Funny Story

At lunch today, I grabbed my climbing gear and went down to the wall to set a boulder route. As I was trying to negotiate a creative way across the crack, I remembered this funny story:

Senior year, Mitch and I went with a big group of Alma students to this job fair in Lansing. One company, Stryker, was doing short onsite interviews where they asked each candidate the same questions and decided who to call back for a more extensive interview. When the interviewer asked me to give an example of a time when I showed persistence in accomplishing a task, I told her about this one particular boulder route on our climbing wall (I believe it was set by Jon Naile and was called "Dr. Putz") and how I've been trying to master it for weeks now. Somehow, Mitch ends up with the same lady (there were about five different people interviewing students) and he gave the same example. He said she looked at him funny and told him he should meet this girl she just interviewed! He told her we were engaged. :)

Today's Thankfuls

I just got nailed for actually asking questions in a meeting. Apparently I should have gone to my coworker privately to ask questions about a new visit program that impacts the entire staff. So, because that sort of steams me, I'm rearranging my focus to those things for which I am thankful this week:

-Spending time at the lake with Kristy and Ray
-Attending our long-neglected church
-Taking a long, restful nap
-Eating dinner with my grandparents, aunt, and cousin
-Watching TV with my favorite quilt and, because he loves the quilt so much, my favorite cat
-Falling asleep as the "little spoon"
-Hearing a few or my favorite songs on the radio
-Knowing God is with me always

Brief Update

I have 500+ postcards awaiting my signature, but I haven't really updated in awhile, so here goes.

-The freshmen move in on Saturday and my OCs are sailing thorugh their training week. So far, no big drama. Hope it stays that way.

-Enrollment is low and now that everyone is back on campus, Admissions might as well wear a bulls-eye t-shirts so everyone knows where to aim. It hasn't been too bad, but everyone keeps asking, "How are you guys handling everything over there?" Um, we moved on from this class a month ago and are busy preparing strategies to make sure next year's class is better. Our job is more complicated than you think.

-Last weekend at the dunes was awesome. A truck flipped over and we watched a Hummer right it, but not before the DNR got there to issue tickets. No one's insurance is valid out there, either.

-I love all my friends dearly, but sometimes I want to smack some of them upside their heads and make them realize all they have to be thankful for. We all fall in the trap of wanting to throw the occasional pity party, or spend time questioning whether we are following the right path. But that's different than calling yourself a failure for all of cyberspace to read. Suck it up.

-Rum does not cure the common cold. I tried that last night and the experiment was not successful. Someone pass me a Kleenex before a sneeze all over my computer!

-I got this insane craving for a fall bonfire earlier this week. Crisp air, crunchy leaves, that autumn smell...I want it all, with some hot apple cider to top it off!

That's all - sorry it's so choppy.

My Chipper Cat

Vicky and Dan have posted a few photos of their terribly cute kitties, and even though Chip is not a kitten anymore, he still does some goofy stuff, like thinking he can go on our climbing trip with us just by sneaking into my pack...

Signs?

Someone is trying to tell us we should not ride our bikes anymore. Riding the Potowatami Trail on Sunday, Bobby and I broke our chains and Mintch broke the ziptie that held his brake cable in place. Yesterday, as Mitch began his ride to Alma after work, he broke a spoke on his wheel. Hmmmm...

In other news, though, the Alma climbing wall is pretty much ready to go. We busted our butts for four hours last night and got holds on most of the wall, plus hung all new ropes. It looks hot, and now we're just trying to set some routes. Finally!

My new friend

This weekend, Mitch and I had a great time playing with a little girl named Jenna. She's a cute, blonde pixie of a girl with a contagious laugh, and glowing smile, and the ability to charm everyone around her. She had Mitch chasing her, me swimming with her, and both of us playing hide and go seek until we ran out of places to hide.

You'd never know it, but Jenna's very sick. She has a genetic disease called PKD, which basically means her liver, kidneys and spleen are enlarged. In most cases like hers, infants don't live more than a few hours, but she'll be five in October and is doing very well. You can read her story here.

Waiting...

...for my group of families to get done with their tours so we can eat lunch. In the meantime, I might as well post, just for fun. It's been a relatively mellow week around here. I got a tetnus shot on Monday that prevented much physical activity for the first few days, but on Thursday I started working with our new rec center director to get the wall up and running. Joe, a climber who's been here all summer, took all the holds down and ran them through the Saga dishwashers. The new director ordered all new ropes, shoes, biners, ATCs and harnesses, so we have two weeks to get all the holds up, the new ropes hung, and all the new gear inventoried. I think she's going to keep a tighter leash on the wall, like Amy a few years ago, which will be really good.

After working on the wall on Thursday, Mitch and I played two-on-two volleyball with Ray and Kristy. Then they cam back to our place for a movie, homemade popcorn and drinks. I fell asleep, but I think it was a good movie. Last night we met Kristy and Ray for dinner at Ruby Tuesday's, then spent the evening doing laundry, cleaning up, and keeping Bruce's guitar from feeling neglected.

Today, obviously, I'm working, but when I get done we're going to my parents' for the weekend. The weather is just so nice that I need to ride my mountain bike. And (I can't remember if I posted this before) Bobby bought me clipless pedals and shoes! He actually went to the bike store and came home with four pairs so I could find the right style and size. Just because. He really is an amazing guy, and some girl is going to be crazy-lucky to get him someday.

All right, I've run out of mindless things to write, so I'll stop. Happy Weekend!

Honk honk!

There's a cheerleader outside my window, shaking her pom-pons to welcome the high schoolers participating in this week's cheer camp. Of course, every male driver that speeds by thinks she is there for him, so I've been listening to car horns all morning.

Back to the real world

I had a great four-day weekend, full of good times with friends and family. Bruce came up on Thursday morning and we didn't do much but catch up 'til Mitch got home from work. Then we met Kristy and Ray at B-Dubs to celebrate Kristy's successful final exams and Ray's equally successful attack on the DAT. Us girls wanted to go out to Ray's lake, but the boys said it was too far to drive (half an hour?!?!?) and we ended up just going back to our place and drinking the night away.

On Friday, Mitch, Bruce and I were supposed to go climbing at Grand Ledge, but when we got down there, we discovered we hadn't brought enough webbing for our anchor points. As no climbing gyms open until the evening, we just went mini-golfing and returned to Mt. Pleasant to watch movies and relax until everyone came over for Bruce's Belated Birthday Bash. It was the most random night: dinner at The Cabin, Ultimate Frisbee, swimming, bowling, Catch Phrase, Trivial Pursuit 'til 4 am, and of course, a good amount of alcohol thrown in there. Everyone seemed to have a great time, especially Bruce - and that's what counts.

By Saturday afternoon, the stay-over guests were gone, the apartment was straightened up, and Mitch and I were on the road, heading down to my parents' house for mountaing biking and general fun. Turns out we spent a good portion of our time with my old friend, Ryan, and his girlfriend, Ani. Ryan and I have stayed pretty close all throughout college, even after he stopped dating one of my best friends. He visited me at Alma more than anyone else and is always up for a good time. With the real world's claw in both of us, we haven't hung out in a long time, but we made up for it by getting together both Saturday and Sunday. His girlfriend, Ani, used to date another friend of ours and honestly, I never liked her all that much when she was with Dave. Turns out there was a pretty good reason why she never seemed very nice around him, but now that she's with Ryan, I'm seeing the "real" girl. She and I talked a lot, and I told her how glad I was that Ryan has found a nice, fun girl. They're well on their way to making this a pemanent thing, too, and based on my experiences with them this weekend, I'm very happy for them.

And of course, we went mountain biking. Actually, we rode paved trails on Saturday evening, but hit the real trails at Brighton on Sunday morning. I felt good and was not too far behind Ryan most of the time. I get to ride with Bobby tonight, too, because I have to go home for a doctor's appointment. Um, not all that fun, but biking again should make up for it.

I think that's all the new from here. Remember everyone, Bruce has seven more months to go in Iraq, so keep those prayers coming. He's also reconnected with his old fiancee, who seems to make him happier than anyone in the world, so prayers for their rekindled flame - with wishes for a happily ever after - might also be nice.