Getting Acquainted

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

This post may be delayed in it's actual appearance on the website, as I still don't have internet access.  I'm sure that it's user error on my part, but I can't seem to figure it out.  But enough has happened in the past few days (and a lot is sure to happen in the coming days) that I felt it necessary to write about now.

The Trip:

It was long.  I mean looong.  But I'm ever so grateful to my sister Julie for making the trek with me and making it so much more bearable.  Day one was pretty easy.  We got to stay with cousin Pat in Ames, Iowa that night.  She's always a hoot and, true to form, provided us with many stories, laughs and plenty of snacks to take with us the next morning.

Day two was a total pain in the ass.  We left Ames at about 6:30am and arrived grumpy, frustrated and very tired in Pittsburgh about 10:30pm (with the time change, that's 17 hours of driving).  Things were going pretty well until we got closer to Pittsburgh.  The tolls were much higher than expected, and at the last toll I found that we didn't have enough cash to pay the $3.75 toll (which was precisely 1 mile down the road from the previous toll booth where we had to pay $10.50....I'm not bitter at all).  So I had to get out of the car at the toll booth, open up the back and scrounge around for my piggy bank (yes, it's actually a piggy, brightly colored and thoroughly obnoxious).  Enough change was found, and we went on down the road towards Pittsburgh.  So at this point I'm annoyed and tired, so I just wanted to get to a bed and sleep and forget our woes...  Apparently I was being overly optimistic.

If you've ever driven in Pittsburgh, you'll know what I mean when I say it's easily the most confusing city I've ever driven in, no contest.  To top it off, the GPS was losing it's signal among the tall buildings. So needless to say we took a few wrong turns, found ourselves stuck in Friday-night-party traffic, trying to negotiate construction, etc etc etc.  We did finally get to our destination: the lovely home of Laura and Justin.  But before we could pull into the driveway (I passed the house before we realized which one it was and had to turn around) I managed to back my car into a tree.  Not a huge deal in itself, but my precious road bike happened to be strapped to the back of my car and took the brunt of the force.  Luckily there seems to be no damage, but I didn't really need another reason to be mad at the moment, so I wasn't in the cheeriest of moods. :)

But it was done and over with so not all was lost.  The next day was much easier.  Getting out of Pittsburgh proved to be much easier, and we avoided the toll roads altogether.  The scenery in Eastern Pennsylvania was gorgeous, so it made for a more pleasant day.  Seven house later we arrived in Monticello (closest town to White Lake).  Pizza for dinner and I slept like a baby.

The School:

We were the first to arrive at the school the next morning and as a result I had the first pick of the rooms. And boy was it worth it.  I love my room.  It may mean that I have to take a smaller room next year, but so be it.  I'll post pictures soon.  But it has room for not only my computer desk and bookshelf, but also a small drawing desk that was already here.

The first couple of days in class consisted mostly of introductions, tours of the house and the grounds, explanations of house rules, chores, and how classes are to be run, etc.

This morning we were put through a cruel and unusual torture: sharing our portfolios with the rest of the class.  I felt somewhat confident in my portfolio going in, so I wasn't too terribly nervous.  But I wasn't ready to be plowed over with heaping piles of raw talent...these guys are incredible.  Needless to say I have been sufficiently intimidated.  If these artistic giants that I have as roommates weren't so stinking nice, I would really be hating life right now :)  Alas, they are wonderful people, and I will have to endure their stinking niceties for the next two years.  And all kidding aside, I am excited to be surrounded with such talented people, and to absorb as much of it as I can.  And there is not a single one of them that I can't see becoming friends with.

A lot more info that I could write now, but I'll keep posting soon.

Love you all and miss you.