A Long Time Comin'

Dear Captivated Audience,

May I first apologize for my hiatus from blogging. I have missed it, but I am going to try to get back into the swing of things. Now that my summer classes have come to an end, some of the free time is back. One part of my Practicum class has been for us to blog about our experiences, so my blogging mind was completely focused on that task. Blogging about the professional side of higher education institutions is NOT as much fun as shootin the breeze on my own personal one, so I AM BACK to do just that.

I hope you will all enjoy this read. It's nothing fancy.

Summertime in Mississippi equals 5 things:

1) It is useless for me to straighten my hair. Even if there's zero chance of rain, there's still 250% humidity. This equals curly hair. No ifs, ands, or buts.

2) I get mad about having to wear work clothes. There is nothing worse than trying to dress professionally when it is 110 degrees outside with a heat index of "hot as Hades". There should be a statement in my graduate assistant contract that says I can wear shorts to work when the head goes past 95. It should be a public safety announcement. Idea: put it in the workman's comp contract. If I ever make it to the administrative level, we are instating that.

3) I hate my car. Although I am a stickler about having leather seats in my vehicle, they are literally products of the devil in the summer. It's amazing that I haven't gone to the hospital with third degree burns on the backside of my legs. The palms of my hands are also at risk. Darn steering wheel. Note to self: Invest in one of those aluminum foil looking things that you sit on the dash during the day...or hire a personal chauffeur, whichever comes first.

4) An overabundance of bathing suit pictures. Ok, I get it Miss 120-soaking-wet-too-tan-no-work-beach-bum-girl. You aren't taking class. You don't have to go to work. Your parents can supply you with endless funds. I understand. I, and I'm sure the rest of the world, just wish you wouldn't rub it in our faces. Not all of us can just pick up and leave for the coast whenever we want to. We don't care about looking at your perfectly pedicured toes on a beach with the ocean line behind them. Nor does anybody care about the fact that you have every Victoria Secret bathing suit known to man. I'm sure that VS is looking for a new swim suit model for their next catalog. They could probably save a lot of money by simply "copying and pasting" your entire Facebook album. They'd be set.

5) A lot of online shopping. Let's face it, shopping just isn't any fun when it's so hot. And I'm beginning to become more of a fan of online shopping anyways. I can do it from my phone, my computer, my e-mail. I'm not addicted, but I do enjoy "window shopping" aka browsing aka perusing through clothes, art, and books throughout the day. Recently I have made purchases for myself, my boo (his birthday is in 2 weeks...justifiable), and myself. I mean, I really needed those maroon jeggings (DKNY), and those pajamas (lanebryant.com), and that piece of artwork (lindatheobaldart.com). Give me a break. I got paid, and was tired of spending it on groceries and bills.


I know I vented a little on #4, but c'mon people. I know you've seen this girl, and you have thought to yourself "Huh. Must be nice". Mmm Hmm...

Okay, well I am going back to work now. I needed a mental break from the e-mailing.

Until Next Time,

BC

Productivity

Good Afternoon to all of my readers! It is a BEAUTIFUL day here in God's Country. For those of you who are unaware of the location of God's Country, it is Starkville, MS. Starkville is a marvelous place, especially in the summer. Since students have left for their summer vacations on the MS, AL, or FL gulf coasts, there have been zero waiting times at the local restaurants. It's spoiling me. Also, traffic and parking issues have fallen to the wasteside until the Fall semester begins. For this, I am thankful.

What I'm doing this month.

What some people are doing this month.

I don't know if it's the sunny weather, the not-so-busy work atmosphere, or what, but I have been so productive today. My coworkers Drew, Le'Shawn, Heath, and I spent the better part of the afternoon cleaning out our offices. I am proud to say that my desk, window sill, and files are dust-free. I don't know if any of you get into the Spring Cleaning kicks, but I have to take advantage of them when they come along. I am not OCD by nature, nor do I really notice clutter until it is at that level where I am getting stares. I do have my certain spots in my apartment that must stay clean: the couch, the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, and the garbage can. Other than that, I'm fine with a little mess.

I channeled my inner Rosie the Riveter today

 

 Do any of y'all ever find yourself "organizing a mess"? You know what I mean. Like when you have various papers, open mail, books, and notes scattered on the table or desk and you just put them in a nice little pile? Yeah, I do that big time. I trick myself into believing that a little pile of mess is better than a scatter of mess, but in the end, it's all still a mess. I eventually have to re-attack the pile and sort through it, tossing some things and keeping others. This cycle goes on and on and on. Never-ending.

I am looking forward to getting off work at 5 so that I can go to the apartment and continue this productivity. I have been itching to rearrange my bedroom. Any help is welcome! I hope you all have a great "Hump Day". Carpe Diem!

The Home Stretch

Ah. It feels good to be back to the old blog. I have brushed the dust off of the old keyboard, powered up the old laptop, and have cracked the old knuckles in preparation for this. It's been a while, folks. A good long while. And I will not be using this post as a "this is what I have been doing for the past 2 months" recap. I'll spare you all. What I will use this post to do is to convey my excitement as the end of another semester of graduate school draws near. Words alone cannot do this excitement justice. Unless you have been through the Student Affairs program at Mississippi State and survived the Administration course then you won't know exactly what I'm talking about, but I do feel like we have all, in our own right, had those classes that we were already looking forward to the end before the syllabus had been passed out on the first day. I remember how hard I thought high school and undergraduate classes were. They were mere child's play compared to this doozy. Yes, I have learned a lot. Yes, I have enjoyed every single classmate/friend/colleague in the class. Yes, I am confident in my ability to write in APA format (6th edition, 2nd printing) without consulting the manual. Yes, I am glad that tomorrow marks our last day in class.

Can I get an AMEN from the audience for this spring semester being over? I know that any students or teachers that read this are shouting AMEN at the top of their lungs right now. (Except maybe you Secondary or Elementary teachers...y'all still have a month or more left. Sorry. SIKE!)

The home stretch. You know what that means to me? It means that a week from now I will have the opportunity to STRETCH out on my couch at HOME for a few weeks without a worry or care from school. I do not begin my summer classes until June and that is so very nice. I get to spend quality time with my sibling/roommate, my boo thing/boyfriend, my family, and my friends. I'm thinking of making a few day trips to visit long lost friends so if you want me to visit, hit me up on the Facebook or the Twitter. We'll hang out. When thinking of summertime, one song comes to mind. Remember this one?

Wedding season will begin next month, and I know you are all looking forward to the posts that result from those experiences. I assure you all that I will do a much better job of updating you all on my life. It's so riveting and full of drama. They really should give me my own TV show or series. Maybe a talk show? I mean, now that the big O is off the primetime set and has her OWN channel (you see what I did there?) maybe I could slide right in a fill that spot. I'll bring back the glitz and glamour from the days of Sally Jesse Raphael, Ricki Lake, and Tyra Banks (!?!). Ok, that last one was a stretch, but you see where I'm going with this. I can picture it now. Ellen has already claimed the pre-show dancing, so I'll have to come up with something else. Maybe Collins Crowd Karaoke Challenge? It could work...just go with me on this. Anyone with any thoughts on how to make this dream a reality can contact me anytime.

Talk Show Idols <--Click here to see a list of greatness.

So...I got a little off track there. It happens. It's a blog, right? That's what it's for. Y'all know I've been away from the blogging world for a while. Blame that on my work and school schedule, my social agenda, my boyfriend, and, of course, NETFLIX. Oh. My. Gosh. Can you say ADDICTED?? I have literally memorized nearly every movie or TV show listing on the main Netflix menu. I don't even have to scroll through it anymore. Every now and then "New Releases" will appear and throw me off my game, but most of the time I can rattle off every option on the main menu. Test me. I dare you. This weekend alone I watched "The Joneses", "Psycho", and several episodes of "Glee". Yes, I have started from the beginning. Don't judge me. I love them. I'm a closet Gleek. *confession*



Speaking of Netflix, I do believe I will crank up the old Wii and see what today's menu holds. Goodbye captivated audience. I'm glad to have made time for us this week. I will strive to do better in the future. Hopefully the summertime will bring a lot more blog-worthy experiences. (Fingers crossed).












Until next time,

BC

Ok Thursday

I have appropriately named today "Ok Thursday." This makes sense since tomorrow is "Good Friday" and for some parts of the world the day after Easter is "Better Monday." Unfortunately, us Mississippi State people do not have the privilege of recognizing "Better Monday." So in lieu of having to go back to school and work on Monday, I deem today "Ok Thursday."

Today has actually been better than just OK. I got up, went to work, finished all my work that I needed to, enjoyed time with my coworkers, came home to pack for the weekend over my lunch break, and then decided that I would just extend my lunch break until the end of the day. That's right, I got caught up in packing and decided to start my Easter break early. If we would've been super busy this afternoon I wouldn't have made this decision, but since we had 2 "no-shows" for campus tours I figured it was the perfect set-up to stay at home.

I have been super productive this afternoon. I am all packed and ready for the 4 day weekend. For some of you who haven't had the pleasure of traveling with me, then you won't understand how big of an accomplishment packing is for me. For those of you that have witnessed my excessive packing, then you will completely understand. For a 3 day/4 night weekend I have packed 2 duffle bags. I have 10 different outfits hanging up, and I have a large, plastic laundry bag full of shoes. Just shoes. I will also be taking home my laptop, Wii, an assortment of DVDs, and my book bag (in the event that I decide that I need to study). I hope Greg isn't bringing anything for the weekend because I don't think I will have enough trunk space.

Side note: Greg, my boyfriend for those of you who do not know, is meeting my ENTIRE family this weekend. God give him strength. I have to turn to one of my favorite movies for guidance in times like these:

When in doubt, turn to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. All questions can be answered.

In the spirit of Easter, I would like to share this fun link that was put on my Facebook timeline earlier today. It's scary, intriguing, disturbing, and seasonal all at the same time. *Warning: May not be suitable for all ages*

Happy Easter everybody!

-BC