Wanting things to get Simpler

I sent a text to my mom Thursday night about how I felt very much overwhelmed about the fact that A) I have five classes to deal with, B) I'm applying to be an RA, and C) I need to be looking out for scholarships. And then Friday morning I found out classes were cancelled due to the freezing rain.  Yes it's raining in Alaska in January.  Anyway, having the day off was an answer to prayer and a big relief.  Also, the prayers as to my vying to become a RA are very much appreciated.

The worry about being able to continue my enrollment still lingers, though (I need a breakthrough in terms of money as I can't go to UAF for another three years if nothing improves).  So becoming an RA is nigh necessary.  I still haven't applied yet.  I feel little motivation, unfortunately.  It's partly because I haven't truly started my schedule in its full force, as I've only been in school for five days in the last two weeks.  Plus during Christmas break I was reminded of what I missed from last semester: my friends, mom and church. So I already feel homesick.

Every morning while I eat breakfast I use my iTouch to read Genesis as I go through the Old Testament, and I listen to the Bible at night as I go through the New Testament.  I essay to visit the gym as often as possible, but again I lack enough motivation in this area, despite the fact that I appreciate having gone afterwords.

At work we've become garbagemen of sorts.  The company, K & K, who handles our recycling no longer accepts plastic.  So, we've been removing plastic bins and throwing away any plastic at the transfer site (which is where garbage goes).  A number of people are upset about this, and we're trying to redirect any animosity towards K & K rather than us at the Office of Sustainability.

For those who don't know, you can't take a used plastic bottle and make a new plastic bottle like you can with aluminum cans.  So plastic sits around in unmanageable piles both because people assume its completely recyclable and because little can be used in making new plastic.  Throw in the fact that there are many different, incompatible kinds of plastic that need to be dealt with in various ways too.

New Year

I have no school today.  Not because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but rather because of Alaska Civil Rights Day.  From what I understand it's different to reflect that not only have African Americans received more rights, but also the Native Alaskans.

The weather here is warm, relative to what I endured at the end of last semester; it hardly ever falls below zero, and when it does it's usually -4 or higher.  One friend takes this to mean break-up and spring are coming much sooner than usual, another takes this to be a temporary warmth and that we will experience colder, more normal temperatures soon.

My classes:  Academic Writing About Literature: The Joke, The Dynamic Earth, Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology, Intermediate Spanish II, and Sociology.  It's three more credits than I took last semester.  I look forward most to my linguistics and Spanish courses and least to my Geoscience class.

I am having a tough time staying here what with the tuition rates.  One option is that I might be able to stay up here for about two months if I could find a job where room and board was included.  However, I really want to be able to come home for the entire three months.  Unfortunately, that would mean finding a job, which would be difficult, and even if I do, it would likely only be for 7.50 an hour, which wouldn't help my cause very much.  For that reason, I am trying to become an RA for hopefully the rest of my four years, as RA's get free room and board.  Prayers for my ability to stay at UAF are very much appreciated.