waking up in Alaska

I still really haven't gotten used to waking up in Alaska. I have been sleeping MUCH better for two reasons:

1. I go to bed when I'm tired, not when I feel like I am supposed to. Before Curtis returned home I was hitting the sack around 9 because I thought getting my body back on track with those hours would be a good thing. Turns out I've pulled ten too many all-nighters at SMSU for my sleep rhythms to ever level out, and so now I am back to my 10:00-11:00pm schedule. Problem is that the world up here wakes up early. I had to get up and shut my windows this morning at 5:11am because of the construction racket going on over the hill by our house. What, they're working early to beat the hot Alaskan sun?

Actually, it has been warm and sunny as of late. It wouldn't surprise me.

and 2. I have received all of my bedding in the mail, which gives me flannel sheets, a thick faux-down comforter and the feel of home. Along with my own bedding, Curtis has generously let me use one of his heavy, huge blankets that lay around the house for an in-between layer...the weight and warmth of my bedding combined with the cool mountain breeze coming through my window makes for AWESOME sleep.

A parade of youths just wandered into the library; this week is Freshman Orientation for the college whose internet I utilize. Made me remember that I never really did get the Freshman Experience in college, since I went PSEO my first year and simply stayed on for the rest of my time spent there.

Yesterday afternoon I had a great conversation with my new advisor and professor at the college! I found out some stellar news:

I am one of two students in the program this year selected for a RESEARCH ASSISTANCESHIP! Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohooo! It means $1500 this semester to be applied to my tuition, which is essentially the price of one of my classes. Sweet. It's $1500 I didn't have before and the accompanying project I will be working on is pretty awesome. Steve and I will talk about it after my first class on Monday.

So YEAH, about that: classes start on Monday! That's why I'm here, after all, and it's been slightly easy to forget that school is what got me up here in the first place. I am so comfortable in the cradle of academia, and I really look forward to diving into my studies up here, whatever they may entail. Right now I am registered for three classes, which in grad school is a full time load, and with the research assistanceship I assume I am going to be good and busy. Steve (said advisor/professor) also assured me that my textbooks are available: he buys them from the bookstore, brings them to our campus, and lets the students buy them from him at no additional markup. Sounds fair to me, but I hope it's not one of those things like in undergrad where books were $750 each semester. The community up here seems to be about trading, sharing and spending conservatively, though, so if books were a pinch I'm sure that a cohort of students wouldn't be above buying one book together or something, or at least passing one around and buying the owner coffee.

The classes I am taking are as follows:

OEE 605 The Science Literacy Of Outdoor And Environmental Education (3)
This course will provide a wide variety of outdoor and environmental curricula offered in Alaska through field trips, hands-on training, and readings on their history, philosophy, methods, and issues. Students will incorporate natural history and science into curricula. The course will also explore certification and training options for the students enrolled in the Outdoor and Environmental Education graduate program.

OEE 607 Teaching Science In The Outdoors (3)
This course will cover in detail the theories and methods used in outdoor and environmental education. Students will learn to integrate the natural sciences into standard outdoor and environmental teaching methods. The emphasis is on practical techniques utilized in both formal and non-formal education in an environmental context.

ES 60100 Research Methods

(no description available)

Schwing! Sounds like a sweet semester. I am really juiced to get going on this.

Otherwise, not too much is new. The search for the car is going well, since Curtis' brother has given me the number of a friend who works at a dealership. I've also been Craigslisting a lot and have found some potentials that Curtis and I will go to check out in the next few days. Problem is, the dividend checks are coming out for AK residents soon and that means that the used car lots will be fairly devoid of any good deals in the next few weeks to come.

Curtis mowed the lawn last night while I was on the phone with my boy, and then we had a beer out on the deck and played with Keeper. It's a good and comfortable existence up here. I like it.