preparation

hello,

welcome.

i don't think there's much to say just yet-- i won't arrive at stone lab yet for several days, but i thought it best to post anyway. letting my blog sit empty would be too sad.


to start, hello again. my name's gary. i'm a student. soon, i'll be at stone lab.

which is exciting, i think. i'm looking forward to the upcoming term. i've never spent much time around lakes, but i'm definately a water person. not much of a swimmer, perhaps, but i enjoy water regardless. and guess just what i'll be studying at the lab? you guessed it-- water.

or more specifically, limnology... which is the study of inland waters, or at least that's the impression i'm under. rivers, lakes, wetlands... basically waters that are not the ocean. or perhaps, those waters which *are* the ocean but are temporarily removed by time and space.


for the time being, i'm taking a short break from school at my parents' house in scenic canton, ohio. i spent the last two years studying environmental science at ohio state's agricultural technical institute in wooster, ohio, and graduated with my associate's degree less than a week ago. prior to this, i studied english (creative writing) and received my bachelor's from otterbein college in westerville, ohio, just outside of columbus. following this summer term at stone lab, i'm moving back to columbus to continue with environmental science at ohio state.

and i won't lie... i'm more than a little burnt out at the moment. last quarter was tough... my courses weren't too hard, but on top of three classes i also had a practicum studying water quality indicators in the little apple creek in wooster, plus i spent a lot of time tutoring chemistry and organizing events for our honor society at ATI, phi theta kappa. so i was a busy, busy bee for the last couple of months... and they're only letting me have a week off before heading off to stone lab. how brutal! =(


but really... i'm looking forward to it. i plan on being tired a lot... class starts at eight in the morning, three days a week, and breakfast is at seven daily, ten on sundays. but otherwise, i think it will be a fun little adventure... and i dig adventures. i also enjoy digging, but that's another story altogether.

and besides... three meals a day! can you believe it? i haven't eaten like that since, well... since a long time ago, i'm sure. and it's true what they say, about a man's stomach being the way to his heart. believe that.


in other news, i went to the dentist today. no cavities, and positive comments from my dentist and the dental technician who scraped my tartar. now if only i could travel back in time and convince my younger self of the importance of tooth-brushing... then maybe i wouldn't have all of these pesky fillings. oh well, lessons learned the hard way...


and that, dear friends, is my first "official" stone lab post. i hope you enjoyed myself.