Graduation was this past Saturday. It was a busy weekend.

I got up bright and early Saturday and put on my black cap and gown. I officially am no longer a college student. I haven't felt like one for awhile but that's besides the point. The actual commencement wasn't that bad. It went relatively quickly. The waiting before was fun because I sat in one of my usual people-watching spots and just watched everyone scurrying by.

We had a full house. Mom, Melissa, Bryant, Lily, and of course Eric and me. We did Christmas while everyone was there because we won't be able to see Melissa and Bryant on Christmas. Wrapping paper was everywhere. Dinner went off without a hitch. UK beat IU so it was a very good day. What made it funny was, Melissa and Bryant got everyone a UK shirt for Christmas. I'm used to it. It was Eric and Lily's first. We made them put them on for the game. Lily didn't understand what the big deal was. She'll learn with time.

So now I venture out into the real world. Oh wait, I'm already there. So I guess you could say its just one less thing on my plate for me to think about. I'm happy to finally be done.

Election Day

I went to vote today. I waited in line for 2 hours and I met some pretty interesting people.

There was a lady behind me that turned 92 last week and she's still driving. And a guy who just turned 90 last week and he was still driving too.

Just hearing them talk about how things have changed over their lifetime and hearing their point of view on different things. It was neat and made me miss some old people from back home.

You can learn so much from the older generation. I've always enjoyed listening to all of the stories older people have to share. Sometimes its hard to figure out which are truth and which are just stories. But that's part of the fun.

Jeep vs. deer

Last month at this time, I was on my way back to Jay Co home from Kentucky. Nothing out of the ordinary. We got back to JC around 11 and I was on my way back to Marion to get to bed because it had been a very long day.

I was cruising along a road that I could drive in my sleep because I've traveled it so much. But this trip would be very different from any other trip down this road. Here's how everything very quickly went down:

I came around the curve.

Hey there's a deer.

Bam!

Oh crud. Flashers. Side of the road.

Call Mom.

Call Eric.

Mom calls.

Eric calls.

Call Eric

Call 911. Yeah I know a little late.

Mom calls.

Eric calls.

Cop #1 shows up. Shoots deer. Deer gets up. Cop #1 shoots deer again. Deer is now dead.

Mom shows up.

Eric shows up.

Cop #2 shows up.

From the time the deer hit me to the time Cop #2 showed up, it was maybe 20 minutes. I was so mad because the stupid deer hit my Jeep.

Here's a look at the damage. This picture doesn't do it justice.

It was a pretty big deer. A 6 point buck and all I did was break its leg (I have pictures of the deer, but I thought they might be too gruesome). But it busted my grill, dented my hood, completely took my gray fender off, dented my door and actually pushed the entire door in. There was some other stuff but that was the majority of it.

Within a couple of days, we had a freezer full of deer and an appointment set to get the Jeep fixed.

Two weeks after the accident, the Jeep was fixed and looked better than it did before the deer and it cost me absolutely nothing. Thanks to insurance and no deductible.

Who are your links?

Brian preached about missing links. How different people in life are links to God and who you are today. Its funny to think about different links in my life. Chain of events that have brought me to where I am today. I sometimes play the "What if" game. What if the BCM ad hadn't come in the mail and salad been on sale...would I still have gotten a job there? Then would I still have met Eric? What if my mom hadn't gone on a road trip and I hadn't stayed at Brian and Jaye's? Would I be as close to them as I am now? Would we even still have a relationship or would I just be another one of the youth group kids that get pushed to the back of your mind when they graduate and move on?

Its crazy to think about how you got to where you are today. What has happened in life that has made you who you are? My next personal mission is to somehow let the links in my life know how much them mean to me but I'll get on that after Thank-you notes are done.

Life is all about change.

I'm now married. I live in Marion. I start school tomorrow.

I start my final semester at IWU tomorrow. I'm only there for 2 classes. It feels so weird though. I'm not living on campus and I don't have a full load. My friends are all gone. I'm sitting in the Student Center right now because I'm using free internet and it is rather awkward. I'm still one of these people that are walking around conversing with friends but yet I'm not. I won't have a campus life, I will put in my 6 hours a week and head home. I know people on campus but they aren't people that I would hang out with. Good thing I work before and after class.

We have a place in Marion. Its weird because I don't quite feel comfortable calling this place Eric and I live in home. It is slowly becoming a home but home will always be where I lived for 22 years. It will always be JC. Sometimes I call our house home but it doesn't come out easy. I'm working on it.

I'm married. For over 3 weeks now. Its crazy. I don't really feel any different. Just now when I do laundry, I have boy clothes with mine. There's more crap in the bathroom that isn't mine. I have to fix more food because Eric eats a lot more than my mom. I now feel broke because we've had to buy stuff for the house that's been needed and I don't have money like I used to. But all in all, married life is good. We've had our fights but we had our fights before the wedding.

So life is full of changes. Good, bad, inevitable changes. Its just a part of life.

I'm Going Home...

Its the last day of camp. I am so happy to be going home. I can't wait to get home. This week was crazy not only with the kids and the hospital visits but also the people I was around and conversations I had with people this week. 13 more days and I won't have to deal with the conversations that I've had recently.

As we sit here waiting for the kids to come back, this could be the last time all 6 of us will be together. Over the last week we've become very close. We have our own little inside jokes and everything like that. I guess being around each other for a week straight with no break-you get close fast. Its been both good and bad.

Well, now the kids are starting to trickle in so I need to go. I can almost go home. Woo Hoo!

Injury after injury

Monday was an interesting day. A group of kids were going out to play capture the flag after dark. We gave them boundaries, everything seemed like it was going to be ok. But I didn't have a good feeling about it.

At about 10:30, Kari gets a phone call and my name is mentioned. Someone who was playing capture the flag needed to go to the ER because she got up close and personal with the curb. I rushed over to where they were at and we head over to the ER. This girl's chin has a pretty good size chunk out of it. So we fill out her paperwork, and we sit and wait. And wait. And wait. We waited out in the living room for about 3 hours. Then we get to go back into a little room. A person comes in, takes her vitals and we wait some more. The doctor comes in to see us, looks at her chin, tells us what we already know (she's going to need stitches) and we wait some more. They come in to clean her chin up and we wait some more. The doctor comes in to actually put the stitches in and that didn't take very long at all. In total, we were in that little room for 3 hours. So we left around 10:30 Monday night and we got back around 4:30 Tuesday morning and the ER was only a block away. Ridiculous. 4 stitches, that's it.

Tuesday morning I wake up to ref the volleyball tournament that's been going on. We only have 2 games in the morning and they had been going rather quickly. During the first game, the very last point, a girl passed the ball and then fell backwards. No one really thought much about it. The game ended, her team lost. We I went to the other ref to write down who won and the girl's team is gathering around her because she is crying. My first thought was, "Holy cow girl, its just a volleyball game. Get over it." Then she asked for some ice because she fell on her wrists. She gets off the court and someone gets her some ice and we go on with the next game.

After the 2nd game, the girl is still sitting there in pain and her adviser and teacher are talking to her. I go up to see if there is anything I can do. The 3 of them think she sprained her wrists, so I have to take her to the health center. Oh great. Keep in mind it is only 12ish in the afternoon.

We go there, get more ice, and go into a little room. This wait time was nothing, I was becoming a pro at waiting. You can tell she's really in pain and her wrists are really swollen. The health center wanted us to get X-rays so they sent us down the road to a place. We get there and we wait. Still not as long as with the chin girl. She gets in with only waiting maybe 45 minutes. Then afterwards we have to wait for the doctor to read the X-rays and the took the longest here. They don't tell us anything except for they have called ahead to the Orthopedic place in town and want us to go there right away.

Wrist girl and I go there. I fill out her paper work, we get moved to a different waiting room and we wait. We waited there for 3-4 hours again before we got moved to another room. They take her vitals, the doctor comes in and tells us she broke BOTH of her wrists. She was devasted. She gets splinted up because the doctor tells her she can get her casts on when she gets home, and we head back to camp. We get back at 7 pm.

So in a 24 hour time spand, I spend 13 of those hours in medical facilities. It sucked but it was fun at the same time if that makes any sense. I got to know the girls that hurt themselves really well.

Back to wrist girl. Imagine not being able to use your wrists for anything. You can't go to the bathroom by yourself (found that one out first hand), can't drink or eat without help, can't do much of anything. You don't realize how much you wouldn't be able to do until you can't do it.

Well chin girl is still here at camp but wrist girl ended up going home last night because she felt so bad. Her dad flew in from Kansas City and they flew out this morning. It's been a pretty bad week for injuries and I always seem to get them. Better me than some other people here.

We have one more volleyball game tonight and I'm just praying for no injuries because I really don't want to go the ER again, that was the worst. We'll see what happens.

Some updates and other stuff

It has been a really long time since I've been on here. A lot has gone on since I've been on.

The wedding is 19 days away. My dress has been altered and it fits wonderfully. Everyone else has their dresses. All but two of the guys have been sized for tuxes and they will do that this week. People are sending in the RSVP cards, but I don't think fast enough. I have a packet of wedding stuff that I get to go through to plan the ceremony. I had a shower a couple of weekends ago, we got a lot of good stuff. Eric is taking my ring down to Indy on Friday so I will be ringless for 2 weeks!

I quit the grocery store finally. After 5 years of my life, they don't even throw me a party or anything. Fantastic. I like them too.

I've been staying at Brian and Jaye's during the week so I don't have to waste as much gas driving to work. It's been fun. Hanging out with the kids and getting to know them better because they're growing up so fast. Everyday is a new experience.

Now, I am here at Journalism camp doing the RA thing. We've been here since Saturday. We have over 200 kids here. Some are better than others. I had to yell at a group of kids a little while ago because they thought they were going to be able to run all over Ball State Campus at 10 at night to play capture the flag. Yeah don't think so. Not on my watch.

During rec today, I'm in charge of volleyball and I had to climb an 8 foot construction to get 3 volleyballs that were hit over the fence. I got all cut up. I'm hurting a little right now.

I'm super tired right now but can't go to sleep until atleast 1 because we have to check rooms at 11 and then start lights out at 12:30.

I'm going to go waste some more time. I have some pictures to put up so maybe I'll do that.

Sneak Peak

Here's what the girls in the wedding will look like, sorta. This is Jessica.
This is Suzie. This isn't her actual dress but its basically the same style and everything.
This is Brittani. This isn't her dress either but very similar. She is going to have spaghetti straps added and not wear the wrap thingy.
This is Bri.

The bouquets are not going to look like that. And everyone's hair can be however they want.

Just thought I'd give you a little sneak peak.

3 months to go

Only 3 months to go before my big day....

Many things to do but I'm not worried about getting them done because those things don't really matter. Because at the end of the day, I will still be married to the man I love even if things aren't exactly how I had envisioned.

Crazy, only 3 months.

Rogers & Holland

Eric and I went to Ft. Wayne yesterday looking at wedding stuff. We stopped by the mall and went in to get one of my rings cleaned and while we were there we figured we'd get him sized. Normally I can handle sales people. They don't bother me too much. But last night, the sales lady was obnoxious. My only intentions going into the store were to get my ring cleaned and figure out what size of ring Eric would need. She was so persistent and pushy. I really didn't like her. After about 45 minutes of us looking at rings and her trying to get us to commit to one, the 'deal' she was giving us was only good for the day, she brought over someone else to try to get us to buy. This lady was better but she still wasn't getting any of my money. I'll get fine if I never have to go in there again.

Why can't people just take 'no' for an answer?

Different Faces

Have you ever read the story about Jekyll and Hyde? Here's a quick run down from IMDb.com:

"Henry Jekyll is a troubled man. His wife died of pneumonia. He wants his sister-in-law, but her father forbids any contact. And his experiments into the dual nature of man have yielded a personality-splitting drug that he has tested on himself, changing him into an uninhibited brute who seeks violent and undignified pleasures. Jekyll quickly becomes addicted to the sordid freedom induced by the drug. He can commit the most enjoyably revolting deeds, then return to his laboratory and use an antidote to change back to his original form, so that his lofty persona remains untarnished. But Jekyll's forbidden affair with his sister-in-law becomes a scandal, and with the growing rage within him, his other self no longer needs the drug for release. As Jekyll loses control of his transformations and his antidote becomes less effective, the police begin to suspect his part in his alter-ego's increasing violence."

So that may seem a little extreme and it is but its a starting point for me.

I've noticed for some time now that people (in general) have different faces. When parents are around people revert back to how they are at home which is sometimes completely different than how that person is really known to be. When siblings are around, especially if there was a little rivalry growing up, a person will try to show off and make life appear better than it really is. Even when certain friends are around people act differently to keep whatever appearence they may have with the person how they want it.

It makes me wonder how many people do this with other things in life like church. I know it happens, even here at the WU. I see it every week. Sunday morning we're one person, when we can actually crawl out of bed. And then throw in Wednesday night if you work with a group of kids at church. And then Monday thru Saturday we're someone else. And if that's here on campus, what about outside the bubble? How can we be trusted if we're always changing who we really are?

It was a little bit of a stretch with the Jekyll & Hyde but I see the relationship all the time. It takes time to get to know someone so well that you can see the differences between their Jekyll & Hyde self. And once I'm at that point with someone, it irritates me when I notice it while its happening.

I'm not trying to exclude myself from any of this because I struggle with it too. But why can't we just be ourselves? Don't pretend to be someone else. Be yourself and if you don't like who you are--well that's a whole other topic...

Idol

If you watched Idol Gives Back tonight, you might have been as surprised as me. The song very last song the group sang was "Shout to the Lord." I was shocked! I love the song but shocked that it was sang on American Idol. They did a really good job on the song.

The Game of Life

Last night, I played Life at church with the teenagers who have only merely begun to see what life is all about. It was funny to see them get excited about having the doctor as an occupation and getting $25,000 for every payday. It was funny seeing them all have to get married and then when they had little pink and blue pegs as kids in the backseat. Wesley had twins and he automatically wanted to put them up for adoption. Sometimes if only life were as easy as the game.

You would think that the game would cause me to think of the different things that are going on in my life or anyone's life in general, but it wasn't quite that way. About a month ago, I couldn't stop thinking about a high school friend with whom I haven't seen for 4 years. In fact, graduation day was probably the last day I saw her. But I kept thinking about her and didn't know why. So I emailed her and we used to be so close but we hadn't talked in so long that she thought something was wrong when I emailed.

Another friend called me out of the blue Saturday. I hadn't talked to her in years either. We were never as close as Friend #1 and I but we were close enough that we could talk about anything. She was/is just going through a really tough time right now.

But the interactions with these 2 friends have made me realize that people don't keep in touch with people unless its convenient. Life happens. Engagements, marriages, babies, relationships end, people move away, jobs, grad school. Life happens. People get busy.

Is that really an excuse? I have been friends with these people for years and could not tell you what is going on in their life other than what I have just recently found out. That's not what I would consider a friend. There are so many ways of communicating with people you care about nowadays and we do not take the time out of our 'busy schedule' to write a quick email or make a quick phone call.

Friendships are intentional relationships. You have to be intentional in the interaction you have with the other person so they know you care about them. I struggle with that sometimes.

Back to the game and not real life, it will be interesting to see how the teens really act when they see what life throws at them.

The past week has been pretty crazy. Good news has been coming in from so many different directions.

1. Late last week, I found out that I would have a full time job once school got out for the summer. Its an amazing opportunity, the pay is better than what I would normally do during the summer, and I'm actually excited about it.
2. I got a phone call yesterday saying my wedding dress was in! I'm going to pick it up on Friday.
3. Eric got a letter in the mail today from Marion PD today saying he's going to start the hiring process here in town.

God has a good sense of timing. I can remember when Eric was trying at IMPD and I had no idea what I would be doing after school. I can remember the disappointment when he didn't pass. I can remember people asking the question, "What are you going to do after graduation?" Well, I can't really answer that question for sure but I have a job until I find another job after graduation. And now Eric has his foot in the door over here. We have talked about moving this direction when we got married because we actually like this area in some ways. We just had/have to be patient. Patience truly is a virtue.

But I'm completely excited about Eric's great news. I just hope that he gets it.

Tomorrow's a Big Day

Do you know what tomorrow is? Tomorrow just happens to be the (if you pronounce it like 'thee' it sounds better) most wonderful holiday out of the entire year. Most people just forget about it, unless they live in Pennsylvania. Its not a day when everyone eats too much. Or when you have to wear a certain color or you get pinched. A day when you exchange little red hearts with each other. Its not even a day when everyone gets presents. And most people do not stay up all night long to see this day come.

What day is it? It's Groundhog Day!

Only the greatest day of the entire year (I know this will change in a few months). It's my birthday! I don't know what it is about birthdays but in all my years of having these special days, I've only had one bad one which turned out to be a blessing. Birthdays have always been fun and special days. I can still remember where I was at, what I was doing, and who I was with when I turned 15. I never had bday parties every year, my mom just made them special. I always have the same cake (mayonaise cake) in the same cake pan every year. Mom always took my birthday off, even when I got to college. She always fixed me a hot breakfast of my choice and I always got to choose where we went to eat or what she would fix for me.

And this birthday is a special one in its own way. This will be my last birthday with Huey as my legal last name. It's really bitter-sweet. Growing up sucks sometimes.

But as I wake up tomorrow and celebrate my special day, I can only hope to carry on the tradition of making the birthdays of my future family as memorable as what mine have been.

So tomorrow on February 2, 2008 at 3:02 p.m. I'll be doing a happy dance because it will be exactly 22 years ago that I will have made my debut into this world. It sure has been a great ride. :)

The internet can be a really bad thing. For instanst, I should be working on my homework right now. Its in front of me. I even have the document pulled up. But there's one little thing that always gets me, I was sitting here thinking about doing my homework and then my mind started to wander...I wonder if Brian and Jaye have posted anything since the last time I checked, I wonder what the weather is supposed to do, I wonder, I wonder...I wonder if I'll actually get the homework I want to get done today done. I won't find that out searching the internet...

Working, school, planning. That's all that I seem to do.

But anyway right now we're watching the first episode of American Idol. It is so funny. There's a guy from Egypt on and he's hilarious. He made a comment about a girl that he really liked that was funny. He only loves this girl from her hair to another body part that's not very far away.

Back to my life though, my final semester on campus is underway. Its really bitter-sweet. Its the beginning of an end. My classes are going well. I enjoy them for the most part which is weird.

Work is going well. I'm still enjoying it.

Planning a wedding. Its been fun so far. I still have a lot to figure out but so far its been fun. Eric and I have gotten closer because of it, I would hope so anyway since it is our wedding. But things are coming, I don't have my dress yet but I'm pretty sure I know which one I want.

People on American Idol have this way of ruining perfectly good songs. Crazy people. Do they seriously think they are good?