The past week

College is an interesting place. It makes you realize things about yourself that you were not aware of. For example, I like to think that I am capable of keeping my room more or less clean. However, as I look at my desk, I realize that I am not a neat person. On my desk, there is currently:
-a wide assortment of dishes and cooking utensils. They have a home- it is not my desk - I just neglected to put them away after they were clean.
~my textbooks are in 3 different piles, facing in 5 different directions
~a ball of yarn... at first I thought it had to do with my "How to Knit" demonstration that I am doing in Public Speaking, but I now realize it is simply a messy, knotted, ball of yarn
~various sheets of paper. Some are work related and some are school related, but most are just miscellaneous sheets of paper.
~pens, pencils, and highliters scattered
~a bag of lemonade flavoring
~a random catalog from a company that prints business cards (throwing it away made too much sense)
~a snowboard lock and Ski Cooper season pass (you would think these would be in my snowpants)
~a tube of chapstick
~hair-ties (because the bathroom was too logical of a location)
~a USB drive
~a wall calender, a little pop-up desk calendar, and my planner... it's probably safe to say I have 2 or 3 different sets of appointments written on these 3 calendars
~other items which I have not un-earthed
I think it's safe to say I know what I'll be doing tomorow (No... not snowboarding... I broke my binding strap and haven't fixed it yet)

As far as the world of academics goes,
~This past week in Ropeway Operations, we turned in a worksheet where we calculated chairlift ride time, capacity, Vertical Transport Feet per Hour, and chair spacing. Some people got a review in math (19.08 minutes should not be rounded to 20 minutes... length x 2 doesn't give you the same answer as T = (60 x carrier spacing) / (rope speed)... "some of the chairs" does not qualify as a number). Then we studied the haul rope. Next week I'm guessing we will be going over the sheave assemblies and towers (we were supposed to go over them this week but ran out of time). Based on looking at the hand-out we were given for sheave assemblies and towers, we should also have time to cover "tramway regulations, inspections, and record keeping".
~This past week in Events Management our topic was "Programming". Greg (our "event director") had each of the committee heads give a summary of what their group had accomplished so far and then he and Paul made suggestions. This coming week, the topic is "Staging the Event". This coming weekend, the majority of our class will be helping with the State High School XC Ski Race and/or the 6th Annual Leadville Loppet. The Recreation District Snowshoe Race is also scheduled for this weekend.
~We took a test in Public Speaking this past week. Next week we are doing 3-4 minute demonstration speeches on a topic of our choice.
~In Trail Grooming Operations, we had our first test of the year. This coming week we will be studying "Pre-season Grooming and Packing New Snow".
~This past week we learned about "Legal Issues and Risk Management" in Ski Patrol Operations lecture. According to our syllabus, we have a test this week, but I believe I heard that the avalanche dogs are actually going to come next week.
~This past week in Food and Beverage Management, our assignment was over "Food and Beverage Marketing". Food and Beverage Marketing includes feasibility studies, ongoing market research, and marketing plans. Our assignment for this next week is "Nutrition for Food Service Operations". This includes: the science of food, nutrition and food service managers, and contemporary dietary concerns. I've heard a lot of people talk about struggling through their online classes, but I don't find my online class to be that difficult. We were given all of our assignments the first week of class- we just have to manage to answer 3 or 4 questions to show that we understood the chapter and then take a 10 question quiz once a week. If you ask me, it's easier to keep up with than face-to-face classes.

Tomorrow night I plan on going to watch the Vagina Monologues at the Spring Valley CMC campus. If you can't make it tomorrow night, they also have it on Saturday night. All showtimes are at 7pm and tickets are $10.

My incredibly exciting Valentine's Day plans include snowboarding with one of my friends, going to En Fuego at Copper, and then watching 13 Going On 30.

Well, I'm off to free swim night. Until next week, have a good Friday the 13th and a Happy Valentines Day. Being nice to the snow gods would also be appreciated. Oh, and try not to get sick- there is some kind of cold/flu going around campus which is leaving people with varying levels of sickness.

The dates for next week's free activities are:
16th: Free gym and swim
17th: Free skate
18th: Free gym and swim
21st: En Fuego at Copper (OK... it's not school-related, but it is free, and who doesn't enjoy watching fireworks?)