I now have a concrete date to leave Boise. I've left places so many times before that I pretty much know what to expect, but it's still weird. Once again, I'll be packing all of my shit into my minivan named Frank, who will groan in his old age about having to deal with me through several states, and once again I'll be trucking halfway across the country. A dear friend of mine is coming with me, so that will cut gas costs in half. And as we know, you essentially have to sell your fucking kidney to fill up your gas tank these days (Speaking of selling a kidney, I read some article about a kid in China who sold his kidney to get money for an iPad 2. Ha! What a tool).
I do enjoy road trips, though... we have a few days to fuck around, so we'll probably be stopping at Mount Rushmore. Or maybe Wall Drug or the Corn Palace. What South Dakota doesn't have in actual touristy shit, it makes up for in fantastic, kitschy advertising. That starts several hundred miles away on the interstate coming from either direction. It's the ultimate in roadside America.
We'll presumably be going through Wyoming, too, which is big and empty. I'm continually amazed at the emptiness of the western United States... it's awesome. literally. I'll miss it out here.
Saskatchewan is plenty empty, though. One of my favorite jokes I've heard so far is that you can go to Saskatchewan and watch your dog run away for four days. Ha!
In the mean time, though, I am still here. And it won't stop fucking raining. It's supposed to be sunny and warm in Idaho right now, but today? It's overcast and stupid and in the 50's. Again. Fuck! I'm trying not to let weather destroy my mood, and it usually doesn't, but lately it's been a challenge... what is this bullshit, anyway?
Whine, whine, whine. Somebody pass the cheese.

I may be going up to northern Saskatchewan before school starts... yay! Trees and lakes and bears, oh my! Well, I'll pass on the bears, thanks. I've realized that in my old age I like nature, but I am pretty fucking terrified of wild animals. I spend a lot of time worried that I'm going to get eaten by a bear. Plus, this past weekend I got bucked a little on a horse AND got hissed at by a snake while running. I like animals a lot... but I'm not sure if they like me!
Anyway, I would like to end on a positive note. Consider it a service message.

Hi-ho, Canada!

I am officially approved to study in Canada. Yay! Yesterday a scary-looking, but small, envelope arrived at my house with the words "Canadian Consulate" on it. Because I worry about these things, my first thought was "Fuck! They're rejecting it!" However once I opened it, all was good. Holy shit! It's actually gonna happen! I don't... have anything left to do except sign up for classes and fucking go there! It still blows my mind sometimes that I'm going to be... a graduate student. Daaaayum. Not JUST a graduate student, but a graduate student studying soil which I fucking love. More than most people. Yep, it's true.