Eye Declare

I was eating Pop-Tarts Tuesday morning when I had a panic attack. "What if I'm going blind?" I thought as I took a swig of milk. (Osteoporosis isn't welcome here).

The day before, I noticed that my computer screen and the newspaper looked blurry out of one eye. That night, I took out my contacts and it was the same way...So after I finished my Pop-Tarts the next day, I gave the eye doctor a call and made an appointment for Wednesday.

When the doctor came in, I said, "Hi, how are you?"

Doctor lady with a concerned look on her face: "I'm fine, how are YOU?"

Ok, the exam hasn't really even started yet, minus the air puff, and she already looks concerned; that can't be good. To spare all the details, she thought it was some kind of infection, so she sent me to another eye lady down the road. Not exactly my idea of a day off, but it IS my vision.

When I got there, a lady who looked like a mix of Farrah Fawcett and Victoria Osteen took my chart and pulled out a pen. "So when did the sudden vision loss occur?"

Wait a minute, vision loss? It's a little fuzzy; let's not jump to conclusions. I told her that sounded harsh, so she modified: "When did the sudden decrease in vision start?" I told her 2 days ago, then she proceeded to ask me a bunch of questions I had already answered on the form, some which, I might add, have nothing to do with my eyesight. "Do any of your relatives have asthma?" "Do you suffer impotence?"

The second lady doctor finally came in and Amanda told me not to worry because she's Canadian. I told her I'd feel even better if she was Asian, but we both decided we'd never seen Asian eye doctors.

She looked concerned, too, so her team of experts proceeded to torture my poor eye for approximately two hours and 13 minutes. First they kept asking me what the eye chart said, knowing full and well that I couldn't read it, then tested my peripheral vision by asking me how many fingers they were holding off to the side.

After three rounds of "one, five, one, two, five," they told me to press my forehead and chin against the metal thing and stare at the little red light so they could basically blind me with photographs for 20 minutes.

Then the camera guy said, "Does the light bother you?" Only when you shine it in my pupil like that. Then they injected dye into my arm so they could see the blood vessels in my eye better or something. The guy told me that 5% of people become nautious and that if I was going to have an allergic reaction, it would happen within two minutes of being there. Then he asked if I was ready.

Sure, why not? It's only my day off and you already look red because of that silly little light. As if having crappy vision isn't bad enough. ... I was glad Amanda was there, though; she made me less nervous.

I ended up not having nausea or a seizure, but I was hungry and felt light-headed, so he asked me if I wanted some juice. I said yes and he brought me a strawberry Juicy Juice that expired last December. I told Amanda to put it in my purse so he would think I drank it.

When we left, Amanda and I met Zach at Applebee's. My eyes were still dilated, so everything was really bright. I asked the waiter if he could close the blinds. The food was good, though. I left my Juicy Juice on the table when we left.

...Today, I was back in the office to make sure my eye isn't any worse. Being Halloween, some of the staff members were dressed up and the guy in the camera room looked like Paul Bunyan. Then I think they forgot about me for awhile because I almost fell asleep in one of those chairs while they were looking at pictures of my eyeball in another room. Eventually, they released me and I didn't have to pay co-pay again.

So in the end, I'm not going blind, but I am supposed to use these drops 4 times a day in hopes that it will go away and have some blood tests done whenever I remember to call the doctor and schedule it.

The Art of Being Spontaneous

I was on my way home from church when I called Sara.

Me: "Can you make sure I didn't leave my fall skirts there when I moved out?"

Sara: "Yeah. ... Do you want to go to the Renaissance Festival?"

Me: "I want to, but I can't today. I have two papers to work on."

Sara: "Don't you want to go with me? Don't you want to be spontaneous? When was the last time you were spontaneous?"

Me: "... I don't remember. ... Sara, don't ask me to do something I want to do when I have papers to work on."

Sara: "But I don't want to go next weekend and the next week is the Halloween one and the next week it's almost over."

Me: "But then I'll come home and still have two papers staring me in the face."

Sara: "... I kind of feel bad for you."

Me: "Thanks. Let me call you back in five minutes."

So it was nice to be spontaneous for a day; I need to do it more often. One of my biggest problems is that I don't know how to slow down sometimes, and stucture gets boring anyway.

Although now I'm at home, it's 9 p.m. and I've done precisely nothing on my papers. I guess my prayer in church for God to give me motivation for my papers didn't work too well. They're due the 20th and the 22nd, but this Saturday I'm going hiking, so that day is shot, and I usually don't feel like working on homework during the week. At the same time, I don't have class this week, so I don't feel TOO horrible. It was too nice outside to stay in anyway.

Later, I called Mom in a tizzy because not only am I missing my skirts but I'm missing my scarves and leggings. Emily wanted to talk to me.

Emily: "What are you doing?"

Me: "I'm stressing out because I can't find my clothes."

Emily: "What did you do with them?"

Me: "I don't know. That's the problem."

Emily: "You know what I would do? Get something to eat, then think about what you did with them."

Me: "I already ate. Now what do I do?"

Emily: "I don't know."

Me: "Out of ideas already?"

Emily: "Yeah."

So there you have it; even a six-year-old's advice won't solve my problem. But if you see any Gap skirts or a batch of colorful scarves floating around somewhere, give me a shout.

Good Idea, Bad Idea

You know when you're on the brink of doing something that you KNOW you'll regret, but you do it anyway? I was just on a friend's Facebook profile and saw that she had several albums from places she'd traveled to recently. Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Capri, etc. Before I even clicked on one, I knew I would hate myself. I was right.

BAD IDEA.

I can't begin to describe the urge I have to travel more. It's like an addiction. It's like I'm completely consumed by it and can't get it out of my mind. Have you seen the movie Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg? She's a showgirl disguised as a nun who teaches her class how to sing. At one point, she tells one of the characters, "If you wake up in the morning and can't think of anything but singing, you were meant to be a singer." Or something like that.

That's sort of what this is like. I know I've been to some places -- Australia, Montana, Minnesota and Canada -- but I want to travel EVEN MORE after seeing them. I want to go to Alaska, New York, Greece, Ireland and Africa. I don't know why I'd have such a strong passion for something if I wasn't meant to do it.

It's not like I hate being home. I love having a place of my own to come in the evening, a familiar place to wake up to or a place to visit my family. I love getting to know the people around me and being plugged in to a community. Nothing is quite like home...And I certainly don't want to live out of a suitcase. But I want to see these places SO badly I can hardly stand it. I think I'd have a heart attack if I felt like this 24/7.

P.S. Good idea: if you join the Blizzard Fan Club, make sure you print your "free 16 oz. Blizzard" coupon the first time it comes up on the screen. Otherwise, you might have to contact technical support and explain why you didn't read the directions, then hope they'll send you another one.

A Diversion from the Political

I can't believe it's October. Where did that come from? It was just August a minute ago, and now it's time to stock up on Halloween candy.

Speaking of candy, I went to the vending machine at work a few weeks ago and something was out of place. Behind a row of 3 Musketeers was a blueberry Nutri-Grain. Now you can't tell me that number six in line for C10 didn't get screwed over...But I guess it made number five's day.

That reminds me...I had a craving for chili, chips and cheese several nights ago, so I stopped at Food Lion after work. The chili and cheese were on sale, so I got two of each, then remembered I needed notebook paper. I was checking out and thought, "Hm, which item doesn't fit?"

Well, I think since I've been a loser and haven't written on here in over a month, I'll put the rest of my thoughts in list form. (Plus, all I do now is write for work or class, so it's nice to not worry about making things coherent).

1. I talked to Sarah awhile back and she and Topher were getting ready to go to the Olive Garden...it was never-ending pasta bowl night or something. I told her, "You know you're in college when you go to a restaurant for the never-ending pasta bowl."

2. There was a huge spider crawling toward my desk at work today. I think I attract bugs. I'm not kidding. It seems like every day for the past week, I've found some sort of ugly bug around the house or at work. Last week, there was a granddaddy longleg in my bathroom and I had to run out in my bath robe and grab my bug-killing flip-flop. There's a certain one I use because it's heavy duty.

3. I'm disappointed in the basic car wash. I pay $6 for the thing, drive in the little building, put my car in park and it's like a light rain. Unfortunately, because I park under a huge tree at work, a light rain is not going to get all the bird crap off my car. (I swear they only aim at mine. There's not a speck of uncleanliness on the van across from me). Last time I was in the car wash, I noticed something else. You know how a little sign lights up to let you know what's happening to your car? It usually says things like "clear coat" or "rinse." So I was sitting in my car, staring at the soapy stuff on my car when the light came on: "car soaking." What?...This isn't a bubble bath; it's a basic car wash. "Car soaking" is just another way to say "we want you to think you got your money's worth." Don't lie; I know what I paid for, I know I'm cheap.

4. A couple of weeks ago, Deborah went with me to the Indian Trail Pow Wow. I like the guys' dancing the best.

5. When I go into work in the morning, I grab a newspaper, take out the sports section and pretty much ignore all the advertisements. But I recently noticed one of the ads in our paper for a funeral service. There was a picture of the guy in charge of the place and I promise you he looks SO much like Bill from the game Guess Who. One of my co-workers agreed. Amazing.

6. I got to cover a trial this week. The details of the crime were pretty disturbing, but it was really interesting. As a side note, I don't think we should have to pay for the incarceration of a non-citizen.

7. I recently joined the Blizzard Fan Club at Dairy Queen. Pete told me that if I did, I would get coupons for ice cream, so obviously, there was no other option. I got an e-mail from DQ that said "you're one of us now." Well, I may not have been popular in high school, but by golly, I knew I'd fit in somewhere.

So I just got off the phone with Mom and she told me Emily fell off the monkey bars a few days ago and hit her head. I remember getting blisters on my hands in fourth-grade from playing on the monkey bars so much during recess. I would rub dirt on my hands to give me a good grip, swing on the bars until a big blister formed in the center of my hand, then go inside with the other kids and wash it with Softsoap. Our teacher always bought the kind with the plastic fish or dolphin on the inside of the pump.

Mom's birthday is coming up and while we were talking, she also told me how generous Emily is becoming. Dad asked her if she'd like to chip in her money for Mom's birthday gift and she said, "No, I'll just use your money." Look out, future boyfriends.

In other news, Pete came to visit me last week. :) I feel bad that I had to work half the time, but I really appreciate him giving up time he could've been working on projects at home to come all the way down here.

Last Wednesday (the day after he got here), he went to class with me, and Thursday, we made spaghetti. Over the weekend, we were in TN to see my family. Visiting my family is pretty different from visiting his family...but both are fun. Saturday, we all went to play putt-putt, and Sunday, Mamaw, Papaw, Andy and Austin came over for lunch. Nothin' like home cookin'. Pete made a lemon layer cake, too, which got "rave reviews." I'm sure he'll hear compliments for years to come.

Following good conversation on the way home Sunday night, I had to work Monday. I think that was taco night...Hilda said the kitchen smelled like a Mexican restaurant. By Wednesday, he had to leave again and it'll probably be a couple months before we get to see each other again. Maybe November will sneak up on me like October did.

Cloud 9 Makes My Cheeks Hurt

I've been smiling so much the past 6 days that I must have the strongest face muscles ever. I've been thinking of a good way to start this entry for awhile now, but since I couldn't come up with a good intro, I'll just dive right into it. I got engaged on Thursday!

Most people who read this will already know that, but just for the record...Here's how it went: Perfect day only made more perfect by a sweet proposal in the hammock, followed by me saying "oh my gosh" five million times and needing to be pinched for fear it was a dream.

10 minutes later:

Me: "What if you change your mind?"

Pete: "That's silly."

Me: "What if you get mad at me and then change your mind?"

Pete: "No."

Me: "What if you want to kiss other girls?"

Pete: "You'll let me won't you?" Sly grin, followed by, "That's ridiculous."

Me: "... I thought you wanted to wait til you were 29!"

Pete: "You fell for that?"

Me: "... Yes."

For those I haven't told, we're going to wait about 2 years so I can finish grad school. I'm hoping that will make the planning more fun than stressful, too, because that's how it should be. Everyone else seems just as excited as I am.

Mom: "I'm going to have a son in law!"

Emily: "Can I be flower girl?"

Sarah: "You're engaged?! I'm so happy for you! Tell Pete I approve."
Sara: "WHAT?! Oh my gosh, I feel old." (But she's excited).

Alex: "Yaaaaaay!"

Mamaw: "I knew it!" (She always has "feelings" about things).

Papaw: "You know Mamaw can see into the future."

There are several more, many of which are along the lines of Mamaw's response. Of course, none top my mile-wide smile...I'm sure I'll have much more to say about all this over the next couple of years. :)

Until then, I have a bunch more to write about from this past week. I went to visit Pete in Minnesota for 9 days and every day was action-packed. Saturday was Steve's wedding (one of his best friends), Sunday was a Twins game, then Fargo, and Monday was Winnipeg, Canada.

I'd never been to Canada before, so Pete made sure I got a stamp in my passport. For future reference, Canadian grocery stores are way too expensive, but you do get products with French on one side. That night, we found a campsite that came with a pet chipmunk that we named Jean Pierre. The first night got really cold and uncomfortable because we were sleeping on the ground in the tent with no sleeping bags, but the next night was much better.

On Tuesday, we went down to the beach area at the campsite and I got to swing! Then we went through the Manitoba history museum and walked around town for awhile. That evening, we got lost trying to find a park that had free music, but we finally found it and got an earful of American 50s tunes.

Wednesday, we were back in town. We passed an auto place that advertised "free mustard," but unfortunately, I didn't get a picture. I did, however, get several of Chinatown. We stopped in one Chinese restaurant and I didn't like it very much. The food was alright, but the atmosphere was a little annoying. The waitresses kept coming around the table with carts, asking if we wanted anything on it. I personally prefer to order and be left alone, but it's still good to have a new experience.

On the way back into the U.S., ("Welcome to the United States" said the sign), we encountered some rude Customs guys. Getting into Canada was a lot easier than getting out. I was driving at the time to give Pete a break and turned the car off when we came to a stop. Well, I'd just started eating a Kit-Kat and realized that it would melt in the heat with the car off. While the Customs guys were looking in the trunk, I took another bite, then one of them came back around to the window and asked what we were doing in Canada.

I tried to chew faster, and answered with my hand over my mouth. "We were camping."

Mean Customs man: "You're going to eat while I'm talking to you?"

Number one, we've already told you what we were doing there. Number two, you saw I had candy in my mouth. I guarantee you he wouldn't have said it the way he did if I were a grown man.

Then they asked whose car we were in. Pete said it was his mom's. "Does she know you have it?" Pete said later that he should've told him his mom didn't know, but she wouldn't mind. Some welcome.

I suppose it wasn't the best idea to be eating while they were inspecting, but I bet they would've done the same if they had a melting Kit-Kat. Lighten up, lads.

Then they were critical of how we know each other since I have a NC driver's license and he has a Minnesota one. I told Pete they must've had a slow day.

Thursday (engagement day!) it was back to the cabin. That evening, I attempted to swim in the lake with Pete. I must say that my graceful dive (i.e. awkward plunge) into the water would have put those Olympic divers to shame. I acquired two humongous bruises in the process, then couldn't catch my breath to even laugh.

For a minute, I thought Pete might retract the engagement. To put it out of my mind, I thanked God for two things: that I took the ring off beforehand and that I was wearing a life jacket. Lesson learned: don't step onto the back of the boat when it's slippery.

Next was another attempt to steer the boat while Pete water-skied. (Ok, we seriously need to find something I'm good at. I only have boring talents like editing papers and cleaning). It was clear that I need more practice, but at least he didn't drown.

Finally, it was time for s'mores over a bonfire. You can't go wrong when chocolate is involved.

The next day, Friday, we cleaned up the cabin and headed back to his house for a dinner out with his family. That was a lot of fun and everyone had something to celebrate.

Then Saturday, I went to my first state fair with some of Pete's friends...he was there, too :). Go figure that it would be five states away from my own. I also tried cheese curds for the first time, and although I can't deny their tastiness, I still think they need a different name. "Curd" is so foul.

Later on, it was off to a Vikings game, but sadly, they lost in the last five seconds.

On the last day, Sunday, Pete took me to Minnehaha Falls. I want to live there for a week. Then came the sad part...the flight home. :( That's never as much fun as the flight there.

The plane ride was interesting, though. I had one more chapter to read in my textbook for class (on contemporary cults), so I decided to read it on the way home. That posed a small problem, though, because it was on satanism and I didn't really want to open to that chapter in such a confined space, so I kind of held my book at an angle until I was past the bold "Satanism" on the first page.

There was also a really annoying guy sitting diagonal from me. He said things like, "Chaz, baby," when he answered his phone and I think he'd had one too many drinks.

By the way, it occurred to me that the women's restroom is full of advice. Before my flight, I made a pit stop and had to wait in line. As each woman came out of a stall, she said something to the ones in line.

"That one doesn't have toilet paper." "You have to make sure that one flushes all the way." "There's water all over the floor in there."

I'm not up to speed on restroom etiquette, but I didn't give anyone advice in return. For some reason, I like to keep to myself in the public restroom.

Small Hair Crisis

I'm not sure if a crisis can be small, but anyway...

Yesterday was my day off since I have to work Saturday. Woo hoo, right? No. The first half of the day went well...I met some of Hilda's family (Hilda is the roommate), picked up a wedding card for next weekend and dropped a few things by Ahn's Alterations. Pete has informed me that Asian ladies do some of the best alterations, so I'm not worried.

So family, card, alterations, no sweat. Then I had a hair appointment that I've been looking forward to ever since I made it. (Fine, it's just been a week, but who cares?) I went to Aveda, which I've been to many times and I always like my hair when I come out...Plus, it's cheap, so even better.

THIS time, it took 2 1/2 hours. Hair doesn't take that long. Maybe if I was about to get married or something, but just a little change here and there on a Wednesday afternoon should not take more than an hour.

I was all excited because I brought pictures and the girl seemed like she knew what she was doing. She had a cool "Carpe Diem" tattoo. "Seize the day;" this will be a good haircut.

Wrong. After stupidly leaving the girl a tip, I left looking like I'd held my head out the window as I drove 90 miles an hour down the interstate. I thought the cut was decent, but there was no style to speak of because she did it wrong.

I had a few annoying things happen between then and this morning, but this entry will just be about my hair. :)

This morning, I figured it would look better after I washed it, but I was wrong again. After holding a mirror to the back of my hair, I freaked out and decided I wasn't going to work until I fixed it. (I tipped this chick?!)

I headed to "Today's Cut" ("for tomorrow's look," the door said) and told the lady I hated my hair. It was uneven and had a big poof at the bottom.

"How much do you all charge?"

Lady: "$35 for wash, cut and style."

Me in my head: "WHAT?! That's almost a tank of gas and twice what I spent yesterday! Are you crazy?"

Me in real life: "...............................................(large sigh) OK."

I realize I should have gone somewhere else, but I didn't want to drive around forever, comparing prices, when I needed to get to work.

Between yesterday and today, a total of $52, 3 1/2 hours and 3 inches shorter later, I headed to work. I told myself it looked ok and I would not, after all, make a secret trip to Aveda to strangle my former hair stylist. ("I want my tip back, you carpe diem maniac!")

So I guess I should have waited to write yesterday's entry because now I have another pet peeve. I hate when I have a vision of how something will look and it turns out nowhere near that...

Alas, I shall rock the look and hope it grows on me.

P.S. To all the ladies, go see Mama Mia. I thought I was in an alternate world watching Pierce Brosnan sing, but you can't see the "Dancing Queen" scene and have a bad day.

Pet Peeves

Last week I had to go to the eye doctor to find a new pair of glasses and realized that I was due for an appointment anyway. I came back a few days later and I want to know something. Why make an appointment for something if the person you're seeing makes you wait for 20 minutes? I have yet to meet a doctor that doesn't make me wait at least 10 minutes.

The lady I saw was extremely nice (which of course makes me feel bad for saying the previous), but another annoying thing is that she kept talking...I'm not kidding, the entire time. It's like when I call customer service for Verizon and the people will NOT shut up. "Ok, just hold one more moment. Thanks for your patience. Yep, here we go. Here it is. Alright, now let me just do one more thing. Thanks for holding. Ok, ma'am, this is it. Just a moment."

My head was already in this weird metal mask thing and she kept asking me random things, then telling me how wonderful I was doing. (It's blurry; why is that great?...I hate getting the letters wrong in the first place). Plus, it was 8 something in the morning and I don't officially wake up until 10:27.

Here's another pet peeve: ungrateful nit-pickers. We got a press release at work yesterday about free movement classes for disabled children. No one asked us to do an article, but I thought it was interesting so I talked to the people in charge. The lady who founded the organization was SOOO happy to have the publicity and after it ran this weekend, I e-mailed her a copy like she asked.

Well my co-worker is friends with one of her volunteers and she told him today that her boss was unhappy about the article. We should have used "children with disabilities" instead of "disabled children." Let's take a poll...Who says it's the same thing?

"They're children first, then disabled," she told her volunteer. "That's why I should have read over the article before it went to press."

One. You can't do that. As a courtesy, we could offer to read back a few quotes to be used, but it's the editor's job to read it before it's printed. Two. Free publicity; why are you mad? I told my co-worker that I wish we could retract the article and run a big black space.

I kind of hope she'll e-mail me so I can respond. I wouldn't be nasty, just explain why we write "disabled children." Besides it being AP form, I didn't write "children who are typically-developing," either; it was "typically-developing children."

This was after I was cussed out by a guy's mom for putting his name in the paper. I'll try to give you the brief version. So there was a murder in 2006 and 11 people were charged. The guy was killed because he found a bloody car on his lot and the mob thought he killed a guy who was at the time missing. One of the guys charged pleaded guilty in May and got off on probation. Two weeks ago, he assaulted a guy again and his jail time was activated. Well I wrote a short article about it and the mother of the guy who was originally missing (and later found dead) called me and called me names for putting his name in the paper.

WHAT? It's only been in several newspapers a million times now and he wasn't even charged with anything. He was a victim. She told me the newspaper is shaming him for putting his name in there and I was confused. I am incredibly sorry for her loss and I'm sure it's difficult for her, but she doesn't need to call me names for it. When she was done ranting, it went silent and I asked if she was still there. I don't think she hung up, but she didn't say anything, so I hung up.

Of course, if I'm offended by that, I'm in the wrong business.

Alright, I think I'm done. I just told Pete yesterday that things can always be worse, so that's something to keep in mind...By the way, "alright" is apparently "all right" according to AP style. Whatever; I like my version better.

On a different note, I love my new place! (Here is where I give my family a shout-out for making the trip to help me move. Don't know what I would've done without them). I was a little nervous about moving, but I really like the lady I'm living with and it's nice to be in a house instead of an apartment. (I've decided I only get nervous when I go to a vending machine. I hold my breath after I punch in my selection because you never know when it'll get stuck). We went out with one of her friends last night to get dinner and they're really funny together. And extremely nice.

I'm also excited to be in a place with sidewalks! I have yet to go for a walk, but I will soon. Maybe not tomorrow because it's supposed to rain...which is good I guess because my car is dirty. Although the dirty car is really just a testament of my faith. Faith that it will rain.

Oh, that reminds me. Mom said Emily has a favorite singer now. Enya of all people. Maybe she'll be refined.

One last thing: if you have time, check this Web site out: http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html.

My aunt sent it to me and it tells you how southern (or unsouthern) you are. I got 81% Dixie, which surprised me. It asked me if I still use Confederate money. I told my aunt I use Debit.

National Cheesecake Day

I'm a horrible person and haven't updated this thing in about a century, but it's good to know that there are people out there to remind me to do it...Plus, I have a super reason...I've been waiting to put some things on my external hard drive so I can delete things on the internal one and download some pictures to go on here.

Of course, I don't have such a great reason for taking so long to do those things...

So this past week hasn't been great to say the least. I don't feel like getting into it, but the bottom line is that it's been lonely and I've been a little disappointed in some things. But thanks to Pete (Pablo), I'm getting over it and now it's time to fill you in on the last few weeks of Tiffany life.

Well I went home over July 4th and that was a lot of fun. It's interesting when one sibling is just learning to ride a bike without training wheels and the other is passing me up in height. (I told Seth the peach fuzz above his lip was distracting me. I also told him he's becoming a mini Papaw because he wears jeans and white T-shirts with the sleeves cut off. Now all he needs is some starch in those jeans). Emily also hula hoops and jumps rope now, which is just about the funniest thing I've ever seen...By the way, Seth rarely smiles in pictures now, but Mom said he strums on his guitar when he's on the phone with girls, so it's relevant.

On July 4th, we bought our own fireworks and it's too bad that I wasn't taking a video on my camera when Dad lit one and it zoomed into the garage. He's lucky it didn't hit the car. I don't think he knew that it was a spinning firework until it went off.

The next day, we went to Jonesborough to watch him play in the community band. There were some characters out that day. Oh, and a mini pony!!!!! I love those things. I got Seth to take a picture. After eating dinner with the band, watching some concha dancing and looking at a bunch of shiny tractors, we walked around a bit, then settled into our seats to listen to the band and watch fireworks. The neighbor's grandson couldn't keep his hands off Emily and his grandmother said he was going to get kicked out of school.

That Sunday, I got to go on a motorcycle ride with Papaw and my dad and we went down into "the country," even though I consider the majority of TN to be "the country" compared to here. That's a good thing; I like space.

Ok, so the following weekend (July 11-13), Alex, Sarah and I got to go to Wilmington. We tried to get Sara to go, but she was a bum and didn't go. (She just told me it's not nice to write that about her). But we love her anyway and it was a wonderfully fantastic trip...Although Alex made a face on my back in seashells, then brought over two jellyfish to where Sarah and I were sitting because she's Alex...We love her, too.

I also got to see my friend Nichole from Australia. We hadn't seen each other in a year, but we picked right up where we left off and it made me miss traveling even more.

Oh, I'm forgetting one of the best parts about the trip: we only spent $88 each. :) Sometimes it's good to stay in a crappy hotel.

On Wednesday, I celebrated my half birthday (or really just a reason to get everyone together). There were just a few of us, but it was good to see a couple of people I rarely get to see.

I think I'm up to speed now. Last night I went to a cook out/birthday bash for a former co-worker from the Observer. I hadn't seen my old co-workers for five months since I left, so I'm glad I got to spend some time with them. They're exactly the same; I miss them.

...I think that's the most abbreviated version of three weeks I've ever written, but at least I'm trying. Oh yes, and I'm moving this weekend. Half of me wants to move and the other half doesn't. I like living with someone I know, but I need to be closer to work. This other place is in Indian Trail and only 10 miles from work (instead of 30) and 5 and a half miles from the seminary, so I'll be saving a lot on gas.

Sara just told me she's going to cry herself to sleep at night.

Me: No, you're not.
Sara: You're probably right...But I will miss you...Where am I going to find a roommate? I want to live with someone I know and like. What am I going to do? What if the cars don't sell?...

I'm not sure where the last part came from. I told her she sounds like a stressed out adult, then I turned around and saw that she was stretched out on my bed with a blanket over her head. I take that back.

Well I do believe it's time to end my lazy day with bedtime. Say a prayer for me...I have a textbook to read in the next few weeks and I'm not going to have much time to do it. This is what I get for thinking, "It's still July; I have until September." I guess it just hit me today that it's the END of July and all my weekends are now full until my other two classes start.

P.S. As we are in the thick of hurricane/tropical storm season, it's occurred to me that there's never been a Hurricane Tiffany. (I looked it up). Does anyone know if you can put your name on a waiting list? It was obviously a good choice for jewelry and light fixtures...

P.P.S. Wednesday is National Cheesecake Day. Being a die-hard Golden Girls fan, I thought that was pertinent information.

Confabulate

Two things I've learned in the past week: number one, confabulate is another word for "discuss," and two, I like plums.

So life has been good to me lately. My work days have been going by quickly and nicely and I have a lot to look forward to. Let me back up to last weekend. Alex G. and I went to the Biltmore Estate...first time ever...and it was incredible. It took us about an hour and a half to walk around one of the multiple gardens and another hour and a half to walk around the 4-story house. They were setting up for 7 weddings that night. Crazy.

OH! And there was a nun with a pink cowgirl hat!!!

After that, we drove to the winery, but skipped out before the wine tasting because there was a long line and we had to get back to meet my parents for dinner. We met them at McAlister's and the conversation was quite entertaining. The only down side to the day was that I wore some new shoes that I had yet to buy heel gel things for, so there were blisters on the back of my feet and I started walking funny.

The next day (last Sunday), I went to Symphony in the Park with some friends. There's a free symphony concert by Southpark Mall on Sundays during the summer. We got rained out, but it was still fun. I got to use an orange peeler for the first time ever. Sara went with me the week before and it was also a LOT of fun. We rolled up to the Taco Bell drive-thru around midnight last time and all the lights were off. We were bummed because it's supposed to be open til 2 a.m. Chris said he bet it was still open so he drove up to the intercom thing. The lady working the drive-thru said hello and the rest of us gasped. There was someone there!

Oh, I got a couple of my grades back from last semester. I got through Aquinas with a B! I came out with an A in New Testament survey, but I'm still waiting for my other class. The summer class on contemporary cults went well, too. It's my favorite so far.

By the way, the professor went on a tangent one day and let us in on a little secret to quit smoking. He said he used to have long hair and smoke in high school and one day, he and his friends were standing around outside when some girls walked by. There was ice on the ground because it was winter and when the professor took a step forward to talk to one of the girls, he slipped and fell to the ground. The cigarette burned the back of his throat and he swallowed it. He said he had some really weird indigestion for about a week and never smoked another cigarette.

OK, ready for some REALLY exciting news now?...I bought a yoga ball!!! Yay, I'm excited. I wish it was a pretty color instead of gray, but oh well.

So next weekend, I'm going home for the 4th of July. That should make for some good pictures on here. The weekend after that, I'm off to Wilmington with the girls! We're trying to convince Sara that she needs to come. She said she'll be tired becuase she'll be at camp with people from work all week, but we told her she doesn't have a choice; she has to come.

P.S. Thought of the day: Why do oatmeal raisin granola bars have "oatmeal" in the title? It's a granola bar, so of course it has oatmeal, and none of the other flavors have "oatmeal" in the title...chocolate chip, peanut butter, etc....So why can't it just be called raisin?

The 10 Month Itch

It's been almost a year since I came back from Australia. I came back July 6 I think. For probably a month after, it was great to be home and see friends and family, have a car and make money again. But for the past I don't know how many months, I've been having withdrawals. Not just from Australia, but traveling altogether.

Before I went, I was getting really restless, ready to get away from work for awhile and distance myself from drama on the home front. I wanted to see something new, meet new people and ride down a different road. I did all that and for awhile I thought I was "cured," that I was content again and had, in a sense, "gotten it out of my system."

But now I just want to travel even more. I've said this to Pete a lot lately, but it's true. I can't stop thinking about what I'm missing. What's going on in such-and-such place while I'm eating breakfast? While I'm at work?

When I look out my bedroom window, I see another apartment building and some trees. And I'm sure while I'm looking out the window, someone somewhere else is doing the same, but what is that view like? Of course, if I was anywhere else, I'd still be missing whatever is going on here.

It's not that I'm dissatisfied with my life here; I like my job, especially doing something different every day, and it's nice to be close to friends. I missed having someone familiar to talk to while I was gone and I missed a lot of little things...like recognizing brands at the grocery store or knowing where I was going. I don't want to make it sound like I'm unhappy; I'm just restless again and it's a little frustrating.

It's frustrating because I feel like I should be content where I'm at. I have a good life and I can't complain. It's also frustrating to tell friends that I want to travel more and hear that it's not practical. Geez, kill the mood in five syllables or less why don't ya. "It's expensive to travel." "When are you going to take off work?" "Yeah, I want to travel too, but it's not gonna happen."

One of my favorite quotes is "remember that at any given moment, someone would love to be in your shoes." (I made it up!) I tell people that a lot and it's certainly true. I can't forget that I have it good here and that I have to be somewhere, right? So why does this traveling thing constantly nag at me?

Sometimes I'll go through pictures from Australia or see some of the people I met there on Facebook and my heart sinks a little. There were things I didn't enjoy while I was there and people that I don't miss, but overall, it was exciting, a breath of fresh air.

Right now, I have a calendar of Ireland and I catch myself staring at it all the time. I want to go there, I think, and I make a mini itinerary in my head.

At the same time, while I was abroad, I realized that it's not nearly as fun to travel without someone. When I say I want to travel, I don't mean by myself. If I had my way, I'd take my family one place, my friends another and so on. It means a lot more when there's someone to share it with. In fact, there was a guy in one of my classes a couple years ago who modeled. He'd been all over the place and posed the question, If you had one year to live, would you spend it with your family or traveling around the world? He said he loved going to all the different places, but it just wasn't the same without someone to share it with.

As much as I want to go everywhere, it wouldn't be very fun by myself. There wouldn't be anyone to laugh with, get lost with or pose for pictures with.

Maybe if I traveled some more, I would find that it's not as great as I thought it would be. It could be like the straight/curly thing. If you're born with straight hair, you'll always want curly hair and vice versa. (I'm just now coming to terms with my own and that took 22 years). Say I got the opportunity to travel with whatever job I have, and then determine that I'd rather be at home...But I have to know.

I want to see all the states and I want to go abroad again. What I don't want to do is let a busy work schedule or money overrule my desire to do those things. I hate hearing people share something they've always wanted to do, but have never acted on.

Now, I guess I should clarify something. I don't want to live out of a suitcase, either. I just want to take some trips here and there and remind myself that there is life outside of Charlotte (or wherever I am at the time). There's too much world to only see a small portion of it.

At work, we have to type up birthday, funeral and wedding announcements. I've typed up several now and it's amazing how many people seem to stay in the same small town their whole lives. "So-and-so got married to so-and-so Saturday. Her parents are from Unionville and his parents are from Unionville. In fact, their grandparents are from there, too. After a honeymoon five miles outside town, the couple will reside in Unionville."

And that's great if that makes them happy. Personally, I think I'd feel claustrophobic.

There are a lot of people who do what they love regardless of how impractical it may seem. I tell myself that if it's God's will that I travel, I will travel. There will be a way. Maybe I'll travel a lot all at once, maybe I'll travel for work or maybe I'll just get to plan a lot of vacations, but I suppose we'll find out. I guess I just hope that sometimes God values passion over practicality.

Hot Like Wasabi

It is so freaking hot. Inside, outside, in my car...hot hot hot. Sara came home yesterday with an oscillating fan. She said her parents have a fan I could use, but I'm not sure where I would put it. And I don't think our air conditioner works very well. It's on, but you can't feel it. Maybe it's faith-based...

Today I've had the day off. I love my days off. I still got up early because Deb and I had plans to go to the pool, but she was passed out and didn't hear her phone, so I caught up on e-mails, listened to music (Beach Boys anyone?) and finished watching Mulan.

Maybe I should explain the last one. Sara has had a rough week, so last night I said we should watch a movie. She said nothing about love...which drastically limited our selection because I can be a sucker for the sappy stuff and she's a hopeless romantic...and has a lot of Disney movies, which, of course, all end with princes and princesses smooching in front of a sunset.

So we settled for Mulan, although it still ends with the military guy falling for her, but anyway...We didn't get very far until Sara took a phone call, then I took a phone call and before I knew it, it was 1:30, so I finished it today. I've found that it's difficult for me to start a movie and not finish it. I always hated when we didn't finish movies in history class.

Then I went to visit Sara at work and to see Amanda. We had plans to go to the park with her dog, but like I said, it's too hot, so we stayed in and had a chat. We talked about how Oscar (the dog) likes to eat flip-flops, her boss who doesn't do anything, how Monroe just got a Starbucks, summer vacations, fitting in with married couples, spelling bees, the hampster named Jim and stealing things.

The last thing has come up several times recently and everyone seems shocked that I stole things in first grade. My teacher, Mrs. Glandon, had a bonus word every week and if we spelled it right, she would let us choose a Blow-Pop from a huge drawer in her desk. (For a brief time when I was little, I wanted to be a meteorologist because I could spell it...Plus, I liked putting the velcro sun and raindrops on the weather board). Well, I figured out that if I crouched down behind the counter at the front of the classroom when she got everyone in line to go to the bus or car lot at the end of the day, then I could sneak another Blow-Pop. Always the watermelon ones. I would pretend I was tying my shoe and wait for everyone to leave, then make my way to the big drawer.

A couple times it was locked and I remember being disappointed. Or sometimes all the watermelon ones were taken and I had to settle for grape or cherry, and cherry is just not the best flavor out there.

After awhile, Mom asked me where I was getting all the Blow-Pops. "I got the bonus word right," I would say. Which was at least partially true. I mean, maybe we didn't have a bonus word THAT day, but we most certainly did at some point in the week and I always got them right. I remember my first-grade self had to start being careful how many I brought home so Mom wouldn't be too suspicious.

Oh, I forgot she reads my blog. Well, I'm sure she caught on anyway.

It wasn't until fourth grade that I got more confident and took a purple rabbit's foot keychain from a girl named Lindsey. She had long blonde hair and I was jealous. I'm not sure if that's why I took it, but I remember wishing I had her hair. I don't know if she ever noticed I took it, either. This is when we had cubbies and it was pretty easy to walk over, undo the keychain from her backpack and slip it into mine. I still have it, too.

Ok, that's enough. For anything else I've ever taken, I plead the fifth...

I forgot to write last time that I went to a high school a couple weeks ago to talk about being a journalist. There's a career-oriented class at Monroe High School, and one of the girls wants to be a reporter. I was all excited and even made some note cards, but when I got there, I found out the class is mandatory. That right there says a lot.

Besides the one girl, no one cared what I had to say. I tried my best, but to no avail. I don't think I'd like teaching high school.

Speaking of class, I start my Contemporary Cults class next week. I'm looking forward to it, but it's going to be an extremely busy week. Work for 8 hours, then class for another 4 1/2 every day and then on Saturday. But it's just one week.

I'm also trying to plan a beach trip with "the posse." I'd like to go to Wilmington the weekend after July 4, so we'll see. It would be nice to have all the girls in one place again.

June Bugs

Sara gave me a pass for a free one-week trial at Lifestyle Fitness and yesterday I decided to try it out. This morning, I could barely lift my arms to wash my hair or reach the cereal. At least I know it had some effect...I went back this morning :)

This morning, Deb went to church with me. There's a couple from the church that had a baby awhile back and headed to India shortly after to be missionaries. We found out that their life savings was depleted yesterday when their bank card was stolen. There's a chance that they'll get the money back, but that's several thousand dollars that they don't have now. If you remember, say a prayer for them.

After church, I had lunch with Alex G. We went to Jimmy John's, then Manifest...a music/movie store where I realized just how many movies I haven't seen and just how slim my music selection is. We're talking about going to the Biltmore Estate in a couple weeks because he bought tickets for my graduation and we haven't been yet. I'll just have to remember to load up on allergy medicine beforehand...I've seen pictures of the massive gardens.

So a couple weeks ago, Pete came to visit before heading to Alaska for the summer. (I contemplated sneaking into his luggage, but I think his bag would've been over the weight limit). We got to double up with Sarah and Topher to go to the Olive Garden one night, and saw Prince Caspian the night it came out.

One of the nights, I made dinner while Pete made a Boston Cream Pie. I think I had the easier part. Then I scolded him for doing all the dishes. I felt like a guest in my own apartment.

Oh, and I have a new car stereo! (Again, thanks to one of the most thoughtful and giving people in the world). It sounds great. No more headphones while driving, which of course isn't exactly smart.

So now the most thoughtful person is helping his uncle build a house a few time zones away and I'm sweating out the end of spring in muggy Charlotte. Sara said no AC til June, but I couldn't sleep and had to turn it on yesterday. May 31, June 1...same thing.

Oh, and I went to a band concert Friday night. I wrote an article a few weeks ago for work about a high school band that's celebrating its 75th anniversary. It's the 3rd oldest band in the state and has some interesting background stories. Anyway, I told the band director I'd try to go, so I headed that way after work Friday. I'm really glad I did; it was something different.

Well I need to go to the grocery store before meeting up with Deb again.

Til next time, happy June!

Quote of the day: "If you want a rainbow, you gotta deal with the rain."

P.S. Are June bugs named after the month? And if so, why June? I'm partial to January myself ;)