South Carolina Life

It has been a while since I blogged... oops. I mainly want to talk about my experiences so far.
Climate: Its hot and humid. The days that it rains are really nice because it kinda clears up the air and makes things smell good and look clean. The night can still be quite warm which is kinda weird but pretty cool. It is insane how much a person can sweat while doing moderate work outside here. I really do like the climate here. I guess it is supposed to be really nice in the winter so I am anxiously anticipating a mild winter. I guess hurricanes can get pretty crazy even though we are instate more than an hour. I want to see what a hurricane is like. The lightning storms here are really dramatic too. The other day I was out riding around with some folks and we had a flash flood and I saw a van like the grey whale that was up to the doors in water at a red light!
Food: It is so fattening and unhealthy. I am kinda getting over it. Folks down here love to eat macaroni and cheese, fried stuff, greasy chicken and the whole works... don't get me wrong I love that kind of food, but lately I have been getting into the phase where I feel less healthy. It is about time to start eating more vegetables and cooking at home rather than eating out. Which brings something that I have been finding particularly annoying...
My Fridge: It does not work. It has worked for a total of 5 days since I have arrived here over a month ago. I have put in multiple requests to have the problem fixed and so have my supervisors. People come up and act like they fix stuff, but they really don't help at all. They bought me a new refrigerator but failed to measure the space it is supposed to fit into and of course the space was way too small. Then they deduced that it was my socket and some sort of fuse problem. So they decided that to fix the problem they would move my fridge to the living room (which is like 6 feet over) and plug it into that wall (where my supposed couch would be). Not only did they spill the non refrigerated contents on my floor (including an entire bottle of soy sauce) and not clean it up...Then they made no attempt to fix the outlet! Hey it was working, so i decided to go get some vegis and milk and eggs and the like. So about 5 days of that later I came into my apartment to find the refridgerator back in its original spot. Cool... or so I thought until I woke up the next morning to the smell of rotten vegitables that thawed and went bad in the freezer and eggs and milk and mayonaise and many other items that went bad over the course of a day. I had to throw out all of my food because it was rotten and stinky! Today I still have no food in my apartment minus ramen and stuff like that. BOOOO maintainence!
School: On a lighter note, school is great! Classes seem rather challenging and I am learning a lot about a subject I deeply care for... just what i wanted right? Some professors are really inspirational and others are not, but its seems as if most are relative experts and I truly appreciate that. I feel like the Nayland today and the Nayland with a master's degree are two different men as far as knowledge and awareness go... and that is very exciting. This will be a great avenue for me to grow and evolve.
Friends: I have made a lot of friends. It seems like I am in this honeymoon stage where everyone wants to be great friends and hang out all the time. I love getting to know everyone and asking questions to folks. People have so many interesting stories and come from such different places. I feel like people are genuinely interested in my story as well, and that is comforting. I am sure that as time goes on, I will become great friends with a few people and have them in my life for a long time. I have no idea who that could be, which is exciting. It is so refreshing to automatically have in common with these people what I had with nobody back home... a love for the college experience as a development process and a committment to bettering that process. I feel like I can be myself around most folks already, which is great because when I left I was not sure if that would happen for a while, but certain people seem to be receptive to and accepting of the crazy weird funky me. I have spent a lot of time laughing in the last few weeks.
Job: It is great so far. I am still not sure if housing is for me and I do feel myself gravitating towards academic advising, but I am trying to get out of my time in housing as much as I can. I really love my superviser. She is funny, laid back, and has a true committment to her students or as she says "her babies". I have a lot more responsibility than expected which is absolutely terriffic. I really love the one on one meetings I have with my staff. They are all so special and dynamic. I am having a blast getting to know each of them and adapting to each of their styles. My job is super challenging which is nice.

So now here are some selected thoughts to help me remember stuff that is happening. Feel free to ask if you do not undertand. Sullivan, jellyfish, oysters, chris brown forever, Appreciative Advising, UAE, dates, fun, crazy woman, taco, new clothes, water ice, obama, lizards thicket, much much more

What a deal!

I changed my plans about driving across the country for the big move. I decided to fly instead. So what does this mean? Well, I save a ton of money. The car was gonna be around $600 and I'd have to pay for gas and snacks and hotels if I decided not to sleep in a parking lot one night. I got the plane ticket for only $287, which is a steal compared to the 500-600's I was seeing in previous searches. Flying there also means that I have to really minimize what I take with me when I move. I am going to pack two big suitcases and check those. I can also carry on a small suitcase. I will take clothes, but will have to get rid of a lot and will have to get rid of some shoes too. I also want to take my paintings and posters that hang on my wall. I will take pictures and some important books. I will not take kitchen stuff, bed stuff, or any furniture. Instead I have to buy all new stuff when I get down to SC. I guess we will have a yard sale to try to make some mulah off the stuff I have to get rid of. Gotta sell the futon, bookshelf, end tables, dresser, TV, and other stuff. I also found out that I can ship my bike in a bike box for about $80. That seems pretty good. I am really excited about the concept of moving so far away and not having to break my bank account to do it.