Oh the joy!

Now that I know I have a place to move to, I have to start packing. Why do I have so much stuff???? I packed all day today - what a way to spend Memorial Day but I feel I was pretty productive.

What do you think?

Friends with benefits

Ha - if you thought this was going to be a dirty post - shame on you!

My friend Sarah (that's her picture on the right) works for a local news station and she got us Media passes for the Evansville BlueCats football game. The BlueCats are an indoor arena football team. We can go to all the games, sit where we want, and don't have to pay a thing! Plus we got to eat in the Media room and after the game we went to the after game party with all the players.

The game was fun even though the BlueCats lost :( Sarah was amazed by my wealth of football knowledge and I was ecstatic when the team tried a two-point conversion (one of my favorite football plays!). I also got to meet Sarah's new beau who seems very nice and he offered me a ticket to see the Indy 500 tomorrow but he was leaving at midnight and I just wasn't prepared for an all night and day road trip. At least I got to cross one thing off my "Things to do before you leave Eville" list (attending the BlueCats game). I guess I just won't see a NASCAR race before I leave.

Wow, did I have that wrong!

Today, I went to Angel Mounds which is one of the best preserved prehistoric Native American sites in the nation - this was on my list of things to do before I left Evansville. I thought that the mounds would be large man-made hills that the Native Americans lived inside of but I was so wrong. Now it might have been interesting if they were burial mounds or trash heaps but that wasn't the case either. Instead the Mounds are man-made hills that the Native Americans built their important buildings on. This picture on the right is one of the mounds. The picture on the left is the view from the top of the tallest mound. Angel Mounds is a large piece of land and the four or five mounds are spread out and not that big. And they are named Angel Mounds after the farming family that donated the land to the state of Indiana. They are doing a dig on the land right now but they haven't found much in terms of ancient relics and no one is sure why the Native Americans that lived there moved away. It was a nice walk though and I chatted with a man from St. Louis who told me that the Cahokia Mounds near St. Louis are the same thing - at least I know not to go there!

Not one of the mounds had a building on it! I think Angel Mounds has potential to be a real interesting place. They believe from the digs that the site was surrounded by a large wall to protect the inhabitants. They had reconstructed one little piece of the wall but it would be neat to see it all reconstructed. This picture on the right is of the bridge to enter the site that went over a moat which was cool. I just think they need to reconstruct the site more but it probably is a funding issue which wouldn't surprise me because Indiana does not care about the environment, natural resources, or anything not directly linked to money (hey it's a RED state!). What a shame!

Eleven reasons

When I was at Penn State, I bought a glass with the following list printed on it.

Top 10 Reasons to go to Penn State:
1. The student body - We are...Penn State!
2. Largest alumni association of any college or university in the world
3. Beaver Stadium, the 2nd largest college football stadium
4. Nittany Lion Shrine
5. Eating ice cream in the creamery
6. Meeting friends at the HUB-Robeson Center
7. Mount Nittany
8. THON
9. The only college with a sports facility named after a University President and a library named after a football coach
10. The autumn leaves in Happy Valley

Here are a couple pictures I took when I was interviewing on campus. Oh, and in case you were wondering about the eleventh reason (this one is probably the most important) - THEY OFFERED ME A JOB TODAY!!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my friend Amanda's birthday but I can't wish her a happy one since she is on vacation in England so this will have to do!

Isn't this a great picture of her?! She is probably making this face as she reads this for the first time!

Adventures in car shopping and repair

A month ago, I decided I was going to buy a new car. Well, it wasn't going to be a new car as much a new used car. I subscribed to Carfax and started doing some comparison shopping. I needed an SUV with a tow package (because I needed to tow the trailer when I moved in August) and decided on a Dodge Durango even though I did toy with the idea of getting another Jimmy.

I don't like salespeople- I know they are only doing their job but I truly prefer a no hassle purchase - c'mon I even bought my cell phone on line - but I went to the car lot prepared to haggle and be bothered. Apparently, it is illegal to sell cars on Sunday in Indiana so I got to look around all the lots without a single salesman - how nice!

On Monday, I went back to the lot with a pretty blue Durango with a tow package. I guess that vehicle was not for sale anymore but they did have other Durangos available. Not one of them had a price on them and when I asked the salesman how much they cost, he said that I would be very happy with the price. Are they free? Because that would make me happy. I just shook my head and braced for the sales pitch.

I took two Durangos for a test drive - both without any salesman with me - that was nice. The Durango is a nice vehicle though I am concerned about the built-in gun storage that comes standard in all Durangos! Neither of the vehicles had a tow package and one of them smelled like a dog. How much do they cost I ask again. And that is when the salesman breaks out the contract and tried to get me to triple my down payment and send me home with over $300 a month car payments. Um, yeah, can you say no thanks.

I tried to leave. The trucks really didn't offer what I needed (a tow package!) and for $300 a month I surely wasn't going to pay extra to have one installed. Plus they really were pushing the red (not a good color for a SUV) Durango with four wheel drive (which I will never use) and bad breaks (the salesman told me that there is supposed to be more give on a 4WD brake pedal than a non 4WD pedal). Salesman, ugh!

The second time I tried to leave, they called in the big guns - the financial manager who explained to me the difference between simple interest and compound interest. He also told me I could trade in the vehicle again in a couple years. First of all, the salesman did not listen to me at all when I told him I was working on my MBA - for goodness sakes we covered all that finance crap in my undergrad - I am not a stupid girl! Second of all, if I was the type of person that traded in a vehicle every two years, would I be driving a 1986? I so dislike old men that think they can be condescending to me because I don't have a penis!

They weren't going to let me leave - I swear I felt trapped so I played their game. I became a stupid girl and started to get all choked up about making such a big purchase so they would let me leave. Gee whiz!

They were going to give me $1000 for my trade in before I did any haggling which is great because I thought I would have to do some begging just to get half of that. I am going to keep the Jimmy for a bit longer which means I need to get some things repaired. I had to buy a new air filter so that meant I had to go to the evil Autozone shop. Think the finance guy was rude, the old men at Autozone make him look sweet. I walk in and tell them what I need and they want to look at my car to make sure I know what I am talking about "because a 1986 Jimmy has to have 8 cylinders" - it doesn't but they argue for a bit. They give me the air filter (which was the one I said I needed) and then ask me if I need them to put it in for me. For Pete's sake, it is an air filter! I know I need to find a better auto supply store but this is the only one on the West side.

Today I get to spend over $400 in tires and wheels. My brother had these rims that made the tires stick out from the frame and when I made tight turns, the tries rubbed on the frame - hence why the two front tires were pretty damaged even though the tires were relatively brand new. Thankfully, the guys at the tire store are never condescending and actually answer all of my questions.

Try these tests Copycat!

Cosmos
You scored 35% exotic, 51% fragile, and 61% complex!

Traditional flower symbolism: modesty.
Which is ironic, seeing how it's called "Cosmos." Cause there are much more aggrandizing names out there, like...ummm...no, can't think of any :)
Your opposite is the Lotus.

Link: The What Flower Are You? Test written by gnomee666 on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Your Brain is 60% Female, 40% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Happy Mother's Day!

MY MOTHER'S GARDEN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My mother kept a garden,
a garden of the heart,
she planted all the good things
that gave my life its start.


She turned me to the sunshine
and encouraged me to dream,
fostering and nurturing
the seeds of self-esteem . . .


And when the winds and rain came,
she protected me enough,
but not too much because she knew
I'd need to stand up strong and tough.


Her constant good example
always taught me right from wrong--
markers for my pathway
that will last a lifetime long.


I am my Mother's garden.
I am her legacy-
and I hope today she feels the love
reflected back from me.


~~ Author Unknown ~~

I LOVE YOU! - Tracy ;)

You learn something new every day

Today did not start off well. I was scheduled to leave on a flight out of Evansville at 630am to go to a on-campus interview. At 330am, the phone rang. It was American Airlines calling to tell me that my flight connecting from Chicago had been cancelled and they wanted to get me rescheduled on a different flight. I am sure you can imagine the panic that set in. I was scheduled to have dinner with a couple people from the college at 7pm and the campus was a good three hour drive from the airport.

Luckily, the lady from AA was so kind; she got me rebooked on a Delta flight that flew in directly into the college town. My new flight did not leave until 11am so I had a good chunk of time to get some errands and such completed.

I connected in Cincinnati and during my hour layover was checking out the gift shops. A big type of treat over in this part of the country is Buckeyes. Buckeyes are a peanut butter cookie ball dipped in chocolate and I thought they were called Buckeyes because they looked like eyes. Um yeah, no. Apparently they are called Buckeyes after the nut of a tree that grows in Ohio. I had to learn this from a postcard in a gift shop in the Cincinnati airport which isn't really in Ohio!

Today was definitely a day of learning. Here is a summary of what I learned:

1. American Airlines is the best!
2. Buckeyes are nuts (no, this is not an insult to people from Ohio!)
3. The Cincinnati airport is in Kentucky.

It's not good to overload the brain on the day of an interview!

The end of my long running New Year's resolution

I was doing so well but today I had to go to Walmart to by Dry Cleaning sheets because they did not have them at any other store. Technically, my resolution was to not shop at Walmart unless what I needed was not available anywhere else but I felt so guilty being there and was glad no one spotted me.

Earlier today on the phone Amanda and I were talking about shopping at Walmart (before I actually went there). We had the same conversation I seem to have with everyone when they learn that I do not shop at Walmart.

"The little money I spend there won't make a difference if I spent it somewhere else" - Oh really?! Tell that to one of the stores that cannot compete with Walmart. This argument is like the crazy one people give when they don't vote. We know that every vote counts and so does every penny you input into the economy!

"You can buy everything for a everyday low, low price" - I believe it is a matter of what price you place on your ethics. Everyone knows that Walmart does not treat its employees well (pay, health benefits, working conditions) and I cannot put money into the pockets of a family that is known for being the least charitable family in America.

Taste the rainbow

Yesterday, Dylan kept telling his mom that he wanted to taste the rainbow. Kris thinking she just wasn't understanding what Dylan was saying (he is only two-almost three), sent Dylan to tell his Dad what he wanted. They finally figured out that Dylan wanted to eat the Skittles that were in the kitchen. Kris has since put Dylan on TV probation ;)

Sometimes what you don't say has more meaning that what you do say.

Job search update

This week I was offered a job. They meet all of the personal requirements I hoped my new position would offer - next to a large city, prominent sports program, doctoral program, and an opportunity to supervise a grad assistant. And there were other good things such as being only 20 minutes from my good friend Amanda.

So why didn't this blog entry start with "I have a job!"? Because I could not accept the position! They had a firm start date of July 6th. This wouldn't have been a problem if I wasn't enrolled in classes that didn't end until July 14th! Um, yeah I wouldn't have even applied if the start date was publicized but it was never mentioned and most schools are pretty flexible on start dates.

I guess it wasn't meant to be because I was seriously considering accepting a position at this school and now I didn't really have an option. I was pretty bummed out all day today but I have to think positive (right mom?). I do have a few things in the works and am really excited about my upcoming on-campus interview. Keep your fingers crossed!

Bad thief

There is a quote that says something like "There is no worse thief than a bad book". Oh so true. I just stopped reading "Wicked". I kept trying to read it thinking it would get better but after the graphic beastiality scene I just had to stop. Now how is this a proper sequel to The Wizard of Oz and how could this crap be made into a play? It's probably as bad as Rent.

Um...Have a nice life

Tonight I was once again faced with the weird dilemma a person experiences when they move away from a place. What do you say to a person that you more likely than not will not see ever again?

I invited my current student staff members, the student government members I advise, and students that I have interacted with over the past three years to come hang out at my apartment today. I cooked a bunch of food to lure them in because I wanted to have the opportunity to say goodbye.

Normally when a person leaves you say see you soon but I know that chances are I will not see these students, who I currently see almost everyday, ever again so how do you say goodbye? Um...have a nice life; it was nice knowing you.

I just hope that they know I am sincere because working here without having them around would have been miserable. They made this experience worthwhile.