Busy Bee

Friday was such a great day. We had lunch in town at this cute little place called The Best Cellar. I had a turkey sandwich and the most delicious mashed potatoes ever. Afterwards we went into the town of Boone - home of Daniel Boone and Appalachian State University (which is the most beautiful college campus I've ever seen). We went to the Mast General Store and stocked up on old-fashioned candy right from barrels and souvenirs and even two little wall hangings that match my living room decor to a "t". Then we went into the town of Blowing Rock, another adorable town, and I found another antique-looking wall hanging that matches perfectly from the store Andrew dubbed "The Copper Store" that I was not allowed to go into. PS. It's actually called The Brass Exchange and I wish I had listened to him!

Afterwards, Mrs. Kisz and I visited Johnny and Virginia (and Zoe!) at their condo down the street. Virginia bought/found all this old furniture, stripped it down, painted it white for the bedrooms and black for the living room, then distressed it herself using a sander to make it look antique. I got so excited and inspired!

We were all tired, so we had sandwiches for dinner and then vegged out in front of the television. Mrs. Kisz and I pulled another one of our up-all-night-having-girl-talk nights and I think we finally hit the sheets around 2am.

Saturday we had a nice breakfast out on the porch in our rocking chairs. The skies looked a little scary but we didn't let them intimidate us. We took a drive to Grandfather Mountain and drove to the top. There is a swinging bridge that connects two of the peaks and it is a mile high up in the sky. I got lots of beautiful pictures and Mrs. Kisz spotted me from one peak to the other and I think she got a couple great shots on her camera, too. I got another souvenir (these aren't for me, by the way - I don't really do souvenirs - a certain someone who wished he/she could've taken the trip will be surprised when he/she sees the little souvenirs I picked up) and then we headed halfway down the mountain. There were animals in their natural habitats - bears, cougars, eagles, otters, and deer - and a historical/nature museum. Again, lots of great pictures that I will post as soon as I get the right equipment!

All the driving and sightseeing finally caught up to me and I passed out in the car on the way back to Beech. We stopped at Lowe's so the Kisz's could buy a new grill because theirs hadn't survived the trip from Florida. Then we stopped at Fred's General Store and picked up a bottle of North Carolina Scuppernong wine, delish! Johnny and Virginia ironically invited us over for beer and wine because they knew I was leaving in the morning, so we visited with them for an hour or so. We went home and Mr. Kisz grilled streaks and Mrs. Kisz made another fabulous dinner. We all went to bed early.

I woke up sad knowing I had to leave and my body insisted on being tired, but I knew I had a long drive ahead of me so I tried to get moving at a reasonable hour. Of course that didn't happen but we had a big breakfast and they helped me load up the car. Rags went swimming that morning, for the second day in a row. Now let me explain: Rags hates water. Hates baths, hates being sprayed or splashed, hates puddles (avoids them at all costs on walks) even hates when I take baths because he thinks the water is going to hurt me or something! Well Beech Mountain has a stream that goes along the entire walkway and Riley loves going in it. I think Rags got curious and started wanting to walk along the water on the first night. On the second day, he got brave enough to take a drink for the stream and decided it was good water and took lots of drinks from it. He got his paws wet and tried to get a drink from this little waterfall, but fell in and got wet. He didn't seem to mind that much. By Sunday he was all about it. He went in way over his head and swam around like a dog is supposed to! He secretly loved it but was trying to act all nonchalant about it. I was sad to put him in a car for 14 hours but knew he would love being around Shaggy (my dad's dog who is from the same dog parents as Rags, just a different litter) and going up to our lake house.

I got in the car around noon. After I took the "scenic route" off the mountain, I got into the center of Beech Mountain, then Boone, and then eventually got on 77 north. That led to 81 north in Virginia, which I was on forever. It also goes through West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It rained the whole way minus West Virginia, which of course we are only in for a half hour. Then I got on 84 east which was the worst road ever, literally. Potholes everywhere, no lights, trucks driving way too fast, constant construction meaning only one lane open. I wanted to cry. I also wanted to give up for the night and get a hotel, but I was so close (yet so far) so I hauled the last three hours as quickly yet safely as I could. After 14 straight hours of driving, I got to Longmeadow only to find my parents' house, and the entire neighborhood, without power after a lightning strike. My dad met me outside at 2am with a battery-powered lantern and helped me with my bags. Within ten minutes of pulling in the driveway I was passed out in the guest room. All the Red Bull and coffee was making my mind race and my body jitter, but I was so exhausted that I passed out anyways.

Power came back on around 5am and the air conditioning came with it. It's pretty hot here so that was nice but I had to get out of bed and turn it down - it was too cold! Around 7:45am the dogs woke me up wanting to come cuddle, so I got up and checked my email for the first time in almost 20 hours. I had an email from 6:30 Sunday night from Andrew, letting me know he arrived safely in Israel that morning and had spent the entire day at the beach. He's now seven hours ahead, so that means he wrote the email at 1 something in the morning so it must have been a good, full day :) We probably won't get to talk much over the next few weeks but hopefully we will both be too busy to notice.

I should be tired, but I'm not. I think I still have so much caffeine in my system. My body is tired but I can't sleep. I am going to stay in bed for a few hours just to relax. I still have to watch Army Wives from last night. I'm going to see if Jason or anyone else from the Springfield Falcons, my old job for those of you who don't know, wants to get lunch later. I am excited to see my mom when she gets home from work because she was obviously sleeping when I got home and I was sleeping when she got up this morning.

Tomorrow Bryan and I are going out on the boat as long as it's nice out and then going to Mohegan Sun and staying over for the night. There will be lots of pictures and another update after that!

Life's a Beech

Well I made to to Beech Mountain. The drive wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. We left promtly at 4am, stopped around 6:30am in Turner County, Georgia for a short break where I called Madrid only to find out at 12:30pm over there, classes had just ended for the summer and everyone was at the bar celebrating! What a life! We got to Norcross (Atlanta suburb) at 9:15am and I got to Beech around 2:30pm after another Spanish phone call, several pit stops, and a tank of gas for $3.74/gallon in South Carolina.

Their house here is gorgeous. The air is so clean and cool. We took the dogs for a walk around the hiking path and then had dinner out on the balcony. Andrew called us on Skype so we all got to talk to him through the computer and we even got to see his new Umbro soccer - I mean futbol - shirt on the webcam.

I don't know how, but I never slept from 3am-11 something last night. Now of course I'm exhausted but we are going down into Boone for lunch with some friends of the family, including Johnny and Virginia who also live in Dunnellon November-May. We are going to call Andrew because we don't get international service up on the mountain. He's leaving for Barcelona soon and then flying to Israel tomorrow for two weeks, then going straight to Pamplona for the running of the bulls. Sick!

Bryan called me last night to tell me his mom could get us a hotel room at Mohegan Sun, world's largest casino which happens to be in Connecticut, Monday or Tuesday night. Yesssss. Free drinks all night and no one has to drive home! So depending on when we get it, I might leave here tomorrow instead of Sunday, but we'll see. Probably not :)

I forgot the cord to upload my pictures from my camera, but I'll get one when we're in town or as soon as I get home. I've already taken so many!

It's a Dramamine dream

Actually, unlike the lyrics of "Little" by Something Corporate, I took Benadryl. So I could sleep. At 8:30pm. And it's working.

I am getting up at 3am and getting on the road by 4am. Hopefully I will be in Beech Mountain, NC by dinnertime.

Please keep me, Rags (the dog), and Callie (the car) in your thoughts and prayers as we make the 600+ mile journey in the Southern heat. And Andrew, too! He is taking a bus to Barcelona and then flying to Israel for two weeks. My Jewfro is going to Israel!

I'm kind of a big deal

Not really, but my press release did make it to the main page of the University of Florida Web site. It's the "Heartsaver" one under the InsideUF header.











And this is proof that I actually got credit for it, unlike most PR interns (our bosses usually steal our byline).













Now back to working hard... or hardly working? :)

It's a long trip alone...

...which is why I'm glad the UF College of Journalism and Communications Graduate Program is coordinated by a woman as spectacular as Jody Hedge. Not only does she forward our roommate ads, job postings, and other random classifieds to the entire list-serv, she is saving me from driving 1/8 of my trip alone.

A journalism student about to graduate from the Masters program needs a ride to Atlanta so she's going to come with me on Thursday. I've never met her but Jody gave her the stamp of approval so she'll be my co-pilot on the five hours and 330-ish miles from Gainesville to Atlanta. She's going to give me money for gas, which I guesstimated that it'll take us an entire tank of gas, so $30 or so each. I'm more thankful to have someone in the car with me (other than Rags of course) from 4am till around 9am than I am concerned with the money.

I bought fabric and a pattern to make an apron today. If Mrs. Kisz can, she said she will help me sew it. If not, my mom will have plenty of weeknights to teach me while I'm home. The fabric is a gorgeous black and white toile. I am going to be a real Southern woman, cooking and baking in my kitchen in an apron! Hahahaha... me... a woman... that's hysterical!

Long Live Redbox

Since I am used to being spoiled by Andrew's ability to download any movie we want before it even comes out on dvd, I have been forced to give in and go to the movies and/or rent them like normal people. In the past year (up until the past month) I've seen three movies in the theater - Atonement, Charlie Wilson's War, and Jumper. In the past month I've seen Iron Man and Sex and the City and rented 27 Dresses, PS I Love You, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Bucket List, SemiPro and I have No Country For Old Men upstairs waiting for me for when I'm done watching the new episode of Army Wives tonight. A normal person might go broke renting all of those movies but I am Redbox's best customer. Whoever decided that dvd rentals should only be $1 a day is a genius. The end.

Another "It's Official"

It's June 20th which means it is officially summer. Really? I thought it was summer three months ago when we started seeing the temperature in the 90s every day. So now I guess it's acceptable for it to be this hot?

Happy summer... bah humbug.

Damn you Sunshine State!

I'm completely fed up with Florida. Maybe it's because my best friends aren't here. Maybe it's because I am anxiously awaiting my trip home next week. Or maybe it's because I have had a whopping three weeks outside of the state in the past year and it's time for a break. Either way, I'm sick and tired of the heat, the obnoxiously slow pace of life, and the goddam fire ants.

Last night I went to the post office to send a hilarious greeting card to a certain friend in Spain. It was late at night so I brought Rags, because he loves car rides, and used the automated machine to print an international stamp. We got in the car and were heading to the brand new McDonald's they built across the street from my apartment (baaaad news!) to get a McFlurry as motivation to finally sit down and write my final paper for Summer A. As I'm driving, I realize I've been bitten by a fire ant and it hurts like a very bad word. I could feel two places on my foot where it bit me and I literally stopped in the middle of the road to scratch it. It kept getting worse and worse after I got back home. I got all heeby-jeebied out thinking there were more all over me and then I realized there had to be, because I was getting bites all over. I mean, all over. I jumped into the shower but it wasn't helping at all. I started to get really warm and when I got out, I realized I had hives from head to toe. They weren't bites - they were hives. I'm talking everywhere... scalp, neck, ear lobes, armpits, stomach, chest, back, butt, arms and legs. My ears started to close up and I could barely hear and my ears were on fire. I called my mom even though it was around 10pm and I knew she was in bed. I told her I was going to drive myself to the ER but to call 911 if I didn't call her within five minutes. I knew something bad was happening and I honestly didn't think I could make the five minute drive to Shands. I did and as soon as I walked in, my throat was closing and they took me in immediately. I guess my blood pressure was so low that I was going into anaphylactic shock. I don't really remember what they did but I know I got benadryl and some other histamine blocker and lots of Gatorade (of course folks, we are in the birthplace of it). I stayed until around 3am and don't really remember driving myself home but I ate Doritos apparently... the crumbs are in my bed along with a half-eaten bag, now completely stale. I laughed when I woke up and saw that.

Turns out I am deathly allergic to fire ants. I guess it makes sense, because we don't have them up North so I've never built up an immunity to them. I have to carry an Epi-pen wherever I go now because it's such a common insect. I have to go see an allergist sometime just to be sure, but that costs a pretty penny so I'll wait till I have good insurance come mid-August.

It was scary being alone in the ER, but somewhat ironic. A few months ago, I had a meningitis scare that sent me to the ER and I had to be admitted. I was really sick for about a week and Andrew waited on me hand and foot. A week later, he got an abscess that got infected and he had to go the VA ER and then it was my turn to play nurse. Well last week he got another one and waited three days before going to the hospital in Madrid. He made the smart decision to tell his dad just in case anything happened, but made him promise not to tell his mom and he didn't tell me either. Good thing, otherwise we both would have worried ourselves sick and probably hijacked the first plane over there (because I'm weird and don't own a passport - yet - so I would be forced to take drastic measures). He's ok now, but sure enough, one week later, I'm in the hospital. It's clockwork...

Early x3

I realized I only work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from now on, and already took next Friday off to start the trek home. So that means I have all day Thursday to... to what? There is nothing to do in Gainesville during the day except rot by the pool. Anyone who knows me knows I am far too anxious for this trip to sit around all day by the pool when I could be well on my way. So that's just what I'm going to do! I'm going to leave next Thursday, June 26th same time (4am) and either spend an extra day/night in North Carolina or give myself an extra day to travel from NC to Massachusetts or just an extra day at home.

I also got splendid news yesterday that Kayla, one of my new roommates for next year, is going to move in two days earlier than planned. She thought she could move in on August 2nd, but the new lease at the apartment she is living in now starts on the 1st, so she has to be out by the 31st. I hope the girl, Michelle, that is living here for the month of July can be out by the 30th, but if not then we are going to have a very busy Thursday. I'm excited because Kayla is awesome and I am looking forward to finally having roommates that I get along with and that pick up after themselves and respect the common areas. It's been the year from hell as far as living styles go this year but I am optimistic that Kayla and our other new roommate, Christina, will be kickass people to live with.

Aaaand as if all that earliness good news wasn't enough, bff Christina is moving back to Gainesville from Baton Rouge a day earlier than planned! She has been there all summer interning for Exxon and she was supposed to come back on August 7th but now she'll be back on the 6th, woohoo!

Now Andrew just needs to come home from Spain early and my life will be complete...
Just kidding. He won't and I don't want him to. Europe is way too awesome and Gainesville is just not cool enough to come back early for. I mean, yes, I'm here and who wouldn't want to have me back in their life earlier than planned? but this is a once in a lifetime experience for him and I'm doing my best not to be jealous and bitter :)

It's Official

Well, I finally told my boss that I am taking time off for my trip from Gainesville, Florida to Longmeadow, Massachusetts. My family and friends are so excited to finally see me for more than a few hours. I got to go home for Memorial Day weekend, but I was in my cousin Jill's wedding so I only got to see Jason and Amanda for a few hours (pre-gaming and bar-hopping around Springfield, of course). Andrew and I got to spend a day and night in Boston with Juls, but that's never enough time with the bftf or in the greatest American city! And I only stayed with my parents one night out of the whole weekend and saw them for about three hours when they took us out for a Maine lobster dinner.

So needless to say, I'm ready for some quality time back home. I figured what better time to do it than while most of my Gainesville friends have left town for the summer (Andrew to Madrid, Christina to Baton Rouge, Stef to Ohio) and while the Florida heat is taking its toll on my hair and on my energy level.

Rags and I will be making the 2760ish-mile trek together in my 1997 Cavalier, sans air conditioning. Yeah, it'll be brutal. But if I can survive driving with the windows down in Gainesville bumper-to-bumper traffic every day, I think I can handle driving on interstates going 70mph.

We are leaving on Friday, June 27th around four in the morning. I don't want to drive at night or during rush hour, so hopefully we can drive all day, making plenty of pit stops to get out and stretch. I'm packing food, treats, water, and plenty of iced coffee and Red Bull, so hopefully all I will need to buy on the way is gas.I am hoping to arrive in Beech Mountain, North Carolina around dinner time. Mapquest predicts it'll take about ten hours to get there, but we have to add time for rest breaks. I have never driven more than three hours by myself, so this oughta be interesting. Beech is where Andrew's parents live from June-November and I hear it's a gorgeous area in the Blue Ridge Mountains just outside Boone, where the Appalachian State campus is. I'll stay there for a night or two before getting in the car for another 12+ hour drive to Massachusetts. That is the leg that I probably won't be able to do in one attempt - I'll probably have to get a hotel or at least pull into a rest stop during the day and take a nap.

I am so excited and cannot wait to get in the car and go! I still have one more day of class, one 10-page paper to write, and four more days of work to get through, but it'll make my trip that much more worth it!