Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my father’s birthday and because of that, my post today is dedicated to him. This is slightly ironic because my dad is a pretty private guy and I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m nuts for blogging about my life secrets. (Although if my previous posts are my life secrets then my life is pretty boring. I still have some secrets :) ) I don’t even think he reads my posts, however I can always count on my mom to print them out and badger him until he does!


Although there are many to choose from, I’ve picked a few of my favorite memories with my father over the years. Enjoy!

I used to work for my brother in my brother/father’s pet store. One day I was going about my business when I noticed a pet carrier sitting on a shelf in a rather odd place. I looked in the carrier and found the cutest gray and black kitten. I knew my dad would know what to do so I found him and told him about my discovery. He looked surprised, thought about it for a few minutes, and then suggested that I call my mother to see if we could bring the cat home for the night so that we could clean him up and find him a home. I was to emphasize that it would only be one night. I called my mom, pleaded, and was ecstatic when she said yes. We took the kitten home and after a bath, he was white and grey and super cute. Of course the kitten stayed for more than one night. He stayed for years. Years later I learned that someone had found the kitten and brought it to work to see if they could find a good home for it. My dad had set the whole thing up, knowing that my mother wouldn’t tell me no. Pretty sneaky!

We had just moved into our new house in AZ and my parents came out to help us unpack. I had purchased these amazing, huge clock hands that were meant to hang on the wall with numbers placed around them. Mr. C and my dad were in charge of putting it up. I had painted wooden numbers for the 12, 3, 6, and 9. The clock was going up pretty high on a wall so Mr. C put up the letters from the ladder and my dad told him when they were positioned correctly. After instructing Mr. C on how to put up the last number, my dad said something to the effect of “good, now it looks like they are all windblown.” Apparently he thought it would be better if the numbers were not level. Mr. C was terrified (his wife can be a bit picky sometimes). This perfectly describes his way of doing things. It might not make sense to you but it sure is interesting! We've never changed the numbers. I guess I like looking at them and knowing how they came to be offset.

Every birthday he calls to sing me happy birthday. He used to wake me up singing this in his most off-key voice. This year he sounded pretty good. He better be careful or we'll start to think he actually has a good voice! My birthday song is always one of the highlights of my birthday. I’m not sure if anyone sings to him so we better get on that!

I can’t possibly end this without mentioning my wedding. At the rehearsal my dad was joking around. When it came time to hand me over to Mr. C at the rehearsal, he kind of veered me in the right direction and walked away, acting like it was no big deal. He had agreed to read a poem (something that still shocks me to this day) and made jokes as he was reading. The next morning flew by and before I knew it, it was time to walk down the aisle. My dad looked very stern and seemed to take a little bit longer handing me over this time. As he began his reading later in the ceremony, I was shocked to hear his broken up voice. I’ve always seen my dad as a loving but strong man who doesn’t really let anything get to him. For some reason, that just pulled at my heart. My dad hates pictures but managed to go through all of the crazy wedding photos with a smile…or half smile towards the end. The whole day just reminded me how much he would do for me. One of my very favorite moments was the bride/father dance. It’s a moment I believe I will remember vividly forever.

So, Happy Birthday to my wonderful father! I’m so lucky that God sent me such a wonderful father and I celebrate that on your birthday.

Ghettoish

I go through a lot of phases for everything imaginable.  I have phases for food, working out, TV, sleeping, hobbies, and a bunch of other random stuff I just can’t think of at this exact moment.   My favorite (and Mr. C’s least fav) phases are my word phases.  I like to modify/make up words (as you may have noticed on here).   I’m hoping that if enough people read my blog and my made up words, my words will soon take over the world and then I’ll eventually be able to publish them in Centner’s Dictionary (similar to Webster’s Dictionary).   Actually, one of my wonderful friends (and her son) also makes up words so the dictionary name should probably be modified to include her name as well.  Then we will both make tons of money and quit our jobs and live off the revenue from our world renowned dictionary.  Ok, maybe I’m being a little hopeful.  In any case, the point is that I love modifying words and get stuck on certain phrases.  I use them until I simply get sick of them, realize they are dumb, or someone is threatening me to stop.  In college, I had a period where I added “and a half” to everything.  I think of my friends said it first and it I loved it.  Example:  I can’t wait!  I’m excited and a half!”  “This blog is awesome and a half!”  You can probably see how this would get annoying over time.  Annoying and a half actually.  Now that I’m writing this I do see how dumb this really was... luckily that phase passed….  Then I had a phase where I said I was confused when I just didn’t know what I wanted.  I wasn’t confused per se but it was just easier.  Example:  “I don’t know what I want for dinner, I’m confused.”   “Which bag do you like best?  I’m confused.”  This drove Mr. C crazy as well.  Apparently I’m good at that!  My newest thing has been adding “ish” to words.  Example: “It’s coldish in here”.    After hearing “ish” used with times so often (“meet you around 5ish”), I guess it just grew on me and I’ve been using it in new contexts.  In the writing of this post, I also realized that I add “ness” to words also.  I even have a category for my posts entitled “randomness”. 

 I once was going to teach high school English.  After reading this post you may be grateful that I am not.  However, if I had taught high school English, I could have taught the kids my words and they could have helped me in my plan to make them known worldwide, therefore contributing to the need for the Centner Dictionary.  Too bad that didn’t work out.

This next part really has nothing to do with the first section of this post, other than that I used an “ish” word at one point in the story, found it mildly entertaining, and therefore decided to share this story with you, random as it may be. 

I’m sure you’ve received an email about the People of Wal-Mart at one point.  As much as I LOVE those emails (If you’re not smiling by the end of them, then there is something seriously wrong with you), I do not love Wal-Mart.  I know that Wal-Mart has some great deals but I just can’t get into it.  It’s huge, overwhelming, and sooooo busy.  I’ve always been a Target girl.  I love the wide aisles, clean white décor, and peaceful shopping (unless there is a tantrum throwing kid but then I’m just entertained so it’s ok).   I go to Wal-Mart maybe five times a year.  The majority of those trips are around Christmas because my father loves Wal-Mart and so I sacrifice going so I can get him a gift card.  I’m not really sure why this elicits more than one trip, but somehow we seem to go numerous times around the holidays.  The remainder of the times are to look for something I know I can only find there or to get something I know is cheaper there.  Usually there has to be substantial savings to justify parking, walking a mile from my car to the store, wandering through the store to find my item, and then waiting in line forever to pay.  Anyhow, this weekend I needed to get something there.  We were out running errands and had a couple of locations to choose from so we were discussing which one would be best.

Me: Ugh, I have to go to Wal-Mart for something.

Mr. C: Ok, which one do you want to go to?  (We have about three fairly close to us)

Me: How about the one at location #1?  Location #2 is always so busy and location #3 is too ghettoish (meaning not completely ghetto but not somewhere I’d really hang out alone at night). 

Mr. C: Location #3 is too ghetto?  So you’re saying you’d like to go to location #1?

Me: Right.

Mr. C. : Okayyyy….so instead of going to the “ghetto” location we’ll just go to the one where someone was shot.  That’s way better (said with sarcasm).

Me: Right, but it’s not ghetto. (wink)

We did go to location #1, where someone was shot (although that was years ago!).  Of course we were fine and I made it through another Wal-Mart adventure.

Have I mentioned yet that my logic isn’t always easily understood?

2 Grad Students

This is part of our conversation last night.  To give you a back-story, I was freaking out about something and then trying to figure out if I was overreacting, with the help of Mr. C of course because he’s just lucky like that.

Me:  Do you think I'm weird?  Do you think I'm dumb?  Do you think I'm lame?  (All said super fast, so fast that it slurred together – and no, not slurred because I was drinking)

Mr. C : Wow, one question at a time.

Me: Am I weird?  

Mr. C: Yes, but you're always weird.  I knew that when I married you.

Me: Hmmm.....ok yeah. (I figured there was more ammo to be used to prove this theory than to argue against it so I figured this must be true)

Me: Am I dumb?

Silence….. (I later found out that the silence was due to Mr. C being in the middle of a drink.  That's what he says anyhow....)

Mr. C : (Sigh) No.

Me: Am I lame?

Mr. C: No.

Me: K, thanks for clearing that up.  I’m okay now.

These are the types of discussions that occur between two grad students.  I thought grad students sat around and talked about the theory of relativity or politics or global warming.....  I wonder if I should be concerned about us?

I'm 25 but it's ok. I'm dealing. Part 2

On Friday we woke up early, ate breakfast, and arrived at Disneyland just as the doors were opening.  The walk was quite uneventful and I somehow managed to avoid hitting my hand on any pillars so we were already off to a great start!  (Mr. C made a point to dramatically throw himself in front of me as we were walking by the evil pillar that had attacked me the day before.  I thought about hitting him at this point but figured it would hurt my hand.)  I had remembered to bring my Minnie ears and wore them proudly on our walk to the park.  I actually wore them on the way TO the park so I received a lot of strange looks as we were crossing the street in front of our hotel.  I think Mr. C may have been embarrassed but he went along with it.  I may be 25 but I still act like a little kid in Disneyland.  I honestly believe it is the happiest place on earth and I intended to show my enthusiasm!  

When we walked in there was a HUGE Mickey pumpkin which we immediately ran to (or maybe it was just me running?) to have our pictures taken.  The picture taker asked if we were celebrating something and when we said yes (hadn’t specified what), he proceeded to call us the bride and groom.  We didn’t want to disappoint him so we went along with it.  I guess we looked like newlyweds?

After our photo op, we ran over to our favorite ride, Space Mountain.  It had been converted to “Ghost Galaxy” for the Halloween theme.  A sign stated that the ride may be scary for young children.  Based on my ability to be terrified easier than a five year old, I was a little worried that the ride might not be suitable for me.  Luckily it wasn’t too bad and I had Mr. C to keep me safe.  I did scream a little more than normal but so did the girl behind us so it was okay!  We rode “Ghost Galaxy” twice right away which was pretty smart because those two times ended up being our only chance to ride  due to the insanely long wait (85 minutes) and the high demand of fast passes.  Even though we only made it a couple times, it was definitely worth the wait from the day before! 

Over the years we’ve become pretty awesome Disneylanders.  We’re become experts at planning things and now that we’re actually aware of how the fast passes work we take advantage of them.  While we’re on the topic, let me tell you a little bit about fast passes.  We used to watch people with fast passes and think that they were wasting their money because they weren’t willing to wait in line.  I’m pretty sure we even laughed at them.  It was especially funny when the lines were short and people STILL used their fast passes.  What morons.  One day we found out that fast passes were free.  Oops.  I guess we were the moronic ones!  Now that we understand the process we’ve incorporated the fast passes into our awesome plans.  I am the planner, deciding where we should run to next and where we’ll go for our next fast pass.  After reading my posts you might be frightened to learn that I would be put in charge of anything but I assure you that I can be a responsible person!  I might be making us run all around the park but it’s effective and we always make it to the rides we want.  Lucky for me, Mr. C is the navigator since I’m directionally challenged, even in Disneyland.  We ran around that morning from one end of the park to the other, taking full use of short lines and riding as much as we could.

We’re like children in that we start to get cranky at a certain point of the day.   It usually hits around early afternoon and we end up going back to the hotel for a nap.  Around 12:30 I was tired, cranky, and hungry so we went to Downtown Disney for some pizza.  After lunch we walked around the shops for awhile and I finally convinced Mr. C to buy a hat!  Super cute huh?  He got A LOT of compliments (and stares!).  We finally made it back to the hotel but only had about 30 minutes for nap since we had to be back soon to use a fast pass (see – awesome planning!). 

We spent the rest of the afternoon jumping on and off of rides and having a blast.  We left for a quick dinner where a wonderful woman gave up her table for us.  She was done but still…she cleaned up and everything.  Who does that?  I’ll tell you who does that – people in Disneyland!  Why you ask?  Because it is the happiest place on earth!  I fantasize that it’s amazing to work at Disneyland.  What could you possibly get yelled at for there?  For being too amazing?  In all honesty I’m sure it’s not all fun and games but I like to pretend it is.

On our way back into the park we stopped at one of the shops.  The woman at the counter asked if we were celebrating anything and when I told her it was my birthday (well the day after but she didn’t really need to know that!).   She gave me an button that said my name and that I was celebrating my birthday.  Let me tell you, this button was AMAZING, maybe even magical.  People EVERYWHERE wished me happy birthday.  Literally – everywhere.  I went to the restroom and on my way into a stall someone yelled happy birthday.  It was awesome!  Mr. C even got one saying that he was celebrating too so we got lots of “happy b-days” yelled at us.  It made the happiest place on Earth even happier.  I didn’t even know that was possible.

Around the end of the day we made it to the teacups which are my all-time favorite ride.  I know they aren’t thrilling or scary but I love them!  I love the Chinese lamps hanging above them, the colors of the cups, and the fact that I get to spin around in them.  Because I love them so much, Mr. C usually takes A TON of pictures when we get on them because apparently it’s where I look the happiest.

We ended up leaving around 11:30 which is a little earlier than normal.  Usually we’re in the park until around 1 but apparently we’re getting old.  Is this what 25 does to you?!?  Maybe it was just the lack of sleep….  I had some very comfy shoes but even with those I thought my feet were going to fall off.  Mr. C refused to carry me (imagine that!) back to the hotel so I somehow forced myself to walk.  I asked if I could just lie on the hotel couch and have someone use the luggage cart to deliver me to the room but he looked at me like I was nuts.  I assumed that was a no.

Since I seem to love lists and randomly insert them into my posts, I’m wrapping up with a list of what you should have learned from this last post:

1.      If you’re ever planning a trip to Disneyland and need a crash course in becoming an awesome Disneyland planner, then we’re your couple! 

2.      Fast passes are FREE!  For anyone who did not know this – you are welcome!

3.      The “Celebrate” buttons are magical and you should go to all lengths (minus stealing one from a kid) to get your hands on one.

4.      Having a fun hat makes for a fun day.  See above picture if you don’t believe me.

5.      Naps are essential!

6.      Disneyland ROCKS!!!!

I'm 25 but it's ok. I'm dealing. Part 1

Just because you're lucky (and apparently I have a lot to say which is a shocker since I'm usually so brief), there are two parts to my Birthday weekend.  I can feel your excitement from here! So take a breath, sit down, and enjoy part one: 

My mother was one of those moms who tried her best to make events special.  Our house was decorated for almost every holiday, even the little ones.  My birthdays were always special because my mom planned them that way.  When I grew up and moved away to college it was up to me to make my own birthdays special.  I began to realize that it was harder than it sounded!  I’ve had some great friends who made the day special for me with surprise parties, dinners out, and surprise visits, however this year I wanted to plan something extra special for myself. 

I turned 25 on September 16^th.  While I wasn’t too happy about the number because now I feel that I’m closer to 30 which for some reason just isn’t cool (you round up once you hit 5, ya know!), I was happy about the actual day!  Mr. C asked me what I wanted to do and I couldn’t think of anything.  Then I remembered that I could get into Disneyland FREE on my birthday!  I absolutely LOVE Disneyland.  Don’t even get me started on Disneyland at Christmas time.   That’s just the best thing EVER.  Literally – EVER.  Don’t even try to think of anything better because you simply can’t.  Anyhow, I figured Disneyland on my birthday would be amazing so I started searching online for registration info.  I searched and searched and after coming up empty handed, finally emailed someone.  Apparently the getting in free thing was only last year.  Oh crap.  By that point I had my heart set on Disneyland and had requested the time off so we figured what the heck, let’s go anyhow!

We arrived in Anaheim late Wednesday night, planning to get up early for Disneyland the next morning.  Thursday morning I woke up super excited, ready for a fun day at Disneyland!  After showering I rummaged through my suitcase and realized that I didn’t even bring along the shirt I had planned to wear.  While this was not the end of the world, I was a little frustrated since I hadn’t really brought extra clothes and it was so early to be having issues already.  I picked another shirt and after breakfast we headed over to the park.  I’m a pretty clumsy person and I tend to simply not pay attention to what I’m doing.  With this in mind, please try not to lower your opinion of me when you read the next sentence.  On the way to the park, I ran into a giant pillar.  Now, Mr. C knows that I don’t pay attention so I still maintain that he should have been looking out for me!  Regardless, I hit my hand on the pillar and it hurt so bad I started to believe I had broken it!    I held it together and we continued walking even though my hand was throbbing.  At one point I started to believe I had actually broken something since the pain was not going away.  We arrived at Disneyland and paid for our tickets.  That’s when we saw the sign that said Space Mountain was closed for the day.  Incase you are unaware, Space Mountain is like the best ride in Disneyland.  At this point  I wanted to sit on the ground and to cry like a little kid.  I forgot my shirt, my hand hurt, Space Mountain was closed, and it was my birthday!  After asking around, we found out that Halloween officially began at Disneyland the next day, which is why the ride was closed.  I wasn’t sure I wanted to miss out on Space Mountain but it was my birthday and I was supposed to send it in Disneyland!  After some debating we decided to swap our Thursday and Friday plans which meant that we’d head to Hollywood instead.  I didn’t really have a clue about what to do in Hollywood but we decided to check out Grauman’s theatre and the  Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

We headed off to Hollywood, a drive that seemed to take FOREVER!  Mr. C was super sweet and let me nap on the way there.  By the time we arrived, my hand was a little sore but much better.  We parked and made our way to the theatre.  After spending about 30 seconds looking at it, we decided we were done with that attraction!  The Hollywood Walk of Fame took about 10 seconds.  Although it was cool to see the stars with names and all that, it would have been way more exciting if there was a star with my name on it!  Since that wasn’t realistic, we decided to find something else to do.  We spotted Madame Tussaud’s Museum, somewhere I’ve always wanted to go, and decided to go for it.  The museum was pretty cool!  At first it was just creepy because the figures looked so realistic.  It took a couple seconds of serious staring to figure out if the figure was an actual person or the wax figure.  We got some great pictures and had a lot of fun.

By the end we were starving and headed to a cute little flatbread restaurant where we had the most fun people watching.  People in Hollywood are just plain WEIRD!  At this point, we realized that we were over Hollywood and decided that the beach was a great idea instead!  The only problem was that we had no suits, towels, or shorts.  The clothes we did have were in our hotel room, over an hour away.  We figured the most logical thing would be to run to Target, buy some stuff, and then head over to the beach.  Target was only a few miles away but it took about twenty minutes to get there.  Once there we were overcome but the awesomeness of the 3 story store.  I don’t know if you have been to a mulit-level Target but it’s pretty amazing.  They have escalators….wait for it…..FOR YOUR CARTS!!!!  OMG!  I don’t know who thought this up but it’s the coolest thing ever!  The shopping was a little harder than we had anticipated though because apparently it’s Fall now and people don’t go shopping for beachy dresses, suits, or beach towels.  I ended up with a tank top and some workout capris and Mr. C got a super wrinkly white t-shirt and some plaid shorts – not exactly beachwear, but it was the best we could do!  We ended up buying some bath towels (because apparently beach towels are not a year round item!) and then headed to the attached mall to find me some cheap flip flops.  Apparently flip flops are also no longer in season?  I wear flip flops for 10 months out of the year so I’d like to talk to whoever decied this.  Whoever you are, listen up – flip flops are ALWAYS in season, therefore stores must be stocked with them ALWAYS!!!  After flopping on the flip flops (did you catch that?!?), we decided to just head over to the beach with what we had.  Mr. C thought it would be weird to change in the Target bathrooms so instead we changed in the parking garage.  In the car.  Because that’s not weird at all, huh? 

Finally we were ready and set out for Venice Beach which like everything else, was a much longer drive than expected.  We arrived around 4:30 and it was FREEZING!  It may have been cold but we were at the beach, so we were happy.  We sat in the sand together and watched the tide come in.  We watched the birds running out of the water when the tide came in, and laughed at how they never learned the predictability of the water.  It was actually the best part of my day.  The second to best part was watching this guy and his girlfriend.  They walked down to the water in their jeans, sweaters, and scarves.  I’m not exaggerating here.  It looked like they were in the arctic.  The guy had a plastic bottle and after watching him throw it in the ocean numerous times we realized that he was trying to fill it with water.  Mr. C and I were cracking up.  We thought about helping him but honestly it was just too funny.  He would throw it in the water but then the tide would come up so he’d run back because of course he couldn’t get his feet wet!  The tide would go down then and the bottle would be empty because it had basically been floating on the top.  Finally the guy found a surfer and asked him to get the water.  Mr. C and I were laughing hysterically by this point.  We were trying to not be rude but it was just so hilarious.  I can only imagine what the surfer thought.  We have no idea what the water was for but this guy was ECSTATIC once his little water bottle was full of water!  He added a bunch of sand to the bottle so perhaps he wanted to make his own beach?  Either way it was hilarious.  So, thank you mystery man who made us laugh until we cried!

Finally it got too cold and we decided to take off.  We drove back to the hotel and got ready for dinner.  We walked through the lit up trees to Downtown Disney and ate outside at a wonderful Mexican restaurant where they sang to me and we tipped more than we ever have because the service was simply amazing.  I wish I could show you pictures of the delicious food but I simply cannot remember to take a picture before I start eating. I did think if it at the end but by that time I had devoured the fish tacos and only had beans and rice left.  I just assumed you didn’t want to see a picture of that.  You’ll have to take my word that it was just amazing.  After dinner we walked around, shopped, and just enjoyed the weather, music, and fountains.  My 25^th birthday was nothing I had planned it to be, however it was even better.  It was the perfect day to remind of a couple invaluable lessons I’ve learned over the years:   

1.       Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and be flexible

2.       Spontaneity makes for the best days.  Even if something doesn’t work out, the planning and anticipation is sometimes the most fun.

Don't Shoot the Ceiling!

My birthday is this week (the 16^th to be exact if you’d like to send me a ridiculously expensive gift!).  To celebrate, one of my wonderful friends and her boyfriend took Mr. C and I to the shooting range for the first time.  I’ve never shot a gun before and for some reason had the urge to do it sometime during my lifetime.  I didn’t really want to go to a class (because I’m a wimp and didn’t want witnesses to that) so I figured it would be awhile.  Imagine my surprise when my friend tells me that she’s gone before and would take me (this girl is quite talented – she told me about 5 minutes later that she crochets too.  Shoots and crochets, what a catch! Lol!)!  So, that became my birthday request.  Weirdest gift ever but one I asked for!  Luckily, this friend knows about my fears of about EVERYTHING and how dramatic I can be so I was excited that she was the one taking me and therefore would understand when I acted scared and dramatic!

I couldn’t believe how loud it was at the range, even with ear plugs and my super sexy ear muff thingies.  The floor seemed to shake with each shot.  That was pretty cool because it matched my shakey hands!  Of course I understood that asking to be taken to the shooting range would constitute me actually shooting but when we got there I suddenly wanted to “just watch”!  Of course, my friend wasn’t having any of that!  She seems to be good at making me forget my fears temporarily.  Of course, when I go home and start thinking about the scary movie she made me watch with her, the fear always comes back! 

Before I tell you how that went, let me share another story with you.  Don’t you love this – the way I can just stop in the middle of a story to go off on a random tangent?  Mr. C has to deal with this ALL the time.  Just be grateful that you only get this sometimes!  Ok sorry, back to the story.  When I was around twelve or thirteen I began trying out/practicing for the town’s fast pitch softball team.  You should know up front that I have never been a person who was good at or even really enjoyed sports.  Most likely this is due to my lack of coordination. Or perhaps my lack of coordination is due to my lack of participation in sports?  Either way -  sports + Mrs. Centner = bad outcome.  It was winter which meant that I had to practice inside.  I met one of the trainers a few times a week to practice pitching.  I’m sure he hated the days that I showed up.  We practiced in a hallway with nothing between us but one light bulb and a lot of space.  Somehow I managed to hit that light bulb every single time.  I wonder how much they spent on bulbs that winter.   When springtime rolled around, we found out that they could only keep 1 of the 3 pitchers.  I’ll let you guess who the first one cut was.

So, now we’re back at the shooting range.  Before paying we had to read over and sign a statement saying we understood the rules, etc.  The rules detailed many things but included that shooters should not be shooting the floor or ceiling.  Fines would be assessed in these cases.  Now, knowing my past history (see my random story DOES fit in!), I was terrified that I was going to shoot the ceiling.  Then I imagined the guy in charge would rush in, drag me out, and fine me!  I didn’t have much time to worry about this though because after “just watching” for a few minutes, my friend gave the look that meant I better stop being a baby so I decided it was time.  After asking about ten times if I was good to go, I finally shot.  Holy cow, it was loud and had a little more kick than I had expected.  I’m not going to say that I was good but I did manage to hit the paper thingie that was meant to be shot!  I was just so happy that I hadn’t shot the floor, ceiling, or wall!  It was pretty fun after I got over my fears, although I think that any of my semi-good shots were purely luck.  The gun kept jamming, but apparently only for me.  I think it could sense my terrifiedness!  We were lucky we had such patient people with us at least! So while I don’t plan to be shooting anything ever, at least I can say that I have now.  Thanks to my awesome friend and her BF!  Too bad that’s not on my 101 in 1001 list! 

Obviously she did MUCH better than me.  Not only did she not hit the ceiling but she actually hit the X...or pretty darn close to it.

First days suck

With school starting, it got me thinking of my first days of school.  I’ve had a lot of first days, about 20 years worth with grade school, high school, college, and now grad school.  Many of my first days were uneventful but three in particular I will remember forever.  Just because you’re super lucky (and obviously super smart since you read my blog!), I’m going to share these three days with you.

First day of Kindergarten

I was excited and scared about starting my first day in Kindergarten.  As a side note, why is Kindergarten such a hard word to spell?  Little kids can’t even spell their grade level correctly.  I can’t even spell the grade level correctly.  Luckily spell-check and I are BFFs so it’s all good :)  Our teacher had sent a puzzle piece to every student as a sign of how we each were special, together we created a class, and some other cheesy but very creative stuff.  I arrived at school with my puzzle piece in hand, excited to put it in the correct spot.  My teacher led me to the puzzle, I found where my piece belonged, and turned around to show my mom how smart I was.  I looked for her….and looked…and looked….and realized she had left me.  What a terrible trick! I cried like a big baby.  Now years later I realize that the puzzle piece concept was a big ruse to distract the children so their parents could leave.  While it was brilliant, it didn’t help much with my abandonment issues! (check out an earlier post of other  abandonment issues)

First day of High School

It was my first day of high school.  I was awesome of course because even though I was a freshmen, I was a freshmen in HIGH SCHOOL.  Now, it’s important for you to understand that I am what many call “directionally challenged”.  I get lost ALL the time.  When we moved last year I had to use my GPS to find our house for two weeks.   I should add that we had only moved about ten miles further from where we had previously lived.  I think I get this from my dad - he’s even worse than I am if you can imagine that!  Mr. C says that I just don’t pay attention.   I think I would have to agree with this although there are times that I really try and just have no clue where I am.  Either way, I have issues with directions.  Lucky for me, my high school was small.  My graduating class only had 56 students which I’m told is crazy tiny.  Apparently the school wasn’t quite small enough for me though and I kept getting lost.  My best friend had to tell me which way the cafeteria was for over a week.  It must have been pretty obvious that I was a freshmen because I had my schedule out (pretty sure it was in a plastic protector actually) accompanied by the look of utter confusion.  I asked for directions all day long and finally thought I had things figured out by the end of the day.  I headed off to my last class, English.  The teacher passed out the syllabus and I was surprised to notice that the other students in my class were sophomores.  I knew I was smart but dang, at that moment I realized that I must have been brilliant to be a freshmen with so many sophomores!  As the class went on, I checked my schedule and realized that apparently I was supposed to be in history at that moment.  I had misread my schedule and it was actually the second to last period of the day, not the last.  At that moment I realized that maybe I wasn’t as brilliant as I had thought a few minutes earlier!  I didn’t want to say anything and look stupid so I just sat through the class.  Afterwards, I told the teacher I had been in the wrong class.  She laughed and told me it was fine.  My friends joined me in class and I told them the story.  I figured that would be the end.  I was wrong.  When she handed out the syllabi, she announced that I should already know everything in there because I had incorrectly read my scheduled and attended for the prior class as well.  I’m sure she thought it was funny and not a big deal but I was mortified.  Everyone looked at me, I turned red, and waited for the earth to cave in and take me along.  Of course that didn’t happen and I survived.  I never went to the wrong class again though!

First day of college classes at the Tempe campus

I began my college career at ASU West, a nice little campus with about 8,000 students.  After my first year I switched my major to interior design which required that I attend classes at the Tempe campus which had closer to about 60,000 students.    The town I grew up in had a population of around 20,000 people so it was to be expected that my directionally challengedness (yes I did just create a word) would be an issue on the bigger campus.  I had a great plan for the first day.  Since I didn’t know where to park and hadn’t bought my permit yet, I decided that I would simply park in visitor parking for the first day.  I had a map and knew exactly how to reach visitor parking so I figured that my plan was flawless.  I arrived at the parking lot and discovered that my plan was so great that apparently every other student had decided to do the same thing.  The lot was packed.  I drove around the block only to find “no parking” signs everywhere.  I called Mr. C and started freaking out as only I can do.  I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t want to miss the first day.  I had driven 45 minutes to attend my class and I needed a solution.  I started crying (sounds like Kindergarten all over again huh!).  Mr. C was at the West campus and of course had no way to help me.  I’m not sure what I thought he would do but I have a lot of faith in him sometimes.  Unfortunately for him, many of those times are situations that really have no solution, such as this one.  Eventually I gave up and drove back to my dorm.  I was very worried that my professor would have noticed I was gone.  I considered emailing him but ended up opting to talk to him after class the next time instead.  When I FINALLY made it to class, I saw a huge lecture hall full of 400 students………..I assumed he hadn’t missed me!

After the parking debacle, I realized that I needed to get my permit ASAP.  I parked in lot 59 on my second day, the largest and furthest lot away from the campus.  I had heard there were buses to drive students from the lot to the campus.  I waited with all the other students, again assuming that there would be one bus.  The first bus pulled up and hardly anyone got on.  I assumed that wasn't a good sign so I waited with the other students.  Everyone seemed to flock to bus #2 so I figured I'd give that a try.  I knew it was better than walking because that would be a surefire way to get lost, plus it was 110 outside and I'm not a fan of the heat (yes, I also question why I picked AZ when I HATE the heat!).  I'm not sure why I didn't research the bus thing a little more but I had no clue what I was doing.  The bus made several stops and no students got off.  Finally, a big group of students got off so I figured I should too.  I guess I was all about jumping on the bandwagon that day!  I get off the bus, walk for about a minute and realize that I'm the luckiest person ever because I'm standing right in front of the building I had been looking for.  It's too bad getting back on the bus wasn't as easy.  Do you remember how I said that Mr. C thinks I don't really pay attention sometimes?  I had been in such a hurry to get off the bus and find my class that I had no idea where to get back on the bus.  I asked one of the girls from my class and she stated that she didn't know where the bus stopped but she had parked at the meters and would be happy to give me a ride to my car.  Yes, I know taking rides from strangers is never a good idea but she was so nice, and I was way bigger than her so I figured I would be ok!  She drove me to lot 59 and I realized that the amount of cars had quadrupled.  Apparently there were 4 different sections of lot 59 (to help people locate their cars easier) and I hadn't a clue which one I was in.  We went up and down what seemed to be every aisle.  This girl was amazing because she didn't complain, just drove.  Now that I think of it, I don't remember seeing her in my class again so she probably dropped it just so she'd never have to give me a ride!  I starting have visions of waiting on campus until midnight when I could come back to an almost empty lot and find my car.  Then, a miracle occurred!  We found my car!!!!  I had never been so happy to see my car!

After writing this, I realized that apparently transitions are not good!  That’s when everything goes downhill for me!  

So, here are the lessons that the first days of school taught me:

1. Don't be fooled by games or fun stuff on day 1 - it's probably has something to do with being abandoned.

2. Don't put your schedule in a plastic protector sleeve.  Not only is it not efficient, but you'll just look like a moron in the process of getting lost.

3. Being in the right place at the RIGHT time is way underrated.

4. Don't assume things will work out!  We all know what happens when people assume!

5. Check on bus info, parking, and building locations BEFORE you get to where you are going.

6. Pay attention to where you parked your car!

7. Online classes are the key to avoiding all of the above issues.  Since I began taking classes online, I haven't been abandoned, gone into the wrong class, or missed the first day.  I’m thinking that I’m off to a good start!

Good luck to all the other readers taking classes!  

Superpowers

Popeye has spinach, Superman has the sun, Ironman has his suit, and I have Mt. Dew. When I drink Mt. Dew it's like I'm Superwoman. I can get an insane amount of tasks done. I'm awake, happy, and productive. It's amazing! Let me give you an example:


Night without my magical Mt. Dew:
Take a leasurely drive home with the idea of making dinner once I get there. Walk in, change clothes, kiss Mr.C and play with Coconut (our super cute puppy) for a few mins. Decide that dinner sounds super challenging and decide to pick something up. Argue about where to get food from. Get food. Eat. Think about doing things but in the end, really just watch TV until it's time to go to bed.
Night with my magical Mt. Dew:
Drive home while singing at the top of my lungs and talking to drivers around me (they can't hear me of course). Announce I'm home, kiss Mr.C and chase Coconut around for awhile. Prepare a delicious dinner. Eat said dinner. Clean up. Make lunches for the next day. Cut up fruit for smoothies the next morning. Clean the bathrooms, kitchen, and living room. Cut Mr. C's hair. Work on random stuff for a couple hours. Watch a little TV because I'm still SUPER awake. Go to bed at midnight. Wake up and realize I need my magical Mt. Dew to get me through the next day. Repeat.
I go through soda phases where I won't drink any for awhile and then something happens like the first week of school, finals, a road trip - something that requires superhuman strenth to avoid exhaustion. That's when the Mt. Dew comes in. Because I don't drink it often, the caffeine has this amazing effect on me that turns me into the Superwoman mentioned above.
This past week I was Superwoman. I was sleep deprived, overworked, and beginning to feel the familiar tug of exhaustion. That's when I fell off the no Mt. Dew wagon. As wonderful as it was, Friday was my last day of the wonderful Mt. Dewness. Now I'm going back to normal life. My second semester of grad classes started this week. I'll be working full-time, taking 12 graduate credits, taking care of my house and husband, and now blogging. I figure if I don't give it up now I'll be hooked for the rest of the semester. So, I'm saying good-bye to my superhuman powers for awhile. See you around finals time!
 
So, what give you your superpowers?  If anyone says "love" I'm going to barf.