Thursday, January 21, 2010

School daze

I'm coming to the end of my second week of grad school classes and things are going fine. OK. Not bad.

Actually, it's been a little overwhelming. I don't know exactly what my expectations were, considering that it's been over 20 years since I attended college, that was undergrad anyway, and now two of my classes are online only.

But I thought about what it was like when I was an on-campus undergrad and frankly, it was a lot easier than what I'm doing right now. Back then, I might go to class for an hour or so, then eat lunch, work my on-campus job for a couple of hours, then go to another class for an hour or so and that would be the school day.

I was usually pretty much up on my assignments, so if I didn't feel like doing any further work that evening, I didn't. I'd hang out at the campus center, visit friends, watch TV, see my boyfriend. Frankly, it was pretty peachy only being responsible for myself. I'm sure that's why people were always telling me that I'd someday look back and those would be the best days of my life.

Despite having a work-study job and feeling pressure to keep my grades up so I could keep my scholarship, the fact was that being a student was pretty easy.

Now, not so much. Lots of other things going on in my life--lots of good things that make my life a full and rich one. So I'm not complaining at all. I'm just--adjusting.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Short movie review

Unlike the movie itself, I'm going to hereby offer my short opinion on "Avatar," which my family saw today (I'm in a hurry since I have to do my homework yet tonight):

Very, very cool. Go see it.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Cat post

What's nice about your cat wanting to snuggle into your bed, under the covers:

It's warm; it feels nice against your legs; it demonstrates his trust; if it wakes you at all, it's just momentary


What's not nice about your cat wanting to snuggle into your bed, under the covers:

When he decides that there's something under there that needs to be attacked, so he repeatedly pounces with all the strength of his front paws, while you're trying to sleep

Saturday, January 09, 2010

To the store

Going to the grocery store during a mid-level winter storm is an interesting experience. This week, we were projected to get about six inches of snow one day. We only had about two inches on the ground when school started, so the girls got on the bus as normal and off they went. And Greg went off to tackle his usually-40-minute commute on slippery, snow-covered roads.

And later I headed off to the grocery store. The storm had been predicted well in advance, so I suspect that the store had been very busy the day before--all those people stocking up on milk and bread in case the whole world shut down for a week or two. But on this day, the parking lot was almost deserted. I parked and headed in, slogging through about (by this time) four inches of snow in my winter boots.

The store only had two checkouts open. The produce section was deserted (and they had no celery available--weird). The bakery had one other patron. The meat section was empty. It was quite odd. I felt like I'd wandered to the grocery store late, late at night. There was no competition for pork shoulder or ham slices. The shelves in the dairy section were fully stocked. And I when I'd finished my list, I checked out really rapidly.

Then it was time to head outside. Pushing an almost fun grocery cart partially uphill through 4 1/2 inches of snow was not too easy. And in really cold weather, the hydraulics on my hatchback don't hold it up, so it wasn't too fun getting the groceries in the car.

On the plus side, I didn't have to keep a hand on the cart to keep it from rolling away on the slope--it wasn't going anywhere. I didn't worry about the popsicles melting (though that's rarely a concern in Wisconsin in the winter). And I didn't have to back up the car when I left because the lot was so empty I could pull forward.

Just a bit surreal.

Friday, January 08, 2010

Rite of passage

OK, after driving for 28 years, I've finally completed my rite of passage to be on the road in Wisconsin.

I hit a deer. Or to be more accurate, a deer ran into me.

I was on my way home from new student orientation the other night. The highway I was traveling is one we drive on all the time, and it's pretty normal to see a dead deer on the side of the road at least every month or so. So I know several places where it pays to be extra cautious. Unfortunately, the road is mostly two lanes and pretty heavily traveled, so you can only briefly use your brights to illuminate the patches of woods and fields that line the road.

So I'm driving along, concentrating on the fact that the road narrows from four lanes to two, and thinking about my book purchases, when I see a movement on the left side of where my headlights penetrate and realize it's a doe. Seriously, all I had time to do was gasp. I didn't have time for any other physical movement, not braking or swerving or anything.

She was running, but she must have paused because she didn't hit the front of my car. I heard a thunk on the rear driver-side of my car and that was it. I kept going, because it didn't sound like too much of a contact, but she definitely hit me. Then I braked, but I didn't see any other deer (there were almost certainly other deer around too), so I drove home to see what I could see on the car.

The light in our garage isn't the best in that corner, but I didn't see any damage. Yesterday, I took another look before the car got covered with the snow that was falling and I didn't see any damage at all, nor hair or anything else.

I've seen deer in fields and on the side of the road and crossing the road in front and behind me more times than I can count over the years, but I must say--boy, did I luck out.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Money, money

Well, I'm a grad school student. That sounds weird.

Things have changed more than a little since I was last in school, 22 years ago (I wonder why). The latest big thing is that the cost of textbooks has just gone through the roof. I had to buy three textbooks for my three classes. The cheapest one is $130. The second cheapest one is $134. And the most expensive one is $180. Of course, that's without shipping.

When I last bought textbooks, I walked over to the Campus Center and picked up my books in person and I think my total was about $200 for four classes. In four years on campus, the most expensive book I remember buying was a complete collection of Shakespeare, almost two inches thick with very delicate paper, and it was $80.

May I just say--sheesh.