School isn't so bad...

...at least not yet. The school week is over and I’ve had three of my five classes. I’ll start the fourth next Monday and the fifth after spring break. So far so good but then, I’ve only had one class for each. It looks as though I’ll be spending much of my class time on field trips. I should have expected it in a class that has “field problems” in its name. That is one of my three hour classes. I am relieved that I will not be spending three hours a week every week in lecture for that one. My two hour IH applications class is similar to the class I had last semester by the same teacher. Part of the class is lecture, part is group work or work time. Again, even though long, it shouldn’t be too bad. My four hour lab class instructor has assured us that we shall not go the entire time for ‘most’ of the classes. I certainly hope so. Lab or not, four hours is rather a long time for me to concentrate. My Monday class, which I have not yet had, is a three hour lecture on control of exposure to physical and chemical hazards. I’m not really sure what to expect from this one, other than: 1. night class, 2. three hours, 3. all lecture (I think). It will probably be quite a bit like Air Borne Contaminants last semester. I expect to not be good at sitting still, and be rather loopy by the time class ends each evening. My ethics class starts after Spring Break, and lasts for the rest of the semester. Accelerated and on a subject people can argue about for days at a time. I’ve also heard the tests are icky and the teacher grades hard. Hopefully all will go well.

Today, in preparation for the field problems class, I went to the footwear store to buy my first pair of steel toed boots. I found out that the State pays for up to 100 dollars of said boots because they are required for safety reasons. So, out I marched to the nice safety shoes store and informed the nice salesman of what I wanted. A boot (not shoe), steel-toed, acid-resistant sole, and something that is comfortable enough to wear for an entire day. Tall order, but I think he managed to find me something. What is more, he managed to price it for 100 dollars, so nothing will be coming out of my pocket on these. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not just for school I need them. If I ever go along to an industrial spill site, I’ll need my steel-toe boots too. The boots of purchase are black, doc-martens, and have the necessary elements. They are a bit tight right now, but I was assured they would ‘stretch’ them for me.

Tonight, in preparation for the rest of my classes, I’m going to the bookstore to purchase my books. So far the only one I know that is required is a Ventilation book for my Monday night class. It will hit me for 112 dollars, so I really hope the rest of my books aren’t required. I know that three other classes “highly recommend” you purchase X or Y, but I’d like to see just how useful they are from borrowing the books on reserve at the library before hitting my pocketbook for over 100/book. Katie will be going along – if she is feeling not so under the weather as she did yesterday. She has one class at the U this semester, also a night class, also on Monday nights (but they don’t end at the same time).

All in all, I’m really happy to be back into the school/work routine. I like the money I receive when I work full time, but I was finding myself highly sick of filing. At least with part-time work, there are more varied jobs. (In full time, I’d finish the varied jobs too quickly and be stuck back with the filing.) Now, if I could only figure out what I’m doing about my summer field experience and my thesis topic, and find out if I have to do May classes, I’d be one happy little student. After all, I have a trip to New Zealand to plan, and I can’t start that until I know what I’m doing for work.