Saturday, August 27, 2011

Procrastination at its Finest

To say that I have some reading to do would be an understatement. My first week of grad school was great but I can tell it’s going to be intense. I love to read...however, not required reading. But I suppose that’s how it usually goes. So here is procrastination at its finest. Blogging :)


While reading about the pathways of the Central Auditory System which goes something like this, Cochlear Nucleus-->Superior Olivary Complex-->Lateral Lemniscus-->Inferior Colliculus-->Medial Geniculate Body-->Auditory Cortex and Subcortex-->Corpus Callosum...(are you lost yet? Yea me too), my mind started to wander.

I started to think about my time here in Gainesville, not Florida, but specifically in Gainesville. I’ve only been settled here for about two weeks and I’ve already met so many people. Most of them are acquaintances and will stay acquaintances but some will become more than that..they will become my friends. All friends start out as acquaintances but not all acquaintances become friends. Acquaintances are people you say hi to and have polite conversations with...friends are much more than that. They are people you know, like, and trust. So how do we move from being just acquaintances to becoming friends? That’s easy..we invest time into the relationship. It’s not a specific amount of time but a regular amount of time. Making new friends is pretty easy but keeping up with old friends can be challenging.

I’m learning quickly that grad school is going to be one giant time sucker and I need to utilize my time wisely. I might not be able to talk to friends from NC everyday but I can keep in touch. If I don’t then they will slip into the acquaintance category. They need my time just as I need theirs.

This whole concept works just the same for my relationship with God. The past year I’ve had a lot of time to read His Word, to pray to Him, to talk to Him, and to worship Him. Now that the majority of my time is spent in a book or a clinic I refuse to let my time with Him slip. God will never be in my acquaintance category. Nurturing and furthering my relationship with Christ is of most importance. To help me do this I’m actively searching for a group of people who feel the same. I’m looking into several different bible studies and community groups. I like the church I’ve been attending and really like CRU and the people I’ve met there. I can’t wait to see where God places me and meet the people that will draw me closer to Him

Proverbs 18:24



Tuesday, August 2, 2011

On the Move

Finally have some time to sit down and write something. My move to Florida has been a crazy busy one for sure. It’s been nonstop everyday but my sister needs a few hours to do some school work before we head back to Universal Studios so I’m taking advantage of this time to write as well. Here is an update on my crazy beautiful life. Enjoy :)


We started the move on my birthday July 29th. We left at 5am and this wouldn’t have been so bad but we didn’t get to sleep until 1 am! I’m not very good at packing...somewhere along the way I’ve picked up the idea that the best way to pack is to throw everything into large trash bags and shove them into the trunk count to 3 and then slam it shut. This is not a good method when you are trying to pack up your life and move it a long distance so I wouldn’t suggest it to any of you. Thank God my step dad is much better packing than I and we were able to fit the essentials. My dad is going to bring the furniture and everything else I couldn’t fit on the 13th.

If I didn’t already know it I’ve learned on the drive here that I’m REALLY stubborn and just about as impatient as I am stubborn. Jim and my mom were in one car and my sister and I were in another. I was following Jim until I couldn’t stand any longer how slow he was driving. He wasn’t driving below the speed limit or anything he just wasn’t driving 5 over like I wanted to so finally I got fed up and passed him. I figured I had a GPS just as they did so there was no reason I couldn’t lead the way. Well it wasn’t too long before I was proven wrong...my GPS for some reason took us down ALL country roads for about 100 miles. How annoying...and who knows how much longer we would have been on those roads if I didn’t come to this stop...




Yes its exactly what it looks like...in the middle of the woods...only way to cross the river was by this small ferry boat that held 1 car at time...NO WAY was I going on that...it looked like something straight out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Jim pulled up beside me and my mom rolled down her window and said “Will you do the speed limit now?!” hahahah we got a good laugh out of it and they took the lead once again but this time Jim went a few over the limit so it worked out. I shouldn’t have been so impatient and just followed to begin with.
These magnets I found in Orlando describe me perfectly hahahah.

We arrived in Gainesville around dinner time and unloaded the car and then got back in and headed to Clearwater where we stayed the night. I love the place I’m going to be living in, in Gainesville. It’s a super cute 3 bedroom 3 bath condo.. My roommates mom did a great job decorating it...I wish I was that talented.

That night I was so exhausted..exhausted to the point of tears. Running off of 4 hours sleep and driving 13 hours is NOT a good combination. Everything was so frustrating that I’d just break down and cry. But its my birthday and I can cry if I want to right? Right. That night was rough but it has gotten better since then. The next day my sister and I drove to Orlando and spent the day with one of my new roommates and her bf in Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK) and Hollywood Studios. We had a great time and it reassured me that we are going to get along well and have a nice living situation this year :) I’ve also grown a little founder of the Animal Kingdom. DAK was my least favorite park but its moving on up in my book. At studios Mickey Mouse heard it was my birthday and wanted to give me my frozen lemonade for free!! Thanks Boss! I was really thirsty and that drink was just what I needed :) I love magical moments in Disney :)

Can you believe even after living at Disney for 6 months I still haven’t seen everything?! This trip I’ve crossed off several more things on my Disney to-do-list. I rode the Dinosaur ride for the first time in 10 years, saw a show under the tree of life, got my picture taken with Woody, and saw movie in a Dine-in Theatre in Downtown Disney. Boys...the dine-in theatre would be a nice place to take a girl on a date. You might think its lame but she won’t. I really enjoyed eating and relaxing in recliners while watching the new Pirates of Caribbean movie. That night we had my birthday dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. If you haven’t ever been there you should go! It’s quite an experience. The entire place is set up like a rainforest will animals, rainstorms, and everything. The food was great and I got a sparkling volcano cake for dessert. Thanks mom.

Yesterday we went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was amazing but entirely too crowded. I think they need to make an entire theme park for Harry Potter just to dilute the crowd a bit. We had some frozen butterbeer while we were there and it was rather tasty. We also took a tour of the castle and rode the simulator ride. I now have a season pass so I’m going to wait for a later date to explore the rest of the park. Later today we are going to the other side of Universal Studios if my sister ever finishes her homework!!! It’s noon already! Geesh. I feel bad that she has so much work but I wouldn’t be much help to her.

Okay thats enough of an update for now but I start work again tomorrow!! Can’t wait to hang out with Minnie Mouse in Epcot. This is my favorite shift at Disney and am really looking forward to it. I’m scheduled several other shifts this week and a training class to update my skills. I’m sure I’ll tell you all about later. Have a magical day!!