"This has been a real bonding experience..."

So, funny story actually...

1. I'm sick. Exams/projects don't help one bit.
2. I drove to Lawtey yesterday morning to meet up with Mom so she could get funny Bones from me (for the church Christmas party).
3. This is where it gets good...

Caitlin and I decided to road trip to Jacksonville to welcome Sarah home. Sarah calls up about 20-30 minutes prior to our departure from Gainesville to give us all the info and whatnot. An hour and a half later, as I'm turning onto 103rd Street (in Jacksonville), I get a phone call...

Sarah: Guess what!
Jen: What?
Sarah: I missed my connecting flight! I won't be there until 11AM tomorrow!
Jen: How does one miss their connecting flight Sarah?
Sarah: Well, my connecting flight was scheduled to take off 10 minutes after my flight from Dublin landed*
Jen: And when exactly did you know you weren't going to be in Jacksonville until tomorrow?
Sarah: About 15 minutes after I last called you.
Jen: So you wait until we get to Jax to let us in on this?!?!?!
Sarah: This is not my fault...you shouldn't be speeding.

Funny, huh? She's REALLY lucky that gas prices are low...

(Sarah and I before she left for London. August 2007.)

*Getting off one flight and onto another in 10 minutes is physically impossible. I've never flown on a plane and even I know this...

"You can't pimp out other staff members..."

Ten reasons that I loved going to the MAC/RA Holiday Social...

10. Alex Garmendia wearing a life jacket.
9. Kevin Tierney attaching holiday die cuts to his shirt.
8. Crazy sweaters galore...(Carolina's reindeer, Erika's shoulder pads, Christy's matching earrings, Lisa's sequins)
7. *After seeing that my holiday sweater lights up* "Oh Dear GOD! Jen, just take it off." - Melissa, *Kevin's jaw dropping*, *Devin pointing and laughing*
6. Christy: Yes! I got a McDonald's giftcard!
Alex: Don't get too excited, it only has $2.45 on it.
5. The FOOD!
4. Fantastic pictures on the Paper Plate Awards...
3. *After examining the wiring on my light up sweater* "You probably wouldn't get through the airport." - Devin/Hosea
2. Devin Monas pimping me out as his white elephant gift ("Redeem this coupon for an evening of dancing with Jen Elliott")...and the guys all agreeing to share it.
1. After all of that (see above) do I really have to tell you how much I loved these people?

"If that's the first thing out of his mouth, I'll make you a sandwich..."

You know that feeling you get when you start to trip? All you think about while you are falling is how there's no way you can prevent it and how much it is going to hurt when you hit the bottom. And then, without thinking at all, you realize that you just caught yourself, but your heart is still pounding fiercely and your not quite calmed down, so it isn't really okay yet.

That was today.

I still have one paper, two tests, and one project ahead of me. Wish me luck.

"Pie!"

I'm thankful for...

Popcicles, hammocks, chips and salsa, beta fish, toes, Jupiter, fireworks, guitars, rubber cement, cameras, Tina Fey, pie, trampolines, cookies, fountains, staples, Billy Joel, flagpoles, wontons, bookstores, Dr. Seuss, crayola products, Macy's parade, trees, music, appetizers, paper bags, shampoo, pasta, sisters, brothers, mom, dad, Friends, Family.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

"I'm more perfect times infinity, plus one!"

Update: Dan is okay!
It took me a couple of days to let the possibility of him not being okay sink in. I actually kind of flipped out on Kevin and he came over and had strawberry tea with me to calm me down a bit. But in the end Dan is okay. The blood work came back normal, which eliminates 90% of the bad things it could be. I'm glad...so is Justin. The three of us went to BCM Thanksgiving on Monday before watching Heroes. I love those two...

(At Party O' the Holidays)

In other news...tonight a bunch of RAs went karaoke-ing. I don't think I could adequately describe how fantastic it was. There was laughter, singing, dancing, hilarity galore and just a wonderfully good time with incredible people! The guys sang "I Want it That Way," to which the girls responded with Spice Girls "Wannabe." Kevin, Lisa and I belted the karaoke classic, "I Will Survive." And Alex Garmendia serenaded us all with Enrique Iglesias' "Hero." Good times indeed.

(The guys' rendition of "I Want It That Way")

I truly, honestly love the staff this year. Nothing against anyone from the past two years, but this year I love how well we all mesh. I'm just as excited (if not more) about these people and events as I am about people and events at the BCM. I love how we don't just treat each other as co-workers, and have become friends. I love how easy it is to talk to people like Carolina and Kevin. And how easy it is to laugh with Mike, Johnny, and Lisa. And how much fun I have adventuring with Erika and LeighAnne. It is not only fantastic, but has made this year worth it! So "Here's to the nights we felt alive!" (had to end on a karaoke note) and here's to hoping the good times keep coming...

"That's not how you end an alliance..."

It's over.

9 PM. Staff meeting at Sarah's apartment. Nothing out of the ordinary except the two paper balls I'm carrying and the shield that Kevin carries, both of which are ordinary at this point. The rules have been changed in light of the fact that there are only three left - Hannah, Kevin, and myself. Now it is kill or be killed, targets don't matter. Kevin and I have been in an alliance since day 1 (Murph North pride) and we need to establish final terms. We want Murph North to go 1, 2 in the game. As we leave, we discuss and share the shield. I'm not worried, Hannah's not the type to wait in stairways. We agree to both go after Hannah before each other. We agree to inform the other when Hannah is out and only two are left. As we reach Kevin's section, he checks the stairs through the window. Nothing. We enter. He, again, checks the stairs and the reflection of the window at the top of the landing. Nothing. We continue to discuss as he pulls out his keys.

Without realizing quite what happens, I feel the ball hit my head. I'm out. Kevin turns in time to block the first aimed at him with the shield. He and Hannah both throw one, but his reaches her first. It all went down in a hallway less than 10 square feet, in a matter of 3 seconds or so. The game is over.

It was a fun go. Good job, Hannah - I underestimated you. Gwen, Latasha, Erika, and Alex - I'm sorry, I had no choice.

And Kevin. Good job. We took 1, 3 and if it couldn't be me, at least it was you. We'll duel at midnight and finish that bottle of wine at some point.

(It's times like this that I realize just how much I love the people I work with.)

"You broke a pinky promise!"

And then there were three. Two hours in a stairwell, four paper balls, and no shoes later, that is. I got my target. So now it's two Murph North RAs and one Sledd RA left. And I'm probably the least likely to be in the top three.

In other news, the holidays are rapidly approaching. Nostalgic thoughts of traditions, Macy's parade, and home cooking galore are beginning to creep into my mind. This does not help me when trying to concentrate on physics. Thank goodness my solar systems class is canceled this week.

Speaking of academics, I'm looking into Science Communications or Science Education as possible grad school focuses. Hard core science is by no means my forte, but I would really like to promote science, especially space science. Who knows where that will lead.

Depressing note...I tried for SEC championship tickets this evening. I actually got through on my first try, but my ridiculous self did not have my credit card ready and the system timed out before I could get all my information in. Anyone want to have an awesome SEC championship watching party with me?

And finally...Dan has a lump on his lung. He went to the doctor and had blood work done, but won't know until the end of the week how serious it is. He has to be okay, I refuse to accept anything less than okay...we have too much going for us at this age to deal with things like this. It's not fair if it hits us this soon.

(Dan at his 22nd birthday)

"That's the greatest freak accident...ever."

A little over a week ago I nominated my friend, Kevin, for RA of the Month. I wrote the nomination under the influence no sleep, no experience (this was the first time I had nominated anyone), and no idea how much competition there would be. Upon later scrutiny, I also realized that it was not my best work. But despite its flaws, Kevin won RA of the Month for the region.

Of the Month awards aren't huge and almost no one hears about them. Also there are very few people I know who will go so far above and beyond what is asked of them that I feel they deserve recognition, hence my slight reluctance to nominate people. But I'm really glad Kevin got it. It makes me happy that someone (even if only one person) beyond our 40ish person staff will know what a great RA he is, and how much he has brightened my semester.

"I tried to vote for Change, but I didn't see it on the ballot..."

So we've elected a new president. Cool.

This is the first election I voted in and I tried to go about it logically (i. e. - ignoring any and all biases fro SNL). I listed all the issues, did research on both candidate's stances, and did a basic jelly bean test. But logically didn't work and I got a tie. So I knocked it down to a few issues, and took debates and VP candidates into consideration, and got a tie. So finally I took the single issue that I felt the strongest about and voted based on that one issue. And that was it.

I got a call from my father this evening. He's really Republican...REALLY Republican. And he was saying all this stuff about moving to Canada (yeah, right) and I got so frustrated. Tomorrow when I wake up this is still going to be America, and the leader will still be in that position for a reason. The fact that the person you chose did or did not win will not change that. I'm not telling you who I voted for (I have a right to that privacy and besides, it doesn't matter now). But I will tell you that I support the leader of this country. And if you think I'm moving to Canada right when the Gators are about to win the SEC championship, you're crazy!


So that's that. Kudos to both candidates for a good race and to Tina Fey for keeping me amused. Congrats Obama, lead us well.

And whoever invented Obamabot/Robobama...you ROCK (not indicative of my political preference, I just like robots)!
(Justin with Obamabot/Robobama...highly amusing.)

"...and again, and again, and again..."

A week has gone by and I'm in the process of catching up with everything.... Here goes.

Last week was Haunted Thomas. It's a haunted house that the RAs in my area put on every year in the basement of Sledd Hall. I love this program dearly. I've been on the committee for three years now and committee chair for the past two. However last week was quite possibly the worst week for me to try and run a haunted house. I got a total eight hours of sleep from the time I woke up Monday morning to the time I went to sleep Thursday night. Yeah. It was a week of exam reviews, late night set-up, penciled in birthday dessert nights, 1am pizza, two tough exams, safety inspections, assassins, old friends coming to help out, waking my best friend in the middle of the night for de-stressing conversations, and just no sleep. I could tell you a million hilarious anecdotes from the week (most of them probably heightened by my exhaustion) but the best one is the one that follows...

After Haunted Thomas, a bunch of us (Michael, Carolina, Alex, Kevin, Julie and I) went to Steak'n'Shake. While there I get a call from Melissa, saying that the fake foliage we borrowed from IRHA is missing. Conveniently, Alex was the one who gathered the foliage...
Me: Alex, Where did you put the foliage?
Alex: In a garbage bag and left it in the basement.
So at this point I know the foliage is in the dumpster. We get back to the area around 2:30ish and I go in search of the foliage. The dumpsters are a two overflowing mounds of "haha jen, you can't go to sleep yet" so I decide to double check the basement, to no avail. I call Kevin, knowing that not only is he the only RA awake, but also the only one who wouldn't loathe me for a significant amount of time if I ask him to dumpster dive at 3am. He agrees to meet me in 10 minutes. While I'm waiting I lie down on the bench by the dumpster and take a 10 minute breather. I wake up to the sound of Kevin running over, "No! Officers, she's fine! I'm meeting her!" and the sight of two officers standing over me thinking I'm passed out drunk. The fact that I'm exhausted doesn't help my case. The fact that I'm going dumpster diving doesn't help my case. In the end they left and Kevin and I found the foliage (after a significant amount of laughing).

There are many more stories like this, but this is by far the one which will bring the biggest smile to your face. In all honesty, I wouldn't change how last week went for anything. Looking back, it made for some great stories and brought me a bit closer to some great people. The laughs outweighed the stresses, and success of it all outweighed the exhaustion, and the people made it worth it. All in all, it was a good week.

Where to begin?

And what shall I tell you?

A story? My life? So much already passed, you've really missed quite a bit if you're just tuning in. Moments that were once crisp and clear have receded into no more than fond memory. How far can I take you into who I am before you lose interest? We'll have to see.
I assume that you viewing this means you know the basics...my family, my interests, and any other common knowledge that any acquaintance would know. If that is not the case, I will reveal more...but not now. You could easily discover that without my help.
I don't promise to tell the truth. After all, would you believe me? I don't promise to make it interesting. If I'm telling you, I assume it is. But I promise to tell it as I recall it...complete with the biases, assumptions, preconceived notions, and point of view as only I can.

I'll tell you how I remember it. Not necessarily how it happened, but rather how it felt.