Still Here

It's been a tough week here at the office, but we're surviving. Haven't got a whole lot to say other than that.

Shout out to Karen for housing me when I was in CS, Nick's gone for good, so I was nearly homeless. Props to Nick for his first day on the job. Talked too him at lunch and all was good.

Clinton and I solved a tough case this week in regard to some suspicious activity we saw. We really should open up a Detective Office.

Last topic to address is the number of people that read my blog through facebook. Just to let you know, this is done through Blogspot, facebook imports info from here automatically. I'm surprised at how many people told me they read it. I don't know if they ever comment on it though as I dont check facebook very often. http://chriswilson06.blogspot.com/ is the best way to have me read any comments you make. Word to all my readers, I'm looking at you Ched.

Alright, longer, more thought provoking post coming in the future, I promise. Until then, let me share with you a blog that Karen sent to me asking "Is It True?":

Look…

I’m about to shed some light on the bizarre brains of men.

This impending enlightenment is the fruit of 30 years of male observation.

So go get your cute little journals girls...oh...and your colored pens.

I wish what I was about to tell you was something incredibly fantastic, but you see, that’s one of the illusions called man.

When you are single, you think that men are mysteries waiting to be solved.

You think they are deep because they’re silent.

You think they are strong because they are solemn.

No. Not hardly.

Men are very easy to read.

They are quiet because they either don’t know what to say, they aren't aware they are supposed to be saying something, or they weren't even sure you were talking to them in the first place.

They can be calm, grounded and solemn because they don't know they should be trying to impress you, even though you’re practically hula hooping with your hair on fire to get their attention.

Here’s a little known tidbit about men that should alarm you.

Got your purple pen?

They all play this game in their minds called, "The What If Game."

For the first half of my life I lived with a brother who would randomly say, "What if we had to walk backwards everywhere we went?" "What if we had to chew our food 50 times, spit it out and then eat it again?" "What if dogs could talk, but only in French, so we still couldn’t understand them?" "What if I had to sleep with my legs sticking straight up in the air?" "What if this roll of wall paper was stuck in my forehead? I would be like a unicorn. How would I put on my shirts?"

That was my life with Jason.

I thought I would be saying goodbye to this WASTE OF TIME thought process once I finally got my new double consonant name (I would have married a man with the last name of Hoogleberry to obtain this).

Wrong.

After I said, "I do," I quickly said, "This cannot be happening." I got married and found out that Aaron plays the same insane little game. I don’t know why, but "The What If Game" makes me want to hit him in the face with a cookie sheet.

He and Jason were both so serious about their "What Ifs." That's the most unsettling part. They really and truly expect you to begin problem solving over these made up scenarios. Really. I'm not joking. They see nothing wrong with logically trying to solve an illogical problem.

Aaron will pick the most inopportune times to amuse himself with the what ifs. We'll be getting ready for a birthday party or for company to come over and it will hit him..."What if I were a goat?" I'm trying to hurry, and he's chewing on napkins.

How are we still married?

Moments before I catapulted myself out of the bed to type this man betrayal, I was lying there next to my husband. He looks at me and says with his jaws clenched together, "What if I couldn’t open my mouth ever again."

Unfortunately I don’t keep cookie sheets in our bed. I will from now on.

I made a loud, "UGGGGH."

I then told him I had to know what is wrong with men. Why do they do this? It must be all men, because I’m no mathematician (actually, I can’t even tell time properly) but what are the chances that my brother and husband BOTH play the dumb "What if Game?"

Aaron informed me that he and Mike have already discussed this and they both do it and think all men do. I had him immediately call Allen. Allen was my only hope. I thought for sure Allen would not partake in this pitiful past time. Even Allen does it. Allen.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why waste brain time thinking about what ifs…and not what ifs that matter. They aren’t trying to save the world in case a meteor strikes. They are not endeavoring to solve global warming. They aren't trying to lower our gas prices.

They aren’t even trying to get ready for this "what if"… "What if the electricity goes out?" I don’t think we have one flashlight that works around here.

Oh no.

They spend their time thinking about if their legs could only fold backwards, or their skin was inside out or if everyone had to keep their wallets in their cheeks.

Aaron informed me that one time when he was taking a bath (I can’t believe I’m even saying that since I hate that everyone knows this sad fact about my darling husband) he took a whole bath not using his arms because on the way into the bathtub, this thought unfortunately crossed his mind..."What if I didn’t have arms."

Why?

Why?

Why?

He even came to the conclusion that he would have to invent a faux arm that stuck out of the bathroom wall so that after he squeezed the shampoo onto his head, using his feet, he could rub his soapy head up against the prosthetic fingers. The phony fingers would aid in the lathering process so his hair could be nice and undandruffy.

What?

So, ladies…if you have ever thought that men are a mystery, now you know that they in fact are…just not an exciting mystery…more like a disturbing, what the heck is wrong with them mystery.

Fess up boys, you know you do this.

I’m so on to you.

So on to you.
posted by Hendrick Family @ 5:45 PM

I did not know this was a huge mystery ladies. I thought it was widely known... My response to Karen was:

Unfortunately Karen, this is true. Here's a question for you. Do you think Nick and I would have dropped out of Accounting if we spent more time studying and less time asking, "Hey, what if I was sitting here across the table from you and all of the sudden a guy broke that window and pulled you through it? Would I keep studying? I think I would."

This What If game also affects camping preperation. "What if we need toilet paper, what if we run out of food. What if we need a shopping cart on the 4 mile hike??" Thus, extra toilet paper, extra food, and a shopping cart were taken to Lake Somerville.

How do you think we keep ourselves entertained? We don't sing Kelly Clarkson songs in our head or play matchmaker. If you know Nick and me, you should know that this game is constantly played and eternally fun. It is the basis for many in depth conversations as well as arguments. I never knew this was a mystery to you, I thought it was the way things were... Maybe it's the Boy Scouts' fault. "While ya'll are baking brownies, we're taught to "Always Be Prepared." "What if I need to skin a rabbit?" goes hand and hand with "What if I couldn't walk, but could only hop around like a rabbit?" And remember, there's only one way to skin a rabbit, but there are lots of preperations to make if you wake up as a rabbit. What would you eat? What kind of clothes would you wear? Would you move into a hole? (The rent is cheaper...)

Alright, later on peeps.

Had a Birthday

Yeah, I had a birthday, whoop-de-doo. I spent the week in San Marcos, my pre-birthday dinner was held in CS for those that were able to come. My birthday party was held in our clients' office in San Marcos, I had cake and everything. Very hospitable people! Dinner was in Austin with my two Aggie friends, Lindsay and Clayton. I ate at Hula Hut and then had Amy's Ice Cream for the first time. For Free! It was a good birthday, unfortunately someone tried to ruin it right off the bat by stealing my morning paper from the hotel. The bad birthday streak is finally broken!

Lubbock Life

I made it safely. Flew in the little plane, wandered the Medical Science Center on tech's campus, drove North 45 minutes to a land that still had snow on it, and most notably hit my 2nd tumbleweed in the rental car (PT Cruiser).

And now the pay off, I'm sitting in my hotel room eating the Fatty Cakes Special. That's right, a combination of Taco Bueno and Krispy Kreme. Can life get better? I submit that it can.... If I was planted firmly in College Station.

Headed West

As I sit in IAH waiting for a flight to Lubbock, allow me to share
another story from DC. One afternoon we ate at the Metro Station.
There was fast food as far as the eye could see. As I walked past the
endless line of shops, one woman reached out and forced a sample upon
me. It was some sort of chinese chicken (chickety china...), terriaki
perhaps. I tried it, looked up at the sign that read 'Cajun Food,'
shrugged and continued on. As I made my way back down the line, she
offered me another sample. I stopped her and said, 'This sign says
cajun food...but there's no cajun food,' pointing at the fried rice
and eggrolls she had on display. 'Yes it is,' she said in an Asian
accent, 'we have spicy chicken.' I shrugged again and continued onto
'Bland Burritos,' the place I ate at and renamed to suit it better. I
saw no Mexican food in my time there and the cajun food was oddly
chinese looking. Food outside of Texas just isn't the same.

So, I am at the very end of the airport waiting for a bus to pull up
to my gate to take me to my teeny, tiny airplane. This will be
exciting. Almost as exciting as getting up at 6am this morning. Last
night's game against LSU was a tough one to watch. While I don't
often blame officiating for a loss, last night's refs certainly didn't
help. With Jones getting bogus fouls within the first 2 minutes, we
were severely handicapped the rest of the night. And the nonsensical
calls didn't stop there. Did Big Baby have a halo around him I don't
know about...?

There is spanish coming out of the ceiling above me right now.
'Quince y dose milion!' 'Que?' 'Dose milion!' The loud speaker has
drowned them out now reminding me not to make jokes about the security
or else I'll be arrested. Such a pleasant voice for such a harsh
threat...

15 minutes till I board now. What am I doing in Lubbock you may ask.
Well, I am taking some clients to lunch and then going 45 minutes
north to Plainview to pick up some of our equipment. I was also
notified yesterday that I'll be doing some unexpected training for an
employee there that was hired out of the blue.

There is a punk looking kid behid me. Black shirt, black hoodie,
black pen in hand drawing on his arm. When I came in he was staring
at a small knit blanket that had some sort of Germanish words
embroidered on it. Security threat? He wishes....

Come Back To Texas

Well, I'm headed back to Conreezy now. Quite the opposite of the
flight we had coming into DC. This flight is packed, no open seats. No elbow room.

I just got back from the airplane bathroom. Now that's a small
bathroom. And I've now retaken my window seat next to Brad and Baird.
I'm done reading my Sports Illustrated and Baird has my book 'The
Tipping Point' so now I'm just sitting here, glancing up every once in
a while to see what scene Angela is on as she watches Dumb and Dumber.
I'm not quite sure where we are as I cannot see any state lines from
where I am... I'm ready to get home, not because I miss my own bed
(Ive been sleeping better in hotels), but because I miss setting my
own sleeping hours. These people have worn me out. I also miss CST.

Overall, the trip was better than expected. I really did enjoy
hanging out with the coworkers and their significant others. DC was
surprisingly multi-dimensional. Seeing the government and historical
stuff was cool. Whenever I watch CSpan now (I like watching the
people in the background fall asleep) I can say 'That's congress!
I've been in there!' We also went to the other attractions;
washington monument, the big abe lincoln, changing of the guard at the
tomb of the unknown soldier, etc. There are also many Smithsonians.
The others went to the air and space one while I visited the museum of
the American Indian. It was well done and was very artistic, but with
an hour to spend there, I had to rush through. There were also great
restraunts and we dined well.there was shopping in Georgetown and many
universities. And then of course the city stuff. Multi-dimensional.

The traffic there was amazing. Everyone was in a hurry and rude. If
you weren't easing into the intersection by the time the light was
green, you would get an instant honk. Blinkers and speed limits
weren't necessary and neither were manners. The drivers there were
the worst I've ever witnessed, but what was impressive is the fact
that their cursing could be heard over blaring horns. And if you
couldn't hear them, well, they also knew sign language.

The subway was my favorite part of the trip. The mass transit in DC
is a breeze. The subway was so efficient and easy to use. The only
part that was troublesome were the homeless peole outside that would
yell at you. Friday night we came across a crazy man in a rage,
yelling and threatening passerbys. The next night another man begin
yelling at us about 'Hoyas' and while everyone became uneasy, I was
able to make him happy by yelling 'Beat Duke, Go Hoyas.' Of course
the Hoyas lost to Duke later that night and therefore we did our best
to avoid that man on the way home in fear he was in a rage...

We seem to be over some small green rural town now with a few rivers
flowing through them. So we could be anywhere between DC and Houston.
I'm ready to get home, eat some Lenny's, watch some ESPN News, and
pack for Wednesday...

Just to reassure all of you, this was typed on my phone while it's in
'Airplane Mode' so we weren't in any danger. I'll be posting this
upon landing.

In Flight

Once again, it's time for my not-so-often check in. Go, go, go. That's all I seem to do. So much so that this blog will be posted from my cell phone. As I type this, I am sitting on a plane headed for DC. A little secret... I've never flown before. Of course this actually isn't too big of a secret to anyone other then my coworkers. Right about now Kristie and Keaton are napping, Baird and Angela are reading the paper, Brad is flipping through the catalog of worthless items that came from the back of the seat in front of him, and of course the guy behind me is extending his feet well out of his space and touching the back of me feet. I've already read this month's edition of Texas Aggie magazine as well as flipped through an art.com catalog I receive at my apartment.

As a first time flyer, I don't see what the big deal is. I don't see any reason to have jitters or be afraid to fly. How often do planes crash? Not very. Heck, I'm comfortable enough to talk about it while sitting in an airborne plane. I drive down hwy 6 at least twice a week. I think that is much more dangerous.

Take off was a lot of fun. I grabbed a window seat of course. This wasn't hard to do as there are very few passengers on the plane. I have 3 seats to myself. Watching us ascend or rather watching the ground seemingly descend was pretty cool. Looking over the city you live in from the sky is something I always think is neat. We've obviously traveled much higher now so all I see is a white plane of clouds which is pretty cool too. As I looked out the window upon typing that, I also noticed a jet in the distance flying a bit lower then us leaving a stream behind him.

This has bee a fun pain free experience, I only worry about next week when I have to fly alone and don't have someone to print my boarding pass for me and someone to follow around to mimic their checkin routine. Yes, 2 roundtrip flights in a week. That reflects my busy schedule. My weeks ahead look like this: DC, Conroe, Lubbock, Conroe, CS, San Marcos, Conroe, CS, San Marcos, Conroe, CS, Corpus. Before the month is up, I'm hoping to have stayed in my new apt for a total of 7 days...

These past weeks have been busy too. Thanksgiving was good, its always good to go see th family. It's even better when the family comes back with you to clean your oldapt and help you set up your new one. My mom was terrified I was going to be living out of boxes for the next few months. Which honestly would have happened. I greatly appreciated all they did. I was in Decatur all this week which wasn't bad. Long trip, but decent city. I always enjoy dining at the local places.

Huge props to my Texas A&M Athletics. That goes to my elite 8 ladies, the tsip beating football team and both top 10 basketball teams. Word to you Bill Byrne.

We're below cloud cover now and I see a city coming into view. Hopefully its Baltimore. Is that a coast that isn't the Gulf? Never seen that before. When we get landed, I'll be able to post this. Theres Mr Capitan confirming my suspicions. We're landing. I'll be in DC till Sunday. See yall soon, sorry I'm missing your visit Clinton...

Represent that SW Conroe

Hey y'all, I'm still here. Thought I'd drop in with an update on things out this way. So the roommate search didn't go well. Most of the roommates I tried contacting did not check their account after I sent the messages. Other then Rent.com, the rest of the roommate finder websites are terrible and want you to pay them to read messages in their poorly designed websites. Oh well. I got me a new place about 15 minutes Southeast of here. I'll be living in South West Conroe. Since moving here, that has probably been my favorite part of the city. It's not a densely populated as the rest of Conroe and trees abound. There are a couple of parks nearby, which is important, one park includes skate ramps, which I won't use, but I thought was cool. It's closer to work and about 10 minutes from The Woodlands. It's further from Aggieland, so the drive back will be a little over an hour now. Also, my grocery shopping will have to move from the nice Lake Conroe Wal-Mart to the ghetto Conroe one...

Now I'm just sitting here on the couch with ESPN News playing. A familiar occurance. I always have high expectations for my days after I leave work. I'm gonna work out, write a novel and free Tibet. I make plans in my head of things that I need to do or want to do and keep these in mind till the end of the day. There is some place on HW 105, halfway between work and my apartment where everyday I realize I don't want to follow through with anything I wanted to do earlier and just look forward to sitting until it's bedtime. Hopefully with the move, I won't have to travel over that stretch of road where this realization occurs and will accomplish much more.

I move November 18th-19th. I would apprciate any volunteers to help me. Otherwise it's just me and Anna Belle. And Anna refuses to move furniture... When should I start packing? Maybe tomorrow. Today I just want to sit.

Monsoon Season!

It was bright and shiny leaving work from Conroe today, by the time I made it to Montgomery, I was caught in a Monsoon! It's from Canada I hear! Cool weather for an afternoon game, I'll take it!

I found a park on the south side of town that I like, it'll hopefully be a usual stop on the way home so I can get some excercise. To solve my housing woes, I think I've settled on an option. Stay right where I am, don't change my address and continue paying what I have been. The perfect solution? Yeah, now I have to find a roommate. There are a couple I found on the internet (this is worse than internet dating) and Brad said he had someone looking for a place to live in no other than, Montgomery. Who looks specifically to live in Montgomery anyway? Oh well, he's the clear leader right now. Second place goes to this guy:

I'm 20. Currently living at home with mom and dad. My older brother moved out two weeks ago and it had me thinking that it's about time I moved out also. I have no trouble paying rent seeing as how i have been working since i was 15 and have held my current job for almost three years now. I'm really easy going and easy to get along with. And I love penguins ^_^

Nyck...yeah, with a y. I've lived with a Nick before, but this whole Nyck thing would be new. We'll see. Penny automattically eliminated the 18 year old girl looking for a roomie. I automatically eliminated this 59 Year Old Man: "I will need a roommate by Dec 1.I'm not looking for a bed mate.My dog is a short but long black Dashund"

I'll let you know how this turns out. For now, it's me, Anna Belle and Hokie football.

All By Myself

Well, the first reason I need to update this thing is to clear out the comments so that Clinton has a clean space to work with. Next, I just need to. It's been forever.

I'm going to Corpus this week for a pretty awesome wedding, it's going to be good. Congrats Emily and Zach.

Kevin just left, he's on spot team. He'll be gone for 4 weeks at a time, coming back for 1. Meaning, the next time he'll be here, it'll be to clean his stuff out of the apartment as I perpare to move again...

I'll be coming off my probationary period in November, my coworkers like me and have decided to keep me.

So I'm rockin it by myself once again. He left a lot of food though, so I've gotta work hard to clear that out for him. Come visit y'all. Hwy 105, you know.

My Cat Misses Me

Over the past few weeks, the only night I've consequtively stayed at my apartment has been Thursday night. It's pretty sad that I've spent more time sleeping at Nick's apartment than my own over the past 2 weeks. It's even sadder that I've spent more time in Austin than in Montgomery during the same 2 weeks...

Anywho, it's been good. I really have enjoyed it despite being away from my apartment almost constantly. This next week I'll get a slight break. I'll be out of town Thursday and Friday. The only night I'll be away is Thursday night. I'll be spending the night in Sugar Land and unfortunately missing Penny's Ring Day which I was really wanting to make it to. I hope she can forgive me.

These past couple of weeks, I've really taken a step up in my job. I've kind of been let out on my own and was in charge when I was in Austin. In Sugar Land, I'll be alone to run the seminar and dine our clients. Hopefully this responsibility will help me feel more competent than I currently feel. I'm working on it.

The Ags convincingly won their football game and despite it being a game against ULaLa, they looked Very impressive. This game boosts my spirits much more than the Citadel game did. Soccer however suffered 2 losses this week against 2 top 10 schools. Regroup Ags, we'll get em Friday.

Just a quick post because Clinton's Aliases are harassing me and because I actually have a couple of minutes to type before bed.

And now before I close out, let me add one thing I just witnessed. My cat, in the bathroom, slid off the back of the toilet, caught the handle and flushed it as she fell in the shower. Thanks Anna Belle!

A couple more cities

Well, another week, some more travel. I'm Austin, just arrived from Kileen. Kileen was a good visit, a very confusing city, but pretty cool people. Definately likable and they have more stories than I do... Well, I'm about to head for dinner and whatever else comes our way tonight. Tomorrow morning, there's a big meeting that we're attending to meet, greet, and learn a little bit more about some state recommendations that have been made for County Health Care. That's what we're here for. I'll be back next week for fun and then business. But first comes the weekend that I have been waiting for. Two top notch soccer games and kickoff weekend for Football. Whoop! Now is you wit me?

Aggie Sports

Fall sports are back! In the most amazing soccer game I have ever witnessed, we beat Soccer Powerhouse North Carolina in double OT. Along the way, we also Shattered the all-time regular season NCAA attendence record. This ladies soccer team is a special team and I'm looking forward to bringing a National Championship home. It wont be easy thought as we play the #1 and #2 teams along with 2 more top 10 teams in the next couple of weeks. I love Aggieland.

And since volleyball posted 2 wins at their tournament, right now the Aggies are undefeated in sports so far this season.

Keepin It Real In Kerrville

Why does Housekeeping in these hotels always leave the curtains wide open for you when you return to your room? Don't they know the first thing I want to do is take off my pants? Well now it gets kicked down to 2nd... Right behind Close The Curtains...

Multi-tasking

I'm watching the TV for Reggie to come out in his Bengal uniform, keeping track of what's going on over on TexAgs, updating McLennan County for work while I wait for my pizza to cook. I thought I might as well check in on my blog. Once again, I'm going to reitterate the reason for my sudden abscence. I work on my computer most of the day on a typical workday. When I come home, staring at the screen literally makes me want to vomit...

I'm doing very well here in Montgomery, enjoying everything. Very excited about football season of course. And definately looking forward to the Soccer game next week (even if it is an exhibitiion). Other than that, I'm keeping it real, lived it up in SA last week. I like that town more everytime I go. Which is good, because I'll be back like 4 times in the next couple of months....

Lastly, this just occured to me. I don't really like Olive Garden commercials. Super cheesey. Have any of you seen a family like that at Olive Garden? Anyway, I think TexAgs crashed and I'm going to go check on my pizza.

Alright, check in is over, now I'm checkin back out.

Quick Notes

Yeah, I've been busy. Driving all around North East Texas yesterday left me little room for anything else. Tomorrow I'll be in La Grange. Not much else happening. Oh yes, good news. I got the product management position that I'd interviewed for Months ago. I never heard back from them until today, it was a job I was quite interested in. Oh well, I told them I already have a job and I'm right where I want to be.

It's bedtime now. So I bid you a good night.

Round Trip

Well, a round trip to Kileen and back wasn't what I was expecting today. Spending the majority of my time in the car makes me feel like the day was wasted. Some IT problems up there barred us from doing what we traveled all that way to do. On the way back to Conroe, I was almost scheduled to take a trip to Larado tomorrow. Luckily, I missed out on that one. Who wants to drive even more tomorrow?

Waco Wisdom

As I get ready to depart for Belton tomorrow, let me share with you a few more tidbits of knowledge I acquired from the Waco trip.

First, an important thing to remember if you're exploring the Baylor campus unguided, is that Memorial Hall does not house classrooms, faculty offices, or a student center. It is a girl's dorm and I'm not supposed to be in there. Especially on a week when it's full of mothers and daughters attending an orientation.

The business school in Waco isn't as good as Mays Business School at A&M, but the influence of A&M is felt there. The first conversation I heard on campus was in Baylor's business school. It was a little after 7PM and some students were walking up the stairs from some territory I had not explored. One of them hogged the conversation as they passed me, "And A&M...please..they're even worse! This is their schedule! The first two weeks they play Army and The Citadel (incorrect). Then they play Louisiana-Lafayette and some other pansy cupcake team. A&M is pathetic..." Before I could correct him on his schedule errors, they'd progressed to a classroom.

The most important lesson I learned in Waco was college is important, it holds the key to your dreams. This became apparent during dinner at Taco Bueno. As I walked up to the counter to order, the cashier took notice of my Freebirds shirt.
The cashier put his fists in the air and exclaimed "Freebird!"
I looked at him, nodded and said "Yeah!"
"Now is that the band Freebird?" He asked?
Well to be honest with you, bro, Freebird is a song, not a band. I simply answered, "No, it's a burrito place."
"Oh, is it as good as Taco Bueno?" He asked, beaming with pride for his employer.
"No way dude, Taco Bueno is awesome."
"Yeah!" He exclaimed. "Where is this Freebird place?"
"Well, there are 4 in College Station. There are also some in Houston and Austin and stuff," I responded.
"I bet you went to school in College Station, didn't you?" He asked.
"Yep, just graduated in May, I'm up here for my job." I told him, giving him more information than he asked for.
He returned the favor by providing me excess information, "I was gonna go to college once." He paused. "But they told me I couldn't drink beer. So me and my brother decided we didn't want to go to college."
As he spoke, I glanced at him with a confused look on my face.
"Yeah," he continued, "Looking back, I probably could have gone to college and drank beer."
"Probably," I told him, trying to hide the amusement I was getting from his reflection.
"College..." He said, "If I would have gone, I would have done robotics. I'd be rich right now." He went on in an Uncle Rico-esque manner, "I would have built something, I don't know, like....like uhh... A Robotic Taco Maker!"
I chuckled, he didn't. I proceeded to give him my order and told him to have a nice day. Sadly, I'm afraid barring a taco maker invention, the story depressed him for the rest of the day.

Goodbye Ol Chap

This morning I sit in an empty looking downstairs apartment on Balcones. Boxes cover the couch in this living room, a bag of mine lays on the floor. This is one of the few rooms that still has furniture in it. My room sits down the hall, having been vacant for a few months now. The newest vacancy is the next room over. The last time this room was vacant, it was a joyous occasion. It meant the opening of our study room/dance room/rec room. But that's because we knew soon we would have another roommate. Early this morning, Clinton hit the road to Midland to set up his new home. I don't like the way things are changing, it feels weird. As time progressed, the distance seperating two friends has changed from 15 feet to 45 miles and now over 450 miles. This house, my first real home away from Corpus is going to be completely empty in little over a month. It will become a foreign place to me, where I will no longer be welcome. Strangers will be living and making memories in what in our minds is Our Home. The past 3 years have gone by fast, but it seems that we've lived here for a much longer time. I know it's nothing to complain about, it's just a different feeling than I've experienced. The fact that all of our lives are changing is something that's hard to grasp until the change actually occurs. The saddest reminder of the change is the foam letters that Nick and Clinton would always message each other with in the shower. They know spell out "Goodbye Ol Chap" on the bathroom wall.

Well good, the siamese cat from down the hall has jumped in my lap to console me. The only problem though is that she's changed too. For some unexplicable reason, she smells like skunk...

Feeling Old

I just returned from my adventure on the Campus of Baylor University. I think I have more stories from this trip to Waco than any other recent trip. Also, I came to a life-changing realization. I'm old.

That's it, plain and simple. In this 22nd year of my life, it hit me for the first time. The feeling of growing up, the understanding that I'm not young anymore. Now, before any of you skip down to the bottom and comment on this, let me explain how this happened. I take you back to last night. I'm in Waco, I'd been invited by Chelsea's brother to play a little Ultimate Frisbee. Now, I've played Ultimate like one time since high school, so I'm a little rusty. I agree to play anyway. When I show up, the game is already going on. I'm assigned to the shirts team and we end up winning (an amazing comeback really, but that's a different story). After the game, we gather as a group and they begin chatting. I stand silent mainly, as I don't really know anybody here. Then a girl addresses me. Gathering from my shirt that I'm an Aggie, she says, "So, do you, like, go to A&M?" Feeling a little uncomfortable being the oldest guy out there, I tell her, "Yep...I Go to A&M."
"Cool! That's where I'm going next year!" She exclaims. "So, whatcha doin in Waco?"
I glance around uneasily as all ears are turned my way.
"Actually, I graduated from college. I'm here for my job..."
"Oh.." She trails off. All of her excitement quickly fades. All eyes still on me as I grow uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I'm a college graduate, an adult. Playing with a bunch of high schoolers," would have been an appropriate reply and those words definately crossed my mind.
The discomfort was eased by the dude next to me telling me that he was a sophomore at ACU. The truth of the matter was I was surrounded by recent high school graduates and first or second year college students. The trend was towards the younger side of things however. The actual situation wasn't as bad as it seemed in my mind, but after I announced I was a college graduate, no one addressed me other than the ACU kid.

Afterwards I thought about it. Did I ever hang out with collge graduates when I graduated from high school? No... Especially not ones I didn't know. That's just weird. Why? Because they were old!

A Couple of Links

I'm busy here in Waco. But I will share with you a couple of links that I stumbled upon today.

First, this is probably my favorite news story:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5766288?FSO1&ATT=HMA

And secondly, this website was brought to my attention by Clinton. It's a website where people can go submit their secrets for all to read. Get it off your chest, feel better, blah blah. It's a marketing campaign for Secret Deodorant. BUT, look at the secret I found on there!

http://www.secret.com/share/secrets.asp?id=3186