We're almost caught up here on my life here in Chapel Hill...except that, as I post these, more things happen, and then I have to post about them later. But anyway, at least from now on I won't be talking about things that happened the week before...well, hopefully not.
Anyway! After my exciting weekend, I woke up bright and early on Monday morning, all ready for The School Of Information and Library Science Graduate Student Orientation.
Or, rather, I wish I could say it went like that. In reality, it was rainy and cloudy when I got up, and I just wanted to stay in bed. I also had a really bad stomach ache...but I thought maybe it would get better as the day went on.
Wrong! It actually got worse. And I had to sit in the same room from 9:30-12, which was basically torture with my stomach hurting so much. I wanted so much to really take in the orientation and to meet everyone, but I just really wasn't in the mood to socialize or pay attention to the speakers. It's hard to focus on anything else when you're in real physical pain.
*But* a few good things came of it. First of all, they gave us all free reusable bags AND a reusable, metal water bottle. Hooray! I just lost my old water bottle, too, and I left all my reusable bags in Tampa. I'm hoping to gather a few more bags in the coming weeks. They're a pretty common free-giveaway item, and I think a lot of people give stuff away the first week, so hopefully I can make this happen.
And, the highlight of the day: I got the secret code to the grad student lounge for the library school! I feel so cool now. I'm totally going to go in there and...lounge. Also, who knew grad students had their own lounges? If I had known that, I would've come to grad school a lot sooner!
I left the orientation at lunch time, even though it went till 4:30. I just couldn't make it. It was really too bad though, because they had a delicious catered lunch and I had been looking forward to it. At the time, though, I couldn't even think about eating. I came home and just sat around and started to feel better after a while. I hope I didn't miss anything too important at orientation, though. And hopefully I'll still have a chance to meet my classmates. There are welcome-events going on all this week, though, so it shouldn't be too hard.
Then yesterday, Tuesday, was the first day of class! I only had one class, in the morning. In it, we'll be learning how to do web design, how to use Dreamweaver and Excel and other techie things like that, so that should be good for me. Oh also, we get lockers in library school, which is nice because it gives me one more place to stash all my stuff.
I have to say, it actually felt really good to be going back to school. Before the first day, I had been worried that I would feel too old or bored, but I was happy to be there. I like school, most of the time. I like learning and meeting people and feeling challenged. Plus, 22 does seem really young to start working, when you'll be working for the rest of your life, although I know many people do it. Anyway, as I walked onto campus this morning, with other students streaming all around me, I was glad I was going to school and not work.
After class, I did some homework in the library. Yes, homework already! Then I went and putzed around campus, just looking for free stuff or things to do. Then I went back to the library and worked on my in-state residency application, in which I had to list every place I've spent more than 4 consecutive days in the last 3 years. Fun! Not.
Also, I just had to share this picture:
Those are students lined up to drink from the Old Well on campus. Campus tradition says that if you drink from it on the first day, you'll have good luck/good grades all semester. But no amount of luck or tradition could make me stand in that line when it's 95 degrees outside. I went back at 4pm and there was no line! And that's why I'm a grad student...
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