Grad school is really quite different than undergrad. I don't know how to explain it, you'd just have to know. It's definitely been a perspective shift. I am working as a grader for two professors, one being the department chair. It's a very flexible schedule and pays pretty decently. I'm definitely enjoying it.

I have my first apartment now! Rayanne and I moved into our two-story, two-bedroom apartment in August. We love it! Sometimes I wonder why I ever stayed in the dorms as long as I did. But if I could go back, I wouldn't change anything. Besides, if I hadn't stayed in the dorms last year, I would have missed out on the great Clark Hall Smoke Out.

It has been a rough semester emotionally. There is a lot that is different this year between living off campus and so many of my friends and acquaintances have graduated, moved away, and/or gotten married. I was in Aimee's wedding last April, and will be in Melody's this coming May. One friend who moved away this summer called the other night, and he mentioned that it seems that all of his friends are still here in Denton. I replied that it seems that all of my friends are gone. I myself will only be here a few more months. But all of the changes have been really hard.

The craziest thing has just happened. Our administration just up and rescheduled half of finals week! And they moved it up! Our football team is one win away from playing in the New Orleans Bowl (the one nobody's ever heard of or cares about) for the fourth straight year. Well, the bowl game is on the Tuesday of what WAS finals week. So to accommodate the estimated 3,500 students who would either go to play, cheer, march, or watch, the entire 31,000-student body gets to take some of its finals early. This means I get an extra week of Christmas break, but I lose a weekend of studying. Also, since my classes only meet once a week, two of my classes are being gipped out of a week's worth of class material. And in one of those classes, that week's topic was the one I have been looking forward to all semester -- the entire reason I took the course!!

I came home just in time to see my sister graduate as valedictorian from Whitehouse High School. She's leaving for Belhaven College on Friday. You go, Alli!

The biggest part of my summer was my internship. I wasn't even looking for one, but the job just fell in my lap anyway. I worked at a well-respected CPA firm in Tyler and totally enjoyed it. They made me feel very welcome, and I learned so much. In some ways it was hard to leave to come back to school. I am going to miss working there, but hope to go back next summer.

I took an online marketing class. It was good to get it out of the way, but I don't think this online thing is a good way to learn.

I also saw two friends from UNT get married. I ended up taking four-day weekends for both, and got to see lots of my other friends in the meantime.

BIG news: I tried out for Jeopardy's college tournament on August 9th in New Orleans! I passed the written test, and will find out by the end of the month if I made it on the show.

I think I finally know what I will be doing this summer. After Maymester in Mexico (my passport came today!), I will just go home to Whitehouse for the rest of the time. I am signed up for a marketing class online from UNT. It'd require two on-campus meetings, but I can make the round trip in a day if I have to. And if not, there are people here that I could stay with. I think it will work out just fine.

The lab was very cool when it first started. The computer lab TA was awesome, the planetarium technology was amazing, and it was amazing to look through the telescopes at the observatory. Unfortunately, some of these labs have now gotten very tedious and long. Like today. I had a planetarium lab at 4:00 this afternoon. Labs are scheduled to be 3 hours long, but usually don't take the whole time. I worked ahead and finished the lab exercise before 6:00. They decided to take a 5-minute break. I went to see if I could leave early since I was done. They said half of my points come from being here and I'd lose them if I left. So I sat there, bored, for another whole painstaking hour, while the other people figured out where the "multiply" button is on their calculator. By the time I got to leave at 7:00, the cafeteria had already closed. So I had to go pay for food when I shouldn't have had to.

Now, the actual class. At 9:30 a.m., many of us in the class have trouble staying awake and/or concentrating. Plus we have to do a 10-page report on a space exploration mission. It has just been announced that the paper cannot be double-spaced. We are trying to negotiate that, or at least get the number of pages cut down. (Update 4/3/03: The paper can now be double-spaced.) I will be glad when this class is over!

Another thing is we always discuss the origins of the celestial bodies. Some of those theories are downright ridiculous! It makes much more sense to believe in a Creator who formed the heavens with all of their complexity and variety and splendor to bring glory to himself.

• "The heavens declare the glory of God" Psalm 19:1
• "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name." Isaiah 40:26

My friend Melody turned 21 yesterday. Nine of us braved the storm (and many restaurant closings) to take her out to dinner. We ended up at Chili's for two hours, and had a blast! It was certainly a memorable occasion.

My best friend Katie is 21 today. She still lives in Wisconsin, but we've remained very close over the last seven years since we lived near each other.