D-Day!

TODAY'S THE DAY!!!

D-Day = Driving Day... 13 long hours for day one, about 7 for day two, and I'll be there!

Perhaps if you're lucky I'll be kind enough to update from Montgomery, Alabama, tonight :). Keep me in your thoughts!!!

Final Preparations

2 days till the move.

Today has been a day of little last-minute things. I finally realized today that I have a LOT to do before I leave, and most of that got done. It takes more work than I thought it would to wrap up every loose end and pack every last thing you own when you're moving your life to another state. I've always lived in Oklahoma, so this cross-country move thing is new stuff to me.

The best part of today was my time tonight with Marisa, one of my friends from special ed who I've started hanging out with on a regular basis. We do a lot of planning to work out together, then stuffing our faces and insisting on dessert instead. It's an excellent friendship. We drove to her new school to see her classroom, where we felt like robbers as we unlocked the doors to the school and shut off the alarm. Her new classroom is great, with a smart board and lots of storage space and a big window. I'm a teensy bit jealous since I'd like to be in that phase of teaching, but I'm so glad she got a good job, and my time will come for that soon (in about 5 months, to be exact). After that, we drove out to Goldsby to eat at a place called Libby's Cafe, which was really good. Filled my belly with some delicious catfish and peach cobbler-- yum! As a goodbye present, Marisa framed a picture from our POPS night, as well as made me some very tasty cake balls (are you sensing that Marisa and I like to eat?)... I'd love for her to come visit in Florida so we can check out all the sights (and menus) together.

Day after tomorrow, I get to head out on my adventure! I'm really ready to see Tracy, especially since it has been 6 or 7 weeks since we last saw each other. Another exciting part about me finally getting there is that his parents are visiting, so I'll get to spend more time with his family for the first week that I live there. It will be fun to explore my new home with Tracy (when he's not working) and his parentals. Yay!

An Interesting Day

3 days till the move.

I wished for something interesting yesterday, and today I got it. I happened to look at my credit card transactions for the past few weeks-- oddly, there were two charges from a tech support company in New York that I've never heard of. I called my credit card company, who then put me through to the tech support company. After an hour of talking/arguing/waiting on hold, the company still denied charging my card, and they didn't fix the error. My credit card company is disputing the charges, but I haven't found out for sure if or when the charges will be removed. Even though the charges didn't put me over my credit limit or add up to a ridiculous amount, I didn't make the purchases listed, and this is something I'd rather not deal with in the middle of trying to move everything I own 1500 miles. Moral of the story: be careful when you wish that something interesting would happen. Interesting is not always better.

In other news, I am completely packed and ready for my long drive on Friday. Tomorrow I have to do a few last-minute things, including but not limited to a Wal-Mart run, an oil change, and one last dinner with Marisa. I also get to see her new classroom, which I'm really excited about. It feels weird to be winding down my last days living in Norman for probably a very long time. Leaving Norman began to feel even more final today as I finally enrolled in my last semester of classes for OU (the graduate classes necessary to complete student teaching). I hope in the next few days to get news about my final student teaching placement, as well as when I start and end my student teaching. Also, I've applied for a part-time job with a tutoring company in Florida, and they're going through the process of doing a background check on me right now, so hopefully I'll be hearing back from them soon as well. Lots of things to get accomplished in the next few days.

Time with Family

4 days till the move.

Tonight is my last evening in my hometown with my family. It has been a really relaxing day. I got my driver's license renewed (very important since it expires the day I get to Gainesville), watched a little TV, and went out to dinner with my parents. Tomorrow morning, I head back to Norman until I leave on my 20+ hour drive. While I don't spend a ridiculous amount of time back home during the school year, it's crazy to think that I won't see Enid till November sometime.

Hopefully I'll be posting more soon when there's actually something interesting to update!

Girls' Night!

Me, Cassie, Cynthia, Mary Rachel, and Marisa

6 days till the move.

Tonight was a really great evening with some of my friends with whom I went to college... We were/are all special ed majors, and even though a few close friends couldn't be here tonight (we missed you!), we had a great time. Because it's my last weekend in Norman, we planned a get-together to hang out one last time. After some deliberation, the group decided to make the trek out to POPS in Arcadia, which is about an hour away. POPS is a place with hundreds of different flavors of (you guessed it) pop, as well as food and a giant neon soda bottle. I've wanted to go there for quite awhile and had never been, so I was excited to go. We had an absolutely fantastic time together, even though the wait for a table was an hour long. During our wait, my friends and I sampled such delicacies as mango soda, apple beer, peach soda, and.... IBC root beer. So Cassie didn't branch out much, but IBC root beer is good, so I guess I can't blame her :).

We also took some really fun pictures, which I'm sure I'll be looking at especially often in those first few lonely months while trying to meet people in another state. I just love pictures of friends, and what better location to take pics than in front of a giant glowing bottle? Exactly...

On the way back to Norman, we dropped Cynthia off in Moore and passed Van's Pig Stand; however, some of the lights were burned out, so the sign said Van's Pig STD. For some reason, this was hilarious to everyone. Overall, I had a really great night with some girls whom I have grown very close to in the past few years. I've been so grateful to be able to call these girls my friends and classmates, and I'm so glad we got to have one more night of silly memories.

Beginning to Blog

7 days till the move.

At this time next week, I'll be halfway to Florida. This is a place in which I know a total of one person within a 5-hour drive from where I'll be living. Because of this, I thought it would be fun to create a blog to keep everyone back in Oklahoma updated on what's going on, as boring as those happenings may be. So here's an explanation on exactly why/how I came to be in the process of moving halfway across the country...

Several months ago, I began a relationship with a boy. This boy's name is Tracy, and we hit it off immediately. We bonded over boxers (the dogs, not the underwear), Lady Gaga, kids, and eating spinach dip at 3 in the morning while watching bad infomercials. I knew from early on that this was a relationship I wanted to continue, although I was also aware that he would probably be moving to begin his residency in anesthesia within a fairly short period of time. When Tracy found out in late March that he matched a residency program in Florida, I was more excited than nervous. For several years, I have wanted to move out of Oklahoma at least temporarily. Florida was in my top 3 places that I'd like to move. We began to plan that I would move to Florida in December, after I finished my student teaching, so that we could continue our relationship. I was under the impression that student teaching for OU must be completed in Oklahoma, so I accepted that I would be in the state for several more months. However, one of my professors casually mentioned during the last week of school that they have placed students in Texas, Kansas, and even California. After this conversation, the ball was rolling-- professors made phone calls and sent emails, and before I knew it, I had confirmation that I would be able to complete my student teaching in Gainesville, through the University of Florida. While this is a significantly faster route to my original plan, I feel that it's the right thing for me right now. I want to move, my foot will be in the door for a teaching job in Gainesville, and I want to continue my relationship (preferably not long-distance). I've been asked by several people if I am becoming more nervous about my move as the day grows closer. The answer for me is no. I honestly feel nothing but excitement and a tremendous sense of opportunity with this giant move out of my comfort zone. I will miss family and friends a lot, but I feel comfort knowing I'm a short (ish) plane ride away. I hope to stay up-to-date with my fellow special education girls as we all begin post-college lives. More soon!