It's the most wonderful time of the year...

...and it is SNOWING LIKE CRAZY here in Michigan! Ok...so 'snowing like crazy' might be relative to my Northwest upbringing, but we've had pretty steady snow showers over the past few days, and the 7 day high is supposed to be 31 (but the low is only 8...so not too bad!) Now if only I had reliable heat in my apartment... The thermostat for the house is in the apartment across from mine, whose inhabitant is never home. It seems that she takes energy conservation very seriously. (you know things are bad when the cat opts to sleep under the comforter, not on top of it!)
Anyway, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving (despite missing my family quite a bit!). One of my friends/Ed's housemate invited us to her family's Thanksgiving dinner, complete with tons of family members (3 generations!), dogs/puppy/cat, and high quality entertainment (i.e. Turkey skit and dancing). So fun! To top the evening off, I got to talk to a number of people in my family, as my folks passed the phone around the table. It made being away a little easier, but it made me miss everyone that much more.
Speaking of home and missing everyone, I won't have to for too much longer! That's right! I fly home on the 16th (Pinta in tow) and would love to see anyone who is in town.

Surfacing

After a month and a half, I can finally take a deep breath. Maybe two! It feels great. I love being busy, but not out-of-control busy. Today is going to revolve around feeling the rain turn to snow, curling up in front of my fireplace with a good (non-class related book), and some reflection. ~sigh!~ :-)

Anyway, I'll leave you to enjoy this picture of Halloween's Team Zissou! (trying to look serious for the picture...with varying degrees of success!)

Daisy May

Update: "Heartsong" is also a good starter song

Moving to Ann Arbor has exposed me to a whole new array of incredible musicians. One of the more outstanding local artists is Daisy May...talk about a voice! "Radio", "Waiting," and "Monday Morning" are good songs to begin with.
In other news, things are still pretty dang busy. I'm afraid I shot myself in the foot this week. Usually I do the majority of my regression problem sets after work on Friday afternoons. This week I decided to work 8:00-5:00...which means I have to do this problem set tonight. I know, I know...I could've done it ahead of time, except I haven't had a chance to slow down this week! even I got up at 4:00 this morning to finish two essays. Must organize an agenda for a meeting tomorrow, too...and fill out another application.

Mmmm...I think I'll definitely be sleeping in this weekend! :-)

It's about time!

Finally... Today I feel a sense of national pride that has been absent from my life for a very long time. I look forward to being able to travel outside of the United States and not have people ask 'what's wrong with your country?', and "how can you guys keep making the same mistake?' Perhaps some positive stereotypes will emerge from this?! It would be about time!

I'm loving this semester, but it's certainly a bit crazy! Today is the first time the group of us putting together this year's International Economic Development Program (going to Senegal in February) gets to meet the class we'll be working/traveling with. So exciting! So much work, but hopefully quite worth it. :-)

In other news...one more day!!!!!!!!!!! Let's hope for a decisive victory and some class, both on the part of the victor and the defeated. There has been too much slander going on lately.

"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." ~Will Durant

Few things are more humbling than midterms week. Although, I must admit, it is strangely nice to have a distraction from the election campaigning. A superior break, however, would be a bike ride or a walk outside of the city. Last year's autumn was pretty disappointing...it was hyped by everyone I met, just to culminate in a rain storm that made for a soggy, dreary season. This year, however, is certainly living up to expectations! I had to stop and admire the Oak trees on my way home from the gym last weekend...I can't say I'd seen anything quite like them. Wonder how much of the brilliant colors come from the Oak being and Oak, and how much come from the Oak being in Michigan...

Autumn in Michigan

Finally...settling into my second year of graduate school! Just thought I'd put a picture or two up from my Natural Resources and the Environment orientation (my first year was focused on Public Policy, my second year will be a combination of the two programs, and who knows about my third year!)
Anyway...I have to keep this unfortunately short, but if I blog a little at a time then perhaps updates won't be so intimidating. :-)
So...I guess I'll do most of my updates as things come up in conversation. Otherwise,
this would be one very long, dull entry.

Right now, things are keeping pretty dang busy. I'm taking 13 credits, but this will likely turn into 15 within the next few weeks...I certainly hope so, as I'm doing the work for those extra 2 credits! This semester is the most difficult I will have as a graduate student. None of my classes (Environmental Governance, Ecology, Regression Analysis, and Foreign Policy) can be put on a back-burner, nor can the club I'm active in. Additionally, my master's project is gathering momentum, despite coming onto the scene 6 months early (hence the 2 credits that'll be added to the schedule). It's exciting, challenging, and a bit overwhelming. At least my adviser was understanding and let me cut my work hours back to 4/week rather than 12. That schedule, coupled with crazy courses, fund-raising for February's trip to Senegal (for the club I'm a treasurer for), and helping to get this project off the ground, was going to make me a stress case if I kept trying to do it all! So, horray for taking care of that!
Anyway...
As mentioned earlier, the pictures are from SNRE (School of Natural Resources and the Environment) orientation. They took us to the biological research station on the northern part of Michigan's lower peninsula, where we proceeded to enjoy our little shacks (mine was right on the lake, and I had an awesome shackmate), have bonfires, swim, shock fish (nothing like wading in electrically charged water to make you appreciate waders), raft, and generally enjoy the outdoors.
Must go, though! Tons to get done between now and Monday! Heck, tons to get done between now and 5:00 this afternoon. :-)

Oops!

Isn't it interesting how the lack of blogging seems to correspond with the start of school?! So I may have forgotten that I had a blog...oops! But nevertheless, I'm back and plan on keeping this fairly up-to-date. It's only fair given the amount of time I waste checking everyone else's postings!
The past few weeks have been dedicated not only to the obvious schoolwork, but also to the Great Internship Hunt of 2008. There is nothing like writing cover letters to make memos (and just about anything else) seem natural (even pleasant!) After all, the average acquaintance *particularly if from Michigan or the East Coast* rarely cares what you have done prior to what you are currently doing. Even in the most open, friendly community, the rules of 'polite society' seem to dictate that these conversations are for close friends only - definitely not for someone in another country whom you've never met! Anywho, this process is well worth the exciting potential internships available for this summer. Thus far, I've applied to one in Santa Barbara, CA (Direct Relief International...international aid non-profit with a focus on health care/health systems), one in Geneva (International Organization for Migration...very exciting prospect!), South Africa (Pretoria at the USAID office and maybe one in Capetown) and am looking into one in New York, one in Paris, and one in Montreal. I'll definitely let you guys know when/if I find anything out!
This year has definitely presented some pretty awesome opportunities, from traveling to see a friend's wedding in Wuppertal, Germany (worth every second of flight time!) to exploring Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and Boston during my trips to see Ed. Currently, I'm working on organizing a brown bag lunch to host a South African speaker who is very involved in bringing art into the townships and consequently, very involved in the women's empowerment movement. Easing myself into graduate school has been an annoying process (yet intentional) and it is wonderful to finally start feeling more attached to the school and program. Speaking of identifying with the school and program, my statistics professor is from Seattle, went to UW (where he played football), and is now interested in Sub-Saharan African development (with emphasis on South Africa). How great is that?!?!?!?! :-)
Ok, I need to wrap this up. Hopefully you find this (I would've given up on me by now) and can keep me updated on how you're doing!