Frances's Travels, part 1

I've stolen Ray's computer since mine doesn't seem to want to steal his Internet connection.

So I'm in Santa Cruz right now with Ray, who is being an absolute sweetheart and feeding me real Chinese ramen and whom I am feeding candied lemon peel, thanks to my visit with my aunt. Nice people came in and watched a "gay movie," Get Real--pretty much a standard coming-of-age story. But it was fun. We went on down to Pizza my Heart and had pesto pizza... it was as good as he said. Santa Cruz is beautiful. The college is built in the middle of a redwood forest, on top of a hill looking down to the ocean. We were up for the sunrise this morning (a little matter of parking permits) and the sun was shining on the early-morning fog down below and was filtering through the trees. Living here for the summer would be good, if I don't do summer math. Probably expensive, but I would be working at *something*. And Ray is an excellent housemate, a good cook, and more tolerant of my messiness than anyone should be. I would enjoy it. And he gives me advice on the wearing of boots and jeans.

The drive was ok, even if the last twisty mountain highway was scary in the dark.

And we're off to downtown to look at cute shops. Ray's being a bad boy and skipping music. :)

Frances's travels, part 2

Curses. LJ ate my half-done entry. More curses.

The trip up was good. I like driving alone. Northern California is wonderful. "Green" is not a relative term. The winter is very strange, actually. The ground is bright grassy green, even in the orchards, except for the fallow rice fields, but everything else is bare and brown--trees, vines, most of the cover. And no snow.

It was so amazing to not have to worry about anything more than not studying chem, or candying lemon peel and juicing the lemons, or being polite to the little old ladies at church, or cutting out shirts, or getting a good 10 hours sleep each night and going to bed before 11. Hello, 8 am classes. Joy. Things whose loss (or my inattention to) is no disaster. And we stopped on the way home and saw the Milky Way. I don't see that any more, not since Iowa I think. The thought of what that faint stripe represents... and how much more exists... is staggering. "Seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion..." Awesome in every sense of the word.

Grades came in. I pretty much got what I expected, but higher in my 2 labs. Mudd, you have not defeated my mind and work. I will go out and get active next semester--I'll see more about IV, and I'll check out the crafts club. I want to branch out and meet people, and I'll try. I also want to exercise. I walked 5 miles and was feeling it. I am out of shape. At least I have PFD. I'll find something else, too. Meeting people--on my terms--and getting in shape, I suppose, could be my resolutions. Took me long enough to figure them out.

So the visit was wonderful. I met a really interesting man who must be 50 but is off work on disability something and is trying to understand enough math to pass the teaching exams. It's too bad, too--he seemed like the sort of teacher I'd like to have.

The trip to Santa Cruz was generally good. I left early, so I went to the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge. We'd stopped by a flooded rice field to look at the trumpeter swans. Wow. I walked around, and took the car tour. It was amazing. Egrets. 4-5 types of ducks. A few kinds of geese. Ring-necked pheasants. Hawks. I wish I'd had binoculars, but still.

The road coming in was not fun. Windy mountain roads in the dark, no good. Santa Cruz is a beautiful place, though. The campus is built around the redwoods, and sits on a hill overlooking the bay. We were up early this morning to arrange parking permits and we saw sunup over the early morning fog. I am jealous. I could see coming up here for the summer, if I don't do summer math. Which will depend on math/cs classes. But Ray is a wonderful housemate and is entirely too forgiving of my mess than anyone should be. :)

I leave tomorrow down PCH. It'll take forever and it'll take longer with the breaks I know I'll take. But it will be beautiful, I'm sure. Ok, ramen now. I'm being boring and not going to Ray's GLBT thing tonight, but I need sleep. I'll be gone before sunup tomorrow.

Politics and classes.

Another resolution, not necessarily for the new year. Take an economics class--a good, basic economics class--before I graduate. Not because I like it. Not even because I'm a masochist. Because I live in California and I have the obligation to vote on initiatives and have little context to consider their financial/economic effects. Another philosophy class would also be interesting, though independent reading *and* serious thought and writing would probably be as good. Along with a consideration of how ideas and beliefs are supposed to transfer to politics. (Call me a cynic...)

Speaking of economics, I want to know more about the budget. I haven't heard much besides local leaders being unhappy with it, and some about college impacts. Even those worry me, though. His promise in State of the State--tuition increases capped at 10% a year came without the fine print. Does not apply to community colleges or to graduate programs. A year and a half ago community college cost $11 per unit. Then it was $18. And if he has his way, it'll be $26. That's about a 45% increase... and law and medical tuition is going up by 40%, and other graduate programs by something in between, I think. Brilliant. Just brilliant. And what this will do to the teacher shortage? And to community college students, many who go there *because* they don't have the money for a 4-year? Many people will be very unhappy with this. Maybe it'll get them out to vote, or something. I don't know.

I'd like to know more because I'd like to know the whole picture. I'd like to know the comparative cuts. I'd also like to know how much prisons are getting cut compared to schools... dunno. And I'd like to know what else in that speech is only true if you read the fine print. It was a fine speech. And the Democrats' rebuttal was amusing--in effect, "He stole our line!" But I'd like to see how he's going to measure up to what he's said. Any ideas for news sources, anyone?