Five years ago. I was determined to become a ski bum after graduating from Whitman College. What better place to bum it up than Sun Valley, Idaho? My family had a great condo there, I loved the mountain, and I had a few friends in the area from college. That's the plan; that's what I'm doing.
Fast forward a year. I happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right connection to get a full-time job in Menlo Park, California. It was early summer 2006. I couldn't pass up paying work and great experience for slacker life on the slopes... it wasn't even winter! So I moved to Santa Clara, and then San Mateo, and then Mountain View, and then another place in Mountain View, and then San Francisco, spending three and a half years in the Bay Area.
March 2009 - December 2009. I start thinking about Business School. Take the GMAT, submit apps to 5 schools, and get accepted to my top choice! I want to go into renewable energy, on a global scale. A combined MBA and Masters in Environmental Management will get me there.
January 2010. I up and leave my deep, supportive, fun, amazing network and life in San Francisco for Sun Valley, Idaho. This is my "Last chance, ski bum dance." I'm feeling old (25), but I can still pull this off. Plus I have new focus: complete three prerequisite courses, get some experience working for a nonprofit with my philosophy, work part-time to pay the bills, and, of course, ski. (I'm 3 for 4 at the time of this post.)
Follow this blog to hear about my Pre-grad school ~ post San Francisco experience.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Arrival in Sun Valley
As I've been updating lots of you over the phone, email, etc. I thought I'd start the thing I never thought I'd start: a blog. I know people who have had impressive blogs, but I know a lot more with blog fails. Why should I expect that people want to hear about my life? Well, maybe because I'm more than a stone's throw from anyone I know, living a life that I keep describing as "different."
Saturday, January 16th, my mom, her sister (and my aunt) Chris, and my friend Molly successfully moved me out of 36 Fair Oaks, Apartment 3 in San Francisco's Mission District, where I had a fifteen month love/hate relationship with the two bedroom apartment and its landlord. (A week later, I received my deposit, minus a $14.50 rent board fee and $25 oven cleaning fee, which I think means he's going to replace the oven because it was UNCLEANABLE, or, in real words, dirty beyond repair).
Annemom and Kirforce hit the road right as the rain started, heading over the Bay Bridge for the last time at 6:30 PM in a car that could not have accommodated one more item (thanks, Molly and Aunt Chris, for taking some of my cast-offs!).
We made it to Reno, where we spent the night at the Ramada and played some penny slots for complimentary Coronas, while worrying that my bike would be stolen off the top of my car (I don't have a lock on my rack). We woke up the next morning, relieved to still have my bike and excited to visit with my friends, Kyle and Audrey: Reno locals. Had a yummy breakfast at the Pneumatic Diner (why do I always eat so much when I'm on the road? it's not like I'm burning any calories behind the wheel) and hit the road again, stopping in Winnemucca and Twin Falls, my previously designated gas station stops (oh and we had a close call of running out of gas getting to Reno... barely made it, great start to the drive).
We arrived at Sage Haven, the name of my grandmother's condo in Ketchum, ID, the evening of Sunday, January 17th and unloaded all of my stuff, which didn't get much past the hallway to the garage. Victory was ours!
Monday and Tuesday were ski days for Annemom and Kirforce, getting some much needed time on the snow together that we hadn't had over the holidays. Unfortunately, the amount of snow hadn't increased since then, so a lot of the mountain was still closed. We got a bunch of snow on Monday night, so Tuesday was a vast improvement. Annemom left out of Hailey on Tuesday afternoon. Kirforce then assumed her title, Mistress of Sage Haven, moving her stuff into appropriate storage areas and taking care of business (updating addresses, enrolling in class, attempting to correct my Idaho license that still claims my name is "Kisten").
Life is good. But it gets better. We get a pounding of snow. Falling quietly overnight, I wake up to 12 inches on Thursday and a call from my step-aunt, Sue, a local. We hit the powder, hard. Abusing my body in a way I haven't abused it for years.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I'm on the mountain helping out with the USSA race that we're hosting. Recording hand-timer start times, delivering lunches to volunteers, and getting a bout of altitude sickness. I'm not used to these elevations! Sunday is a free ski day for me, courtesy of the Sun Valley Ski Team, thanks! I shred it up after getting a late start, solo. Skiing is something I'm happy to do alone, but is always more fun with others.
So the first week I'm here, I ski six days, only taking one day off. This "addiction" is "worse than heroin," says a local. Yeah, and just about as expensive. The first week also involves job-hunting, class, and lots of shoveling. I'll get into those arduous activities in the next post.
Saturday, January 16th, my mom, her sister (and my aunt) Chris, and my friend Molly successfully moved me out of 36 Fair Oaks, Apartment 3 in San Francisco's Mission District, where I had a fifteen month love/hate relationship with the two bedroom apartment and its landlord. (A week later, I received my deposit, minus a $14.50 rent board fee and $25 oven cleaning fee, which I think means he's going to replace the oven because it was UNCLEANABLE, or, in real words, dirty beyond repair).
Annemom and Kirforce hit the road right as the rain started, heading over the Bay Bridge for the last time at 6:30 PM in a car that could not have accommodated one more item (thanks, Molly and Aunt Chris, for taking some of my cast-offs!).
We made it to Reno, where we spent the night at the Ramada and played some penny slots for complimentary Coronas, while worrying that my bike would be stolen off the top of my car (I don't have a lock on my rack). We woke up the next morning, relieved to still have my bike and excited to visit with my friends, Kyle and Audrey: Reno locals. Had a yummy breakfast at the Pneumatic Diner (why do I always eat so much when I'm on the road? it's not like I'm burning any calories behind the wheel) and hit the road again, stopping in Winnemucca and Twin Falls, my previously designated gas station stops (oh and we had a close call of running out of gas getting to Reno... barely made it, great start to the drive).
We arrived at Sage Haven, the name of my grandmother's condo in Ketchum, ID, the evening of Sunday, January 17th and unloaded all of my stuff, which didn't get much past the hallway to the garage. Victory was ours!
Monday and Tuesday were ski days for Annemom and Kirforce, getting some much needed time on the snow together that we hadn't had over the holidays. Unfortunately, the amount of snow hadn't increased since then, so a lot of the mountain was still closed. We got a bunch of snow on Monday night, so Tuesday was a vast improvement. Annemom left out of Hailey on Tuesday afternoon. Kirforce then assumed her title, Mistress of Sage Haven, moving her stuff into appropriate storage areas and taking care of business (updating addresses, enrolling in class, attempting to correct my Idaho license that still claims my name is "Kisten").
Life is good. But it gets better. We get a pounding of snow. Falling quietly overnight, I wake up to 12 inches on Thursday and a call from my step-aunt, Sue, a local. We hit the powder, hard. Abusing my body in a way I haven't abused it for years.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I'm on the mountain helping out with the USSA race that we're hosting. Recording hand-timer start times, delivering lunches to volunteers, and getting a bout of altitude sickness. I'm not used to these elevations! Sunday is a free ski day for me, courtesy of the Sun Valley Ski Team, thanks! I shred it up after getting a late start, solo. Skiing is something I'm happy to do alone, but is always more fun with others.
So the first week I'm here, I ski six days, only taking one day off. This "addiction" is "worse than heroin," says a local. Yeah, and just about as expensive. The first week also involves job-hunting, class, and lots of shoveling. I'll get into those arduous activities in the next post.
It's Bizness Time
Sounds like all fun and games until somebody has to go to class.
I'm a student at College of Southern Idaho's Blaine County campus. Class started last Tuesday, January 19th... and I missed the first day because I read my schedule wrong (and this girl is going to Graduate School? yikes!)... so the first class that I attended was on Wednesday evening: Concepts of Biology.
This class will definitely get me back into the classroom mentality. There are 19 students in the class, we have assignments, group projects, and regular quizzes and exams. The professor is so excited about teaching Biology that you can't help but pay attention the entire two and a half hour class. Phew.
The next day, I attend my first (but technically second) afternoon class of Statistics. Wow, this classroom has three other people in it, not counting the teacher, who is broadcasting live on the two giant TVs in the front of the room. This one and a half hour class seems to drag on longer than the Bio class, and we're moving at a pace similar to that of a three-toed sloth.
Additionally, this week, I signed up for a completely online Microeconomics class through University of California, Berkeley. I think I'm most worried about this course because students complete it at their own pace, so I need to stay on top of it. The only deadline is June 17th: I need to take the final proctored exam on or before that date.
Since I haven't found a job, I figured that it would be good to just throw myself into academics. In order to start at Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke next year, I need to complete at least one of my prerequisite courses (Stats and Microecon) and they recommend basic science courses as well. Since I'm taking on the joint degree program with Fuqua School of Business, I've decided that preparing myself to the best of my ability is in my best interest. Getting two masters in three years will be challenging enough, taking Stats or Microecon there and not knowing rudimentary Bio would make it that much more painful.
Overall, I'm glad to get these out of the way while I have time to focus on assignments without the distractions of living in a big city. I have class down in Hailey four days a week, which beats a three hour Caltrain commute, but isn't ideal. It conflicts with job opportunities and Town Series races, but I'll make it work.
I'm a student at College of Southern Idaho's Blaine County campus. Class started last Tuesday, January 19th... and I missed the first day because I read my schedule wrong (and this girl is going to Graduate School? yikes!)... so the first class that I attended was on Wednesday evening: Concepts of Biology.
This class will definitely get me back into the classroom mentality. There are 19 students in the class, we have assignments, group projects, and regular quizzes and exams. The professor is so excited about teaching Biology that you can't help but pay attention the entire two and a half hour class. Phew.
The next day, I attend my first (but technically second) afternoon class of Statistics. Wow, this classroom has three other people in it, not counting the teacher, who is broadcasting live on the two giant TVs in the front of the room. This one and a half hour class seems to drag on longer than the Bio class, and we're moving at a pace similar to that of a three-toed sloth.
Additionally, this week, I signed up for a completely online Microeconomics class through University of California, Berkeley. I think I'm most worried about this course because students complete it at their own pace, so I need to stay on top of it. The only deadline is June 17th: I need to take the final proctored exam on or before that date.
Since I haven't found a job, I figured that it would be good to just throw myself into academics. In order to start at Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke next year, I need to complete at least one of my prerequisite courses (Stats and Microecon) and they recommend basic science courses as well. Since I'm taking on the joint degree program with Fuqua School of Business, I've decided that preparing myself to the best of my ability is in my best interest. Getting two masters in three years will be challenging enough, taking Stats or Microecon there and not knowing rudimentary Bio would make it that much more painful.
Overall, I'm glad to get these out of the way while I have time to focus on assignments without the distractions of living in a big city. I have class down in Hailey four days a week, which beats a three hour Caltrain commute, but isn't ideal. It conflicts with job opportunities and Town Series races, but I'll make it work.
Labels:
biology,
class,
CSI,
Duke,
Fuqua,
microeconomics,
Nicholas,
statistics
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