Southern Traditions

So I've officially moved back to Dallas.  Training finished and I came home to work from here.  The Sunday before I left though, I heard something loud behind the house.  There's a farm back there that's open to the public and when looking, we discovered a civil war reenactment going on.  I had never seen one before and it was kind of cool.  Nerdy, but cool. 

It was pretty crazy how much the gound shook when they fired those cannons. Here's some more pictures:

 

The aftermath

Then on my way home I stopped in Memphis for the Rhodes College Homecoming.  I got to see my old roommates and a bunch of friends.  We relived the old glory days at Central BBQ, Memphis Pizza Cafe, and Celtic Crossing. Pinky and I even snagged some classy strawberry Andre from Tip Top to take to the game.  We all tried to take a shot beforehand but failed miserably.  Just aint what we used to be huh?

It also felt really weird being there and not going to school anymore.  It's weird to think about how life moves on after you even though it happens all the time.  High school, college, job changes, moving to different places, etc.  I sometimes forget that it happens with everything, even when going home to my own home.  It's especially weird when you discover that you're now officially the shortest person in the family (like I did when my 14 year old brother inched ahead).

:(

Here are some pictures from Homecoming.

I think that's all for now because the RANGERS game is on.  WOOT!

Nashville & Boston

So I've been really bad at updating since I returned Stateside.  But to sum things up since then here's what's been going on:  went floating down the Guadalupe River with friends, spent a significant amount of time job hunting, found a job, drove to Nashville for training, and now I'm still here.  I got a job with a company called 3rd Home (3rdhome.com) which is a sister company of Southwestern.  They had 3 of us come here for training so I stopped in Memphis on the way over.  You know, after leaving Southwestern last summer I never thought I'd be coming back to Lander's Plaza so soon.  I feel like that's what every book kid says after every summer.

Nashville is a pretty cool city.  Corey B came to visit last weekend and we ate the most delicious pancakes in the world at the Pancake Pantry.  I'm pretty sure they're filled with crack because they are just too good to not be made with illegal substances.  Hung out with Colleen some last week when her work needed girls for an intense game of coed kickball.  She gave me a nice dress to wear so that my shirt matched everyone else's. I felt really cool.  Oh and some random guy on the opposing team just whipped out a cigarette and started smoking it on second base like it was no big deal.  Really? 

Chelsea introduced me to Radnor Lake in Brentwood.  I'm kind of addicted to going there every Sunday now.  Now the big question is whether to go go Homecoming or not.  My boss asked me to stick around Nashville for a few more weeks, so I might just have to stop by Rhodes on the way home.  I feel so old.

What else?  Oh, I flew up to Boston for my cousin's wedding.  It was really great to see everyone since it had been at least 5 years since we'd been up there last (except Steve who was avoiding his favorite cousin).  I don't know how Shane did it, but he needs to give my brother a lesson on how to trick pretty girls into marrying you.  Eric and I got to stay with Janet and explore the city with Sheila and Rob.  Such a great city.  We got to see Betty's new bakery as well.  Check out her website if you want to induce a food coma: On the Rise Baking 

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

Beale Street, Memphis, TN

Where the Boston Massacre took place.

Boston Aquarium

"I'm gonna kill me some redcoats."

Paul Revere's footstone (bottom right). haha.

Eric and mom

Franklin, Tennessee

update!

Ummm so it's still hot here in Texas.  As far as new stuff going on, well, it's 103F today, that's a bit better than yesterday's high of 107.  That's about the extent of excitement in my life right now.  Things might really start to get crazy if it goes below the 100 mark.  But let's pray to God that never happens!

Home, Sweet Texas.

I'm home now and it's ridiculously hot here. 108 degrees hot. So far I've had Mexican food, Chinese food, normal milk, real orange juice - with pulp, Ben and Jerry's, and root beer.  And there's still more to come.  I am going to be so fat so soon.

I've also begun job hunting.  It is such a long and tedious process, but hopefully it will pay off!

On another note, I got to spend 2 hours with Erin Stewart today on her BIRTHDAY! yay! What a great day already :)  mmmmm S Korea is so lucky.

...and I hope Dan Dekay is jealous.

The last few weeks

Sorry I haven’t updated in awhile, I’ve just been really busy since school’s been over. NOT.  I actually didn’t do anything really until Lauren got here.  Eat, sleep, walk to the store to buy more food, watch some Copa America, etc.  Going shopping with Paz and Romi was a good break from being a vegetable, and it was nice to hang out with them without having to worry about getting up for school the next day.  I also got to witness a FIRST EVER Starbucks tasting because Romi had never tried it before. BLASPHEMY!

The new artist in residence, Alice, got here on Friday so we showed her around a bit.  She went to capital with Facu and me that night to meet some people.  As we waited for the bus at the stop some rando came up to us and asked politely if we could “give him all of our belongings.”  And of course he said it in Spanish so Alice and I didn’t know that he was trying to mug us.  Especially since he couldn’t make eye contact with us, had a grocery bag in his hand, and couldn’t decide if he wanted to keep his gun out or not.  He kind of half heartedly touched Alice’s purse strap and she was so confused that she thought he was trying to tell her there was something on her back.  And when Facu saw the gun, he told him in Spanish “Ok, wait. We will give you what you want,” but the guy just turned around and walked away.  Slowly.  What a weirdo.  Piss poor effort on his part if I may say so.   We were so confused when the bus came that we just walked on like nothing had happened.  Welcome to Argentina Alice!

Lauren Lynn got here on Tuesday; so her, Alice, and I did all of the touristy stuff in Buenos Aires this week. Woo!  Wednesday was “friend day” here in Argentina which is kind of like mother’s day or father’s day, but for your friends.  Everyone gets together with their friends and has dinner.  Isn’t that cute? So naturally, since the 3 of us were on our own, we decided to buy some friendship bracelets and do friend things together and then meet up with the boys afterwards.  Our own little wolf pack.

We spent the rest of the time going out…way too much - and sight-seeing too I guess.  And then, as a last hurrah, we went to La Bomba del Tiempo on Monday night.  If only we had known Lauren’s flight on Tuesday would be cancelled.  I just can’t seem to get rid of her! Haha no just kidding I’m really glad she came.  I had so much fun this past week, it’s going to make it hard to leave on Thursday.  I guess we’ll both just have to continue the fun in Dallas.

I’ll put pictures up later.

Stateside on Friday. 

Travel Photos

I just updated the travel photos slideshow.  Check it out!

El Gripe

So school finally finished on Friday and what better way to celebrate than getting the flu!  Woo!  Everyone is getting it too.  I know at least 4 people besides me who had it this week and 4 other people who "weren't feeling well." Everyone's just spreading the love I guess.

But since it was the last day I mustered up some afternoon strength and went to say goodbye to the kids.  They gave Jeff and me a mug each with the St. George's logo on it.  And then lots of hugs and cheek kisses!  Good thing that's allowed in this country otherwise I would have some very concerned parents to deal with.  They kids were really cute though: "Miss, do you like it here? Why are you leaving?" I felt like such a traitor telling them I was going back to the States.

I also remembered that rumor I had forgotten like 4 posts ago.  For some reason everyone at the school thinks I'm technologically gifted.  I would just be walking through the hallway and someone would come up with a random question: "My computer's frozen.  Can you fix it?" Umm I'll give it a look, I guess.  And me, being so technologically savvy just held the power button till the computer turned off and then turned it back on. GENIUS!  I guess I should be flattered, but I just don't quite get it.   It might just be because I'm a little younger than them and they think I'm obligated to know something, but still, who started this rumor? I'm awful with computers, so it's good that most of the stuff was pretty basic.  Here are some of my frequently asked questions:

"Do you know how to move the pictures from the camera to the computer?"
"Do you know how to put a power point onto a CD?"
"Can you make a folder appear on the main screen?"
"Why won't it let me save this?"
"How do you look at the power point from a different view?"
"How do you open this?"

It's like talking to my mom at home ;)  I love you mom.

Anyway, I have approximately 20 days till I'm stepping on free soil. Hot, humid, sticky soil. In the meantime, Lauren Lynn get's here in 10 days so that will be fun. I would like to travel a bit, but we'll see.  Jeff and Sam are going to Brazil which I can't go to because I don't have a visa.  They require one for Americans because we require one for them.  Fair enough.  Can't get angry about that.  It's just that on their government's website they seem very, very bitter about it.  Here's a few snippets from their tourist visa page:

U.S. citizens traveling to Brazil are required to obtain a visa prior to entering Brazil.   This requirement is in reciprocity to the U.S. government demand that all Brazilian citizens hold a visa in order to enter the United States. Citizens of countries that do not demand visas from Brazilian nationals usually do not need visas to enter Brazil.

5. U.S. citizens must pay a non-refundable $140.00 reciprocity fee (as of June 2010).
(This is because the U.S. government charges Brazilian citizens who apply for a U.S. visa a minimum of 2 mandatory fees).
Payment is done at the Consulate on the appointment day.
Cash, personal checks and credit cards are not accepted for the payment of the $140.00 reciprocity fee.

7. All consular fees must be paid in U. S. Postal Service money order made to the Consulate General of Brazil

Thanks for the shout-out Brazil.  Also, I'm not sure if we make it extremely difficult for other countries to pay for their visas, but only accepting a U.S. Postal Service money order seems very picky.  Very, very picky. Especially since the only way to obtain one is to go to a USPS office and hand them a wad of cash.  Who still uses money orders anymore?  Well, besides my dad. So pretty much, if you are currently not in the USA and you are not my dad, then you do not stand a chance of paying for your visa.  I guess I'll just have to postpone visiting my friends until later.   I will make it someday!  I still love you Brazil!

I'll let you know if I figure out any travel plans soon!