Spring Arrives

April 8, 1999

Well, here it is over a week into April already.... and everyone seems to be in somewhat a state of panic. Term papers, programs, tests, and everything else are all due in a few weeks. Not only that but I, like many other people around here, are pondering summer employment and living arrangements. I've considered living in Bottineau with my mom, in Burlington with my grandparents (closer to Melanie and Minot, where there are jobs), and I've been interested in doing something a little different. By different I mean not Wal-Mart, not telemarketing, and not flipping burgers. I've been searching for a co-op position in all sorts of companies but no luck so far. I'm fairly certain it's too late to arrange anything for the summer break. I fear I'm doomed to work at Wal-Mart again. I'm not saying Wal-Mart is a bad place to work. It's just so, well, boring.

Easter break was an adventure. Mother nature was right on cue with the usual April winter storm. We had no classes last Friday for easter break. Unfortunately on Thursday, part of Friday, and Saturday Grand Forks was covered in 1/4" sheet of ice from freezing rain. The rest of the state got a bunch of snow. In any case, not many people left campus on Thursday. Even on Friday, the roads heading west of here were barely driveable. It's estimated that 20% of the trees in Grand Forks have sustained some serious damage from the weight of the ice.

I was also a little off when I last wrote about the likelyhood of a flood in Grand Forks. The river got way up there on the dikes. I took some photos of it and the coulee that runs through campus, both of which were very high. The waterways are going down now, so I think everything is safe. "They," whoever "they" are, estimate the water level will rise again this spring, but we'll have to wait and see.