC tomorrow evening.

Lastly, I applied for a Manager's Assistant job here at I-House. It's only 4-8 hours a week, but the pay is 7.25 an hour! That extra bit of money coming in each week would be so helpful. I'd be working on the newsletter that comes out each month and also doing random secretarial/office type stuff. And the positivie is, I really like one of the managers at I-House, she cracks my shit up.

heh,... I've never used that phrase before, but it totally applies to Amy!

Working on my literature review.
Saw Kenan today for some lunch/dessert. It was lots of fun and we talked for quite a while. Still strange seeing people I knew in high school now four years later, but it can be nice.
Also visited with Grandma today. She looked really good for her, which was a nice change. I'm gearing up to bake a couple of my apple pies for some events this week too. Oh, and new news: Onur wants to be friends. He said he didn't when we were breaking up, and now apparently he wants to be friends. Does this mean he's going to try to worm his way into my heart now? lol. I guess that wouldn't be bad, I'd prefer to be friends first with a guy I start to date. Not that I'll end up dating him again.
Back to studying! (yay Panama!)

So exciting! I've discovered that the Keystone Center and their Professional Development wing are actually using the documentary I produced! The entire documentary is not on the web... it is, afterall about 8 minutes. I have a feeling that they have it there as a teaser, and that if a request for the documentary comes up they may send a copy. My name isn't attached to it in any way or anything, but it is mine. I made it, and they are using it. I made it in the sense that when I opened it in the computer lab just now (where the sound is muted) I could 'hear' what was actually being said... I've seen it so many times and spent so much time on it.
Yay:) Life is good when things you do actually have a chance to make a difference!
(to find it, on the website above click on the old film camera icon in the upper left)

So exciting! I've discovered that the Keystone Center and their Professional Development wing are actually using the documentary I produced! The entire documentary is not on the web... it is, afterall about 8 minutes. I have a feeling that they have it there as a teaser, and that if a request for the documentary comes up they may send a copy. My name isn't attached to it in any way or anything, but it is mine. I made it, and they are using it. I made it in the sense that when I opened it in the computer lab just now (where the sound is muted) I could 'hear' what was actually being said... I've seen it so many times and spent so much time on it.
Yay:) Life is good when things you do actually have a chance to make a difference!

88.25% on my second statistics test! I still have an A, and will maintain an A if I get at least an 85% on the final. Not the greatest odds ever, but I haven't scored below 88% on anything yet:)
PANAMA!!!!!! Our first meeting it tomorrow night, which is super exciting.
I've just realized that every night this week I have something going on, which is not good for the fact that I have a massive paper due Thursday next week... however it is cool because everything that I'm doing is really fun. Tonight was Ecotourism class, as will be Wednesday, but we're also having pizza and it is at our professor's home... (ie: it can include beer and wine). Tomorrow I've already said what that is, and Thursday is LSOP stuff. Friday is a movie/coffee discussion night that I'm planning with my church youth group YUCCA (Young UCC Adults... UCC standing for United Church of Christ, if you were wondering).

So. It will be interesting, but very good and very busy. Oh, and I saw Sebastian, Onur's friend, today. I miss getting to know him, he was really cool. Oh well. He leaves to go back to Germany in less than 2 months anyways.

Spending some time with my sister in Greeley was pretty nice. I finally got to meet some of her friends. We also watched Spanglish. A good movie!
I went to visit my Grandma yesterday. It had been way to long, even taking into consideration how busy I am. It was good, and I'm going back again next Sunday. She actually looked pretty good, and she was the one who suggested chatting in the kitchen, and she walked me to the door rather than having me take her back to bed. To me, that seemed positive. I wonder if she's happy.
I'm spending the afternoon studying and listening to this great online radio station I found that among other genres, plays some great 80s music:) Why do I like the 80s so? Perhaps it reminds me of the movies from that period that I like, and also the days when Michael Jackson was much less scary.
Back to studying!

Currently Listening
Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherezade. Capriccio espagnol

For my friends out there:The short but incredibly confusing relationship with Onur is over. Thank you all for being so supportive.
Now I'm going to continue being excited about Panama, about figuring out what my research will be for my MS, the whole Peace Corps application process, and about being ME!

Panama!! Sounds awesome. Boo on confusing relationships... welcome back to the land of the single=).
Posted 11/3/2005 11:47 PM by Shannona

Actually, I got to thinking about it...and the MAJORITY of my friends aren't even dating anyone--There's some SOE single people, a few really close friends from our high school gang and tons of friends from high school that are single, and people I've met here. I'm with Shannon- boo on confusing relationships. At least it didn't go any longer than it had to for you to figure out it wasn't gonna be right. Hopefully talk to ya soon!
Posted 11/4/2005 10:29 PM by steph421

Yes, I think I'm going to just say "no" to matchmaking for a good long while. But Kim as a matchmaker? That is incredibly frightening!!!! Why would you ever let her do that? ; ) I mean, just looking at the situation with the guy she is currently dating and episodes in the past...Lol! Sorry about the confusing relationship - like Steph said, at least it was short. Have a great weekend!
Posted 11/5/2005 9:12 AM by uruka

Currently Listening
El Hombre Merengue
By Kinito Mendez

I'm mainly writing because I wanted to make sure and post the music I'm listening to currently. It's some pretty good Merengue, as far as I can tell. I wanted to make sure to post it because I'm amazed that the artist managed to pull off the patented geeky double thumbs up (go merengue!!) for his album's cover. Well, I don't think it is something you can pull off, but it's there, and hilarious. Now, I'm not saying that I've bever whipped out the double thumbs up before... infact, I tend to use it more often than I would like. It's almost unconcious. Besides the point. There's nothing better than a cheesy CD of merengue music!
My first Panama meeting is Tuesday evening. I can't wait to meet everyone and hear more about the trip. Next Wednesday I have my screening interview for the Peace Corps so next week will be fun!

I feel like I've had a breakthrough! Finally, I've had an actual conversation with Karin (my roomie) again!!! I had the feeling that putting my new TV in the living room as opposed to my bedroom (where she has hers) might draw her out or keep her out someday. Well, I was watching Family Guy last night and she came in from Ju Jiztsu class(sp???) and of course I asked how she was and things went from there so that she ACTUALLY sat down in the living room and we watched the rest of Family Guy and chatted through it till the next show started and then maybe 10 minutes into that.I learned that she locks herself in her room so she is forced to study, which explains the closed door and why she always studies with the TV on (she needs the TV on to study, I guess). I learned that she's got friends and has been making new ones through her class, and she's not making many here becuase she doesn't want to be distracted when she's at home.
YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! Anyways, that was a good thing that happened last night.
I'm off to classes and work (and to vote)!

I'm off to get myself some new glasses, hopefully really styling.
My roommate was up at like, 6am this morning and since I left my door open I heard her moving around. Not annoying, but surprising. All the times I've been up at that time since moving in and not a peep from her side of the apartment. She's an interesting person, that's for sure.
I've got another statistics test coming up, so I'll be studying to beat heck this weekend, especially so on Monday I can pretend like I know everything and help out my friend Tamara by studying with her on Monday evening.

OK, wow. Now what do I do?

Yay birthday:)!!
The plan is dinner tonight w/ my family and my friend Akiko, and tomorrow is Salsa dancing with friends. Yay fun times! I miss all you out there in Kansas today!

Currently Reading
The Encyclopedia of Ecotourism (Cabi Publishing)

Peace Corps application?
Submitted!!!!!!!!
(And I got an inverview with alt. breaks for the Panama trip!)

Currently Watching
Gilmore Girls - The Complete First Season
By Lauren Graham

Friday Afternoon Club...
I walked in the door, FAC hadn't even started yet, but people were milling around b/c a ceremony for induction of some leaders in apartment life into ILUHAC (or something) and not a minute after entering I run into James and Amy who both mention that I ought to come country dancing with them that night. Discussion ensues during which the other 2/3rds of the Trio (as James, Erik and Rob will now be called) show up and begin harrassing me to come as well. They finally get tired, I finally extract myself and Elliot shows up and convinces me to eat some of the leftover goodies. I get introduced to some more people unsuccessfully and head to my room, but not before Elliott invites me to the opera put on my CSU Music Dept. that night. To continue... FAC actually starts, I get free Subway for dinner and mill around once I've finally put my backpack in my room (maybe 45 minutes after arriving home). A little speech about Ramadan was very interesting, I tried a date and then started chatting with Onur (from Turkey). THEN! Marlies from my department shows up (she's from the Netherlands) which was great because she's so nice and actually my age. We all chat together about Turkish weddings (3 days long) and then I get invited out to some korean guy's birthday party by Marlies and Onur. I decline b/c really, all I wanted to do that night was watch 'Crash' after FAC being shown by another really nice gal, Veronica (El Salvador). The movie was great. You should see it if you have't already. Apparently McDonald's now rents movies for a buck and amazingly has movies such as Crash (where Veronica got hers). Then after the movie I was chatting with Veronica who introduced me to Nasr (Egypt) who introduced me to Tim. The night ended with Tim, Nasr, Amy and I going out for coffee at Alley Cat and playing chess till 1am when Nasr and Tim suggested going to Black Jack for an extra large pizza, which Amy and I declined and then I finally got to go to bed. All this and I've only been here 3 weeks.
So. I am completely amazed at the people who live here and associate with I-House and apartment life. I am amazed at myself handling it so well. This is probably the greatest place I have lived ever. I loved the hall, I still love the hall and really miss all my good friends and the fun atmosphere. I miss having amazing roomies (mine is somewhat reclusive), but this is better. I'm learning how to interact with a more diverse group of people (including the fact that there are now men in the picture as opposed to an all girls hall) than I have ever had to before. This, this my friends is good.

Currently Listening
Tuck Everlasting

Yeah, last night was interesting. The standing joke going around the group of people now is that I am Elliot's (my community coordinator) wife. It all came about because Elliot was introducing me to someone new who misunderstood what he said and thought he said "my wife Heather" or something. So Elliot thought that was really funny but we cleared that up. But then Rob comes in (he's this crazy 6'5" redhead) and Elliot asks him if he's met me, his wife. So Rob can't let go of this, and he is a somewhat hyperactive kind of guy with a talent for taking things farther than they should be taken. I left to go do homework when he started discussing moving our twin beds together. Sheesh. Then today at the Wholistic Health Fair Rob brought it up again when Elliot entered the room.
Is this some sort of new resident hazing initiation? Should I have anticipated that upon falling into the group of guys that I did that poor young, pretty Heather would be teased? dunno. It's funny, to a point. And when that point comes I either leave or ignore the comments or start sassing back... probably what they're looking for.
In any case, the guys are fun... not lifelong friends (though Elliot is a possibility, he's pretty laid back, not a drinker, deep...) but someone that I know goes to Sullivan's every Wednesday night so I can get some socializing and pool in.
I think I'm beginning to react better in social situations that normally I would have not enjoyed... namely being around a lot of new people, and a lot of them being male. Mainly the new aquaintances are: Elliot, James, Rob, Eric, Amy, Shu and Nina. Amy is who I may go salsa dancing with, she's one of the managers of I-House.
Also very important: I will be writing a grant proposal for EPA provided Environmental Education Grants! It's still the same idea: creating training/instructional videos for protected area managers to use in training tour guides and interpreters (of nature, not language). I'm excited because I can learn about grant writing, and also beause if it all works out well, I may be funded next Fall and then when I come back from PC for my final semester I could still be funded. My department couldn't get any better. Every professor, it seems, interacts with the other professors, comes up with crazy projects to pair together two people you wouldn't have expected, and look for ways to support and encourage their graduate students. Maybe it's just Stu. I know he's who wanted me to write the grant, and with Tamara (another student he advises who I hang out with lots since all our classes are together) he got her some funding for the rest of this semester. Stu rocks.
I'm going to bed... I might or might not finish reading up on this EPA Grant from the Federal Register.
Wish me luck!

WOO! I've been invited out by some new people here at the I-House:) It didn't take too long either, I just met them last Wednesday and now tonight at another free soup night I was invited out. I'm not staying too long b/c I have some tarea, but it's just across the street so not far to travel. Yay potential friends!

I finally went swimming yesterday morning. It felt nice but I am definetly out of shape. Panting and swimming don't go well together;)This morning I read a testimonial type statement at the Girl Scout fundrasing breakfast. Kinda scary with most of the people in the room being super important rich people from Fort Collins. Even a newscaster from channel 7 was there! He was pretty nice.
I'm tired, and off to work!

Hey! That is too bad about Naomi. I hope her job allows her to remain there if she wants to stay there...it's scary to think about moving to an area like that, but it doesn't occur often and the chances of it happening again in the next like 7 years aren't good. Anyway, I'd love to meet her sometime! Also, we visited 2 schools (UT Southwestern and Baylor College of Medicine)- crazy goof, did you read my entry? :) I miss you!!
Posted 10/18/2005 11:48 AM by steph421

Oh yeah, and sorry to say, we were eating fish :( haha It did occur to me after we ordered it was rather ironic. It wasn't those types of fish though. They were cool tropical fish.
Posted 10/18/2005 11:49 AM by steph421

Currently Reading

Earth Prayers From around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring the Earth

By Elizabeth Roberts

Were I still in Kansas at KU, I'd be on Fall Break right now. It is very needed. I guess my own mini Fall Break is not having to do the Teen Advisor Training for GS on Sunday (3 hours + prep time!) because only 2 people are registered. I have a paper on the state of ecotourism in the Galapagos to write and suddently don't remember how this whole paper writing/research thing goes. Urhg.
Sam is coming home this weekend and we'll do a family movie night tomorrow and go see the new Wallace and Grommit movie (*cheese!*).
Saturday I work with Brian and Kenn at the Fort Collins Museum on some LSOP funtimes. I'm presenting on sound... how sound is a wave bouncing around in an instrument... blah blah. Anyways, I'm having kids make their own amplification cones for a record player we got to play old 78s. And Brian pulled out his antique Victrola that I can play for them as well (it is really suprisingly loud) and then I'll probably also have a guitar to play and talking strips to hand out. It should be fun!
It is amazing where you can find support from people when you are having a rough time with life. Acutally, in general it is amazing how many people are actually willing to help you when you ask them for it! For instance, the assistant director of service learning (Hannah, you will be getting a package SOON, I promise) came to talk to my research methods class a week ago and now after having met with him he is going to help me with my proposal(he's an anthropologist PhD specializing in indigenous culture empowerment in Central America!!!) and will probably help me get into an Alternative Breaks trip to Panama over Spring Break. This guy is seriously really cool.Also, my boss Brian has been so nice to me. I think I've cried in front of him at least twice. He's one of the infuriating people who can read when someone is upset and actually cares enough to ask what's up. He's also funny, saying he'd like to go beat up whomever/whatever is causing my distress because he's funny like that. It's nice to know when you work for someone who is decent.
So, I'm going to continue to work on my statistics homework. It's a never-ending process!
Please call me by my true names, so I can wake up,and so the door of my heart can be left open,the door of compassion. Thich Nhat Hanh

Ooh Panama - that would be cool ( - :Glad to hear you have some cool people over there to keep you company.Hope all is well!Terri
Posted 10/14/2005 10:30 AM by BluesOn22s

Take it easy sometimes, woman=). Sounds like you have a lot of cool things goin on- be good to yourself=).
Posted 10/16/2005 12:24 AM by Shannona

Currently Watching
Finding Neverland
By Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie

I finished editing a scene for the show I'm working on! WOO! It took forever, but I now know I have the hang of it:) Fun times. I love working here, everyone gets along so well. Movie with my mom tonight!


Awww! Waders are sexy! But what do you mean about Click and Clack literally laughing at you? I'm confooosed!
Movie with my mom this afternoon!
Posted 10/8/2005 10:38 AM by uruka

Cute picture!! I'm glad things are going well.=) Methinks that someday Octarium will be travel-ready, but probably not this year unless there's a lot of money behind it for us all to take off work and whatnot. Someday though!!
Posted 10/8/2005 3:43 PM by Shannona

10 years ago:
* I was 12.
* I had finished my first year at Oakwood.
* I had been a Girl Scout for 6 years.

5 years ago:
* I started my senior year in high school and had turned in my applications to college.
* I directed my first video.

1 year ago:
* I was getting over spending my summer in Keystone and having to be back in KS.
* I was acting president of 2 organizations on campus.

Yesterday:
* I got my first grad. stat. test back with a 92%!!
* I spent my 3rd night in my new apartment.
* Campus Girl Scouts successfully elected a president and treasurer!
* I gave a presentation about ecotourism in the Galapagos Islands.

5 songs you know all the words too:
* Suerte, For a Reason, others...

If I Had A Million Dollars:
* I would pay off my parent's house
* pay for my sister's education, especially for her to transfer to Julliard
* support my church more
* travel to Latin America to learn Spanish
* Donate to Habitat, Girl Scouts, the ELC

5 snacks you love:
* chocolate teddy grahams, cheese, fresh picked rasberries, chocolate, chai tea

5 things that make you happy:
* Video production, my family and friends, Girl Scouts, little kids, rain

5 of your favorite T.V. shows
* Gilmore Girls, Lost

iQue dios!

I just spent an hour listening to a presentation in espanol which I actually understood most of. Now, however, I am finding myself thinking in spanish more than I normally do, which is somewhat annoying. But good. If it only took an hour for me to be thinking in Spanish (mainly just how would I say what I'm saying/writing in Spanish if I had to) maybe learning the language over again won't be so hard. I think I surprised some people with my 'skill' when I introduced myself. Ha!

Wicked was SOOOOO amazing!!! I saw it with Sam on Saturday and the seats were phenomenal, despite being labeled "obstructed view." We were in the 6th row in the left side orchestra seating kinda in the middle of the row. Stephanie K. Block and Emily Rozek were Elphaba and Glinda (the Ga is silent!). Ms. Rozek was an understudy but was so good! It's amazing how much you miss when you just listen to the soundtrack, and now everything on the soundtrack means so much more. OH! Also exciting, Carol Kane was Madame Morrible. Ms. Kane was the witch who lived with Billy Crystal's character in the Princess Bride. I had no idea that she did stage! She was incredible. The audience in Denver was really into the show too, they were very enthusiastic, laughed in the right parts, applauded thunderously. SO... it was very very good. You must see it if you have the opportunity to.

Now I'm working on a presentation I give on the Galapagos in my ecotourism class tonight. I have to do well because not only is my professor my advisor, but some people from the Center for Protected Area Management (one of whom just included me in a proposal for spring funding to create some training videos en espanol) will be there during the presentation to talk about the Galapagos and their personal experiences there. Huy!

adios mis amigos buenos!

Currently Listening
Our Little Corner of the World: Music From Gilmore Girls
By Various Artistssee

The move has commenced.

So, as you know, I went out with Laura and her friend Brian last Friday night. At least, I think you know.... Anyways, we had fun, and she and Brian were getting very friendly, sure whatever. Who am I to talk. So apparently he called her up and wanted to take me out on a date. Too bad he reminded me of bad Ryan and also said I wasn't a true Jayhawk (nor did I apparently graduate from KU) because I hadn't ever been to a basketball game. Funny though, very flattering.

So the new place. The carpet is slippery because it's still wet from when they cleaned it. Ick. The apartment is kinda smelly because of the previous resident's bad cooking skills aparently. And the entire building smells like food from different cultures. So that's kind of ikky, those of you who were my roommates will laugh because you know how I get about food smells and how they really do linger on clothing. But, it's a nice place and my bedroom (with it's own lock) is very large (and the closet is bigger than the one I have at home). My goal is to get everything moved in by Friday afternoon.

Saturday is Wicked with Sam and then potentially my cousin Matt's family birthday party. He'll be 23, or well, he actually is. He could use some prayers, but that's besides the point.
My friend Naomi who had to evacuate from her home in Beaumont, TX should be in town for the next few weeks. I guess she won't be able to go back to work on her oil rig for another 2 weeks so decided to just come home. Thank God that she has that option. I'm excited to be able to see her!
OH, and I love church, seriously, it's amazing how supportive the right church environment can be. I love the people who attend my church... most of them are a bunch of older extremely liberal people, very active in our community and in the church itself. The college group should be neat, we have some interesting ideas, like leading our own church service some weekend in a completely different style. Last Sunday Laura came to church too, and that was great to finally get her there. She said she'd like to come back too:):)

Next week I'm going to start going to a Spanish lunch that's run by the Center for Protected Area Management so I can work to improve my conversational skills and vocabulary. Hopefully I'll make it every week and then I'll really get picked for PC in Latin America.

I'm really beginning to learn a lot more about the expeiences of international students in the US at schools because of a friend I'm making from Japan. Her name is Akiko. Today we studied for her test on Friday (I'm just sitting in on the class for the info, but helped her study today) and also were joined by Aviram, a forester from Israel who is just here to take some classes and work on continuing and updating his learning. They were both discussing how it can be very frusterating to communicate in English when they are forced by lack of skill to use a more basic vocaubulary than they are used to using in their own native language. Inherently I knew this... I've felt the frustration when trying to communicate in Spanish. But this is (again!) another one of those things that wasn't in my realm of understanding or realization till today. It makes me glad that Aki and I are getting to know each other so that I can help her... I'm sure other people she has/might have met are not as willing to be understanding and helpful. I think we are going to go hiking this Sunday.

Currently Listening

The Lark Ascending: Violin Showpieces

The weather has taken a merciful turn towards the cooler end of the temperature spectrum, and we've been getting rain too. The downside is that the weather is quite a bit more humid than normal (though nothing like Kansas), but the fact that I'm wearing jeans to work is NOT normal given our 90+ degree weather the past few weeks, and it is so nice!

Yesterday was our first day of such weather, and I happened to also check out a CD of great classical music, one song on the CD just spoke to me. It was Ralph Vaughn Williams (sp?) A Lark Ascending. It was magical, standing there in the rain on my deck and listening to the music. It made my day, let me tell you, and very well might make today as well except for the headache I have.

Sam's wisdom teeth came out fine this morning, apparently. I'm heading straight over to my parents house after work to be with her as she recovers. I know the joy that is lying around watching movies and looking like a chipmonk, so I want to be there for her.

At church yesterday our associate minister Sharon asked if I'd consider being one of two leaders for our Senior High Youth Group. I don't really know what to do, but I know it would be good for me in so many ways. I'd be more comfortable at church (not that I am not, but I'm still shy at the fellowship hour, whatever the reason) and get to have more experience with young adults. Good all around, but it would be a big committment for the whole year and possibly beyond, and I'm starting Graduate School (which may be very hard!), and I already have quite a few committments. Like being a Girl Scout Trainer. I officially became an apprentice on Saturday evening after a day and a half of training. Tonight I attend my first Trainer's Roundtable in Greeley. I'm nervous, but this is also something that will be good for me, and conveniently look great on my resume.

Lest you think I'm someone who does things soley to put on a resume... don't think that. I've been a Girl Scout for 15+ years, this was a natural course for me to take, to become a trainer.
OK, back to work. School starts in a little over a month. YAY!!!

Currently Reading
An Introduction to Statistical Methods and Data Analysis
By R. Lyman Ott, Micheal T. Longnecker

I'm having trouble focusing on my schoolwork. And lots of good things are actually happening which could mean an increase in the amount of work I'm doing overall. So, somehow I need to get more focused.

Positivly, I did complete a monthly budget "plan" based on all the purchases I made this summer. That felt and still feels really good to have done. Especially since I'm moving on Wednesday and will be paying higher rent again.

Currently Watching
The Motorcycle Diaries (Full Screen Edition)
By Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna

Back from a night with Amy of chatting and homeworking and movie watching. Gael Garcia Bernal is serously probably the hottest man ever! This weekend I also took part in an ecotourism experience planned by some people in my class. It was interesting, and ended with a 30 minute bike ride back to CSU in the rain. Oh what fun. Overall it was pretty good. There were some awkward moments, like when someone came back from a beer run with three cases of beer and a bottle of wine. Now, I'm ok with a few drinks here and there (which recently probably didn't seem the case with my exagerations... lol) but I was not comfortable when that happened! Luckily everyone seemed pretty responsible and anyways I'm not a night person so went to bed an hour or so after that. But still, just imagine someone coming over with all that alcohol, kinda scary not having been in such a situation before, even if I was with some really nice/neat people.

Campus Girl Scouts is really taking off. I'm so excited!

Also exciting, though strange to say, I'll be turning 23 in just a few weeks (oct 26th). Interestingly enough a week ago I looked into the mirror and suddenly realized that I do look older. It wasn't a bad thing either... maybe I saw how I've matured over the last few months, or maybe my wrinkles are starting to crease more permanently, I dont' know. But it didn't look bad at all! It looked quite nice.

Hopefully soon I'll have some pictures from Little Shop of Physics for you to look at! For whatever reason I still can't figure out how the picture feature works. Help, anyone?

My "the world is very small... or at least Colorado" for the month:

Last night I went to visit Laura at the old apartment to finally pick up my flour and sugar. When I got there, her new roommate Sarah was just getting in and so we introduced ourselves and she let me in. While there, I was chatting with Laura and happened to mention the name of one of the guys at the retreat that I swing-danced with. It turns out that he and her older brother went to high school together and were friends. So that was funny and random... I mean I've known this guy or of him since forever from church and then Laura knows him too. Then we were both chatting with Sarah, and I realized she looked familiar and it turns out I met her last February when Naomi and the CSM Society of Women Engineers came out to Lawrence for a conference... and now she is living with Laura!

So these two points really just go to show that Fort Collins, despite being over 100 thousand in size, and even Colorado are actually quite small. That, or I've stumbled into this crazy parallel universe where everyone I know knows everyone else.:)

Currently Listening
Elevation
By Yonder Mountain String Band

When did I become one of those people that goes to church retreats?

What I loved about it though was the focus on spirituality rather than relaxing and reading the bible. Really, is it relaxing to read the bible? No, it isn't, not for me. I got to do a unicursal labyrinth and last night we had some swing dancing, during which I got to dance with a number of really nice guys. It was like a weekend full of fellowship with each other and getting to know everyone there. So, it was good. As most of you know who read this, the church I attend is extremely liberal. We accept everyone. I mean everyone when I say it too. And people have recognized this and have started attending. For instance, Sam and I shared a bunk room with our Associate Minister Sharon and her wife. It's always nice to enter a space where everyone is accepted and loved, and that was this weekend. I felt like the rest of the world dropped away entirely and it was difficult to come back to the house I have to take care of till Wednesday and all the reading I have to do for class. Oh! And we had a coctail hour with wine and cheese... it was apparently something our minister really wanted to have. People got a bit more interesting after that, probably why more people ended up dancing that I had expected!
Oh, and I am sick. I have a cold which started Friday afternoon. So the weekend wasn't entirely wonderful.

Tomorrow I get to visit with my friend Drew who has spent the last year in France. I've known her since 7th grade, so she stands as my 2nd longest friend, and one of the closest. You know how some friends you have just understand who you are better than others? Well Drew is one of those friends.

Tomorrow I also get to have the doctor tell me how bad my vision has become over the last few years without changing the prescription for my glasses like I should have.

Currently Listening
Vivaldi: Eleven Concertos

I didn't mention that Sunday we also blew out one of the tires on Mom's car on the way to Greeley and had to change it, or would have if some random guy hadn't stopped and changed it for us, without even asking if he was needed. That was service, lemme tell you! We were back on the road again in 15 minutes after he came along.
I'm attempting to study.


Wow, you are really having a tough tire time!! IT's like that week where Ben blew 3 tires because of a car problem, eek!
Posted 9/13/2005 9:27 PM by steph421

You are pure, unadulterated evil.
Posted 9/14/2005 7:44 AM by blu_enigma

Currently Reading
Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?
By Martha Honey

An interesting weekend. It all seems to have started Wednesday afternoon, when I found my bike tire flat again. Apparently my repair skills aren't up to par, so it still leaked air. Luckily FoCo has a good bus system so I didn't have to wait long to be on my way home bike in tow (the busses can carry bikes!). Thursday night right before I left for the Girl Scout Basics session I was a trainer for I got a phone call from the Apartment Life director letting me know I did get a spot starting Sept 28th in the International House which was surprising news. So, I'll most likely be moving out around a week after my parents get back from Italy. Perfect timing actually... while I miss them to an extent, I know how hard it will be to go back to their style of living rather than continue my own.

Sam also spent the weekend at home, which was a nice break from being kinda lonely. Friday night we went to volunteer at the first meeting of the huge Studio 2B troop for Girl Scouts 11-17 that the council and other volunteers is trying to form because so many of the troops in this age-group dissolve because girls become too busy, Girl Scouts isn't meeting their needs, it has become an uncool extracurricular, or a combination of the latter. We had maybe 30-35 girls at the event and all seemed excited to be there and glad to see Sam and I as some of the only non-moms there (and decidedly well under traditional "mom age", therefore according to GS Nationals we're "teen-savvy"). I told the leader of the troop, Diane, that I'd help out when I could because I think it is a good idea and we really do need to work as hard as we can to keep more girls that age in Girl Scouts. I believe Girl Scouts has done so much for me, I want to give that to other girls. But, they have to stay in the group!

Oh, and I met two other young women who sounded interested in a Campus Girl Scouts group, if anything as a way to socialize with people our own age and perhaps volunteer for GS. Good, this is good.

Church was church. We're about to vote on a capital campaign that will require considerable support in many forms from all of the members if it passes. They want to add on to the church, replace outdated electric and water facilities... make the place something that can meet our growing needs now and in the future. Not a bad idea. I don't have money, so I guess if I vote yes, I'll have to ask Hal or Sharon what I can do to help in other ways.
You know, there are few things that I really truly believe in and know a lot about, things that I can advocate and not feel that usual feeling I have that I actually know nothing. These two are Girl Scouts and the United Church of Christ. I would have never imagined saying that 2nd one, never never. I am not a big fan of Christianity taking over everything and homogenizing the world, however something in me says that if more people came to my church, the world would start to look like a better place (to those who tend towards liberalism, anyways) faster. I feel that more than advocating any specific God, we advocate love and peace!
And that's all the religious I'll get for today. I didn't say I was comfortable discussing my convictions concerning religion, however strongly I may feel. Forgive for any uncomfortableness this post has caused while reading! Rest assured, it won't happen again anytime soon!
'night:)


The sermon today wasn't that bad. The reading was about forgiveness...you know, don't forgive 7 times, but 70 x 7...and he used that to discuss America's attitude after 9/11.
Somewhere along the way, we confused justice with revenge and totally ignored how Jesus advocated forgiveness.
Posted 9/11/2005 11:29 PM by blu_enigma

I'm glad Sam came home with you over the weekend. Congrats on getting a place to live!! I'll have to check that site out later & see where they're putting my Heather. Good for you finding things you're really passionate about, too.
Posted 9/12/2005 7:11 AM by steph421

Currently Reading
Wilderness and the American Mind, Fourth Edition
By Roderick Nash

So, tell me this, does the elimination of a city's Human Rights Resource and Education Office sound like a good idea to anyone besides the City of Fort Collins Government? Oh, and cutting affordable housing, that sounds like a brilliant plan too. But it's ok because we're going to be creating MORE protected area/public lands so at least the homeless people will have somewhere pretty to be miserable in.

Honestly, I know I'm studying how to manage protected areas and such, and I'm supposed to be all for the preservation of the landscape... and I am. However, our government seems to have placed the preservation of public lands at too high an importance compared to other public necessities I believe a government should provide it's citizens... and face it, the people who need the services they are cutting most likely aren't well heard during the voting process anyways, unlike those who would vote for the preservation of open space.

Maybe it's time to step back as a government from the direct preservation of open space with city tax money and focus more on the fact that Colorado State has one of the best Natural Resource programs in the country. Perhaps the students and faculty at CSU could take a more active role in helping preserve the open space and in trying to bring in more money from other private organizations to do what many citizens (to be fair) appear to be requesting! Maybe I'm being unfair in thinking that the city isn't already doing that, and maybe they are taking in lots of money from other ogranizations to help with the focus on natural resources.

Anyways, I suppose this bothers me because I worked at the library and the library will be affected by the choices the city is making. I feel a tad more sensitive knowing how much good our library does and how patrons are just not going to understand when services get cut back yet again. It makes me mad that sometimes the best public services, because they rely so much on the city's income, can get hit the worst in times of budget crisis.

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050907/NEWS01/509070301/1002


Uh oh, a Heather rant! And a little surprising, too. All very interesting points. Hey, side note...I found out that the new dean of my school is actually from Fort Collins..he was a professor or dean at CSU. I told him about you yesterday!
Posted 9/9/2005 4:52 PM by steph421

Currently Listening
A Picture of Nectar
By Phish


back from an incredibly amazing weekend! I got to hang out with all my favorite people, and also my new favorite dog. I stayed with Ben and Steph so Steph and I had plenty of time for late night talks similar to when we roomed together and often lost hours of sleep for all the talks we had late at night. I love that girl! Friday night amazingly we ran into most of the people I wanted to see at Southwind theatre during the blackout, so we all went out to Chili's and had some drinks and nachos and chatted.

On Saturday we took Maggie to the dog park at Clinton. Maggie is the Bammes' new dog who is the cutest ever and is one of the few dogs that doesn't scare me. Then we went swimming, and traveled to the game ridiculously early. We had some nice seats, but I think sitting out in the hot humid weather for so long having just gotten to KS and not aclimating myself first was a bit too harsh of a thing to do. I'm still tired. Sunday I saw my Hannah and we ate lunch together and talked forever about things we normally talk about;) She's working with AmeriCorps/VISTA now and gets to be a part of the new center for service learning at KU. WOO to that! Then a bunch of us went to The Constant Gardener. An amazing movie, the cinematography was really interesting and done well throughout. Thought-provoking to say the least, despite being fictional.

And now I'm home to an empty house for a few weeks! This evening I watered the plants and did laundry and made dinner. Now I'm finally sitting down to study.

There's the laundry-list for the weekend. kinda boring, I know. :) 'night!

Thank you again so much for coming!! We all had such a great time. Maggie smiled at your entry :)
Posted 9/6/2005 7:19 AM by steph421

It was good to see you too! Hope things go well in the big CO, and good luck on that Peace Corps app!=)
Posted 9/7/2005 12:16 AM by Shannona

I'll be visiting Kansas this weekend. I'm glad, it will be nice to be back where people know me and like me (not that they don't know me or like me here). You guys just have more experience with me! Probably not the best idea all around... visiting there could bring back the idea that I don't have near as many good friends in CO. Also, it may be bad for me academically... what with there being so much reading I have to do. So I've got this uneasy feeling in my stomach which persists and make me think I'll drive off the road or something on the way there, as if I haven't made this trip many times before. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be going and so amazed and greatful that so many of my friends are excited to have me come and visit and spend time with them. But it could be a bit painful. Meh.

I think I may have an idea of a 'problem' I'd like to study for my graduate program. It's not the area I had expected... tourism... but given I have no experience in either ecotourism or protected area management it's something that I've actually come up with a question I'd like to help solve. I figure from what I've heard of ecotourism too, that the concepts surrounding what makes it ecotourism could be applicable to general parks management in some areas. So, even if I don't want to have a career in ecotourism, perhaps the knowledge is transferrable?
Or maybe I'm just over-rationalizing
oh, and I'm going to audit the undergrad class I'm in so I dont' have to do the homework, take the tests and can to an extent come and go with different classes.

Currently Reading
Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches
By John W. Creswell

phew! I made it through the first week. I'm intact even. Now it's time for probably my first relaxing and last relaxing weekend (except next weekend in Kansas!!!!!!!!) for quite a while. Tomorrow evening is videogame electronica music in Denver with Ryan and a buddy of his... this could be absolutly hilarious.

The rest of my weekend will be devoted to reading Wicked, doing my stats homework, reading for Ecotourism and reading for my research design class. I am also probably going to get to the rec center to go swimming and or take a class or two. Oh, and church.:)

Currently Reading
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
By Gregory Maguire

Woo! Finally the book came in from the library! 'Course, it was just in time for school's massive amount of reading. I'm having to heavily restrict my time reading.:(

Still getting used to being back and not in KS. Luckily my department is small so getting to know people shouldn't be too bad, and my job is another group of people who are potential friends. One of them went to Poudre and graduated IB in 2003! I don't think I ever met him, but I did know some of his friends.

Currently Listening
New Favorite
By Alison Krauss, Union Station

"Walking around with a shovel is just fun!" Dr. Newman
My first class, my first day at grad school...

Dr. Newman was actually referring to a picture of himself he'd put in his ppt. He was referring to being a park ranger one summer and how he just walked around with a shovel all summer and cleaned things and made trails.

Also, another highlight, this one from my job. I'm beginning to think that this could be a very interesting, silly job. We had lunch together today, everyone is now here and working, so we're a crew of 6 now (rather than 3). After pizza Brian's wife, Carol, came and met us with bunches of tie-died shirts. Now, just a little background here: our outfit/uniform for the Little Shop of Physics is a tie-died shirt that says "Little Shop of Physics" on the front and the "tour dates" on the back (dates that schools were visited!). Apparently some upcoming Sunday we will be getting together to make 160 shirts. So, we had to pick the colors. Carol and Brian apparently love to tie-die, because the shirts she brought in were options they had made so we could vote on our favorites. It was super democratic (unlike the election procedure in the US, as Brian mentioned about 5 times) and we narrowed it down to a second elimination. Brian took this very seriously, and we were supposed to, so we did too. These shirts, he said, we would be wearing almost Every Tuesday This Semester and More, so we'd have to like the colors. Finally, after maybe 10 minutes of discussing our options and why we liked each shirt, we decided on a nice option that is cobalt blue, turquois and yellow.

Can you believe that? All the while I was participating part of my mind was in disbelief that such a simple decision as colors for tie-die could be so important and take as much time as it did. Makes me smile. This is who I work for!

Currently Listening
Outside Inside
By String Cheese Incident


Ok school, here I come!

Currently Reading
Life of Pi
By Yann Martel


Man, I don't know what the deal is... perhaps my writing has become more witty, perhaps I am writing about subjects that are more applicable to my general reading public, or perhaps I'm in a happy mood... in any case, it rocks getting so many comments, so thanks:)
Went to Late Night at Lory Student Center tonight. Unlike KU, CSU does not have any sort of arrangement with a beverage company, so there were no free drinks to horde. Also, not so much free stuff being given out. The only free stuff I could find worth anything were henna tattoos (looooonnnngggg line), glow in the dark necklaces and make your own whiteboard (the last two were done by the Alumni Association, go figure).

I'm so excited to start! I went by the NRRT (Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism) office today to find out how to get a key to my office, and while there stopped by to say high to my advisor. His name is Stu, he's a cute guy somewhere in his 40s... kinda what you might consider 'cool dad' cute if he were a dad. He dates someone from Estonia who is coming to CSU for graduate study and at one point he was looking at elementary schools for her 12 year old daughter. Top that off with the fact that he's partly bald and the fact that he really wanted me to take his Ecotourism class but never actually asked me to take it! That's the 'cute' my advisor is.

Anyways. Late Night to me conjures up images of Roy Williams, Bill Self, or bad sorority skits... not lazer tag or a Halo Competition in the Student Center at CSU.

It's strange how you can grow accustomed to names for certain items. I grew up here, so I was used to a 'student center' being called the student center. Attending KU I had to get used to calling the 'student center' a Union. Now I'm calling Lory Student Center the Union and confusing everyone, especially myself!

Oh, the best part about the Late Night here was something KU has never done at UnionFest. Apartment Life had a tea display and were giving out cups of tea and baklava. :)

Oooh, an ecotourism class sounds fascinating!
Posted 8/21/2005 11:32 AM by blu_enigma

Currently Listening
Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride
By Sam Bush


So today I mentioned to Brian that I love the dentist (having just been there). He said he'd never heard anyone say that before. Now, I know the lore is that dentists are hated and people just don't like to go there. Honestly, I am always so happy when I come out of there. My teeth are sparkling clean, no plaque, and every time I leave the dentist I know at least one part of me is perfect (even the dentist says so... though it isn't exactly true). So yes, I like going to the dentist. HA!
However, the last time I went to the doctors was forever ago...

The 'grad student/faculty retreat' tonight was really really good. It is a smallish department and everyone I met and who talked seemed so nice. I don't think one professor DIDN'T say that their door is always open and to visit them. There are lots of us new students and being new forges bonds I've found. You guys would be so proud of me. I wasn't a wallflower! So, I'm excited. The only thing I'm worrying about now is the fact that I'm taking 13 credits and working 20+ hours a week at a very involved job. Everyone I've met tells me that 13 credits is a lot. So, we'll see how I do. I'm crazy busy most of the time anyways, so at least that won't be new.

Oh, and the crazy news of the day is that I now have two offices on campus. One from my department, and the one I mentioned yesterday. The graduate students in my program also now are gaining a Grad Student Lounge this year. I won't ever have to go home. I can sleep in the lounge and use the computers in the library. lol I guess that is the life of a grad student and often of professors.
all in all, a good day.

Mary told me this year is "the extroverting of Hannah". Maybe it's "the extroverting of Heather" too.
Posted 8/17/2005 8:26 PM by blu_enigma
I'm helping my sister move into her dorm room on Thursday. I'm moving back to Lawrence on Friday. On Tuesday, I'm flying to New Mexico for my orientation. I get back on Thursday, and I start on Friday. So yeah.
Posted 8/17/2005 10:23 PM by blu_enigma

I can't believe you're a grad student...it's so weird to think that a lot of my friends will be or are becoming grad students. Good luck!!Terri
Posted 8/18/2005 10:51 AM by BluesOn22s

I think you are sick for liking the dentist. Today I went to Watkins and asked if student health insurance covered dentists or eye doctors (I need to go to both), and they said no, neither. I told them that was okay, I will die at an early age with bad eyes and teeth because I was too poor as a student to afford dr. visits hehe Ben hasn't been to the dentist in 3 years! I know that's kinda gross, but we can't afford it and his parents couldn't afford it either. We also don't have life insurance, so don't kill us! hehe
Posted 8/18/2005 2:03 PM by steph421
I have no idea what the point of that little tidbit was, but I guess it was a "yay you're a grad student and you're destined to be poor another few years!" haha
Posted 8/18/2005 2:03 PM by steph421

Thanks, Heather! Good luck to you as well! Absolutely love the picture, btw!
Posted 8/19/2005 7:46 PM by uruka

Currently Reading
Cartoon Guide to Physics
By Larry Gonick, Art Huffman

The new job...
A nice environment. My own office with two computers. I can do pretty much anything with it as far as Brian has mentioned. He likes saying "We can do that... We're the Little Shop of Physics, we can do anything." It should be encouraging, but I have a feeling he's realizing I don't really know Final Cut Pro all that well (and I never told him I did). An annoying feeling. Kenn is nice, he's one of the other workers, kinda second in charge. He likes to walk around barefoot.
The other interns (3) arrive next week. I'll feel better then when there are other people around who haven't worked at the LSOP before. I can only hope that the other interns are also not all physics students, because that would make me a way minority, especially not liking physics in the first place. lol

But, I love the simple science they do, and the tv show (Everyday Science) is about science and basic scientific principles that I DO know (it would be worrysome if I didn't!).
You wouldn't think life was all that different just a few months out of school and on my own. I couldn't have believed the difference, and not just in daily activities. It seems like a shift in my mindset too. I feel more alone than before, and I also feel, well I guess kinda scared or intimidated. Fortunately I am continuing my education, but still the realization that I'll be working the rest of my life, and now for an actual REASON, is staggering. I guess all I can say is thank goodness for having people to talk to about it. So thanks Naomi, Jenny and Ryan. You guys make being a twentysomething easier.

Tomorrow: Dentist appt and a NRRT graduate student meeting and get to know you BBQ! I made the most amazing cake:)

Currently Listening
Lost and Gone Forever
By Guster

Whew. Well that's done, for the most part. I've moved in to the new place (shhhh, it's my parents' house!) and have managed to get at least my desk and computer and my internet connection all set up and established. At least one corner of my room is somewhat organized.
My last day at the library is tomorrow, and my first day at my new job is MONDAY!!!!!! YAY!

So I'm moving into my old room and the terrible truth has been revealed. It was something I had managed to avoid all four years of college, but now I have to confront it again. I am a packrat. I horde, I save, I file. I am so upset, why do I have all this crap from high school? I start projects and never finish them, so I have tons of half finished projects stuffed up in my closet and my accumulated 'wealth' from college will not fit once I move it in.
I need to be like other people who don't horde and save stupid notes from a class in 9th grade. Any advice from those of you who are normal?
oh, and I am getting rid of more things than I can imagine I had. Finally I'm taking back the mess... but how do I avoid getting into the habit again?
uhg

Oh goodness, I am just now learning to not be a pack rat...though you wouldn't be able to to tell that from the closet in my room at my parents' house, LoL!
Posted 8/10/2005 8:43 PM by BluesOn22s

I am NOT normal because I keep everything, too!! I try to cut back, but it's soooo hard. I have lots of notes & letters from 7th grade even! haha oh well. just get lots of target cube storage space & shoe boxes :)
Posted 8/10/2005 9:33 PM by steph421

I had my first training and it went well. The teaching experience helped for sure. It was intimidating but luckily my co-trainer was really great and is very experienced! She's been to Edith Macy center in New York!
I'm moving out this week :( boo. It's sad, because we've been getting along great and have a new neighbor who's a meteorology grad student from Nebraska. But, that is life for sure.
Time to go to bed!

Currently Listening
Shakira: MTV Unplugged
By Shakira


You know, I'm actually starting to realize how neat it is to have friends all over the country and the world! I know I can now go visit people in Kansas, Missouri, Texas (way too many friends in Texas... lol), North Carolina, France etc... I'm sure there are more... I just can't think of them right now. So friends of mine, you are experiencing a slightly changed Heather, one who is looking forward to the future full of new friends and visiting old ones, much more so than looking backwards (what a difference!).

Otherwise today and tomorrow I'll be buying my textbooks (maybe) and getting my PC application done (stupid essays!).
20 days till school starts!!

oh, and I finally met one of the other graduate students my advisor will be advising. She's kinda new -she's completed a semester- and is much (how much?) older than I. She's nice and so accomplished (did the Americorps and Peace Corps already) but has a very different perspective on CO than I do. She's from Oregon... imagine me in Kansas wondering why people are so backwards environmentally... she thinks that of Coloradoans!

Yay Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should go see it!
I do my first apprentice traning on this coming Saturday... a week from today. Yikes! At least I'll get it over with soon, that first training.

I'm off to get that stupid Peace Corps application in.

oh, and ps - guys who joke about having to 'find a wife, house, etc...' because society expects it really make me mad.

PLANTAINS!!
Public - 8:51 PM -

Mmmmm! I made some good dinner tonight. And oddly enough I can't remember the name of the main course... it was what Emily made at the hall... with black beans and rice and tortillas. AH! I can't believe I can't remember. I ate it less than an hour ago. I'm ridiculous.
Anyhow, it was tasty. And Laura ate it and enjoyed it (yay!). She's not picky, but I'm always worried what people will think of my food.
We had mango too. It was to die for. What we had were like bananas, but you have to cook them to eat them. Dang, what were they called?

Well, anyways! Hopefully I'll be heading up into the mountains soon. Despite tomorrow being my first entire day off since last Saturday (over a week here w/o a day off), I will most likely be doing laundry so I have socks to wear to work Thursday. Uhg! But next week I may go camping if I get 2 days off! I'm continuing to volunteer with Girl Scouts and it is really very nice. I'm getting to know everyone there and it just feels really good to know that they are happy to have my help, however little it feels like I am helping. It's great, I'm working in an office full of smart women... I haven't seen a guy there yet. I think one does work there, but maybe he leaves before I get there or something.

Joy! I've ridden my bike to work yesterday and today! Avoiding the hot interior that is my car is so worth being kinda sweaty at work the first few minutes. Gross, huh?

I work 8 hours today, but luckily have a break of about 3 hours in between my two shifts.
Has anyone ever seen Lost on TV? Reruns are playing on CBS this summer and it's a really interesting show. It is the Wednesday night show I watch when I'm home for "family night."

Currently Listening
In My Hands
By Natalie Macmaster

Home, again, but this time I'm spending the night because tomorrow I take Sam down to her counseling job at church camp. You know, that sounds super religious, church camp... and I guess it is when you are there, but I don't think I could belong to a more liberal denomination, unless I was Unitarian. Even the liberal churches have church camp too folks!

I wrote this poem in January that I read again recently and thought was so applicable to my being out here in CO when so many people I know and love I left in Kansas and others I know and love have moved away from F/C (eg: Naomi to Texas this week). I wish I could type it here for you to read, my friends to whom this poem applies, but sadly I didn't bring my (real) journal with me and you will just have to wait in suspense till I 1) have my journal and 2) am simultaneously at a location with internet access. I think I like the poem being more appropriate to the present than the reason why I wrote the poem.

The weather is hot and sticky in Colorado. Our high was 98o today. It's the kind of weather that makes me feel drained and dull. Weather that makes me take my car and then sweat profusely when I should really be riding my bike (which would be cooler). The brightness in the surroundings seems to have become more dull as well. I'm hoping for some more rain to brighten things up again. The grass is turning brown.

I really like fall. I know it is the season that everything starts to go dormant and loose its color, but before it all goes nature gives us such a spectacular explosion of dying color! I'm looking forward to my first fall in Colorado in four years, Colorado has a very distinctive "fall smell." The breeze seems to come straight off the mountains and the scent of pine fills the air along with a clear quality that seems to blow the ozone away from our cities (which is beginning to become a very big problem here along the Front Range). The air feels lighter and on occasion you start to smell burning fires from fireplaces. I'm so glad we get a fairly lengthy fall, from late September to (sometimes) early December. But the best month of all, by far, is October (and no it isn't because of my birthday). This month is when the weather finally comes out of the late Indian Summer and begins to cool down. Sometimes we get small snowstorms, usually around Halloween (I've been a Snow Bunny for Halloween before... not of my own choosing). This month is when the leaves are the most brilliant and the smell in the air is most unique to the season. Then November arrives and we get dreary grey days and rain. Real Colorado snow often doesn't arrive till January, at least along the Front Range.

I guess it is the best thing that I came back to Colorado. I must be in love.
I think that's the end of that. You've put up with enough musing.

I love Heather musings about the weather, the environment, life in general...hehe always enjoyable! I'm going bridal dress shopping today with the gals- should be tiring but fun!
Posted 7/9/2005 8:01 AM by steph421

Currently Reading

Tokyo Cancelled

By Rana Dasgupta


Laura is away for a few days to go and visit Scott. We had a tiff about the fact that I still want to move out and into the International House in August since now the other roommate punked out on her. Grr.
4th of July was nice, however! At one point we were in an alley in downtown (during the day, and we were actually traversing it to get somewhere) and ran across some cast-away rolly chairs, with which we had some fun (picture myself careening down an empty alley on a rolly chair!).
I'm reading this great book currently. I picked it up by chance at the CSU library a week ago. You should check it out if you like crazy stories. Honestly, some of them are a bit far out there and I'm not that incredibly fond of them, but overall it's an interesting book.
I'm starting to volunteer at the Girl Scout Service Center this week. I'm glad to have something to do with my time that is more important than working at the library or lounging around the house!



Hi My Heather! I'm sorry to hear you and Laura had a little tiff- i'm sure it'll be smoothed out by the time she comes back. Glad to hear things are going well and you're using your summer time productively!!
Posted 7/6/2005 10:22 PM by steph421

Woo, I finally got pictures from Celebration three. Please feel free to view them on my yahoo pictures site. You can get there by going to my facebook page and clicking on the link. WOO!
Life is kinda plodding along, but I'm content. I'm realizing more and more that despite my initial instinct to question things in life (due, no doubt, to being a scientist) some things don't have answers. I'm able to do this with God and with my faith, accept that I don't know, but with things in every-day life I'm not so good at that. I'm getting there though. I think that otherwise I'd probably be sadder.


I'm off to go make enchiladas for Laura and I, while trying to teach her how!

So, apparently the CSU Bookstore job isn't going to happen. Yay for being over-qualified. But on the positive side I'll start working 21 hours a week July 11th because Judy at work gave me the chance to pick up an additional shift till Fall.


I didn't say how excited I was that I get to go back up to Keystone twice this summer (and get paid to do so!!) to help with water-testing day, did I? I don't think I even mentioned it. Well, I have to get work off first, but that shouldn't be a problem because I'm requesting it off so far in advance. YAY!


It's been over a week and I'm not doing so bad. He's gotten me back into exploring music again like I was a year or so ago, or maybe more. That's good. And of course a whole host of other things good came from it too.


I'm home tonight to spend time w/ the fam!



So glad I got to talk to you today! Thanks for everything, Heather.
Posted 6/22/2005 10:17 PM by steph421

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/17/schiavo.governor.ap/index.html

Why drag this on, honestly? I'm getting really annoyed with the government feeling like it is their right or like they are duty bound to interfere in private matters, even if they are taken to the supreme court.

I worked 5 hours today, not long by any standard, but I'm tired. Nobody told me when timesheets were due, so I may not get a pay check next Friday. At least it wasn't too many hours. I have a day off tomorrow and am heading up to Mish for a concert. Excited? Yeah, I guess I am. At least I have someone to go with now. Otherwise the news is that my Grandma got her hearing aid and it seems to be working because now she has to tell us to talk less loud!

OK, so the weekend is over. Well, the weekend and Monday, it was like an extended weekend. Sunday after I worked we ate at Big City Burrito (yum!!) and then went up Horsetooth to watch the sunset. That was sweet. Monday we hiked over 10 miles, it rocked but I am so paying for it today. We hiked 4 miles round-trip to Gem Lake before lunch, chilled and ate lunch in Estes Park, bought some fudge and then went to hike Twin Sisters. Twin Sisters is 11,4-- feet. We made it to above treeline, but by then it was 5pm, had taken us 2 hours to get to that point, and we were both hurting. Poor Jason having just come from Kansas too... his lungs didn't like what we were doing to them with all the hiking. I shouldn't have taken him up that high, but he was so determined to get to the top. Anyways, we stopped at 5pm and hiked down, which only took till 6:30. Then we drove back to the Fort and bought a pizza and crashed at the apartment. I now know what "bone tired" is. I don't think I've ever felt that tired, and it was also probably due in part to his emminent departure.
So then he left...
and I went to work. Nothing like a bit of work and crying in front of your supervisor to "get over" a boy. Lol. That and low-fat ice cream (that tasted super good, so no guilt and all the pleasure!) and a meal with your sister can work wonders. At least for a little while.
Good news though! I may be getting a third job at the CSU bookstore. They called back and I may get an interview! It sounded like they thought I was way qualified. Sweet!
I'm off to do something important... or go watch one of the many movies I have checked out from the library and eat more ice cream.
oh yeah... on Saturday before the madness Laura and I hung out at Taste of Fort Collins, had some great food and wine, got henna tattoos and listened to some music. There is nothing better than outdoor music. It was a great day:)