Kids of the Word takes a break from this week until January 13th, so I'll be missing one group of preschoolers for the next few months. The other group's about as random and wacky as usual - I love my job. :)

I've been informed that the way to go about a job is to find something that you would do without the paycheck, and then find a way to get paid for it. If the greatest focus of your job is getting paid, you're really not going to be all about what you're doing. This usually means that you're miserable, and the people you're serving aren't too happy, either.

I think there are a few jobs where you can manage not to be in direct contact with any people. Forest Ranger comes to mind. I don't think that's one you pick unless you really love the woods, though, so the logic probably doesn't apply.

The weather's been making up its mind about whether it's winter here or not - at the moment, it is simply rather chilly with an inch of snow frosting everything. One of my other Rochester friends is going to school in Washington, and both of us are hoping for a good snowfall when we're back in town over Thanksgiving. :) But, no matter the weather, it will be good to see familiar faces again.

The Difference An Elevation Makes

Sheridan is on almost exactly the same line of latitude as Rochester. Most of the time, we have pretty much the same weather, same temperatures, just about half the humidity in the mountains as on the plains.

Today, my Dad and a work-buddy are building a fence in our backyard in 70-degree weather. I'm happily inside cleaning my dorm room and writing papers, because it's been snowing since very early Friday morning.

It's very wet, beautifully packable snow, too. Actually, I think it stopped coming down sometime this afternoon. Somehow, in my crazy packing job, I remembered my coat and a couple of fleece sweaters, but didn't bring a single hat, scarf, glove, or snow scraper. Fortunately, I had a Frisbee in my trunk, which worked surprisingly well for taking the five or six inches of heavy snow off my car.

Walking back to my house after church (Davis is technically a house, not a hall), I received an invitation to join one person in making a snowman, and another to go sledding. There would probably be more - nearly everyone still here wants to be outside and playing - but we have Monday and Tuesday off for fall break, so nearly everyone has gone home. There are probably twenty students left on campus - we're the ones from far-off places like Nebraska, Minnesota, Germany, Hawaii, and China.

Saskatchewan isn't considered too far to drive, either. :)

We're supposed to be back and happy in the forties by Tuesday, so we'll see how much of this pretty whiteness is left by the time we're back in class.

Music? No, me sick.

Wow, how did a whole week go by without a new post?

Well, the last four days of it, I've been pretty sick, so maybe that counts as an excuse. The other nursing student in my psych class gave me a medical diagnosis of, "The creeping crud." Devin, in our small choral ensemble, picked up the flu last week and helpfully handed out a copy to almost everyone in the choir (supposedly, anyway - not too many people have been missing rehearsals). I'm working with the preschoolers at the Sheridan YMCA now, so it's likely that I picked something up from them. And my mom's online declaration is, "invasive foreign Powder Bowl germs."

But, for having been sick for four days, most of it wasn't too bad. Thursday was positively wretched, and if my symptoms hadn't improved, I was probably going to make a run to the ER. After that, though, I was just feeling kind of under-the-weather and gradually improving. Didn't hurt that I spent about five hours of Saturday watching Scrubs. :)

Now, hopefully I'll be hale and hearty for class tomorrow!

Ultimate!

Well, that's it. Obviously, I'll have to retool my schedule.

I learned today that most of the college group from Cornerstone (and a number of the next generation, too) play Ultimate Frisbee on Sunday afternoons, in one of the pretty areas I'd been biking around. This weekend, I had too much homework to justify joining them, but hopefully there'll be an occasion before it gets snowy, when I'm free on a Sunday afternoon.

Today was another day for shorts and sandals, so maybe the frost will hold off for a few weeks longer than predicted.

And in the ongoing-additions-to-Davis-Hall, we got the blinds in our room last week (no more sheet taped up over the windows), internet's working (although my PC doesn't yet want to find it - doing homework on the laptop right now), and as of tomorrow I'll be able to do laundry!

Get Lost!

I am so, so grateful to Tony for fixing up the bike for me. Exploring a town is much more fun this way. Admittedly, from time to time I'll take a random trail or back alley, and by the time I come out again, I haven't the foggiest notion where I've ended up. But, usually before I go too much further, I'll see another street sign or landmark I recognize.

I-90 counts as a landmark - you can't possibly cross under it without knowing that you've done so, and since it pretty much runs through the college's backyard, I can usually find my way home without too much difficulty.

Thursday night was a little dicey - I went off without any particular destination in mind, though I'd heard that there was a Little Caesar's somewhere in town, and thought that that might be a good thing to locate (mmmm...cheesy bread). The individual in question had mentioned that it was on the other end from the college, so, when I took a very convoluted path involving two different bike trails (one that abruptly stopped in the middle of a...park?), three back alleys, several pretty little neighborhoods, and a few scattered sections that my old road bike would not have handled...I was surprised to find myself facing a Little Caesar's truck. Turns out it's inside one of the big chain stores in town, but at least it's located.

I realized about two minutes later that my class that evening was at six, not seven. I usually eat dinner around six (the cafeteria opens at 5:15), as it's not nearly as crowded then - so, I really didn't have so much time to work with. And since I'd taken such an interesting path out here, I wasn't at all certain of how to find my way back.

Fortunately, everything worked out all right. I spotted a random statue (there are statues on every corner of Main St.), and from there found the college, and simply had to book it on the way back. It was a good time, though. I'm hoping that this warm stretch (it's been in the fifties lately) holds - every time I go out, I see new things I want to explore.

Not Winter Yet!

Today was warm enough for short sleeves and sandals! Perhaps not shorts, but nonetheless, delighted to have it!

Definitely would have been a day for biking, but, I still have to figure out which gas station in town will let me have air for my tires. Yep, the bike pump is also on the list of items I forgot back in MN!

Apparently, it's been a day for napping, too. Ashley and I both took a nap before our noon rehearsal, and we were still tired afterwards. I tried finishing the reading assignment for tomorrow evening's class, and just about fell asleep on the floor with it. Maybe I'll try going to bed early tonight, and see if I can get a fresh start on tomorrow.

Cats DO Dance

I am delighted to have Ashley as my roommate. Yes, she's kind and pretty and a little bit of a goofball, she's a former saxophone and we're both in the same choral ensemble...but she also has a love for musicals.

Last night, she'd asked what Tony looks like, and the first picture my computer found with his name on it...he happened to be in a certain costume. This put her in the mood to watch Cats, so, of course, we did. This just had to be followed by Phantom of the Opera - this involved both of us singing along to it. This needed to be followed by Cats Don't Dance, as it's one of her favorites and I'd never seen it in entirety - but shortly after it started, two friendly people showed up and we all went to the back-to-school dance.

Both of us agreed, upon our return, that the time was much better spent singing to musicals than at the dance.