Apartment Hunting and Finals

If you plan on attending the Timberline campus this fall, I suggest you get your application in NOW. Last August when I moved in, there were 9 rooms that had triples. A few days ago, I was informed that the dorms are already fuller than they were last August. Rather than rushing to fill out a housing application to live in the dorms, I decided on an alternative- getting an apartment in town. Now, most people opt for houses, but I don't particularly want to live with a bunch of guys and finding a couple girls to share a house with is only slightly easier than impossible (For those who are unaware, Leadville is not exactly overflowing with females by any stretch of the imagination). So, I looked on the internet for a few apartments, read some interesting reviews, researched some criteria to consider when looking at an apartment, and then set off today to do some apartment searching.

Being the small town that Leadville is, you can't be too picky if you want to find a place, but you do need to maintain a few standards or you may end up hating where you are living. For some added security, I brought my roommate Erin along with me.

Our apartment search started at what used to be a hospital. I was informed that they had apartments there, but turns out that they were $26,000 condos that were up for sale. This was not quite what I had in mind.

We then moved on to the next apartment complex. Erin and I walked in and requested to look at a one-bedroom apartment. They did not have any one-bedrooms opened, so we were told we could look at a two-bedroom. Much to my surprise, the lady just handed us the keys, told us how to get to the apartment, and sent us on our merry way. So we walked down the building to the apartment, let ourselves, and looked around. The apartment had a wonderfully large storage closet and more than enough kitchen cabinets. However, that did not compensate for the dim bathroom vanity lights, the single light at the end of the hallway, and the kitchen lights that sort of acted like they did not really want to turn on. After making a few notes about the apartment, we returned the keys to the office, and went to the next apartment complex.

The next apartment complex looked rather run-down and when we went to the office we were informed that the owners were not around.

Then we went to Harrison Avenue (the main street in town) and I wrote down several phone numbers of apartments so that I could call to make an appointment to view them sometime. We were only able to see one apartment, which was also a two-bedroom and was in the process of being vacated. While wandering down Harrison, Erin and I meandered into a fudge shop. An older gentleman there informed me that there were not actually apartments above the shop, but proceeded to give us an overview of every apartment complex in town. Based on his explanations, 18 year old females do not want to rent most of the apartments in Leadville. However, there is still hope because there were a few places that he recommended and that he said were rather nice. Hopefully I will be able to make an appointment to view them sometime this week.

Once I got back from my apartment hunting I got my take-home final for Ski Patrol class from Paul and pre-registered for classes. Since I am not living in the dorms, I am not required to have 12 credits. I currently am signed up for 9.5 credits. These include OEC Refresher (Outdoor Emergency Care certification lasts for 3 years, but you have to take a refresher every year to keep it current), Snowmaking lecture (required), Snowmaking lab, Ski Area Risk Management (required), and a 2 credit co-op work experience. Being that this was only pre-registration, I still have all summer to think about whether there are other classes I would like to take, and can then sign up for them in the fall.

In other news, graduation is Saturday, May 2nd. Finals are this coming week. I have 5 finals to do. Ropeways and Ski Patrol are take-home finals. For Public Speaking we have to write a 3-5 page paper about what we thought of the class and then we are taking an open-book final in class. For Food and Beverage, my online class, I have to go into the Learning Assistance center sometime this week and take my final. For my Trail Grooming final, I have to actually show my face in class to take my final. Thursday morning I'll be up bright and early to head back to South Dakota for an undetermined length of time (approximately 30 hours ago I discovered that my summer plans were not going to work as planned, so the last day and a half had been a little exciting, as I fill out job applications for places that request that you apply by March 1st). I have done an amazing job of getting my finals done, which is good for my finals, but not so good for my dorm room considering that I haven't packed up anything yet.

Well, it's back to finals for me now. Goodbye.