Long time, no posts....

I know, I'm a terrible blogger.

I'd resolve to do better in the new year, but I hate resolutions. In any case, I'll try to do better.

The big things in my life are applying to grad school, and Gracie.

I'm working towards making grad school a reality for the fall of '06. I've applied to two programs, out here at Portland State Univ. (PSU), and to the University of Georgia. If I stay here I'll enter the master of urban and regional planning (MURP) program. If I go to Georgia it'll be to attend the masters of landscape architecture (MLA) program. Two very different choices in two very different places.

My eventual goal is to teach landscape architecture, with a focus on community planning issues. While I've got some planning experience, the MURP program would give me the credentials. The MLA program would be a more fun/design-oriented program, with greater odds of assistantships since they've got a large undergraduate program. It would also give me greater contacts within the LA community. The MURP would give me job growth outside of a LA teaching position, while the MLA program would do little for me professionally as anything other than a teacher.

The academic side is a toss-up. Location-wise, I'm leaning heavily towards GA. I miss being in a smaller town, and Athens is a pretty cool small town. It's also only a couple of hours from my father in NC. It's been almost 25 years since I was less than a day's drive from him. Closer would be nice. It'd get me closer to mom and Tim in Fayetteville, AR, too. Only 14 hours! While not exactly close, a day's drive is a whole lot closer than Portland.

At this point, I'm waiting to see if I'm accepted, and what kind of offer I get. It'll probably be another month or two before I hear anything.

Waiting is hard.

At least I have Gracie to keep me busy. Gracie is a 3-year old mutt. Probably a mix of brittany spaniel, lab, and pitt bull, but you'd have to find her parent and ask them to be sure. She's about 45 lbs, and white with a bit of tan on her ears and a tan spot on her back. Pretty cute. She was my mother's, but needed a better home. I needed a dog. So she came home with me at Christmas. I'm hoping that the 2x a day walks have some positive impact on my fitness, but it's nice to have her around even if that doesn't change. So far she's been amazingly easy to live with. Fairly quiet, well-behaved, and generally house-trained. I know, I need pictures, but that'll have to wait...

Take care,

B