Last weekend...

...was pretty crazy in a busy, theres-a-lot-of-stuff-going-on kind of weekend.

Friday night Josh and I went to a Washington D.C. to watch the Padres play the Nationals. It was so much fun going to a game again. We ate ballpark food, cheered for our team and got to sit right next to the Padres bullpen and watch Trevor Hoffman warm up! It was good times.

We had to leave at the top of the 11th so we wouldn't miss the last metro train but the Padres won 11 to 6 in the 14th inning. You go Padres.

Pictures here.

Sunday was Memorial United Methodist Church's 60th Anniversary Homecoming. Grandmama, Josh and I went along with a large chuck of Mommy's side of the family. Uncle Tim, Uncle Sandy and Aunt Gibby, Aunt Winn, my cousins Bill and Stacey and their daughters and of course Uncle Alex and Aunt Marjorie, Charlotte and Curry. There were so many people and so much food.

During the service, which lasted two hours, I played a few songs, the Montez family sang (they are very good), Sandy talked about what was going on in 1948 when the church was started, a former pastor spoke about the church 10 years ago and then Fred used motorcycles and lawnmowers as metaphors to talk about the future. It was a great service and the food afterward was equally amazing.

It was a busy weekend but it was fun and a good break from the normal school craziness.

The Collegian is slowly taking over my life...

...and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

Especially when my story is on the front page two weeks in a row!
Week 1 Week 2

I'm writing a story every week for Practicum which takes up a good chunk of time with all of the research and interviews and then finally the writing. Then on Monday and Tuesday I spend a few hours in the office getting some of my pages together. Then Wednesday I am in the office from 7 p.m. until we finish the paper. Last week we set a record by getting out at 1 a.m.

And yet I am enjoying the work so much that it doesn't feel like work. Sometimes the lack of sleep catches up to me but that's what naps and weekends are for. Like last night when I slept for 12.5 hours.

Busy, busy, busy...

Wow... The first three weeks of school have flown by and I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing and I would kind of like to keep it that way.

Nothing all that new or exciting has happened since my last post, just a lot of work. I did just recently add a new class, Journalism Practicum. I met with my adviser and we decided I needed to take the class so that I can have some clips to help me get an internship this coming summer. The class only meets once a week and basically it's the feeder of reporters for The Collegian. So throughout the semester I have to write nine stories for The Collegian (most have to write more but since I'm on staff they cut me some slack). I've all ready written one for the first issue and I am working on a story about students changing their voter registration to Virginia and how that will affect the presidential and local elections. It's proving to be quite interesting and I think I've discovered that even though I really don't like politics, I like to write about it.

I also got my loan money finally! Yay! Now I can pay my rent, which is always a good thing. And of course do a little shopping...

This coming week will be a little different and fun because I am going to the I-Club (International Club) Social on Thursday. It's always at a local club in Richmond so it should be good times. I don't know if having a social life will be very conducive to good study habits but whatever... Sometimes you just gotta dance.

Growing Up

My little girl is growing up...

From the first day I saw her...

To now.


She still drives me crazy with her puppy energy but then I look at all the pictures and I snuggle with her while we take a nap and it's all OK. I guess this is just a little glimpse into what it's like to be a parent. That is, if your child is a 50 pound dog that can't talk...

First Week of School

It's only the first week and I am tired... But it's been a good busy week.

I started classes on Monday with Photojournalism at 7 p.m. That is going to be a fun class with a medium amount of work which is always nice. And I have an excuse to buy a really nice camera!

Tuesday I had Copy Editing at 9:45 a.m. We already had homework to turn in and were given a bunch more for Thursday and the next Tuesday. That is going to be my hardest class with the most work. Yet it is going to make me a better writer and have a skill that is in high demand in the journalism world so I guess I'm OK with the work load. After Copy Editing I had Rhetoric and Public Address. Basically its a speech class. I'm a little nervous about it but the professor seems very good at what he does and I want to be able to become a better speaker so there ya go.

Wednesday I didn't have any classes but it was time to get back to work at The Collegian. We put out our first issue of the year that night and it turned out pretty well. It only took until 3 a.m. so we're off to a good start. And now we have Martin to help us out. Martin is Emily, our Features editor, new Miniature Schnauzer and he is adorable! Whenever I need a break, Martin is there to keep me company.

I wrote an article for this weeks issue which you can see here.

Thursday I had Copy Editing and Rhetoric again and then the practicum for Rhetoric. I had to give a surprise speech, as did all the other students, and we we're definitely nervous but it went well. We got some good pointer from out TA for our first speech that we have to give on Tuesday in class. Thursday night we had our first CSF event of the year, Coldstone! What better way to get people to come to your group then free food and ice cream?

After Coldstone I attended the Democratic National Convention Viewing Party and watched Obama's acceptance speech, asked a few people what they thought and then wrote an article for The Collegian online. The new website is awesome, very well done.

And now it's Friday. No classes today either, which is awesome. But a lot of homework to get done for Monday and Tuesday.

And of course throughout the week I've been doing homework, hanging out with friends and Josh. You know, trying to have a social life. And it's been storming and raining all week. All in all it's been a good week and I'm glad things are going again.

I need a nap.

The New Apartment

It's official! I am moved into a new apartment in Richmond, roughly 10 minutes from school. It is a nice place with a large living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms and a full bath. I'll be living there during the week and back in Charles City with my Grandmama on the weekends. This will definitely cut down on my commuting time and gas costs. Now I'll have more time to do my homework! Yeah!... :\

So far I have bedroom furniture and we have a coffee table and a few dorm chairs in the living room. Tomorrow we're bringing over a couch that Grandmama is letting us take from her house.

This should be pretty sweet.

The Beach House

I do love vacation and the beach so having them both at the same time is pretty sweet.

Grandmama, Charlotte, Leslie, Curry, Josh and I started driving down to Oak Island, North Carolina on Tuesday. We were having a pleasant drive but weren't exactly sure where we were, thank you Map Quest (not!). When we reached Wilson, NC Grandmama smelled burning rubber and realized she didn't have much control over the van so she pulled over. Josh, Curry and I were following in Josh's car so we pulled over behind her and got out. That's when Josh spotted the black smoke coming out of the van's front driver side wheel. So we called the fire department and about 10 minutes later there were two fire trucks there and a bunch of firemen with their water squirter to put out the not-so-flaming flames.

About half an hour later a tow truck came and picked up the van and we followed it the Dodge dealer in Wilson. They told us it was the caliper and that they would need to keep it for a few days. So we rented a newer version of Grandmama's van and headed for the beach house!

We got their just fine but a lot later than we intended. The rest of the week we spent on the beach sunbathing, swimming, reading, watching movies and various other vacation-y type things. Grandmama's sister and her husband, Aunt Winn and Uncle Eddy, were already there.

Josh stayed until Thursday morning and drove back to Richmond to get back to his house sitting job. While he was there we all watched "The Princess Bride" he bought just before coming. When he left Curry kept it and watched it three more times until Uncle Eddy told him he wasn't allowed to watch it any more. I think it's time to buy him his own copy and get the kid into some fencing lessons. His new goal is to be just like Wesley which won't be too hard, except for the fact, as Curry pointed out, that Wesley had blond hair.

We also took a trip to Surf Cinema and watched "Mamma Mia!" and it was awesome. It had all the right elements: comedy, romance, drama and lots and lots of singing and colors. Good times.

The day after that we took a trip to the Leaky Tiki where we had homemade ice cream and sang a little karaoke. The girls and I made Curry get up with us once and sing "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Poor kid...

It was a great relaxing trip and I wish we could have stayed longer but it was time to get back to the real world. I definitely look forward to going again.

See the rest of the pictures here.