Randomly feel like posting

I know I just posted an update a few days ago, so I don't have much new info. I'll try to keep this non-pointless though. I've sort of been wondering what I'm going to do in the fall, after I return home. I would definitely like to go camping (and I really hope that the Yellowstone trip with Liz and whoever else wants to come ends up working), but I also probably need to make some money. I decided to drop out of an SCA position that sounded pretty cool. It was in Colorado doing wetland/riparian restoration and wildlife surveys, but it was another short position and I would basically have to leave like a week after I got back. That's too soon, and I don't need the stress. Plus I want my next SCA position to be a long one (6 months). Not necessarily because I want to spend 6 months in any one place, but the weekly stipend is more and the Americorps education award is higher. And since I can only get two Americorps awards and I've already gotten (am getting, technically) one, I should wait for a financially ideal position to present itself. And if nothing turns up this fall, I could always do something else. Work seasonally somewhere (if that's at all an option) or hope that someone on ECOLOG is looking for a field assistant. In any case, if anyone hears about an cool temporary employment that would interest me, let me know.

This past weekend was the first time that I got REALLY nostalgic and started longing for Denison. I've had brief moments of nostalgia since graduation, but nothing like this. I just kept thinking about it. It wasn't tormenting or unbearably sad or anything, but it was definitely a significant emotional presence. I honestly thought that it would occur sooner than this. It's been almost exactly a month since I graduated (tomorrow will be a month). It sort of seems longer than that. But I don't know. I think I've more or less gotten settled in here. I'm less reserved when I'm at work, but I still wouldn't say I feel completely comfortable here. Though in 3 months, I'm not sure if that will ever happen. But who knows.

I've been thinking about geographic location quite a bit recently. I think it started when someone commented on my first day of work about how people from the midwest often come down here to visit/intern/whatever and then end up moving here. I decided shortly after that that I would almost certainly not be one of those people. It's nice down here, for sure, but I can't see myself settling down here. It just doesn't feel like home. Part of it is the weather. I know that it's sunnier down here, but that also means that it's hot. And there's not enough snow. Honestly, it's possible that I might stay in the midwest, but if I did I would settle down further north, like northern Wisconsin/Minnesota. Though I haven't ever been up there, I like it in theory. Probably some place I should visit. I would also love to go to Canada very soon. I think I just need to go more places and experience them before I decide where I can settle down. But as of now, those are my thoughts. New Hampshire was cool too, when I visited Laurel. Who knows. I guess I probably have many years before I actually have to make a decision about that, and even then it could always change, right?

I want to visit Erin in Oregon.