so it begins

so I'm moving to Alaska for graduate school. I got accepted to Alaska Pacific University in order to pursue their Master of Science in Outdoor and Environmental Education program. Unsurprisingly this is an enormous transition in my life, one that requires not only a lot of money that I don't presently have, but also a certain resolve and stamina that I previously haven't needed for my other journeys. This trip is farther and longer than any I've taken before, and though I remain steadfast in my decision to move northward, the trials and tribulations of reaching the midnight sun are just screaming to be blogged about due to the enourmous amount of careful thought behind each step of the way. Hopefully this place of written goodness will not only help me to figure out things as I go along, but also give you, the dear readers, a glimpse into my life as I move and start graduate school far, far away. I hope this to be a communicative connection tool. and now, as my title says...so it begins.

Today I posted a housing wanted ad on craigslist, advertising my need to the Anchorage/Palmer area of a place to live for my first year of graduate school. Though I've only been in the know that I'm admitted for a week, I hit my first roadblock the day I got the call. I thought I'd be able to live on campus in Anchorage for my two years of school, but as it would turn out, I need to live in Palmer, which is a town 40 miles north of Anchorage, for my first year. APU has a campus in Palmer that doubles as a quaint if not huge and beautiful organic farm, and that's where my classes will be held my first year. Convinient. So now I'm scrambling for housing and restructuring my whole "I'll just fly there, ship my crap and take the bus everywhere in Anchorage" mentality. I now even plan on driving there, if I can get my lovely Ford fixed up before then. I Yahoo-mapped the distance today and it blew me away...I really am going halfway around the world for this chapter in my life. It's around 3500 miles that are adjustable due to Yahoo map's inabilities to know shortcuts to I-29N and so forth. The professor that I conversed with last week told me that he'd keep me posted on housing that he learned of as well. Schwing.

Obviously another concern for this new journey is money. For being a private school in AK it's fairly cheap at $17,000 a year. The problem is that I will probably have to take out personal loans to be able to pay rent and such for the upcoming year, since my financial aid package from the school itself won't cover personal rent for living off-campus. The second year shouldn't be so bad, as I'll have settled in and will be able to live on campus. I don't even want to think about where I'm going to be in the summers. Maybe a sweet job will open up that has room and board. Money's something that's always been a stressor for me, probably because I love jobs that pay pennies. I could be working full time somewhere this summer, but instead I'm heading up north in a couple weeks to work for the NPS as a volunteer on Manitou Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. You can see where my priorities are. Island to myself for the summer...or working for grad school money. Swimming in Lake Superior and facilitating the relationship between the park and its visitors...or being responsible and working for grad school money. Not all is lost, though. The cruise boat service offered me a job working on the cruise boats and in the offices of the museum and cruise service when I'm not out on the island. SO I'll be making a little extra cash, considering Mr. Strzock is a person that I really do enjoy working hard for.

My networking abilities (oh how I'm thanking the stars I know so many wonderful people now!) are stellar enough to have landed me contacts just about everywhere, including many sweet people in the Anchorage area. To cut down on weight in my vehicle on the projected drive up, I plan on sending a ton of stuff north to a family friend via our friends the USPS and UPS. In a conversation yesterday with my campus mother and advisor Dr. D, she brought up mailing my items up and how the USPS gives media discounts and so forth for mailing just books, etc. This I shall investigate.

Also, packing up my farm is slow and steady...You live in a place for 3 years, you accumulate a lot of personal materials. But it's moving in the right direction, and I feel significantly better after bringing 10 bags of clothes and crap to Goodwill, along with another 3 carloads to the recycling center. Plus, Mom is having a rummage sale next week, so some of my stuff will make it down to her place as well. My AK pile in the house is much smaller than the "MN Storage Pile", which shows I am on the right track. I can pack efficiently! : )

I think this is where I'll stop today. It's 1:15pm and those boxes aren't going to pack themselves.