Guess who isn't a college student?

ME!


I just got out of my last final....EVER! Well, unless I decide to go back to grad school in a few years, but we will have to wait and see about that. It feels absolutely surreal to be done already. But I am ready for this next step....work? BRING IT ON!

The River of No Return....

There is a national forest nearby where I'll be! The Payette National Forest. And a designated Wilderness Area: The River of No Return Wilderness. Sounds fun. And it boasts the second biggest canyon I will ever have been in, smaller than Hell's Canyon, but deeper than the Grand Canyon--The Salmon River Canyon.

And I need to find this:

I-da-HO

Well, after nearly tearing my hair out trying to find somewhere, ANYWHERE to live within driving distance of work, I have found a place to live near Ontario. Payette!
This will be the eighth zip code I have lived in, and it doesn't start with a "9", which I find somewhat disturbing. It seems like a nice place to live, this Payette place. Small, which is nice, and next to the Payette and Snake Rivers. And I'll be close to Leslie Gulch and Succor Creek. An hour from Boise when i need some "big" city action. Halfway between Salt Lake City and Portland (that seems really weird to me).

In other news, 19 days until I take my last final! Then a few days of spring break with my friends before moving away and starting this thing called real life. Hopefully in a few years I'll know if I'll be staying in Ontario, or if I'll be moving again, so i can then start looking for property to grow food, raise dairy goats, alpaca and a few horses....maybe some laying hens, too. But for now: One. Step. At. A. Time.

Who be Hatein'?

Most people who know me know what kinds of things I like, but I do have some random dislikes:

Heart shaped anything, unless it is anatomically correct
Guys wearing their pants so low that they have to walk like they've been shot just to keep them on.
Patchouli
When pant are an inch or so too short, and show too much ankle when you sit down
Mismatched underwear and bra
People who stop in the middle of a store aisle, especially with a cart
Rain gear that "swishes" loudly
Roses
Misuse or lack of use of the blinker
Nervous passengers
Backseat drivers
Small cars with big mufflers (can you say compensation?), unless they are legit muscle cars
People wearing Uggs, especially with shorts or miniskirts or with sweatpants tucked in them
Overly protective guys
People who talk shit
Wannabe trucks that can't pull or haul anything

Back to O-town I will go.

Literally the day after I moved out of my hell-hole of an apartment in Ontario I got an email. "Okay, great, an email..." you are thinking. But this email will define my life for the next two years. I got a permanent position with NRCS in none-other than......ONTARIO!

Dang it! But I shouldn't complain, it is a great job, in my field, with benefits! I really am quite lucky. And I won't be living above a lottery/pool/bar place. I won't even call this place a bar, bars are classier than this sh*t hole was. So, for the first time in years I will know where I will be for two whole years! Stability!

BENEFITS!

It's sinking in...I have benefits. This means four things to me:

1. I'm growing up
2. I have a REAL job...scratch that, a CAREER
3. College is almost over
4. I have life insurance and someone could marry me, off me, and take that money.

Number four scares me.
That's all.

Ontario: 1 week down, 5 to go.

I can't explain this town...it smells like a mix of factory smog and potatoes...ugh. All I can say is I miss Enterprise. The mountains, the people I met, not smelling cigarette smoke in my apartment, the Eagle Caps, Hells Canyon, MOUNTAINS, trees, water!
But, this job is my dream come true. I'm out in the field all day, analyzing and classifying soils, creating map units and correlating ecological sites. It's like a giant, 600 acre puzzle every day (yeah, we map about 600+ acres per day). Wednesday I got to analyze soil in the snow and 35 mph winds by Ironside mountain! HELL YEAH!