Countdown to Halloween: Three Days

Today I heard from Bree and my friend Amy.  I don’t know what to think.  What are the chances I’ll actually be seeing them soon, either?  Who really knows….

I forgot to say yesterday that I slammed my leg into a table and then stood on it at work for the next few hours.  Clearly, a horrible idea when you’re plagued with a big bruise.  Today, my leg is hurting terribly.  So, I’m just trying to deal with standing up.  I know that makes me sound like a wimp, but it’s the same leg I always injure, so there’s that.

I haven’t got much to say today, sorry, I’m really tired, but my Halloween is shaping up to be interesting…  And that’s about all I can say.

Today, I’ll leave you with 26 Sexy Halloween Costumes That Shouldn’t Exist.

An Introduction to the Cast

Today was quite possibly one of the worst days ever.  I was supposed to have an interview today, but I got sick, like grossly sick.  It was really unfortunate.  I got my interview rescheduled, thank goodness.  But it wasn’t fun at all.  So I was trying to think of something to write and I decided that it’s hard hearing about a bunch of people and not having a face to go with the names, so I decided to introduce some of the major players in the blog.  I think that for the next few days I am going to make “Cast Page Bios” for everyone.  In the coming days you will meet the members of the Fab Five, the members of my Fam (or at least the ones that have singular tags), and the Boys.  This first post, though, will be about cast members that don’t fit into one of these categories.  So here goes!

Assorted Blog Cast Members

Steph:  After me, who, for all intents and purposes is the “main character” of this blog, the cast member mentioned most is probably Steph (actually, I have mentioned Brody more, but that’s beside the point).  As I’ve said before, Steph (or Stephanie) and I have known each other for eight years now.  We first met each other freshman year of high school at our mutual friend Kelsey’s pre-Homecoming party.  When I first started this blog, Steph was getting ready to move down to Arizona to be with her boyfriend, Cam.  Cam currently works in Arizona and has been there since June.  Steph finished up her job in the town where our alma mater is and without a job to do, she moved to be with him.  Meanwhile, she is waiting to hear back from our alma mater or a school down in Arizona for graduate school.  Her decision will rest largely with which university gives her more funding, though she is fairly certain it will be our alma mater.  She will hopefully be back in January.

Stories featuring Steph: “Eight Years Ago…” tells the story of how I originally met Steph.

Letters to Steph: 30 letters, 30 days-a portion of this letter is written to Steph.

Steph and the Bucket List:  The Start of the Bucket List-visiting Steph in Arizona is part of my goal to travel.

You can find all other posts mentioning Steph here.

Bree:  I haven’t mentioned Bree much in this blog yet, but she one of the people I have always considered to be one of my best friends.  Bree and I have known each other for eleven years now.  We met on the first day of sixth grade, so we stuck with each other through our most awkward middle school years.  As I have mentioned in this blog, Bree is currently a nursing school student who also works nights in a hospital for experience.  She is very hardworking and has a lot of focus on her career.  She has another couple of years to go on school before she can become a full-fledged nurse, though.  A hobby that Bree and I share is that every year, we go see a musical together.  So far, we have seen The Phantom of the Opera and Legally Blonde.  Bree is also currently living with her boyfriend, but a lot closer to the central locale of the blog.

Letters to Bree:  30 letters, 30 days-a portion of this letter is written to Bree.

You can find all other posts mentioning Bree here.

Assorted Blog Cast Members in my Sorority

Melissa:  Melissa is one of my sorority sisters whom I mention most, and I will likely be mentioning her more in the next few weeks as she is coming out to visit this weekend.  Actually, since I’m finishing this so late, she should be landing within the hour.  Melissa and I met my sophomore year of college when she joined my sorority as a freshman.  I actually let her Big hang out in my room during Big/Little revelation because she lived out at the time.  Melissa was always the sister I went out to fraternity parties with, though she never quite shared my enthusiasm for dressing in costumes.  Melissa and I also attended every football game together.  Melissa is currently attending law school in Texas, where she is unhappy about Texas football and Texas drivers.

Melissa and the Bucket List:  The Start of the Bucket List-visiting Melissa in Texas is part of my goal to travel.

You can find all other posts mentioning Melissa here.

Anna:  Anna is another of my sorority sisters, though I have yet to mention her very extensively.  Anna and I met my junior year of college when she joined my sorority as a freshman.  I didn’t get to know her very well until the summer after my junior year, and we were pretty much inseparable.  We had the best Fourth of July ever, pretty much.  I admire Anna for her ability to do everything with much more finesse than I, though her secret is lack of sleep and a coffee addiction.  She is extremely goofy, but in the best way possible.  She was my Omega Sis when I was graduating.  She still attends my alma mater.

You can find all posts mentioning Anna here.

Those are the cast members I can’t really categorize.  Tomorrow, I will be talking about the members of the Fab Five.  Stay tuned!

Gifts

So I’ve been buying a lot of gifts as of late.  So I thought I would write a post about them.

I found this awesome necklace at work for Bree.  It was kind of a serendipitous find, actually.  It’s a little necklace with an octopus pendant on it.  Bree loves octopi (that’s right, it’s octopi), so it was pretty exciting.  It was the only one left so I bought that right up.  I can’t find a picture of it online, sorry, so just assume it’s awesome.

I also met my Grandbaby and Great-Grandbaby this weekend.  They are lovely.  I bought them some sorority sunglasses and picture frames.  I’m pretty sure they were in love.  Who doesn’t love presents, really?  I think I may be getting them something else for initiation, but I’m not sure what.  I need to check out our online store again.  Maybe our awesome hat or a key chain or there’s a really cool umbrella I just found, but I would be more likely to buy that for me…  Really, the online store is a disease without a cure.  I wish I could make a wish list of potential purchases, but unfortunately, there’s not much you can do with an account, which is really unfortunate, because I need to think about what I’m buying.  Alas.  We’re also supposed to be getting family shirts soon, so that would be really, really awesome.

What else?

You know, I know I said I’ve been buying a lot of gifts, but that’s really all I can think of.  Ooh, maybe a mug or a bag.  I wish I had more money, haha.  At least Christmas is coming up and I can think of more gifts for everyone.

You know what I’d really like for a gift?  An apartment for Larissa and I and a car.  Hopefully everyone can chip in?  Oh wishful thinking.

Oh, I started looking at tickets online for my job at camp again.  I hope I can find some really cheap tickets.  I also need to start saving to see Allie in California and Melissa in Texas!  It’s looking like a good year for traveling.

Adjusting to Post-Grad Life

So, today Steph and I were supposed to have chat date, kind of like a Skype date, but I don’t have a webcam, so I have to talk on the phone like an ancient person.  Unfortunately, I never heard from Steph.  Actually, I haven’t heard from her all day.  I’m a bit upset, but generally I hear from her every single day in some form.  So I feel like in that case, it’s appropriate to give her some slack in that area.

But other people, not so much…

Like Shawn, Allie, Melissa, and a few other friends who are off in Grad school, I think that it’s no big deal if I don’t hear from them all the time.  They have a lot of things on their plates and I should be lenient with the time they do have to talk to me, right?

So why don’t I feel that way about other people?

People like Bree who make plans but don’t keep them, who I used to hear from all the time….  Or Hailey…  Why does it bother me when I don’t hear from them?  Is it a location thing?  All the people I’m lenient to, I can’t just drive over and see them.  But at the same time, I’m certainly lenient to Larissa and Brody who make a point to see me at least once a week.  That’s really all I ask, actually.  I just want to see people sometimes and not be ignored…

Today, I think I finally figured out my problem.  I’m having a hard time adjusting to Post-Grad life.  Not the working or saving money aspects and certainly not the scheduling–I’m a pro at that.  I think a lot of it has to do with people.

Back in college, I was Sorority Sue.  You needed something from me for the chapter, or even yourself, I was there in a flash.  Someone told me to be somewhere at a certain time in a certain outfit, I did it with a smile.  I was always really dependable.  And I had a full schedule.

I also had people around me all the time, regardless of what I was doing.  There was always someone to study with, go out with, eat dinner with, or even chat in the hallway while en route for a glass of water.

I think what’s hardest for me in Post-Grad life is the people aspect.  What do I do with my unscheduled time?  Well, I want to see people, of course.  But they’re not right there.  And I have to wait to hear back from them, not just run up to their room and find them there.  I didn’t see people like Bree or Steph all the time last year and I managed just fine.

I’m a bit perturbed admittedly, but I don’t want to be mean and I know that people just get busy some times.  I can’t really fault them on that, can I?  I don’t know, this is what I’ve been mulling over lately.

September fourth: September Twenty-Third

Today was my first day of work, so I’m a little tired to come up with something exciting to write…  Even a letter…  So sorry.

No football scores today, but next week is Georgia and I’m still trying to get tickets!  Oye….

What else….  I get to see Bree on Monday, so yay!

I have to be at work at 8 AM on Saturday for more training, gross.

And….  I’ve been trying to see Brody for a few days now and it’s getting annoying, haha.  Hopefully we’ll go Halloween costume shopping soon.  :)

And…  yup, that’s pretty much it…  Sorry September twenty-third is so boring.

Oh, actually, I have a short story to tell.  So right now the new members of my sorority are in the midst of their new member period, so here’s a story from when I was a new member:

As a gift for our Bigs, we are supposed to decorate paddles and give them to them on initiation.  My Big, Erika, already had three other Littles, so I had to make my paddle awesome.  I had bought a bunch of wood pieces, such as hearts and big double layer block letters.  I also had thirty different colors of paint.  My paddle was going to be awesome!

Kristin and I had bonded at our New Member sleepover, so on the day we received our paddles, we were both riding the bus back to our dorm.  This was back in the days when the bus was awful and sucked at timeliness.

But anyway, we were sitting on the bus when a guy started chatting with us.  “Are those paddles, ladies?”

“Yes…”  We both answered hesitantly.

“I was just wondering…  Who do you hit with them?”

Kristin and I stared blankly at him.  Then we turned to each other.  We were completely shocked.

“Like, do the older girls hit you with them?  Do you hit each other?”

“This isn’t Animal House,” I finally managed to stammer.

And yes, I know, there is no paddling in Animal House…

30 Letters, 30 Days

So I was feeling pretty bad about the cop-out post I gave yesterday, in which I only gave an update on September fourth.  Later on in the day, I was browsing through some blogs and found a challenge where you write thirty letters in thirty days.  Since I know that a daily update is fairly boring (especially when I don’t have football scores to update and I can only mention that the job search is still going), I thought it might be interesting to write some of these letters when I can’t think of any specific content.  This is two-fold: first, ta da!  Content!  Second:  Everyone can learn more about me, my life, and the people in it.  And since I have so many readers, I’m sure this is high on their priority list.  I won’t necessarily be following the whole write thirty letters in thirty consecutive days thing, since I don’t feel like I will be that low on content.  These are more filler days.  So the thirty days I can’t think of something, I’ll write a letter…  Unless there’s a football score, then you might get another “September fourth” type post.

If today were a September fourth type day, I would tell you I’m in the process of buying a suit…

As you can tell, today is a letter day.

Dear Keith, Steph, and Bree:

I don’t know if my phone is broken or what, but I wish you all would call me or write me back.  I could really use a best friend right now, and I don’t know where you all are.  Really, really I need one of you.

Now, here are my individual notes in this letter.

Keith, I’m so happy that you have a job.  It’s just not the job I was expecting for you.  I hope you get back on your feet soon and do all the amazing things I know you can do.  You’re a shining star and you need to start shining again.  Also, I miss you and I’m sorry I keep killing you in Oregon Trail–it’s not on purpose.

Steph, I can’t believe you’re all done with your GRE!  I’m anxiously awaiting the decision on the rest of your life plan.  I hope you solve your homelessness soon, though I suspect it’s proportionately related to the life plan.  I miss you and we need a girls’ night asap.

Bree, When are your finals done?  I can’t believe how far you’ve come in Nursing school!  You are always amazing and I am always impressed by you.  I miss you tons.

Sincerely, Deidree

And this has been the first of thirty letters.