Leaving on a jet plane...

In the morning I'll be getting on a bus to Atlanta... Where I'll board a plane to begin my trek to Cairo, Egypt.

Is this real life? Sure, seeing the pyramids and climbing Mt. Sinai. are both on my bucket list, but I honestly didn't think I'd get to do them for quite some time, if ever. Yet, here I am. About to set out on an adventure of a lifetime... Add in two of my closest friends and there's bound to be some misadventures too.

Early morning and a looooong day ahead so I'm gonna hit the hay :)

Oh, and to close out... I'm gonna post a sonnet to the Passport agency in honor of receiving my passport this morning.

An Ode to the Passport Agency:

Passport, passport oh where could you be?

They act like you're made from gold

when it's really just trees!

Passport, passport I just want to leave.

So I can go to the land of dead Kings

And kitties that don't skeet!

Miss Passport Agency Help Center Lady,

I've memorized the steps it takes to hear your voice

You tell me I have no choice

But to freak out and cry

Can't you at least try?

Routine? Expedite? Overnite?

I feel like I'm Tom Hanks with no Wilson

Just let me go to Egypt to meet Australians

Waited outside the FedEx today

Creeper status but hey

Guess who has her passport?

This chick.

Take that Passport Agency Trick.

انظر يا أمريكا

aka....

see ya America,

-ce

boring, boring day

I absolutely love strengths. I'm not just talking about the strengths you make up in a job interview... I'm talking the strengths from Gallup's StrengthsQuest. Make fun of me, it's okay. But I work on campus in the office that administers this personality test and sets up motivational talks integrating strengths into vocation.

That said, I absolutely love strengths. They give such insight into who we are as individuals yet allow us to see similarities between each other.

My strengths in order are:

Includer

Positivity

Harmony

Developer

Belief

Straight up hippie strengths... but I see those five words and I see myself in them.

Includer: I love to bring people in. To invite them into relationship with me. This also gets me in trouble when it comes to boys because apparently it sends mixed messages. Nah, they just fall for my perfect mix of sweet and sarcastic.

Positivity: I consistently look for the upside in any situation. Rather than focus on what could go wrong and stress about it, I relax and hope for the best. (key example: freaking passport)

Harmony: making everyone comfortable in a situation is way important to me. I can blend with just about any group of people without feeling like I need to change or they need to change. Instead I have this innate acceptance of who people are. Sure they still drive me crazy, but they also let me be crazy when I need to.

Developer: This is the Social Worker within me. I gain such a great sense of satisfaction when I help someone else move from point A to point B. When I can be a supporting force, yet I see them make choices for themselves to change and live. This should be higher in the ranks, I think.

Belief: I base my choices on a set of core values. These values are a huge part of who I am and most of them are rooted in the teachings of my Dad. I was not raised in a Church-centered home, yet I have an extremely strong moral compass and I have him to thank for that.

Not sure why I decided to blog about my strengths. I guess I just needed an excuse not to facebook stalk the boy. Let's just go through my day... thats what this junk is for right?

7:30 am- Rise and shine... and write a short paper... thanks summer school

8:30 am- class... I wanted to die of boredom. 3 1/2 hours of one class is enough to make anyone miserable even if it's interesting. We discussed the separation of church/state... Which I've decided I'm in favor of. (Don't tell Westboro Baptist... they'll picket outside of my house next)

12:00- Yay! no more class. Shopping for Egypt appropriate clothing. Let's be real... that's code for ankle length skirts and loose fitting tops. I have boobs... they already hate Egypt.

The rest of the day is a blur. I wish I was somewhere cool that would have tons of new adventures and places to explore everyday.

Oh and I bought a new bra from Victoria Secret. This is so sad.

Let's get to the bottom of why I had to blog: Boy. Well, it's more like lack thereof. Still strong in my fast... except it's getting both easier and harder to not talk to him. I mean, let's be real, I'm leaving on Sunday for Egypt for 2.5 weeks. A lot can happen in that amount of time.. Including me being forgotten....

I read in a book today (He's just not that into you) and the author said this, "You are not so easily forgotten. Let him miss you." sigh... okay, okay! I'm doing just that... but I really want to say bye and/or hang out before I leave... NOPE not doing it... Okay I might send a "see ya" text tomorrow..... but if my friends have anything to do with it... that's not going to happen either.

Yeah, I may be semi-pathetic. But hey, I don't care. At least I have a boy to fast.

Living in Passport Hell

Passport chaos 101.

Flashback to April 30, 2010.

It was a sunny Friday and I was applying for my passport. The woman behind the desk assured me this cursed book would arrive at my house within 7-10 days.

Flash forward to May 10, 2010.... My passport application JUST arrived at the Agency.

Stress factor: I leave for EGYPT on MAY 16th!

yeah....

I really need this to all work out or guess what? I'm not graduating in December. NOT OKAY. Not to mention the fact I already paid for my study abroad trip. This cannot be real life.

Lighter note:

Day 2 of playing tennis and replacing boredom with activities (rather than eating). Not gonna lie, my forehand is getting sick... my backhand is a whole different story though... Who knows... I may give Serena a run for her money

Oh and I really do have an amazing group of friends.

The roommates: Lindsay and Jess

The besties since college started: Lindsay (again) and Roxie

International bffs: Christin... i need more... so the bffs is a bffs instead of bff

Lifetime Homie: Alley... coming up on our 10th anniversary of most bestest friendship

Honestly, these people help me survive life. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Boy Fast update: still holding strong. Got a text from an old friend today... should've married him a long time ago. Hindsight. It's nice to talk to people you really click with though. It's never been any work for us to just sit and talk for hours. I love that. Who knows... Maybe someday. At least HE appreciates my Buckeyes. Legit Ohioans are always good for that much. But it's like he always says, what's meant to be will be... so I'll keep living life and see where the road takes me :)

Talked to Padre today (that's my dad) and we just shot the sh*t.... as he would say. It was nice to have a normal conversation with no stress of money or school mixed in. Speaking of school... definitely made all A's and one A-.... NBD. So excited. Back on that Dean's List and I'm officially graduating Magna Cum Laude! Everything I worked for is happening and it's all because of me, no one else :)

Tomorrow's agenda:

Tennis with Allison and Lindsay at 11 AM. Class at 1 PM.... just remembered I haven't done the research for my powerpoint... Nor have I studied my terms for the quiz... Guess I should probably get some sleep so I can get up early enough to take care of that...

-ce

A lot happens in 3 months....

There are some people who just rock at this whole blogging thing. And then there's ME.

Let's just say I'm a commitment-phobe. But really, I am. That and I can barely remember to shower daily, let alone sit at a computer and type out the happenings of my extremely interesting and fast-paced college life.

But don't stress... Summer has returned! As in the season, not the person. And with summer comes endless hours/days/weeks of not much of anything else for me to do other than pour out my emotions, activities, and adventures via internet postings. Clearly, I know I don't have a whole hoard of followers waiting each day to hear what I have to say. However, I plan to use

this as a way to look back on my life.

Let's see... How about a quick rundown of my life since February.

• Retreat with Epsilon Lambda Phi- Gatlinburg, TN. BUNGEE JUMPING (3x) and having the best weekend of my life... well it's in the top 20 anyway.
  
  
• Spring Break- Estero, FL.... bingo, shuffleboard, Grandma Diana and my great-grandmother.gosh I really should've blogged about that. It was the antithesis of all my friends' spring break and I loved it!
• Easter Weekend- Spent in good ole Cleveland, TN... Until my best friend Roxie and I decided to drive to Savannah, GA on Easter Sunday. We spent the night in my minivan (Peggy) in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The next morning we were up early enough for McDonald's breakfast (hashbrowns, holla) and at the beach by 10 AM. Get on our level. And we were home by Midnight. Roxie had an exam on tuesday morning at 7:45 am. Let's be honest here, that was one of the coolest things I've done on a complete whim.
• Turned over Presidency of Epsilon to my roommate Jessica.
• filed my taxes and got that refund. HOLLA.
• Oh yeah, and I "wogged" the Country Music Half Marathon on April 24. Wogged is a word I coined myself. It's a combo of walk and jog... in case you were struggling to figure it out. It was an incredible experience and I'm excited to build on the success I felt with barely finishing it. Maybe I'll actually train for my next half... which happens to be the Nike Women's Half in Nashville this September :)
• Signed up for a study abroad trip to EGYPT. Yeah, another rash decision but it's perfect.

Finished my finals 2 weeks ago and I've just been hanging out. I said goodbye to my best friend who moved to Thailand to teach for a year. Definitely the hardest goodbye I've ever had. Seriously, I didn't cry when I left my family to move here... or my boyfriend at the time. But somewhere along the line in the past two years, I've created friendships with people I saw daily and I know I won't physically be in her presence until next May. But I'm beyond excited to see what God does in that amount of time. So much happens in such a short amount of time.

I'm currently fasting a boy... as in, I'm not texting or calling him. I guess I'm just ready for him to miss me some...and see what it's like when I'm not around. Maybe then he won't be such an "eenie meenie miney mo lover." This fast will be MUCH easier come Sunday when I fly out of Atlanta, GA to Cairo, Egypt. I'm not taking my phone or computer so I'll be able to fully BE THERE. And sure, I'll keep telling myself I won't think about him. Maybe it'll actually happen because it's an epic fail as long as he's just across town.

When I get back, I'm gonna need to see my family. I haven't seen them since January 5th when I left Ohio to go back to school. HOMESICKNESS to the max. BUT it's also getting easier each day that I push through missing them. It's getting me ready for growing up and being a big girl. aka, I'll be able to move and not have my school breaks to see them.

hmmm..... summer.... feels right.