"Faith Is Not Just Believing..." (It's Looking Good Doing It!)

Blasted! As I've done multiple times in the past, I wrote an entire blog entry, then hovered my pointer over the "Publish Post" button... and annoyingly realized I wasn't happy with it. At all. Luckily, time is on my side this evening and I'm fortunate enough that I can delete it and start again. And how appropriate....

This particular weekend was the last shot at "Me Time" I'll have for a while; the next few months are stuffed with summer craziness, and I'm simply over-joyed! Likewise, this weekend, I experienced a most peculiar mood in which I felt the need to rid my life of the "Un-necessaries." It sounds like a term you'd find in Allison in Wonderland, but it's the best way I know how to describe it. I went through this strong need to purge all the stuff that was distracting me or causing clutter. I went through my closet, my cupboards, and my tupperwares full of junk. I even cleared out my fridge. Further, I deleted 100 Facebook "friends" today -- 100 people! Why I felt it necessary to hold on to individuals I had a conversation with twice, I'll never know. There was little rhyme or reason to my selection of deletions (does that make it "Facebook genocide"?) other than I honestly didn't remember who you were, we hadn't made any attempt at contact in an extended period of time, or we shared no real moments of actual friendship other than class or a random encounter (ok, so maybe there was a tad bit of rhyme and a hint of reason). As snobby and pretentious as it sounds, I'm over the whole "social networking" thing and I'm trying to get back to when Facebook was a special tool for keeping up with your real friends (not a tool for tools, if you will).

Let's take in a deep breath, shall we!

Further (and here comes the big crescendo!), I've come to realize that my experience here in Jacksonville as a whole was NOT a "Chapter" in my life, but rather an "Intermission." Despite my entire life being one big conglomeration of ups, downs, and ALL arounds, I haven't felt myself here nor have I done things or experienced them in my typical style. I haven't connected to people or places or things in that hard-fast, poetic way I thrive on. Rather, I've survived here and challenged myself amongst things I'd never have imagined encountering. But looking back on the past 8-9 months, I truly believe I've grown a lot and developed mentally, spiritually, professionally, and personally (what, but not "physically"? Where are my philosophical booty and ta-tas?!).

In short, I'm ready to make life happen, to get to that next Chapter. I'm done "trying to find myself," at least for now; I'm convinced I've missed opportunities to figure out who I am because I'm so fixated on my stupid "Ah-Ha!" moment. But by George, I think I've got it! There is no single point in time where you realize your purpose; it's when you slowly and often haphazardly realize the purpose of others to you, life makes a little more sense. We're all connected in this big crazy world, and it's stupid to be the only one investing energy in ourselves; there are a lot of people rooting each of us on, and those are the people we need to be surrounding ourselves with. We need to stop being upset and making big tragedies out of nothing; life is truly what we make it, and I expect to make it full, vibrant, and motivating. Misery loves company, but Loveliness is a much better friend indeed.

On a final note (and I doubt any one will believe this story) but I was walking out of Erin & Joel's apartment last night after taking care of their dog, Miko -- they went on vacay to New Orleans -- and I noticed a business card, beat up and raggedy, left on the ground. Being the environmentalist that I am, I picked it up to toss in the trash; but then I noticed it was for some art website, and instead threw the card in my purse to check out for later (which is probably unsanitary because who knows how long that's been there). Later in the weekend I stumbled upon the card and decided to check out the site; to my disappoinment, it was a promo/graphic designer page that was hardly my style. Oh, and it had random charcoal sketches of half-naked, gangster looking men... Hmm. I grabbed the card to chunk in the trash -- for real this time -- and noticed some loopy, smudgy writing on the back. It said: "Faith is not just believing. It's trusting the unbelievable." Thinking it came from some movie (I'm so daft), I Googled it so see what it came from. It comes from the Gospel of Mark 9:2-9 and the story of the Transfiguation of Christ. I'll spare you the Spark Notes explanation, but it's the moment where Jesus himself fully realized his identity and is completely and wholly marked as the Son of God. Not that I'm anything close to divine (although my legs come pretty close), but I wonder if it's God lending himself to my transfiguration, my moment of self-realization... Whatever the case, my faith in life, love, and people is slowly being restored.

And on that note, have a happy and beautiful week. :)

And This is What I Do on a Friday Night

Whew! I almost quite literally forgot today was Friday. To be honest, I'm not sure what day I thought it was, but I blame the awkward and "short" work week for my discombobulation. And, as mentioned below, I've been slightly disconnected (I'll say!) over the last week. My laptop's power cord was laid to rest, and my new one finally came in the mail (thanks, Pops!). I'm slowly getting around to returning Facebook and blog comments and such, so don't think I've been ignoring you! The funny thing is, I actually enjoyed being detached from my computer. I never really realized how much time I spent goofing off, or how much work I brought home to finish; I need to stop relying on this stuff so much.... I did, however, miss my Pandora. Who knew music was such a motivation, even for the little things? (And I did miss my solo under-roo dance parties.)

Right! On to business. The following survey has no real theme, and I honestly cut out a bunch of questions I found atrociously banal; por ejemplo: "What type of computer mouse do you use?" Who gives a rat's ass, Survey? (Survey: "The rat does!") Aye ye ye... If any of you guys stumble on a worthy one, pass it my way... I'm running out of material!
The "It's Getting Too Late For This" Survey

What is the single largest item in your apartment?
My right arm; only slightly ahead of my left.

How well can you write your name with your non dominant hand?
There is nothing "non-dominant" about me.

What is your earliest memory?
Not sure, I have speckled memories of Nebraska as a young tot. I do remember I hated when my Mom took us with her to the car wash. I was obsessed with Wizard of Oz at the time, and my sweet ol' Mum thought it'd be funny to tell me we were in a tornado and the Wicked Witch of the West would come out.... Now you see why I'm screwed up?

Have you ever jumped off of a high dive?
That was my all-time favorite!!! We had one at Richardson's Lake, which was a really a pond, with all kinds of water slides and diving boards. I'm sure it was stupid, but I would "pencil" my way down straight into the water to see how far I go down... I stopped when I realized I had a long way to swim back up. And the lifeguard told me to CUT IT OUT.

Do you take vitamins?
A multivitamin, every day! My nails are getting so long...

Do you like to color inside the lines?
"I can't color enough, I would color all day every day if I had my way... I would use every crayon in my box."

What do you have set as your home page?
My super rad iGoogle page.

Where would you hate to have to work?
The condom factory; every time you ran into a really horrible little kid, you'd have this momentary guilt that you could've messed up on the job.

Do you prefer light bulbs or candles?
Bwuh? This is like saying, "Do you prefer cars or tanks?"

How much money did you spend today?
I actually only spent $7.31 at Wendy's for dinner. $1 of that went to the Dave Thomas Foundation. The other $6.31 was not well spent...

What are you sitting on right now?
My potential.

Do you look at yourself when you pass by reflective surfaces?
Guilty! Oh, I'm so hot right now...

Would you ever get plastic surgery?
My Dad once asked me if I wanted a car or a nose job for my 16th birthday.
He was serious.

Do you like the smell of Axe?
I do, but I can't help but think the dude's only wearing it to cover up the fact he hasn't bathed in a few (or more) days.

What is your favorite flavor of Lifesavers?
Mmm, pineapple or pina colada!

What is the best Halloween costume you have ever worn?
My 70s retro work-out girl get up. :)



What kind of soap do you use?
Soap is for chumps!

Can you snowboard?
I hate snow. And I hate... boards.

Do you write notes on your body?
Oh, right. I meant to delete this one...

What is the prominent color in your closet?
I have an assortment. :)

Do you believe in lots of conspiracies?
Actually, I love a good conspiracy theory. Too bad none are really that "good."

Do you own any really old video game systems?
Nintendo 64, baby! Bring on the Smash Brothers and Mario Kart Racing!

Are you good at baking?
I'm better at cooking; baking is too precise.

Have you ever made your own clothing?
HAHA. I used to make "purses" when I was 8-9ish, which were these really shoddy pouches made from random scraps of fabric and old buttons. I was really proud of them, though, because I taught myself how to sew.

Do you prefer Tootsie Pops or Blow Pops?
I only like the red Tootsie Pops and only the watermelon Blow Pops.

Are you a really fast text messager?
Embarrassingly so.

Do you have anything you keep on you 24/7?
My wit.

Do you usually write in print or in cursive?
What's writing?

What was your first job?
My first big paying gig was at Ann Taylor Loft in Myrtle Beach; I loved it.

Do you prefer crushed ice or cubed?
I'm actually a slightly-cooler-than-room-temp kind of gal, so I don't use ice much.

Have you ever made a mixed cd for someone?
Yes! But my current computer won't let me rip CD's, so I can't make them anymore. Which is too bad, because I think they're such fun gifts!

What do you want to buy from an infomercial?
A mail order Russian bride. I'm tired of doing my own laundry.

Do you believe that animals have souls?
More so than some people I know.

What word/phrase do you find really annoying?
People using "text language." In real life.

What is the longest you can wait patiently?
Depends on what I'm waiting for. If it's word back about a new job position or grades, I can hold my breath. If it's food, I need it NOW.

Are your fingernails long or short?
Long! (See the vitamin question.)

Can you tell people honest things to their face?
I'm getting better about it, but more through necessity than me actually wanting to.

Would you rather eat grits or oatmeal?
I love both!

What do you think of clothing for pets?
I have a whole Barbie case of cuuuuute stuff for Audrey. And she likes it.

Do you tend to want things you cannot have?
I kind of want this survey to end so I can get to bed....

Is it true that you can be anything you want to be?
I want to be short.
You tell me.

Were your parents honest to you about serious things when you were little?
My parents are never serious about anything!

Would you ever dye your hair purple?
For a good cause. Or a free beer.

Who do you think should play you in a movie?
Myself; I'm a star!

Do you prefer stripes or polka dots?
Stripes.

Do you dot your i's and cross your t's?
Do you wipe your own ass, Survey?

Are you double jointed in any way?
I still don't think that's a real condition.

What kind of super power do you wish you had?
I wish I could make people happy; I hate when people are upset and miss the good parts in life because they don't try.

How often do you watch the news?
Every time I'm at the gym.

Do you have nightmares very much?
Yes, and I attribute it to my poor choices in bed time snacks.

Which power ranger was your favorite?
The yellow one and the black one (he had some rad dance moves).

Did the movie Jaws ever scare you?
Yessss! I haaaaate sharks!

What do you think of feminists?
I'd tell 'em to put back on their bra and get back in the kitchen to make me a sammich.

Do you lack common sense sometimes?
I'm lucky that when I do, it ends up being funny instead of causing issues.

Are you afraid of snakes?
YES! I'm deathly afraid of snakes, sharks, clowns, busy streets, and Tom Petty.

Do you use recycle bins at your house?
PLEASE refer to my post about "Bull S**t."

What is your favorite art form?
Anything expressive, vivid, and genuine.

Do you want to be bilingual?
I always think it's sexy when you can speak a 2nd language.

Is energy wasted on little kids?
*ahem* See my "Worst job..." question.

Do you lie to make people feel better?
I'll omit the hard truth until I know people can handle it, but not lie.

How many times a day do you look at the clock?
I'm obsessive about time; at least every 30min.

Do you like to organize things?
I'm a freeeeak about things being where they need to be.

Are you going to have smile lines or frown lines when you're older?
It's called Botox. I'll have no lines, and no emotions.

Which is better, thick crust or thin pizza?
Any pizza is great pizza: "Even when it's bad, it's still pretty good."

How good are you at keeping secrets?
Ha! Depends on the secret. I hate secrets.

What stupid little thing really stresses you out?
Haha - I hate having split ends. Which is ironic, because I'll go til I'm weeks overdue to get a haircut.

What do you think the drinking age should be?
I think the whole "drinking" thing needs to be totally reassessed. If we quit making a big deal about it and start empowering people to make the right decisions, we might make better progress. But then there are the "failed condom" kids, so who knows...

I'd like to point out I started this survey at 11:15pm on Friday, but I was instantly distracted but a Victoria's Secret email about a big online sale... so, I didn't quite finish til much later... ;)

Happy End of May!

Instead of a Turkey Sammich, Chew on This

Determined NOT to rely on my Friday survey as an adequate posting, I sat down last night to spill my guts on life in the last few weeks; it's been a whirlwind of a month, and I can't believe that May is over come Sunday. (I'm still writing "April" for certain appointments.) Despite my best efforts, I quickly realized that my laptop's power cord suffered a fatal wound at the hands of Ranger, one of John's family Chihuauhas. The cord had been chewed just enough that power wouldn't reach the battery -- it did, however, reach my hand as I plugged it in. Maybe I'll stick my freshly charged fingers into my computer for power... Thank goodness for my Pops. He's got a back-up charger, but it's going to take a few days in the mail to get to me. Ugh.

As a second choice, I opted to use my lunch hour to hit up the library and update (how's that for dedication!). I'm wondering if this was such a good idea. I realized I'm missing one of the essential parts of a lunch break: lunch. I've been starving since my last meeting that jut let out a few minutes ago. I'm tempted to reach for my emergency granola bar in my bag, but the front desk Computer Nazi may banish me to the gallows. Not to mention, I never thought about writing this stuff in front of strangers; the set up in here reminds me of a launch pad station from a NASA inspired movie (Houston, do these pocket protectors make me look fat?). D'oh well, I've once before cranked out a 15 page essay on an exam sitting between "the smelly kid" and a guy with a juicy cold (and I made an A!). This shouldn't be too bad.

So, I'm entering the final months of my term and I'm excited and terrified at the same time. It's weird to think I've already clocked in 1,550 hours. I'm wrapping up a few final projects and doing my best to leave adequate preparation for the 09-10 member. As most of you recall, I started almost ass-backwards in this whole process due to no initial instruction or orientation, and feel I could've accomplished much more had I been better prepared. But after a lot of work (and stress... and frustration... and bottles of merlot...), I truly believe my efforts are paying off. It only took eight months, but things are working out!

My biggest moments and challenges during my term came about through Youth Fit For Life; YFFL is a nutrition and fitness curriculum recently implemented in our afterschool programs, made possible through a grant by the Dupont Foundation (a partner of the Y). We started it back in November, and I became the default manager because of my service description. Honestly, it's been one of the heaviest and most unnecessarily complicated things I've ever done, but I've tackled it as best as I know how and with what I've got. As part of the grant, we've had to do evaluation "testing" every 12 weeks during the school year. WELL, we have 26 schools spread between the borders of Jacksonville all the way down towards Gainesville, with a total of 1100 kids to test. Oh, and 3-5 people to do it. It's a real pain in the ass, and it takes up nearly 3 week's worth of our afternoons. After finally figuring out actually how to do the testing during the last two sets of 12 weeks (the grant gave us very limited guidelines), I approached Kim, my site mentor, about possibly training some volunteers to help us with our third and final set. Long story short, we recruited about 10 people from the "AOA" group (our 55+ Active Older Adults) at the Y. And things have gone incredibly well! It doesn't sound like much, but merging my two main projects (volunteer recruitment and nutrition/fitness components) has been the culmination of my term. We're in the last half of the testing, so I'll be sure to give you guys the update.

And with that, my stomach won't shut up and a mom came in with her itty bitty boy (with a rather impressively big voice box). I think he thinks my stomach is talking to him. Other developments are still in the works, and hopefully I'll have more news by the weekend (and with it, my new charger for m' laptop!). As always, I hope everyone is doing well and I also hope everyone had a fabulous Memorial Day -- I know I did!

Happy Hump Day. :)

John & Celia's First... Survey

Another ridiculous week has gone by, and I'm getting a tad frustrated with myself that I can't seem to spit out something related to life-as-I-know-it. It seems when I have a lot going on and something in my world actually worth writing about, I never have the time or the energy to get it together. I really didn't mean for this blog to become a collection of addle-brained surveys, but I feel it's the best way to keep me connected! Sometimes I feel like I should ask your all's opinions on a writing prompt... And hey, it's looks like I've gained new followers! Sweet!

Still, in my current blurred state of mania, I felt the need to keep up with the Friday surveys. This week I get to shake it up a bit; please welcome my special guest, John (aka, the Love of My Life). Upon stumbling on a list of questions I initially found cliche, he agreed to help me complete the following (as long as I agree to watch some episodes of "Lost" before bed - deal!). So here you have it:

The Couple Survey (good grief)

♥ What are your middle names?
Celia: 'Legs'
John: 'Danger'

♥ How long have you been together?
Celia: Almost seven years now.
John: It seems like yesterday.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Both: It was a relatively short period of time beforehand, considering how long we've been together; but we're still getting to know each other every day. :)

♥ Who asked who out?
Celia: I asked him.
John: Celia told me we were going on a date.
Celia: I said "I'll pick you up at 8. And wear summin' pretty."

♥Who said I love you first?
Celia: He did - After kissing me in the rain after our "2 month anniversary" date.
John: But I knew before then.

♥ How old are each of you?
Both: 23

♥ Who's siblings do/did you see the most?
Celia: Definitely John's fam...
John: Yeah - have you met Celia's family?!

♥ Do you have any children together?
Both: HELL. NO.

♥ Did you go to the same schools?
Celia: Separate high schools; I went to a po' dunk private school in Edgefield and John went to South Aiken High.
John: But everyone still believed Celia was a T-Bred.

♥ Are you from the same hometown?
Both: A-town! (Aiken)

♥ Who is the smartest?
Celia: Well, smarts are the only thing I've got going for me!
John: I was never valedictorian...

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Both: Top Favorites = Jacksonville - European Street Cafe; Fort Worth - Joe T Garcia's; Aiken - Carolina BBQ; Columbia - Monterrey's; Myrtle Beach - German place we can't pronounce the name of.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Celia: Recently, we drove back from Fort Worth, TX to Jacksonville, FL.
John: I took you to Pleasure Town once.

♥ Who has the worst temper?
Celia: I pity the fool!
John: This question made me laugh! Nervously...

♥ Who does the cooking?
Celia: This question made me laugh... hysterically!
John: I tried to make grilled cheese in the microwave. And instant pudding with soy milk. (Funny story, ask us later.)

♥Who is the most social?
Both: We're both definitely extroverts.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Celia: Well, John has a RAT living in his apartment....
John: :( *ahem* 'Roomie' has been great company, thank you.

♥ Who is the most stubborn?
Celia: I think we're both fairly adaptable; though I do have to have the last word.
John: We're both pretty laid back.
Celia: I concur.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Celia: John definitely does; God help the person who wakes me before my alarm.
John: I sing the "'W' is for 'Wake-Up' Song" to Celia. Hit me up on Facebook for the lyrics.

♥Who has the bigger family?
Both: You should know by now.

♥Do you get flowers often?
Celia: John used to get them for me all the time back in the day. Especially when he was in trouble.
John: The ladies at Publix knew me by name.

♥ Who do you spend the holidays with?
Both: It's a trade-off between the big events; it feels like a 'Battle of the Moms' every holiday season.

♥ Who sings better?
Celia: Have you not seen my rendition of "Pearls Are a Girl's Best Friend"?! My very own spin for Homecoming Showcase 2007?!
John: Well, I had multiple solos in: Godspell, Footloose, Sound of Music, as well as Kennedy On Stage and my own rendition of Elton John's "Your Song" at Showcase... but then again, Celia did place higher than me at Homecoming.
Celia: I concur.

♥ Who does/did the laundry?
Celia: Bring on the Febreeze, baby!
John: I just buy new underwear.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Celia: Um, I like Facebook!
John: *shakes his head*

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Celia: I'm the navigator!
John: I'm the captain!

♥ Who picks where you go to dinner?
Celia: I pick.
John: I pay....

♥ Who is the first one to admit when they’re wrong?
Celia: I pity the fool!
John: I've learned she's never wrong.
Celia: I concur.

♥ Who wears the pants in the relationship?
Celia: I clearly look better in them; that's for sure.
John: She really does.

♥Who eats more sweets?
Celia: I have a secret stash of candy in my kitchen.
John: I just eat more in general.

♥ Are you still together?
Both: You're darn tootin'!

I'm a "Special" Kind of Gal

As I'm a lady of my word (and probably the only time I'm a lady), here is your "Celia's Fun Friday Survey!" I have to warn you, though; it won't be up to my usual witty and crazy quality. I literally have 15min to crank this out, so I might actually have to use real responses -- so there's a chance you may learn something new and not-so-exciting. I'm actually up way too early due to anxiety for the upcoming weekend (but in a good way!). I'm going to another doc's appointment at the oral surgeon to wrap up what we started Monday (more to come), then it's off to Orlando for a weekend at Special Olympics... don't worry, I'm volunteering, not competing. THEN, I'm hoping a one-way flight to Texas (how romantic does that sound!?) to help John pack for the summer and road-trip it back to the East Coast. Oiy! But the thrill of travel is one of my favorite things, so here I come!

**Three Things**

Three nick names I go by:
"C"
Corndog
Yellow Head


Three jobs I have had in my life:
Ann Taylor 'sales associate'
ABA Therapist for a little boy with Autism
USC Admission recruitor

Three places I have lived:
Aiken, SC
Columbia, SC
Jacksonville, Hell

Three favorite drinks:
COFFEE
More COFFEE
Margaritas

Three TV shows that I watch:
American Idol
Lost (err, if DVD's count)
Sex & the City (again, if DVD's count!)

Three places I have been:
Greece
Turkey
The bathroom

Three of my favorite foods:
Messican
Sushi
Whatever's on sale

Three things you've done in the last 30 minutes:
Finished packing for my crazy week ahead
Checked Facebook (muy importante)
Had a mini-anxiety attack (but I'm much better now)

Three ways to be happy:
COFFEE
Dance parties in my under-roos
Traveling

Three of your favorite hobbies/interests:
Eating
Sleeping
Laughing

Three places you want to go for vacation:
Anywhere
But
Here

Three things found in your bag
Book ("Atlas Shrugged")
Chapstick!
Camera

Three favorite colors:
YELLOW!
Pink!
And surprisingly, white

Top three hangouts:
Erin & Joel's house
Uh, that's really it.
No, seriously.

Top three "things" special to you: (things only)
My photos
My letters from friends & fam
COFFEE

Top three anything that made you happy lately:
Getting out of Jacksonville for a while
Sweet text messages from John :)
Happy hour at E Street with Erin!

Three things I am looking forward to:
This weekend
Memorial Weekend
Free dinner at Special Olympics tonight!

Okay, and there you have it. I'm OFF! :) :) :)

TGIF! (Tiddly Gee! It's Friday!)

It seems like anyone can throw a blog together these days, and personally I'm a big fan of many of them. It's a brilliant way for me to keep up with friends, read opinions other than Oprah's (because hers are usually the only that matter, of course), and stumble on questionable information that may not be totally true - but boy, is it entertaining! However, the ones I've gotten to know and appreciate tend to have a successful following due to: 1) A fancy layout (check!), 2) a cushy paycheck from a popular media outlet (too bad the Jacksonville Times Union is on a hiring freeze), 3) they have some kind of slant or focus (I elegantly straddle that line), and 4) they maintain some level of featured consistency... clearly, I'm slacking most on that particular component (but then again, I think that cushy paycheck mandates deadlines).**

In an effort to make this blog a little more sustainable and close the gap on writing hiatuses, I proudly introduce: Celia's Fun Friday Surveys! That's right! Get to know me a little more each week, and kick off your weekend with a dose of low quality entertainment (note: might I actually recommend starting off with Happy Hour before you read this). As always, comments are welcome especially if agree or disagree. Or you just want to let me know how much of a loser I am; I'll show you.

The Celia Alphabet

A - Age: My friends say I should act my age. What's my age again?

B - Bed size: Big enough for me and two chihuahuas.

C - Chore you hate: I actually loathe cleaning dishes and folding/putting away clean clothes. Does unpacking count as a chore?

D - Dog's name: I don't have dogs; I have little people disguised as Chihuahuas. They would be Audrey and Sean Luca.

E - Essential start your day item: COFFEE.

F - Favorite color: Yelloooow!

G - Guilty pleasure: Unnecessary trips to Target, Publix cupcakes, reading American Idol updates at work, and "OMG" shoes (betch).

H - Height: A freakish 5'10". I hate you all and your "Regular" length pants!

I - Instruments you play: I tug men's heartstrings.

J - Job title: As an AmeriCorps member, I don't work; I serve. So technically... I'm unemployed?

K - Kids: NO THANKS. Unless they intend to clean my kitchen and shine my ("OMG") shoes.

L - Living arrangements: Jacksonville, in my "shabby chic" apartment (which is a nice way of saying "ghetto with some lace accents").

M - Music: My "Quick Mix" on Pandora: Alana Davis, Beirut, The Goo Goo Dolls, Imogen Heap, Joe Purdy, Peter Gabriel, Keane, Sufjan Stevens, Incubus, and Bubba Sparxxx.

N - Nicknames: "C", Corndog (thanks, Cara!), and Yellow Head (a Summer '07 classic!)

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Oddly enough, even though I've had several pretty intense procedures, they were all outpatient. I think my folks were too cheap to let me stay overnight.

P - Pet Peeve: Hangnails. Blatant stupidity. Bad grammar. Obnoxious and overly excessive Facebook albums of people "partying on, man!"

Q - Quote from a movie: My Top 3!

[Wayne's World]
Dream Woman: "Take me, Garth."
Garth: "Where? I'm low on gas and you need a jacket."

[Dumb & Dumber]
Lloyd: "Excuse me, Flo. What's the soup de jour?"
Flo: "It's the soup of the day."
Lloyd: "Mmm. That sounds good. I'll have some of that."

[Nacho Libre]
... Pretty much the entire movie.

R - Right or left handed: I'm right-handed but certainly not in my right mind!

S - Siblings: Brace yourself!... Killian (24), Shane (21), Bridget (20), Gareth (18), and Noel (16 next week)

T -Time you wake up: My alarm goes off at 7am, but I don't actually "wake up" until the first cup of coffee (around 8:30am)

U - Underwear: Lacy, frilly, granny, tighty, whitey, under-roos... I got 'em all!

V - Vegetable you dislike: Strom Thurmond (...Inappropriate.)

W - Ways you run late: Missing your birth control? (Bum-doom-ching!)

X - X-rays you've had: Mostly for my teeth, but I had back issues as a teen.

Y - Yummy food you make: Hahaha... the way this is worded makes me think of photosynthesis. But really, I make a mean Sheppard's pie, cornbread pudding, and butterscotch pie.

Z -Zoo favorite: Monkeys!, crazy colorful birds, and families of tourists in mismatching outfits and fanny packs.

And there you have it! My entire being wrapped up in 26 antecdotes. How could you ask for more? Welp, I hope you enjoyed and will join me next week for another exciting episode. In the meantime, check back for regularly scheduled updates. :)

[**Note: I didn't mention "Good Writing" as a necessary variable for a popular blog. This being because I've seen some blogs that look like the writer's 3-year-old found the Jack in the downstairs liquor cabinet and started banging on the keyboard... but they still get published. Not that I can talk, but you know...]

PS. I've been playing with the camera and put together some new silly projects. Short stories in and of themselves!

Ronnie the Mechanic Thinks I'm Sassy

As there's so much and yet nothing to report, I've felt the need to expel a quick blog post from my over anxious mind. I've attempted several online essays but they never seem to come out the way I imagined; but this blog started out documenting the ordinary and extraordinary of my life here in Florida, so I'm slowly making my way back to it.

I've been quite busy as of late, which is ironic considering my low hours count needed to complete my term on time. I've been active with an organization called Hands On Jacksonville, a collaborative non-profits that brings volunteers together to create and facilitate community service events, especially in under-served areas. (Side note: They've liked how well I've managed projects for them and offered me a job starting at $30K... my conscious got the best of me and I turned it down in lieu of completing my AmeriCorps term. I'm an idiot, but that's a different story.) On my way to DuPont Middle School to conduct a "Peace Tile" project with their Team Up afterschool program, my car begins to make a funny noise; the only way I know how to describe it is "beans in a cup." Thinking to myself, That's not normal, I exit off the interstate and the noise gets louder and louder. Then, my car stalls... Definitely not normal. As I turn my car back on the noise subsides for a hot minute, then the "beans" go wild under the hood of my poor little car. It stalls again, only this time accompanied by a nice rolling billow of white smoke rising from the hood. OKAY, pulling over.

As my car sputters for air the and wretched noise is now rattling in my ears, I manage to get in a Publix parking lot. As the five o'clock loudly zooms by and the fresh Florida heat climbs to about 89 degrees, I begin calling all my volunteers and the other project manager. Probably being a little more dramatic than I should, I tell them my car practically blew up and I'm not coming to paint peace tiles. After that, I call AAA and get a perky young lady by the name of Shanita. We get through her list of rehearsed questions, and I sit and wait for the tow truck. For 45 minutes. In the sweltering heat. And with a smoking car. I'm a totally dunce cap; I could've gone into the Publix for an icy cold sweet tea (or Corona... it was Cinco de Mayo after all), but I was so terrified I'd miss the tow man. As my jeans stuck to my legs (why the duece did I wear pants?!) and my shirt looked I just came out of a rain storm, John kept me calm on the phone. He has a funny way of making bad situations funny, and it's a quality I value quite highly. The tow truck finally arrives, and I'm a complete mess. Super delicious.

I get to this super sketch ball mechanic's shop off of Phillip's Hwy, only to be greated by a few skinny middle age men with farmer's tans and cigarettes hanging from their mouths; I'm pretty sure they would've had a full set of teeth between 'em. (For a split second I was convinced I was still in SC.) I get a ride to my apartment, and at this point I feel like a complete bum... and suddenly I realize how alone I am. Back home I had a whole phone book of people I could've called in a heart beat. Here, I had two people I felt comfortable calling. And it took a lot to get me to call them.

The funny thing was, both came through. Anna, my original site mentor, lives a neighborhood away but still came by and picked me up for work this morning because she knew I had a meeting. Erin, my fellow American Idol obsessor, agreed to help me get my car -- AND fixed quesadillas for dinner last night! It's a beautiful thing. :) And I'm ever-so-grateful to them both.

I'm sure in retrospect, this could've been a lot worse. My total bill for the damages is more than my bi-weekly stipend, but they could repair it in 24 hours. I missed on a fun project, but at least there was a back-up. I could've had no one come get me, but I got lucky with the first two people I called. But it's time like these that make you realize you're not invincible, and maybe I needed it....

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pick up my poor baby from the depths of Hicksville and hopefully I can naw off an arm and a leg on the ride there.... sheesh.