Tuesday, May 31, 2011

A Bit of Everything

So, I did end up going to Chicago on Saturday.  That was an interesting experience, mainly because the 30% chance of showers ended up being extreme downpour.  It was merely gloomy when I arrived, so I saw no issue in taking the subway down to the University of Chicago campus.  But, basically as soon as I saw the first building on campus, the pour started.  Though I got soaked, it was really cool seeing the very pretty and Hogwarts-esque campus in the rain.  I regret it not.  When I got back downtown, I was still soaking wet, so I saw no problem staying out in the rain.  I walked around downtown, garnering odd looks from pretentious umbrella owners.  They acted as if they had never seen a wet person before.

The other interns didn't arrive until yesterday afternoon, so I had the weekend to myself.  I explored the town, did a number of Wal-Mart runs to put together my room, and read two books (which I am glad to have the time to be able to do again).  Whenever I went out to eat (no meal plan until camps get here) or went to a store, it dawned on me that this is the first time in my life that I have lived outside of Wyoming, and I literally know no one.  I am completely anonymous—finally there is a town where people don't know my parents and no one I went to high school with is lurking around the aisle in the store.  It's kind of a refreshing feeling, though a strange one at that.

The other interns are four girls—yes, I am the only guy of the lot.  Three have arrived, but we're still waiting on the last one to arrive later today.  They all seem nice, as do all the professionals at Valpo I've met so far.  Our "Big Boss" is Larry, the Director of the Union.  On Friday, he pulled outside of the hall I'm staying in with his wife in their convertible Volvo.  He stepped out of the car wearing a Yankees jacket.  It wasn't until yesterday that I told him I'm a Red Sox fan.  We, of course, are obliged to give each other crap this summer.  Sorry, Larry, but the Red Sox are #1 in the AL East.  Better luck next season.

Last night we had a lovely barbeque at Larry's house.  It was there that I garnered the nickname "Target."  Here's the story:  One of the res life guys was telling us that there is a girl staff member named Korey who we would meet this summer.  As this is also my name, the girls decided I needed a nickname to set me apart (apparently gender isn't enough of a distinction? Or, perhaps it was because I vetoed "Boy Corey."  That sounds like I'm an overly eclectic glam rock singer).  After no viable ideas were presented, I excused myself to use the restroom.  When I came back, one of the girls asked me, "How about Target?"  What I didn't know was that the conversation had moved to where we all wanted to buy some incidentals for our rooms.  Still thinking we were on the Corey-needs-a-nickname shtick, I responded with a confused, "Why Target?"  After the confusion was cleared up, they decided that it actually fit.  Nicknames are supposed to be "discovered" by accident, right?  And so it began ...

We start training tonight, amid a severe thunderstorm warning.  It should be loads of fun, especially if we get sent to the basement for a tornado warning (which happened to me on Sunday, actually).  Hopefully I won't need to put my newly-acquired First Aid, CPR, or AED skills to use this immediately (I would prefer not to ever need them), but depending on the time terror strikes, I may just be equipped to deal with injuries!

Anyway, that's it for now.  This is Target, signing off for Sandboxes and Mimzies ... good night! ... erm, day? (P.S. it is night in some parts of the world, so be quiet.)

Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Drive (Shriek!)

Okay, so I'll start my first content-laden post by talking about the extremely long drive from Laramie, Wyoming to Valparaiso, Indiana.  Spanning 19 hours on the road, in total, it was, needless to say, rather tiresome.  I got in around six last night.  Here are some travel highlights:

1.  When driving over the Summit, Wyoming decided to give me a farewell gift of dense fog and poor visibility.  While such conditions are typically enough to drive me mad, I couldn't help but laugh the entire time.  It was actually kind of ... endearing.  The Summit is never good, regardless of the season.  It reminded me that though I may be moving on, Wyoming isn't.  For some reason that's a bit comforting.  Or maybe I'm just sleep deprived.

2.  Going through Nebraska, I saw signs for a "scenic turnout."  The "scenery" being referred to was, of course, nothing at all.  What set apart that particular field of nothing from all the rest is beyond me.  It was nevertheless amusing, as I saw several cars actually stopped to take in the ... erm, splendor.

3.  We stopped in Ames for the night, which was awesome because it reminded me of how close I am to starting grad school this fall.  I didn't really get to do anything besides obtain a storage unit, but it was nice to be there.  After getting the storage unit, my dad and I parted ways, leaving Corey to brave the I-states alone (Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana).

4.  As any of my friends who have gone with me (or more accurately, driven me) to Denver can tell you, I avoid city driving like the plague.  I just don't have experience with traffic, being from the Wyoming boonies, and I never quite seem to want to lose that particular virginity.  As such, I had with me in the car a list of directions to re-route myself around the Chicago metro area.  But, as I neared the exit, I decided to take a chance and go through as Google Maps intended me to.  I thought I would arrive in Valpo by four ... comfortably avoiding rush hour.  How bad could it be, right?

5.  Right before Joliet, IL, I encountered major construction.  Though I'm not sure why traffic was stopped (construction crews were not working and nothing really seemed wrong), it ended up taking me an hour and a half to go five miles.  This delay landed me in the thick of the traffic at ... you guessed it, rush hour.  While six lanes of impenetrable traffic was daunting to observe, I actually made it through a bit better than expected.  That is to say, I made it through a) alive, and b) without needing a change in underpants.  While I'm not exactly chomping at the bit (what an odd expression) to do that again, I doubt I'll be as squeamish next time.

6.  About 15 minutes after I got off the Interstate, I arrived in Valpo.  I was very relieved!  I called my parents, letting them know why I was two hours late and hadn't answered their calls.  I doubt my mom could concentrate at work yesterday she seemed so worried!

Valpo is a really pretty town (around 34,000 people, I'm told).  The area actually feels a lot like the Broomfield-Boulder area, though I'm not sure why.  There area  lot of trees (with leaves, no less!), and though they tell me it's much colder than usual now, I find it to be very nice.

Well, that's it for now.  I officially start on Tuesday, so I have a few days to get settled.  However, I decided to avoid unpacking today and instead go into Chicago.  There's a really cheap train that takes about an hour.  I'm not sure what I'll do, but I'm sure it will be fun!  More on that later!

First Post!

Well folks, I've done it.  I've decided to copy Brice Griffin and do a little blog about my summer ACUHO-I internship.  So, consider this my official warning ... blogosphere (wow, that is quite an odd word to type), for I will be adding various musings to your highly dignified content.

So, I'm not sure how this will work, how frequently I'll post, or any of that, but this seems like a cool thing and I'll just let things sort of happen.  How's that for a commitment?!