Winter Is Here!!

Well, I think it's safe to say that winter is here. It's been snowing on campus for the past day. This morning when I looked at Copper Mountain's website, it said that they had received 7 inches of snow in the past 24 hours and another 3 inches the day before that.

Now that winter is here, I thought I'd take a few minutes to remind you of a couple winter driving tips. These come from the Colorado Department of Transportation website.

• Always keep the top half of your gas tank full. It can give you better traction and gives you a bigger margin of error if you get stuck and have to keep the engine running periodically to keep warm.
• Carry water, a flashlight, a shovel, and some non-perishable food. Winterize your vehicle's safety kit by including extra blankets, sand to help gain traction in the event you become stuck on ice or snow, jumper cables, and an ice scraper.
• Be sure you have good tires. The Colorado State Patrol recommends at least 1/8 of an inch tread depth.
• In poor visibility or even whiteout conditions, don't drive faster than you can see ahead.

If you're planning on coming here next semester, I'm guessing that you have probably already applied. If you haven't, now would probably be an excellent time to apply.

Things that you'll want to be sure to bring

• Lotion and chapstick... the air is incredibly dry up here, which results in your skin being very dry.
• Dishes and easy to prepare food... when you decide at midnight that you're hungry, you'll be thankful that you are able to make yourself food. Steal some old pots and pans from home, it'll making cooking on the weekends easier and it's a lot cheaper to bring them from home than to buy them at Safeway when you get here.
• A water bottle... it's really easy to get dehydrated at high altitudes. I can easily drink 5 Nalgenes of water within a day. Yes, they have water fountains here, but professors only have so much tolerance for you getting up in the middle of class to get a drink of water. You also will not accomplish much when you're studying if you get up every 5 minutes for a drink of water.
• A swimsuit and gym clothes... the college puts on free gym and pool nights.
• A snow shovel, winter boots, and winter clothes... You probably already thought of the winter clothes. Winter boots are helpful when there is a foot of snow covering campus (like, right now) and you have class (wearing soaking wet shoes for 2 or 3 hours isn't exactly fun). Also, if you have the great fortune of sliding off the road, a shovel and boots will be helpful in getting yourself out.
• Quarters... it costs $2.50 for one load wash&dry- quarters go fast, so bring lots of them.
• Cleaning supplies... aka a broom and/or mop, multi-purpose cleaner, and a rag. You'll realize that you only have so much tolerance for dirtyness.
• Toilet paper... each room has it's own bathroom, but you have to provide your own toilet paper.

Things that you may think you need, but really don't

• Your entire closet... There are clothes that I brought that I have yet to wear even once. You also will not need every pair of shoes that you own (well, if you're a guy you might... but that's beside the point)
• Lots of dress clothes... maybe bring one set, but that's it. Also, make sure that it is something that will not require ironing.
• A ton of school supplies (like notebooks)... The teachers expect your homework to be typed. Also, a lot of them give you notes that are already printed out. I brought a notebook for every class, and I've probably only used half of them. A couple of pencils are always a nice touch though- Cyrus (math teacher) doesn't appreciate people who write in pen and scribble their answers out a million times. A nice, big, fat eraser also works well for when you realized that you did the entire problem wrong on a test.

Hopefully the above lists helped you out a little if you are trying to figure out what to pack.