I just got offered a job... or at least requested to apply to a job through the office of Service Learning and Civic Engagement as the graduate coordinator for Americorps at CSU for next year. Dilemma. It sounds like a really great opportunity, I'd be working 20 hours a week (so not all that much, meaning I can still go to school/class) and I'd be earning significantly more than I currently do... and I still don't know about that GTA biology lab TA bit (which would earn a ton more than either LSOP or the Americorps position). So, a really great sounding job, working with people in the Americorps and in a coordinator type role... something I know I would be good at, my brain just works like that. The only catch is, it's a year long position, and the second is, it starts this summer, and I've already kinda decided I'd be working LSOP this summer (really, for lack of a better job) and I had plans for a lot of travel this summer too. I don't know what to do.

On top of that, I just had an idea for an actual research project not affiliated with the Peace Corps in any way... actual research... and something I might do anyways because it would help me if I enter the PC and it's just something I think needs to be done... basically a study of a number of Latin American community-based projects (hopefully they exist... I think they do) to analyze the strategies they use and overall what they view as the difficulties and benefits of such projects. The literature seems to me missing just such a study. Oh my God... I think I finally became a graduate student.

UHG! Well, maybe I express interest, and hope to hear from the PC recruiter soon so I get more of an idea of when I might be scheduled for departure... really, I feel like maybe if I got my act together, especially this summer and next fall, I may only have to push PC back one semester, and I could graduate with my MS in the Spring next year then enter the Peace Corps?

Also, I should talk to Stu about this.

Crap...I didn't really want an opportunity or an idea like this to come my way... I know I was saying if I found a good job I might just quit graduate school and put this whole bit on hold because it's hard and I didn't know what I was doing in terms of research... but I didn't expect to get a job offered to me in the context of school and simulaneously (I mean, I thought of this idea THIS MORNING) come up with a potential research project.

Whoa.

Friday night turned out to be the best date for what I needed. I guess I get easily freaked out because my mind is always working double time in the thinking department... and unfortunately not in the school department, like I wish... and for the past few times we'd seen each other, we'd stayed in and for whatever reason hadn't talked that much. So Friday at the Cherry Blossom FAC we had time to talk, and quite a bit of it, and then his friends invited us to a movie so we went and saw Inside Man (a Spike Lee movie you should see... it's trippy... a movie hasn't confused me like that since Mission Impossible). So it was good all around... we talked, we actually went out instead of renting a movie or having tea at my place, and I got more "face-time" with some of his friends, whom I have still yet to meet most of (though I'm sure I'll recognize them cause many are from high school).

So yeah, life's back to being good. And can I say, I believe I'm finally falling incredibly hard for Logan? I think I held back a little bit because of PC off in the future but for whatever reason, I've started falling for him even more than I already had. Yikes!

In other news, I've not gotten quite used to the homework and schoolwork routine yet after my Spring Break in Panama. So that's going to mean some hard core working on school stuff tonight... meh. School has kinda stopped bothering me. I'm more ambivalent about it... perhaps it is because already, my coursework is almost over (one more semester!) and maybe it's because I'm realizing if I don't want to do this, I don't have to and I can quit. I'm going to stick it out though.
I'm also going to see Guster in concert this Saturday! WOO! I'm super excited, especially because I don't have to leave Fort Collins to see them as they're playing the Aggie Theatre. I invited Ryan up to see them with me cause he likes Guster and introduced me to them last year. SO... my second concert ever:) and it's going to be great!

panama wrapup

me gusta Panama! Such a lovely place... so green and humid and warm. We met only nice, welcoming people. Now I feel like I've got some new aunts and uncles, as well as un mas abuelita.
I'm still processing the trip. It's caused me to question much more about my future, which while frustrating will end up being a good think in the end whatever happens with Peace Corps.
I'm looking forward to seeing Logan... drat busy schedules, I can't see him till Thursday.

To bed, b/c I'm super tired... it's 2 hours later in Panama!

Woohoo! Spring Break:) I'm so glad that it is finally here... we can all use the break. I leave for the airport Sunday at 7:30am. The flight leaves at 11am and by 10pm (Pacific Time) we are in Panama City! We spend the night there and then Monday we drive across Panama following the Canal and have lunch in the outskirts of Colon. The next 6 days or so we spend half the day building a birdwatching platform for the community, and the other half we spend in cultural tourism.
I'll talk to you all after break!

Snow.... I don't know if I'm happy or not... I like snow, but I also was really enjoying our 60 degree weather. Well, maybe if it stays cold and snowy when I get down to Panama on Sunday night, the hot and humid weather will feel nice by comparison rather than stiflingly hot.

I cut my hair off yesterday. Yay! And it was free, which is always nice. I wish I knew how many inches it was... at least 5 I'd say.
Ok, I'm off to class and work... wish me luck leading discussion in recreation behavior theory today!

I'm back from a day of inspiring Girl Scout leaders to be the best they can be and from a night of watching the Oscar nominated short documentary films. If I had been less tired, the films would have been more enjoyable... but I'm glad I went. The place I went I just discovered, and it makes my heart sing! The Denver Film Society has a place in Denver that shows international and independent films and things such as the Oscar nominated short documentaries and short fiction films. WOO!
I'm super excited too that they will be showing CSA: Confederate States of America. This film I saw maybe 2 or 3 years ago in Lawrence. It was directed by Kevin Wilmott... the first film teacher I ever had. He took it to Sundance along with the co-producer (I believe) Matt Jacobson, who I took my video production class from, and it was picked up for distribution by Spike Lee.
SWEET!!!
So, whenever it starts playing, be expecting me (if you live in CO) to be dragging you to see it... it's a part of my history, and the film means a lot to me in the sense that it was made in Lawrence, by people I know and respect, and I got to see the film at the Kansas premiere... so, I want to share that part of my life with my Colorado friends!
http://denverfilm.org/scheduledetail.cfm?MOVIEID=1024775
whoa... it's playing the 10th through the 16th... so that means this will be a really soon thing...

Current mood... yuck. Current face condition, still completely sunburnt. The only good thing about this week is that is it is almost over and that I did get to go skiing.