Eating In Public Alone

This is going to sound extremely unimportant to some people, but I'd just like to say that I've made a little breakthrough.

...don't laugh.

I, Karie Fugett, am okay with eating at restaurants....alone.

Yep. That used to be the scariest thing ever to me and now - I actually enjoy it. I actually look forward to my public time alone. In fact, that is where I'm headed now. 

If you're like I was and terrified of eating alone for whatever reason, I challenge you to suck it up and do it anyway. You won't die, I promise. In fact, for me, it only took me one time to get over myself and just do it to realize it is actually quite pleasant.

So go, my friends. Treat yourself to a nice meal. Enjoy the company of yourself for once.

And...don't forget to splurge on dessert because no one is looking and no one can stop you.

A Hero's Eulogy

For those of you who don't know (I've talked about it on my blog's fb page), I am taking public speaking this semester and my first speech is ceremonial. I opted to do a eulogy for Cleve since I was not strong enough to do it at his funeral. A few of you have asked me to post the speech. Since it is tomorrow, I figured I would go ahead and post it so that you guys can be there with me in spirit. It's at 9 AM central time. If you're up and want to read it with me at that time I'm sure your thoughts and energy will help me to get through it without my heart exploding.

Excuse the form it's in. It was required for class.  

The Passing of a Hero

General Purpose:                     A eulogy for my husband.

Specific Purpose:                    To commemorate and remember the life of my husband, Corporal                 Jimmy Cleveland Kinsey II.

Thesis:                                     Jimmy “Cleve” Kinsey was an amazing man, true American hero, and the love of my life. Today I will remember his life, celebrate his achievements, and recall the ways he touched so many in such a short amount of time. 

I. Introduction

        A. Attention Getter:              In July of 2007, I sat in a hospital waiting room as my 23     year old husband’s leg was being amputated. It had been a year since he was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq and he spent that entire year fighting to keep his leg despite the fact that Drs warned him it was next to impossible. He didn’t care. He fought, and he fought hard. I waited anxiously, staring at the window looking onto the hallway, waiting to see him pushed by in his hospital bed. Finally, there he was; hazy eyed and looking around – most likely looking for me. I quickly got up and did the best “I’m so not freaking out, but I really am freaking out run/walk” I could muster. His bed turned the corner. I turned after him. As I got around it, I noticed his leg – now a nub. I lost it. I was terrified this was going to break his spirit. He had been so strong up until this point, and he needed that strength more than anything now. I finally got myself together, took a deep breath, and went back to his room. There he laid, my sweet, beautiful best friend. I sat down in the chair next to him and gently placed my hand on his. He opened his eyes and looked at me, then looked down at the bottom of the bed. He slowly took out his new leg and we looked at it together. I looked him in the eyes, and asked him if he was ok. My tears began to well again as he smiled at me and said in a slow, drug enhanced and infuriatingly smug tone, “This is nothin’…you’re such a baby...”, then wiggled his new nub in the air a little as if mocking me with it. Relief washed over me, and we both died laughing. That was just the kind of guy Cleve was. He was a man who had been through a lot but no matter what, nothing could take away his silly and typically inappropriate sense of humor. He was brave and strong willed. He fought for what he wanted, yet humbly accepted that in life, we don’t always get what we want. He never wanted people crying over what had happened to him. That day and the days that followed were not easy, but his ability to smile and laugh his way through it all is what made him so special. 

II. Jimmy “Cleve” Kinsey was an amazing man, true American hero and the love of my life. Today let’s remember his life, celebrate his achievements, and recall the ways he touched so many in such a short amount of time with his humor and unconditional love.

    A. An amazing man.

1. He was everyone’s best friend. People couldn’t help but love his big personality and sense of humor.

2.  He loved, and loved hard. Everyone knows that once Cleve loved you, he would do anything for you. His family, friends, and I were the most important things in his life. Though the capacity to love doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, his love was. It was vast, and warm, and full, and it is so, so missed.

3. When we were in Richmond, VA for his TBI treatment Cleve met a man who had not spoken a single word since he was wounded at war a year prior. Not. One. Word. Cleve sat with him at lunch every day and talked to him about his day. He talked and talked and talked without one response. Eventually I asked him why he kept messing with the poor man. I asked him to consider the fact that he could be annoying him. He told me that he knew the man would talk eventually and he just wanted to make sure the guy knew he could talk to him when that day came. One day Cleve walked in to the lunch area and sat next to his friend and asked him how he was doing. Before Cleve could continue blabbing away as usual, the man looked up at him and responded. One word at a time, the man began telling Cleve about his day. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. He not only loved his family, but he truly cared about everyone, with a particularly soft heart for his fellow wounded warriors. He always did what he could to help, even if it was simply talking or listening. Cleve’s persistence and his faith in his new friend helped that man to speak again. I like to think that wherever he is today, he remembers the stories Cleve told him during all of those lunches. I like to think that Cleve’s memory is carried on through them.

Transition: Now, Cleve was more than just your typical awesome guy…

B. Corporal Jimmy Cleveland Kinsey II, a true American hero.

1. He volunteered to be in the Marine Corps at the age of 19.

2. He did two tours to Iraq; one to Fallujah and the other to Ramadi. During each tour he watched friends get wounded and sometimes die. It wasn’t easy on him.

3. He was wounded on his second tour to Iraq losing his leg and getting severe PTSD and TBI. He received a purple heart among nine other medals for his wounds and achievements.

Transition: Last but not least…

C. He was the love of my life.

1. We met when we were thirteen years old. Our first kiss was in eighth grade on the Foley middle school football field as he was walking me home. I will cherish that memory for the rest of my life.

2. We reunited when we were 20 and eloped three months later without telling anyone. We were in love and we wanted to be together forever.

3. I will always remember the love we shared, and I feel lucky that I will be in love for the rest of my life - alone or not. My love for that goofy, loving man will never, ever fade.  His smile, his eyes, his presence is forever tattooed to my heart.

III. Conclusion:

A. Cleve’s time on this Earth was short but it was impactful. From loving deeply, to encouraging a fellow war hero to speak again, to simply being a symbol of strength, he left his mark – and it was big. I am proud to have known him. I am even more proud to have been loved by him.

B. Cleve was taken from us all too soon. We miss him and it’s so easy to get pulled into the darkness and sadness that we can’t help but feel in this horrific time. But… let’s try to remember how he was during tough times; how he was when his leg was amputated. He didn’t cry. Instead he chose to laugh and he took the situation on as just another challenge to be conquered. He didn’t want me crying for him then, and I promise you, he wouldn’t want us crying for him now. Instead, let’s be like him and laugh and smile at the beautiful memories we made with him. Let’s remember his big smile and his t-shirts with crazy sayings and his multi-colored all-star shoes -none of which matched…ever. Let’s remember how handsome he was in his dress blues, and his not so handsome (but oh so adorable) “Popeye” face. The good times, happiness, laughter, hugs, friendship, love, and the cutest dimple ever – that’s what he was and that’s what we should all emulate today and always– for him.

B. I love you so much, Cleve. We all do. We will always love you. Thank you for the joy you brought to our lives. 

Scuba Diving

I spent the weekend with one of my main widdas, Kelly, learning to scuba dive and it was awesome! Our open  water dives are scheduled for the week after next. I can't wait! There is something about effortlessly floating through water (without feeling like you are going to suffocate) that is indescribably amazing. This is something I remember my dad doing when I was a child and have always wanted to do. The fact that I finally did it makes me so happy!

I don't have pictures from class, but I plan to get some when we do our open water dives in a few weeks. I shall report back.

Here's to tons of vitamin D and a whole new part of the world for me to explore!

Meet Nicholas

Let's talk about Nick, shall we?

I've been fairly vague about him since we met and it's about time I talk about him a little more.

Fun Nicholas Facts:

1.) He's Cajun. He's from Louisiana, he has a Cajun accent, and his entire family is of French descent.

2.) His family is huge.

3.) They accept me as part of the family and it's awesome. We see them multiple times a month. His dad is also a fantastic cook!

4.) Nick used to be in the Navy. He still works at a Navy hospital.

5.) He's slightly OCD which keeps me on my toes. Sometimes he makes me crazy because he's over the top organized and clean, but usually I just appreciate that he rubs it off on me a little. I tend to be a bit messy and all over the place. I'm getting better thanks to him.

6.) He eats a lot of sausage (probably because he's cajun), but never gets fat. It's truly unfair.

7.) He has really long eye lashes and beautiful honey colored eyes.

8.) He can't stand staying at home for too long. He always has to get out and "do stuff".

9.) He has great taste in music.

10.) He's extremely funny in the nerdiest of ways. He allows me to be the same.

11.) He loves me so much.

12.) I love him so much.

13.) We are not planning on getting married... ever. Though we've discussed having a  "non-wedding".... or something. And eventually, I want a ring. But we haven't gotten to all of that yet. School first.

14.) As of now... we don't want kids.

15.) Obviously we talk about the future a lot. I definitely can see myself with him for forever.


I should also add that he never yells at me, is extremely calm and even tempered, and one of the most patient people I've ever met.

He's also a total hottie.

All in all, he's awesome. And he makes me very happy. And I feel extremely lucky to have him in my life. I was given a second chance at love thanks to him. I couldn't have asked for a greater gift.

Giveaway for Military and Family: Hero Puzzles

A couple of days ago I caught wind of a new Veteran owned business called "Hero Puzzles". I've been given the opportunity to give one of these fine toys to one of you guys, which makes me quite happy! If you ask me, this is a fabulous gift for a child of someone who is deployed or fallen.

Before I blab about it, I want to share with you how it "came to be" straight from the creators mouth,

"The concept actually came from my three year old
son about a year ago.  Just like the other men and women serving our
country, separation is a huge part of our life.  My son is quite a busy
little man and he really enjoys puzzles.  I was looking at one of the many
random wooden puzzles we own and thought to myself, I could make this. 
Fast forward a year, my son has multiple puzzles of me and our family, and
it has proved to be a coping tool for him.  My wife tells me that while I
am away it is constantly what he wants to play with!  It is also an
opportunity for him to talk about me, miss me, and have conversations
about me while working on his hand eye coordination and cognitive skills. 
It has really been a win win for him as well as myself!" -Cody Sterling

To read more about the start of this business, check out the about page, here. 

Cody, the owner, is currently active duty which, if you ask me, is reason enough to check these puzzles out. Not only that but these are long lasting, quality puzzles crafted from birch plywood and 10% of all proceeds go directly to the Wounded Warrior Project. So, even if you don't win the giveaway I encourage you to check Hero Puzzles out and consider buying one for your little one. There are many styles to choose from that you can check out right here. 

On to the giveaway! 

Rules:

1.) Leave a comment stating your interest in winning this. I would love to hear what type of picture you plan to use and who it's for. I'm nosy. 

2.) You must be following my blog or my blog's Facebook page. 

3.) You must either be in the Military or be the family member of someone in the military. I want to make sure this puzzle is used for the purposes stated above. 

4.) I will post a "You've won!" post in a week. Please claim your prize within three days of that post.

Good luck!

'Tis better to have loved

A lot has changed for me. It's all changed so quickly that it took me literally stopping and really looking back to realize just how different everything really is; how different I am. It's kind of insane. I've had to make so many huge decisions in the past couple of years. Decisions that would change everything. Now here I am looking back and wondering... how the hell did I get here? Not long ago my life seemed pointless - doomed. I was a new widow; a sad, lonely, depressed, widow who lost her only real love. Nothing was going right and my hope for anything in life or in myself was running out if there was any left at all.

Before that, I was the wife of a wounded Marine; a Marine who loved me very much but was severely effected by the war both mentally and physically. The war had left him torn and lost and in turn left me the same. Life was a roller coaster. Every day was met with new challenges. Some days the challenges were so large that my early 20-something brain just couldn't wrap around it all. We were very sad and, looking back, I would even say blinded by everything that was happening around us and to us. What I mean by that is that we were so focused on all the shit that we were oblivious to anything good in life. It's sad to think that we lived that way for so long. It's really sad. 

Now, I sit here looking around me unable to find anything "bad". The only darkness in my life stems from my past, which is slowly fading - slowly turning into acceptance. I've come to a point in my life where I feel I'm finally on track. I'm where I need to be and doing what I need to do. I'm surrounded by good people and good things. God, the universe, or whatever is out there has finally decided to give me a break it seems, and that is okay with me. I'm beginning to feel like I can breath again - really breath.

All in two years I have made numerous new friends, gone to a business school, decided to open a business, decided not to open a business yet and instead follow my dream of going to college first, went to college (A's!), fallen in love again (his parents love me...a pleasant change), moved back to my hometown (something I never thought I would do), became a mostly vegetarian (I eat meat if Nick's dad cooks it), and started writing a book. In between all of that I traveled all over the US sometimes for fun, sometimes to learn, and other times to teach about this life. All in all it seems the decisions I've been making are the right ones. I feel deeply content with the things I've done with what I had left after losing everything. I'm proud of myself for that. And I'm excited to see what happens in the next two years, and the two years after that.

Life is crazy. It's full of surprises. Sometimes it's mean and sometimes it's nice. I'll always miss Cleve. There will always be some pain in me because of my past, but I'm getting to the point that I'm ready to let a lot of that go. I'm beginning to realize that all of us hurt - all of us. I am no different than you, or her, or him, or whoever. All we can do is move forward. All we can do is make something out of what we have left and make sure our future is better than our past. That's all we can do. That's what I want to do. I don't want to dwell anymore. I cannot live the rest of my life dwelling on something that just is - or isn't anymore.

He was hurt. We hurt together. We loved each other. He died. I'm here without him now. I love him even though he isn't here to love me back. And that's okay. Because death is a part of life and one day I'm going to die and someone is going to cry for me. And now, two years after he died, I have love coming at me from all different directions from friends and family and my boyfriend. I need to continue to focus on them - living, breathing people who deserve my attention, too. I will never forget him. I couldn't. But I've got to quit living like he is going to come back, because he isn't. And it will be okay.

Life has been good to me recently. It's been so good to me. At this point I am just along for the ride.

'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. - Tennyson

Spread Some Love People!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Remember that even if you are alone or just hate the holiday for your own reasons (I know many of you do), instead of spending the day resentful,Valentine's Day just happens to be the perfect excuse to go out and do something nice for someone, even if that someone is a stranger. Just think of how much better you'll feel after making someone smile!

So, go out there and spread love to your fellow man (and woman)!

Love you guys. <3

I have to be up at four in the morning (every Tuesday and Thursday...yuck), so this will be quick.

First of all, I am currently rocking all A's which makes me happy. College isn't as hard as I expected. Aka: I'm  a lot smarter than I gave myself credit for....YAY! I'm not a moron! 

Also.... Je parle un peu de Francais. <-----This makes me :)

I love learning. Sometimes it makes me feel like my brain is melting and seeping out of my ears, but in the end getting a big fat A is like nothing else in the world!

I feel like there's a lot to say, but I'm really tired and can't think straight so I'm going to bed now.

I hope this is finding everyone well. 

Walking to Listen - How a complete stranger on the side of a country road touched my life

Yesterday was a difficult day, or at least it started that way. As I was doing my morning ritual of driving an hour and a half to school, the song I'll Be Seeing You by Billie Holiday started playing. Though the song is on my iPod, and I've heard it many times, this time the words hit me like a ton of bricks. As the sun rose on the horizon, grief's thick, heavy blanket rose with it  and for the rest of the day I was drowning in thoughts of Cleve; first as I drove, then in between classes as I walked to my next destination. It was sunny and chilly - perfect chilly - the kind where a simple cardigan, a light scarf, and a pair of boots is just enough to keep warm. Headed to my next class, I stared at my shoes as they took turns hitting the pavement of the sidewalk. I lost myself to thought in their rhythm. Suddenly I was beginning to feel uncomfortable again. Fear and sadness filled my heart. Memories flashed before my eyes.

 "He should be here. He was supposed to be here for this. What is this? This isn't right. What am I doing?"

It just didn't feel right, none of it; my walking, the people around me, the cheery sun beaming down on us as we scurried around like Ants on an ant hill. My very breath felt uncomfortable knowing he - my beautiful husband and best friend - was no longer here scurrying around with us. For the rest of the school day, I struggled to keep the tears hidden behind my eyes where no one could see them. I was relieved when my classes were over. I went to the gym out of principal and against my inner self strongly objecting. I did a shorter workout than usual and headed home. My bed was screaming my name.

For my long trek back, I rolled down every window in my car and found the loudest, dirtiest, mindless rap I could find and blared it. It was beginning to get warmer out. The warmth was making me feel more content and the vitamin D from the sun was beginning to finally kick in. The day was looking up. I pulled off of the freeway onto my exit. One small town after another flashed by - business as usual - when I noticed a young man on the side of the road with a hiking backpack, a walking stick, and a sign on his pack that said, "Walking to Listen". I know these towns like the back of my hands, and that man was not from here. Not to mention, curiosity always kills the Karie and I needed to know what that sign meant. I pulled over in the first parking lot I could find, pulled out my phone, and googled Walking to Listen. A blog popped up. This is what it read:

"On October 14, 2011, I walked out the backdoor of my home in Chadds Ford, PA and began a cross-country search for the most basic human interface of them all: stories. Every one of us has an extraordinary story worth hearing, and I’m walking the country to listen. There’s no such thing as the Average Joe, no such thing as a boring, uninteresting, unexceptional life (for more on this, see this poem by Yevgeny Yevtushenko). This walk is to honor that. Life is fast, and I’ve found it’s easy to confuse the miraculous for the mundane, so I’m slowing down, way down, in order to give my full presence to the extraordinary that infuses each moment and resides in every one of us. We’re a country of great diversities and divisions; sharing stories, I think, is one way to find resonance." 

It goes on to say that he would be going through Alabama, then over toward Texas. I knew this was the same guy. I instantly felt compelled to talk to him, but always being the first one to tell you that rapists and murderers live among us, I sped home to Google it on my laptop and investigate this whole thing further. Call me simple, but what I found blew me away; the pictures he had taken, the stories he had written, the comments from people he had met on his adventure - one of which saying something along the lines of "Angels walk among us".

"Angels", I thought, "I could use an angel. Or a friend. Something."

The more I saw, the more I was convinced that I needed to meet this guy. I needed to pick his brain. I needed to hear why he was doing this and what he had gotten from it. I needed to be in the presence of someone who would actually have the balls to do something like this. I can't explain it, but I needed to do it. While essentially stalking him through his blog, I clicked on his contact tab and, luckily, he listed his number. I sat in my bed, phone in hand, and hesitated to text him for a second, again considering the rapist thing because it's what I do, and then considering him not wanting to meet me. The thought made me sad, but I did it anyway.

No reply.

I called Melissa whose voice sounded like death. She was extremely tired. I somehow coaxed her into coming with me to find this stranger again. I told her to look up his blog. She did and agreed that he indeed seemed like a "cool dude". I picked her up, fed her redbull, and we backtracked to find him. Sure enough, he was right where I thought he'd be, looking quite exhausted and conveniently right in front of a little gravel road. I put on my blinker to let him know I was going to pull in. He stopped, I parked, and I rolled my window down.

"Hi. Do you have plans for dinner?"

He smiled, "No actually, I don't. Are you Karie, by any chance?"

"Yes."

"Oh hi, it's nice to meet you , I was just going to text you back as soon as I stopped."

"Oh, cool! Well, if you're not doing anything for dinner, I'd love to treat you."

"Wow, awesome! I'm going to walk just a little further, probably about an hour, and I'll give you a call when I know where I'm staying."

"Perfect. See you in a bit."

I took off, giggling with Melissa.

"I can't believe I just did that."

"I know! But he seems so nice!"

"I know! I'm excited to pick his brain, dude."

We didn't drive long before Andrew (that's his name) called and told us he had found an RV resort sooner than he had expected. He was drawn in by a sign that said Bluegrass Tuesdays and the owner was willing to let him pitch a tent in one of their sheds.

"It's Ray's RV Park. Just follow the signs that say bluegrass music, and I'm behind the sheds on your left."

Melissa and I found it, pulled in, followed the signs and, sure enough, there he was pitching his tent inside a storage shed full of lawn supplies. After he was done, he showered and we took him to a little seafood restaurant that we hadn't even tried and had shrimp, swamp soup (not sure how to explain it), hush puppies, cole slaw, and okra. We all began to talk. He asked us questions. We asked him questions. It was so interesting to me.

Me - "Are you sore all the time?"

Andrew - "Not anymore. My feet hurt at the end of each day."

Me - "Are your friends and family supportive?"

Andrew - "Yes, actually. I don't think I could do it without their support."

Me - "How often do you get to eat?"

Andrew - "As often as anyone else..."

Me - "That's so cool, dude."

I started with the small stuff to get to know him before really prying him open and attempting to steal any wisdom he may have gained from his experience. Eventually, however, the conversation turned to me and it came time for me to explain my past and my widowdom. He listened. He's a good listener - patient - more so than most people. He then told us about some of the other people he had met on his journey; mother's of boys who were deployed and veterans themselves. He said that as he traveled, he had some people record their stories if they were willing. He told me that I was the first wife that had been effected by the war, and asked me if I would like to record mine. Always taking a chance to talk about Cleve, I obliged. We finished our country cooked dinner and headed back to the shed in the RV park. We all sat at a wooden picnic table under an ever appropriate dim, blinking light, he went into the shed to dig out his video recorder, and he began to ask me one question after another. In his questions alone you could feel his true interest in wanting to know about me, a complete stranger. He was genuinely interested in my life with my husband and the feelings and emotions that came with it. One question and answer after another, he listened. Finally when we were done, Melissa and I, both teary eyed looked at each other as if we could read each others minds, "Who is this guy?"


He went back into the shed to put up his recorder then asked, "Do you guys mind if I play a song for you?"

"Not at all..."

He came out with a mandolin in his hand, sat down, and began singing the song Hallelujah.

This guy is a freaking mandolin player and singer, too. A good one. I smiled and stared at his fingers as he played effortlessly (I always watch peoples hands as they play instruments). My brain was trying to wrap itself around the whole night. There were moments I felt like I was in some crazy dream. I typically don't go and meet random strangers on the side of the road. Now, here we are at this picnic table in an RV park Melissa and I had never even noticed before, hanging out with this person we just found walking on the side of the road, and it's as if he's our long time great friend.

He finished the song and we all sat around talking about our lives as he strung bits and pieces of songs in the background. More and more questions were filling my head. There were so many things I wanted to ask him!

Me - "Has this journey changed your perception of humanity at all?"

Andrew - "Oh, for sure."

Me - "Positive or negative?"

Andrew - "Very, very positive. I've been so surprised at how kind people are and how willing people are to take in a stranger. Like now... you bought me dinner and you didn't even know me."

This thought made me so happy. I kept grilling him and every sweet, sentimental, kind, genuine, thoughtful answer was like medicine for my aching soul - especially on that day. I needed a piece of goodness from the Universe that day. I needed a little reminder that not all is bad in the world, and that there is not only good, but true beauty; not only in nature, but inside the people, the strangers, around me. The light and beauty that beamed from this strangers soul was something that is rare and I just needed to be near it and see it for myself. I'm glad I took the risk.

There isn't much I can say to really explain why this meant so much to me other than... it just did. You, whoever is reading this, probably think I am ridiculous. It's just, over the years and through the many adventures I have taken, some of my favorite memories are of the random people I met along the way. From each person, no matter how long we were able to interact, I took a little piece of them away with me. Today I am the product of the beautiful people who have come and gone throughout my life. Andrew and his adventure, and the people he met on it, and his wisdom, and his beautiful way of looking at the world has become a part of me now, and that makes me happy. Through Andrew's exploration of humanity, I have renewed faith in it; renewed faith in this whole process of life in general. On such an emotional day, I really needed that.

Some of the best moments in life happen when something that appears to be insignificant surprises us with something extraordinary.

In the end, sure, Andrew is just a regular, 23 year old, shaggy haired, smiley, dude that decided to leave his hometown in Pennsylvania and walk across the U.S.

But then, most people would never actually have the guts to do something like that. Can you imagine?

Walk. Across. The. Country.

Not to mention, most people wouldn't take the time to get to know strangers or, "The average joe", as he says. I won't even say hi to someone in a grocery store! His adventure is not just "walking". He has decided to take the time to get to know his fellow humans, to connect with them, and to see the world we forget how lucky we are to have, from outside of a vehicle.

I think we could all learn something from Andrew. Angel or not.

Before we left, he gave Melissa and I each a little brown stone and because it was late I forgot it's name and meaning. I suck. I will report back on that. It made sense considering what he was doing, though, and was extremely sentimental, which seems to be a theme with him. We all hugged and Melissa and I went home feeling content with the world.

Andrew, if you read this, I hope you don't think I'm a freak for writing all of this, and thank you for turning what could have been considered a sad day into a learning experience and a new friendship formed. You rock.

Everyone needs to check his blog out: Walking to Listen. After he hits the Gulf coast, which will be sometime today, he is going to hang out for a day or so then start heading toward California. If you see him in your town... Feed him. House him. Talk to him. 

Lessons in my first weeks of school

I have been busy, busy, busy with school.

I LOVE it. I don't even care that some of it is hard (French). It just makes me that much more determined. 

Here are a few lessons I learned in the last two weeks:

-Always order your books well before school starts and make sure you don't need a code for an accompanying online program before buying them on Amazon. I bought mine a week before from Amazon and didn't get most of them until a week after school started. I also found out that half of them needed an online code, which only comes with new books. I ended up having to buy the code anyway (I couldn't until yesterday), which defeated the purpose of buying on Amazon which was, obviously, to save money. I also got behind on some assignments, which really irks me. 

-Don't ever assume there will be parking closer to your next class. I tried driving from class to class on my first day. Not only was I risking getting a ticket because everyone has designated parking, but the parking is so bad that I should have kept the spot I had and walked - fast. I was almost late for my classes because I was having to circle the entire campus to find another parking space and ended up having to park even further away than I was in the first place. 

-Just because I haven't been in school for forever, doesn't mean I'm a complete moron. I'm keeping up with everyone just fine - so far. 

-Always keep an umbrella, rain boots, and a rain coat in the car. I walked into my third class yesterday looking as though I had taken a shower with my clothes on; shoes, hoodie, white t-shirt, and all. It. Was. Pouring. And my classes are far apart. As I was walking through what could have easily been a tsunami, all I could think about was that scene in Forrest Gump when he was talking about the rain going down-ways, up-ways, side-ways.... Yea. There was no escaping it. I had the hood of my hoodie over my head, which was doing nothing. I held onto the bottom of my backpack straps and hauled ass. I was splashed by cars driving by, I stomped through deep puddles, and when I finally reached my car (I cheated. I couldn't walk the entire way. And luckily - there was parking at my next class) the rain switched directions and slapped me right in the face. I couldn't see the handle to the car. Finally, after scrambling around and cracking the hell up, I got into my car and continued to laugh for a minute. I finally got to my class and squeaked, shoes completely soaked, all the way to my chair. It was funny until the cold air conditioning began to induce hypothermia. No thanks. Next time I will be prepared. 

-Learning a new language is harder than it seems. Especially when you haven't even taken an English class in forever. FYI (for anyone who isn't already aware), college English is nothing but writing papers, which I'm totally cool with and doing really well with so far. However, if you are like me and have forgotten what is what in a sentence (pronouns, nouns, verbs, etc..), be prepared to relearn that on your own to make another language make sense. The day my professor covered these things, I kinda wanted to leap out of the nearest window. It's so embarrassing to admit, but to me, it was gibberish on top of gibberish. I came straight home and have been studying this crap ever since. Luckily, relearning the parts of a sentence wasn't that difficult. Just had to refresh. And I'm starting to get the French stuff. My accent is atrocious, but at least I know what I'm saying. Ha!

I've made a promise to myself that I would never be too busy for my blog. So, this is me taking a break from my homework to write in it. However, I have way too much to do and I must get back to it. 

Au Revoir!