The State of Us

So, almost three weeks ago now (how did 3 weeks pass already??) I graduated from Mississippi State for the second time.  This time I've been deemed a Master, but, I must admit, I don't really feel like a master of anything!  Sometimes it just seems that I know a little bit about a lot of different stuff, when isn't it supposed to be the other way around??
I was more emotional about graduation than I expected to be.  Honestly, I was more emotional throughout the process of graduate school than I ever imagined I would be.  As many of you have read/heard me say before, it was a bit of a three-year rollercoaster ride, filled with such highs and lows as, say, gaining a whopping 60 pounds and, to date, losing 20 of that; helping my mom through 2 knee replacements; moving out of my mom's house only to move back in two years later; making the best grades I've ever made; making great friends in my program, unlike my undergraduate degree where I flew solo throughout much of my schoolwork; and, finally, working toward an actual profession:  school counselor (as opposed to an English major trying (often unsuccessfully) to rationalize how I fit into a certain role).
Although I remain wholly baffled by the oddity of the costume outfit uniform costume graduates are required to wear, here's a few pictures from graduation.  I mean, seriously, why is it necessary to wear such a ridiculous get-up for such a meaningful and heavily-photographed day?  And that hat?  Don't get me started.

In the three weeks since graduation, I've thought a lot about my time at Mississippi State and in Starkville and all that it means to me.  Yesterday I went to campus to have some final paperwork signed, and, when I realized it was very likely my last piece of business as a Mississippi State student, I was really overcome with how much the university has meant to me over the past eight years.  So, in my usual way, I've made a list of all the things I love most about Mississippi State and Starkville.
Here we go....
101 Things to Love about Mississippi State University and Starkville
1.  Roadrunner tours
2.  Having class in Lee Hall with the windows up
3.  The Reveille
4.  The view from the top of the stadium
5.  The night route
6.  Dancing with the band at Mugshots
7.  The Reflector
8.  Listening to the chimes at the Chapel of Memories
9.  Cowbells
10.  Taking a walk on campus
11.  Maroon bikes
12.  Concerts at the amphitheater
13.  Finding the perfect study nook at Mitchell Memorial Library
14.  Bumping into your favorite professor at dinner or the bar
15.  Reformed University Fellowship in Dorman Auditorium
16.  The view from the M-Club
17.  Basketball at the Hump
18.  The smell of University Florist
19.  University Drive
20.  Celebrating in the Junction after a home game win
21.  "Energy bars" at City Bagel Cafe
22.  Maroon Fridays
23.  Daffodils blooming on campus in the spring
24.  Drinking beer waiting to set up tailgates
25.  Left Field Lounge
26.  Buying McCarty pottery at University Florist
27.  The Presiden't house
28.  Being the only person walking across the Drill Field on a gorgeous afternoon
29.  Watching the sunset on the Drill Field
30.  Old Venice Pizza Company after a football game
31.  Reading on the Drill Field
32.  Sunday lunch at Perry Cafeteria
33.  Easter Egg Hunt at the President's house
34.  The very beginning of a home football game
35.  The winery
36.  Watching the seasons change on campus
37.  Tailgating in the Junction
38.  Bulldog Bash
39.  Super Bulldog Weekend
40.  Sorority row at Christmas
41.  Shipley's donut holes
42.  The Drill Field
43.  Studying at Barnes & Noble
44.  The stories and legends of the university's history
45.  The maroon and white game
46.  Mississippi State birthday party
47.  "The only prescription is more cowbell."
48.  Game day polos
49.  Finals week at Mitchell Memorial Library
50.  The Drill
51.  Hail State
52.  Crawfish at the fraternity houses on Super Bulldog Weekend
53.  The Dawg Pound Rock
54.  Drinking wine in the afternoon at Bin 612
55.  Sorority row
56.  Going to a play in McComas
57.  Playing the piano at the Chapel of Memories
58.  Senior Celebration
59.  Who Let the Dogs Out?
60.  Going to the movies on a Friday afternoon
61.  The rose garden
62.  Seeing a concert in Lee Hall
63.  Sitting on my back porch and listening to bands playing in the Cotton District
64.  "You guys ready to let the dogs out?"
65.  The Jumbotron
66.  Cotton District Arts Festival
67.  State Fountain Bakery
68.  Spending the afternoon reading/studying at City Bagel Cafe
69.  The Cotton District
70.  Boys Bid Day
71.  The Egg Bowl
72.  The balcony at Mugshots
73.  Starbucks in the Union
74.  Brown bag pasta dinners at City Bagel Cafe
75.  Pancake breakfasts on sorority row
76.  MSU Choir Christmas concert
77.  Walking to campus on a home football Saturday
78.  Brunch at Restaurant Tyler
79.  Alumni Delegate maroon blazers
80.  Sushi at Umi
81.  Running to the sorority house on Bid Day
82.  Maroon Alerts
83.  Homecoming Parade
84.  City Bagel Cafe
85.  True Maroon
86.  Finding the perfect gift at Aspen Bay
87.  Rounding up maroon clothing from all over creation
88.  Seeing Dan Mullen running on campus
89.  The State spell-out
90.  The Dawg Walk
91.  Famous Maroon Band
92.  The Christmas tree in the library
93.  Game day stickers
94.  "From Dixon with love"
95.  The real bulldogs
96.  Maroon and white
97.  Mississippi State choir
98.  The Christmas tree in the Junction
99.  Blue plate specials at The Veranda
100.  Football at Davis Wade Stadium
101.  Bully
Man, I love Mississippi State so much. 
In other news, I'm hoping my favorite favorite American Idol contestant makes it into the finals tomorrow night... Come on, Scotty!!
Also, I'm off to Tuscumbia, AL, tomorrow to celebrate the nuptials of these two crazy kids:

I'm pumped to some of my most favorite people in the entire world (one of whom I haven't seen in a year-and-a-half), and I know it's going to be a great time.  I'm sure we won't tell any embarrassing stories on each other, take a single picture, or laugh so hard we disturb other restaurant patrons/hotel guests/general bystanders.
Yeah... right.

How Time Flies

I always think it's so weird how one minute you're in one place and, then, you turn around and, before you know what's happened, you're in a totally different place.  (I guess that's sort of what has happened on this blog, huh?  When last I wrote (2 unforgiveable months ago!) things in my life looked one way, and, now, things have shifted slightly.  More about all that another night, though.)  I always get that feeling really strongly when returning home from a trip.  It's just tough for me to process that, say, in the morning I'm in Chicago, but, by nightfall, I'm getting gas in my car at the Shell station a mile from my house.  How could such a transition come about so quickly?  How it happen that I blinked, and the magical became the mundane? I felt that way Sunday when I arrived home from New Orleans, where I had been for Amanda's bachelorette party.  It just didn't seem right when I pulled into my driveway that barely twelve hours before I had been dancing the night away on Bourbon Street.

Anyway, enough philosophizing, yes?

The weekend was great, and I had such a good time celebrating the upcoming wedding of one of my favorite friends.  We spent Saturday walking around the French Quarter and soaking up the culture that belongs solely to The Crescent City.  After a great lunch (shrimp po'boy, of course!) and some sightseeing, we laughed away several hours (and a few hurricanes) at Pat O's piano bar before catching the St. Paddy's Day parade coming through the Quarter.  
After a great afternoon, we headed back to the hotel to don our fabulous (read:  ridiculous) 80s paraphernalia and get ready to take on The Big Easy.  After a long dinner at Cafe Degas, we headed for--where else?--Bourbon Street.  I had so much fun laughing and dancing and people-watching with these fun girls, and our Madonna bride was definitely a hit (which is saying something for a city where everyday could be like Halloween!)! 

I was sad to see the weekend (and my Spring Break) come to an end when we headed home Sunday.  How could you not have a great time in a city where the group, including a pregnant girl, mind you, decked out in only the most hideous trends of the 80s is not even anywhere near the craziest thing you'll see?

In an aside before I close, please allow me to highly recommend a new restaurant I went to in Jackson Friday night--Babalu.  The place was sooooo good!!  Great atmosphere, great design, great, great food!  (I'm all for a restaurant that makes a huge batch of fresh guacamole right at my table.)  If you're in the Jackson area and haven't tried this place out yet, I highly recommend it.
Happy Tuesday!
 

Love Me True

Tonight I am thankful for reminders that true love still exists.  Lindsey and Ray, two of my favorite people in the world, got married last night, and watching them throughout the weekend served to remind me that true love is not a myth; though rare in this day and age, it's still out there.  Lindsey and I have been very close friends for about six years now, and, from the minute I met Ray I knew he was the one for her.  Lindsey is one of the most thoughtful, genuine, caring people I've ever met, and Ray is the perfect complement to her.  Seeing them together reminds occasionally bitter self-deprecating cynics like me that real, honest love is not always a farce created by Hollywood and Hallmark; it actually exists, and it's written all over their faces.  Every minute of the weekend was so "them," and it all came together so beautifully.  I am so thankful to have these amazing people in my life individually as my friends, and I am even more blessed to have loving, caring couples like them around to serve as examples and remind me what I'm holding out for.  I love you both sooooooo much, and I am so honored to have been a part of such a beautiful, wonderful celebration of your love for each other.

PS:  I promise to share pictures of the wedding in the coming weeks when the photographer gets them all edited and posted.  I can't even begin to do justice to this event in mere words, so I will hold out and let the pictures speak for themselves. 

In the Good Old Summertime

Ok, so I know it's barely even May, which is actually the last month of spring, but, for me... it's summatime!!

The semester has drawn to a close, and school is out for summer.  Can I get a whoop whoop or a fist pump or something on that one?
Last week I was seriously a lady of leisure, as I slept late, lounged around reading in the sun, and indulged in some of my favorite activities, including:
*****a shopping excursion all by my lonesome, which is sometimes my favorite way to spend a day
*****a massage, which--even though the girl who did it practically cracked my spine in half with her pointy elbows and her intense pressure--was wonderful, as always; there's really no such thing as a bad massage
*****sushi with some of my favorite ladies, telling secrets and hashing out the world's problems
*****a mani/pedi
*****a crazy fun wedding with some of my favorite people of all time--lots of inappropriate things were said, hilarious pictures were taken, and, I kid you not, we laughed for hours.  Early in the night, Boyce asked, "What's the main difference between tonight and high school?"  We all laughed and admitted, not much.  That would turn out to be more true than I imagined, as we are just as ridiculous as we were seven years ago (gasp!) when we were still wee high schoolers.

It was such a great, relaxing week, and I was pretty sad to see it go.  There's lots to do this week, though, as I am starting the slow-but-sure move home that will take place over the three months to come.  Last week, I received word on my placement for my internship (the last step in my Master's degree, a nine month/school year long experience) that I will start in August, and I will definitely be in a Lowndes county school, so... this lady is moving home.  I had some mixed feelings about it, which I will share with you another day, I'm sure, but today I'm feeling okay about it.  I'm saving a ton of money and living much closer to my job location, so it all seems to make pretty perfect sense.  Also, my mom will be undergoing knee replacement numero two just two short weeks from today, so I'm both mentally and physically preparing for that, as well.  More on that later, too.
Anyway, hope you all had a great weekend and your week is off to a great start.  A few things I'm loving right this minute:
Cute, lightweight nightshirts to keep me alive cool through these sweltering Mississippi summer nights.  (Yes, it's barely May and it's already pretty toasty.)  I miss my apartment ceiling fan already, and, even though I've only been home a mere week, I have already woken up drenched with sweat more than once.  Bring on the jersey knits and the cool cotton, I say.

Weight Watchers ice cream candy bars.  Whoa.  This is perhaps the best tasting diet food I've ever discovered.  It seriously tastes awfully close to a Snickers ice cream bar (really!) but with a fraction of the calories... and who doesn't love that?!  And, they're a reasonable size so you don't want to eat the entire box like you might with other somewhat-decent-tasting diet foods that look as if they were proportioned for Barbie and Ken to fill up on.  Give 'em a whirl... you won't regret it.

Happy summer, my friends!

One Week of Life

This past week has been a really great one.  I was planning to write this post over the weekend (yes, I sometimes often plan my posts...), but I was too busy doing fun stuff to stop and compose my thoughts.

I'll start with last Tuesday, when Lindsey and I headed to Birmingham to see John Mayer.  We started off with an amazing sushi dinner at Sekisuri Pacific Rim in 5 Points.  I love that neighborhood, and our sushi was delicious.

After dinner, we headed to the concert, which was so, so good--just as I expected.  I saw John Mayer in Memphis my freshman year, and he was just as fabulous as I remember him being.  Yes, he makes a lot of weird faces while he sings, and, yes, he has lots of tats, but I don't care.  I think he's gorgeous and super sexy.  I think he has mad, mad guitar skills.  I think his concert is the perfect chill concert.  In addition, he was super sweet to this couldn't-have-been-more-than-twelve-year-old girl who was front row center.  He kept talking about how cute she was and how she was singing along with all the songs; he gave her his pick, and he edited one song a little bit, saying, "I'm not gonna curse in front of you, cutie."  Although he didn't sing a few of my favorites, I found a fell in love with a few new favorites, namely Half of My Heart.

At the concert, however, I saw some funny stuff.  High school girls are funny to me.  First off, they were everywhere.  They practically ran over Lindsey and I walking into the coliseum, and I truly thought they were going to push us down getting inside.  Also, they were wearing the most fantastic clothes and taking millions of pictures with their Nikon/Canon super-nice cameras.  Seriously, when did this happen?  When did high school girls turn into sophisticated, self-assured, polished grown-up women?  My inner high school girl, complete with frizzy hair, ill-applied make-up, uncoordinated outfits, and nonexistent self-esteem, still cowers at the sight of them.
After the concert we had a little snafu finding the way home, for Bernice--my GPS--was determined to send us awry.  We outsmarted her, however, and finally got started in the right direction.  After stopping at a super scary, super ghetto gas station, we finally arrived home about 2:30 in the morning.
Wednesday morning I was blasted out of bed by the upstairs neighbor playing Pretty Fly for a White Guy at earsplitting decibels.  He becomes the bane of my existence more and more everyday.  The day was quickly saved, however, when I watched the most amazing episode of Criminal Minds, where Hotch pretends to beat the snot out of Reid so that they can distract an un-sub and Reid can shoot him between the eyes.  Wednesday night I finished the most amazing book, Garlic and Sapphires, and finally watched a true classic of American cinema, Rear Window.  Both were seriously awesome.
Thursday the talk was all about the weather.  Snow was expected for Friday, possibly ice, as well.  Of course, Friday morning dawned with no snow, which further solidifies my belief that meteorology is more a game of chance than a profession.  There was a little bit of snow midmorning Friday, but hardly even enough to make a proper dusting.  I did, however, manage to snap a few quick snow pics, just to document that we got anything at all.

Friday afternoon, I went to see Valentine's Day, which, for the most part, I really enjoyed.  After the movie, I was pretty much glued to the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which I simply couldn't get enough of.  I am not too proud to admit that I might have sobbed cried a little while watching it...

Saturday morning I headed to Columbus for the night.  I started off my visit with a manicure at Eden, which I thoroughly enjoyed because it was almost completely silent.  I am not one of those people who wants to chat with their manicurist, I just want to relax in silence.  Is that weird?  I followed that up with a fun lunch with some of my favorite hometown ladies, solving all the worlds problems and causing a scene in the restaurant, of course.  Saturday night Lindsey, Hope, and I went to an unbelievably fun engagement party for Florence and Mark.  The food and drinks were fabulous; the house and flowers were gorgeous; the company was spectacular.  I had an absolute blast.

Sunday mom and I went to a very nice shower for Florence, and I enjoyed a quiet Valentine's Day glued to the Olympics--my newest obsession.  I don't really understand myself, for I hate sports and have never really been immersed in the Olympics like this.  I just can't turn it off, though.  I have major crushes on Apolo Ohno and Graham Watanabe, and I'm sure I'll find a few more Olympians that catch me eye, as well.  I don't really understand why there are so many soul patches, though?  In addition, I wonder if there could be a more unflattering, unattractive costume outfit uniform for a woman to wear than thecomplete-with-hood unitard worn by speed skaters?  It is truly unfortunate.

Dude, what a random post.  

Happy Monday; hope you all have a great week!