Two Days of Day One

Yesterday was PG's first day at LATI, and this morning is my first day back after winter break. Our town is under a winter storm warning, and of course our classes run completely opposite one another; as PG gets out of one, the Lion is going right into another, PG gets a two hour break, and when I get out I get a long break waiting for HIS next class, etc. Unfortunately we'll be going through this for at least another year.

Good news is though that Chad was able to sit and talk to me for a bit yesterday about the Third Avenue Pond project and he had some good cost-saving ideas. For example, the town Parks and Rec department has 8 canoes that they almost never use, that we may be able to get permission to borrow. There is a scuba shop in Montevideo that we may be able to rent tanks from rather than buying them (though we would still very much prefer to own our own so that we can bring them along as we further our education). He also advised that we should contact the City Attorney's office to sign a waiver since we will be working on city property (which is news to me, I though the Upper Big Sioux Watershed Project owned the pond).

Since I have a few minutes while I wait for PG to get out of his class, let me introduce my classmates since I'm sure you'll be hearing quite a bit about them. The only people I will be using "real" names for are LATI instructors since their names are right on the school website; I'll be assigning nicknames to the rest of them.

Mac - one of my lab partners. Great kid, very smart, though a little idolizing of Chad. Probably owns the only Mac in the whole school.

Mom - is actually a little younger than me, but like me is also a non-trad. She has three kids, would do anything for a friend, and has a very strong "don't mess with me" attitude.

The Zebra - is the youngest of the bunch, and is your classic Californey hippie/punk. He's in a constant contest with Mac for the top of the class, and you could not find two more opposite people.

Mrs. Brisby - is another one of my lab partners and is your typical quiet country homegirl. She plays a mean game of Settlers of Catan though.

The Couple - consists of Hunter and Bean. No, they are NOT a real couple, not in the slightest, but that is the nickname they got in class because they always sit together, hang out together, etc.

Boog - Boog is one of those guys who just sits quietly until he comes out with something so funny you laugh for an hour.

Fitz - Along with The Couple and Boog, fills out the back row of the class. Another quiet type.

MusicMan - probably one of the hardest working people in the class, who is in a band that plays out several times a week, yet still never misses a day.

And of course Chad is our Environmental Technology teacher. Great guy and looks great in a Snuggie (we got him one for his birthday/Christmas).


. . . A Little Later

A pretty nasty snowstorm is affecting our area right now, and they are talking about cancelling classes for tomorrow. If that is the case, PG and I are going to try to make it down to the town library and research the history of the Third Avenue Pond, which we know was once a quarry of some type. And if we can't make it down there, there's still plenty of other work to be done here.