A girl I've never seen before sat next to me on the bus this morning on my way to work. At some point she noticed my Presbyterian College koozie and mentioned that she, too, went to PC! She graduated in 1994 -- just a few years before me. Ha. It was so fun to meet a random PC grad! She attended before there were the Senior Apartments. Before there were town houses. Before we had a decent football stadium. She was a biology major, chemistry minor; I told her I barely passed my chemistry classes and was a business major.
I asked if they had sororities when she was there. She said, "Yes, but only three." I told her there were still only three. She said, "One was pretty bad. It was kinda like the one terrible fraternity we had. I think they were trying to have something for different kids or something." She gave me the name of the sorority and fraternity. To which I replied, "Yeah, those haven't changed."
I realize this post is for fellow Blue Hose, but I hope the PC alum can enjoy a good chuckle.
After the mud run, I hit the road to head to Mary Alice's bachelorette party. 3 hours and 45 minutes later, I arrived at the gorgeous house we were staying at in Cashiers. As I drove through Clemson, I randomly got behind two people I had classes with when I was in grad school. It was one of those surreal, unexpected moments that caught me off guard. I was behind them for many, many miles as he drove the speed limit or below. Sometimes that is just painful and it was one of those times. The pain may have been increased by the mud caked all over my body. Finally, an opportunity presented itself for me to haul it around them and I took it!
When I got to the house, everyone else was out shopping and eating lunch -- so I had the house to myself to SHOWER. I drove up to the mountains in my dirty clothes on a towel. I had to wash my hair TWICE. I had to SCRUB my body. I'm not sure I can convey how much I had to scrub my body. I felt like a 5 year old. Ha!
The girls came back to the house and started to celebrate Mary Alice with fun drinks and food: cupcakes, brownies, baked brie, guacamole, artichoke dip, and supper of lasagna, salad, and bread. Seriously, food is such a theme in my stories. Mary Alice got a lot of lovely things and I think she had a great time. We hung out on the back porch and told stories: old and new. Every time I get to hang out with my girl friends, I'm reminded how blessed I am to have them.
Sunday, I got reacquainted with a familiar friend: I26. My trip home was beautiful as I drove through Brevard and Henderson so that I could make a pit stop in Spartanburg to see the Sheltons. Then I headed to Columbia to see my friends the Caldwell's and meet their super sweet and precious newbie, Mary Cate. And then, then, I loaded up my car with gas (again) to hit the old familiar highway I know so well to make the trek Back to Charleston. Eight and a half hours after I said goodbye to Mary Alice and the girls, I made it home. Clearly, I wasn't up for cooking dinner that evening so I swung through the Bell. It was the perfect way to end the drive and the weekend.
Last Friday, I drove to Columbia after work. I spent the night with Jenn and we went to supper with Nicole and my dear, sweet friend Margaret at The Pizza Joint. It was laid back and delicious. After supper, we hung out at home and Jenn and I stayed up until one in the am. My alarm was set for 6:00 am and then 6:20 am since I had an early morning ahead of me. At some point in the evening, Jenn accidentally dropped my phone, which was fine. However, when the battery fell out and so my phone turned off. And so I did not awake at 6:00 or even at 6:20 as planned, but rather at 6:45 am when Jenn came in my room.
AH! Don't tell me I overslept!?!? What the hell?!?! This would happen to me! Help me, Jenn!?!?
Jenn's such a trooper! She got me breakfast and helped me load the car...pulling away from her house at 6:51, I was only 6 minutes behind schedule. I ate breakfast in the car and put on my socks and shoes in the car. I drove out to where I thought the mud run was. It was instead a random neighborhood of sorts. I called mom and she helped me navigate somewhat blindly to where we thought I needed to be. The line to exit was miles long. So I went up to the next exit, got lost again, and then made it to the mud run site. FINALLY! Just over an hour in the car...sheesh!
I met up with my teammates: Emily, Adryan, and Sallie. We signed in and lined up. At 8:35 it was our time to shine. Y'all, this is the craziest thing I've ever done athletically. I know that isn't saying much, but still. Ha!
The website recommends that you wear work boots, long pants, and a long sleeved shirt. But I was just fine in my ratty old tennis shoes, running shorts, and a sports bra. The course is over 4 miles and contains 32 obstacles. You are soaking wet in mud pretty early on. Praise the Lord my team was chill! We got along well, cheered each other on, and were ok to walk or skip something if we had to. No shame in that game. The course changed a bit from last year and was rumored to be harder, but this video gives you a good idea of what we did:
Right after obstacle 14 we were jogging ahead when I slipped in a pot hole and twisted my left ankle. My left ankle is my bad ankle that was sprained pretty tragically over 3 years ago. It hasn't been the same since. So the medic came and wrapped it...I was DETERMINED to finish this thing and luckily my team was ok to go at a slower pace. I could no longer run and couldn't do as many obstacles -- things that required a great deal of pressure on the ankle.
One thing to note: some of the people working the course were mean. Straight up mean. Early on, you have to climb a 20 foot wall, swing over, and climb down. The thin wall is swaying because there are about 20 people doing it at once. Three of us did it and one couldn't complete due to a fear of heights. Well, we were taking the 1 minute time penalty (aka a break!) and the rather large out of shape lady working the course taunted us. Finally I asked her if she'd done it. She had not...ugh.
Just after I injured myself, I was swimming through mud under logs. A guy behind me hit my left foot and I yelled out in pain. He apologized profusely and I told him I'd already hurt it -- it wasn't him. Well, the guy surpassed me; when he got to the end, he extended his arm (he was quite muscular). I took it and he dragged me under the last few logs. The guy working the course yelled, "THIS ISN'T A DATING GAME!" To which I replied, "you're a jack ass!" He then yelled, "THANK YOU." Apparently, the services are not for me.
We finished up in 1 hour 50 minutes. Not too shabby! During the course, I said I wouldn't do it again...but I totally would! Anyone interested?!
Y'all, for some strange reason I can not get into my blog at work. Such a bummer! Obviously, I cannot complain to IT about this issue so each day I head to work with high hopes of being able to blog from my office and read up on the lives of others. Yes, I do work at work, too!
Any who, I just got home from Alpha tonight. I started this a few weeks ago at my church and have really loved it so far. It's been such a good and different experience for me. You are put in groups of about 16. You eat together and get to know each other. Then there's a talk by our pastor. The first week was introductory, the second was about Jesus and who he is, and this week was about why Jesus had to die on a cross. The night is finished up with a group discussion -- this is my favorite part.
Alpha is designed as a course for people of all different backgrounds and ideas to come together to ask questions and figure out what Christianity might mean to them. My group is made up of all kinds of people and I love hearing their thoughts. A few folks are really searching for God and it's exciting to be a part of it. It's also been really good for me to think through my own thoughts on the Lord.
Yesterday around 7:30pm I left my house to take a walk around the neighborhood for exercise. And this is what I saw in my driveway:
I first hoped it was a black rope somehow lodged in my driveway. But then it MOVED. And then my heart stopped for a second. I froze in fear. Backed up and went in the house to grab my cell phone. Because that's what I need in the midst of scary animals invading my personal space, right?!
Thankfully, it scooted away when it saw/heard/felt my presence. However, I feared that it would scurry into the bushes and attack me when I arrived home after the bout of exercise. My heart eased as I walked and then tensed up for a second as I approached the scene of terror upon my return. It wasn't there. Holla!
As Courtney reminded me, 1. this isn't nearly as scary as last time I saw a snake and 2. it is good to have friendly black yard snakes because they eat mice. And if you think I panicked a bit over this snake, you best not ask what would happen to my heart if it had been a mouse!
Krissie took off work early on Friday and we drove the one of the best places on earth: Windy Gap. I drove her car. She DJ'd. And slept. But mostly DJ'd. Oddly and wonderfully, the four hours flew by! We headed to Blue Mountain pizza and drank a beer on the porch while we waited for Courtney, Aimee, and Jacqueline to join us. If you ever find yourself in Weaverville, you should hit this place up. They serve scrumptious pizza in a laid back, friendly atmosphere. Think: home grown Mellow Mushroom. It's perfectly Asheville. We split a pesto pizza and laughed and caught up and told funny stories and enjoyed life.
Then we headed to Windy Gap; it is a Young Life camp in Weaverville, NC. I became a Christian there the summer I was 16. I think it is one of the prettiest places on earth...it captivates me each and every time I go.
My pesto pizza crowd and I laughed and laughed and had a great time. We especially laughed at the skits. If you're not familiar with Young Life, know this: in addition to sharing Jesus, it is funny! This years skit revolved around the Golden Girls...sadly, they are not on YouTube (yet).
We listened to the wonderful Ellie Holcomb. Check her out! Her husband is Drew Holcomb and their band is Drew Holcomb and the neighbors. A plus: they are on Grooveshark!
We ate. And ate. And ate. Big breakfasts, hamburgers, Mexican for supper, and yummy desserts -- including a mint chocolate chip pie that makes you want to slap your momma.
We thought about exercising in the form of hiking. The rain deterred us...when the sun came out, we were too lazy. It went with my traveling theme of "eat a ton and exercise none." Even though we may or may not have had a small push up contest. I may or may not have won. (Don't worry, Krissie. Next year will be your year.)
We listened to talks by Paula Rinehart. It was good to hear words of encouragement. To be reminded that the Lord Jesus loves me. To know yet again that I am in need of a savior and in Him, there is so much grace. To hear someone older and wiser than me, say that it's not easy, but it will be ok.
We also got to stalk & awe people that write some of our favorite blogs. It was even better to see my real life friends that I don't get to see very often...including Kristi and Janet!
It was a wonderful weekend. I rode Back to Charleston with my good friend, and old Young Life leader, Dana and some of her family. The car ride mainly consisted of napping -- which was just what I needed!
