Busy, busy, busy!

Well, that pretty much sums it up!

So it's been almost a MONTH since I've updated - and believe me, I've been meaning to, I just haven't even had one minute to sit down and type!

Since last month, I've experienced a ton of changes in my life. My last real week of college, then finals, and then going back to home in New York. THEN, realizing I'd passed all of my finals, and I would be GRADUATING! Hard to believe how fast 4 years flew...

Graduation was, well, interesting. I guess. I mean, it's hard to fully appreciate graduation after such a moving pinning ceremony. However, I decided I would indeed attend my graduation and after picking up Ted at the airport on Friday night, we drove down on Saturday morning to the ceremony. The ceremony itself was very short, and they called each student's name to get their actual diploma. Afterwards, the nursing girls knew it was the last time they'd see me for a very, very long time; we had a somewhat emotional goodbye, but I had to get back to NY for my graduation party. Kind of a good thing, because I think I would have gotten sadder and more emotional if I had the time to extend my goodbyes to everyone.

When I got back, my Aunt Kay was preparing all the food for my party, and some people were already there. People started coming, and pretty soon there were a few dozen people there! It was so great to see everyone - I saw some family that I hadn't seen in a really long time, and some friends came from long distances to wish me good luck. I feel really blessed to have such a huge amount of support from family and friends - thanks to all who celebrated with me!

On Sunday, Ted and I began the journey out to the Midwest, stopping only to get to the Bronx to see the Yankees shellac the Twins (sorry Ted). We stayed overnight at my sister's place before beginning our trek out west the following morning. We made it to just outside of Columbus, OH as dark set in. The drive was long, about 9-ish hours; on the way, we were mostly driving in Pennsylvania, where we went through a few mountains. That was pretty cool - it's neat to think of all the blasting and digging that had to happen before the tunnel was made, where an entire mountain would be sitting on TOP of you! Incredible! We also saw a horse-drawn plough, which was really nuts - there was a guy sitting on top of the plough with a whip, coaxing these horses through the fields. I've never really seen Amish villages or anything like that before, so it was definitely a cool cultural experience.

The following day, we made it to Cincinatti to watch the Reds play the Phillies. The Phillies (obviously) won the game. When we went to get tickets, the guy at the booth asked us if we had college IDs, so we got our tickets at almost HALF price! I guess it pays off to keep that old college ID handy, huh? I'll be 88 years old trying to pass myself off as a 22 year old. People in my family age with grace, so we'll see... Anyway, the one thing I thought was interesting about Great American Ball Park was the fans; they were, quite honestly, the most boring fans I'd even interacted with in my life! The music at the stadium was quiet, the fans golf-clapped, and cheering was completely out-of-place. I've never seen such mild-mannered fans before! The Phillies won, which was good for me because I knew all the players on the team, so I could cheer for them. Ted won me a Cincinatti Red's shirt, though, so I was a very confused fan!

The following day, we made it to Busch Field in St. Louis, MO. We got to the stadium after seeing the arch on the drive there, and then got tickets. Apparently, they were having a special at this particular game where you could buy two tickets for $11.00! The only catch was that you didn't know where you'd be sitting until you walked through the doors - the ticket taker gave you an envelope with 2 mystery tickets in it, which could be seats for anywhere in the stadium. The next cheapest tickets were $35 apiece, and they were standing room only, so we really couldn't lose. When we got our envelope, we had tickets for the 3rd baseline, right on the 2nd level! They were awesome seats with a perfect view, and we sat with a really great crowd of people and met some interesting friends. Busch Stadium is incredible! The layout of the stadium is awesome, and the fans are so nice and friendly and excited about baseball. They apparently call St. Louis "Baseball Heaven," and I can definitely see why. The architecture of the stadium is absolutely beautiful. Just a great evening!

Before we hit the game, we got to go to the St. Louis Arch, which was SO TALL!!! You got dizzy and almost fell over when you were underneath looking up at it. I just don't know how it stays standing, it's an architectural marvel!

The following day, we were supposed to head to Chicago and see the White Sox vs. the Twins for Ted's birthday. We didn't make it to the game, and decided to head back up to MN. By Thursday, we were just exhausted! We celebrated Ted's birthday by having a relaxing evening after about 9 hours of driving!

Friday morning, I got to camp and opened up the Health Center and my new office. It was an absolute mess! There apparently is a mouse living somewhere in here, as evidenced by, well, I'll let your imagination figure it out. It was so gross!!!

Anyway, I spent from 9am-5pm on Friday just straightening some things up, then Ted met me back at camp and helped me move my things into the Health Center. After that, we drove 3 hours out to his lake cabin. Since the pontoon boat and the speed boat out there needed to get dropped into the water, we spent all day on Saturday cleaning them out and preparing things for the summer at his house. It was a blast - we cleaned, listened to music, and then spent Sunday enjoying the water and the beautiful weather! I have to say, this past weekend was just what the doctor ordered!!! Some of his friends came to visit, so it was nice to see them after a long time. I got severely sunburned, but hopefully it'll turn into a tan and I'll have a nice base for summer!

This past week has been, quite honestly, a big disappointment. I can already tell that I am going to meet a tremendous amount of challenges with my supervisor. The staff that I am blessed to be working with is extremely competent and enthusiastic, however my director does not seem to be endowed with similar characteristics. It is unfortunate, because I already know that I am going to meet a lot of challenges with her this summer, but at the same time I am VERY glad to have made this realization this early in the summer and am not set up for personal failure. I will have to take each day one at a time, and maintain professionalism through communication. This, I believe, will be the only way to work well with her.

Right now, I am sitting in MY brand new office, which I have rearranged and (hopefully) exterminated any previous residents! There are a lot of things to be done, lots of filing and even more cleaning to do. I have to set up my printer and distribute radios today. This evening, we will be having a Coke/Root Beer Float social, which will be fun - we're inviting the other staff to relax with us after a very trying week!

To my readers: keep in touch! I hope to hear from everyone soon!

Lots of LOVE to everyone the East Coast!