Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sticker Charts
I've decided my will power is about that of a 4 year old. In an effort to push myself towards a healthier life, I've decided to do a point system with rewards. So, I've created a sticker chart. You heard me - a sticker chart. I figure if it works for 4 year olds, it'll work for me. Every day I drink at least 8 8oz glasses of water (measured by my trusty water bottle) and I take both packets of vitamins, I get a sticker. At the end of the week, if I have all my stickers, I'll put $5 in my green Grinch bank (I find the bank humorous - especially I emptied it for toll money and necessities during my evacuation trip - I am not grinchy when it comes to spending money). As I start back to working out, I'll add those stickers in, too. At the end, when I've reached my weight loss goal, I'll hopefully have a nice stash of cash to go shopping for new clothes. It'll be disciplined savings for delayed gratification as well as encouragement on my way to a goal I'm having trouble keeping. I'm not focusing on the weight loss just yet because I'm trying to establish the water/vitamin habit. I've done great for 4 days now, so I have to stay consistent to get to the 21st day when a habit will hopefully have formed. It's kind of humorous to have a sticker chart with gold stars, but I find it oddly motivating. I want that next sticker. Seems like such an easy reward, but I slacked off a bit on my water just before lunch and by the afternoon, I was feeling it. It took me a few days to start feeling rehydrated and processing liquids normally, so I think I was really missing it when I slacked off. Feeling lousy may be reason enough to stay on track - I don't want to feel like that again! As soon as I started back with the water, my headache started disappearing. So, I'm off to take my last vitamin packet and drink another glass before settling in for the night. Another day, another sticker. Woo hoo!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Feeling "Wicked"
I got to go home last weekend for an all too short visit. Wicked (www.wickedthemusical.com) was in town and my mom, sister and I decided we should go see it. I'm a huge fan of Broadway and musicals, but this is the only show I have intentionally sought out and actually traveled home or had people fly out to me to go see. I've now seen it 4 times. I guess that's a bit overboard, but it's that good of a show. I love seeing it with both my mom and sister and the people in the crowd who have never seen it. If you don't know anything about it, it's a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. It's the story of the 2 witches in Oz before Dorothy arrived. They go from "loathing" each other to realizing that each has mattered to the other. They realize that, regardless of their differences (which go beyond their outward appearances) each has changed the other.
Wicked is a story of learning to believe in yourself, learning to let others into your life even if they are different and learning how to stand on your own - even when it means going against the flow. There are really funny references to the movie The Wizard of Oz, but they are kind of hidden. It's so much fun to watch the audience reaction to the jokes - they usually miss the first one, but after that, they seem to catch on fairly quick. I also love watching the audience's reaction to the plot twist at the end. It's usually a collective gasp of shock - which I love to see. I love listening to those around me whisper as they start to catch on to things. It's such a fun show with great music that just sticks in your heart and makes you happy. If you get the chance to see it, I so highly recommend it. So far, it's the only show I have intentionlly bought 2 tickets back home to see.
The rest of the weekend was just as eventful - a blown power steering fluid line led to an extended trip to Wal Mart. We attempted to make merenguie cookies, which didn't turn out anything like the first time I tried them. Church Sunday, running into old friends and meeting new ones. All in all, it was a great weekend!
Wicked is a story of learning to believe in yourself, learning to let others into your life even if they are different and learning how to stand on your own - even when it means going against the flow. There are really funny references to the movie The Wizard of Oz, but they are kind of hidden. It's so much fun to watch the audience reaction to the jokes - they usually miss the first one, but after that, they seem to catch on fairly quick. I also love watching the audience's reaction to the plot twist at the end. It's usually a collective gasp of shock - which I love to see. I love listening to those around me whisper as they start to catch on to things. It's such a fun show with great music that just sticks in your heart and makes you happy. If you get the chance to see it, I so highly recommend it. So far, it's the only show I have intentionlly bought 2 tickets back home to see.
The rest of the weekend was just as eventful - a blown power steering fluid line led to an extended trip to Wal Mart. We attempted to make merenguie cookies, which didn't turn out anything like the first time I tried them. Church Sunday, running into old friends and meeting new ones. All in all, it was a great weekend!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Home Again, Home Again
Turns out, you CAN go home again. It's not the same as when you left, but it's still home. Some things never change when you meet up with real friends. It doesn't matter how long it's been, when you're back together again, things pick up where they left off. It was the best weekend I've had in a very long time. I was so sorry it passed so quickly. We had an adventurous weekend, that's for sure.
T and I left Houston on a flight that was supposed to leave at 5:30pm and arrive in Atlanta at 8:30pm. Instead, we left at 10:30pm and got to our initial destination at 3 in the morning the next day. We had a slow tire leak in our rental car and had to stop for air each morning before beginning the day's adventure! We got to Clinton around supper time Friday afternoon and met up with Brenna, who was my roommate my sophomore year. We found several more people after supper at the pep rally and had a great time catching up and visiting.
Saturday, T & I got up early to do the fun run with Becky. We got to the stadium during what we thought was the registration time only to find out the race started 15minutes before we got there! So, we did our own fun run and walked around campus catching up and making lots of noise for the current residents of Grotnes 227 (our room my senior year). After quickly showering and changing, we went back to campus to meet everyone at the Alumni Green to get our class photo taken. We found Ellie, Stacy & Mary Frances and spent more time catching up with friends from long ago. Someone commented that we all looked the same - the only difference now is that there are kids around. I can't wait for the day I can take my own little Blue Hose back to campus!
After the class photo, we met up with others for the tailgating lunch and game. PC is in the process of moving up to Division I football. Saturday, we played the North Greenville College Crusaders and we won! It's only our 2nd win of the season and came after a couple of really disappointing losses to Wofford, App State and Elon. Right now, it's a learning experience, but hopefuly one day we'll be competing with the bigger schools for bragging rights.
Saturday after the game found us walking around campus again revisiting everything - even the remodeled campus center. Springs is totally different now - they have filled in the pool and made it into a state of the arts fitness center. That was the best change - one I wish they had made 15 years ago so we could have enjoyed it. Saturday night was spent eating out at Senor Garcia and walking around campus yet again just visiting - and taking pictures with all the new statutes.
It amazes me that someone thought that was a good use of money. Seems like it would have been better to forego the statutes (one of which is in the middle of a walkway where three separate paths converge) and use it to renovate Doyle Hall - the condemend building that's on the National Historical Register so they can't tear it down. It was condemned 10 years ago, but no one has done anything with it except board it up and block it off. Seems like waste of space!
We capped off Saturday night by visiting the Alpha Sig house with Becky's husband and some friends. It was nice to sit on the top rail of the deck again, but sad to see how young the current students are. We remember looking at the alums when we were students thinking they were so old - now, we're the old ones being stared at.
Sunday found us racing back to Atlanta to catch a flight home. We made it in time for the wedding of some friends of ours.
All in all, it was a great weekend - it's amazing how nothing really seemed to change in 10 years. The campus has changed, but my friends are still the same goofy wonderful people they were 10 years ago. There's something about crossing the railroad tracks and being back inside the bubble that takes years off your life. It's such a safe and welcoming place - I didn't want to leave. I hope it's not 10 more years before we do this again!
T and I left Houston on a flight that was supposed to leave at 5:30pm and arrive in Atlanta at 8:30pm. Instead, we left at 10:30pm and got to our initial destination at 3 in the morning the next day. We had a slow tire leak in our rental car and had to stop for air each morning before beginning the day's adventure! We got to Clinton around supper time Friday afternoon and met up with Brenna, who was my roommate my sophomore year. We found several more people after supper at the pep rally and had a great time catching up and visiting.
Saturday, T & I got up early to do the fun run with Becky. We got to the stadium during what we thought was the registration time only to find out the race started 15minutes before we got there! So, we did our own fun run and walked around campus catching up and making lots of noise for the current residents of Grotnes 227 (our room my senior year). After quickly showering and changing, we went back to campus to meet everyone at the Alumni Green to get our class photo taken. We found Ellie, Stacy & Mary Frances and spent more time catching up with friends from long ago. Someone commented that we all looked the same - the only difference now is that there are kids around. I can't wait for the day I can take my own little Blue Hose back to campus!
After the class photo, we met up with others for the tailgating lunch and game. PC is in the process of moving up to Division I football. Saturday, we played the North Greenville College Crusaders and we won! It's only our 2nd win of the season and came after a couple of really disappointing losses to Wofford, App State and Elon. Right now, it's a learning experience, but hopefuly one day we'll be competing with the bigger schools for bragging rights.
Saturday after the game found us walking around campus again revisiting everything - even the remodeled campus center. Springs is totally different now - they have filled in the pool and made it into a state of the arts fitness center. That was the best change - one I wish they had made 15 years ago so we could have enjoyed it. Saturday night was spent eating out at Senor Garcia and walking around campus yet again just visiting - and taking pictures with all the new statutes.
It amazes me that someone thought that was a good use of money. Seems like it would have been better to forego the statutes (one of which is in the middle of a walkway where three separate paths converge) and use it to renovate Doyle Hall - the condemend building that's on the National Historical Register so they can't tear it down. It was condemned 10 years ago, but no one has done anything with it except board it up and block it off. Seems like waste of space!
We capped off Saturday night by visiting the Alpha Sig house with Becky's husband and some friends. It was nice to sit on the top rail of the deck again, but sad to see how young the current students are. We remember looking at the alums when we were students thinking they were so old - now, we're the old ones being stared at.
Sunday found us racing back to Atlanta to catch a flight home. We made it in time for the wedding of some friends of ours.
All in all, it was a great weekend - it's amazing how nothing really seemed to change in 10 years. The campus has changed, but my friends are still the same goofy wonderful people they were 10 years ago. There's something about crossing the railroad tracks and being back inside the bubble that takes years off your life. It's such a safe and welcoming place - I didn't want to leave. I hope it's not 10 more years before we do this again!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Going "Home"
This weekend is Homecoming at Presbyterian College (www.presby.edu) and my 10 year reunion. I can't believe 10 years has gone by so fast. PC is a small private liberal arts college in the middle of nowhere. At least it feels that way. It's in a small town in the upstate of South Carolina in between Greenville and Columbia called Clinton. There is a town not too far from Clinton called Prosperity. Since I was there during the late 90s, when President Clinton was in office, and I was in a relatively conservative part of the state, there were lots of pictures of the directional sign Clinton/Prosperity with arrows facing in opposite directions. The town is really small - maybe 10,000 or so if I had to guess. And everyone in town seems to either work at PC or have some connection to it. In a town that small, the college age people stand out pretty easily. We were the ones at WalMart or Waffle House at 2 am because there was nothing better to do and we were bored. I don't think it ever occurred to us that we should be studying or, heaven forbid, asleep!
Clinton was a fantastic place to spend 4 years. Having only about 1200 students, PC is the kind of school where your professors notice if you're not in class more than a day or two in a row - and they care enough to call to make sure you're ok. I missed several classes with a bad case of bronchitis my senior year. I actually ended up in the infirmary for a few days because I was so contagious. I had professors calling the infirmary and my dorm room to check on me.
PC is the kind of school where professors are more than teachers. They become friends. They teach you so much more than the textbook subject matter. The best ones inspire you to want to do something better for the world, to make a difference. The school's motto is Dum Vivimus Serviums - While We Live, We Serve. It really is the hallmark of the school. It's a large part of what makes PC, PC.
I am so very much looking forward to what this weekend brings. I had always heard that college was the best 4 years of your life. I never really believed that until I experienced PC. I look back over the last 10 years and often wish I had been allowed to remain forever inside the bubble just beyond the railroad tracks and the town square where people cared enough to encourage you to dream big, were there to inspire you to be better than you thought you could be, and dared you to do things you never thought possible. But, life goes on. They say you can't really ever go home again. My mind understands that going back won't be the same, but somewhere deep down, my heart is hoping this reunion finds me picking up with friends exactly where we left off - on the west plaza in front of Neville hugging, laughing, joking and crying each other through life. I love being a Blue Hose!
Clinton was a fantastic place to spend 4 years. Having only about 1200 students, PC is the kind of school where your professors notice if you're not in class more than a day or two in a row - and they care enough to call to make sure you're ok. I missed several classes with a bad case of bronchitis my senior year. I actually ended up in the infirmary for a few days because I was so contagious. I had professors calling the infirmary and my dorm room to check on me.
PC is the kind of school where professors are more than teachers. They become friends. They teach you so much more than the textbook subject matter. The best ones inspire you to want to do something better for the world, to make a difference. The school's motto is Dum Vivimus Serviums - While We Live, We Serve. It really is the hallmark of the school. It's a large part of what makes PC, PC.
I am so very much looking forward to what this weekend brings. I had always heard that college was the best 4 years of your life. I never really believed that until I experienced PC. I look back over the last 10 years and often wish I had been allowed to remain forever inside the bubble just beyond the railroad tracks and the town square where people cared enough to encourage you to dream big, were there to inspire you to be better than you thought you could be, and dared you to do things you never thought possible. But, life goes on. They say you can't really ever go home again. My mind understands that going back won't be the same, but somewhere deep down, my heart is hoping this reunion finds me picking up with friends exactly where we left off - on the west plaza in front of Neville hugging, laughing, joking and crying each other through life. I love being a Blue Hose!
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