I was informed yesterday by my boyfriend that I need a hobby. I was talking to him and was pretty bummed out about not getting to see him this weekend, when he told me I needed to stop worrying about him and do something for myself, like get a hobby. So now I am in search of a hobby. The only thing is I have absolutely no idea what it could possibly be. He threw out a few ideas, but none of them really had that “ah-ha” moment. I mean, I can think of a few hobbies that I would really enjoy, like shopping, making wreaths, or travelling, but someone better loan me their credit card for any of those. So let me know if any of ya’ll have splendid hobby ideas, until then I will keep searching and let you know if I find one.
This is cake compared, so why does it seem so hard? May 21, 2008
Two and a half hours, 120.5 miles. That is how far away I am from my boyfriend now that he is at VMI for summer classes. I know there are girls out there that would love to be even that close to their boyfriends. I mean my situation really is not all that bad, I’ve been in worse. I mean I get to talk to him every night on the phone and I can even talk to him sometimes during the day via AIM. The plan right now is that he will also be coming home every weekend. So I have to go what all of four days and awake-up before I can see him again. Compared to last summer, when he was taking summer classes at the beginning of summer and then he had to go to LDAC at Ft. Lewis Washington on the whole other side of the country and I could not talk to him for several days at a time and even then it was brief because there was a long line for the payphones, this is cake. Knowing all of this, why do I still get that weird feeling in my stomach? I can’t really explain the feeling. I think I get it for a mixture of reasons. For one, he has been home for a year and so now I am having to make a whole new routine for myself, for example if I would go to his house after I got of work and now instead I go straight home. Secondly, I think its just the fact of knowing that he is not at home. Another reason I think I get these feelings, is because I know his living situation at school. Not that it is bad, but he doesn’t have TV nor his own bed, instead he has the computer and that great VMI hay. I know that I like having things to do and that it is boring and time drags when you don’t have anything and I hate that feeling and I don’t what him to have that feeling. He means the world to me and I can not stand the thought of him feeling sick, uncomfortable, hungry, sad, bored, or anything like that when I’m not around to where I could do something about it. Well that is just a few of my inside thoughts about this and since this is only the second day of it, I am sure I will get back into the swing of things.
VMI’s Class of 2008 Graduation May 19, 2008
Happiness, tears, and excitement adorned the majority of faces Friday at VMI’s commencement exercises. For the graduates, I believe their feelings were a little bittersweet, because while they are so glad to be finished with “the prison on the hill” and are looking forward to moving on to their next step in life, there is a sadness for what they are leaving behind. Being Brother Rats is one of the strongest bonds I have ever seen and now they are all going in different directions and many are headed to separate parts of the world. Over 50% of the Class of 2008 commissioned into the Armed Forces this past Thursday and are taking the next step in continuing to be a citizen soldier. Secretary of Defense Gates was the commencement guest speaker and he asked for all of the 2008 graduates to do their part for their country, whether on the military side or the civilian side, because we are in a time when it is greatly needed and he knows that they will go above and beyond to get the job done. He also thanked the previous VMI graduates that have been involved with the War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as payed tribute to the ones that have lost their lives. For the remaining Corps, there were only feelings of happiness, for as soon as the ceremony was over, summer furlough began and for the parents there were feelings of pride, happiness, and “I can’t believe my baby has grown up so fast”.
For those of you who remain at the Institute, your time will come, but for now embrace and enjoy those PTs, your BRs, curfews, and BRC that always seems to come so early and remember that you have chosen “the road less traveled.”
Dirty Dogs Have More Fun May 14, 2008
For all of you dog lovers out there, you better think twice before ever getting a solid white dog. I have a 10 month-old West Highland Terrier named Finnegan, who is impossible to keep clean. As much as he hates baths, you would think he would figure it out sooner or later that dirt=bath. About a month ago, I took Finnegan to Petsmart to have his hair and nails cut and a bath. After waiting for several hours I received a phone call from the grooming department and the girl proceeded to tell me that she could not cut his hair because everything she came near him with the clippers he would do an alligator roll, but that she was able to cut his nails and give him a bath and I could come pick him up. When I arrived there to get him, there was another owner picking up their dog, which happened to be a Mastiff. So in my mind I was wondering…”You mean to tell me you can handle this massive dog but you cant cut the hair of a puppy who weighs no more than 10-15pounds, this is your job!”
Well since it is getting warmer here in Southside Virginia, I decided that Finnegan needed to lose some of his hair and have a bath to keep the fleas and ticks away. So I took the job upon myself and lets just say to be such a little dog he sure is a handful. I could not use the clippers and instead had to trim him up with scissors. I guess my next option is to have the vet do it.
Another Semester Down May 6, 2008
Another semester down and a few more to go. I finished up this semester yesterday after my Epidemiology final exam. It was a doozy…18 pages long. Now I am just waiting for my grades and enjoying my break from school work for a while. I am taking summer classes starting June 2nd, so I better enjoy it while I can. As many colleges are finishing up in the next few weeks, lots of students are returning back home to start their summer break. I ran into a girl I went to high school with last night in the local Wal-Mart and I realized that I had absolutely no clue what to say to her other than “Hey, How are you?” It is hard to believe that I could not think of anything better to say to someone that I saw almost everyday for 4 years and technically even longer than that because we went to Middle school together too. Thats the way it goes though, as sad as it maybe. We all take different routes, make new friends, and go on our separate ways. It was not that hard for me to say good bye to people from high school. I keep up with about 4 people. However, I don’t think saying good bye to college friends is going to be as easy.
Remembering… April 29, 2008
A little bit over a year ago, on April 9, 2007, during the evening my cell phone rang. As I answered it I saw that it was Tony, my youth group leader from church. I figured it was him calling to remind me of some event coming up or to ask me a question, boy was I wrong. When the phone connected and I heard him on the other end, I could tell by his voice something was wrong. That’s when he told me that one of my good friends, Aaron, had just died in a tragic car accident. He said that Aaron had been on his way home to change clothes and head to the hospital to see his brother and sister-in law, who were there having a baby, when for some reason he hit a tree and the vehicle caught on fire. I immediately burst into tears and told Tony he was lying, which I knew he would never lie about something like that, but I just could not believe it. This news hit our town very hard, as he was known by many and today would have been his 21st birthday, so I just wanted to take the time and share some of my best memories with him. Aaron was a popular, good looking guy who always knew how to smile and have a good time. He could play the guitar and drums like no body’s business and he was the lead guitar player for a local band Addora Lush, that played at several hometown place as well as up at Radford and even at Alley Katz. One of my first memories with him was from when we were younger and we were camping out and I had to use the bathroom in a Porter-John. Well he thought it would be hilarious to ride his bike into the side of it while I was in there. Then there is the time another girl and I tried to put toothpaste on him and a friend while they were asleep at a church lock-in. Or how bout him almost getting us kicked out of Subway when we were in Canada. Or seeing him walk into Sunday school, late (as usual) with those aviator sunglasses on. Or the time him and I tried to figure out how to use the phone while we were in Mexico, by asking the manager at the front desk who didn’t speak any English. Or when him and the boys decided to go swimming in the river in Canada and us girls took their clothes. These are just a few memories, I could sit here all day writing them down. We love you and miss you Aaron, Happy Birthday!
Swing Batter Batter, Swing April 24, 2008
Baseball is one sure fire way to know that spring has sprung. There are kids on every field as you drive through southern Virginia, some practicing their little hearts out and others trying to win that game. While I love watching baseball being played out on the field, what I really love watching and observing even more are the parents. My boyfriend umpires baseball during the spring and summer, so I go to a right good amount of games and no matter where we are the parents never cease to amuse me. They are so busy yelling at their kid, or yelling at the coach, or yelling at the umpire. No matter how much or how little they know about baseball, they yell and in turn I get a good laugh. Like just yesterday, my boyfriend had a middle school baseball game to umpire and the middle school I attended was playing against Powhatan Middle School, so I figured it would be a nice game to watch. There were a few parents there that I recognized, whether it being just from around the town or parents of friends that have younger siblings. Well during one of the innings, Powhatan was up to bat and there was a runner on second. The batter hit the ball to the outfield and the runner on second, began to advance and head towards home. The outfielder, fielded the ball and instead of throwing it into second baseball like he should have, he tried to throw it all the way home. However, the throw was a little short and the run still scored. Well two of the moms sitting behind the fence who happen to be sister-in-laws, both with kids on the team started to yell at the fielder. Mom # 1: “Way to get that ball in!”, while Mom # 2 (the mother of the fielder) proceeded to yell: “What are you doing? You know better than that! Why didn’t you hit your cut-off-man?” Then she turned to the other mother and proceeded to yell “Don’t tell my kid that he did good! He should have hit his cut-off-man!” I found this highly amusing, especially since my old middle school baseball team lost by slaughter rule, 10-0 in the 5th inning. I’m sure that as the baseball season progresses I will have several more amusing moments, all thanks to those baseball parents.
Hello world! April 22, 2008
Hi Everyone! Ya’ll are probably wondering while all of a sudden out of the blue, a girl would just get an idea to start a blog. Well I did not get the idea just out of the blue, let me explain. I am Amber and I live in a small town in south, central Virginia. I am taking classes through Mary Baldwin College and am currently a Junior. I am majoring in Health Care Administration. I am finishing up a course currently on Epidemiology and Women’s Health Care along with a few other classes. I have the same professor for both of those classes and she also teaches Chemistry at Virginia Military Institute (which happens to be where my boyfriend attends). Women’s Health Care is a writing emphasis class and as a result we have to write 3-5 paged papers every week on different topics and issues and a research paper on something related to women’s health. I wrote several papers that my professor throughly enjoyed and that I received good grades on, including one on obesity and one on tobacco contol. Well as this semester is drawing to an end, she told me I should consider writing a blog. So needless to say, I have considered it and am now taking my best whack at it. I hope it all goes well.
