First Day of School

So today was my first day of school. Grad School. Wow. I have been wanting to/thinking about/fretting about grad school for five years. And now I am here. I also applied for school in late January and was accepted and essentially signed up in April. Therefore this decision was made 5-6 months ago. That is a first. I can't remember the last time I made a decision this big that far in advance. So I will list some things.

About being a grad student:

1. People at UofO (University of Oregon) love grad students. The professors, the library people, everyone I've talked to attempting to get a work-study job. They love us. This seems a bit bizarre because I have never heard any of my friends at other institutions speak of this.
2. Undergraduates look like babies. Yes, babies. I keep trying to find one that looks to me like a senior and it is near impossible.
3. Undergraduates seem to all wear the same exact clothes. Like a uniform or something. And the kids love skinny jeans and Vans. Vans with long socks. It reminds me of the Penrod boys at Wesleyan. (Also, people in my program all look sort of outdoorsy which I thought was a grad school thing until today when I went to the architecture school for an ice cream social and met all of the architecture students and they looked like hipsters. Are they cooler then us? Maybe just smarter?)
   
4. Grad school is professional school. I will learn skills and techniques that will make me a more valuable asset in the workplace and that will hopefully land me a better paying job out of the gate.

On State School:

1. I believe that folks on the West Coast are kinder then the East Coast. It is my truth. Except when it comes to dealing with any sort of office: financial aid, registrar, cashier, payroll... They lack all customer service skills. It is shocking.
2. Everything is done on the internet. I mean everything. I wasn't in college that long ago. But seriously, when I go to one of the above mentioned offices to take care of some sort of business the person at the desk pretty much turns their computer to "show me." And then click, click, click, click and then hands me a colored piece of paper with instructions and then sends me on my way. WTF. Seriously. Lets talk, lets do this together, lets ease some bit of nervousness. Whatever... (I will note here I am very grateful of all of Momo's work on this sort of BS while I was at Wes and throw out a thank you to all of the people at North College who made that part of college easy. And all of the love they gave me.)
3. There are a ton of students. I think around 20,000. And I feel it when I walk around.
4. People wear a lot of OREGON gear.
5. And the bike parking is like parking in a city. Totally jammed up. I will try to get a photo on here.

Ok. With that I will now get back to my Planning Analysis reading as I am meeting folks for beers at 9pm

First Impressions

Ok. So lots has happened in the past few weeks: attended my first rodeo, moved to Eugene, started grad school... I have a lot to say and some good pictures which I hope I will share. Blogging sometimes feels like therapy in that if I think about what I am going to say it ends up contrived and I feel like I have already resolved all issues (in therapy) or my astute observations have become unfunny (blogging.)

I just got back from an overnight retreat in the Cascades with the folks in my program first year students and professors. It was nice and simple and Oregon.

1. Many people, perhaps the majority, wore low hiking boots. I think that some of you would assume that I do the same on a regular basis, but I do not. I learned about the fashion sneaker sometime in 2002. There was a hiking option, but LBH, there's no way anyone would hit the trail in their jeans and low hikers.
2. Lots of wedding rings.
3. No one has heard of Wesleyan. And I realize how old/far I've come by not asking everyone where they went to school. More like what have you been up to recently.
4. No one responds negatively to super annoying people. They just don't react at all. I find this super impressive and makes me realize even more the level of professionalism that is grad school.
5. I think people used the word "sustainability" about 50 hundred times over the past two days.
   
6. Everyone was pumped about doing good in the world. For real. Everyone wants to solve problems and make positive change. Awesome. I am excited to be surrounded by these people for the next couple years.

And about Eugene:

1. It has rained only about twice since I've been here about 9 days. It was cold and wet. It makes me fear the "winter rains" which I've heard about on OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting.)
2. After I make relevant, smart observations about Eugene and its citizenry I often get the response "oh, thats Eugene." I find this annoying and condescending. And it makes me feel out of place and not part of the gang.
3. Everyone bikes here. Everyone sort of judges people who use cars. People love bikes and talking about bikes. I am a happy owner of three.
   

Goat Farmer

I am wrapping up my time here in Lakeview. And I have to say goodbye to folks I've been working with all year. Today I said goodbye to the goat farmer I've been working with since February.

This man is 73 years old. I met him in February. At the time his goats were delivering babies. Tons of them. About 40 total. He called us for help so he could build a fence so the goats had a healthy goat to acreage ratio. I've gotten to know him pretty well over the past few months. My friends and mom have met him. He is kind and old and quick to smile. He always says that he doesn't want to end up sitting on the couch all day watching TV with a fuzzy blanket. And I don't blame him.

This man has also shared so much of his life story with me. He told me about the time in 1979 he decided to expand his successful feed lot in California. Less then a year after he borrowed 250k from Farm and Home Agency (its something like that I forget, but a department in the federal government) the market shattered. Cattle went from selling at $3 a pound to 18cents. He lost everything overnight and paid it back. I think he finished paying it back in the late '90s. And he mentioned he did not participate in a class-action lawsuit against the federal government. He doesn't regret it. He loves this country. He served for 14 years in the army and fought in Korea. He just doesn't understand how he has ended up so poor. He worked hard his whole life and did everything above the table and he is still dirt poor. So poor he can't improve his small herd of goat.

This man has had goats for about 6 years. He bought three goats for less then $100 and now he has about 100 head. The two years prior to this he began to breed his does. And for two years in a row he had a crop of stillborn babies. And he had no idea why. Can you imagine delivering 30 dead goat babies. Two years in a row and not knowing why. I can't imagine anything more horrific. He thinks he feed them bad hay. Unlike cows, goats have very sensitive stomachs and cannot digest even a tiny bit of moldy hay. And this is the kind of mold that the regular eye cannot see.

This man was so happy and relieved to have 47 healthy baby goats this year. He was finally looking forward to having a business.

As it turns out, I was unable to help him find money to build his fence. And with the price of fuel being so high and in turn the price of feed being so high he must make a choice about whether to continue with the business of goat farming or scale down to make it a manageable hobby. I've been hoping he does the latter. But it is hard to tell a 73 year old that when you are 27.

As of today he has decided to downsize the herd. He is going to start taking them to a livestock auction in Fresno starting in a couple weeks.