Hardly education, it was somewhere in between . . .

Alright folks, I've been down in Blacksburg for over a week, and I think it's time for an update.

My work week this past week has been anything but. My time has been spent in a canoe on the New River, helping an office mate with her research. It's a tough job, but those streams aren't going to characterize themselves!

I picked up a kayak at Dick's today: the Old Town Otter XT Sport. Since my advisor is on vacation until July 6th (and I have nothing to do until he gets back), I spent the afternoon paddling around Claytor Lake State Park. I hope to get out to the lake at least twice a week.

This weekend I will be camping and canoeing along the New River to get some high resolution data sets collected for the office mate's thesis. The crew will consist of myself and three other grad students, so it should be a good time. I'll let you know how it goes!

Oh, and for those who haven't seen this . . . IT'S A TWAP!!!

Pictures of my room . . .

. . . are now up on facebook. I've decided to use facebook to update all photos, since blogspots photo importer iz teh suck. I'll be sure to let you know when I update photos.

Oh, and we carried it all soooooooo wellllll

Well, I made it down to Virginia Tech in one piece. I'm just finishing up the move in process and will post later in the week about how the job is going.

Artsy Fartsy

I went to the Allentown Art Festival in Buffalo today. Nothing was purchased, it was just nice to get out of the house for a while. Five more days to go . . .

Well, it would've been, could've been worse than you would ever know.

A week from today I will be moved into my new place. Until then, I've been trying to keep myself occupied. I've washed the car, taken the dog for walks, played Wii with the siblings, even read up on my Essentials of Geology textbook to prepare for TA'ing. But it is all getting rather old. Suggestions?

This room is too small . . . too small . . .

I went down to Penn State last Saturday and had a lovely time with the ol' roomies (and Tom) at the Sports Cafe, watching the Sens v. Ducks game. When I awoke Sunday morning, I packed up my things and headed down to Virginia Tech, not knowing where I was going to stay for the night. Luckily, during my dinner stop at Burger King, I found a travelers coupon magazine with an Econo Lodge in Blacksburg for $35 a night. Great success!

Monday morning was kicked off eating my continental breakfast at the Econo Lodge (consisting of one lousy donut). I then went to Derring Hall to stop in and say hi to my advisor and to fill out the required paperwork so that I can get paid. First pay-day is July 2nd! I then went and checked out my residence for the next year, which I lovingly refer to as "The Castle." It's a large stone building on Main Street in downtown Blacksburg. I will be living with five other grad students, none of which are in my department. Some of the amenities include:
1) a large yard surrounded by concealing hedges for privacy
2) a huge living room complete with wall mounted projector and projector screen on wall for TV/movies/games.
3) full basement for plenty of storage
4) two refrigerators and large freezer to keep food from spoiling
5) roommates who like to camp

I then went and checked out my bedroom . . . and all I can say is f@%k. It is the tiniest bedroom I have ever laid eyes on. Think of Tom and Kevin's dorm room freshman year, then cut a couple feet off of the length, and that is this room. Basically, I have room for a twin bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and a dresser. And that's it. Hopefully I get along with the roommates well, because I sure as hell won't be spending much time in my room.

My room is above the left door.

800 miles is a long drive inside a car . . .

Just got back from PSU and VT. Will post details later.