You know I had to post since today's St. Patty's Day. I need to let my loyal followers and minions have words of wisdom from their leader..."Beware a green Yak. It may Yak."
You're welcome and have a good day!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
New and Improved
So, I've moved my blog to blogger.com. I've found it's more user friendly than my old one and it enables me to have a cleaner design.
I'm sure you're wondering what's up with Patty? Well, I'm graduating April 10, 2009 from Brigham Young University--Idaho (but will not be walking). I will finally have my B.S. in English (B.S.--doesn't that seem fitting? I think so. I've definitely learned to B.S. my way through a lot of papers!). I've submitted my applications to Graduate School, but don't expect to hear back before graduation.
Let's see...news...um, I've had a paper accepted to the National Undergraduate Literature Conference in April. This is my second year and it's kinda a big deal. Undergrads from all over the country (Yale, UNLV, UCLA, Harvard, BYU, BYU-Idaho, etc.) submit works they've written, hoping to present it at the conference. It's a nice break from schoolwork, unfortunately the conference comes the weekend before finals, so no one from our school is really cutting loose. We all tend to scurry back to our rooms at night to study for exams. -sigh- only 18 more days of classes!!!
Um, that's about all I have right now, but I'll work on cutting and pasting my other posts to this blog, as well as downloading some pictures.
Peace!
I'm sure you're wondering what's up with Patty? Well, I'm graduating April 10, 2009 from Brigham Young University--Idaho (but will not be walking). I will finally have my B.S. in English (B.S.--doesn't that seem fitting? I think so. I've definitely learned to B.S. my way through a lot of papers!). I've submitted my applications to Graduate School, but don't expect to hear back before graduation.
Let's see...news...um, I've had a paper accepted to the National Undergraduate Literature Conference in April. This is my second year and it's kinda a big deal. Undergrads from all over the country (Yale, UNLV, UCLA, Harvard, BYU, BYU-Idaho, etc.) submit works they've written, hoping to present it at the conference. It's a nice break from schoolwork, unfortunately the conference comes the weekend before finals, so no one from our school is really cutting loose. We all tend to scurry back to our rooms at night to study for exams. -sigh- only 18 more days of classes!!!
Um, that's about all I have right now, but I'll work on cutting and pasting my other posts to this blog, as well as downloading some pictures.
Peace!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
December 14, 2008
Has it already been over three months!
Can I just say whew! I never want to jump from a job right into school. I literally had three days "off" between work and school...but they weren't even real days off! They were travel days from Valdez, AK to Idaho Falls, ID. I flew into Spokane, spent the night at Susan and K.C.'s and then drove (8 hours) to Idaho Falls. When I got to school on Monday, I jumped right into my school work and started doing, not only the work/assignments due for my classes, but the tons of homework I had already missed. And yes, there was a lot. For those of you who don't know, although I love how BYU-Idaho is a more academically leaning college (no sports teams, unless you count their extensive intermural program), even I have to admit that only 14 weeks of class (13 if you count we have one week of for Thanksgiving) with no decrease in work load from the old 16 week schedule, is brutal.
Furthermore, I would recommend you never take 3 english classes as well as 2 art classes in the same semester. In addition to all of the reading and writing you have to do in any english class, the art classes were about 3 hours long (twice a week) and then I spent between 20-30 hours a week just on completing and working on assignments...JUST FOR THOSE CLASSES. I'll be lucky if I pull a B out of each of those classes.Did I mention brutal?So, my semester consisted of those 5 classes and I also did an Internship this semester (don't ask me why...apparently I hate myself). The internship was for the English Department, so I was basically a Teacher's Assistant for the 5th semester in a row, but this time I was paid more and had to work 20 hours each week...in addition to my school load. Definitely my toughest semester thusfar.
Because I was so busy with my internship work (reading and grading papers...oh, the power!, as well as entering grades into the computer grade book and meeting one-on-one with students to go over their papers) and school work, I can honestly say I haven't been to the movie theatre ALL YEAR, except for the one movie I saw in Valdez this summer (the new Indiana Jones...what a disappointment). If you don't believe me about the whole busy-ness aspect of my semester, just ask Becca. She'll vouch for how anti-social I was (translate to no fun).
Although I've been moaning an complaining about my semester, there were some good things. I am now an officially published writer! The school journal, which is only published once a year, included two papers I had written (an original short story as well as an academic paper) in the journal. This is actually quite impressive because: 1. I'm the only person with two papers and 2. there are only about 10 papers from more than 50 submissions. Yeah for me! I also took my Graduate Requirement Exams (GREs) this semester. I scored well enough to meet the minimum requirements to get into any of the English Graduate programs I've looked at. Yes, Patty is applying to Graduate School. I have six on my list right now (2 each in Washington, Montana, and Idaho). My first choice is Boise State, but for my peace of mind, I'll take any of them.
So although Patty is finally done with finals (and for some reason I'm talking about myself in the third person...), I have the "opportunity" to continue the stress streak from finals and work on Graduate Admissions forms. -sigh-Luckily, I get to fill out the applications in a different environment...Susan and K.C.'s house in Spokane, WA. Since Susan is like Mary (read: great with child), I'm trying to help her out with the whole ACBoquet craziness and working with her during my break. I think I can help her a bit, make some money, and have a change of scenery without really putting anyone out -- except for Elisha since she's graciously given up her room to me.
So that's about all I have right now. I will be graduating from BYU-Idaho in April, but dont' know if I'll walk or not...right now I'm thinking yes...but give me a couple of days and I will probably change my mind. Lucikly, next semester is going to be a cake walk compared to this semester. I only have 12 credits (4 classes) and will not be interning. I will still be a TA, but not have to meet such strict requirements.
So, yet again, that's all I have right now, but I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. There's snow in Spokane (along with a bitingly cold wind) so it's finally starting to feel like Christmas. Stay safe for the holidays and I hope you have a wonderful coming year.Love,Patty
Can I just say whew! I never want to jump from a job right into school. I literally had three days "off" between work and school...but they weren't even real days off! They were travel days from Valdez, AK to Idaho Falls, ID. I flew into Spokane, spent the night at Susan and K.C.'s and then drove (8 hours) to Idaho Falls. When I got to school on Monday, I jumped right into my school work and started doing, not only the work/assignments due for my classes, but the tons of homework I had already missed. And yes, there was a lot. For those of you who don't know, although I love how BYU-Idaho is a more academically leaning college (no sports teams, unless you count their extensive intermural program), even I have to admit that only 14 weeks of class (13 if you count we have one week of for Thanksgiving) with no decrease in work load from the old 16 week schedule, is brutal.
Furthermore, I would recommend you never take 3 english classes as well as 2 art classes in the same semester. In addition to all of the reading and writing you have to do in any english class, the art classes were about 3 hours long (twice a week) and then I spent between 20-30 hours a week just on completing and working on assignments...JUST FOR THOSE CLASSES. I'll be lucky if I pull a B out of each of those classes.Did I mention brutal?So, my semester consisted of those 5 classes and I also did an Internship this semester (don't ask me why...apparently I hate myself). The internship was for the English Department, so I was basically a Teacher's Assistant for the 5th semester in a row, but this time I was paid more and had to work 20 hours each week...in addition to my school load. Definitely my toughest semester thusfar.
Because I was so busy with my internship work (reading and grading papers...oh, the power!, as well as entering grades into the computer grade book and meeting one-on-one with students to go over their papers) and school work, I can honestly say I haven't been to the movie theatre ALL YEAR, except for the one movie I saw in Valdez this summer (the new Indiana Jones...what a disappointment). If you don't believe me about the whole busy-ness aspect of my semester, just ask Becca. She'll vouch for how anti-social I was (translate to no fun).
Although I've been moaning an complaining about my semester, there were some good things. I am now an officially published writer! The school journal, which is only published once a year, included two papers I had written (an original short story as well as an academic paper) in the journal. This is actually quite impressive because: 1. I'm the only person with two papers and 2. there are only about 10 papers from more than 50 submissions. Yeah for me! I also took my Graduate Requirement Exams (GREs) this semester. I scored well enough to meet the minimum requirements to get into any of the English Graduate programs I've looked at. Yes, Patty is applying to Graduate School. I have six on my list right now (2 each in Washington, Montana, and Idaho). My first choice is Boise State, but for my peace of mind, I'll take any of them.
So although Patty is finally done with finals (and for some reason I'm talking about myself in the third person...), I have the "opportunity" to continue the stress streak from finals and work on Graduate Admissions forms. -sigh-Luckily, I get to fill out the applications in a different environment...Susan and K.C.'s house in Spokane, WA. Since Susan is like Mary (read: great with child), I'm trying to help her out with the whole ACBoquet craziness and working with her during my break. I think I can help her a bit, make some money, and have a change of scenery without really putting anyone out -- except for Elisha since she's graciously given up her room to me.
So that's about all I have right now. I will be graduating from BYU-Idaho in April, but dont' know if I'll walk or not...right now I'm thinking yes...but give me a couple of days and I will probably change my mind. Lucikly, next semester is going to be a cake walk compared to this semester. I only have 12 credits (4 classes) and will not be interning. I will still be a TA, but not have to meet such strict requirements.
So, yet again, that's all I have right now, but I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. There's snow in Spokane (along with a bitingly cold wind) so it's finally starting to feel like Christmas. Stay safe for the holidays and I hope you have a wonderful coming year.Love,Patty
Friday, September 12, 2008
Final Blog @ Alaska
Well, that's it. I'm done. There's nothing more to say. I'm safely back in the lower 48 and good riddance to everyone I worked with. It was horrible. I never want to go back there again...JUST KIDDING!!!Actually it was probably the best experience of my life - thusfar. It definately made me re-evaluate priorities, ideas, thoughts, perceptions, etc. Sure I didn't enjoy every moment in Valdez...nothing/no place/no person is perfect, but the pros definately outweighed the cons. So much so that I am planning on going back next summer, if all the stars align.
I just finished re-reading some of my other blogs and man did I sound pessimistic and negative in some of them. I'd like to apologize, but that was how I was feeling at the time. I came to a greater understanding with my boss and I can safely say he's human and not the devil incarnate as others may believe. -wink-For the most part I got along with my guides/co-workers. There will always be people you gel with better than others, but I tried to at least be relatively polite to everyone...as much as my sarcasm and smart mouth will allow. (I know, it's hard to believe I'm not perfect either!) Because of the guides I finally joined the modern age and joined Facebook so that I can keep in better contact with everyone. How sad is it that, although I like myself, I feel more validated when people become my "friends" on Facebook. -sigh-Probably my favorite thing about this summer was Alaska itself. It is absolutely breathtaking. I never tired of the scenery; although the rain did become repetative after awhile. Even riding my bike around town in the rain sometimes, I was just chill to watch the puddles reverberate with raindrops and soak in the peace. One of my concerns was whether or not I could handle living in such a small town (@ 4,500 people). I've never lived anywhere smaller than 30,000+. I can honestly say it didn't really bother me at all. Valdez definately comes alive during the summer season and tends to roll up the sidewalks after Labor Day. For that reason, I'm not sure if I could handle a place like Valdez year round, but assuredly for 5 months.
As this blog comes to an end - and I'll try to update occassionally during school - I just want to give a shout out to all the friends I made in Valdez. Each of the guides and friends made my summer that much more enjoyable and memorable. I look forward to keeping tabs on them for the next 7 months and hope to see many of them in Valdez next summer.
Be of good Cheer! (Thanks Mom)
I just finished re-reading some of my other blogs and man did I sound pessimistic and negative in some of them. I'd like to apologize, but that was how I was feeling at the time. I came to a greater understanding with my boss and I can safely say he's human and not the devil incarnate as others may believe. -wink-For the most part I got along with my guides/co-workers. There will always be people you gel with better than others, but I tried to at least be relatively polite to everyone...as much as my sarcasm and smart mouth will allow. (I know, it's hard to believe I'm not perfect either!) Because of the guides I finally joined the modern age and joined Facebook so that I can keep in better contact with everyone. How sad is it that, although I like myself, I feel more validated when people become my "friends" on Facebook. -sigh-Probably my favorite thing about this summer was Alaska itself. It is absolutely breathtaking. I never tired of the scenery; although the rain did become repetative after awhile. Even riding my bike around town in the rain sometimes, I was just chill to watch the puddles reverberate with raindrops and soak in the peace. One of my concerns was whether or not I could handle living in such a small town (@ 4,500 people). I've never lived anywhere smaller than 30,000+. I can honestly say it didn't really bother me at all. Valdez definately comes alive during the summer season and tends to roll up the sidewalks after Labor Day. For that reason, I'm not sure if I could handle a place like Valdez year round, but assuredly for 5 months.
As this blog comes to an end - and I'll try to update occassionally during school - I just want to give a shout out to all the friends I made in Valdez. Each of the guides and friends made my summer that much more enjoyable and memorable. I look forward to keeping tabs on them for the next 7 months and hope to see many of them in Valdez next summer.
Be of good Cheer! (Thanks Mom)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Time For a New Post!
Bear sightings: 4 Moose sightings: ZERO Whale sightings: 2
Sea Otter sightings: 3 Bigfoot sigtings: 1
Okay, I know I'm kinda slow, but...I got nothin'! I'm lazy? I've never been a "journaler"? I was kidnapped by Big Foot and held ransom for 100 Tootsie Pops? All of the above! I know - crazy summer!!!
Anyway, I can't believe I only have 2 1/2 weeks left in Alaska. Sometimes I couldn't wait for the summer to end, now I can't understand how it sped by so fast. Since I'm missing the first week of school, I'm going to jump from Alaska straight into school...without missing a beat. Let's see how well I juggle.
Can I just say you know you're in Valdez, Alaska when you're basically guaranteed to see a 4-wheeler on the road, at least once a day, because it's a common mode of transportation. (I've also seen golf carts acting as "cars" for people.)Well, guides have slowly started trickling away to home/school. Although the season has started to wind down, it doesn't really seem any less busy because we're down guides and everyone's still working like crazy...myself included. 10-12 hour days aren't unusual for me - but I can't complain because I'm here to work.
I know this is just a bunch of random thoughts, but hey - you're getting something!Another random anecdote: I came out of the public library a couple weeks ago and I thought it was snow. I mean, seriously, there were white, puffy things floating down from the sky and starting to cover everything. I honestly had a mini-heart attack for a moment. Then I noticed they sky was blue and, oh yeah, cottonwood trees are all over the place here. So, phew, no snow and boy am I glad I don't have pollen allergies!!!
So...that's all for now. I hope it'll appease your Patty fix for a bit, and I will honestly try to keep this going while I'm in school. Keep your fingers crossed!
Sea Otter sightings: 3 Bigfoot sigtings: 1
Okay, I know I'm kinda slow, but...I got nothin'! I'm lazy? I've never been a "journaler"? I was kidnapped by Big Foot and held ransom for 100 Tootsie Pops? All of the above! I know - crazy summer!!!
Anyway, I can't believe I only have 2 1/2 weeks left in Alaska. Sometimes I couldn't wait for the summer to end, now I can't understand how it sped by so fast. Since I'm missing the first week of school, I'm going to jump from Alaska straight into school...without missing a beat. Let's see how well I juggle.
Can I just say you know you're in Valdez, Alaska when you're basically guaranteed to see a 4-wheeler on the road, at least once a day, because it's a common mode of transportation. (I've also seen golf carts acting as "cars" for people.)Well, guides have slowly started trickling away to home/school. Although the season has started to wind down, it doesn't really seem any less busy because we're down guides and everyone's still working like crazy...myself included. 10-12 hour days aren't unusual for me - but I can't complain because I'm here to work.
I know this is just a bunch of random thoughts, but hey - you're getting something!Another random anecdote: I came out of the public library a couple weeks ago and I thought it was snow. I mean, seriously, there were white, puffy things floating down from the sky and starting to cover everything. I honestly had a mini-heart attack for a moment. Then I noticed they sky was blue and, oh yeah, cottonwood trees are all over the place here. So, phew, no snow and boy am I glad I don't have pollen allergies!!!
So...that's all for now. I hope it'll appease your Patty fix for a bit, and I will honestly try to keep this going while I'm in school. Keep your fingers crossed!
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