friends, old and new + more pictures

tomorrow begins the gauntlet of orientation, trainings, meetings and the like, and i've been feeling a bit under the weather, so i'm laying low today, staying in and napping, making tea and watching my sarah brightman dvds while mentally preparing for everything to come. it's so funny -- i've been so chill for the past few days that i think i've somewhat forgotten that the reason i'm here is not to enjoy the view or walk on the beach or run about like a silly little thing (although those things are definite perks). i'm here to study and to learn and all that good stuff. so i'm trying to get myself into the mode of papers and books and the like, and i am a bit excited. i haven't written a paper or studied, really, in almost 4 months, so it'll be good to get back into things.

over the past few days, i've had the chance to meet up with people and to see friends, both old and new, which is really nice. my old friend allison from high school moved to santa barbara last month; she's working at the local hospital as a nurse. monday night she and her boyfriend invited me over to their place for dinner, which was really, really nice. they've got the most amazing garden in the backyard, and treated me to their freshly-grown tomatoes, lettuce and lemon (excellent garnishes for the widmer they picked up from the store). we sat outside (this weather is absolutely amazing), had bbq'd hot dogs and potato salad and the freshly tossed salad, and got a chance to catch up on some of the things that have happened with us and our old classmates over the past few years. it's really nice to have a familiar face here, especially someone who i can talk about 'the good ol' days' with; having that sort of foundation has always been really important to me, so it's good that i'll have the opportunity to renew our friendship.

yesterday i met up with a couple members of my new cohort, which was exciting. from the people that i've met so far (steven, shae, heather and deborah), i feel like we're going to be a pretty interesting group of people, with a diverse mix of research interests. deborah and heather, it seems, were attracted to this program for all the same reasons as me: the promise of intellectual freedom, the ability to be creative in our research, the chance to fashion projects that matter, and the relative feeling that the department is highly competent and qualified in our areas of interest. the intellectual freedom, for me, is really a big thing, especially when it comes to being able to change my mind about my area of study and my specific project itself. more than ever, i feel like i'll have room to grow here, to really develop my 'sociological imagination,' my skills as a social scientist and my awareness as a human being, and to form some deep, lasting, important relationships.

i also managed to get another walk in yesterday. i promised myself that i'd only stay out for 45 minutes; alas, i discovered a new path that led along the beach, and i was gone for almost twice that time. i snapped some photos, though, as promised, so here they are...



a view of the marine biology building, which i'm convinced has the absolute best view of any building on campus.

there's an awful lot of avian life down by the lagoon. sometimes the birds with pointy beaks worry me, since i have an image of them going all hitchcockian on me and attacking, but they're really pretty. i'll never trust swans after what i saw them do in england, but this one is rather nice looking... at least until it huffed at me.

beach! the waves sound so beautiful and peaceful here. i stood there for a while and just listened, at least until i heard a thundering horde coming towards me and glanced up to see a dozen or so shirtless undergrads running down the stairs and then along the sand. all of that is going to take some getting used to...

the ocean, as seen from the bluff that rises above the lagoon.

a view of the lagoon and part of campus.

pelican!!!! (right? i've been despairing over my avian knowledge. an orinthologist i'm not. but there's a whole flock of these that gather along the lagoon, and go flying around over the ocean. a very pretty sight.)

i'm pretending that this is a stork, at least until someone tells me otherwise. they're really quite funny/impressive looking when they try to fly -- their wingspan is huge, although they have really skinny stick legs that hang funny as they fly about. a little nerve-wracking, though, when they take off right next to you and then divebomb into the water.

so, that's about all for now. tomorrow's TA training is student-led, starts with breakfast at 8:30 and then finishes up at 5; there's a second day on Monday, from 9-5, and a bbq at the end of the day on goleta beach, which should be enjoyable. i'm looking forward to meeting the remaining members of my cohort and catching up with some of the grad students that i met when i was here in march, though i'm hoping that it won't all be complete information overload. anyway, it's heading towards 5. i might take a short stroll before starting dinner. thanks for all the emails, everyone. i'll update again soon!