Heeeey. I know, I havent posted like I said I would, but I have thought about it so does that count? J Right now I’m in a pretty regular midnight to 8 AM schedule. It never feels really late when I go to bed, but then it feels really early when I have to get up. Dorm life goes pretty well. Oddly enough there’s no drama yet. You woulf expect a certain amount of drama with this many women living in such close proximity to each other. Of course, my roommate’s fabulous, so I have no complaints there.

I have had 3 of my4 classes so far. I’ve got Group Dynamics on Mondays only so I’ll have class Monday, then not for 2 weeks because of Labor day. One of my new friends wants to drive down to the beach (about 5 hours away I think) that weekend. I think I’ll decide when she figured out a cost J.  It would be fun to go to the Gulf of Mexico though.

I have a ton more reading than I have ever had before in classes. Usually I could get away with not reading or just skimming or something. I’ve got a book for Old Testament called “A Theological Survey of the Old Testament” that I have to have read in about a month. And its not an easy read. The first several pages I was marking all up with questions to ask the prof.

Tomorrow I’m visiting Travis Ave. Baptist church. They have an orchestra, so that’s good. I want to find a church that does Sunday nights and has a youth group I can work in, but someone said that a lot of churches here don’t do Sunday night. That’s weird.

I rehearsed with the chapel orchestra today and found out I can’t wear jeans to the 2 days a week we play during chapel. That’s gong to take some creativity on my part since I didn’t bring half my wardrobe. I got a new polo shirt and Old Navy for $8 so I’m happy about that.

As Porky Pig says, That’s all folks!

Yesterday when I was sitting here playing online my indolence was interrupted by the grinding wail of the fire alarm. Yes, ladies and gentleman, it was my first fire alarm experience in my new home. I thought about not leaving since my computer was taking so long to sht down, but decided to leave it and head outside. I met my roommate along with most of the other dorm denizens and we chatted. Eventually some important looking man made us clear the porch area where we were sitting in order for the firemen to get in. And what firement here were! Not one, but 2 pully equipped hook and ladder trucks wail in to the dorm, firemen in full fire suites grab hooks and axes and swarm into the building. One of my new friends, Elisa, had something to say, "he's pretty. He has an ax." lol Apparently the motor in the little elevator had burned out. Oh well, everythign was back to normal.

Now there are men's voices singing that song from Robin Hood: Men in Tights." Since its a girls' dorm, you're supposed to yell "man in the hall" or "fire in the hole" or some such warning if there's a man with you moving in or doing maintenance or something.

Today was orientation.  I found the syllabi to 3 of my classes. Can you say 30 page paper on the Old Testament? I had forgotten this part of school. I still don't know what I'm suposed to be doing with my life but I do bel;ieve its God's will for me to be here. Its just hard because I sometimes feel like my ultimate desires might simply be the easy way out.

OK, so I finally have internet on my laptop! Yay. I’m pretty sure I can pick it up in my room, but if not I can go to the TV room where I am now.

So what do you want to know? Starting Friday when Daddy and I got here…

I hadn’t really felt like I was actually going away; it just felt like a vacation. But Friday when we got to the campus and then when we were moving my stuff into the room I almost lost it. My roommate wasn’t there; she had left a note for me saying she was at work. My bed was sticking out into the middle of the room and that wasn’t good, but Later we got the furniture moved around so we’re both happy. Daddy and I walkd around the campus some, but there was a staff meeting and nothing was open after 2:30. Daddy was a little antsy, so we went ahead and drove to the airport, but then discovered that there were no restaurants or anything outside the checkpoint, se we left and went to a Jack in the Box (fast food- burgers and stuff, but also eggrolls apparently). The girl got my dad’s order wrong, and for whatever reason that just made me cry. I guess I was already strung out and wanted my last minutes to be stress-free. But it gets better… I dropped my dad off at the gate. That was sad, but when I went to leave, I checked for traffic and merged, but I don’t know if I merged too far over or what, but I sideswiped a shuttlebus! I was absolutely beside myself. I had literally just dropped my dad off and now I’, in an accident? How am I supposed to take care of myself?  To make matters worse, the driver got out and started yelling at me for not yielding. Soooooo, an hour later, I’m finally going back to SWBTS, but then I took the wrong highway (and there are waaaay too many highways in DFW) and drove around for about 2 hours trying to find my way back in the dark and rain. I have never been so upset, sad, scared and desperate in my life.

But things really are better now. My roommate is sweet and today she took me around campus to get my PO box and student ID and stuff. I went to church with her Sunday. It was a Cowboy church lol. Basically just really laid back and stuff. They had purchased their property (a beautiful rolling pield with a  pond) and were saving up for their building so they meet in a tent. It was fun, but I donlt think I’ll be back.

Today I auditioned for the chapel orchestra, and I guess I’m in because he said he’d recommend me for a scholarship. There was another professor there and he said his church has a scholarship for string students who play in their orchestra so he’s going to call me about that. God is really providing!

I covet your prayers. I’m still adjusting and classes start on the 23. I’ve got orientation tomorrow. Please pray for God to guide me and help my family as they are without me!

So last night it finally hit me that I'm leaving. Not the proverbial ton of bricks, but more like a wave in the ocean that you're not ready for and it knocks you down so that you're surrounded by the swirling water. There are so many thoughts that I have. Wondering whether I'll be able to make friends and whether people will like me and whether people back home will forget about me.

I had a strange juxtoposition (points for the big word heehee) the last few days. One time where I felt like everyone loved me and was sad to see me go but wished me luck and best wishes, and then one where I felt like an outsider and people didn't really give a rip that I was leaving.

This whole experience sort of drives home that you really have to tell people you appreciate them now and not when they're finally gone or getting ready to go. You never know how much time you have with people, whether the time apart is temporary or permanent. So there's my moral; go out and tell somebody you care about them today!

Yeah, I know I probably didn't spell that right. And I know its been a long time. And I realize probably no one reads this anymore. But a new dawn is approaching, and that dawn is in TX. So I will hopefully be better about posting here so I can keep people up to date with my life and hopefully I can stay up to date on other peoples' lives. (If anyone still cares)

SO

I have a cell phone now. All you AT&T/Cingular people can call me anytime for as long as you like cause its free :). But I still want to hear from everyone else too. You'll have to see me for the number though, I'm not posting it on the WWW :).

I'm really nervous, but also excited. I've talked to my roommate through email and she seems nice. I hope I can fit everything in my car...

So work is pretty ok. Its actually not as fun working with a bunch of guys as you might think, especially when they start checking out the ladies or doing their potty-humor thing. But overall they're a nice group.

Today was very interesting. I've had my share of irate customers when I was at CB and had to placate them when I really wanted to dope-slap them. People seem to get more sensitive at this place though. Maybe because more money's at stake. And then they're like "I can't live without it, everyone has to have a cell phone!" and I just want to tell them that I don't have one and never have and I'm ok!

Anywho, today this guy came in who was either severly sleep deprived or stoned out of his mind (my money's on the latter). He asked to use the bathroom. OK, we let him in the back, no biggie. He was in there for a while and then we hear this huge crash. He came out with a cut on his arm saying he had fallen. Later inspection revealed he was up on the toilet trying to climb up into the ceiling. Trying to get into the stock room? Maybe. That was interesting.

I'm house-sitting this week; its pretty fun. There's a nice doggie and a very friendly cat to watch too. My first night I was a little scared becasue the motion-detector light flicked on around midnight, but the dog didn't bark and I didn't see anyone so it was most likely a squirel or cat or something. 

I got my papers for housing today. I can't believe its only 2 months away! I am a little excited, but also scared. I feel like I'll be putting my life on hold for 3 years and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up so I don't know if this is right. I really felt like God was leading me in this direction, but now I'm so confused.

I was driving past a Chinese restaurant the other day and saw a sign in front of a couple spaces in the parking lot. Those spots were reserved for "Drive through customers only." huh? I thought the point of drive through was to "drive through" and not park.

I start my new job tomorrow! I'm not really scared of the job itself because its sales and I've done that before, but I am a bit concerned about the hours and getting off for a couple of saturdays.

Something interesting always seems to happen when I go to the beach. Yesterday I was out with a couple of friends. The water was pretty rough and so we didn’t go in very far, and we were sitting on our towels when a guy walks up. At first I’m thinking “freak!” because I have had experience with freaks on the beach before. Turns out he’s a lifeguard and wants us to help him test out the new lifeguard that was on duty nearby. We were basically just cover for him to walk down the beach and get in the water so it wouldn’t be obvious that there was just one person going swimming. I waded out to about waist high with him and then he swam out past the first waves and started “drowning.” Nothing happened. He thrashed around for awhile, drifting toward the lifeguard, waving his arms and still nothing happened. We felt sort of responsible, so we kept an eye on him to make sure he didn’t really drown. Finally, we saw a lady go up to the lifeguard chair and point out to sea. The guard stood up, looked for a minute, and then took off his hat and shirt and finally grabbed his life preserver to go rescue the “victim.” Finally! If it had been a real victim they guy would have probably drowned! Afterwards the lifeguard who approached us said that everyone was in trouble because they didn’t respond properly to the dropped flag and the guard who took so long to rescue him should get written up. At least there’s quality control, right. I think from now on I’ll make sure the lifeguard is actually watching the ocean and not staring at his toes or something.