christmas in sept.

ok so you know your life is lame when you get excited about getting a new monitor at work. but alas. on tuesday i got a new 19" flat screen dell monitor. now i really was excited about having more space on my desk, because before my monitor took up my entire workspace (i can't call it a desk because it's too small to call a desk) and the color was bad and the display was really dark. but now i have space and i don't have to sit five inches from my monitor. awesome.

but i also recieve a fifty cent pay increase. so whoop for me. it felt like christmas.

so jingle some bells for me.

a challenge...

so my friend jocelyn found a race and wants alisha and i to join her team. but we are looking for a few more good people to join in. if you are up to the challenge let me know. you can check out all of the details at

http://www.oysterracingseries.com/Austin-Home/home.aspx

new tripod...

i have replaced my tripod...whoop. ten bucks on craigslist and way better than the one i bought in china.

thank you to the inventor of the internet, al gore.

ode to my tripod

so my tripod has died. the head fell off the legs. i was real sad. mainly because i got it while i was in china...it was one of the only things that bought while i was there. it has travelled with me to mississippi and kentucky, while helping me create better videos. so i will have to replace it soon. i think an upgrade will be necessary since this one only lasted about a year and a half.




so here's to you, my tripod.

the trials of the Bryan DMV

So my license was to expire on my birthday, June 12 (check out alisha blog for a whole summary of the festivies). And since I am in Texas and hopefully will be here a bit longer, I decided to get a Texas drivers license (and because it was cheaper than renewing it online in Mississippi). So the thursday before my birthday I went down to the dmv with my current license and my passport. Upon arrival I find out that they only take cash and that I have to show my orignal social security card. (which by the way i think is ridiculous because i had to mail it and my birth certificate in to get a passport). I returned home only to figure out that my social security card had been left in mississippi when i was there last. So I got my mom to mail it to me, but did not recieve it until the thursday after my birthday. When I finally got back to the dmv, last thursday, I have my social security card and drivers license, which is not enough, so i go back home to get my birth certificate. I finally get the paperwork to fill out and wait. During my wait I see one of the women who works in my office, Dr. Flaherty, with her daughter. My number is called and i proceed to the teller. She tells me since my license is expired I have to retake both portions of the tests. So I take the written part of the test. I was pretty nervous, considering that I don't know about Texas violation laws. And there were many questions on the fines for driving. But alas, I pass the written test. The lady tells me to go and talk to the woman at the original counter about scheduling a driving test. That lady informs me that there are no tests available and I have to return at 8 am another day, because the appointments are given out on a first come first serve basis. I return on Friday at 8 and the line is out the door and eventually I find out that there are no tests slots left for that day. Well Friday afternoon I find out from Dr. Flaherty that she and her daughter arrived at the dmv at 7:05 to get their driver's test slot and there were 7 people in line front of them. So this morning, I get up and get gas and proceed to the dmv. I arrive at 7 exactly and there are four men already there. Once i get to the front of the line I get a test at 8:45. I wait and arrive at 8:45 ready to go (actually I was pretty nervous). The lady gets me to do all of these different things and then we finally pull out and I have to parallel park. Now I know how to parallel park. I have done it many a time trying to move out of the dorm. But I fail to do it to her liking. I pull out of the spot and then we are off. I basically make a big square and we return to the dmv. She proceeds to tell me that I didn't pass and actually I didn't even get to finish the test. At this point I am mad. And there are many reasons why but I don't really think anybody wants to read about all of my "mistakes". So I can return at any point, but I only have two more trys to pass or I have to start this whole process over again... I keep waiting for them to ask for a blood and urine sample.

we went and conquered

ok, so i have been talking about this race since at least february if not before. and finally the weekend came for alisha and mine's adventurous race, the muddy buddy race. we left college station on sat and arrived in austin, at what we thought was the only rei in austin for registration, but we later found out was that there are two rei's in austin and we were at the wrong one. so we got directions and headed over to the other rei. we signed our lives away and got our horrendous technical shirts (i'll post a picture). then we headed over to andrea and jocelyn's place to hang out and get ready for the race on sun. upon arrival we finally got to explain the race and andrea looked at the race's website and of course found the costume contest. she proceeded to ask us what we were dressing up as. (at this point we didn't know, we figured we would just make some t shirts or something) but andrea and jocelyn were like wear that awesome teal 80s dress that andrea owns. so i tried on, but it didn't fit but we rigged it up to my shirt so that i could wear it. but then we were like what is alisha going to wear? and we decided that we would be beauty queens. so we had to go get alisha a dress. we headed on over to goodwill and found her a black and blue sparkly dress. it was so pretty that the women who checked her out said, 'well, didn't you get a deal? this dress is so nice' and alisha didn't have the heart to tell her that we were going to wear it through the mud. then we grabbed some dinner and picked up a few more supplies (some tiaras and white t shirts) and then rented little miss sunshine, because none of the girls besides alisha and i had seen the awesomeness. so we watched little miss sunshine, which was so much fun to watch andrea, jocelyn, and katie's reactions to the movie (i even think andrea shed a few tears). we made our miss muddy buddy 07 sashes and attached our crowns to our helmets, then we hit the sack. we set the alarm for 5 but i didn't even hear it, so we got up at 5:30, ate some cereal, got dressed, took some pictures, and took off for the race. once we arrived, we had to park about a mile away. we also felt a bit ridiculous because all the people around us weren't dressed up at all, but we put the bike together and headed toward the start point. when we finally got close to the start point, we heard the annoucement for all of the costumed racers to come to the stage for the contest. so we headed up to the stage, which was a bit hard to find because of all of the barriers and things in the way. we started to feel a bit better about our outfits once we saw everyone else around us. even though we looked awesome, the two guys that were dressed up as the ambigously gay duo beat us for the road atlas. there were other people dressed up as chicago bears football players, some master's graduates (they both had just gotten their masters at tu), some people in those fat bikini suits, molly shannon as superstar, dirty nurses, and some girls wearing lingere. well, the race started in waves and we were in the 9th wave which meant that even though the race started at 8, we didn't start until 8:50. the race course was a bit more difficult than we expected but we made it through. there was serious mountain biking and a mountain that alisha had to push the bike up (she's a hoss). there were balance beams, cargo nets, a small climbing wall, a ranger weave (it was a bit lame) as the obstacles at each checkpoint. but alas we arrived at the mud pit and crawled through the grossest mud i think i have ever encountered. it was thick liquid mud. and because we had those tiaras on our helmets, we had to stick our faces into the mud to get under the flags that made you crawl through the mud. but it was amazing. here's a picture after some of the mud had been sprayed off of us.

my dress was so heavy from the mud that it was falling off, but i did have on another shirt underneath. more pictures will be posted soon.

we are awesome

muddy buddy...

so today i went with alisha to purchase her new bike helmet. she got this light blue louis garneau helmet with lots of ventilation. it looks pretty cool. i know you are wondering why this post is about alisha, well it's not. the reason why alisha needed a helmet is because in two weeks she and i will be participating in the most amazing experience in our lives (well at in our racing lives). we are doing what is referred to as the muddy buddy race. now there are several of these races across the country but instead of going somewhere like orlando, we will be heading to good ole' austin, texas to participate in this run/bike race, or what is more commonly referred to as a dualathon. but this isn't your average dualathon. this is a partner race. so alisha will start off running and i will start off biking. there are five to six legs of the race. so once we arrive upon the first checkpoint we will overcome some sort of obstacle and then switch, i will being running, she will begin biking. and we do this 5 times until we reach the final obstacle. this is the best part. we will have to crawl, not run or walk, maybe it will involve a bit of swimming through a huge mud pit. yes, a mud pit. it will be glorious. i can't wait. if you want a little bit more info, head on over to
http://www.muddybuddy.com/info.php - theres a video you can watch, but it's not great or anything, but it will give you more of an idea.

when we complete this feat, i promise to post my thoughts, feelings, excitement (maybe pictures) of the awesomeness that is known as the muddy buddy race.

identity theft

so val is doing her stat homework and wants me to update her blog...but its kinda hard writing as someone..like being a ghostwriter...you know those people who actually write the book, but its credited to someone else

anyways, i tried and couldnt do it, so i've resorted to come clean...this is not Valerie, its her best friend.

at ECU, where I was at grad school this past year..we started school the 2nd week of jan, so i finished up with everything on the 27th of april...its nice. i'll have a small break, but then i have to finish up my portofolio.

Val landed a student worker job at the International Programs Office. she will be working 20 hrs week for the summer & its kinda ironic: i've been applying for jobs there and she actually sent me a rejection letter today...but hopefully she'll put in a good word for other apps i send in.

in other news, Disturbia is a avery freaky movie. Valerie thought it was good, me on the other couldve lived a fullfilling life never having seen it..but then again, i'm not a fan of scary/suspenseful movies.

thats all ive got for my debut appearance on val's blog.
now that i have access..who knows? maybe i'll sneak on again :o)
stay tuned. hopefully val will be getting back to regularly updating this thing!

alisha

getting ready to die...

well, not literally. but within our world of the corps soon, i will be dead and forgotten. which i am coming to terms with. i think back to all of the time and sweat that i have had here in dorm 4 on the 4th floor. i hope that i will say that it was worth it, and the closer it comes the more i do feel that way, that it was worth it. i have met some awesome people that i would have never met before and we have had some fun together and some arguements as well, and thats okay with me.

class is winding down, and it has gone by so fast. i feel like the older i get the faster it goes by.

worldwind week...

last monday i picked up my fish camp letter from the application i turned in forever ago and found out that i was a part of the fish camp 07 staff. whoop for that.

after studying and taking two tests on wed, i had my camp revelation, where i found out that i was a member of crew, which should be tons of fun. i am excited about getting to know the other 24ish people that are a part of my camp.

on thursday i headed to waco with angela to see RENT! which was also a lot of fun. the music in that production is just so good, it's hard to mess it up.

friday night consisted of hanging out with my hope group family, the glow 5k run, there had to be at least 1000 people there. which made the course really crowded, but all in all was a lot of fun running with my buddies, butts, and some fish. then went and hung out with my fish camp.

sat. was a time of rest and relaxation. living hope that night and good eating and fellowship with friends.

sun. i arose to run the first armadillo dash half marathon with chris r., chris f., steven, and sonia. i finished. whoop! then got dressed up as the tooth fairy for my first fish camp development program. then headed back to the dorm for some studying for a test i had today.

mon and tues were both big study days. i have one more test before spring break. i can't wait for friday to get here.

my first map

so it's a consistant question from friends, family, and random strangers as to whether or not i make maps since i am a geography major. and my answer to that question is normally no, i don't make maps or color maps, because that is not all that geographers do (sometimes we geographify, courtesy of a friend of alisha's). but since i am in a cartography (map making) class, i actually have to make maps. so this is the first assignment where we had to take map elements and format the elements to make the map. and voila! here it is...

a weekend to remember...

thursday around 2, chris felleisen, fish gabe, and i set off for baton rouge, la. after a long lunch/dinner at bennigens (where chris and gabe somehow only left the waitress less than a dollar tip), a trip to walmart for underwear for chris, and some great music classics, we arrived in baton rouge at doug and kathryn's house and then met up with a high school friend of chris's and finally headed to a good night's rest.

friday morning we woke up ate some cinnamon rolls and then headed to the big easy to watch the fish compete at tulane. they did an awesome job and continued the tradition of winning the national championship. good job fish. after the awards ceremony we went back to doug and kat's for the evening. we got to hang out with the fam (doug, kat, kylie, karis, and caleb) along with jenny anne and chris and their daughter addison and eat some good poppy seed chicken and all the fixins, including some d.taylor sweet tea, abooyah. we tried to get to bed at a decent hour, in order for our long party day ahead.

sat. we arose quite early, but still later than most days in cs, and traveled back to the big easy. after we found a free parking spot, we made our way to the french quarter and introduced gabe to cafe du' monde and some beignets. then we walked most of the parade route, until my feet couldn't take it any more, along with a stop at the d-day museum. we watched the krewe of iris parade and caught a ton of beads and saw the fish again. then we started to walk back to the french quarter to meet up with the fish. after grabbing a bite to eat at johnny's poboys, we saw the fish, then started to head back to the car to drop off all the beads we collected earlier so we could get some more. once that mission was accomplished, we headed down bourbon street to get to canal for the endymion parade that night. we met up with the fish and headed to the parade. we somehow got stuck in the middle of the road for the parade, along with some lsu students, one of whom went to high school with one of chris's roommates from the summer. so we hung out with them for the parade and then talked about being facebook friends and taking pictures. we watched the parade and saw some of the saints players, taylor hicks (last season's american idol), journey and styx. we didn't get as many beads at this parade, but that was ok, because we got a lot earlier in the day. by the time the parade was over, we were really hurting from walking around all day, so we headed back down bourbon and back to the car.

sun. we slept all morning and headed back to cs. after a stop in orange, to eat with lauren (a friend of chris's from mock trial), we made it back here. all for an extremely fun and unforgettable trip.

here are some pictures for your enjoyment...

my feet...

so there you go. feel bad for me. no don't. just hope and pray that it will be gone soon.
so since october, my feet have been rotting away by this fungal/rash/skin disorder thing that doctors can't diagnose. it's getting worse, and i know that i have complained to many of you. so i felt like those who haven't had the opprotunity to see my disgusting feet in all their glory should have the chance to. so here you go.

no life?...

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 movies, you have no life. There are 239 movies on this list.

() Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
() Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
() Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
() Blazing Saddles
() Airplane
Total:5

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
() Labyrinth
() American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
Total so far:15

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
() The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 21

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(x) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
() I, Robot
() Robots
Total so far: 28

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
() KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
() KING KONG
Total so far: 33

() A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
(x) Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
() Halloween
(x) The Ring
() The Ring 2
(x) Surviving X-MAS
(x) Flubber
Total so far: 39

() Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
() Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
() Ghost Ship
() From Hell
() Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
() The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 42

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
() Child's Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
(x) Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 49

() Bad Boys
() Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
() Ocean's Twelve
() Bourne Identity
() Bourne Supremecy
() Lone Star
() Bedazzled
() Predator I
() Predator II
()The Fog
(x) Ice Age
()Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 51

(x) Independence Day
() Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x)ET
() Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
()Rush Hour
() Rush Hour 2
Total so far:53

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
() Calendar Girls
() Sideways
()Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
(x)Ever After
(x)Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
() Big Trouble in Little China
() The Terminator
() The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 57

(x) X-Men
(x) X2
() X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x )Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
() Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
(x)The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
() The Skulls
() Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
() Shrek 2
Total so far: 64

() Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
(x) The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
(x) The Glass House
() Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old-virgin
Total so far: 70

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
() Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x)Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x)Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x)Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 75

(x) Baseketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Rejects
(x)Elf
() Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
() American History X
() Three
Total so Far: 77

(X) Mean Girls
() Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x)Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
() Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard
Total so far: 81
() Sleepy Hollow
() Club Dread
() Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
(x)Hook
(x)Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
() Orgazmo
(x) Drumline
(x)Hocus Pocus
Total so far: 86

() Kill Bill vol 1
() Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
() the Hills Have Eyes
(x) Uptown Girls
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness
Total so far: 87

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x)Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x)Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x)Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x)Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x)Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 93

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
() Snakes on A Plane
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
() Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
() Hannibal
Grand total:97

so the worst part about it, is that I only counted the movies that I remember finishing. some I remember starting, but am pretty sure that I didn't finish them. and there are some on there that I want to see but haven't (like snakes on a plane) and really if you think about this list, there are a whole lot of movies that aren't even on the list that I know I have seen. this list just seems like a lot of movies that are on tv or one day will be. so try it out for yourself. copy the list and fill it out to see if you have a life

new post...finally

so my apologies to all of my readers for my sabatical from blogging last semester. i was so focused on my classes last semester that i forgot/avoided posting on my blog. it was a good semester all in all. the grades came out decently (better than the past semester, but not as good as i hope they could be), i ran in the dallas white rock half marathon and another ten mile race, and corps stuff was corps stuff. it was good though to finally walk in my boots, i made it and it's sometimes a bit unbelievable.

oh and i have been tagged. it's this game that some of the living hope bloggers started. basically i have to post 5 secrets or facts that not alot of people know and then "tag" 5 other people who do the same thing...so here goes

1. my first day of school during the second grade i got really sick and ended up having the chicken pox, so i missed the beginning of school.

2. when i was around 5 or 6, i was in love with the little mermaid and i had little mermaid everything, comforter, calculator, tshirts, and many other things...it was a bit ridiculous

3. during my junior and senior years of high school i was the mascot (the cougar) but the summer between i went to cheerleading camp and won the spirit stick and it's at my house.

4. i always wanted to go on the show "american gladiators" but i don't think exists anymore

5. when i was in eigth grade i competed in a creative problem solving team competition called Odessey of the Mind and my team won 1st place in the state and went to the world competition in knoxville, tennessee.

so i tag.... chris ragan, vanessa brooks, and finally david crowder that's it i don't want to tag 5 people so i am only tagging 3

till next time...