Oct. 5th

Have I ever confessed that one of my favorite things about school visits is the visitor sticker I so proudly get to wear. I even get a little disappointed when they don't make me wear one, my favorite are the ones that actually state what school it is. It's amazing how wonderful life can be when simple things bring such joy. Some might choose the word sad, I say joy.

So today I continued my task of finding a grey dress the upcoming wedding. This story both consists of 1-my search of the day and 2-finding a perfect dress online within like 10 minutes back at the hotel. So 1- finding the dress. I went down to the outdoor mall in the Old Mill district today and one of the stores I went into, Mo Mo I think it as called, an asian lady was working....I'm going to guess she owns the place because a little asian baby was sitting on a chair watching a computer screen in the middle of the store. Any who, she asks me if I'm looking for anything in particular and so I tell her "why yes, a grey dress." So she shows me that there are two grey dresses in the store. She holds one up, and goes "I don't think this would fit you. What size are you." I will preface this that the dress she held up was cinched into a 5 inch width and when held up to my body barely covered my torso. The real wild part of the story, however, is that as she asked me what size I am she was sticking her hands into my cardigan and putting her hands around my rib cage What! After, she wanted me to try the dress on, yeah, apparently after groping my ribs she thought I might be able to squeeze into the skanky little dress. I politely declined, as when I walk into a room I'd like my virtue to remain intact. 2- Upon returning back to my hotel room, getting online and hitting up j crew, I found a adorable grey dress on sale for under $100. Done and done.

I have had this odd feeling of wanting to nest and decorate. Today I bought a set of nicer towels for the downstairs bathroom. I also bought an adorable candle holder from World Market, a glass capped pitcher for my favorite homemade salad dressing (dressing courtesy of the Miller cousins) and a spatula because we only have one.....now two.You know what this means- I can mix with both hands at the same time.
I really want a throw pillow.

I feel like I've produced a double chin over the course of this travel season. Can't wait to get back to the courthouse gym and start working out consistently again. This d.c. will be gone like the wind. Speaking of d.c., I once had a coffee drink named after me at North Salem in their Coffee Shack. That's right folks...basically famous, I had a drink named after me called the Iced D.C. It stood for Donica.Casey, our drink of choice from the before mentioned coffee shop. It was also, at the same time my aunt had moved to Washington D.C., and everyone teased me that they were sure sorry to see my mother move across the country (according to the family we resemble each other quite a bit both in appearance and expressiveness). You be the judge.

Thanks for allowing me this narcissistic story, as I had an asian lady judge me for not purchasing her prostitute outfit. A little self indulgence memory reliving wipes that slate clean.

If I ever accept an award for anything, please do not allow me to do a twirl on stage.

I've decided I want to get my gun handlers license. Or permit. I suppose in order to do this I should learn some proper terminology, but with that said, I want to know how to handle a gun. To have confidence in myself to respect and use a gun correctly, because truth be told I assume at this point in life I would either have it easily taken away from me, shoot my own foot in nervousness or point a gun at a bad person and never realize it's on safety the entire time. We all know its true, I can't deny it.

October...4th

First and foremost, happy birthday to my wonderful little sister today! woohoo, you are officially 12 years old! Enjoy the age, its a good one. :o)

After this week is over I will have only slept in my own bed for one night in the past month....you read that right, one night in a month. Now before you go getting any ideas, those other 29 nights have been in hotel rooms with the company of my mother or my book. This week I find myself in Bend, OR. I started this morning before it was even light outside and drove to Madras. It was beautiful outside, the sun coming up and shining beyond Smith Rock, and later down the road a perfect view of Sisters Mountains and...Five Fingered Jack. Maybe its another number because all hands have five fingers so that confuses me why it would be a distictive feature to a mountain top.

"Looks like tarzan and plays like Jane." Hilarious quote from that new football movie that I'm currently watching and completely unaware of the name of. And thus also displaying how easily distracted I am.

Coming home for a day was rejuvenating. Got to see wonderful friends and family, clean my clothes, and be in familar areas for almost two days.  I so look forward to my week home next week. Ohmygoodness, I want to go watch some football so badly, I miss those days of games every week! But you won't catch me watching it on tv, now if I knew the personalities and names of the players that would totally change it.

I totally had things I wanted to say but I've forgotten them all. I'm excited to go to North Salem next week, it always brings back so many memories walking those halls. And so many faces I'm happy to see and catch up with. Although, when I was there is was a completely different place than it is today I'm sure. It makes me wonder where it'll be in another 6 years.

Since I have nothing to really say, I'm out for now.

Sept. 30th

Of any days that deserve to be blogged from the last three weeks its today. Today has been....terrible. Well, not true, today started terrible and ended alright. I feel as though this should be outlined in chronological order.
7:30am- I leave for my first school visit, which starts at 8am. I get there early, the address I had was actually the school district building verses the actual school, so the school district office gives me the "proper" address. I get going, hoping to only be a bit late. Turns out it took me to an empty field.... all that to say, I called the school I was suppose to be at and got chewed out by the counselor. Curse words come to mind. I bit my tongue while she beraided me for not knowing how to get there, attacked my character for getting lost and basically told me I was incompetent and irresponsible. Awesome.... its not often that people's words can bring me to tears, but I was on the verge. It's also not often I wish I wasn't a calmer person, I actually got off the phone wishing I was someone who could blow up and give this lady back what she was dishing out, but yet I'm not that person so I continued apologizing and took it.

After this terrible phone conversation I needed to get gas and get to another city quite a distance away. Pulled into a gas station, they only took debit or cash. So getting back into my car, I dropped my keys under my seat and had the hardest time getting them back out. I think I was just flustered.

My second visit was actually great. However, throughout the day a storm started coming into Victorville. The counselor even warned us it could be a really bad one tonight as its been workin' its way into town for three days and the winds had picked up quite a bit. It didn't start flash flooding just sprinkling and the winds picked up to a decent mileage. The drive to Long Beach after the fair was actually not bad. The beginning was filled with lightening bolts, I could even see them hitting the ground in the distance. Both sides of the highway. Light sprinkling, nothing too much. And high winds. Not terrible, way better than what was expected and I even made it into town at a decent rate.

Writing my day down makes it not seem as bad as it felt at the time it happened. It definitely wasn't even as bad as the Old Navy commercial I just saw on the tv. I don't think I get yelled at by people very often, and I've got to see I do not appreciate it one bit. Through off my grooze for the whole day.

I come home to Salem tomorrow! I leave again Sunday for Eastern Oregon, but then I'll be back for a whole week after that. I am so excited to sleep in my own bed, do some laundry, wear something not provided in my suitcase. I'm even excited to use full sized toiletries, not use a GPS to get to the next destination, know I might pass someone I know on the street. I like those things. The small things. Or in the toiletries case, the big things.

Photos from last few days. Blog below.

A random sampling of past days.

 Both of these, the birds and myself, are from Marina Park at Ventura Beach.

 Henry. Our beloved spider friend. I was enamored.

Sept. 29th- Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Sun Valley and Lancaster

Hello LA traffic. I had been wondering when that particular spectacle was going to hit me, today. Today was the day I hit LA traffic. I truly don't understand why people put themselves through that everyday, it took hours to navigate between a few cities surrounding upper LA and Hollywood. I am by no means a celebrity junkie or fawn at the site of someone famous but there is this childish part of me that wanted to go to Hollywood! I've actually never been there before, and all I kept thinking about was the Anthony Kiedis biography I read a few years ago and how he walked the streets of Hollywood way back in the day. I wanted to walk those same streets....although, time restraint and the knowledge that most likely those streets would attempt to kill me in present day kept me from even trying.

For those of you who don't know who Anthony Kiedis is he's the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He lived a life filled with drugs, sex, other various addictions, spirituality (not religion, not relationship, let me clarify), music and wandering the streets of Hollywood. It was an interesting life story. The truth is, in all of it, you could see that he has a good heart, misplaced, confused, empty of the true love of Christ, but a heart that wants to do the right thing. Probably one of the best biographies I've ever read, even with the foul language and some controversial lifestyle choices.
You will all be way more pleased with my recent readings. I finsihed the Robert Whitlow book, as boring and addictive as I knew it would be. And today I started Jane Eyre, which has been interesting so far. It's a hard transition in use of language between the books I've read recently, not in choice of words, but in order of words. The time period the book was written, or the location the book or author are from change how its read a lot, I just skipped form 20th century to the 1860's or somewhere in that realm.

I met with some students at 8am at Oaks Christian School this morning, in Westlake Village. Beautiful campus and great facilities. One of the most well known Christian schools in CA, probably in the US. Many famous actors and athletes children go or have gone there. Joe Montana, Will Smith....some other athletes, etc. I've got Hollywood fever, name dropping left and right. Haha. I think I need to eat something.

I come home in two days! A fair in Victorville tomorrow night, a long drive back to Long Beach, and I fly out Friday morning. I am so excited, sleep in my own bed for at least two nights. And by at least two nights I mean, exactly two nights, and the I hit then road for other five days in Eastern Oregon. Home for a week after that though, so hope to see some of you during that time period.

Sept.28th- Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Santa Barbara,Ojai

I sit once again in a Starbucks. Beloved Starbucks, I feel like I should greet the people walking in "welcome to my home away from home," because I spend more time in Starbucks as a whole than anywhere else on the road. I'm directly under an AC vent, however, and its frigid.

I sat by the ocean for an hour before this. Walked around for a bit, found a perfect bench and sat and read for a good length of time. It was peaceful with the waves sloppily hitting the rocks beside me, I could even feel the ocean mist every so often. (((Side note- I don't know what I hit but this blog box just got big and became a different font....))))) As it was peaceful and beautiful, a perfect place to read, I'll probably smell like beach scum when I go out for dinner later this evening. Ah the price to pay for reading spots.

The last few days have flown by in a blur of family, driving and food. Since no church ever got back to me about Sunday to my dismay, and my families delight, I ended up having Saturday and Sunday to devote solely to them. It was awesome, and the perfect timing within my trip to have some more familiar faces around as I was hitting that extreme loneliness that sets in after two weeks alone. Needless to say, we ate, a lot of good food all weekend. We saw a lot of good people, and we caught up on a lot of good life stories. So much can change in a year, so I can't even imagine how much had changed in the eight years since my mom had been in Ventura.
Smell is equated with memory. Walking into my grandparents house, the distinct smell of their home feels like coming home. Walking into that familar smell brings back warm memories, memories that I probably couldn't even describe because I don't really even know what they are, but it more or less brings back a feeling of, home. Safety. Comfort.
Speaking of smells make me want a large dose of Wild Pear mop water to sniff in my room, not in a drug addicted way...well, a little bit. It's such a glorious smell, lemony fresh. Mmm... I love it.

I'm still on the search for a grey dress. I realize grey is one of those words that can be spelled with an E or an A, and that the majority of individuals use the A, however, I don't like the A. I use the E, and I use the E with purpose. Anywho, I tried like four more stores today for a grey dress and am having the hardest time finding one anywhere. Maybe as it gets closer to Christmas and winter, and Oregon, some grey dresses will start popping out of the woodworks because so far I can only find boodilicous ones with heaps of giantic glitter, or business suites fit for a lawyer. Neither of these I would particularly like to portray as a bridesmaid. Amazon.com hasn't even come to my rescue on this one, and we all know that really is my favorite place to shop. The excitment of first buying it online, and then secondly, receiving it in the mail. I'm basically paying Amazon to buy me a gift wrapped in a cardboard box. They might not splurge on the wrapping paper and bows, but they sure come through with exactly what I want, everytime.

I could go for a nap right now.

The fair in Santa Barbara last night was so hot. I'm not even kidding when I say the room we were housed in for the whole fair was probably 110 degrees or hotter the entire time. Since it was in an old school building, we first had to drag our bags and display cases up three flights of stairs, a feat in itself...and then schools were split into groups and placed in individual rooms. I for instance, had two other schools in my tiny math room. Then students and parents were free to wander about and pop into whichever rooms they'd life. We stayed fairly consistent, probably not nearly as busy as any CA schools there in the others rooms, but made some great connections. I had a mom stop by after and whisper to me "I just wanted you to know you were the best sales person here..." As much as I dislike the term salesperson in regards to my job, she meant it in the most complimentary way and was just trying to express her gratitude. That always makes a girl feel like thousand degree classrooms has a purpose and an end result...especially when I didn't intend to sale anything, I just told her the truth.

I've always known that I am a sower. I've never been much of a reaper or a harvester, but I can sow. This came to more of a realization when I was sitting talking to another Admissions Counselor from a small Christian university in the midwest. We'd been next to each other at every fair thus far, and have learned a lot about one another. Before you women get your mind wandering, it hasn't been romantic in any sense, purely platonic as he is engaged and I'm pretty sure we'd make great friends and nothing more even in other circumstances but he's an incredibly nice guy and a great person to chat with during slow times at fairs. So after days of sharing tables, hot rooms in Santa Barbara etc he said to me, "you know, what is God doing in your life? I feel like you know everything happening in my life and my story but I don't know anything about you yet." He continued with " you are a great listener. That's a really great quality in a person, especially a woman of God who wants to listen and ask questions in response, someone who is quiet and listens first, speaks second." I took a few thigns away from this conversation. 1- What a nice comment from someone I barely know. I always wander what someone walks away thinking about me. Not in a I care what people think about me but in a, was I a person I'd be proud of or respect. Would I think, that girl has someone I've got to have, she is so kind, etc. 2- I suppose I do listen more than I talk. To some regards. Some friends might beg to differ on that opinion, but in the general consensus of people. 3- I am a sower, not a reaper. Not a harvest, but a sower. What does that mean in my life. So much of what I think about on the road is application. Who am I becoming and who do I want to become. Is that the same thing, or on opposite sides of the spectrum? 4- Why do I have such a hard time answering the question "what is God doing in my life." Is it just me that has a hard time with that. Specific or general, intimate or just surface level. Maybe because I find relationship wtih God intimate, I find it an intimate topic in my life, that if someone really wants to know its going to need explaining in more than just a few simple words because a few simple words wouldn't even scratch the surface of intimate. I answered him of course, and more or less I told him some stuff I've been contemplating on the road and forcing willing people to read in this blog but these things go through my mind from even that simple question.

As another funny note, I've had headphones in since I got to this Starbucks, quite awhile ago. I just realized I never turned music on, and the music I've been listening to is the Starbucks music in the background. I agree more and more with my moms thought on me sharing some qualities with Katherine Hegel in the movie Killers. How did the station DooWoop get on my Pandora, what the heck is DooWoop. Deny.

That's all I got for now. As Gavin Degraw says- "You have to follow through." Granted, he's talking about feelings for someone, and giving your heart to someone, but it is true that in all other cirumstances in life we have to follow through. Words without action are pointless.Print on a paper. So I go with Gavin, my buddy and pal, we have to follow through.

Sept. 23-24

My mom made is safely to Bakersfield and has enjoyed the warm weather here while I ran around town for work. Today is filled with driving to Ventura. Unfortunately, no one got back to me from the school visits I attempted, so it looks like the day is filled with driving, with stops for water and resroom breaks instead.

Tyler told me she expects some good stories with my mom being around, so I only feel obliged to give you a few. The room we have right now is one king bed, so of course we're just sharing it. It might be true that last night "someone" woke me up in a panic. My mother, Tonja, was wondering if I could see the blinking red light on the tv. I of course could, so I sad yes. But then she wanted to know if the light was moving around the screen, the stationary red light at the bottom of the tv signifying that the tv is off. I told her no, its not, can I go back to bed please. Story #1- Done.

So not too many stories from the past few days.  I had an interesting school visit yesterday where when I showed up it was lunch time and they sent me to this table wtih a couple teachers sitting at it. Students started following me and before I could put anything on the table they just stood around me, so I handed out literature that way and stood and talked with this circle around me. It was weird, but entertaining I suppose.

Last night, when I got home from the college fair my mom and I got in the hot tub here at the hotel. It was beautiful, a full moon, warm water and palm trees, very relaxing. Anyway, when we came back in to change into pajamas, I had a black tank top, it disappeared! I can't find it anywhere, in my hand one moment and completely gone the next. I still can't figure out where it is, how does that even happen.

Sept.22nd- Bakersfield...AKA, PGE bill due

Tonight I stay in Bakersfield for school visits tomorrow and a Christian College Fair tomorrow night. Two nights in the same place! It's almost like winning the lottery, only with not as many fiscal benefits, or the excited "woohoo!"

My first visit of the morning I figured would be a handful of students tops, yet I had about 40 of them bright eyed and ready. I think we'll have some real interest from them. Part of my day consisted of driving around, I went to some random towns between Hanford and Bakersfield, which is a good stretch of road.

I think I'm really tired because the song by Perry "If I Die Young" makes me want to cry every time it plays. I can always tell when I'm tired or stressed by the amount of emotion I actually allow to show, so I think my watery eyes probably speaks volumes. I've been in this country kick, I can't get enough on the road. It might be in due part to the corn husks and green fields I pass one after another, or I'm just gettin' in touch with my blue grass roots.

I know I said a few posts ago how I want to feed the homeless on Thanksgiving and want to get involved in it on a consistent basis at home, and that's still true as of this very moment. Today though, my heart just went out to this man that was sitting with his dog at a gas station. So when I ran inside to use the restroom I couldn't help myself from buying some gatorade and various food items and then some tartar fighting gum (I realize how silly that sounds but I really thought he might like some clean feeling teeth) to bring out to him. So I gave it to him when I left, pumped some gas and took off to my next school visit. When I was pumping the gas I looked over and he was smiling, sifting through the bag and talking to his dog. I should've felt really good after that, doing something kind usually has that effect on the do-er and the receiver, but I just left wondering where he would get food tomorrow. There are so many homeless people, and I can't help but feel compassion for them, even individuals who made choices to get themselves in that position in the first place.

Did anyone watch the season premiere of Glee last night! I was so sad to miss it, it started at 8pm, when my fair ended, plus I had an hour drive after to get to my hotel for the night. Today, however, I definitely watched it for $5 on Demand, I couldn't help myself! I tried to watch it on hulu on my netbook but it kept freezing and skipping, all in all, I needed the full of effect of fantasticness. I'll admit....I'm really excited for this season to get going, I'm addicted to that show, and its a great break from the NCIS and Bones I watch so much of at night on the road.

During another of my drives today I was thinking, as the trend has gone, how much I become enmeshed with books that I'm reading. I finished the latest one that I got, I decided I really needed some Christian writing after the last two. "The Likeness" was a great book, but much like the last, it used some choice words but in an Irish accent and a British accent, so it was just so fitting for the character, not to excuse it. This is embarrassing, but apparently I've trained my mind to skip those things that I literally read it to say "F that or this..." or "ohmygoodness" or "crap" instead of other words that would be considered cursing or blasphemous (if I were to recall a particular sentence, I would remember the clean version, that weird). The taking the Lord's name in vain is the one that really does get me, I do not like that. I know you would think the girl who adores and has a secret word love affair with the term ass would not be so conservative with the rest, but I indeed am. You just have to admit ass is like the greatest most descriptive word, as long as its not paired with another word that turns into a white trash term, so really people, use some class when using the term ass.
So my newest books, Robert Whitlow's "Deeper Water" (I don't understand why I continue buying his books because I find them so incredibly boring at times but so intriguing as well) and then I also purchased Jane Eyre. I thought ahead this time, its taking me less than a week to finish a book, better buy two at a time.

Back to my original thought. I realized I become really immersed in the story. The last one was an undercover detective living with this group of graduate and doctorate students to solve a murder, not quite as cliche as it sounds I promise. The characters were so interesting, real academics who read every night, played and created music, didn't own a tv, lived in an old inherited house in the Ireland lanes surrounded by trees and a garden. I literally could see myself enjoying a conversation with them and partaking in their home cooked meals. Immersed. I thought my imagination had died down when my age increased, apparently it was just taking a nap because its back full force.

My mom should be here within 45 minutes! My uncle Todd is driving her from Fresno to Bakersfield, hope she can find something to do tomorow while I have school visits and a fair. :o) The pool, hot tub, near by stores, and abundance of books in my suitcase might suffice. All that to say, I'm so excited for her to join me! Conversation....with people over the age of 17 and not solely about Corban!

Life lesson learned for the day- when ordering lunch thinking I'll take most of this to go with me so I have some food in the hotel incase my mom gets hungry doesn't actually mean its going to happen. Nice thought. Fat chance.  I sat at Applebees with my new Roberty Whitlow boring book that I will eventually adore and ordered the three appetizer special thing. I thought, I'll eat one of them and bring the other two home. Home equaling hotel of the night of course. Yeah...that didn't happen. I ate one, picked at another and was stucked with food items in front of me that won't travel well in a warm car for hours. So like I said, nice thought...fat chance.

Sept. 21st, Dinuba-Fresno-Clovis-Hanford

I just took a big bite of cooked spinach, its leaving a bad taste indeed. Better, its now being masked by a coat of pesto and sundried tomato. Much better. I'm a walking commercial for Tide Sticks, as some delicious pesto also decided to grace my white skirt. Tide Stick to the rescue!

Last night I stayed in Dinuba, I loved it. Prayers must have been going out, which is much appreciated, because I felt like I got a pretty good nights rest. I was asleep before 11pm and only woke up once or twice in the night, that was exponentially better that the past weeks attempts. I'm currently sitting in a Starbucks, whats new. Must be a popular one because there wasn't even an opportunity to stalk a table and chair its so busy. I ended up sharing the handicap table, near an outlet, with a kid on his laptop, nice enough and quiet. Perfect. Probably looked to everyone else that I was hitting on him by asking to share the rather large table, and I'm okay with that as long as I get an outlet for my dead computer and free internet.

I have discovered another town I love- Reedley. I had a school visit there this morning, the counselors were so nice and friendly. I had a little extra time after so I went and walked the river a bit that was near the school before heading back into Fresno for more visits and a fair tonight. It was probably the most perfect floating river I've ever seen, just enough current to drift you down slowly, sleepily even. I was taking some photos, stepping through roots embedded into this hillside, and then flowing down into the riverbed, to get the best shot. I started noticing that the roots were moving, here and there....these fairly large brown lizards were racing around! I probably should've moved out of the roots with the fact that I have a skirt and sandals on, but I got distracted by some spider webs and watching the lizards. It did cross my mind that California probably has more poisonous and aggressive species of reptiles and arachnids, but I just didn't care, it was too beautiful outside and too intriguing. I do have to wonder what the few people sitting in their cars in the parking lot were thinking about the lady dressed in professional clothes rummaging around in tree roots. To each their own is what I say...

I think the rest of this week will go by quickly, with my mom meeting me tomorrow in Bakersfield. Just having someone to talk to makes the time go by quickly. Although my imagination does a pretty great job of entertaining me on the road, seriously, I literally wonder if I have a mental issue with how much my mind can wander and amuse itself for hours. Is that normal? I don't even know, and I have a psych degree, you'd think I'd know that answer. I play with bugs, that is my only defense. Well, if defense also equals evidence for not normal.

For family out there, I think this Thanksgiving we should serve food in the shelter. I actually want to do that on a consistent basis, but also don't want to do it alone. I know, whats this year gets going and it starts to get dark around 5pm it wouldn't be the most ideally safe situation to put myself in, so anyone else interested? I was thinking about that this morning.

I have a bruise on my left upper arm, where the humorous is. How did I get said bruise one may be asking? By getting hit by an elevator door. When I was leaving the Holiday Inn in Downtown Fresno, my bag was so incredibly heavy because I had a box of literature fresh from the mail on top of it as I tried to get into an elevator. Not quick enough, I think that demon machine wanted to crush my bones into powder. It hurt for like an hour after. Be proud, I didn't even curse or anything, not even in a British accent because that would've made it okay.

Perhaps, more to come tonight after the Fair and drive to the next city I'm staying.

Sept. 19th...20th? what day is it

I'm at that point when I don't really even know what day it is. I knew today was Monday, but I also thought saturday and sunday were also monday....so....really I was just bound to finally get it right one of these days. I am at a Starbucks in Fresno right now. I literally just stalked a much covetted table and chair for almost an hour and a half. That's not even an exaggeration, sadly. I was in the seat with a broken electrical outlet and in front of the door directly, so the breeze was hitting me. Now, since some chatty cathy's finally left, I stole their seat before they were even all the way out the door. I'm tucked in a nice corner, can see the entire store, and have a warm window with sunlight hitting my legs.Good things do come to those who wait.

I love Tracy Chapman. I made a bet last year with David if it was a woman or man...I won. Apparently he doesn't get out much, because obviously its a woman. :o) Although who am I to speak, I stalked a table and chair for over an hour, that doesn't exactly scream wild adventures.

I have been very international within this time frame though. Getting some work done for Salem, OR. Emailed back Kristy in Croatia. Talked with Hannah on slype in Poland, while she talked with someone in Albania and bought a ticket to Germany. See, all over the world. I'm driving to both Madera Nochos and Dinuba today as well. I've been looking for a spa in town that gives massages for not a million bucks, but nothing is open or I can't get through. My back hurts to bad, its radiating down a leg. I don't think that's a good thing. And I didn't sleep last night, barely at all, so my eyes are bloodshot. I look like I had a wild night, I wonder what the kids in my early class thought this morning...they were barely awake, so I'm sure they didn't even notice.

Can anyone recommend a good book? I've almost finished the one I picked up on like wednesday I think. The money I spend the most of on the road goes to books. I can't get enough, everytime I'm eating I'm reading, anytime I'm killing time between school visits and fairs, if I'm not emailing for work then I'm reading. It's times like this I almost wish I was a slower reader, it'd certainly help my pocket book.

I'm off for now. Perhaps I'll have more to add in later tonight or tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing well back home. Miss everyone.

Sept. 18th, Fresno

So yesterday I was in Morro Bay for the majority of the day, after visits, which went grandly. I was planning on speaking for a class for a short amount of time, ended up being an hour talk, it was awesome! I feel like since that class room I've just been driving, driving, driving....and I'm so tired of driving now. I think I'm permanently bent in a 90 degree angle from sitting for so long.
Morro Bay was a really interesting place, I'd definitely never been there before. It was fog central, almost an eerie town. I was housed with two older couples in my room...okay, not literally in my room, but it sure felt like it with how thin the walls were. The room was cute, and even as an outdoor access hotel room I felt very safe, probably largely in part to knowing there were happy older couples all around me. Apparently, according to Glenda and Gary on the right side of the room, they visited a house yesterday that was huge...and did you know the man who owns it did most of it himself and apparently has quite a nest egg stocked up. Compelling stuff. Left wall, they just watched the news and mumbled throughout the whole ordeal, therefore not as compelling.

If you've ever seen the Steven King movie The Fog, I'm pretty sure they just went to Morro Bay and filmed it there, minus the large insects and acid weaving spiders. Anyway, after leaving the foggilicious land I just drove for....ever, and then got to Fresno.

The drive took me through a highway I'd never been on before, to my knowledge, it was Hwy 41. It was absolutely beautiful. My first surprise was looking up from day dreaming and seeing neon colors, I seriously wasn't sure if I was daydreaming those or not, but there they were, fields of neon orange and neon yellow. Flowers! Thousands of flowers! Of course I had to stop and just gaze and take a few photos, it was so beautiful set against all green and browns of the hills and fields. As I continued driving I came into a pretty desolate part of the highway for the last few hours and just took the opportunity to think.

It's crazy that sometimes what it takes to hear your own voice is when you can't any longer actually hear your own voice. My voice drowns out my thoughts. I finally got to hear that deep rooted voice within me, the part that houses the passion- the love, the pain. It was one of the happiest, albeit longest, drives I've had in a long time.

One of the things that kept me occupied for awhile was thinking about if I won the lottery. At first I thought, what would I do if I won $50,000. I decided I would take out 10% for tithe first. With the remainder I would pay off my car completely, put around $10,000 in savings to accrue interest and be back up money. With the remaining sum I would put towards student loans.Then I thought what if it was in the millions, one million or 60 million, didn't matter. Here is what I decided, and believe or not this took a long time once I finally looked at the clock and realized how much I got sucked into my own imagination. So with millions I would pay off my car, pay off my student loans. I would first, however, take a tithe out and split it between a few churches and mission organizations. I would also pay off my brothers and aunts student loans and set aside a full college amount for my little sister. I would pay any debt my parents might have. I would buy myself a new home, nothing crazy fancy but I would be involved in the design and add in an art room. I would buy my parents a new home and create a full and comfy retirement for myself and them both. I would have them keep their current home and put it up for sell or rent, I was thinking rent for students at Corban or Willamette. I would lay down $20,000 for a house one of my aunts wants, the down payment they needed. I would make an anoynomous payment to pay off a couple friends student loan bills. I would make some investments and set a huge chunk to just accrue interest. As an immediate gratification, I would take Donica, Alissa and myself to Europe to backpack around for awhile, I think I would want us to travel how we normally do, except this time we would have a bit nicer hotels and perhaps a few more meals in a day, verses are like one actual meal a day in Mexico. Haha. Then I really got to thinking that I would like to start a Christian organization, adopting a village in much need of an economic boost, and find out what they are good at. Give them clean water, a school, a church and all the resources they would need, but help them create money on their own so the growth and economic standing would increase and continue by their own hands. Oh, and I also decided two more things. I literally in my mind did it this way too, thought of other things for awhile completely unrelated, and then added these on in the car. I thought I want to help kids at North, when I was there last week and when I did my internship in the career and counseling center my senior year at Corban, I saw so much need and not enough encouragement. I want to give them a scholarship to work towards, a school to be proud of, and someting that would help- I'm just not sure what. The other thing I thought of is I would start the Kendra Leigh Foundation, to help college kids with cancer. It's that odd in between time period where some students aren't on parents insurance anymore, but they don't work enough to really make money. I think Kendra would like to of helped people. Apparently I can spend money really quickly.
And that was what I came up with in my daze...

I thought about if I were to get married sometime soon what would I want as a wedding. It was crazy because I literally couldn't think of anything, it was just a blank. Apparently without the man in place I really don't know what I would do. Of course there are a few ideas out there still, I mean, I am still a woman and a thinker. :o)

I looked at the land that God made and gave to us. The beauty was breathtaking. I pondered what it was God had put me in this land to do. What is my purpose, what are my skills sets I haven't been using to His advantage. So much to consider. I think we all need some long solo car rides to really consider what life is all about, because its most certainly not about us, not about our comfort....interestingly enough that was what about my last Bible Study was about. It's Not About Me by Max Lucado, it was a really great book, I recommend it.

This is a long one, sorry. I'll put some photos up from the last two days.
The amazing breakfast that was delivered to my room at the Apple Farm. It was so good but I got full so fast. The was hands down the best scone I've ever had.

Sept. 16th, San Luis Obispo...and Monterey and Pacific Grove.

I am just like the most pleased woman right now. Here I am, sitting in a canopy bed, the fire place going, a new book next to me, I just ate a delicious club sandwich (one of my all time favorite foods), and as a little revenge against calories I also picked up a couple pieces of Sees Candy as a little treat for the day- those are also next to me. The Apple Farm, my residence for the night, is absolutely adorable! And San Luis Obispo makes me feel like I'm driving around a huge zoo/Jurassic park, its beautiful. Huge hills surrounding this valley, trees, palm trees and green everywhere, its definitely one of the prettiest areas of California I've ever been in.

Today's events have changed dramatically, much like the climate and demographic. I started this morning off in fog and as a minority. The career center I spoke in this morning I was literally the only white person, every single person in this filled room was latino, which was cool but still an interesting change of dynamics. The morning and afternoon were in the 50's and 60's, cold, windy and like I said- foggy. It was like a fog machine followed me around for a few hours.
And then came the drive to San Luis Obispo, my private promised land of the week. Books, chocolate, and cute little water wheels outside my window changed this day around.

I just finished Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It was a great book, but definitely not for the easily offended. It offered some choice words, but they were British accented curse words...somehow that seems to make it less bad. I have no explanation over this thought process. Did I mention I have a basket of chocolate kisses and Martinelli apple juices that were waiting for me in my room? Or that I'm getting served breakfast to my room in the morning- fresh pastries, boysenberry jam, fresh fruit, vanilla yogurt, fresh squeezed orange juice, and coffee. I feel a little more than spoiled right now. If I was getting a back massage for free this very moment I might never leave. Anyway, it was an interesting book and he has a unique way of writing that I grew to enjoy. Getting on a suspense kick I bought another book from Borders as soon as I got into town today called "The Likeness." I read another one of her books that was on Targets top seller one of the past travel seasons that I simi enjoyed. They were plum out of all my favorite authors, or least the books I haven't read of theirs.

Funnny story of the day. So, I've been driving this cherry red rental car for a few days now right. Put quite a few miles in, today was over 200 miles in itself. I needed gas, finally. I had been driving for awhile, and started noticing that towns were becoming sparser and scarier so I decided to stop in Gonzalez I believe. I got out, tried to open the gas cap and couldn't get it so figured I needed to press a switch in the car. I spent about 5 minutes checking around everywhere and couldn't find anything to open the gas lid thing. Everywhere! Finally, I called my mom hoping that maybe she could google it for me, so I gave her the info for the car.....or at least the info I could figure out. She was able to get it at least, and began the google search while I continued checking every nook and cranny. Still nothing. Throughout this time being I was ready to also pee my pants from the obscene amount of water I've been downing to keep full and hydrated, and I was also wearing a skirt in a very windy town.....
So, I get out., one last time and tug on the gas lid thing and it indeed popped open. Woohoo! No switch needed within the car, it was just a manual normal open it up case. So pumped my gas, because I know how now and moved my car to another spot. To sum up the windy skirt segment, yes, the wind did catch my skirt and yes I probably flashed a few people. And yes, I did have a guy wave at me and smile real big. To sum up the pee like a racehorse segment, I did find the litte bathroom attached to the gas store, it was much like those in horror movies. Completely disgusting, murky blue tiles and dirty. Yuck. However, I have my trusty bath and body works spray antibacterial, which covered my hands and my steering wheel after that visit.

I noticed another random event during my car drive as well. It started out with the majority of the commercials being one of three things. One- fast food. Two-a beach party thing in watsonville. Three-the fact that there is a law office that will now bail out loved ones from jail. What a way to bring comfort.

And now for some photos from today.... :o)

Sept. 15th, Salinas, CA

Today has been an interesting day. I didn't really do much this morning, except drive around and order 70 dollars worth of pizza. I was the speaker for a whole youth group tonight, middle and high school students...hence the abundance of pizza. It went really well, they were an awesome group and had so many questions, it was refreshing to see their interest and their energy. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It amazes me at my comfort level of talking to larger groups of people. Those who know me well, know that I don't particularly like to speak for large groups or be the sole form of entertainment for a group. I don't mind making jokes and being part of the hub bub of whatever is happening, in fact I love that, but I'm not a front stage kind of girl. Tonight was natural and comfortable as can be, amazing how the Lord works you know.

Another high light of my night was coming back and having a commercial on tv reference the powerful skills of the black mamba. I have this obsession with green mambas which stemmed from the book "The Poisonwood Bible," that I read a long time ago. Like 3-4 years ago anyway, amazing book, I highly recommend it to any reading fanatics.

And the second high light of my night after the youth group event was the commercial on the channel USA, with the actors stating "I am a character because..." Well, Gus from Psych states "I am a Christian."  I just think that's awesome, because he's funny. And I like funny people.

If you're picturing Salinas as this exotic beautiful city near the sea, don't. Stop that train of thought immediately because it is far from it. It is a blah city, some low grade shopping places, a really scary mall and mostly fast food. The city is surrounded by fields that are being harvested right now, mostly greens. Those areas are beautiful. I wanted to stop earlier they have the big machines pulled up and people are lining the rows picking and sorting, with wide brimmed  hats on, sleeves rolled up...it really was a beautiful moment to past. It also shows the hard work so many people put into even the simpliest thing, such as lettuce. I've had lettuce three times today, I wonder what field it came from.

Gross moment of the day. I drove through Wendy's after speaking tonight to get something for dinner and I got water, a side salad and a grilled chicken sandwich which I promptly disassembled and ate without the bun. The gross moment is when i took a drink of the water and it tasted slightly like fries. Gross right! Fry water. Now thats just wrong. So very very wrong. Starting tomorrow I do believe I'll be in a much prettier area, so hopefully some pics will come. Didn't take any today. I'm staying at an awesome hotel tomorrow, which I'll disclose after I stay there....call me paranoid, but I dislike writing where I am before I'm there, its just too weird to have on the world wide web. However after leaving it tomorrow, I'm excited for what I'll have seen. The room is suppose to be pretty sweet.
Good night!

Sept. 14th, Watsonville, CA

Last night after the fair in San Jose I drove the long, windy and bumpy highway to Watsonville, California. I put my glasses I wear for night time to great use, in fact, I challenged them to their brink...that's how crazy that highway was.

Yesterday while I was cruising the internet and posting yesterdays blog I was sitting back in this plush leather chair at a Borders Cafe and minding my own business when I man walks up and loudly starts asking me if my sister works at the cafe down the street. I tell him I'm not from here and continue on my work, however, he proceeds to stand there in this dead silent cafe, people busily typing or concentrating on their book at hand, me if he can have my number so he can show me around town whenever I"m there.... Yeah, I politely declined. Promise it didn't have anything to do with his braided beard that was probably around 5-7 inches in length, or the smell of smoke surrounding his presence....haha.

Last night, this is a random side note, I proceeded to talk to someone and kept sounding like I was some Canadian. My tone was very accent filled, which is funny since I don't have an accent... I don't know how this happens. Another random side note, I love Covert Affairs and am watching the season finale right now, I'm sad its going to be over. I've also decided that the indian dude in it is very attractive, very very attractive. I'm just full of these random side notes.I also want to see the move You Again solely because they use the term best frenemies.

Some people should be fired from making commercials. Some are a mockery to America's intelligence, as well as just irritating....that's all I got for tonight. But I am posting some pics from today.

Sept. 12th....still San Jose, soon to be Watsonville

I shouldn't have had that caffeine as late as I did last night because I had a hard time falling asleep. In college I could down 3-4 coffees in a single day and not even notice a difference in my energy. Now, at the ripe old age of 24 if I don't have a coffee in the morning I have the noon headache, aka, withdrawl, and if I have coffee after 4pm I have the "I cant sleep" lets have a dance party and then clean the whole house jitters. I love that my comparison actually makes it sound like I take meth. Does anyone remember the commercials they played years ago for met? The music was always "ooooo.meth......meth." Kendra and I thought that was the best commercial ever and we would often sing the background music to each other, perhaps a morbid sense of humor but funny you have to admit.

My school visits went well today. Even with a GPS I still miss turns here and there, and today when I missed a turn I ended up in front of PF Changs, Nordstrom Rack and a Starbucks...seriously.....this is not a joke. I think God looked down on me and thought "Casey words hard, lets put her in heaven." Did I go into Nordstrom rack and spend too much money- the answer is YES! And I loved every minute of it. But really, it was cold here today- unexpectedly cold so I have black legging type pants (which I've been looking for a replacement and found, in the same brand, at Nordstroms today) and I hated my outfit and felt uncomfortable. So I bought a shirt on sale and then 40% more off, real cute and professional too and I changed in the parkng lot before a school visit.

Sometimes a good sale can really make up for stinky fart plane rides. Sometimes, life really can be fixed by a pair of cute jeans with flip embellished pockets that fit just perfect.

One thing I do love about the bay area is the high ratio of different ethnicities. I spoke with an asian man having trouble with his internet on his laptop and a french african man who also helped the asian man. Accents and other cultures are just so interesting, I love the diverstiy.

I don't have much to report, nothing funny has happened so far today. But I do have a college fair tonight, so the possibilities are really endless. I did take a picture of my rental car to prove how bright and red it really is but will post that later. Much like last year I hope to get some great photos taken and I'll try to put them up as I go. There is some really beautiful land out here.

Thoughts of the day-
1. Why are the majority of books red or yellow in the reference and education section? Yield and stop, I'm not in a car driving so I'd like to see some more colors please.
2. Why does the lady working at the Borders Cafe have a side mullet and do you think she did it herself? I don't even understand how this is possible, but she has a side mullet and there is no other description that would fit her unsightly hair style.

Sept 11th, San Jose, CA

Today marks the start of another travel season, my third to date.

I'm glad I don't believe in the belief that how the start of a trip goes tailors how the trip as a whole goes because last year and this year have not started all that great. I had a great drive with Kirrin to the airport, and all that went well, but then it started downhill with my luggage weighing 5 lbs too much...translation- I must donate my kidney to pay for the bag. I had literature in there, otherwise I would've unloaded it, there was just no where to unload it. So okay, that's not so terrible, and I ended up having a great chat with the man who was throwing away my shampoo and conditioner for being .6 oz too much. He said "I can read people pretty well, probably because I've had so many jobs over the years (he was an older gentleman), but I can tell you're intelligent and have a high IQ. I bet you're pretty good at science too, and very detail oriented." SO funny! Well, thank you Mr. security man taking away my mode of cleanliness, I'm glad you find me an intelligent individual. :o) It was pretty funny, I couldn't even be bad that security took me 15 minutes while they scanned my bag three times.

So next, I get on the plane, near the front, thank goodness, on last and off first. I sat next to a lovely older woman who was on the larger size and took part of my seat up, and by lovely I mean a real grouch who could throw down a beer. I figured, well,it's chilly, her body warmth will keep me warmer so really she's doing me a favor. The bad part was the gas that persisted for the entire plane ride. It was teenage boy who ate muchas gracias for a straight week bad, except in a older woman form. To give you a mental picture it was so terrible that I literally had to stick my face into my book to breathe at some points. I've literally never been near such an unforeseen smelll that so violently attempted to take refuge in my nostrils. I put up a strong fight, but I fear the stank won this time.

Things have been better now. I made it to my hotel, which they gave me a warm cookie as a welcome gift, I have a pretty sweet rental car, cherry red hatchback of some form. Should be easy to find in a parking lot, or a black out. I'm at the Double Tree in San Jose tonight. Is it a sad fact or a fact that shows how easily pleased I am that I was so excited that the bathroom supplies they provide are Neutrogena? I love Neutrogena!

I've thought ahead for this year as how to make this travel season seem more like a vacation. i've purchased room spray to spray in every hotel for a fresh scent, masking the hotel goers before me. I've also purchased a Burts Bees pamper kit, just some odds and ends to make life to feel more luxurious.

Tomorrow starts off with a bang with school visits, a college fair and then a drive to a town about an hour away afterwards. The part of town I'm in is very near the airport and not too trafficy, however, getting into a larger city I get this itch to leave as soon as possible. It's not even that I hate large cities, but I hate large cities while I'm working, they add this whole other stress to the day. Large cities for vacation or hanging out are a blast though, don't get me wrong. And David, I'm not dissing your hometown, the parts I've seen are actually pretty lovely- for the most part. Haha. But I can't wait to get out and get into my comfort zone, those smaller towns between fresno and ventura, both off I-5 and the coastal highway.

To get dessert or not to get dessert....this is the question. Tomorrow I start a diet with Andrea, would've started today but its a little difficult to choose what foods while driving.
Okay, well I'll post this tomorrow, it costs to use internet in this hotel and that's just not worth it to me. Later!

Life, so good of you to stop by

It's been awhile since I've written on the blog. Normally, its reserved for travel, which consequently is when I have less free time, less availability to internet and less motivation to do much of anything. My daily quota of words are used up in the first hour of my day....and yet, that's when I choose to blog? The irony in my life never ceases to amaze me.
So since the last time I decided to grace the vast network known as internet with my subtle yet wise words was after Thanksgiving, much has happened since then. For family and friends who do check this, I have since moved into a new townhouse, have a new roommate, left the country- and returned, been to three states, consumed more guacamole than the average person does in a lifetime and finished approximately ten books. Exciting right? Okay, so many of you have asked how Mexico was, for photos and stories and the likes, so here are a few stories from adventures in Yelapa.

For those who don't know, I went to Mexico in May with two close friends from childhood, Alissa and Donica. We've quite literally been planning on going on some form of a vacation since we were in 4th grade, when our friendships began. If you can imagine me in jean on jean and keds, Kendra tall and lanky, Donica looking exactly the same but with overalls on and Alissa with greased hair from maybe coconut oil sitting around at recess planning this trip you'd probably have a pretty good depiction of what it actually was like. Our grand goal was Hawaii after graduating high school, but for so many who finally hit that age; money, stress and parental authority overruled Hawaii. So we next moved to Plan B, a big vacation after graduating from college, because what's another four years, and then we'd finally be real grown ups with college educations to prove it.
That didn't happen. The difference between starting out college with no money and ending college with no money is that in the beginning you are so unaware of financial responsibility and student loans that it doesn't factor into day to day decisions....after graduating with again no money, that limitation is a bit more well known when your pocket book is empty, your fridge is baren and your gas never hits above half a tank. Apparently being a real grown up is when you realize you don't have endless supplies of money and you have to work full time for a living. Which I'm okay with, I'm just sayin'.
Anyway, we finally took our trip this past May. It took us only 16 years to do it. Speaking for all of us, it was bittersweet to finally jump on that early flight and end up in such a beautiful location. Bitter, because Kendra wasn't with us and I think we all miss her so much everyday that it physically hurts sometimes but sweet because we finally did it and not just for us three but for us four. We completed what was once started in overalls and keds. It was like a living testament to the bonds that can be created between friendships, and it was such a blast!
Wake up. Put swimsuite on. Lay by the ocean. Read book. Swim in ocean. Eat lunch. Lay by the ocean. Read book. Swim in ocean. Eat guacamole and chips. Lay by the ocean. Swim in pool. Change. Sit in room finding things to do with no tv, no internet, no games and basically no lights.
That paragraph summed up our daily activities. We literally laid oceanside all week. I read two and a half books while in Mexico, because that is how little we did activity wise. Alissa did get stung by a jellyfish, and we did scavenge for fresh mango's falling from tree limbs. I might have occasionally hunted down insects and taken photos of them, slightly terrified of being bitten but too enamored to care. Donica read a book for the first time in years. Oh, and we did the daily scoop the rocks out of our swimsuite action multiple times a day. The beach wasn't smooth and soft, it was pebbles and hurt. Getting stuck in the waves caused little pebbles to fill our swimsuites so it felt like walking around with a full diaper on. I actually just found a few pebbles in a swimsuite top last week, sorry mom, for dropping them throughout your house. :o)
I'm going to post a few pics, because the pretty much does sum it all up. Relaxing!

South Carolina

And so I've returned from the road once again. South Carolina was my last and final trip of the Fall Winter season, I'm both thrilled with that notion and a little sad about it too. Thrilled with no more school visits, no more speaking for groups of students, no more google maps scattered throughout my car and purse, no more itineraries to print-highlight-and double check, no more getting lost on the road, and most importantly, no more being away from home and my sweet sweet bed. :o) But the sad part is that I was sad to leave South Carolina, I wish I could've stayed longer but I was also ready to come home. Bittersweet in all senses I suppose.

So I'm back in the office doing the day to day work that I've neglected while being on the road. Like cleaning, today I plan to do a clean sweep of my office, organize my desk, maybe do a little color coordinating and figure out a new system to organize the hundreds of files, forms, post-it-notes and random stuff that pile up on my desk. Change. I'm definitely a person that needs change in her life I've realized. From this job, from growing up in general, just realized that I need to continually be changing, achieving, growing, searching, finding and doing. I do enjoy sitting on my butt and watching a season of Friends straight through (which to me also shows dedication and the will power to not move, really great attributes if you ask me), but I also like to be doing something. Painting, writing, reading, working out, playing with my pet spider Harry, editing photos, taking photos, researching, playing some athletic game, just doing something.

So Thanksgiving was fantastic! We fried a turkey and if you've never done that before or are like me and shake your head in disappointment at the human race for even considering frying one more thing.......try it before you diss it. It was so good! And not even a little greasy, and that's not sarcasm. I had such a great time with Nicholas and Dana and got to stay with them for something like nine days. It was a nice break from work and life in Oregon and a great opportunity to spend time with family (and do a little Corban recruiting as I spoke at two schools while there). I was able to play with Koda, Drover and Harley (their pets) all the live long day...and apparently I'm an animal person.

I also got to see different sites for a show that I like to watch. It's filmed in the town I flew into, so some of the random local pre-existing sites that are part of the show we went and saw. If you're wondering why I haven't actually put the name of the show....that's for a reason. Ha! This is a badly acted show that I'm not even proud to be a fan of....lets just say I started watching it when I was in high school and it stuck. But I was embarrassingly excited about it.

I'll put some photos up of the lovely South Carolina and my lovely family there. And I'll attempt to keep this up and running while in the office too. Any exciting things that happen. Updates on the house- which hasn't changed, they stopped rebuilding so we have an unfinished house I fear permanently. Until then. Happy Holidays.

Love. Joy. Peace. ......that's the traditional Holiday slogan, yeah?
And yes, Nicholas, that "yeah" was just for you.

Home Sweet Home

I'm home for awhile, well, until Nov. 17th! So happy to be here too. Just thought I'd check in and let you all know I am going to be on the road again, South Carolina soon. Building on my house has haulted as they are letting something dry? Since I'm unaware and have to eager knowledge to understand construction much more than I do now, I'm not sure whats drying but I do know it'll be done around the beginning of next week. And then they'll continue building and hopefully by the end of next week we'll have our full livingroom again!
Good news, last night I only woke up one time and it felt soooooo nice! It was a really solid sleep and here's what I think had to do with it. I was reading Psalm 24:4 before bed and it was very calming. What a relief to not have to carry around fear, so I'll continue working on that.
Going to a Blazers game tonight! Excited, my second one ever. It's going to be a super busy week but I cleaned up everything today- dusted, vaccuumed, swept, rearranged, cleared garbage, emptied garbages, did the dishes, wiped counters, finished laundry, oh yeah.....good day. Me, cleaning supplies and Friends on in the background, whats better.

Monday = Good Day

So, today is Monday and I had four school visits, insurance phone calls to make and landlord phone calls to make. With the combination of all of that I felt as though it might not be a good day, but alas, it was a GREAT day! An absolutely wonderful day actually.
As I woke up in a bad mood the other day I woke up in a good mood today, ready to go and excited to see what the day holds. Also, as a very random side note, I love the 7-up commercial with Brad someone from Everybody Loves Raymond- the one when he takes a sip and then sings and dances down the street.....gets me everytime! Anyway..... got my usual coffee this morning (the place across from my hotel remembers my drink already, sad right, no, so great!), and then hit four back to back high schools. Each one held an unexpected amount of students, two of the schools I hadn't been to before too. It was great though, road trips being planned by eager students, information being passed back and forth, really great conversations and students who seem like they would be such a great fit for Corban. Things that make me happy. The counselors today that I dealt with were all equally nice to top it off, I love when I enjoy talking with them versus groucher-mcgees who are not as lovely to chat with.
Ate some lunch at the Cheesecake factory, mm... I've discovered that I can go in at lunch and get a lunch sized pizza and salad and diet coke for 15 dollars, after tax is added- I hate tax! But the free bread they send to each table and the salad are enough to fill me up completely, add in a pizza to take home and I've got dinner or a snack for later. Perfect and delicious.
I tried calling the car insurance for the car in livingroom incident and our landlords. Not wanting to sit around on my bum waiting for returned calls I went and worked out, it felt so great! Working out increases ones endorphins, and I can attest that I feel great. Hence the incomparably large amount of times I've used the term "great" in this blog post, an embarrassing amount it is.
A think on my lap top just popped up called "sticky keys" asking if I wanted to turn this feature on because I hit the shift button 5 times....I've never heard of this feature- Decline.
Back to my great endorphins, so I got a call back from the insurance people and talked with them about loss of personal property through the incident, as well as how to go about claiming the loss of use of the home for three days and the loss of the square footage of the home in turn reducing our overall rent for the month, or the hope of getting a reduced rate. Figured out everything on our end, as well as our landlords end, so that I could come to them fully informed, able to present concise details and able to come to an appropriate conclusions that will equally please renters, owners and insurance. After this great phone call I called our landlords and chatted with them for awhile. We've come to a reasonable agreement and I feel good about where things are now headed. The insurance was also really nice, and I hope that this is a continued feature, as I know when money actually comes around it can turn peoples emotion into a very different kind.
So with all that said, we are making a subrogation loss for our personal property loss (my nice BBQ, an espresso colored bookcase that was newer, etc), and the landlords can make the subrogation for loss of rent. So we are determining the square footage of the home not in use, figuring out how much we pay per square foot (with a basement that stinks but is fair enough), and then multiplying this by the days not used. Also deducting the full days rent for the days the home was not usable at all. So there we have it, its on its way, which is all I can ask for right now.
So there is my update for the day! I'm going to go eat some of that mini pizza I brought home from lunch. Have a great day!