A beautiful spring day.

Ok, I must now officially quit at least 50% of my bitching. Until the heat of august, I have nothing to complain about.

Spring has come to Vermont.

It’s really a gorgeous temperature today, and not too bad on the humidity front either.

There is, quite literally, not a cloud in the sky.  Perfect.

Campus is crowded today. For a month’s worth of Mondays and Fridays it’s Accepted Students Visiting Days or some such. Right now, the university is overrun by highschool seniors and their parents, looking all around at the place where the kids will spend the next four and the place that will quite probably change thier life.

It’s funny to walk around and see them and remember when I was in their place… thirteen years ago. One thing I’ve noticed is that a good portion of the parent/child groups have one member appearing to be totally scared out of their minds. Sometimes it’s the kids, and sometimes it’s the parents. Regardless, one of them is thinking “Oh my God, what did I get myself in to?”

Other than that, One of my major papers is done, leaving two to go. Oh, and the internship is starting to firm up a little.

This weekend we get to play VT tour guides to Emily’s aunt and cousins. It’ll be good to see them and I do love playing tour guide. Maybe that comes from my days as an undergrad orientation leader.. who knows?

Regardless, the weather will be beautiful and the company will be good.

And that’s what life is all about.

In which I go a little nuts with bullet-pointed lists

This wasn’t so bad of a week.

On Tuesday I found out that I got the internship I wanted, which is great for three reasons:

  • I have an internship and will fulfill that portion of my degree requirements thus bringing me that much closer to the Master’s.
  • The internship I wanted is in Vermont, which means that I won’t have to leave for the summer which means that Emily and I can run around and play in our new state in the summer time and all our loved ones can come and visit and all will be right with the world.
  • I. get. paid. (Objectively, not a huge sum of money, but subjectively anything higher than my current wage of zero dollars an hour will feel like a fortune.)

I’m still a little jumpy about it, because even though I know I’ve been hired, I don’t have much in the way of specifics. I know generally what I’ll be doing, but I don’t know where or what the start date will be or what a typical day will look like yet.

And, as we all know, “not knowing” is my least favorite way to feel.

So I’m happy about that, but still a little apprehensive at the same time.

Other than that, I have three big assignments hanging over me:

  • A continuation of a paper I wrote earlier in the semester about the history of railroad grade crossings. (This one will be specific to their age of automation – the 2nd half of the 19th century.)
  • A portion of the nomination form for a property whose owners want it on the National Register.
  • A 20 page report (with 15 minute presentation) on my spring break research trip.
    • This is the big one. It scares me.
      • A lot.

So that’s where I’m at. Good times, and I’m happy. But also slightly scared.

The glass is half full, right?

I’m not really sure I have anything interesting to talk about right now.

I mean. my usual go-to’s (traffic and the weather) just feel a bid over-played and I can’t bring myself to bitch about either one.

The semester is winding down, although you wouldn’t know it from my workload. Three big projects are dangling in front of me and none of them are gathering the momentum they should.

Also, I am as yet internshipless. I need to be internshipful. I’ve applied to three so far and have been rejected by two, and am waiting to hear on a third. And the third is the one I really want. I believe the person who is making the hiring decision may be speaking to my class on Tuesday, so perhaps I’ll learn more then.

All I know now is I really have to buckle down with the school work and get this semester behind me.

But for now, I have a wife to go on a dinner date with, some friends to host for some final four viewing tomorrow, and probably a bacon egg and cheese sandwich or two to eat this weekend.

In all, life’s not so bad.