Day Two-Hundred and Four

Karyn and I went to Walmart to have her tire fixed this morning. While they worked on it, we had breakfast at IHOP. When we came back they had only changed one tire. Frustrated by their inability to listen when we asked them to change both front tires so the wear patterns would be the same, we went inside and asked why they hadn't done it. Let's take a quick inventory of my knowledge. I knew the sound was something jammed in the tire, I helped change the tire, I told her to get two tires at the same time because of wear patterns and tire treads. So do I know a few things about tires? I'd say yes. Just because I wore girly shorts today doesn't mean you get to talk down to me. I appreciated his honesty about not needing two tires because the tread was only off by a couple 32nds and I believed his sincerity when he said he didn't want to rip us off. But the comments of, "Do you know what I am talking about?" kind of felt like a slap in the face. Karyn is home safely and that is all that matters.

Sorry for getting a week behind. Inconsistency is not my favorite thing but I seem to be practicing it a lot recently.

Day Two-Hundred and Three

The only time I remember riding the Amtrak train was one time to visit April at ETBU. Since then, I have not had any reason to ride the rails. My train ticket was only $28 for Reserved Coach. With $2 that I spent on Dr. Peppers, that was the cheapest trip I have ever taken. The cost of gas alone for driving my truck to Longview is $80! I ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches and people bought my meals the rest of the time. But is saving money always the number one priority? McGarvey would say no and I am leaning toward that side. The train was scheduled to depart at 8:30, but did not arrive until 10 past 9.

Tonight, I hopped in Karyn's car with her and April to head to the gathering. As we began our trip, I heard a clicking sound. I told them that we should check her tires to see if something was stuck. They did not want there to be anything, so they ignored the sound. As we continued, there was a loud sound as though we had hit a bump. Before getting onto the highway, Karyn pulled into the gas station to see that she had had a blow out. I told April to call Dad and let him know what had happened since they were behind us. Karyn and I worked to get the spare out of her trunk and change the tire. Dad ended up doing a lot of the work as it began to rain. Long story short, we drove to town going 45 mph and made it safely. Karyn said she didn't know what she would have done if I wasn't there, so I want to say thank you to Mr. Matt and my Dad for teaching me how to handle this situation.

Day Two-Hundred and Two

My only reason for being in Longview this week was to help with EDGE. I told Jenni at the meeting Tuesday night that she should just fill me in wherever she needed anyone. She did just that so I have been very busy these last two days. One of the last things was clearing out the floors of South Hall after all of the students and families left. During the school year, the third floor has yet to be used to house students. This summer it was used, but it still kind of gives me the creeps. I have seen too many suspenseful movies I guess.
Torn between the possible results of my actions, I whistled the whole time I was walking through the floor and picking up. You see, making noise helps the killer locate you and you can't hide easily so it may not be the best option. On the other hand, if you make noise, you could make anyone still on the floor aware of your presence and hopefully not walk in on anything you don't want to see. I did find someone in one of the rooms and it gave me a little startle. He was clothed and just packing, but since I thought I was all alone, it scared me. But not as bad as when the cicada flew into my face. I squealed like a little girl and wriggled until the moment passed. Oh summer time.

Day Two-Hundred and One

Oh the excitement as our campus was invaded by all of these new students! I met the parents first as I worked alongside Sarah handing them their name tags. I met a couple of girls who will be on my floor this fall and was able to spend some time with them. After dinner, we had games and I lead group 8 (I have always been with group 8 oddly enough). Megan, Adam, Ryan, Hunter, Alex, Gino, and I only won one activity, but we had a great time!

Right before bed I taught Taylor how to play Solitaire and do the Cupid Shuffle. These are things that people don't learn while living in Indonesia.

Day Two-Hundred

There are two orientation opportunities for new students to come to at LeTourneau. During the summer, EDGE is a two day event where they can get familiar with the campus, some of their fellow students, the faculty and many other things. A lesser percentage of students attend this event than arrive in the fall. I didn't go to EDGE as a freshman, nor did I help during the summer before my sophomore year. This will be my first time to be on campus during EDGE.
The second opportunity, New Student Orientation, starts the Thursday before classes on Tuesday. I went to NSO my freshman year and helped with it again my sophomore year by serving as a Themelios volunteer. Instead of Games, I will be helping with Signs and Packets during NSO. This morning, Tommy and I worked preparing packets for the students and their parents. Jenni had us doing several other things in preparation for EDGE which included me driving a golf cart! Oh how I enjoy driving golf carts!

Day One-Hundred and Ninety-Nine

I felt so bad that I skipped out on the summer reading club today. I called and made sure it was okay before I left town though. It was in my best interest to ride out last night so I could save gas money, but I really wish I could have been at the library today. I came to Longview because I am going to help with EDGE on Thursday and Friday. The thing about being on a college campus during the summer is that no one is around. The people who are, are in classes or at work and can't hang out during the day really. I know someone (staff/faculty) in almost all of the offices on campus, so I visited the people who are here year round. At the meeting tonight, I will sign up for tasks to help with the summer orientation. I'm super excited to meet some of the new freshmen this week!

Day One-Hundred and Ninety-Eight

In 20 years I have driven at least 20 different cars. If you include every year of my life, it's an average of one car per year. But, if you only include the years that I have legally driven, then it is 4 cars per year.

1. Bobby's Chevy Blazer
2. Mom's First Buick LeSabre
3. Mom's Second Buick LeSabre
4. Dad's Jeep Grand Cherokee
5. My Ford F-150
6. Granny's Dodge Caravan
7. Granny's Kia Rio
8. Elise's Honda Civic
9. Cecilia's Honda Accord
10. James' Toyota Tundra
11. Barry's Lexus RX 300
12. Barry's Lexus RX 350
13. Leslie's Lexus RX 300
14. Laurie's Lexus RX 300
15. Laurie's Hyundai Elantra
16. Bill's GMC 1500
17. Sheila's Chevy HHR
18. Pam's Chevy Impala
19. McGarvey's Toyota Corolla      ........and drum roll please..........
20. Elizabeth's Saturn Ion

Elizabeth's flight came in at 12am, so I drove her car to pick her up at the airport and rode with her to Longview. 3am is now the latest I have ever gotten to Longview.

Day One-Hundred and Ninety-Seven

Maroon 5 has a song called "Sunday Morning."* I don't know what it is about, even after reading the lyrics.  I enjoy hearing it sometimes if I am in the mood, but I have never really listened to what it says.** It's not a big deal I guess, indifference to a song's meaning/lyrics really doesn't matter. But what if it did? What if deep down in the dark recesses of my mind I know all of the words to every song I have ever heard and I know the meaning of them all? What if all of the problems in my life that I can't explain or all of my irrational behaviors are a result of the music I listen to? Does that mean that changing the radio stations in my truck would solve all of my problems? Could listening to nothing but "Christian" music make my life better? I would say, "no." That is preposterous! Music is not the sole influence in my decision-making process. My problems come from my decisions I make and not the music I listen to. Next time you are in the car with me, remember this post and try your best not to judge my country, pop, or whatever music I choose that day. If I have to sit through evil sounding "Christian rock", which I hate, then you can sit through my non-threatening country.

* I used that song simply because it said Sunday in the title.
** There is a difference in listening and hearing, but we will leave that for another day.

Ps. I like the way that music and the voice of the singer sound, not necessarily the meaning of the song.

Day One-Hundred and Ninety-Six

I am a big fan of cycling. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I am a cycling enthusiast, but it does bring me great pleasure. The farthest I had ever ridden before today was from LeTourneau to Lake 'O the Pines which is a little more than 20 miles the way we went. Today, I went with some friends and rode around the North Texas Motor Speedway in Denton. I rode 6 laps around the 5 mile course making my new record 30 miles!

When you have that extensive of labor on a body part, you should always stretch. Yoga remedied any soreness that I could have experienced. Unfortunately, my pride got in the way of my health. I didn't want the electrolyte pills and suffered from severe leg cramps tonight. Water isn't enough apparently. You must have salts in your body as well. Lame sauce