My Summer Part 2

While most people in America spent a ridiculous amount of money on fireworks and then proceeded to watch colorful explosions on July 4th, I did not. Don't get me wrong, I bought fireworks, I just did not watch their colorful explosions fill the sky on July 4th since my parents were in a little country in Africa called Mali. So, now we have bags of fireworks stashed in our hall closet, waiting for a night when my dad, my brother, my mom, and I are all home, so that we can shoot them off.

But, with how busy our summer is, that might be awhile. See, for the first 2 months of summer, it was a case of "I have nothing to do.". Now it is a case of "I have no free time because I have something going on every day.".

First there is the trip to Leadville. See, living in the dorms is simple, you just sign up for the dorms. But, living in an apartment involves looking at properties and meeting landlords, and is therefore more time consuming.

Then there is the trip to Chicago for a meeting my dad is attending. Now, normally, I might be excited about going to Chicago, but the trip to this meeting my dad goes to every year occurs on my birthday, so the idea of going on a trip loses its' appeal. True, the location changes every year, which makes it slightly more enticing, but still- I only have so much tolerance for sitting in a car for my birthday.

Next, is the trip to see my grandparents in Conneticut (nothing like visiting both coasts in one summer). I tried to convince my mom that we should go to New York City for a day since I have never been there, but I'm not sure she went for the idea. Luckily, my grandfather overruled her.
And finally, there is "The 4 Best Days of Summer" also known as the Turner County Fair. The big deal with the Turner County Fair is that it has always been a free gate fair, meaning that unlike the Sioux Empire Fair in Sioux Falls, SD and the State Fair in Huron, you don't have to pay $8 to get in and then get your hand stamped if you plan to come back later in the day (or even worse... the multi-day admission at the State Fair where they expect you to keep a paper wrist band on for 5 days). Plus, it's a small county fair in a rural area where everyone knows everybody, so (much to my mom's relief... I think she secretly despises the fair) it's relatively safe to let your 10 year old spend a day at the fair on their own. However, my brother and I are both in 4H, so we don't get to simply show up for the fair, we get to spend the preceding weeks filling out 4H exhibit tags on "What did you learn?" and "What did you do for this project?". But filling out these exhibit tags is not always as torturous as it might sound, they involve a lot of amusement also. See, my brother hates filling out these cards, and if it weren't for the fact that he's making like $2 for every card, he would never enter exhibits. Rather then simply answering the questions on the card like the judge probably wishes he would, he comes up with the weirdest answers. Unfortunately for him, when either my mom or I read these answers, it usually results in him having to re-write the answer until my mom and I both finally get tired of explaining that "I learned that it hurts when you hit your thumb with a hammer" is not an acceptable answer for someone who is saying that this is their 4th year entering a project made out of wood. Along with the fair comes things like the 4H Dog & Cat Show (whoever decided that these two animals should have a show on the same night probably was not thinking real well.). In past years we have attended the free dog classes that were offered ahead of time, but this year our attendance record has been less then spectacular, partly because neither my brother nor I are even sure that we are going to participate in the dog show, since he has a dog that likes to exhibit her "Locate mom and run to her" skills during agility, I have a dog whose idea of off-leash obedience is "If I heel 10 feet away from Becky I'm technically still doing what I'm supposed to" and that same dog has been known to take naps inside of the tunnel during agility at the state level, and last, but not least, is Dusky the German Shepard who has not been worked with much for the dog show because we have not entered her in past years, so now she has 4 years worth of mischief saved up, just waiting to be demonstrated to the person that tries to train her. Luckily, the cat show is simpler, you go to a pet store, buy a "cat harness", put it on the cat, wear a white shirt (4H seems to think that anyone showing an animal should wear white... probably to embarrass everyone who got lazy and did not wash or comb an animal as well as they should have.), and answer questions like "Does your cat live inside, outside, or both?" and "What do you feed your cat?". There is also the poultry show which takes place on Monday night. My brother and I never have had much luck with this area of 4H, yet we continue to try again and again. One year we exhibited turkeys and that worked out for us, but that's about it. Theres just something about giving a chicken a bath and then rubbing baby oil all over their feet that does not appeal to me and I just don't seem to be talented at keeping a white duck white.

And last, but not least, my first day of class is Tuesday, August 25th. 2 months of classes and then it's off to ???. I should probably start really looking into where I will intern. I'm thinking Lake Tahoe and I've applied to the places that are already accepting applications, but haven't heard anything.

Now, along with all that, factor in a couple people's work schedules, my brother's 4H Performing Arts performances, and the weather (no point in shooting fireworks off into the clouds and the rain) and you've got yourself a 3-ring circus.

If you are signed up to live in the residence hall at the Timberline Campus, you have probably, or will soon, received an information packet about what to bring and not to bring. Some additional suggestions I have are:
Do Bring
-Winter boots. This goes along with the explanation about the sleeping bag below. Also, you may find your boots to be useful when you have class the morning after it snowed a foot (skipping class for every powder day is not recommended).
-A shovel. Refer to the item above. Also, shovels work well for building jumps and on-ramps for rails out behind the dorms.
-A set of dress clothes. If you end up in court for whatever reason (I never needed mine, but a couple people who didn't bring dress clothes found that they needed them), it's good to have made an effort to look presentable. Dress clothes also work well if you end up interviewing for a job. Bring clothes that do not involve ironing, dry cleaning, or otherwise difficult care.
-Sunscreen
-An ethernet cord for your computer (it will make your internet work much better... aka, you will not be wandering around the building with your laptop attempting to locate a wireless signal, which it's quite possible you will not be able to find).
-A hat. Hats keep your ears warm. They also disguise the fact that you didn't brush your hair that morning.
-A camera. You will make new friends at college.
-A positive attitude. Don't come to college if you don't plan on having fun. It doesn't go well.
-A basic knowledge of how to operate a washer and dryer. Hint: shoving all of your clothes into one machine and dumping in soap until you decide "That should be enough" is not the best way to do laundry.
-Access to a bank account or the ability to set up a bank account once you get here. This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you have a job, you will want someplace to put your money. Then, when you go to the store, you can spend that money. This works much better than keeping a wad of cash in your desk drawer.
-A couple water bottles. Nalgenes, Camelback bottles, empty pop bottles that have been rinsed out- whatever you call them, bring a couple, and use them.
-Swimsuit and gym clothes. While the idea of jumping into a lake in Leadville might sound rather chilly, you'll find the hot tub at the pool in Leadville rather comfortable. Last semester Student Government hosted gym and pool nights which were free to students. You are paying for these out of your Student Activity Fees whether you use them or not, so you might as well use them.

Do Not Bring
-A notebook for every class. This is not high school. The teachers are nice and print off their lectures so you do not have to guess what you should write down. Once you determine what classes do require a notebook (for example math) Alco in Leadville or Walmart in Frisco or Target in Silverthorne all sell notebooks, so you can go visit them.
-Your entire closet and every pair of shoes you own. I made this mistake last fall. In Leadville, you will not need a lot of "summer clothes", so bringing 25 tanktops is probably not necesssary. And that pair of high heels, I don't think you'll need those either.

Optional
-A sleeping bag. You never know when a group might want to spontaneously go camping. Also, if you have a cold weather sleeping bag, I grew up learning that you should keep it in your car in case you slide off of the road. Although in Colorado, due to mountains and cliffs and such, not having a sleeping bag when you slide off the road is the least of your troubles.
-A tent. Camping works a lot better when you can locate a tent to sleep in.
-Health insurance. It'll probably save you money in the long run. If you are coming to school out here, you probably ski, snowboard, climb, etc. which all have the ability to cause injury. A certain student last year realized the value of health insurance when he broke his collarbone first semester and got pnemonia second semester and did not have health insurance. He says that since then he has gotten health insurance.

Hopefully I will have a couple pictures of what Leadville looks like in the summer time posted within the next couple days, since I am currently out here looking at apartments.