The Garret and finding your pole.

Seem odd? Allow me to elaborate.

My surroundings:

For some reason, there appears to be a black cloud above my name. The Senior RAs and our Residential Dean all like me, I just attract bad juju. Why? Well. First, my dorm room (or the Garret as I prefer to call it) is teensytiny (or cozy if this were a room you were trying to pawn off on someone).  So much that even Patrick, the aforementioned Residential Dean remarked "you get the sneaking suspicion that this room began its life as a mop closet.  It's MAYBE 8 x 8 (imagine standing in a central spot and reaching almost everything in your room.) Seriously guys. It's a glorified cell. Now I realize I have been spoiled at TU but this is downright cruel! To add the cherry on the sundae, guess who has 18 residents and 5 different classes to get them to? That's right. Yours truly. Now that you have a visual, allow me to tell you about the past two CRAZY days.

Sunday:

Kids move in. What does this mean? chaos. Pure, unadulterated chaos. For the math inclined, an equation: 

27 RAs + 380 "talented youths" + 600 (overbearing, domineering, I-am-right-you-are-wrong, misguided, direction ignoring, walk-in-the-road-ignoring-traffic) family members + 80 or so other adult staff members+ time - patience = CHAOS IN ITS PUREST FORM

Don't get me wrong. Parents are great. love em. But seriously. Your Mercedes is not SPECIAL. It does not get to park closer than the other cars. Unless you are handicapped, your Mercedes can chill with the rest of the "not-special-enough-for-other-parking" cars in the pre-assigned spot. I love people moving and walking around. BUT FOR THE LOVE OF LIFE, GET OUT OF THE ROAD. Seriously. I was on directions and parking duty for most of the morning/afternoon (Subway for lunch at 10 am. haha). And people seem to have a death wish. Your child is TALENTED, PROTECT THAT TALENT AND GET THE HECK OUT OF THE ROAD. Finally (and there is not enough emphasis to add to that Finally), we seemed to successfully corral parents to their auditorium and students to their halls. Next issue. What to do with 10 girls when 8 are testing? Funny you should ask. My solution? Give them hall free time to move in and bond on their own before watching She's the Man in a cramped but surprisingly comfy room (clearly, not the Garret). Summary of my hall: They are (thus far) amazing. They listen. They question. They chitchat. They shut up when they're supposed to. They are altogether adorable. Right now. This may change but I hope they only get more fun! But Sunday night was Q&A GALORE. Ridiculous but necessary questions. Questions that had been answered but they hadn't heard/listened (they're great. I didn't say they're perfect.) We managed to make it to dinner and back (fighting the zoo of limbs and the people attached to those limbs) with enough time to do a HALL BONDING EXERCISE! yay! We bonded, we itched (from the grass), we giggled at bunnies, and then off to required events! yay! (RA enthusiasm creeping into regular conversations). Finished that then off to UBER SUPER LONG meeting where my hall giggled at my use of the phrase "sketch." (They are to avoid Sketchy Dude and Sketchy Dudette and stay on campus out of Sketchville. gotta love it.)

GLORIOUS *though not nearly enough* sleep!

Monday: 

The poles. Oh the poles. Basically, for every class and then activity, there is an assigned pole. Easy enough, right? not. Kids form large, rowdy packs that overrun the paths and block poles and get in the way! With 18 kids, getting to the poles is an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE. Thus, my most used phrase "Make sure you know where your pole is! Find the right pole! Remember your class' pole". 

I could write more. But I can't. my brain is shutting down. Typos abound. I almost said 'right' instead of write. goodnight!

Nell's Nomadic Life... (kinda long...)

So I realize that the point of a blog is to write about your day to day activities, but the only way one can do that is if they have the internet... Which I didn't for like 3 weeks. So here's a brief rundown of my life in the past three weeks:

Disclaimer: I am a part of the family that I pick on. I am proud to admit that not only am I a member of it, I do alot of the same things. haha. C'est la vie.  C'est ma vie. 

Week One:

Left Smalltown, USA for a couple days to stay at my sister's house.  Basically, it was chaos. I mean, my family is literally, a traveling circus anytime we leave anywhere for any period of time.  

Recipe for Travel:

Start in the morning --> stop to get the oil changed (on a roadtrip??)--> continue to destination --> Get new phones in SA  --> Deal with hungry brother --> feed hungry brother --> Continue to destination --> arrive at like 7 pm. Ridic. 

Stayed with Katy (my sister) and her husband Brock and my niece Lily (MOST ADORABLE GIRL EVER).Went to Joel and Emily's BEAUTIFUL wedding.  Honestly, the most gorgeous and romantic wedding I have ever been too.

Family Circus returned to Smalltown USA.

Week Two:

Pack up house in Smalltown USA to move to Castroville (20 minutes outside of SA for those of you who haven't memorized the location of every small town in Texas).  Deal with movers. Family Circus (this time plus two vehicles because one parent per car and an aunt and uncle in a over loaded green truck.  If you are picturing the Clampets for Beverly Hillbillies, you are not far off) begins perilous journey to new location (finally left the old house at 5:30 for a THREE HOUR DRIVE).  Trip includes: beautiful scenery and two men at a gas station wearing TOOOO tight t's driving a white truck with a small herd of GOATS in the back. Crazy.  Same gas station where uncle picks THE SKETCHIEST, MOST UNLIT portion of the parking lot to stop at.  Nell is left sitting in a Yaris hatchback holding her computer on full alert while the rest of the clowns go in. Finally got to new house at like 10:30. Slept on a piece of foam that was (no lies)3 feet long. Begin unpacking.

At this point, you're probably thinking, wow, that it a heck of alot of packing. But there's more

Week Three: Continue unpacking house. Go empty storage unit. Pack storage unit items in the closet. Contemplate packing for Baltimore. Put off packing for Baltimore. Finally pack for Baltimore. Yay for not overpacking Baltimore stuff!

Yesterday:

3 AM: Wake up. 5 hours of sleep? maybe less? Grab breakfast, grab stuff.

4:10 AM: Leave house. MASSIVE PROPS to the fam for getting on the road a full 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Normally we're 15 late.

4:40: Get to airport

4:45: Begin security stuff. No officer, the blond, green eyed girl speaking with a Southern draw and wearing a college tshirt is, in fact, NOT a terrorist. Shocking.

5:05: Wait for plane.

6:00- 8:00: Fly to Memphis.

8:30- 11:45: Fly to Baltimore

11:45- 1:30: Wait for Lite rail, ride Lite Rail, get picked up

1:30 on: Basically set up and started meeting people, did some orientation stuff and CRASHED at 10:15. Glorious sleep haha.

This is getting long, so I will try and post tomorrow to talk about my dorm (or my garret as I have taken to calling it.) and everything up here. Good night!

The who, the what, the where, and the why.

Nell's answers to her most commonly asked questions:
*Where are you currently?
-Goldthwaite (pronounced Goathwait): goat capitol of Texas or something ridiculous like that.
Human population: 2,000. Goat Population: A bazillion and one.

Nearest Wal-Mart: 33 miles either direction.

True story. One time, I was sitting on my parent's back stoop (in the middle of town mind you) and I heard a cow mooing. A cow. Mooing. In the middle of town. There was A COW MOOING IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN.
Other sights include: a missing calf sign and a gun show advertised as FUN FOR
THE WHOLE FAMILY.
Also home to a County Museum that I have the sneaking suspicion is alot like the Twickham Museum in Stars Hollow of Gilmore Girls.... Fighting urge to explore it.

*Why are you there?
-My parent's live here. Oy vey. As of June 11th, they will move to ANOTHER small town, Castroville. Twice the population for half the number of goats. Does a body good.

*When and why are you going to Baltimore?
-June 25th. I get to be a Resident Assistant to "Talented Youth." Read: a bunch of super awesome smart allecks who are alot like me. yay!!!!!!! My hall theme is "Broadway" they're gonna love it. Cause I'm the cool 20-something RA! Downside: Middle school age drama. Plus the inevitable staff drama. Oh goody.

I think that's it. Post a question if ya have one...

Mischief Abounds

10:45pm: Knock on door. In Smalltown, USA, who in the heck knocks on a door at 10:45? Nell contemplates picking up a butcher's knife only to realize, this is Redneck Texas, what would the point in that be? Door knocker hits door bell. Why thank you. Nevermind the fact that the little big one has finally gone to bed. Yes, please wake him up.
10:50pm: Nell hears part of conversation, neighbor woman: "Well I'll be, it was rainin' in our backyerd and not the front. Strangest thing. Doesn't that just beat all?" Excuse me Aunt Bea, here in even here in Mayberry isn't a bit un-neighborly to knock on a door at 10:45pm? Nell walks away
11:00pm: Mom and Dad have gone outside and continue conversing with neighbors. What could possibly be important. Nell stands by door to hear more of conversation. Neighbor man: "An' these two kids done come paint ballin' ma house. And I know it ain't much but for ------- grand, it's ma house. So I says to them not to mess with ma house and I go back in and get a potato shooter. That's raght, a po-tat-o shooter. *wife interjects: It's awfully loud!* And I pick up 2 dozen eggs and head back out and thur's a truck settin' there and some man asks if I seen two kids. And I says no but ask if he's thier daddy, cause if he is I may just launch a few eggs at that purty truck..."
Nell leaves conversation to report incident in her blog.



Over and out.


***** THIS JUST IN: Neighbor man can shoot a potato with the aforementioned potato shooter two blocks. (His point of reference was hitting the court house from his house...)*****