Hey everyone! Santa Cruz is going great. Over the past couple of days, we have basically just been doing training for the RA stuff (how to handle certain situations, etc.) Students are supposed to start arriving within the next few minutes and I had some free time so I figured I would update my blog.

All of the kids that live on my hall are taking a class called Mathematics of Money. It is going to be interesting. I have to go to class a couple times each week just to see how everything is going. I am excited about that. I have been working on door decorations and my bulletin boards for the past couple of nights. I was excited this morning because I actually slept until my alarm clock went off. I'm starting to get used to the time now. It felt good to sleep for a long time.

One of the things I have to do as an RA is lead an activity every day. On Friday, me and another RA are having a photo activity where we just walk kids all around campus and take pictures of different things. I promise that I will put all kinds of photos on here after Friday. Santa Cruz is beautiful. The other day, we went for a walk down to the athletic fields and that is the place on campus that overlooks the ocean and the town of Santa Cruz. Because of the fog, we couldn't see it. It has been pretty cold here. Since a nip stays in the air all day, it takes quite a while for the fog to lift. The past couple days you have also been able to smell smoke in the air. Apparently the big fire that is about 30 minutes away is the one that you can smell here on campus.

Here is my mailing address if anyone wants to send me something (birthday cards on July 14th, etc.) I get excited when I receive mail so it would be nice for you to send me something...haha. Here is the address.

Zach Triplett

Johns Hopkins CTY Program

UCSC

1156 High Street

Crown College, Harvey Residence Hall

Santa Cruz, CA 95064

Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

The Beginning

Hey everyone! I have finally arrived in Santa Cruz, California. My flights were good. I've been awake for a long time though. I got up at 4:45am Eastern time, which is 1:45am Pacific time. This time is going to take some getting used to. Its 10:40 at the house but it's still daylight where I am at, which is awesome.

I took a few pics on the ride from Dallas to San Jose. I love flying. Dallas/Fort Worth was a huge airport. I had to ride a train from one terminal to the other. It was neat though. I landed in San Jose and it was about 45 minutes across the mountain to Santa Cruz. The San Jose side of the mountain was smoky from the wildfires but once you crossed into Santa Cruz it cleared up. The closest wildfire is about 30 minutes away so no-one needs to worry about that.

The campus is amazing. It is on the side of a mountain surrounded by a redwood forest. It's pretty neat. I've still not seen the Pacific Ocean yet. I'm excited about that. All the people that I am going to be working with are great. A lot of people are from the east coast and this is the first time the majority of them have worked here too.

My room is small but it is nice. They didn't give me a fitted sheet in my linen packet which is kind of aggravating, but at least the sheets are clean. The dorms look like houses in the southwest with the curvy roofs, if you know what I am talking about. I will put up a pic of them later on. I've not had a chance to take my pics, but I will put a couple up. There will be a lot more to come.

Clouds between Dallas and San Jose.

The Sierra Nevada Mountain range.

The view from my dorm window.

Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Santa Cruz...Here I Come!

How's it goin everyone? Everything is good here. I can't believe I leave for California tomorrow. Mom, Blake, Aunt Vic, and I are going to spend the night in Charlotte tomorrow night and then my plane leaves at 7:05 on Thursday morning. This will probably be my last update until I am on the west coast.

I am getting excited. I took a break from packing to write this blog. I think this thing turned out to be a pretty good idea. At least everyone can keep up with me without having to send boo-koos of emails.

I'm excited about California...meeting new people, experiencing a new place. It is going to be a lot different than here in Virginia, but it will be worth it. I am going to miss everyone though. I was thinking the other day...I've never been away from home for 6 weeks. The next few weeks will be the longest I have ever gone without seeing anyone that I know. I will meet all kinds of new people though.

Well, goodbye everyone. Sorry if I didn't get around to seeing you before I left. I will be back in August...if I don't decide to just stay. If I do that, I'll try to come visit.

Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Holy moly. I've already started slacking at my blog. I promise it won't be like this in California. I will keep your mind stimulated with all sorts of interesting stuff about my life...yes...that's how interesting my life is. You will be amazed, I promise.

Only 5...well...6 more days until I'll be in Santa Cruz, California. My plane leaves from Charlotte at 7:05 on Thursday morning. I'm starting to get really excited. I'm just kind of nervous because I don't really know anyone else who is going to be out there. The people I am going to be working with have been sending traveling emails which is good. For one, I like traveling emails...and two, I get to know the people I'm working with. And I like numbered lists, like what I just did.

I'm sure I will love it in California...but I'm sure I'll be excited to get back to the mountains here in Southwest Virginia. At least I will get away from the locusts for a while. For those of you who live around here, you know what I am talking about. They will deafen you. The day I walk outside and do not hear the roaring shreek of the aggravating bugs, I will question the functioning of my ears.

I miss everyone from Emory. I'll be excited to get back to my favorite place in August. I had a weird dream about it last night.

I'm going to start ending with a generic ending? That doesn't make sense, but you'll catch on. Like where Bob Barker always said, "Remember, have your pets spayed or neutered to control the pet population." Here is my ending:

Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

It feels nice to be in Haysi for a few days. I've been in the mood to work outside I don't like to put labels on people, but I laughed yesterday when I realized I was mowing the yard without a shirt on and was listening to Aaron Tippin on my iPod. It was comical...to me and only me I think.

I'm getting more and more excited about California as the days come on. Only 14 days until I leave to go. I got out my packet of information today and was reading a little bit more about where I'm going. I'm actually going to be working at the University of California-Santa Cruz. I'm excited about meeting all kinds of new people. This is going to be a major change from the mountains of Southwest Virginia, but I think it will be worth it.

I like the Price is Right. I know that is random, but the Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular is on right now. So, I need to go. I promise all my updates won't be this pointless. Later!

Zach

"I can't do all of the service the world needs...but the world needs all of the service I can do."

I was at the Bonner talent show tonight and I saw a fellow Bonner wearing a shirt with the subject quote written on it. I think that quote says a lot.

I think I can speak for myself and other Bonners at Emory & Henry when I say we are sometimes secluded. I can't really explain what I get out of doing my service in the community. Most people at the college see service as a burden...something you do when you are in trouble or something. That is not the case. My point is...I didn't realize until this morning in my Bonner congress meeting that there are other college students, all over the United States, who love service just as much as I do. It feels great to be around so many amazing people that have practically the same views on the world that I do. The world needs change...and that is what Bonner is all about doing.

We're comin home tomorrow and I'll be around Emory until Tuesday evening then back to good ole' Haysi for a few days. Hit me up. Later.

Live from Meadville, Pennsylvania

Wow. I've not had a blog since I had LiveJournal back in...I think the 8th grade. The whole point of creating this thing is so that people can keep up with me while I am away this summer. Right now I am at a Bonner conference in Meadville, Pennsylvania. It turned out to be a 9 hour drive from Emory in a mini-van. Nothing against mini-vans...but, ok, I'm against mini-vans.

I'm pretty lost up here. I'm a Bonner Congress rep and I have no clue what is going on. The other three people that came from Emory are in Erie, PA until Saturday doing service, so I'm alone here. I'm a social person but I'm just feeling in-social tonight, so thats why I decided to start the blog. I guess I will learn more tomorrow. We are learning how to use a lot of technologically savvy stuff (Wiki's, RSS feeds, etc.) Don't feel bad. I didn't know what they were either.

Speaking of technology, I have the story for the day. So, on the way back from Tennessee where I visited my Uncle Jeff and his family, me and my posse of cousins stopped at the Bass Pro-Shop in Sevierville. I had been wanting a pair of Sperry's so I decided to buy some. They are Sperry's, but yet they are shoes I can get wet at the same time. They are really cool. Back to my story. Here in my awesome dorm that I'm staying in, I thought we only had internet in the lobby. So, I come to my room to get my laptop during dinner and take it to the lobby to check my email. On the way down, my new Sperry's, which are very slick on the bottom, caused me to fall on the stairs while I was holding my laptop. My laptop took a blow and busted my screen. I was only bruised though. I am still able to see my screen but the right hand side is all screwed up.

Well, I'll go for now. My goal for this...I guess you can call it blog...is to not only let you know about whats going on in my life, but what is my life. I feel a post about my Bonner service coming along really soon. Later!