Procrastination and dissatisfaction...

Here I am on a lovely Saturday afternoon, staring blankly at a computer screen where I am "supposed to" be doing ArcGIS work for a project that I may or may not be funded for. On top of that my professor informed me yesterday that he expected me to contribute 20 hrs a week to his arsenic research project, which I had no idea about and no plans for contributing to. Oy vey.

Although I am sure there are few (if any) that actually read this blog I feel like sharing a bit of life every now and then to the outside world. First, perhaps, should be a status update.

Josh and I are living in Rapid City, SD, both attending South Dakota School of Mines & Technology as graduate students. Josh is in his second year (final semester!!!) of the atmospheric sciences program. I am in my first year of the Geological Engineering program. We moved here from Fairbanks, AK in 2009, so that Josh could attend graduate school here. For a year I worked at a variety of places, including a jewelry store, JCPenney, and a locally owned tax and accounting firm. I made a return to school largely because I was tired of working retail and IT, and longed to get back into the scientific realm. I have discovered this is poor motivation for earning a graduate degree; however, I do enjoy it more than the extreme dissatisfaction I was experiencing as an IT person at the accounting & tax firm. This last semester, I multitasked as I worked part-time at the tax firm, served as an assistant volleyball coach for Rapid City Christian, helped head up the children's ministry at church, attended school, and TA'd chemistry. This coming semester I originally planned to work part-time at the tax firm and attend school the rest of the time. It isn't looking like it will be quite that easy. The best thing that has come from attending school here is the internship that I landed with Barrick, a large international mining company. I will be in Nevada from May-August, working in a gold mine. Josh will remain in Rapid City to finish research & writing his thesis.

There is so much more to be said about struggles with academia, church, and life ... but perhaps now is not the time or the place. The best, and perhaps only, thing for me to be doing these days is spending time on my knees in prayer, bowing down and surrendering my life to a merciful God.

Softball Season is Back!

Game 1: 10-11, Loss
Game 2: 12-6, Win!

We had a brisk and breezy evening tonight to kick off the 2010 softball season. I am playing on a team with my current workplace, Casey Peterson & Associates. 37 degrees plus a wind chill brought out the gloves and the hats for the whole team! We played a good pair of games and I think there is great potential for this to be a fabulous season. Go Team!

Driving the Alcan: pre-trip

After three long months copying and binding tax returns at a locally owned tax firm, I was ready for change of scenery and a little adventure! So when my good friend Julie sent out an invitation to drive the Alcan Highway, I jumped on the opportunity. I left Rapid City, SD at 6:00am MST on April 17th and landed in Fairbanks, AK at about 4:40pm AST, with only a short delay in Anchorage to slow me down.

I spent the weekend visiting with friends I had left when Josh and I moved south in August '09. Thanks to all of you for the meals and conversations! Your welcomes made me feel as if I had never left Alaska.

Julie also hosted a bon voyage BBQ at her cabin, with quality time at the bonfire as darkness crept in. Good food, conversation, and beer in the relative warmth of early spring before the mosquitoes have overrun the woods ....

I also have to include a picture of the moose in Rachel & Ben's backyard in North Pole ... wandering through without a care in the world!

After a quick but wonderful Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I headed over to Julie's cabin to prepare for the road journey.

The Job Hunt Continues...

The weather is beautiful outside the walls of the library, but I find myself spending hours inside, poring over job opportunity after job opportunity. All I've landed to date is the job at Mt Rushmore Gold, which quickly faded as soon as the tourist season ended. I've applied at JCPenney and been interviewed for a holiday position, and they should be contacting me this week. However, the job with the USGS that I really hoped for has fallen through. I guess I will just have to keep looking!

In other news, Josh and I have been exploring the local mountain biking trails on "M" hill, and we have been enjoying the near 70 degree temperatures as we do so! Next time I will bring a camera so I can share some pictures - yesterday we watched a skilled biker jump off a rock that was about 10 feet higher than the landing on the most technical trail. It'll be quite some time before I work up the courage to do that!

Good times in Rapid City - but we sure miss our friends in Fairbanks! Life is certainly different here on the "Outside" as Alaskans prefer to label it.

From the ATCO trailers of Prudhoe Bay ...

As anyone who works the North Slope knows and understands, Prudhoe Bay is a place of dust, fog, and plentiful ATCO trailers. The camps are generally nice as long as your roommate lets you sleep, and you are almost guaranteed to gain weight with all the food you eat. Hooray for angel food cake!

Daily you will find us wandering with our GPS poles, dressed in chest waders, safety glasses, and a nice warm hat. On the good days we take the helicopter to the east, on the bad days we take the road to whatever streams we can access. Not bad for a three week field project, eh?

That being said, home again on Saturday, which will be good. Hopefully I can get in a few more good hikes or bike rides before it gets cold again and the leaves are gone.