If I walked to Montana...

Just a little fun fact I found: To walk from my apartment to the Montana Conservation Corps office in Bozeman, Google Maps suggests a route of 2,040 miles consisting of 562 turns, and it recommends a travel time of 27 days, 18 hours (dunno if that allows for sleeping). This route goes right by Chicago Mercy Hospital and Lake Michigan... and right through the South Side. *gulp* Too bad you can't click a button that says, "I'm a skinny pasty guy carrying all my possessions on my back."

As a side note, I've been hiking/weightlifting/running for the last week, and I'm already more fit than I've been in three years. I should go to Montana more often.

Big change... *gulp*

I'M GOING TO MONTANA WITH AMERICORPS FOR FIVE MONTHS!!! I START THREE WEEKS FROM TODAY!!!

Holy crap. After weeks of puttering away at my application, I finally had a phone interview with and was later hired by Montana Conservation Corps to do conservation work, help with research, restore natural habitats, and other awesome stuff. I'll be based in Bozeman, about an hour north of Yellowstone. From there, I'll head out with a small crew for about 10 days at a time, camp in the wilderness while working, then return to the metropolis of 30K people for four days to recharge. Repeat for five months.

Awesome. Now I have a reason to lift weights before going, because I'll be lugging around 50 pounds or more of equipment/supplies a good chunk of the time. Regardless of weather. O_o Speaking of which, I'll be hitting up the local parks these next couple of weeks (starting tomorrow morning) to build up my endurance.

I'm so psyched, exclamation points fail to convey my excitement.

Not only do I love the chance to do something new (hey, that's the name of this blog), but I have a glimmer of hope, something I lacked just three short months ago. Instead of banging my head against the brick walls of Wake, I can hurl my body into the elements for the sake of nature. Whee!!! Plus, I'd like to parlay this experience into a job/career of service, which would thrill me to no end.

Then there are the photo opportunities I'm hoping to find, though I don't know how much I'll be able to post while there.

So there you have it. I'll be running around with my hair on fire for the next three weeks, but honestly, I can't wait to get started. This chance, this change comes not a moment too soon. What stinks is that I'll have to leave all the friends I've made this semester and socially start from scratch. I guess I'll have to try keeping in touch as best I can. And yet, my gut tells me I can't stay around Wake much more, using it as a source of company. I just realized that a two whole classes of Latin majors have declared and graduated in the period since my last Latin class in the fall of 2005. Kinda crazy. All that to say, I need to stop clinging to Wake and make a new life for myself.

Here goes...