a better post

OK, I've realized lately that people actually read my blog, and you deserve something better than an animal story.

In keeping with my habits this semester, I've spent more time on "extracurricular activities" than school work. Partly this is a reward for being done with my presentations, and getting better grades or feedback than I expected/deserved. Partly it's laziness. Mostly it's related to the fact I've forgotten how to say no.

As I mentioned, this was earth week. It began with a good talk and panel on climate change (global warming and the changes that go with it), which is saying a lot, since it's something I'm constantly hearing about it. It ended with an Earth Day festival that I've been to many maddening, hippie-filled meetings to help plan. Very impressed with the result, and the fact that the severe thunderstorms, hail, tornados, etc. stayed out of the way, at least until later that night. We also had more volunteers from SPEA than we could use, which is amazing for this time of year...it was a much-needed chance to lay down our burdens for awhile, sit in the sun, chat with friends, and be filled with idealism. Then on Sunday, the 2 student orgs I'm in fulfilled our adopt-a-trail and adopt-a-road duties. For adopt-a-trail, each group does one major maintenance day a year, under supervision of parks staff (I wish I'd thought of that when I was in charge of Adopt-a-trail!) We got to carry around big logs, and install them where erosion control was needed. Fun stuff. Between that, and carrying a million tables up and down stairs for Earth Day, I'm exercising my long unused muscles. Yay!

I've also been talking to a lot of prospective students lately. Eating lunch, calling them on the phone, sending long e-mails. My excuse is I owe it to a school that's been good to me (financially), but the truth is I like it. I like telling them all the things I wish I'd known going in, hearing how they got interested in this field, hooking them up with profs or other people they need to know, and meeting the potential next generation. Maybe it's a bit of a power trip.

This goes back several weeks, but I've rediscovered the joy of boggle! (You know, the game where you shake up cubes with letters, and stare at them for a certain amount of time to make as many words as possible) One of my friends got it for her b-day, and we've had 2 Boggle nights so far (we're so nerdy, and proud of it). This game takes me way back to my childhood, and of course with my years of experience, I win a lot. It's great that my little brother's not here to beat me!

Well...it's the last week of the semester, and next week is finals week, so you may not hear from me. You probably will, because I'll be in front of a computer all the time. I also have a new quote list for this semester that may find its way onto my blog, without citations of course. Don't get too excited, they're probably only funny to people in my classes. But I may have to let them in on my blog for the summer, anyway.

housemates

In honor of Earth Day (yesterday), I'm going to indulge in an animal story, though it's not exactly conservation oriented. For the past few weeks, I've had some new housemates- a family of house finches. I discovered this one morning when I was awakened at 7 am by the sound of a bird in my room. I frantically, sleepily scanned the bedroom and realized it was actually in the windowsill outside my window air conditioner. Because there are decent sized cracks around the air conditioner, which I never got around to sealing, it was like having a singing bird about 2 m from my head. Anyway, i debated whether to move the nest materials as they accumulated for a few days, until the nest was complete and it seemed unfair. In a few more days, 4 speckled eggs appeared, and mother finch and I grew accustomed to scaring the wits out of each other every time I walked to my car and she flew off the nest. She's lucky I'm not a predator! Today I heard unusually loud chirping in the morning, and in my dreams there were 4 hungry beaks poking out of the nest. Later, when I peeked down through the window, there was only one very small, slimy pink blob with a few tufts of fuzz sitting there with 3 eggs. Unbelievable that something so small can make so much noise. This thing was not cute, by any stretch of the imagination, but I started to feel attached. So now I'm trying to think of 4 good unisex names for my new housemates. House finches are not as high on my list as something like bluebirds, since they're introduced from the western US, and growing more common. They should fledge in a couple weeks, so they'll be around just long enough to get me out of bed during final project and exam time.

proclamation

This should come as no surprise if you've read my past posts, but I have once and for all chosen a summer internship, based on the fact I had one choice left. I'll be working for a professor here this summer, on a lake monitoring and managment program he implements for the state. My time will be divided between lab and field work, including some travel to lakes around Indiana. It really is a good internship, which I guess is why I didn't apply for more positions in the first place.

I think my usual summer restlessness is setting in. It doesn't help that people are taking trips to Mexico and Guatemala next week, making me insanely jealous. Quiero hablar espanol! Donde estan mis amigos latinos?

I finished my 3 presentations for the semester within the last week. I was pretty disappointed with the 2 group ones. In both cases, I thought some of my group members missed the point of the assignment, and I didn't realize it until they were up there speaking. Honestly, I was probably too passive and apathetic about what they were doing. If it affects my grade, I'll have to live with it. I've been spoiled by the great people I worked with in EnviroCorps and Living Water. They pulled more than their own weight.

Happy Tax Day!

spring switching

One of the nice things about living in a northern temperate climate is Spring Switching Day...if you've never heard of it, that's because I just made it up (see note below). But you know what it is. It's the day you put all your sweaters, hats, gloves, and warm stuff away in a drawer or shove it to the back of the closet, to make room for shorts and t-shirts. It's a great day, usually brought on by a long stretch of sunny weather. Happy Spring Switching Day! Sorry if it hasn't reached you yet.

I've also diagnosed the disease that's struck me lately as Spring Fever. I have loads to do, but can't make myself do it. I spent more time this weekend planning Earth Day festivities, posing for a photo shoot with a GEM car that a local pizza place started using, working on the SPEA backyard wildlife habitat, talking to prospective students, doing laundry, and of course, switching my clothes around, than I've spent doing work. And now I'm writing in my blog. But I just can't come up with any words for my paper right now! We're supposed to come up with a classification and restoration plan for the Jordan River- the creek on IU campus, not the real one- it was a great excuse to walk along the river today. And I actually got some reading done by the river. But now I'm stuck. Sometimes just writing anything will help the words flow, so maybe this can count...

Tunes: Rachael Yamagata, Happenstance- great CD, sweet female vocals, kinda like Over the Rhine at times

Note: to make sure I actually made up Spring Switching Day, I googled it. It appears original, but don't confuse it with the Polish Switching Day, which apparently "grew up in Poland over 800 years ago. Peasant boys celebrating the end of Lent and a lull in their farm work, would swat their sweethearts with red willow switches. On Easter Tuesday the girls would get even by switching the boys." (See story) Yikes. I guess it's a good thing to be busy in the spring.

blah

This week starts the 3 presentations in a week phase of the school year, and I have no motivation. 2 are almost done (I hope) and one is barely started.

My heart is broken. The MSU-UNC game totally demoralized me. After a decent looking first half, the Tarheels' dirty feet trampled all over the Spartans. I mean, I knew there was a good chance they'd lose, but at the end, there was no hope, and UNC just took out all its starters, and it felt like a total loss of dignity. At least I can say my championship picks were right, even though they weren't all that bold. At least I don't absolutely have to watch the championship tomorrow.

Adding to the blah...some "friends" of mine said these business school guys I'd met once had a friend they thought was perfect for me. They'd met the guy and described him as "so nice", so I was at least prepared for unattractiveness. They wanted me to go to this BBQ with them all, so I could meet him. Weird, random, frightening, but I was too curious to say no. As I should have known, the only thing that made us perfect for each other was that he was Indian. I'm half Indian, I have nothing against Indians, but that just struck me as a "stick to your own kind" sort of gesture. I didn't see anything else we had in common. Anyone who knows me at all should realize that Indianness is not going to be a common bond...I know many Anglos who are more Indian at heart than I am. I hate to be that person, who's all sensitive about race... I'm sure it wasn't meant to be offensive... but it makes me feel bad anyway. Lesson: don't let people who aren't really your friends fix you up. Or maybe don't let people fix you up in general.