First, to get the biggest and worst of the news out of the way. Most of my friends are aware of this but it seems a few aren't. I regret to say that after exactly five years and one week having been married to Kathryn Matthews, I am now divorced. Yep. To quote the narrator of Fight Club, "I suppose these things happen." Those who need to know details already know them, and they don't go here. Suffice it to say she's back in Missouri living with her family, and this is a good thing that had been coming for a few years now, and we're both moving on.
Next, as an unforeseen consequence of the aforementioned divorce, the all-knowing, all-wise and benevolent administrators of Brigham Young University - Idaho (most of you know how I feel about that place, and there's more to come...) felt that they were better qualified as my ecclesiastical and spiritual leaders than my own bishop, and decided that with one semester left before receiving my B.S. in geology, I'd best continue somewhere else. Even though this was a poorly made and inappropriate decision on their part (I even had Dr. Dan Moore, my department chair, fighting for me to stay at BYU-Idaho; there really are a lot of good people there, and most of them are in the geology department), this has also proven to be a good thing overall, and not just because now I get to grow out my beard again.
I am now attending Idaho State University in Pocatello, have made several good new friends, and am in an environment that feels much more comfortable to me. It's proven to be a difficult transition back to the single life, I couldn't have asked for better help making the change. I found an amazing apartment in Pocatello, a mile from campus and very affordable, and four of the funnest roommates I've ever had. Additionally, since I need a certain number of resident credits before I can claim my degree from ISU, that means my education is delayed a couple semesters at least. That sounds horrible at first, but it's really great.
Two of my biggest complaints about BYU-Idaho involve their approach to putting students "first" by rushing them through the system so fast it's amazing you can learn anything there. Semesters are crammed into about twelve weeks, making a full 14-credit (as opposed to the traditional 12) load feel closer to 20 credits, resulting in fast burnout of students and a faculty nearing the point of rebellion (they don't even get a semester off!). The other is that they limit the total number of credits you can take to 140, meaning there's no opportunity to broaden your horizons by taking interesting classes unrelated to your major to help become a more balanced person. I suppose they consider education to be a nonrenewable resource, not to be squandered?
Now that I have no choice, I have a perfect opportunity to take classes I could never have fit into my schedule at BYU-Idaho, and have decided to minor in music. There are really only two things that make me feel truly content in life: the view from the top of a mountain after a long hike or from the highway during a long drive, and when I am performing music. This makes a geology major and music minor the perfect mix for me. I've already begun working on a project I've wanted to do for a very long time, which is to make brass arrangements of songs by Björk and other artists I admire. I'll post recordings when I manage to make good ones!
Now that I have no choice, I have a perfect opportunity to take classes I could never have fit into my schedule at BYU-Idaho, and have decided to minor in music. There are really only two things that make me feel truly content in life: the view from the top of a mountain after a long hike or from the highway during a long drive, and when I am performing music. This makes a geology major and music minor the perfect mix for me. I've already begun working on a project I've wanted to do for a very long time, which is to make brass arrangements of songs by Björk and other artists I admire. I'll post recordings when I manage to make good ones!
Now that I am single again, I've also finally been able to pay more attention to things that had largely been ignored due to financial situations and the difficulties in resolving those between a married couple. My Jeep is finally getting the attention it needs to stay functional and hopefully not fail catastrophically like it did last year. Also, while we'd been waiting years and years hoping to be able to afford visits to the dentist for major work, now my parents have been generous enough to pay for my teeth to get a major workover. To quote Scott Lewis (dentist I recommend in Rexburg), I had "a mess in there". Not anymore... over this past three months I had a standing 1pm appointment every Monday, and the major stuff has been taken care of. This includes finally having my nightmare wisdom teeth removed last Thursday (oh, right, there were a few non-Monday visits, too). To put it mildly, I feel like a krillion bucks (and my parents have that much less money!).
Finally, the last bit. Last Friday I moved to Boise for the summer. I got an internship working for the Forest Service making maps of environmental road hazards, and I start tomorrow. For the first week I get to camp and receive field training, then it'll be office work with ArcGIS. I also just found out that my good friend Scott Bergendorf, who was at field camp with me last summer, will be one of the field crews reporting to me, which will be cool. I spent most of yesterday just driving around Boise, and maybe it was the weather affecting me (it was raining and sleeting and snowing, and mid 30s, awesome weather!), but so far I love Boise. I need to buy a new camera, so I can take pictures. The drive from Rexburg to Boise couldn't have been timed better, as I got a perfect mix of storms and low-angle light to show off the mountains spectacularly, and I got to see Craters of the Moon for the first time. It was enough to remind me why I am a geologist.
Okay, enough of this! That's the update. I've got movies to review, concerts to talk about (I got to see Muse last month!), politics to discuss. I'll get to it!
