Changes - A Farewell Blog...

Folks, it's been fun.  I've enjoyed our time together, but unfortunately, it's time for it to end.  This summer I am trying to keep myself as busy as possible learning new things.  Come fall I will be in school full time, working two jobs and have 32 young girls in my care that need a mom/sister as they start college.  Life is speeding up.  If you are still interested in keeping track of me, I am on facebook.  I love you all!  Thank you for spending these years with me!  Good-bye!

New Experiences...

I like trying new things.  Just do.  I figure you only have one life, might as well get as many new experiences as possible.  This week Devyn and I decided to have some fun.  One night this week we went out for sushi.  Never suspected I liked sushi, but I do.  It was amazing.  Then last night we went to Denver with a group of friends to learn to salsa dance.  I know how to swing dance, but this was my first time salsa dancing.  I absolutely loved it!  Tonight we are going to a massive birthday party.  It's the town of Golden's 150 birthday.  The party promises lots of food, a laser show and loads of rain.  Maybe some ice cream thrown in.  Should be fun!

Tide Rolling In...

It was absolutely lovely to get home yesterday.  Just an hour after Mom and I returned from CSM, Amy and Bethany arrived with Nana and Papa.  Uncle Andy stopped by this morning with the Seniors.  Tomorrow Daddy, Ian, Susan and Shailyn all arrive.  It's getting loud and crazy, but wonderful.  It's fun to have so many amazing people in one spot.  

Lullabyes...

All night tonight I've had lullabyes stuck in my head.  Slow, lovely songs with a wonderful ability to calm and sooth.  Not really needed calming or soothing.  After all, I'm packing up to go home to see my family tomorrow!  I'm really excited, in a good way.  Even so, it's been kinda nice and relaxing to have lullabyes stuck in my head. 

Linen Party...

Today at work we had our first of what is known as a "Linen Party".  Basically, we have a conference coming in on Friday and they all need linens so we devoted today to making linen packets.  Linens are not stored in any logical fashion.  Sheets and towels were on the third floor of Weaver.  Blankets and pillows were in the basement of the Trads.  Somewhat.  There were a few blankets in Weaver and sheets in the Trads, but not completely.  Bags were in the Student Center and everything had to be delivered to Mines Park.  Yeah, like I said, not logical!  So we were throwing things off walkways and dragging stuff up stairs and otherwise to create over a hundred linen packets.  Yay!  It was fun, however...

PingPong With Grandpa...

1 Corinthians 13:8

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

         There is very little we can truly be sure of in this life.  We can think we know something, or believe something, or can do something, but in reality that’s just not true.  Most everything in life will fail.  The perfect love of GOD?  That will never fail…

 

1 Corinthians 13:7

bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

         Love is sticking with someone, no matter what they or you are going through.  Notice, love doesn’t promise that everything is going to be all peachy.  Where’s the worthwhile challenge in that?  Love is willing to go through anything though, no matter what the cost.

1 Corinthians 13:6

does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

This one seems pretty simple.  No hiding or evading the truth!  If ya love someone, do not lie to them.  Simple, easy, done.    

 

1 Corinthians 13:5

does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

         This verse goes against human nature.  When something happens outside of our control and we don’t understand what’s happening, it’s easy to assume the worst.  Very easy?  Why would you possibly assume the other person’s actions were rooted in good attentions when its so much easier to think they were out to get you?  This verse says we shouldn’t do that.  We need to learn how to assume the best in those around us.  That is one way we show love to those around us, by having confidence in each other, by trusting each other. 

Hard Lessons...

Sometimes it's not the grades so much as it is the lives that you save that are important...

Shopping with Momma...

Mom and I have always loved shopping together.  We don't necessarily ever need to buy anything or it can just be grocery shopping, but mom and I love doing it together.  Today we had a goal, I have to wear khaki pants, shorts or skirts to work over the summer.  We searched several stores and finally ended up in the little girl's department at Target.  Mom has a wonderful way of making every depressing, annoying or embarrassing event funny.  This includes when I only fit clothes in the kids department.  It was pretty hysterical.  She uses a combination of funny voices, actions and sarcasm.  We were laughing so hard today that I'm rather sore now.  I haven't laughed that hard in a while!  Made for an awesome Mother's Day...

Finally Home!

I am finally home, here for a week of summer before I head back to CSM to work.  It's been relaxing so far, lots of sleep involved.  Now I'm sitting on Bethany's bed hanging out and it's pretty awesome.  I've missed her.  I've missed my whole family.  It's wonderful being home!

Too Quiet...

Today was my last final, I'm so glad.  I spent this afternoon walking peacefully along Clear Creek for a few hours with Ian.  The weather has been absolutely lovely!  Now I'm in an empty Weaver Towers.  Almost all the residents have left so it's quiet, too quiet.  I've only known my residents for a semester, not long enough to get tired of them.   This is much harder than I expected.  I miss them, a lot...

1 Corinthians 13:4

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

         Love is not jealous, nor does it brag.  In other words, totally unselfish.  If you are thinking of yourself in matters, you are not loving someone.  You absolutely cannot think of yourself and love someone at the same time.  The two are mutually exclusive.  Along those lines, love does not give up.  It is patient, willing to wait and to keep on going.  Willing to try, to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to show love.  It suffers long and is kind.  

Easily Entertained...

Tonight we had a Weaver staff cookout.  Joining the ten of us on staff was the cutest little field mouse!  It was under the bike lockers peeking its little head out.  Since we were grilling hamburgers, we had some extra cheese.  We scattered the cheese around the bike lockers and watched the greedy little mouse gather all of it.  The guys decided to test the little mouse's strength (and greediness level) and placed stacks of cheese nearby.  The mouse stole those too.  The guys then put rocks on the cheese (one double the size of the mouse itself).  Yeah, mouse stole those too.  Blake tried standing up against the hole.  Mouse went around.  Greedy, resourceful little mouse. 

1 Corinthians 13:3

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Actions speak louder than words.  Really loud.  You can say something a million and one time but it is meaningless without the actions to back it up.  The most important thing about actions?  The motives behind them.  You can do a ton of good works, but if you are not motivated by love then what else is there?  Empty gestures.  When acting through love, though, actions can change someone’s life, their entire world.  

Thanks Amy!

RA Banquet = Good Food...

The Colorado School of Mines Residence Life Department Presents Laura Anderson the award of "MOM!" For being everyone's moral compass and providing delicious treats....

1 Corinthians 13:2

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

         Knowledge is easy.  Logic is easy.  They cannot be hurt, cannot be happy, cannot feel.  Easy.  But not worth it.  The best things in life are those worth fighting for.  Love.  Not easy, but totally worth it.  

Reason...

So the reason I haven't continued my mini series yet is because I've been sick.  Got a mild case of hypothermia (yes Amy, no genius points for me) and things went downhill from there.  I've been well take care of though.  Ian has been here the entire time - blankets in one hand and cool rag in the other as I constantly switch temperatures from hot to cold.  I don't know how he can do that so tirelessly for hours, but he does.  Chelsey sat down and walked me through every circuits homework problem so I could feel like I actually got something done.  Callen is doing the same with Mech & Mat.  Andrew did all the talking on rounds, so I just followed him around and waved at everyone.  Brandon's been checking in on me to see if I need anything.  Lily and some other residents check in periodically and bring medicine.  Everyone has been so wonderful in taking care of me.  I am thankful to have such wonderful friends!

1 Corinthians 13:1

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

 

         What is Love?  Yeah, I’m not even going to touch that question.  One thing this verse does say though it that Love is important, vital to our lives.  More important than angels’ voices.  Yeah, that’s big. This verse, to me, is talking to all you wonderful liberal arts people out there.  Something about all the ‘words/tongues’ reminds me of liberal arts.  No matter what type of person you are or what you like, Love is important!

 

Love - From A Logical Person's Point of View...

Starting today I am going to do a 13 day miniseries on Love.  I'm going to go through 1 Corinthians 13, one of the most popular chapters in the Bible.  I'm not talking about any one type of love (sorry to disappoint, hopeless romantics).  Each night I will publish my thoughts on a different verse.  I'm not trying to write anything new or profound.  I'm just thinking and would like to hear your thoughts too.  There are a couple of girls I may ask to join me in this, so you might also be hearing from them.  Being an RA and dating has taught me a lot about relationships this semester.  Now I need to process it all.  That's the plan.  Want to join?

Pirates!

Every week for rounds around Weaver, Chelsey and I wear a costume.  The trick is that we also have to be in uniform.  This week we did pirates!  The costumes aren't as obvious on the picture, but they definitely were in person!  The green shirts are our duty shirts and yes, the foam things at our sides were swords.  Not bad for under fifteen minutes of thinking and getting dressed?

Cold Stone Night!

Tonight my floors and I went to Cold Stone.  All the freshmen have a Calculus test tomorrow, so we just ran out real fast to get ice cream.  It was a wonderful study break and everyone had a blast (while eating far too much ice cream).  Next week we have a cookout!

Proper Introduction (the short version)...

It has occurred to me that I've mentioned and put his picture up, but I haven't really told y'all about Ian - Ian Alexander Ebersole.  I have a few minutes, so now seems like as good a time as any!  Ian is an incredible, wonderful, special person who is very dear to me.  We think we met last semester at swing dance lessons, but aren't really sure if that was the first time we saw each other.  We didn't begin talking until we sat together in a math class this semester.  Even then we didn't talk much, we actually started Skyping.  Yes, for a while it was a long distance friendship while living twenty minutes walking from each other.  Silly, I know.  The conversations on Skype were deep, wonderful and lasted far too late at night!  Totally worth it.  Ian asked me to go ice skating with some friends Valentine's Day, it was our first time hanging out together.  A week and a half after that, we started dating.  I have never been so happy!  Ian is filled with love for CHRIST, he searches after HIM actively, and it shows in his interactions with those around him.  He is fun, crazy, smart, patient, thoughtful, caring, humble, handsome and much taller than I am!  Ian has the most beautiful heart!  Anyone who has spoken to Ian can tell you what a wonderful person he is.  My family loves him.  I have had a great time getting to know Ian so far and look forward to getting to know him better every day...

E-Days...

E-Days (Engineering Days) is a huge weekend event here at CSM.  It starts Thursday night with a massive firework show and ends Sunday. During this time there is a concert, a cardboard boat race, trebuchet contest, mining competition, Mr. Big Digger competition, root beer kegger, free food, ore cart pull to Denver, dance, casino night and lots of drinking games.  For the RAs, E-Days means a lot of work and a lot of fun.  Most of us do our shifts and then get as far away from the dorms as we can.  I had both shifts Thursday night.  During the first shift, I was on duty with Yule and we decided to dress up gangster for rounds.  The costumes were fun and the round lasted 4 hours.  As soon as we would finish one round, we would start the next.  A round consists of looking around each suite, talking to residents, checking the bathrooms, checking around the building outside and looking for anything suspicious.  Often the residents don't even realize we are looking around. We keep chatting with them, but our eyes are always on the move.  After midnight, Yule switched off with Dana and we continued rounds until 4am.  The rest of E-Days I spent at Ian's house hanging out with him and the other guys living at his house.  The guys are really funny, I had an awesome, restful time.  When I wasn't laughing, I was sleeping.  I wasn't awake much of E-Days and it was GREAT!

Think Before You Speak...

One of the side effects of being constantly tired is that I am easily irritated.  I know I'm beyond tired when I start snapping at every little thing.  I am trying to be very careful and not snap at those around me.  They don't deserve my irritation.  The best method to not say something you regret is to not say anything at all.  No one here seems to like it when I don't talk though.  Next solution, take a nap!

Together...

Power Out!

Yesterday we had a scheduled power outage, which was fun.  All the RAs had to be nearby with flashlights in case there was a problem.  Before the power out, we all had to make sure to charge computers, use our microwaves to make dinner, and have the heat turned way up!  We knew that as soon as the power went out and the sun went down, it was gonna get really cold really fast.  I skyped with my mom and had a very enlightening discussion while the lights flickered on and off. Never really did need the flashlight though...  

Snow Day!

I was up at 6:00am this morning running on little sleep to prepare for a Mechanics and Materials test.  The test started at 8:00am for the extra time kids and by the time I got there, my clothes were soaked through with snow.  A couple hours later I was on the last part of the last problem on the test when the proctor got the call.  The exam for the normal students was postponed 'til next week and the school was officially shutting down.  Now I am in the dorm, finally caught up on sleep.  Some of us decided to stay in and watch a movie, then I slept for a few hours.  The RAs are not supposed to leave the building, all the residents are restless right now so they need us to keep tabs on everyone...

Hidden in Plain Sight...

There is an area on campus, in between a parking lot and main road, where I like to hide.  No one ever thinks to looking in that little valley with the huge tree trunks, orange creek and cement blocks.  Today I spent a lovely afternoon there, praying intently with GOD.  Very relaxing, very peaceful...

Surprise!

Today I received a pleasant surprise.  Mom and the Seniors drove up and took Ian and I out to lunch.  This is going to be an insanely tough week with two tests, a report, presentation and program.  This on top of normal life and homework.  My family coming up to visit was an amazing way to begin this.  We had a wonderful time!

Assassins!

Yep, it's that time again, time for squirt guns!  The entirety of Weaver Towers started playing Assassins last night and it's getting pretty funny.  Chelsey and I were doing our circuits homework in the lobby last night and having fun watching residents trying to scope out their targets.  Some people get really into it, changing all their info and pictures on Facebook, some even their names!  This game is also known as the Facebook Stalking because the way Chelsey set up the game, few people actually know their targets.  Wouldn't want to make it too easy!  The best part last night was when the two RAs on duty remembered that they had to do an outside round.  They clutched their water guns, took friends for backup and ran the perimeter of Weaver Towers!  Zach was totally ambushed, so Dana tried to distract the assassin while he got away.  Oh my goodness, was it funny to watch!  I absolutely love this game.

The Big Fancy Camera...

One of my favourite times of the semester is always when we have our big semi-annual sponsor meetings at the Steel Center.  This is the time when Dr. Matlock gets really excited about pictures and lets me borrow his big fancy camera for the week.  Seriously, my job is to attend several formal events and just take as many pictures as I can.  Pretty sweet!  Now I'm sitting the the computer lab with three computers running.  I'm burning CDs of presentations and editing all the pictures.  I love this job!

Battle of the Orange...

The stage was set.  In the background, a dramatic Tchaikovsky song was playing and skype was making noises, calling for my attention.  I held my flimsy plastic knife and stared down the orange. It couldn't be that difficult right?  After all, Grandma always make it look so easy.  Yeah, ten minutes later I was realizing just how difficult this could be.  My beautifully clean sink area of yesterday now had sticky orange juice everywhere!  Junior was happy though, feeling well-fed and that's what mattered!  I had won the battle, but now had a lot of cleaning up to do.

Crazy Break...

This spring break has been a little different than normal, very crazy.  There was the day that Amy, Bethany and I spent scheming about different things to do to Ian (Bet had the best one).  There was the day that Ian, Caleb, Brandon, Amy Bethany and I all hung out here and made 144 cupcakes.  There was the day I got to meet Ian's family (very fun).  There was the day I took Amy's senior pictures outside in the freezing cold.  There were errands to run, places to go, people to see and hanging out to do.  In between, I took naps and read a few books.  It's been a whirlwind of a break, but I have enjoyed every minute of it.  Tomorrow I will return to CSM to do homework and have a short break from my break.  Soon my next round of tests will start and then all I have left is finals!  Time is flying all too quickly...

Spring Break!

After staying up until 4am dealing with crazy residents, I am now home an officially on spring break.  My is it nice!  I am looking forward to relaxing, hanging out with my family and making cupcakes!  Sleep, sleep is good too.

A Crazy Day!

Yesterday I went with out with five other people who did Singled Out last week.  We had around 25 dollars per person to spend, so we decided to make the best use of it.  We all first went to Mimi's for lunch, which was nice, and then glow-in-the-dark mini golf.  Haz (one of the other female RAs) and I kept things lighthearted by being so bad and playing it up.  I definitely hit people more than I ever hit it in the hole.  Afterward, we all headed to Cold Stone.  It was a ton of fun!  Haz and I agree, we never thought when we were voluntold for Singled Out that it would actually be that much fun.  After we finally got back, I had about an hour to myself before Devyn came over to get ready.  A few of us were going to the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.  I ambushed her with a water gun to get her back for a prank she played recently.  The fun part was that she was on the phone, so she couldn't get away!  The CSO was playing music from several of the great Russian composers, which was amazing.  Getting there, well, everything that could go wrong, definitely tried to.  I had so much fun though!  The night was incredible, like a fairy tale.  I came back to reality really fast though, when I got back to Weaver and walked into a prank.  That one I got to deal with until 7:30 this morning.  Oh well, the magic of the night still far surpassed the annoyance of the prank!

Meddling...

I am now throughly convinced that people with too much time on their hands like to meddle in the lives of people who are very busy.  I am not sure why this is, but considering recent events, it has to be true.  It seems I have an awful lot of friends desperately in need of more homework.

Silly Sisters...

I was only able to be home for Friday night, but it was a enough to have a chance to laugh with my sisters.  Amy took it upon herself to give me a much needed lecture, but you know Amy.  She's so much fun that the lecture was fun too.  I got to see Bethany mostly at dinner, because she was gone most of the time I was home.  At dinner, Bethany got a major case of the giggles.  She could not stop laughing!  Bethany always makes me laugh.  My sisters are awesome!

Are You Serious?

So some guys recently got caught drinking in the dorm.  Really, why would you even try?  Part of their punishment, other than just the usual, was to take out everyone's trash in the entire dorm of a couple hundred people.  The hall director decided that to do this, they should have to follow Chelsey and I on our rounds 'cause we take the longest.  He told us to make it a long one.  Three hours of hauling trash later (average time on a round is 45 minutes), the guys were pretty tired.  Maybe they've learned their lesson?

Singled Out...

Singled out is basically a dating game show once on TV.  RHA decided to use it as a fun activity for anyone living in the dorms.  It became win a date with an RA.  Unfortunately for us, there was something else going on on campus, so there were not a lot of people there.  Still everyone had fun and won pretty awesome dates.  My date and I, along with two other couples plan to go out and do something fun next week.  We all already know each other a little, so it should be a good time. 

Gravity...

I have a poster of quotes on love and a poster of quotes on life.  One that made me laugh recently was by Albert Einstein. "Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love."  Yes, I do go to a geeky school...

Chivalry is Not Dead...

Today I went ice skating with some friends.  I had an absolutely wonderful time with my friends and getting to know new people. Okay, so I didn't know many people to begin with, but everyone was so nice!  It was a small outdoor area with a tree growing out of the middle, which was cool.  I was really impressed with how this group of people interacted with each other.  You could tell there was a lot of love and respect in how they treated each other.  They truly cared about each other's lives.  The guys were very impressive.  They always opened the car doors for the girls and helped if they fell on the ice.  It was the little things in this group that made the difference.  Afterward we all went to lunch and watched Wall-E.  Everyone was so welcoming I had a wonderful time and greatly look forward to spending more time with them in the future.  

My Fortune Cookie Said...

'The balding man asked his barber: "Why you charge me full price?"'

Job Dynamics...

I knew when I got the job to be an RA that I was going to love every minute of it and that's true.  I love being an RA.  There were a few dynamics that I didn't consider that have made the job interesting.  

1. Being an RA, you are always surrounded by people.  Constantly.  I leave for class even earlier than I used to just because I now know so many people who always want to stop and chat.  That being said, being an RA is a really lonely job.  You are the authority on the floor, so while everyone likes you, no one necessarily wants to be too close a friend.  I'm okay with that though.
2. Going along those lines, RAs like to be with other RAs, probably because of the aforementioned reason.  Every meal the RAs go together.  It's a small network of instant best friends because they are the only ones who truly understand what this job is like.
3. RAs are extreme.  When they need to be serious, as a group they are very serious and get the job done.  If something bad happens, they deal with it as an efficient team as though they've done this all their lives together, even if it's the first time.  On the other hand, RAs are crazier than anyone else I know. They go all out in the wildness department and are some of the most fun people to be with.  The cool thing?  RAs can switch from crazy to serious and back in the blink of an eye.  Insane to watch.
4. I knew I would come to care for my residents, but I never suspected just how much.  They mean the world to me!  I don't know what I would do if something happened to one of them.
5. RAs keep their residents safe, happy and having fun.  Hall Directors do the same for the RAs.  I have the coolest HD ever.  I've observed all the other HDs, but few care like Brandon.  He takes care of his RAs like I take care of my residents. I'm very glad he's my HD!

Soiree!

Soiree is a huge event put on by the guys of the CHRISTian groups here at CSM. Here is how the evening went.  All the girls put on their formal dresses, did nails and hair and such.  At a designated time, a guy in a tuxedo (Ryan in my case) picked us up, bowing as he opened the car door.  Ryan drove us to Arvada Covenant Church, where guys were waiting to escort each girl inside.  As soon as I came in, one of my residents, Will, took me aside to interview with with the video camera.  The question? Who did I like better, Raoul or the Phantom?  The theme was Phantom of the Opera, complete with a chandelier crashed in the center of the room.  The guys cooked and served a four course dinner, both delicious and impressive.  After dinner the guys put on two hours of skits from the Phantom singing, to a poem called "I am a Manly Man", Hamlet, Men in White Tees, a fashion show, an original piano piece called "Midnight Rain" and even beatboxing "Amazing Grace", just to name a few.  I have video!  Afterward, the guy in charge got up and explained the purpose of Soiree.  The end of the night was one massive dance and then the guys drove us home.  

Walking the Runway...

There is something about being an RA.  You often find yourself doing things that you wouldn't normally.  Tonight I not only stood hosted a runway show and listened to pickup lines, but also put on a long black satin dress and volunteered to be the first one down the runway with my arms linked to two guys in three piece suits.  After each of the girls had been escorted down the walkway, the guys had a pickup line competition.  The guys took turns and addressed each girl.  There were some hysterical lines.  The girls then chose a winner who won a remote controlled pickup truck.  Total blast! 

Letting Loose!

Every Wednesday at noon a Mines Bibles Study meets at my church.  The group is comprised of some very different types of people, but we all love hanging out together.  However, despite all that we do together, everyone is a little reserved and there are normally pastors around which puts everyone on there best behavior naturally.  Due to Holly Coors funeral today, the group met in a different building and ordered pizza.  All the pastors were busy, so it was just our little group.  We ended up all on the floor playing spoons.  There is something about cards and plastic spoons flying and people diving after them that breaks down reservations.  Chinese, American, grad students and undergrads were laughing, joking, cheating, headbutting, and teasing by the end.  It was funny how a little bit of pizza, spoons and cards could bring us all together.

Zoo...

Today was my first program for my floor, an educational program.  We went to the zoo!  My floors have been asking to go and ever since I said yes, it's all my floor can talk about it.  We ended up being there for 6 hours.  I mingled with the various groups throughout the time and had a chance to see all the exhibits.  I finally joined up with a few guys whom the animals seemed to follow everywhere.  Every animal came right up to them.  Lots of fun.  The apes started mimicking the kids around.  At some part my residents came running up all excited - they saw a couple of monkeys having a wild party.  It was quite an educational experience.  

A Little Bit of Random Fun...

Rounds for an RA are only so much fun.  Therefore, Chelsey and I have decided to spice things up a little bit.  This week we got the other female RAs together and did rounds in our formal dresses.  We decided to do just the Hall Director round like this.  We had to be in uniform, so we all put our RA jackets over the dresses and waited for David, the HD, to arrive.  Boy was he shocked out of his mind!  

Missing Something?

All the RAs here have a white board on their doors so residents can write on them if they need something and they have the emergency numbers on them.  Blake's whiteboard has something wrong with it.  When ever you use a whiteboard marker on it, the marker won't erase.  This annoys Chelsey and I when we are on rounds, so we got the bright idea to clean it.  We figured nail polish remover and it would be gone in five minutes flat.  Yeah, right!  So we used 409, Nail Polish Remover and 70% alcohol.  None worked great.  We finally hit upon Baking Soda with water.  Problem was, we had to scrub with our fingers.  It just worked best. At the end though, we looked down and realized that like Blake's board, our fingers were clean.  As in, without fingerprints.  They're starting to come back, but for a while we had completely scrubbed our fingers clean!

Never a Dull Moment...

One of the interesting things about being an RA I'm discovering is that something is always happening.  I can walk into any room and find something fun going on.  I now go everywhere early too, I'll get stopped by 3-5 people wanting to chat everywhere I go.  Rounds aren't too bad, just walk around and talk to people.  All the staff is really friendly.  Something I've found is that RAs like to be with other RAs.  The other night we all went to see a movie together and it seems every meal at Slate that's whom I get a call to eat with.  It's definitely fun!

Oh My Goodness!

This has been information overload.  I'm kinda at a total loss as to what to say.  First off, all those little things add up.  Different types of paperwork, getting the right shirt and hoodie size, taking the different types of pictures, etc.  Zach (1st floor RA) and Brandon (hall director) stayed up to help me do all the door decorations, so those are done.  The other RAs are lots of fun.  There have been a ton of crazy games, stories and food.  It's awesome.  I am enjoying myself, but very tired!

Packing Process...

One thing I have to remind myself when packing, it looks like a lot more than it is.  Actually, that's what I keep reminding Dad when he asks why I'm taking so much stuff.  The little mini fridge takes up half the available space practically!  Mom and I also prefer to pack lots of bags not completely full, so nothing is that heavy.  This time I'm moving to a new dorm and my own room so everything that Holly and I once shared (like a mini fridge) I'm now taking my own of.  It works.  Now I just have to finish a few things up and I'm ready to go! 

Giggle Night!

Yesterday Mom and I went looking for games for my dorm room and so of course we had to try them out.  Last night we played Apples to Apples with Dad.  With some of the cards and choices, we were laughing pretty hard.  Bethany smoked us all!  Then Amy, Bethany and I decided to play Sorry, a game of revenge.  Although Amy kept trying to take us out, it was my turn to do the smoking!  Afterward we put on crazy pajama pants with our hoodies, curled up on my bed and watched kids movies while eating lollypops.  Laughing and talking were encouraged.  By the end of the evening, everyone was exhausted from laughing so hard. 

Fargo's...

Yesterday my family went to Fargo's, a pizza place that looks like something out of the Wild West.  The place was huge with balcony seating.  When your order was ready, the number would pop up on mirrors posted on different walls.  In the corner there was a player piano so little kids would run up and pretend to play.  The pizza was really good and the dessert was amazing.  In the picture, Bethany and Grandma split a mass of homemade chocolate cake, ice cream and whipped cream.  The rest of us opted for homemade sundaes with fudge on top.  Fargo's was awesome!