HAPPY NEW YEAR

With 2012 ending and a new year upon us, I have been contemplating and reminiscing ( I don't know how to spell that). I can remember thinking last year that 2012 would be THE year. I would finish classes, interview, hopefully match, and start internship. Not to mention get married and MOVE to the internship. While all of these things did happen, lots more happened that I can't begin to cover. These were both good and bad, but none the less, they are a part of my 2012. I think I am becoming a grown up ( or it could also be the all the mindfulness stuff I'm learning about), but I really want to throw my planning brain out and start to go with whatever comes. There cannot be pleasure or happiness without pain and struggle, and no one plans for pain. SO, what will 2013 hold? I DON'T KNOW! I hope it holds some new experiences and lots of quality time with the people I love (and Lou)! I'll catch yall on the flip side!
-Patti

Visit from the baby sis

I wish I would update more. I will probably regret not having done so later, when I want to remember what happened in my life (because I will have no memory?). Anyways, I had a GREAT holiday in Louisville, followed by the treat of my baby sis visiting STL with her boyfriend and dog. We had SO much fun...without really doing much of anything. She helped me make my Christmas card and decorate my mini tree, and we went shopping.
In other news, I have finally collected all of my dissertation data and have a meeting scheduled to analyze the data. I am equally thrilled and terrified of this because that means I have to do stuff (and I don't think I am capable of doing some of it). I will though. I know I will. SO, until next time. PEACE

Living in STL

SOOO, I have again slacking on updating. Here are some random things:
-I am STILL working on re-upholstering the couch, but it is going to get finished before I start any new projects!
-I re-painted/re-upholstered my hope chest that I have had since I was ~15...I'll add pics later
-Had lots of fun times with my intern friends...including being introduced to Dexter (which i had never watched before now)
-Brent and Kasey visited...We went to a Rams game (which was SO loud) and had a great weekend
-Tommy and Nichole visited the next weekend. I feel like the whole weekend we were laughing because we kept doing funny things...including me barging in on Tommy in the bathroom (oops!) We went to the Arch, Anheuser Busch tour, Art museum, and a couple restaurants.
-I visited home this past weekend and realized I don't really want to visit without Eric coming along. Its just way better when we can go together! But I had fun with my family. Took the girls to Steak & Shake and Katie won a horse in the claw machine (after I told her no one ever wins so don't be disappointed) :)

We are settling in over here in STL. I feel like I have 2 lives, one in Louisville and one here. Its an odd feeling. I think I ended up in the perfect city for a year with my man and my dog. Its been fun so far and I am excited for the rest!

Decorator Extraordinaire

SO, I have lately become obsessed with making our apartment look better. We will have visitors coming to stay soon and I really just want to make it look cute. PLUS, I have been obsessed with interior design shows since about the age of 8. I watched Chirstopher Lowell everyday tell me about chatchkies...

Anyways, I want to reupholster the pull-out couch and recliner in our living room, repaint some furniture, and recover the top of my hope chest...maybe in over my head??? I feel like I would feel productive if I did that and maybe not beat myself up about watching 10 episodes of Law & order SVU and Glee instaed of working on that stupid dissertation thang. I'll update as things go along, but I just purchased some fabric, so I am officially gonna give re-upholstery a shot!

Starting internship 101

So I know I am MIA when all the importante stuff goes down...this is the stuff I wish I would write about so that when I look back on this little blog after I really have graduated, I can remember. ANYWAYS, I have srtaed internship! WHOOOO. This has been a long time coming. Some notes from the last 2.5 weeks,
-Sat through 1 full week of orientations and computer training....blah!!
-LOVE my fellow interns (Jennifer, Jamie, Coral, and Melissa)
-They give me shit for my accent...I am suddenly more aware of the way I talk!'

-I picked rotations and hope they are great and also make me marketable for finding a J-O-B
- Started this week doing Gero/Inpatient Rehab...loving it so far.
-Have gained the new nickname "Tuck" for being from Kentucky...and realized that I idenitfy way more with being from Lou-a-vul than K-Y...fa sho!

SoOO, things are just lovely ova herre in the STL...well except for Eric's bum ankle, but thats a whole nother story (<<a phrase that I realize is KY and makes NO sense). LOVE and MISS my fam and friends, but feeling great about settling in

Keeping myself busy

When I was young, I watched "Interior Motives" with Christopher Lowell everyday after school. I wanted to be an interior decorator :) I still love HGTV and reading blogs about design...especially Centsational Girl. She got me wanting to paint furniture. I have painted a little cabinet before, but didn't take the steps to do a very good job. This time I wanted to do my coffee table. We got it from Eric's parents. They had it for a long time and didn't use it. I've been feeling like we have too much wood finish in our apartment with all hardwoods and different color wood furniture...so the coffee table is the first in a whole line of stuff I wanna paint.
This has been a Godd send because I'm trying to adjust to the new city & knowing no one. While Eric's at work, I have been able to stay busy and productive doing something I find fun...so here is the before & after with a lil detail of how I did it.

1. Sanded (or let Eric sand) the coffee table
2. Used liquid sander on the plastic parts
3. Painted 2 coats of primer
4. Painted 3 coats of a dark gray paint mixed with Floetrol (supposed to slow drying time so you don't see brush strokes)
5. Did 2 coats of sealer to finish the job
6. Still need to spray paint a knob that I took off...not sure what color (black or silver??)

Total time: 3 days
Love the finished result!

Puppy kindergarten

As all of my friends are posting pictures on Facebook of kids heading off to school, I have a dog starting school :) Last night we took Lou to "puppy kindergarten." Its supposed to be good for socialization with other dogs & people. They also work with you on problem solving with training your dog. They have a time called "puppy playtime" where everybody just lets their dogs of the leashes and they play. There were about 15 puppies. They all went nuts running around and jumping all over each other....all except for Lou. He would NOT move. He wanted to get in our lap so we stood up and moved to try to get him to run around...so he ran to the people next to us like "help me!" Hopefully, he will be more friendly next time. Later there was "pass the puppy" when you try to get the dogs used to new people and everyone passes their dogs around He was super chill with that...he snuggled everyone. Ha! I'm really happy we did this though. It gave me a chance to get out of the apartment and meet people...and a reason to get dressed and fix my hair instead of lounging on the couch all day. :) start work on Monday! Get to meet the other interns tomorrow at lunch at Schlafly's Bottling...hope they are nice!

Lou

We have had Lou for about a week now. This is my first dog that is really mine & not a family dog so I've been trying my best to train him to make things easier later. He is a funny dog (p.s. if you've never watched Demitri Martin's Bruce the Funny Dog you should check it out)
-Lou snorts/blows his nose at me when he is mad...
-He loves belly rubs! Goes nuts for em
-He has bad dreams sometimes & starts freakin out in his sleep
-He pounces around when chasing something
-He likes to "dig" and hide his toys and gets mad if we find them
-He is a good dog & pretty smart too :)
-He now weighs about 10lbs so we are excited to see how big he'll get...
I am lucky to have him around for when I miss home & family!

Bored

Realizing it is going to take work to get used to living in a city where I only know one person (eric). While he works, I am bored...hoping once I start working this will get easier.
One good thing, I have Lou to keep me company

Slacker blog

I promise promise promise, I will not be such a slacker (hear that Nickle Pecker!?). Why when I'm not working can I not find the time to update?? Anyways, since last update I have been to Gulf Shores twice (with Weiters & my sistas) & moved to St. Louis. Wehave been home to visit twice already...but now we are staying in STL for 2.5 weeks. I need time to settle in and get comfy before starting work. Plus, I need to get going on dissertation stuff & get my allergies unda control. (Who knew that there were cities with worse allergies than Louisville?)
Update on dissertation: I have now made my survey of brain injury outcomes available online, so that it is easier to distribute and complete. I had gone to a few meetings in person (driving hours sometimes to get there) only to get 2 or better 0 participants. Thanks to Lydia & Amanda who came along for the ride with those!

Fun memories from time off work:
-Doing UofL cheers with Harley & Emmy
-Rae & Dad helping us move
-Ed & Allison (eric's parents) visiting (anheuser tour & blueberry hill)
-spending time with my crazy nieces in Gulf Shores
-car rides with Eric
-the new addition to our little family.......
King Louis (pronounced Louie) Weiter!!

He is a schnauzer mix about 11 weeks old at this point. He is very funny & pounces around. We are trying to work on training him & even going to "puppy kindergarten" classes. Nothing better to do in a city where I know no one right?
Now that I've figured out how to blog from my phone, I will update more! Promise! :)

Dissertation update & Moonrise Kingdom

So, I am kinda freakin. I am collecting data right now for my dissertation, and having some difficulty. I am researching outcomes after traumatic brain injury and attending support group meetings. I have driven to them in Etown, Louisville, and Owensboro in the past 3 days and only gotten 3 participants that were useable. :( SO, it looks like I am probably going to have to change the gameplan. We'll see how that goes, but I am just ready to get all this over with!


In other news, I saw a movie with my lil brochacho yesterday! I love spending quality time with him becauise he keeps me up to date on the slang and stuff. For instance, he told me all about the Illuminati and they're hold on the entertainment industry. We watched Moonrise Kingdom and it was awesome! Some people might not like it because the plot is very different than most movies, but the artsy-ness of the film and quirky-ness of the characters was very endearing.

Ketchup

It is important that I write this to catch up because I will forget the happenings of now later...
So to update my previous list of tings to do, I am busy! But this busy is so uch weirder than my busy of before (during grad school classes/prac/life busy). Now I am not working, but continually runnin...but I like it! Some of the fun events over the past couple weeks. In no particular order:
-Quarry with Dre, G, Marlana, Kyle, and Duff...I lost my sunglasses and Amanda learned that people REALLY do pee in lakes/ocean/etc .
-Karaoke with JJ, Andy, Rae, Mom, Todd, Uncle Kev, Uncle Bob, & Eric
-Karaoke AGAIN with many people including MY NANNY :) We learned how she likes Willie Nelson and Uncle Bob sounds just like Axl Rose
-Dinner dates including: El Nopal with Sisters and their boos, Sushi with Eric & Kev, Tumbleweed with Coco, Jason's Deli with CSH peeps, Sushi during karaoke with the fam, and more?
- Capt Quarters with LB & Kelly! Fun night of NOT getting drunk and NOT getting punched in the face! We have not grown older and boring-er...we have upgraded!
-Dinner with Riesenberg/Parrish clan
- Subway with Dad
- Enchiladas with Dad
- Random shopping with Lori and also with Lyd/Amanda (Ross - dress for less)

SO, this may all seem scattered, but I am trying to remember all this quality time!
Further, I will be in Gulf Shores next week with WAY too many Weiters to count!

The week after I will be moving to St. Louis! (this is stressful and exciting all at once and kinda overwhelming)

The next week, I will be in Gulf Shores AGAIN! with my sisters, their boos, and the nieces...yes, I can go on vacay twice in 3 weeks and move to a new city, right?

Then! The day after I get back from GS2, I am getting a puppy! His name will be King Louis (pronounced Louey) after the King that Louisville and STL are named for. He is a Schnauzer and I am SO excited to finally get a dog. This is him below. He is currently about 7.5 weeks and getting neutered on Aug 1 (ouch!) We (Eric and I) expect him to get to about 20lbs one day and we are currently obsessed with learning about dog training.

Ummm, further update on Dissertation stuff in the next post (maybe tomorrow?) but let's just say I am thinking my N will be low (i.e. not a lot of participants). Data collection is difficult and we should all be given archival data!


P.S. this may be the most scatterbrained post I have ever written...this is my brain right now

The end of a practicum!

So, today is my last day at CSH. My boss isn't here, so it kinda feels weird that it be my last day...but weird in a GREAT way! I am so ready to be done with this practicum! Things I have learned: ther are many kinds of hallucinations/delusions, psychotic people aren't always scary, it's best to make friends with the people who will help you out if you were to get attacked (nurses and MHTs), karaoke in an inpatient hospital is AWESOME, talking about being suicidal and homicidal doesn'thave to be awkward. I can't believe that from now on I will get paid for the work I do. I don't know what St. Louis has in store for me (haven't heard what my rotations will be yet), but I am SO excited to get into the field I want to be in (health psychology). I have missed doing therapy this year (inpatient psych is a lot different). I have missed supervision. I hope I will have at least one supervisor next year that I can look to like a mentor! Now checklist to get on before I start workin in St. Louis (August 27th):
1. DISSERTATION - collect data, enter data, analyze data >>then once thats done WRITE!!!
2. PACK
3. SELL HOUSE
4. VACATION in Gulf Shores with the Weiter fam
5. Spend mucho mucho QUALITY TIME with family and friends
6. DOG - We really want a Schnauzer mix :) - taking name suggestions...maybe that has Lou in it since we'll be moving from Louisville to St. Louis

7. Enjoy NOT working full time for the last time in probably forever :)

Quotes to remember

Don't believe everything you think.

Apartment/House hunting

I am perpetually searching Craigslist these days to find the perfect place to live for a year. My requirements/wants: Able to get a dog, Under $800/month, some sort of parking, No using laundromat and preferably having washer/dryer in unit. I think I want to be in the Tower Grove neighborhood. I wish I could just pick one and be done, but so many places are wanting move-ins like tomorrow, so I am thinking I will have to wait until close to July to get people to talk to me about August move-in date. My main stresses right now are selling my house and getting dissertation shiz done by the time I move...We'll see if that happens :) fingers crossed!

Still High on Life

Well hello again blog. I am still riding the wave of marriage high. I can't even begin to encompass how awesome honeymooning in Key West was. Wild chickens runnin the streets. My confusion about the thing that hold luggage in hotel rooms( I thought it was for a baby carrier). An old man singing about how he and I were meant to be together. Relaxin in a hammock with Eric after every meal. Rentin bikes to explore the island....and finally SNORKELING in the ocean. We saw a sea turtle! Like up close and personal. Then we kayaked and picked up other sea creatures. and THEN we chilled on a sand bar in the middle of the ocean and drank Corona. OH! And we may or may not be in a Ford commercial...if include standing on the side of the road watching filming being an "extra" I am lovin life right now. Even though I am back at CSH...counting down the days!

Sea Turtle - I was about 1 foot away from one just like this ^^^

Horseshoe crab - I held this ^^

Sea cucumber - I held this too ^^

Spotted Sea Hare - ^^ I touched this slug type thing and it sprayed stuff that smelled like lavender...for real

Patricia Ann Weiter

That is my new name. I want to write this post to remember all the fun happenings yesterday. I couldn't sleep Friday night and was out of Advil PM so I was only sleeping from 2 - 5:45. I was wide awake so I got up and got to packing for the honeymoon...majorly procrastinating. I walked to the gym to do some last minute things and then got ready to go to German Paristown Neighborhood Association to get prettied up. My friend Melissa was doing my hair & makeup and rode with Lori Kirk and I. As I walked into GPNA I dropped my plastic case full of my makeup and spilled coffee all the way down my white button up shirt. Smooth move. We spent the morning fixing hair & makeup and wrapping my maids dresses. I couldn't have done this all together had it not been for my awesome friends Lauren, Melissa, and Brittany. They were awesome! My mom & Nanny arrived and I stressed we would not have time to fix my bouquet & get ready for pictures, but it all worked out. I got my sticky bra on and got in my dress. I read a card that Eric wrote to me...he said "see you at the altar, I'll be the one staring" and I laughed and held back tears. Savannah (my 9 year old niece) said "just eat a banana!" To keep me from crying. She's a mess. We took some pictures and then I hid out in the bathroom of the church so people wouldn't get a sneak peek. Lily told me my hair looked likea rose :) As I waited with the wedding party, I got excited & nervous....what if I trip or say the vows wrong? I peaked through the crack in the door and saw Eric just before Chelsey and Nichole opened them up. My dad was all choked up. I held back tears again. Then even our deacon teared up. Eric looked awesome in his tux and he says he got light headed when he saw me. Eric and I held hands but then he was sweaty so we took a break from that...his godfather Tony and my godmother Sheree read and Tim did an awesome gospel & homily. I know Eric's uncle Tommy liked the part about a bride being simple minded to fall for this guy. We got through the vows and didn't mess up. We exited the church and had a moment alone before pictures. The groomsmen picked me up for a pic but my bare feet were out and I laughed the whole time. We went to some train tracks down the road to take more pics and found a used syringe on the tracks...thats safe. Fun cab ride & entrance to the reception. They announced us as the "cougar & her cub" Mr & Mrs Eric & Patti Weiter! :) I robbed the cradle. Thats all for now. I'll try to write up more memories later so I don't forget any details. Right now, were hanging in the St. Louis airport ready to fly to Fort Lauderdale and then drive to Key West for a week of relaxation!

wedding day!

today is the day. i could not sleep worth a damn. prob gonna be on about four hours. im too excited and had to get up so i packed for key west finally. cant wait to see eric and talk to him. this whole cant see him before and he cant see you is bs. lol ready to get all my girls together but its only seven am so we got a couple hours. next post ill be a married lady. so ready. no more planning, just enjoying it all.

Am i getting married? I'm getting married!!

this week has been cray. all the way. i have  been crafting fans for our cake backdrop and getting all kinds of other details finished up...buying desserts, figuring our rehearsal and wedding day schedules, getting drilled with a thousand questions from everyone...the most annoying being, are you nervous yet?  really? thats not what to say...how bout excited? but most people who ask if im nervous dont really know me very well and i wouldnt want to tell them if i was. blah. im am really pumped for key west. for reals. eric has been awesome this week helping with everything and i cant wait til we can relax all week and chill with no shiz to do. cant believe i will be a married woman in less than seventy two hours. that ish cray. im gettin old. friends getting preg on purpose and i am getting wedded? im slap happy. by the way there has been no capitalization or correct punctuation in this because i am typi ng from my phone and for some reason it wouldnt let me. i will add pics at some point to this to add drama and intrigue. insert smiley here.

New follower

I am pleased to say I have a 4th person who reads my blog! WOOOO :) To add to my dad, Conni Jo, and Amanda, we can welcome my girlfriend Nichole to the bunch. She informed me last night that she actually reads this thang! Spotlight on Nichole >>>She dates Eric's cousin Tommy...scratch that because they just got engaged! So anyways our fiances are cousins which we discussed one night with some of the other Bacigalupi cousins girls and found hilarious...we figured out, "Hey...we all date cousins?!" It was pretty funny because we are all friends anyway and then we actually put it together that we'll be family down the road. Fun times.
Eric & I helped coach t-ball last night which was fun (in part because I never played past t-ball so I'm on their level). Then we met up with Tommy & Nichole for dinner. Today is back to facing the reality that I have to finish this semester of school. This is my list of things to do: show up to class (4 total classes +supervision), present on Appalachian culture and identity, take a quiz on couples counseling, and take a Multicultural Final Exam...then in the summer I just have supervision for my work at Central State NO CLASS. This is the most surreal shiz because I have had back to back class since Kindergarten. I mean summer off during college was great, but I always knew I'd be goin back in the fall. This is like for real dunzo. (throw back to Laguna Beach). So I really still have to finish my dissertation (actually START my dissertation) and move to St. Louis for a year, but that is definitely not going to a scheduled class :)

Anniversary

Today is my 4 year anniversary with Eric. It will be the last time this anniversary really means much of anything because in 39 days we will get married and make a new anniversary. The one I am celebrating today recognizes that he & I decided we liked each other. Enough to say, don't you go hooking up with anybody else or you will piss me off! Really, our anniversary was prety funny the 1st 2 years, as Eric kinda pissed me off on both (being drunk and asleep on one). Last year he proposed on our anniversary, so that was pretty damn sweet. This year he is going to go to this lecture with me about sexuality (something I have to go to for school and is open to the public so he agreed to go too) and then we're gonna get some sushi. I am pretty pumped that from now on when we celebrate our anniversary (May 12) we will celebrate a day when we said vows to each other and started our lives as a family. That is SO much better to celebrate than us agreeing to be exclusive :)

It feels weird that soon I will be a wife. I am excited, but the whole title of it makes me feel a bit old. I think I'll go with wifey for a while til I have a kid or something! Also, soon I will have a new last name. I am not really in love with my current last name as it is very German and hard to pronounce for people...but my new last name is going to be pretty much the same (German and hard to pronounce). I think if I hyphenated my name I would sound like Hitler's niece or something. Not the connotation I'm going for.

Sometimes the day drags onnnnnn

I have to have a certain # of hours to complete my contract with Central State. I have never been shown this contract, but apparently I am working under it. So, I have to force myself to stay and work when I could think of so many other better things to do with my time. I love seeing patients, but the other crap I have to do is pretty annoying. I have been watching the clock since about 10AM for 4:30 to get here. I have 1.5 hours left...

Heading to the fish fry tonight and can't wait to EAT! Fish sandwiches and macaroni & cheese make my heart sing during Lent.

Blogging on the clock

I would feel bad for blogging on the clock, but I am locked out of my shared office so that people can gossip/chat without a student around. My stuff I was working on is in there, so basically that = I can chill? Anyways, now that match is over I am SO into wedding stuff. I have ordered some decorations and accessories + working on invitations & bridesmaid gifts. Also, yesterday I booked our honeymoon in ......KEY WEST!

This is one of the pools at out place >>

We are staying at Southernmost on the Beach...still gotta book flights & a car to drive from Fort Lauderdale, but I am PUMPED! Eric & I have a lot of fun when it's just us and we love to try new things, so I can't wait to explore Key West and do stuff (snorkel, see tortugas, eat alot!?)
Next weekend is my 1st bridal shower (for family) and I am excited about that too. Gives me a reason to get my hair done (which I have been putting off) and maybe buy a new shirt? haha I'll take any reason I can get!

MATCHED!

Ok, so sorry for that cliff hanger and then no news...I matched!

Friday morning I woke up early so I went to the tanning bed and picked myself up some Panera. On the way home I got a text from a friend saying that she had gotten her match news...!!! I got home and told Eric (who was upstairs) that I was going to check my email...nothing was there yet. I wasn't supposed to hear til 10AM and it was only like 8:25, so I wasn't surprised. I decided to check out Facebook for a minute. I looked back at 8:30 and noticed that I had a new email. AHHHH I said APPIC Match Result!!! I hollared up at Eric "I got an email!!. E- "OK...and??" me- "Should I open it?" hahaha He knows I am crazy. I opened it and it said ST. LOUIS VA MEDICAL CENTER!!! My #1 pick!! I ran upstairs and Eric met me at the top...I say "Do you wanna know what it said?" I told him and we literally jumped around for a minute. I was so excited and called my baby sister. She was supposed to have come over to wait with me, but we got the news early. She was asleep and tried to be excited, but wanted to go back to sleep. I continued calling and texting family and friends. Then I realized about 2 hours later that I forgot to call my Nanny (grandma)...She said she was so worried :( But she was so happy to hear that I got my #1 pick! YES!!!

Countdown

I'm sitting up awake while Eric sleeps. He's had a long day so I told him to knock out, but I'm still wide awake. Match day is today...but its only 12:30AM and I find out around 10AM lol. Tonight after class I got sushi & tried to chill out. My muscles have been really tense, so I've been trying to "breathe" out my tension...that's my health psych coming out. I've decided tomorrow won't make me or break me. It won't compare to the best or worst days of my life & its not life or death. My heart will go on...thanks Celine. Anyways the countdown is down to mere hours...updates to follow. Life just keeps on getting more interesting.

The Waiting Game

Sorry I haven't posted in a while (to my 3 readers). I have been not so busy, but busy at the same time. I have a lot of major life things happening
1. Selling my house (it's been shown 4 times this week!)
2. Planning my wedding...and impending marriage :)
3. Contemplating where I'll be living next year.
4. Taking my last semester of classes EVER!
5. Trying to work on my dissertation.
AND
6. WAITING, next Friday is match day... & I'm vewy vewy newvous.
My life is going to change a lot soon & I hope I'm ready. Breathe in breathe out. No stress. Only happy thoughts.

Roll Tide...I wrote this a month ago & it didn't post :(

Back from Tuscaloosa, which means my interview travels are over. My dad drove the 6.5 hours with me. We stopped in Birmingham at an art museum. It was awesome...dad got too close to one of the pieces & an alarm went off. True Glenn style. A security guard came & made him back away from the very old Japanese furniture. We stayed at the Howard Johnson...we may have been the only people there. And I kinda think the hotel clerk was a zombie. His eyes were super open all the time & he worked all hours. We had dinner at Depalmas Italian. We drove past the University of Alabama campus. It was very southern looking. Every frat house had big white columns and there were big trees everywhere.  Sooooo, then we went back to the hotel. Dad watched E! And Grey's with me. Fast forward past interviews. We stopped by the Mercedes museum on the way outta Tuscaloosa. I went to the wrong place twice before actually finding it. We then stopped at Full Moon BBQ for dinner. I tried to get dad to moon me next to the sign, but he didn't want to get arrested. I'm glad he didn't do it too. We drove all the way home & then at about Etown, I see blue lights. I said, "is that for me??" Yes, it was. I got a ticket for speeding, but the cop reduced it to only 10 over :) now I'm at my sisters tryin to nurse her back to health. She had surgery on her foot (had to put in a cadavar bone & some other crazy stuff) and is in a LOT of pain.

Bring it around town...but really around the Midwest

That title is stolen from a Spongebob episode...which of course I have seen since its one of Eric's fav shows.

Yup. Moving on, after Indy I had a the weekend & one day of work at CSH before hopping on that plane to Cleveland...really Chicago-Midway & then Cleveland. I made observations about flying/myself.

1. I liked flying!
2. Security makes me feel like by contact solution might really be a bomb & I don't even know it.
3. I like chill time in between flights to eat, get mocha frappes from McD, call my peeps, & people watch.
4. Some people carry their children in luggage style thingys...& the kids don't look amused.

I didn't take this one, I stole from google images...

update: I did take this picture! >>

5. I made a friend on the Cleveland to Chicago flight home...I felt the urge to get his email so I could know what happens to my new friend (he was interviewing for stuff too), but I held back.
6. Said new friend from California answered a lifelong question of mine. What do you think of when you hear Kentucky? His answer, "sorry, but redneck." I tried to educate him on other Ky things, but he already knew about them...this shows the overwhelming power of our redneck stereotype!

 C'mon people, put some shoes on & ditch the overalls :)
7. I really like the window seat.
8. I'm not scared of flying.
9. I love getting free peanuts & drinks.
10. I love being picked up at the airport by my boo thang & knowing, this is home.

Flying high

No I won't be high on drugs tomorrow when I fly, but probably on adrenaline! I have not flown since my senior spring break & let's just say the flight home is not in my memory. So, tomorrow will be interesting. I have been briefed on where to go & what to do, but I'm a little scared of my nerves during flight. I am not a fan of heights & enclosed spaces. Oh well, here goes some exposure therapy! All this to fly to Cleveland, where I won't even be interviewed. Apparently they got all they need to know about us from our applications. So, I'm hikin it up there to see their place with 40 other applicants (x 3 days = 120 people). Crazy shiz.

Indianapolis

So today I had my 1st interview. I'll give you the full story & then a picture montage.

So, my sweet baby sister Rachael and I drove up on Thursday. We decided to bring the DSM (google it) to take pictures with. We drove by our hotel & it scared us because it looked like a parking garage. We got to Indy a little early to check in so we went to the mall. I walked through the mall with my luggage so I could change in a bathroom. Then, we went to find lunch. We picked up grub at the food court. There was a glass overhang thing that floats above the street. We ate there and watched a live band. There was a "security" guy by us. Not sure if he really worked for the mall but he had a badge. He watched the videos of the band immediately after they finished playing.

Next, we walked the mall. We saw real security on a segways, so I'm guessing weirdo with a badge wasn't mall employed. We window shopped like 50 cent. We decided to leave & were stopped by some more interesting people who we think wanted us to help them find salvia...yeah. we get to the hotel & our buddy Donnie checked us in to the parking garage & told us places to check out in Indy. We get to the room (which was actually nice) can't find Dede (DSM). Rachael left her at the front desk. She called Donnie and he said he would read it til we came down.

We decided to hit up the Children's Museum of Indianapolis because it was free that day we heard it was cool. It was COOL and crowded. Fun times bein kiddish with Rae & people watching. One kid said to Rae "I'm not your kid!" I guess we looked creepy? His parents didn't even say anything. Sooooo, we were leaving this museum full of people who come on the free day & Rae says "where's my phone????" Lost! We went back and searched! Gone! Luckily, a Good Samaritan turned it in to the front desk! Crisis averted, but Rae is not in charge of holding onto important things (remind me not to let her hold my newborn).

Ok. Fast forward, we ate Arbys (maybe saw a drug deal?) & headed back to La Quinta. Studied internship whiz. Sleep...night time snuggled Rae & yelled at her to turn on the heater? Woke up SUPER nervous. Bright side breakfast. Made it to interview. I'll make notes to talk about how that went after the match process. :) It was nice though. Glad interview 1 is over! Then! I came home to flowers from the boothang.