The new semester kicked off this morning with the first class of the season; Probability and Statistics. The rest will be unvieled over the next couple days as I get started with yet another fun-filled semester. To be honest, I'm relieved and happy to be back to normal; classes and work balance out well and keep my mind occupied enough to avoid sinking into terminal bordom which tends to happen over Winter Break. On the other side of the coin, all that went on over break was enough to keep me more than busy, so the new semester seems to bring with it a calm. I welcome that break from break.
The starting of the Spring Semester also means one thing, chasing is coming soon. Hence the 'spring' semester. The countdown officially begins to the season as conferences and conventions are now within a month, and the first early spring chases can be had in the next couple months. All this points to some squirming in my seats as my eyes begin to readjust to staring at all those noodles thrown over the US from the models. And with the events which lead to the purchase of my new ride, I'm even more eager to get out. But before then, lots to do...
Much like in 2002, I'll be spending the days and weeks up til my chasevacation prepping the new vehicle. I've laid out some plans as to where I am going to house most of my gear, but won't undertake any of that for at least a couple weeks. Most of what I have ordered is on its way and I'm figuring by Sunday, it should all be here. Once I have everything in hand, I can then start to fit everything and see what can go where. At some point in the next month, I'll get to mounting and wiring the gear, and hopefully by the first of March, will be set to make my first ventures into the Plains.
I've also toyed with the idea of bailing on other conferences aside from TESSA and the Chaser Convention. I'm figuring I'm going to need about $2000 to survive a month of chasing with me missing work during that time. Since I was able to get into a vehicle without payments, I'll be good financially in terms of my monthly bills. I'm going to talk to my insurance company this week about changing my 6 month billing cycle so that it starts in March and goes through August. This will allow me to pay the back end of that cycle all at once in April and not have to worry about it again til September. Everything else I can pay ahead of time or while I'm on the road, but hopefully won't amount to much beyond a couple hundred bucks. Rent I'll leave behind in cash (or money order) so its gone before I leave. That way I can keep track of my spendings while I'm out and make any time adjustments I see fit just in case. Last season, I spent $1500 while I was out; I'm figuring on at least $500 more this time around. We'll see how that pans out.
So that's the status as of now. A new semester beckons and hopefully it'll be much smoother this time around. So here's to it! And let the countdown begin!
