Someone or Something is looking over me :)

Today is a GREAT day! Today is a PHENOMENAL day!

If you keep up with reading my blog, you heard that my camera got stolen. Today is such a SPECTACULAR day because my camera was returned to me last night. Its a great story actually...a great story that I am going to safely opt out of publishing, but if you want to know give me a call - IT'S A GREAT ONE! Basically I took the high road and used my "verbal judo" skills to have it handed over on a silver platter!!! YEAH! I'm so frukin PUMPED right now. I didnt even need to have my friend beat any bottoms either. I AM A GOOD PERSON...and my shit came back to me - YEAH! Sorry...I'm under control now :)

On an unrelated note, I had a meeting with my big boss yesterday. I left the meeting feeling positive because I laid all my issues out on the table about him and the department and he laid out all the issues that he has about me. It probably was a bit hurtful for both of us, but in the long run I think it will make me a better professional. I'm cognizant of some areas of improvement and will stive to become the best in those lacking areas.

Thats all...Memphis this weekend - GOOD THING I HAVE MY CAMERA BACK TO DOCUMENT IT!

NEW DO

So I got all my hair chopped off :)

I go to get a new color in two weeks, I'll have a new picture of that when that happens! Have a great weekend!

The Circus cometh...

So I had to post this random happening - I thought my sister would get a kick out of it :)

The building that I work in (the student recreation center) is attached to the Show Me Center. Well the Show Me Center is an event arena that holds mainstream events. This week the circus is in town - nikki I think you might know where I am going with this :) Well last night I went to go work out in the rec center and I had to park in the back because of the lack of parking due to the circus. When I got to the back of the building there were about 50 trailers that I assumed the cast travels in. At this point I felt no anxiety about parking back there - it was still light out. However, when I got done working out it was about 10pm and was most certainly no longer light out. As I was walking to my car, I notice that it was also the same time as the "circus folk" were returning to their tailers. I didnt see any unusual characters, but the movie Big Fish still managed to float into my head...the fat man, the bearded lady, the little people....THE CLOWNS. OH NO! The thought of clowns officially marked the beginning of my feeling of anxiety - and the beginning of my RUN to make it to my car before any eye contact from the "folk." Circus folk are weird, and clowns are scary - it was a double whammy. I'm scared of clowns, get off my back :)

He is Risen

HAPPY EASTER...and, am I the only one in the world that is concerned the church uses incorrect english every Easter?

I got a card from my mother in the mail yesterday. It had the usual easter card sayings. On one side the card read "Love on easter and always." Underneath the typed saying my mother wrote, wait for it..."Have a good life!" HA...can you feel the love?

Another holiday alone...In the last few years I have made many decisions to further myself professionally. I have moved across the country and halfway back in just over a year, I have moved away from family, moved away from friends, love and enemies to places where I knew NO ONE...Only to make new friends, lovers and enemies. I feel like because of those decisions I am missing out. Missing out on what? I'm not sure. I suppose missing out on seeing my family, missing out on foundations of relationships that were never fully built, missing out on not being the eternal student :) I can't say that I didn't and don't love being in Denver and now Cape Girardeau, cause I did and do:) Isn't that grass always greener on the other side...or something like that? I always seem to reflect on the decisions I have made on days typically spent with loved ones. This makes me think of a quote from Wedding Crashers that Christopher Walked says to Rachel McAdams. "We have no way of knowing what lies ahead for us in the future. We can only use the information at hand to make the best decisions possible." I may not believe in organized faith, but I have FAITH and I believe that I have made the best educated decisions for me!

Also, here is picture of me and my friend Carolyn for Louisville last week!!!! Thought it would go along with the "new friends" portion of the post.

Next weekend, Andi Malicks birthday!

WASP-O-RAMA 2006 has begun

Yes folks it is true. I woke up this morning and heard the buzzing behind the blinds. Then I felt the overwhelming sensation of both fear and anger that I have not felt since last September. Where in the hell are these F-ers coming from? What is the first thing that I did? Oh that's right I called my sister. There I am scared out of my mind hiding under my comforter with a 25 foot range wasp spray in my hand talking to my sister in Pittsburgh. No seriously what was she going to do? I never can decide which scares me least: killing the wasp by hand, or using the spray to kill it and one day get lung cancer because the shit is so potent. Yes...I have thought about those pesky little bastards in depth. I have a fear, get off my back. Needless to say, I was late to work and no one believed me when I said it was because there was a HUGE wasp in my apartment. Damn those White Anglo-Saxon Protestants.

I've decided to added an old picture of one so you can feel my fear too - I would have taken a new one with my digital camera...but lemme mention this again - it got stolen. Yes, I am bitter.

Ok...back to work :)

Yes I am alive...

I have had a few comments from people that I dont update this enough, and those TWO people would be right. It just hard you know? When someone works full time, goes to graduate school full time, and then lives life full time...it's hard to recount it for the people who are not with you full time. It's funny though I always manage to read my sisters posts. And, if a mother of FOUR wonderful children can find time to entertain me...why can't I find time to update my blog. That is why I am making a vow to update this at least once a week. I have a bad habit in that when things in my life are getting busy - I do nothing. So, for a while there my life was getting off track professionally, personally, and academically. After some wise words from the platonic love of my life Matt Ruckman, I think I am back in the game.

So here is a little update of what I have been up to:

February: In February I traveled to Austin, Texas for the Region IV Student Lead On Conference. This one was an interesting one. The region is comprised of Missouri, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas...and maybe some other state. I'm not sure. But the point is...according to TEXAS, they are the only ones that matter:) I got to see a great friend from Ohio University - Stephanie. She now works at Texas State. As always I had a great time with Stephanie and I got to meet a lot of new great people. Austin, Texas is a great town. And...and we found Stephanies keys :) Yeah she dropped them behind some permant bleachers. We had to wait until the whole bar cleared out so the worker could use a drill and unscrew them and get those little bastards. :)

March: March of course was Spring Break. I think it is fantastic that I am 25 years old and I still get to experience a week in the sun. I went to Pensacola, Florida to visit some friends that work at University of West Florida. It was interesting to see that some of the damage from hurricane Ivan still had not been restored. I cant imagine how long it is going to take to get New Orleans back to its original state. I had fun giving Ruckman excuses to not go to work and to hang out and drink with me. I know he hated me by the end of the week...but I also hated his snoring by the end of the week ;) His classic quote is "If you hear me snoring, then you havent drank enough" HA...For a weekend I went to Gainesville for the Swamp Shootout. I got to see Kristin Hace and also some Gator wins in March Madness. I have great pictures from Spring Break...however my camera got stolen. The Man Eating Clam will forever live on in my memory only.

April: I have just returned from the NIRSA National Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. I had a great time drinking and networking with other recreational sports professionals. I think I attended a few sessions too...I am on a search committee for a job that is posted at Southeast, so it was good to meet with some of the candidates and get a feel for who they are before we bring them on campus. One of the nights a tornado touched down in Louisville. Interesting seeing how when this happened I was eating at Hard Rock Cafe. They evacuated the whole restaurant into the basement. Yes that is right, through the kitchen, past the service elevator into a very cramped basement hallway. No, they did not comp anything but, they remade our food that got cold.

Update on what is coming up in the next few months:
April 22 - Memphis for Jen Landers bachelorette party and Andi Malicks birthday
First weekend in May - Memphis in May...live bands
Second weekend in May - Kim James will be here :)
Third weekend in May - Jen Landers wedding
Fourth weekend in May - Hopefully a trip to the dirty ATH
June - Trip to Detroit to see the fam
August - moving out of the ghetto to a nicer house in a bigger part of the ghetto

So, THERE. I hope those two people got their fix of my life as it is right now.

"Moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other." Just a line from the movie CRASH that I love ;)