Life is a Zoo

So I woke up to this e-mail in my inbox:

And before I actually read anything, I was all WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Pottermore here I Cooooooooome!!!!

And then I read the e-mail. This isn't my acceptance e-mail. This isn't my acceptance e-mail?! ARGH!!!!

*sigh* So yeah. That was pretty much my morning. Not a particularly happy morning, but whatever.

I got the exact same score in mini golf as I got when we played on Saturday. So that was odd. Also, before I get to my musings of today, I would like to make some clarifications on my college/school shopping guide. About the computer. I think it's more important to buy books and such if you don't already have a laptop, but an awful lot of high school students already have their own laptop they can hopefully take to college.* Or a lot of people seem to get ridiculously expensive laptops as graduation gifts. But if you don't have one, and you don't have much money, and your parents can't/won't buy you a computer, buy necessities first. Books. Pay tuition. Pay housing. Then get to college, see what you need, how much money you have, how convenient the library is, and judge if you need a laptop. The same goes for the printer. I am in no way recommending every single person go out right now and buy everything they think they could need for college. That's exactly what the big stores want you to do. And no, you do not need an ironing board for college. You don't.** And my little list of 5 things is 5 things everyone probably already has, but you probably want to make sure you have them for college. Unless, again, you're fine with a library computer. :D But really. please don't ever buy new college textbooks. It's never worth it.

(In reality however, my list should probably put the books in front of the laptop. I wasn't exactly making a priority list, just a list as I thought of things, but here's my revised list:

1. Sheets/Comforter. Very few colleges come with these. If you already have extra sheets at home, yay, bring those. But check first to see if your dorm has weird sized beds, like twin long or something...

2. Books. Duh. Just don't buy them new.

3. A shower caddy. This is a funny name and probably sounds weird, but at least this way your roommates won't be quite so likely to steal your shampoo.

4. Laundry stuff. You probably already have some sort of hamper at home you can use. You really don't need an ironing board or 7 different baskets.

5. A computer, if you so desire. I know that this might be too expensive for some people,so this is probably a preference thing and also a money thing. But if you have one, bring your laptop. There's no point in it gathering dust at home. And if you don't? Evaluate your expenses, and then see once you're at college how much you want one.)

Yay! Moving on. Today's musings. :)

I haven't been at home much today. I went to the local zoo with my sister and her boyfriend. I don't even remember the last time I went to this zoo. I think I went to the Denver one most recently. But anyway. I think I have mixed feelings about zoos. I like being able to see the animals, I like that the zoo does educational programs with kids and the community. And our zoo seems to give the animals really good exhibits and enrichment opportunities. I mean, they take up an entire mountainside, so they certainly have room. But every time I go to a zoo or aquarium, I can't help but feel sorry for these animals who have only ever known the zoo. They deserve the wild. They deserve to know their home. I know that a lot of animals end up at zoos and aquariums because they were injured, but a lot of them are also captured and just give to zoos. *sigh* I do truly believe that people need to see these animals, and that zoos are a great enrichment opportunity for kids. But...but...as a biologist, I want the animals to live at home. :(

But maybe none of us really know our home or live in our home. Maybe home is something in our mind, a mental state of freedom and peace. Maybe none of us really know where home really is. I think in some way we're all in a zoo, in a little space that's really too small for all of our potential and for everything we need to live happily and peacefully for a long time. Or maybe that's just me being depressing. But sometimes I can't help but think there's something in our lives that takes us away from home and places us in a place that looks so like home...but isn't. Life is a zoo.

Okay, but that said, I did enjoy the zoo. We have a relatively nice zoo, with a lot of exhibits, including a wolf exhibit. And we ACTUALLY saw the wolves today. That never happens. After that, we walked around the main path of Garden of the Gods. I love Garden of the Gods. I know it's a super touristy place, and for that reason I've certainly had enough of places like the top of Pikes Peak and Seven Falls and such. But I will always love Garden of the Gods. It's such a beautiful park. I love hiking there, but mostly I love running there. They have some lovely running paths next to giant red rocks with the big blue sky above you and the mountains to your west. =) Perfect place to be.

Mmmm...and then I ate dinner, did yoga, watched Whose Line, and now I think I'm going to go to bed pretty soon. I feel tired for some reason, and I certainly don't want to be tired on Saturday when we go on our nine mile hike. Hopefully tomorrow I get my classes fixed with my advisor.

Cheers!

Word of the Day: billet--to provide or obtain lodging

Inspirational quote/photo of the day: "Know what's weird? Day by day, nothing seems to change. But pretty soon, everything's different." -Bill Watterson

Days until I leave for college: 15

*Unless they drop it. Or destroy it. But really, just try to make your laptop last.

**Target was selling ironing boards as a "back to campus" item, simply because they knew gullible teens would see it and think they needed it. Maybe if you live in an apartment a few years into college and have a job/internship you need suits for, it might be nice. But not everyone needs one. They don't.