A long overdue update -- I completed my first semester of grad school living in the RV. Got a 4.0 for the semester and began solidifying some solid relationships with professors and peers. I think I've finally found that 'work/life' balance that I have always biased more toward work than life. All in all, I think the semester is a sign that I'm on the right track.
The RV has been great. After spending time in places with shared walls and in landlord situations, I am realizing more and more that the RV was the right way to go. It's like living in a tiny house alone. It's also really nice to know that if something goes out, I don't have to wait for the landlord to come fix it -- I just have to fix it myself. For some, this may not sound desirable, but I greatly prefer it.
Anyway, the semester went great. I spent a lot of time working with literary theory in my humanities courses and environmental law and decision making processes in my environment course. It's a great mix of material that keeps me interested. Strangely, it's really an educational path that builds on what I was doing professionally at my last job -- blending science and policy in the frame of culture to make science and policy understandable and consumable by the public.
Overall, it was a great semester. I hope the next semester goes as well. The RV has been great and I'm excited to make it through my first winter in it. So far it appears that my winterizing work paid off, which is a major relief.
