Can’t Get in Contact With Her? Call the Senator or The Lake Home

August 20, 2011

Today I went the Grand Forks Famer’s Market with Kristi and Rachel. You could say that it was a blind-friendship date. Father Lefor, from UND’s Newman Center, passed on our information to Kristi and Jake, a young couple involved in FOCUS ministry. Kristi gave me a call yesterday and invited me to tag along with her and Rachel to attend the Market. It was the first time that I saw downtown Grand Forks, and it’s quite nice. One can tell that it’s a newer city, but a lot of the buildings still have an old feel to them, making it more quaint than modern and industrial. The Market buzzed with young families enjoying the August morning. It is now is the peak season for many vegetables, so the booths were loaded with cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, onions, cabbage and other delicious greenery. Other booths also carried homemade baby clothes and Norwegian baked goods. I bought half a lug of peaches. Total I got 16 peaches…ok, a little excessive, but I was stoked about these peaches and Josh loves them too. I’ve eaten about 3 a day. There is nothing like a ripe peach dripping all over your hand when you take a bite. I’m soaking up this August life before North Dakota freezes over and I forget what summer is.

Other than that, the last couple days have mostly consisted of arranging all the necessary paperwork and running between various UND departments. The other day I met with Professor O’Donnell, who was a talkative bundle of energy and yet, a self-proclaimed “geezer.” She showed her enthusiasm for my pursuit of editing and gave excellent guidance for helping me get situated into my academic niche at UND. For example, I’m trying to get into a class called Editing and Publishing with Professor Donaldson, who happens to also be my advisor; however, I’ve had some trouble getting in contact with her. As soon as I told Professor O’Donnell about this, she proceeded to call Dr. Donaldson’s office, home phone, vacation home and then Dr. Donaldson’s husband’s (the state senator) cell phone. It’s all about who you know, and Professor O’Donnell is a pretty fantastic person to know.