Fun work

I can't believe it's the end of the second week of the quarter already! Part of me feels like I should be on spring break still. The other part of me doesn't believe that I'm taking 19 units this quarter. That part is kind of right, fortunately - I'm not really taking 19 units. I'm only registered for 15, but I'm attending and attempting to complete work for 19 units (I'm auditing Spanish). The one anthropology class I have this quarter isn't that exciting, but all the other classes I'm taking for fun, and I'm very happy to be doing so. All in all this quarter I'm taking Social Theory (anthropology), Globalization (sociology), Environmental Ethics (philosophy), Spanish 301, Yoga, and the Naturalist Training Course. I really like my homework for the naturalist class - I have to sit outside in my "secret spot" in the backyard for two hours a week observing nature. I have to draw maps, collect plant samples, and keep journals on bird and animal activity, habitats, weather, plants, etc., but mostly it's just sitting and observing and listening. It's amazing how many birds are out around my backyard! It's neat to try to figure out what's going on in the treetops by listening to the bird calls. Mostly, though, it's just nice to sit outside - to set aside a full hour just to sit outside and be quiet and not worry about other homework or things I "should" be doing, because I'm supposed to be sitting outside! I guess it's helpful just to have that permission (assignment, really) to do that when things are so busy that I otherwise wouldn't take that time for myself. So that's a good class. The weekend at Marmot Cabin last weekend was really good, too. We looked at animal tracks, listened to bird language, sat out in the rain, made bow-drill fire kits (mine's not finished yet, so no, I haven't made fire yet), ate tons of good food and had tons of good conversations. There are some really neat people in that class, so I'm looking forward to the bi-weekly potluck dinners (yeah, that's our "class" time) where we can all get together and share what we're coming across throughout the quarter. I think this is going to be the class that keeps me sane this quarter.

I had a fun diversion from normalcy yesterday morning. I got out of class and was walking to the anthropology department office to see if the final exams from my culture theory class last quarter were out. I saw a couple of my friends in the graduate student "lounge"/office and stuck my head in to say hi, and ended up sitting on the couch chatting for half an hour. I guess it's a good thing to know the grad students in one's department, in case they ever end up as your TAs (actually, one of them started as my TA), but they can also just be neat people to know. So that was fun. I do miss the camaraderie of the faunal analysis class last quarter, with all of the "hard core" archaeology students struggling with things together, but I'm sure I'll have other classes like that. For now I'll just have to be content with running into those people from time to time and schmoozing in the grad student lounge. :)

Other than that, life goes on as normal. A very busy normal. I really have to get to the grocery store one of these days. :P