I'm back...for good!
Aug. 14th, 2005 06:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
memento1OK, I really am alive! I've actually been back for the last few days but just haven't felt up to writing up everything that's happened. Then of course I realized it's my own journal and I don't have to if I don't want to! So we'll see how much I get to.
Basically, before the big drive I went up and visited various friends at my old college. From 1 such friend I got the setup files to re-register the remaining applications that hadn't come back after the big crash. This includes Photoshop (woot) and Frontpage (woot!). So I'm back to my graphics-creating, website-designing self again. hehe. It was just fantastically great to see so many of my good friends again, and I'll miss them so much in the next 2 years. I also acquired 2 rats from a friend while I was there! I'd need them at Moorpark anyway, so I took 2 females which go by Raja and Donna (yes, I named Donna, and yes, it was after the West Wing character). They're quite terrified of me at this point but I've been working slowly at socializing them, and I'm very excited about finally having some pets of my own.
When I came back, my mother and I left on the 3-day drive out to California from Minnesota. We went through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, a snippet of Arizona, and Nevada in the process.
Iowa and Nebraska were...flat. And pretty unspectacular, though we did see...
lots and lots of windfarms. That was quite cool ;)
We passed by Cheyenne, Wyoming, where they do have an Air Force Base, but here's my picture of the area around the base.
Looks nothing like the TV show, eh? *L* Though shortly after that we did hit...
The Rockies! And it was mountains from there on out. We stayed the night at a friend's house in Laramie, Wyoming and drove all the next day, pasing through ...
Arizona near the Grand Canyon. Absolutely the most stunning landscapes you'll ever see. And that night we arrived in...
Vegas! We stayed the night at the Lady Luck Casino Hotel, watched some CSI, and played some slots. My mom and I took turns on the nickel slots and though we went under by close to 10 bucks at one point, we left only 35 cents down. It was fun ;)
The next day we cruised the Strip (which is absolutely amazing...I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it) before the 4-hour drive to LA. Moorpark is far on the outskirts of LA, between Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks in Ventura County. I LOVE it here. It's hot, but it's hot everywhere right now. The apartment is GREAT (swimming pool and hot tub right outside our door), roommate is awesome, and the college is within a few minutes drive. Took the first few days getting settled while attending orientation during the day.
The program is Exotic Animal Training and Management, and there's a little zoo right there on the campus that the students maintain. We spent a lot of time attending financial aid, health, and counseling lectures, but we also spent some time touring the zoo and meeting the animals. We had a surprise visit from a tiger from the nearby Wildlife Waystation, who's quite socialized and enjoys taking rides in a van!
Friday was a work day, and while it was a full day's work cleaning out sheds for me, I loved it as I got to know my fellow students better and observe the animals as we worked. Classes officially start tomorrow, and while half are classroom classes, the others are learning how to care for the animals at the zoo, and I'm so excited to get started. It really doesn't feel like school - I'm doing exactly what I've always dreamed of doing, and I'm surrounded by others who feel the same. I keep waiting for the other shoe to fall, but we'll see.
If anyone actually understood any of that, congratulations. This was a somewhat unique entry.
I finally succumbed to temptation and bought a wireless adaptor, and I'm just in love with the thing. While I have yet to see how busy I'll truly be with classes, I think I'm well and truly back this time, and can finally start keeping up with all of you again! I've missed your rambling entries a lot ;)
Basically, before the big drive I went up and visited various friends at my old college. From 1 such friend I got the setup files to re-register the remaining applications that hadn't come back after the big crash. This includes Photoshop (woot) and Frontpage (woot!). So I'm back to my graphics-creating, website-designing self again. hehe. It was just fantastically great to see so many of my good friends again, and I'll miss them so much in the next 2 years. I also acquired 2 rats from a friend while I was there! I'd need them at Moorpark anyway, so I took 2 females which go by Raja and Donna (yes, I named Donna, and yes, it was after the West Wing character). They're quite terrified of me at this point but I've been working slowly at socializing them, and I'm very excited about finally having some pets of my own.
When I came back, my mother and I left on the 3-day drive out to California from Minnesota. We went through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, a snippet of Arizona, and Nevada in the process.
Iowa and Nebraska were...flat. And pretty unspectacular, though we did see...
lots and lots of windfarms. That was quite cool ;)
We passed by Cheyenne, Wyoming, where they do have an Air Force Base, but here's my picture of the area around the base.
Looks nothing like the TV show, eh? *L* Though shortly after that we did hit...
The Rockies! And it was mountains from there on out. We stayed the night at a friend's house in Laramie, Wyoming and drove all the next day, pasing through ...
Arizona near the Grand Canyon. Absolutely the most stunning landscapes you'll ever see. And that night we arrived in...
Vegas! We stayed the night at the Lady Luck Casino Hotel, watched some CSI, and played some slots. My mom and I took turns on the nickel slots and though we went under by close to 10 bucks at one point, we left only 35 cents down. It was fun ;)
The next day we cruised the Strip (which is absolutely amazing...I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it) before the 4-hour drive to LA. Moorpark is far on the outskirts of LA, between Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks in Ventura County. I LOVE it here. It's hot, but it's hot everywhere right now. The apartment is GREAT (swimming pool and hot tub right outside our door), roommate is awesome, and the college is within a few minutes drive. Took the first few days getting settled while attending orientation during the day.
The program is Exotic Animal Training and Management, and there's a little zoo right there on the campus that the students maintain. We spent a lot of time attending financial aid, health, and counseling lectures, but we also spent some time touring the zoo and meeting the animals. We had a surprise visit from a tiger from the nearby Wildlife Waystation, who's quite socialized and enjoys taking rides in a van!
Friday was a work day, and while it was a full day's work cleaning out sheds for me, I loved it as I got to know my fellow students better and observe the animals as we worked. Classes officially start tomorrow, and while half are classroom classes, the others are learning how to care for the animals at the zoo, and I'm so excited to get started. It really doesn't feel like school - I'm doing exactly what I've always dreamed of doing, and I'm surrounded by others who feel the same. I keep waiting for the other shoe to fall, but we'll see.
If anyone actually understood any of that, congratulations. This was a somewhat unique entry.
I finally succumbed to temptation and bought a wireless adaptor, and I'm just in love with the thing. While I have yet to see how busy I'll truly be with classes, I think I'm well and truly back this time, and can finally start keeping up with all of you again! I've missed your rambling entries a lot ;)
