September 2, 2011

Well, I haven't posted since the first day that people started moving in to this building.  That actually makes perfect sense now that I think about it.  Since people started flowing in, I have had precious little time for blogging or photography.  Fortunately, now I've settled into classes and gotten into a little more of a rhythm.  It wasn't easy at first...  After training and move-in ended, classes immediately started.  I've had some mischief on my floor these first couple weeks, and it was getting to me, so last weekend I ran home quick to relax before I had a nervous breakdown and killed someone.  Family time REALLY helped, and my second week of classes was considerably less stressful.  I didn't get to see my brother (it's harder to cross paths now that we're both in college), but I got to see my puppy and the rest of my family, so that was nice.  It's Labor Day Weekend, so my brother is actually home right now.  We'll be home at the same time eventually!

Anyway, to explain the picture, this is the sunset from tonight.  Right as the sun was going down, a nasty little red spot was heading towards Lincoln on radar from the west/southwest.  Shortly after this was taken, it absolutely POURED.  The wind blew, the rain was intense, and there was a ridiculous amount of lightning.  We were never in a warning, but it was enough to disrupt a lot of people's Friday night plans temporarily.  As for me, my Friday night plans have included making a Jeopardy game for a hall activity, painting my nails red with white polka dots (I'll explain why shortly), and watching the U.S. Open on television.  Everything is very Husker-y tonight: my nails, this tennis match, and the fact that tomorrow is gameday.  Roddick (from Nebraska) is playing Sock (an 18-year-old also from Nebraska).  Roddick just won, but Sock gave him a fight.

Well, that's really all!  I'm going to finish my nails and then probably go to bed.  I'm excited to go to the game tomorrow, but I'm not excited about the extremely strong chance of rain.  Yikes.  Hopefully we don't get rained out!

August 15, 2011 Double Rainbow

Yesterday, all of the potential sorority girls moved in for RUSH 2011.  Immediately before they were supposed to move in, a line of storms swept through the area.  At 8 a.m. sharp, there was torrential rain, nasty lightning, and a small number of brave people coming in to check their daughters into the dorm.  Right before the storm, I ran back up to my room to grab something.  When I looked out the window, I noticed that the sun in the east was creating a sweet double rainbow on the storm clouds in the west.  I snapped a couple pics in my room.  I had to work the check-in, so I had no choice but to take it through the window and try to reduce the glare as much as possible.

Anyway, move-in was hectic, but at least now we have some people in the building.  I'm glad to finally have some girls on my floor.  The girls are kept busy during Rush, but I'm hoping to actually meet and talk with some of them soon!

August 14, 2011 Sunset

Well, this blog isn't as dormant as I was expecting.  Anyway, today was glorious.  I had the entire day off of training, and I had plenty of time to get stuff done before sorority girls start moving in tomorrow for rush.  I was able to completely finish decorating my bulletin boards, so I'm done with arts and crafts for a few weeks.  I also was able to pick up some odds and ends to make my room more homey.  I definitely feel like my room has more of a personal touch than when I moved in.  I still done have a "5 star" room with amazing decorations, but it works for me.  

The weather was gorgeous today: around 80, sunny, with a slight breeze.  I pretty much saw none of my RA coworkers today, which is totally fine with me.  I like all of them, but I've been around people all day, every day since RA training began.  Being the introvert that I am, I needed to fly solo for a day to recharge.  Other than finishing up RA work, running errands, going for a walk, etc., I went out for a photography walk right before sunset and got the awesome pics above.  The sunsets and sunrises have been really impressive lately.  I don't know if it's the weather, the time of year, or the fact that I don't have to work nights anymore...

August 13, 2011 Sunrise

Well, initially I thought my academic year room was going to suck as far as scenery goes.  I don't live on a high floor and my main view is a parking lot.  However, the past few mornings before RA training, I have discovered that I get to experience a decent sunrise view from my window.  Sunrise pictures from me have been extremely rare in the past.  I'm not exactly the type of person who gets up at 6 a.m. or earlier.  Today, though, I woke up a little early and glanced through my blinds to see this.  I was impressed, so I decided to snap a photo before going back to sleep for a couple hours.

Anyway, RA training has been hectic to say the very least.  I've never looked forward to class so much in my life.  I'm just ready to meet the girls on my floor, get the first weekend out of the way, and get a regular schedule rolling.  Today we had a slight break because we went to Mahoney State Park with RAs from the same complex.  I would describe Mahoney as a "city person's state park".   To me, a state park is a little more wild: less mowed lawns, no chlorinated pools, no driving range or mini golf, etc.  My favorite parts of the park were the observation tower and the paddle boats.  The waterpark was fun, but GI has a far superior water park and that's something you can do in town.  I would have preferred something a little more woodsy, but it was still a fun day.  Tomorrow we (thank God), have the entire day off to chill or work on things.  I plan to get all of my floor crafts DONE tonight and early tomorrow. I am so sick of cutting paper....

Beauty from the Walmart Parking Lot

I was running errands when I saw this view.  I was so disappointed when I saw this as I was driving to Walmart because I knew I would have time to get to the store and back to campus to take a picture from an elevated area.  I happened to have my camera in my purse, so I hopped out of my car and snapped the photo before I ran inside.  It would have been really spectacular if I could have gotten to a better spot.

Anyway, I just thought I'd make an occasional post to bridge the gap between now and next summer (assuming I do take the same job).  I've been completely swamped with RA training and preparation for the school year.  I have never cut so much paper in my life.  I have put together two bulletin boards and I'm in the process of completing "door decs" (a.k.a.-name tags) for all of my residents.  I should be able to finish the name tags tomorrow, but after that I have two more bulletin boards to take care of in the next few days.  Woo...  I think they should offer some kind of carpal tunnel insurance for this position...

August 5, 2011

Well, here is a nice gloomy picture to round out the second summer of the Lincoln "Skyline" Project.  I woke up briefly to go downstairs and clock out, and this is what I saw out the window.  On radar there was a ton of rain, which gave me even more incentive to go back to sleep for a couple hours.  I got up for good a couple hours later.  By then, the rain had stopped and I could move completely over to my academic year room.  I was completely out of there before lunch, but I didn't officially check out until after class.  Speaking of class, except for a couple little outside homework assignments, I am done with class.  I won't be able to attend the last four days due to RA training.  I can't say I'm disappointed.  I liked my teacher, but the class itself was a joke.  I'll be really annoyed if I get anything less than an "A" for a grade.

Anyway, after officially checking out of my old dorm and into my new one, I spontaneously decided to go home before training.  I had nothing going on today, and training doesn't start until 1 p.m. on Sunday, so I thought it would be a good time to fly home quick.  Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have been able to get home to see my family or my dog until sometime in September, and I didn't want to go 2+ months without a home visit.  So, I embarked on a bizarre journey home.  First, sudden downpour right outside of Lincoln obscured everyone's vision so much that we all had to slow down to about 35 mph.  Second, random closing of the right lane caused backups and near-accidents.  Third, a really annoying semi was tailgating me for about half of the trip home.  Fourth, I had to avoid a turtle--yes, a TURTLE--that was crossing Highway 281 on my way into Grand Island.  Fortunately, despite many of these strange obstacles, I got home in one piece.  Now, I have a brief break before heading back for hardcore RA training for the next ten days...

In conclusion, it was another interesting summer.  Unfortunately, there were not as near as many thunderhead or storm pictures as I expected.  I had hoped for some good cloud pictures or an occasional hail storm to talk about, but it was an extremely boring summer for severe weather.  So, I apologize for the lack of variety in my pictures and my constant complaints about heat/humidity.  I would have loved to complain about wicked storms or tornadoes instead, but that just wasn't possible this year.  Anyway, I won't be posting daily anymore.  My academic year view is of a somewhat unattractive parking lot, which is a step up from last year, but nowhere near as cool as my summer view.  I may post an interesting weather or landscape picture from time to time, but I'm not sure if this blog will return for a third year.  It all depends on my employment plans for next summer.

Well, it's been fun.  I'll be back next year (maybe).

August 4, 2011

Sorry this post is so late.  Starting on August 4, I became very busy with wrapping up my Spanish class, moving out of my summer dorm, moving into my summer dorm, and getting ready for RA training.  Fortunately, the weather went from ridiculously hot to somewhat normal just in time for me to start moving out.  I woke up to wet sidewalks and heavy mist (Pic 1).  The rest of the day was humid, but it wasn't as miserable because the temperature wasn't nearly as high.  By night (Pic 2), the mist had cleared somewhat, but I wasn't able to enjoy the drop in humidity because I was on my last shift of the summer.  I was on duty in my own building, so I was able to pack and clean during my shift.  Early in the day, I moved a bunch of stuff into my academic year dorm room, so I didn't have much left.  When I got tired of that, I watched "Seven Pounds."  My friend lent it to me since I had never seen it before.  It was a good movie, but I'm not sure if it lived up to all the hype it received when it came out a couple years ago...