One Week Down...

four months to go until I finish my first semester as a grad student. 

This morning I walked to my bus stop at 7:15 AM. I had to make sure I was on time to meet my collaborating professor. My stomach was unhappy with me because I didn’t get much sleep last night, but I couldn’t miss this final “first day”.

After arriving at campus, I made my way…

 through the multitude of students and vendors on the commons…
 

to the Clark Building, my new home away from home.  I met my professor, went to class with him, went to my own class, returned to Clark to do work for my professor, asked for help from several people in the department because both my professor and I are not up to speed on technology at CSU, learned a bunch of new classroom management programs, and finally went back to catch the bus home.

Last, but not least, I took a nap. It’s been a long week.

 

Bible Superstore

scares me.  Every so often I must go to a Christian book store to remind myself why I don't frequent these stores. I did this today on my way home.  I was genuinely curious (and am considering purchasing a new Bible).  I am no longer anything but freaked out.

Reason #1: Shameless pop culture rip offs such as this lovely specimen.  Will Jesus really love you more if you give money to large companies that make Christian knock offs of My Little Pony than if you purchase the real thing?  How do you know for sure (without a thorough search of the company's records) that the organization is even run by Christians? 

Reason #2: When did the Bible become something other than the Bible? It has the same words in it, right? I hope so! There were bibles for the Army, Navy, Marines, Firefighters, Policemen, Nurses, men, women, mothers, empty-nesters, newlyweds, edgy teens, etc. AAHHHHH! Now before you get defensive, I will allow that not every study bible is the same, and we each have unique preferences when it comes to the study of the Bible. Still, will getting a pink hug every morning really aid you in your spiritual growth?

Reason #3: Actually, this isn’t a reason to get freaked out, but I found it humorous. A careful reading of the titles of these two books seems to put them at odds with each other. “Success Kills” next to subtitle:”the Anatomy of a Successful Life”. I’m sure if I read them, they wouldn’t be terribly far from each other, but on first glance, this was too funny to pass up.

 

Reason #4: Kitch. Dear friends, if you are ever tempted to spend the $90 on me please consider purchasing me a massage, or a good book or two, or just keeping the money and dialing my number for some good conversation. Please don’t purchase this “lovely” work of art. I don’t think it’s worth $90. I don’t think it’s attractive. I would never hang it up anywhere in my house where I would have to look at it. Upon receipt, I would immediately throw it away or re-gift it to my worst enemy. I hate kitch-y, Christian junk. I know there are plenty out there who love this stuff. I’m not one of them.

P.S. Please never purchase any of the above for any family members that may live under my roof. That way I won’t have to break one of the commandments lying to you about how nice your gift is.

First Day of School

Yesterday I went back to school--officially. 
The first order of the day was getting the syllabus for the class for which I'm TAing.  Accomplished by 8:15 AM.  Next order: go to freshman history class with a professor to go through the syllabus and answer questions.  Also, explain that neither of us is the instructor.  The instructor will show up on Friday.  All goes well.  Most popular question: You want us to read this extra thing for Wednesday.  By what day are we supposed to read the reading from the textbook written next to Wednesday?  My answer: Both are due on Wednesday.  Outrage and panic abound.
Next order of business: get myself to American Women's History before 1800.  While in class I decide I will love this class and already love my instructor.  I also decide I'm very excited to be a student again.  We read a primary court document from Jamestown in the 1620s.  I get more excited as the document is about crazy colonists determining whether the person in question is male or female.  The story, while disturbing is also rather amusing. 
Next: office hours.  I sit in the office assigned to my prof. for three hours.  It is on a corner in the most poorly designed building ever!  Needless to say, I direct multiple lost students to their classrooms. 
Finally I am released to go to class again--historiography.  Seventeen people in a room designed for twelve.  Close quarters make me hope my prof's promise to find another room was not idle talk.  A mind-numbing two hours spent going over the syllabus passes.  I decide the class will be interesting but be a TON of work. 
Last order of business: get myself to the bus.  Succeed in getting on bus.  Fall asleep on bus.  Get off bus, manage to feed myself, determine sinus problems are due to seasonal allergies.  Decide to take a nap.  Wake up from nap to husband telling me it's 10:45.  Go to bed.

Finally...

I am a resident of Colorado. Now except for car insurance, I have taken care of everything. I have new plates, new license, new registration, new id numbers, and, most importantly, a King Soopers account. I had a meltdown last night when I discovered I had no idea where my proof of registration for this year was. (I had all other years, of course.) After a half-crazed sleep, I awoke this morning and was able to get help from the Polk Co. DMV. Alexis, whoever you are, I appreciate you and what you do! Yes, this girl faxed me my registration--which is technically illegal. Still, she did it, and I am forever greatful to her and her supervisor as it saved me about $10,000. The Larimer Co. lady didn't question it. I will now qualify to petition for in-state tuition next year!
Now for the next crisis: I was informed today that the professor I wil be assisting is not coming to class for the first week. I'm "it." More to follow...

Clarrissa

Are you one of the myriad people blessed with a normal name like Jessica or James? If so, lucky you. While you will spend your entire life whipping around every time you hear your name to discover your all-too-popular name belongs to another person in the room, you may still count yourself among the fortunate because your name is something the average person can handle saying, spelling, remembering, etc.
I cannot count myself among those fortunate many.
Take last Thursday. As I signed my lease papers and other various and sundry documents I thought, "How many times to I have to write my name?!" Rest assured that after ten minutes I was sure I wouldn't forget my name any time soon. My leasing agent perused my documents and then informed Jimmy and I that we would have to put up parking permit stickers in our car windows. No big deal. She handed us our stickers. I looked down at the shiny white paper with the green circle soon to find its way to my rear window on it.
"Clarrissa" was written neatly in the top left corner.
I can't lie, I wanted to rush back in and yell, "Seriously, can't your read?!" or "NO ONE named Clarissa spells her name with two r's!" After all, this woman had been staring at my paperwork for a substantial amount of time. She had managed to fill out my lease correctly--I checked. What blip in her thought process brought her to this gross and monstrous error?!
Now before anyone worries that I'm overreacting (which I am), you may rest assured that I DIDN'T go back into the office and yell. Also, I have decided to forgive her. For most of my life everyone else has made the same error. My elementary school was incapable of keeping it right in their official records. Sunday school teachers, friends' parents, etc., have all gotten it wrong. I have mostly forgiven them. The leasing woman seems like a nice person, so I should probably let it go.
Still, there's a part of me that wonders why my name is particularly difficult. I've only seen one variation of my name, and it was spelled with a "k". I've never seen two "r's". I know my name is uncommon, and I know names are difficult to get right sometimes. i.e. "Sara" and "Sarah". What is it about this variation of Clara (notice the presence of ONE "r") that completely throws people? To those of you out there with rare or unusually spelled names, I feel your pain.

Colorado

I am a resident of a new state. I live in Colorado, and it is a lovely place. For one, it isn't humid. I don't have to endure another Iowa August. I can see some lovely mountains and don't see corn fields. I see bikes and active people everywhere. On the down side, my hair is having a hard transition and appears to be dry and wiry. I will have to use more conditioner. Also, I miss Hy-Vee and Fareway. We went to Albertsons yesterday for some staples and left half an hour later in the foulest of moods. I didn't realize how important good grocery stores are to me. In the meantime, I have others to explore and can write off the vile Albertsons.
My apartment is 55% unpacked. It's starting to look like a place I live in as opposed to a vacation home/hotel room.
I start school tomorrow. I have no idea what to expect. I am mostly looking forward to getting into the swing of things, though.

A Hair Cut

Today I cut my hair. I wrote a really long post about it. Then I hit a button and it deleted itself. I am now frustrated and reminded that I should really write these posts in Word and paste them into this lovely box. Oh well. Basically, my friends, Lucy and Allison, came with me for moral support and as photojournalists. My amazing stylist, Tiffany, gave me one last hair cut before I move. I donated 13 1/2 inches of hair to Locks of Love. The severed braid looked like a drowned rat and was sort of gross. I like my new hair. I think it compliments my chubby cheeks more than my long hair did. I am not sad my hair changed, but I am reminded that I am leaving my life as I know it every time I look in the mirror. That's the hard thing right now.