April 16: Colleague BDay

A colleague who works in another office on campus brought in a cake today in celebration.  Oh.My.Goodness.  The cake was six layers of dark chocolate goodness with caramel in the middle and drizzled over the top.  Surprisngly it wasn't too sweet but rather the perfect chocolate cake!

October 20: Atlanta

I spent the day in Atlanta...yep, the whole day.  I took my sister to the airport in the morning (we left the house at 6am).  I was sad to see her go, we had such a nice time and I hate that she lives on the other side of the country!

After dropping her off, I took a nap in my car then headed to Starbucks to do some grading.  I graded papers until 3:30 when I realized if I wanted to do anything in Atlanta on a Sunday (or visit any stores I don't have in Athens) I needed to do so before things closed at 6pm on Saturday.  I hit up a couple places and then waited for Dallin to be done conferencing so we could grab dinner and catch up.  Dallin was a year ahead of me in the PhD program when I started and has been working in South Carolina for the last year (ish), and so when he mentioned he'd be in Atlanta for a conference we made plans to hang out.

We had dinner at Tin Lizzy's Cantina...it was good, not great, but good.  When we first arrived they had live music which was great!  But more than that it was a good chance to catch up on work, life, my dissertation, and other nerdy stats stuff.  No really, we talked about factor analysis, regression, and other quantitative research.  Most of my other friends are doing qualitative dissertations, so it's nice to have someone who understands my lingo.  

After dropping Dallin off at his hotel, I realized, dinner with him was going to be my picture of the day. Grrr.  So I tried to call him as he entered the hotel, but alas, he didn't hear it ring until he was on his way back to his room.  So instead of a picture of us at dinner, you get this...the time on my car clock when I got home.  Yep, it was way past my bed time!

Ps. October 20th is also my dad's birthday (I was suppose to be born on his birthday, but I came early). When I logged onto skype, a little spinning birthday cake also told me it was his birthday, kinda fun & random!

October 18: Corn Maze

Washington Farms has a wonderful corn maze.  More than that, they have other seasonal things such as strawberries, blackberries, a pumpkin patch, and more.  My sister and I along with some friends went out to the maze for a post birthday party.  We went through the vortex, slid down the rolly slide, went through the maze, and jumped on the giant bouncy pillow.  There was lots of laughter involved.  Thanks Alex, Mallory, Tiffanie, Kara, Nikki, and Phil for playing along with my 7-year old d self.  It was fun!

October 16: Favorite Things

I don't want to go into a picture a day post thinking I'll fail, but it is hard to think about a picture to represent my day. I may be over thinking this. They say it takes 30 days to make a habit, so maybe this will get easier as it goes.

Anyway, I'm going to attempt this picture a day thing... on October 16, 2013, I turned 33. The day was filled with lots of reminders that I'm loved. Moreover, my sister also came into town (both for work and for play). After picking her up in Atlanta, we went to dinner and then headed back to Athens where we picked up some ice cream cake bites for dessert! I do LOVE ice cream cake. Having her in town until Sunday is also a special treat.

Almost 33

As I get older and closer to another birthday, I often find myself associating with that age already.  For example, the last month or two, I've began calling myself 33 (when people ask).  I catch myself, correct myself, and usually say, 'I'm going to be 33 soon'.  This may be a sign of my aging, or it may be an effort to protect my heart from the shock of another year.  Regardless, it's just around the corner now.

My sister will be here to celebrate with me this year.  I'm excited that her work trip coincides with my birthday..and that she extended her trip to stay through the weekend.

I've also been thinking about the many, many changes and exciting things that will happen this next year on earth (Lord willing).

I will defend my dissertation.

I will graduate.

I will celebrate.

I will get a new job.

I will leave Athens, a place I've called home for this PhD journey.

I will move to a new city (let's hope and pray it's a good one).

...and the list goes on.

Many people in my life have done a photo a day (for a month or year) chronicling their life (the exciting, trivial, mundane...just life). I have always been fascinated by the idea but haven't brought myself to do it.  But now, with a few days before I enter another year, I'm contemplating chronicling my 33rd year of life. 

30 Years Young

October 16th marked my 30th birthday.  In some ways, I already felt 30.  In other ways, I still feel like a kid in grown up clothes waiting for someone to discover the magic fortune machine I made a wish on.  Either way, I didn't panic about turning 30.  No pleas were made.  No tears were shed.  To be honest, 29 felt more odd than turning 30.

I am excited about my thirties.  I believe there are lots of things to look forward to.

For the last few years, my mom and dad have swapped coming into town for my birthday.  Since my dad and sister came out to Georgia to help me move, it was fitting that mom came for my birthday.

She flew in early Thursday morning and out early Monday morning.  We had a nice time celebrating!

Friday we toured UGA and all the important places in Athens...like Hobby Lobby ;)

Saturday at midnight, I opened my gift from my sister.  It had come a few days earlier from Target...tempting me to open it.

I was super excited about the espresso machine.  I had mentioned wanting one awhile ago, but my sister threw me off by asking me about everything else but the espresso machine on my list. :)  I LOVE it!

Saturday morning my mom made me breakfast, I opened some other lovely gifts and then we headed for the mountains of North Carolina!  Last year for my birthday, I crossed off a few states and this year...I crossed off a few more.  

As a side note, I'm down to ONE hand! Alaska, Hawaii, Connecticut, Road Island, and Kentucky are the only states left on the list.   

Here are some pictures from our trip through North Carolina.  We drove the Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Asheville.  It was beautiful.  I would like to go back for an entire weekend. :)

 There were numerous tunnels.  They were a wonderful addition to the drive, minus driving out of the dark into the bright light...little hard on the eyes.

 I love fall colors!  I love brisk weather.

 Sunday afternoon we headed to Atlanta.  We were going to try and see Olympic park and the MLK museum.  Unfortunately, the MLK museum closed early AND Olympic park was kind of a bust.  I mean, it's a water fountain and a grassy area.

However, I had been craving some Panda Express and fortunately, Atlanta (unlike Athens) has one! Get excited, it's the little things in life. ;)

Sunday night was finished off with an ice cream cake.  I love ice cream cake.  It's the best of both worlds.  The selection was slim, but we found a supposedly delicious flavor.  However, when we cut into it, we were deceived.  White cake.  Boo.  It still tasted good, just not what we had anticipated!  We had the ice cream cake while sipping on lattes.  It was a wonderful ending to a fantastic birthday weekend!  I was glad my mom was able to celebrate the weekend with me and see my new home!

Celebration

My grandpa's 82nd birthday is Monday, October 11th.

A couple months ago, when he was diagnosed with cancer my family talked about doing a living memorial in celebration of his life. Often times, at funerals, people say such lovely things about the person who has passed. Unfortunately, many times those wonderful things aren't said to the person while alive.

Today my family is celebrating my grandpa's birthday and life in a sort of living memorial sort of way. They've invited people from all over. Family, friends, friends of family, even some of his doctors and hospice nurses are planning to attend.

I wish I was able to attend, unfortunately, living on the other side of the world (sometimes it feels that way), and school prevent me from being there. However, I was able to participate in the event through the creation of a video that will be played during the party.

Paul Rhymes, you are loved!

(since the video won't post...here is the YouTube link)
Happy Birthday Video!

9 To Go!

I love traveling.

I want to visit all 50 states, I'd like to see them all before I'm 30. However, since I'm knocking on that door and still have nine to go, that may be a bit unrealistic.

When my mom was in town, we decided to head to Louisiana in order to cross a state off my list. After entertaining varying ideas, we decided to head to New Orleans (where else would you visit in LA?). In looking up New Orleans, I saw that it appeared to be a quick jaunt over to Mississippi (specifically, where my grandpa was raised) and only a hop skip and a jump to Alabama.

My mom arrived on Thursday late afternoon, and Friday morning we were off and running (or rather driving). With my handy new toy (iPhone) and some directions we were heading to New Orleans. After hours of driving (it only takes 8 if you don't get lost or miss a direction or two), we arrived at our hotel. Deciding we would rather sleep and then get up early the next day, we hit the hay.

Saturday morning, we awoke and hit the road early. The plan was to drive to Picayune, Mississippi first and visit where my grandpa was born and raised. However, after missing another turn off, we kept going straight and headed toward a famous garden in Alabama with a pit stop at the Gulf along the way. Mid afternoon we headed toward Picayune (only about an hour drive from Alabama and 50 minutes from New Orleans). Even though much of what my grandpa remembers from his childhood is no longer in Picayune, it was neat to drive around and find the locations of places he used to play and visit.

That night we headed into New Orleans. What a neat city! The architecture is beautiful, the music is contagious (well, some of it), and the city was 'alive'. I couldn't believe how many boas, masks, beads, and other costume jewelry we saw in OCTOBER. Oh...and Bourbon street. Crazy. At one point, we were driving around and I got caught in a long line of traffic. Not fully realizing what was going on, I kept inching my way to the front. Upon reaching the front of the line, I realized, I was going to have to drive across Bourbon street, and a particularly busy portion of it! I felt mostly confident that I could get through, after all, I learned how to agressively drive in southern California, I just hoped it would not be at the cost of any body parts. However, a nice man decided to try and help the traffic stop so that I could cross.

Bourbon street...not my favorite.

Sunday morning, before leaving New Orleans, we wanted to experience Cafe De Monde (sp?) and the famous beignets (ben-yays). Unfortunately, the line for CDM was ridiculous, so having looked up additional places the night before, we headed to a local favorite, Morning Call. Although it was more difficult to find then the website foretold, it was a great experience one I am glad we partook in! Walking into the restaurant, it looked like an old dinner with the servers wearing matching attire. The coffee and beignets were wonderful...especially considering they bring you a powdered sugar shaker so you can powder your beignets to your liking.

Even the trip was short, it was a great time visiting with my mom, seeing new states, and experiencing some pieces of my families history. :)

Three more down, nine to go!

Believe it or not, it says welcome to Louisiana or something of the sort (this is an action shot) although it apparently looks like there would have been plenty of road to pull over...or maybe that was an on-ramp.

This was the first time my mom had been to the Gulf. It was a beautiful day outside! And NO humidity, which is a GREAT day in my book!

These were the beautiful gardens we stopped at. One of my favorite things about this place was the automated tour guide. You could call a number and they would give you more information than you could ever hope for about the gardens. I am a nerd and just love that kind of random information. For example, on the great lawn, they have over 4,000 flowers planted along the edge. Every season (4 times a year) they completely replace all 4,000 flowers with some sort of seasonal selection. Wow.

It was a beautiful day!

My mom is an avid photographer and she enjoyed taking pictures of all sorts of flora and fauna. Oh, and she's got a really great eye for finding a shot. Me, I'm more of a people picture person. Say that three times fast. :)

There was a sign as we entered picayune that said something funny and it related to Jesus. I wish I could remember what it said, and better yet, I wish I had gotten a picture. It cracked us up!

So my first experience with Waffle House was in Picayune, Mississippi. I suppose I will never forget it for multiple reasons. The cheesy eggs, the strawberry waffles, or maybe the people. It was a unique experience and I would be interested to know how much of it was because we were eating at a waffle house and how much of it was because we were in Picayune.

Does this place not scream cute and quaint?! It was wonderful! And oh yummm, the coffee and beignets were wonderful (did I mention I like powdered sugar?!).

So that's our little adventure that we took. Crazy quick, but so enjoyable. Here are the nine states that I have still to cross off the list. Some of them, I hope/plan to cross off soon, others are going to take some time. :)

Connecticut

Rhode Island

North Carolina

South Carolina

Georgia

Kentucky

Missouri

Hawaii

Alaska

29

I turned 29 on October 16th and as a birthday present from my mom she flew into town for the weekend. Additionally, she and my sister went in on a gift.

Ps that's a lamp behind the box not an antenna ;)

The iPhone was something I had contemplated for a long time (on and off) and with their encouragement, we went for it.

I have LOVED having it! It's a great little phone, let's be honest it's more like a mini computer. But it's been so helpful. It reminds me of meetings, I can check email, and on top of that the maps and around me apps are helpful when traveling!

Thank you mom and CJ for the gift!

Ps while my mom was in town we did some traveling and I crossed three states off my list. More to come on this soon! :)

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

Fondu

On Wednesday night we celebrated my mom's birthday in downtown Portland. After walking around for awhile (and taking some touristy photos) we headed to the Melting Pot for dinner. It was a new experience for all three of us. After choosing a type of cheese, they bring out apples, bread, chips, and veggies for dipping. We choose a fiesta dip and a spinach artichoke dip. From there we headed to see a movie of my mom's choosing. It was a fun time celebrating my mom's birthday!

Doing the touristy thing in downtown. This sign is so fun! It shows you all sorts of places and how far away they are from where you are. :)

Bagby Hot Springs

On Thursday, my sister and I headed out to Mt. Hood and toward Bagby Hot Springs. After a small 1.5 mile hike, you arrive at the hot springs. What the park has done is found a way to funnel the hot springs into tubs (both private and corporate). What we didn't expect was ... quite so many nudies. Yep, that's right...there were all sorts of nude people in the hot springs. We had looked the place up online and there was a 'clothing optional' information section, however, neither of us expected people to take that too seriously. We were wrong. So after our 1.5 mile hike, we kept hiking, in hopes that upon our return back to the hot springs, the nudies would be gone. And we were right...we found ourselves a group tub that was unoccupied. However, after a 2 + mile hike, 97 degree weather, and in a tub that had questionable contents...we only got in up to our knees.

Here's a picture of Mt. Hood, it's not very clear, but the mountain is gorgeous.
My sister and I woke up early to take my mom to work in order to have use of her car. When we went to pick her up, we were pooped, so we took naps in the car. Oh, I forgot to mention, we took a little nap before we hiked as well. ;)

So this tree was neat. I thought, 'how fun, I can get inside it.' As I begin to pose for the picture by putting my hands on the inside of the tree, I hear a noise...oh yes, the tree was already occupied by hundreds if not thousands of some sort of large ugly insects. I jumped, let out a noise that could have resembled a scream, and ran from the tree. It was a close call. My sister rolled in laughter.
The actual hot spring that gets funneled to the tubs.

It was a fun experience and a great little hike. Still, I'd like to go back in the winter when I would actually enjoy the 137 degree water. :)

A birthday to remember

On Thursday afternoon, while having lunch with some friends a discussion of my blog arose. Essentially, my blog title is 'Shannon's Randomness' but it isn't usually that 'random' so some suggestions were made.

An entry in binary code

Entries in another language

Expletives

Well, although I'm not actually going to do any of those, this post may be more random than usual.

Sarah's Birthday

Thursday was Sarah's birthday and to celebrate we went out to Diamondbacks for dessert. From chocolate towers to banana's floster, the choices are all delicious. Sarah had never been to Diamondback's before and I thought it would be a nice treat for her 25th, momentous birthday.

The Ultimate Chocolate Tower was the choice. Pound cake, blueberries, orange enduced cholotae moose, and whip cream all inside a dark chocolate bag. It was decadent! It also looked a lot prettier, before the waiter cut it open; however, still yum!

This happy ending to Sarah's day, unfortunately, wasn't the happy ending it was cracked up to be. On the way home, Sarah got a phone call from her parents and it wasn't to wish her a happy birthday. Sarah's younger brother, Richard, had passed away. As I drove Sarah home, I heard bits and pieces of the story through the tears and utter grief.

Taking Care of Business

Obviously, Sarah wanted and need to be with her family. So we started making plans. Sarah called her friend Holly to take Tuck, Sarah's dog. Sarah began packing. I notified some people on Sarah's behalf and we began making travel arrangements. Holly came over and started in, right away. She helped clean the kitchen, got Sarah packed, and was there to love on Sarah. It was a beautiful picture of the family of God coming together.

If Holly was doing all that, what was I doing you might ask?! Well, I spent 55 minutes on the phone trying to book Sarah's ticket home. There was a ticket leaving Austin at 6:15 in the morning and arriving at 11:51am in Louisville, KY. Gene, the woman on the other end, was apparently having issues with my credit card number and my address. Airlines have special grievance policies for situations like these. With this airline, you could book a flight with a return date up to 60 days later. Sarah can call and change the return flight at anytime for no additional fee. This is nice in the midst of the chaos.

After an infuriating hour long conversation, we had a confirmation number for Sarah's flight.

I retreated to my apartment, called my own mom, and changed my clothes. As I spoke to my mom, she expressed her concern for my ability to drive Sarah to the airport on no sleep. I assured her I would be fine, however, she asked I bring someone along for the drive back. After calling a friend, Meredith, who was surprisingly awake, she agreed to venture to Austin with me.

A quick nap, and a cup of coffee later, Sarah, Meredith, and I were on our way to Austin at 3am.

I hate Northwest Airlines

Hate is a strong word, and I was taught not to use it. However, in this situation, the word may apply. And if there was ever a post that could make me use expletives, this might be it. After spending an hour on the phone booking the flight and receiving a confirmation number, I thought we were all set to get Sarah on that plane.

We dropped Sarah off at 5am, hugged, and sent her on her way with her confirmation number. According to Gene, Sarah was suppose to go to the counter, give the confirmation number and they would print her off a ticket.

Meredith and I drove away.

A few miles down the road, we stopped at McDonalds for breakfast and a large soft drink. As I'm not accustomed to drinking soda, I thought the caffeine and carbonation would be a good idea in case I got tired :)

While in McDonalds, I receive a call from Sarah. She says the ticket counter wants the originally person who purchased the ticket to call their customer service line, talk to the originally person (Gene). NWA doesn't really say WHY, they want this but apparently there is some problem. Sarah let's them know that's probably not possibly and explains that they can call their own customer service people and find out what the issue is (go Sarah!).

After a few more minutes of talking, she says they are finally going to print her out a boarding pass. I wish her safe travels and we get back on the road.

At 6:41am, I get another call. It's Sarah. The conversation starts something like this.

Shannon: (Answers phone) Why are you calling me, what happened, why are you not on an airplane?

Sarah: Apparently, they didn't print me a real ticket

Shannon: WHAT?!

Sarah: I went to board and handing them my 'ticket' they said it wasn't a ticket.

Sarah then went on to explain that the ticket wasn't a true ticket. (How's that for security?!) And they proceeded to tell her that the information about the funeral home/phone number didn't line up. Sarah told them arrangements hadn't been made yet and that she would get that information to them at a later point. The customer service representatives from NWA then proceeded to ask her all sort of questions about his death. Did he die in a hospital, could we have the hospital's contact information to verify? When did he die? And other inappropriate questions. Apart from these NOT being their business, they were asked in such a way without any care or concern for what Sarah was experiencing.

Unforutnately, after all these questions, the jetway was pulled and Sarah wasn't on the flight.

A Northwest Airlines representative told Sarah that the flight had not been booked, but rather put 'on hold' thus they wanted the credit card information again. (Note: I gave that information to them over the phone 6 to 7 times, what to do you mean it was put 'on hold')

As Sarah was telling me this story, expletives began to come to mind... was this really happening?!

Sarah then threw her credit card on the kiosk and told them to book her a flight, she needed to get home.

So Sarah headed to another terminal to try and board the plane. Only, as Sarah looked down at her ticket she realized they had booked her on a flight to Lexington, KY not to Louisville, KY. Heading back to the kiosk, Sarah informed them of their mistake. Fortunately, there was a flight on their sister airline (Delta) that arrived at 12:30pm which they were able to get her on.

I couldn't believe the mess of Northwest Airlines. Nor could I believe the treatment they gave Sarah, especially in light of her situation.

I will be calling them and complaining at length about both the experience booking the flight and on behalf of Sarah's experience with their representatives at the airport.

And, I will never, ever, fly with Northwest if I can control it.

Texas Sunrise

In a previous post, I mentioned my love of sunrises. On Friday morning, driving back from Austin, Meredith and I experienced one of the best sunrises I've seen in a long time (maybe ever). Words won't do justice to its beauty. The oranges, reds, blues, and purple were vibrant and filled the Texas sky. The clouds looked like snow capped mountains outlined by the radiance of the skies color.

What a beautiful reminder of the newness of the day, of the beauty that can be, of the awesomeness of our creator, and that life is meant to be experienced.

Randomness

So how's that for a random post?! It was a long day for me, and longer for Sarah. I cannot imagine. My heart aches for and with her family as they go through this terrible loss.