Jingle All the Way

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

My sister is coming into town today (with my brother in law, of course), the first of many people in my family to start coming into town for the holidays. I'm so excited! It's not really like Christmas until you have a house full of family members around, making noise, baking, catching up, attending holiday parties, stressing out over presents at the last minute, and enjoying every minute. I know some people don't feel like that, but growing up in a big family, I really thrive on having people around me-especially at a time of year when you think about them the most.

I've been pretty busy. I babysat this morning-starting before 8 AM. Then I came back, had lunch, finished a book, am about to clean my room, then they are arriving. I need to go to the store for some last minute shopping as well. Tomorrow I will probably do that, then I have Tom and his dad coming over to load up some stuff for our apt in a huge truck to move it to our Alpharetta apartment. Saturday morning, I have to be at the church at 8:30 AM to get warmed up for practice then choir practice starts at 9. I have to leave early at 10 to leave for Northpoint Mall for Madeline's 3rd birthday party at the American Girl Boutique and Bistro, which I have a feeling I am going to LOVE because I love love loved those dolls growing up. After all of that, they are going to come over to see my and Tom's apartment. Then Tom and his dad will be moving stuff into our apt, so I might be helping with that. That night we have the annual Patton, Park, Little party. Then Sunday is church with the big Christmas program I am singing in this year (no solos, thank goodness or I would pass out and/or cry) which everyone in my family (minus Sarah and Jordan) are planning to attend along with Lisa's parents, Tom, his parents, and Ben. Then everyone is coming over for lunch. Then it's Christmas Eve, then Christmas. Good Gracious, this is a busy, wonderful time of year!

Missing it.

I was just thinking about the zoo...and wishing that I could work there and have weekends off. I miss the animals and some of the people. Every time I see orangutans and elephants on tv, in the paper, online, and especially when I read about them on zoo atl's updates, it just makes my heart break a little that I'm not there to be a part of it. And it made me think over my feelings on animals a little. I've decided that dogs are my favorite pets, orangutans are my favorite (nonhuman) primates, and elephants are my favorite large mammals with which to work. And all of this is based in experience. It's not that uncommon to have worked at a zoo, but then, it's not that common either. And I wish I could have it all-the job I wanted and weekends off. I mean, it's not that much to ask. It's not like it's glamorous or pays much. But it's such a rewarding investment of your time. It gives you job satisfaction. I just wish they let their keepers have the stupid weekends off.

We're Getting There

Tom and I spent a lot of time last week working on our apartment. We painted 3 rooms in two days and then spent the third day fixing stuff up and straightening a little. We have moved some stuff from his apt to ours and have a LOT of stuff to move yet.

That in and of itself would have been an exhausting week, but what Tom didn't know is that I had been planning a surprise party for his birthday since August. On Friday night, he thought I was babysitting and couldn't come up to eat with his family and would only be able to hang out later. In reality, I missed out on a dinner at the Sundial to set up for his party at his apartment. I made him a Star Wars Cake that was a scene from Episode III, and it even fogged up because there was a little space for dry ice in it. I liked that particular feature, and so did the guests-especially his fraternity brothers who attended and made me feel like I was pastry chef with all of their flattering compliments. I know they were exaggerating, but it made me laugh when they said they would propose if a girl made them a cake like that. Tom already did that, so I guess it was due him, huh?

We also had drinks, chips, and other snack foods out for people to munch and sip. Davey and Kristen made the apartment 1 roommates and girlfriends t-shirts about Tom to wear during the party, and the guests seemed to get a kick out of it. Everyone arrived around 8 and helped me blow up the balloons, then we blasted some party music and hung out until around 9 when Tom arrived, when we yelled "surprise!!!", took some pictures, and turned the music up again to resume the party. I was so impressed by all the guests-they meshed really well and were great about intermingling and so patient while we waited on Tom to arrive with Ben from dinner.

When Tom walked through the door, he was so shocked-or else he is a great actor. It was really fun, and he got a chance to hang out with everyone, eat, drink, and be merry. The downside was that a lot of us only got 3 hours of sleep because after the party ended late at night (or, rather, early in the morning), Tom's graduation required we get right back up and get ready in the morning. He graduated at 9AM with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science focusing on software engineering. I was so SO proud of him. He is such a hard worker, and he had been looking forward to graduation for a while. Now it's all behind him, and we're both officially college graduates. It's kind of surreal that we've grown up so much together and reached another major milestone, but I'm so happy that we did.

Later that night, his family (minus Mandy, Jim, and E) all gathered at his parent's house with my parents, me, and Jordan and Sarah to celebrate his graduation. It was his actual birthday as well, but we were celebrating that the next day, after church. All in all, it was an exhausting week and weekend, but a lot got done. It's a relief to have that behind us so we can now have a week before Christmas to shop like mad for presents, wrap until our fingers hurt, and visit with friends and family as much as possible. I love this time of year-it's a little crazy because it's so busy, but I love being busy with fun things to do. Tom and I are going shopping for presents tomorrow, and I'm so excited. It's such an awesome tradition-he's my best friend, and he makes everything more fun.

Be safe out there in the holiday traffic!

Love,
Meghan

ps-here's a link to pictures from the party that I put up on facebook.

My room is clean....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cleaned my room for the first time in a while on Monday, and then I went to Atlanta. Tom and I spent 2 days painting 3 rooms in our new apartment (yay!) which he will move into in January and I will move into in April when we get married. We did green walls in the guest bedroom, red in the kitchen, light blue in the master bedroom. And the rest of the apt is beige for now. All of it has white crown molding/trim/baseboard molding/doorways. We're happy with it, but we've also moved some of Tom's stuff there from his apartment, so every time he goes back to his room in Apt 1, he gets kind of sad about moving away from his roommates. I keep telling him that the silver lining of him not having roommates for a while is that he'll be so eager to have company again that he'll think living with me is awesome. hahaha Hopefully he won't have to be roommate deprived for 3 months to think that married life is awesome, but I still say it. Anyway, so we pulled the last bit of tape today, put up our paint supplies, he set up our modem, and I came back to Covington. And walked into my gloriously clean room. I love walking into my room and it being all neat and clean. Once I've checked to make sure I'm in the right room, it's a really nice feeling. =)

Nevermind

A couple posts back I mentioned that I had a possible part time job lined up to be a nanny for a family. They ended up not want to pay what I charge for babysitting, so it didn't work out. They pretty much wanted to pay me minimum wage, and I think that child care and my time should be worth more than that.

I also mentioned that I might register to take the teacher certification tests for GA. I talked to Melissa, one of my roommates (for 2 years) and best friends from UGA. She is a teacher, and it was really good to talk to her about it. I really don't have a passion for it, and was only going to do it because it was a job. She encouraged me to pursue things I want to do more, but she also said that she would help me prepare for the tests if I decided to do that. After we talked I thought about it for a few weeks, and as far as teaching goes, I decided to pass on that one. I love kids, but I really have never thought I was cut out for teaching. I think I could probably do it, but I really think you need to desire to do that job, and I just don't. Melissa is an amazing teacher, and it's something she has wanted to do ever since I've known her. That's the kind of teachers that we need in our schools, not the ones who are only there because it's a job.

Anyway, nevermind what I wrote in that post a while back. None of it ended up happening. If something else does happen, I'll be sure to post it.

Love,
Meghan

Mix It Up

Every now and then, I get bored with my blog being the same way, and I change the template and/or the font and colors. I decided to go from green to pink with green accents. I just finished it, and I like it, but it didn't occur to me until I looked at the final product how it's A)Very Lilly Pulitzer-esque in color scheme, and B) the accent colors I am using in my wedding because it will be spring. I also thought about using pink and brown and using blue and brown (on my blog). I really like those color combinations as well.

Today my phone rang, and it was Mara again, the lady who is interested in having me be a part time nanny. I'm really interested in this job because after the new year, I am going to have to devote a lot more time to wedding planning, and this would allow me to do that and still make some money, so that's exciting. I've also thought about getting into HR and considered teaching. I love little kids, but I still don't find the idea of teaching as exciting as working with animals, so I think I need to make that my last option. For a while I got myself pretty excited over it, but I know myself, and I know I've always said I would rather starve than teach, haha. Turns out, I don't want to starve, and I think I would be a pretty good teacher, but I've had too many teachers who were just in the profession because it was a job and not a passion. I think the best teachers have a desire to be in that job, and I don't want to be a mediocre person when it comes to passion for those kids. They deserve the best, so I am going to look around. In the meantime, I don't think being a nanny is such a bad idea. =) And I still want to know if human resources has any appeal to me. Paper pushing is not appealing to me at all, so I really want to talk to someone or shadow someone or do an internship (paid) that lets me see what it's really all about.

Ok, I meant to be asleep by now...gotta go!
Love,
Meghan

Nanny Meghan?

Well, God has put something part time in the future for me, at least maybe He has. A doctor in Covington's wife called me the other day to see if I would be interested in a part time job as a nanny to her son starting in January. He is three months old right now, so I'm think it wouldn't be extremely exciting work, but that's just fine with me. She wants to go back to work part time and needs me while she is working. I'm supposed to hear from her to figure out when I can come over and spend a day with them so that they can get to know me and vice versa. After that, I guess I'll know for sure. I'm excited though! It's great to have something in the wings!
~Meghan

ps-I'm thinking about taking a teacher's certification test for the state of Ga. We'll see what happens with that.

Is it really November?

Well, today was a less than spooky Halloween, which I am just fine with. Spooky things aren't at the top of my list, as those of you who have ever tried to get me to watch scary movies know.

I just can't believe we are officially in November. This year has FLOWN by, and it's so funny (funny-interesting, not funny-haha) that I am where I am. God has taught me so much this year about trusting Him, and I'm still learning. I just really never would have guessed that I would be where I am right now, even 6 months ago. I had a plan, and that just seems like the dumbest idea now. It's a fine line you have to walk...you need direction, goals, something to strive for, but at the same time, when you put all your sights on your plan, it's wrong. Because you can't count on man-made plans. Only God can lead you down the path that's best for you.

That's not a novel idea. All my life it seems I've heard that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. I don't really like that phrase because I don't think of God as sitting up in Heaven holding the blueprint of our lives out of reach and laughing at us as we grasp at straws trying to figure out what path to take. I look at it more as us walking with a lantern through a maze at night. We can only see just right ahead of us, so we have to trust God-the one who created the maze, and no one else, even ourselves, to help us follow it correctly. All too often, I find myself forgetting to ask Him which way to go and just continually running into the dead end, head first.

I'm still job searching, and I think that has been one of the hardest things He could ask me to do right now. It's very humbling to have been out of school for this length of time and not have a steady source of income. I guess technically, I could get a job at a restaurant or retail store, but I'd like to do a job that I couldn't have done while in high school since I worked so hard to get a B.S. I'm not too embarrassed that I didn't get a job right away since I was working at the zoo, and that was to get my foot in the door. Problem with that is that when I did finally get my foot in the door, I realized it was the wrong door for me, and now I'm in the same place I was then.

I've applied to a little after school teaching position that opened in Conyers, but I haven't heard from them yet, so I am going to look around some more this week/weekend/coming week. I'm interested in working with animals still, and with kids, so we'll see where that takes me. As of now, I'm just praying that God will help me to know what He wants me to do and to open that door to me. I'm also very blessed that He has provided me with everything that I need. Because I'm living at home right now, I have no rent, food, bills, etc. to pay. After December, I will have to pay for insurance, which might wipe me out, so I'm hoping God will see fit to give me job before then. But I have been able to babysit at least once a week, which helps a little bit with things that come up every now and then.

If anyone is reading this, I could use some prayer. The time is flying by, and I have still got more wedding planning to do as well as the job search. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, but I'm really hoping and praying I can be less stressed out by securing some financial status by then.

Much love,
Meghan

ps-Tom and I went to Halloween party the other day. Pictures are up on my moblog.

Take Your Best Shot

Tom and I got our engagement proofs to view online, and here are a some of my favorite ones.

Love,
Meghan

Home Depot Gift Cards Accepted Here

I'm dead tired, so I won't type much, but basically, Tom and I went to a couple of different AMLI apartments in Atlanta today, outside the perimeter. We were really impressed with the Milton Apartment Complex through AMLI, and we're thinking that is where we are going to end up. I'm SO excited that we are getting this all figured out. We'll be able to decide what furniture we need and colors we are painting everything when we know where we will actually be, which is probably my favorite thing about it. I can't wait to just go ahead and get it all taken care of, painting and moving things as much as possible before Tom moves in.

He'll live there (in the guest bedroom) while he works in Norcross before we are married, so we need to try to have it ready for him to live in by January 2nd when he starts. Now, if I can just find a job....

~Meghan

Personal Paparazzi

This weekend, Tom and I went to Savannah to have our engagement pictures taken. It was so laid back and comfortable, I never thought I could feel so at ease posing for a photographer I had only met one other time. Christine Hall is amazing-I am so grateful that she is our photographer. I have to say that photography is one of the most important components of the wedding, for me personally, and I feel so good about leaving it in her hands.

We met up with her in Forsyth Park to take a few shots, then we walked through downtown Savannah, posing in front of pretty gates, walls, and doorways on streets and in allies. She took some shots of us just walking and talking or laughing. Tom said that the pictures are more focused on me because sometimes we would be walking, and she would say for him to look at me and me to look at the camera, haha. He has a good sense of humor about it though, and we trust her direction for photos-I mean, if you look at some of the pictures she has done that are in her office or online, you can see she is an artist. She actually went to SCAD, and she definitely knows what she is doing. I can't wait to get the pictures back so we can see how they turned out, and so we can pick one to FINALLY announce our engagement in the paper.

After downtown pictures, we went to Tybee Island. On the way there, we stopped in the marshes at Cafe Loco. There is a picture of my dad's parents, Mema and Papa, from when they were 20 and lived in California while he was in the Army. They were sitting on a plank sidewalk with her in his lap, and it just sticks out in my mind for some reason. So, I borrowed it from Mema, and I showed it to Christine, and she thought of Cafe Loco. Behind it, there is a dock that people can go down to pay for dolphin tours or charter boats to fish. We posed out there doing a similar one to Mema and Papa. I can't wait to see them and to get a scan of Mema's picture. I plan to put them in a side-by-side frame, just because I think it would be cool. I wish we could have done one for each of our sets of grandparents, but we didn't have photos of all of them when they were young like that, at least not with us. We had just run by Mema's and picked it up on Friday night when we got there. Hopefully it will turn out well.

After that, we went to Tybee, at the north end of the beach, and we had to hurry because it was starting to rain on us. It was a little strange downtown, at Cafe Loco, and at the beach to have a professional photographer snapping pictures of us while people looked on curiously, and I told Tom it was as if we had paparazzi...just not much of it. haha We did some poses by the dunes, some by the water, some on a swing, some on fallen trees, some in front of a WWII fort in the grass, and some with the lighthouse behind us (that last one was my request). Also, when we were walking back towards the parking lot, over the little bridge over the dunes, she had us run while holding hands and looking back at her. After about 5 steps running while looking at the camera, I definitely plowed into the rail. I'm just so graceful. haha

Overall, she seemed pleased with the shots she got, so I am sure we will have some nice pictures. The hardest part is now-waiting 2 weeks to get the proofs back! I can hardly wait.

We had a really nice time visiting with Mema, Nana, Jessica and Peyton while we were there, but it's always nice to return home, to your familiar bed and everything. We ate lunch with Jordan and Sarah (and mom and dad) today since Jordan's 25th bday was this week, then Tom and they all had to take off for Atl again. I went outside for a few minutes after to play with Lucy, and I ended up just laying in the grass looking at the clouds. (Lucy wasn't feeling playful.) It was something I hadn't done in a long time, and I felt almost like a kid again...and then something bit my leg, and I remembered why I so rarely do that. haha Oh well, that's life.

Love,
Meghan

One of the coolest videos I've seen lately

Here's what Gmail had to say: "We asked you to help us imagine how an email message travels around the world. All it took was a video camera, the Gmail M-velope ( ), and some creativity — and, wow, did you get creative!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKAInP_tmHk

And I thought my name meant "Pearl"

A while back, Claire, one of my best friends from UGA and one of my bridesmaids, cracked up at the meaning of my name. Not the literal meaning...the Urban Dictionary meaning. wow. I had kind of forgotten about it until I saw on facebook that another friend had looked up his name and the names of some friends on Urban Dictionary and suggested others do the same. It's pretty hilarious...and in some ways, pathetically accurate. I don't know how.

Meghan:
That girl you see with the pee bag that is constantly falling over something.
Used to describe people who have strange peeing behavior and/or stumble.

Ex. 1: "Dude totally Meghaned the toilet seat!"
Ex. 2: "Aw, that girl just Meghaned down the slope"



Somewhere on the internet, this is a definition of my name.


Oh my gosh.

Well, ....At least I've got something I can frame.

If you have a college degree you can be absolutely sure of one thing... you have a college degree. ~Author Unknown

I spent the last 4 years working at school....pulling all-nighters, working in groups, working alone, making and studying flash-cards, reviewing tests and quizzes to correct mistakes, doing homework, writing papers, being a research assistant to grad student research assistant, studying in another country to learn another language, volunteering at a local zoo in my spare time, ....all of this and more to obtain a degree and experiences that would lead me to having a career. I have a B.S. but I don't have a J.O.B.

I've usually had an idea of what is right for me and have been confidant that I could attain it with enough work. I wanted to be a cheerleader when I was little, and I was from 7th grade -12th, captain for the last two years. I wanted to be a straight-A student (partially because my parents wanted me to be) and I usually was, until college anyway, where it was more A's, B's, and every now and again a C. I only wanted to go to UGA, I only applied to UGA, and I went to UGA. I wanted a minor in Spanish, and along the way, I lived with a family in Costa Rica for the better part of a study abroad trip. I'm even engaged to the guy that I fell for in 9th grade (Granted that has a lot more to do with BOTH of us being in love,wanting it to work and working for it).

And since I can remember, all I've wanted to do is work with animals. When I was little, I wanted to be a vet. When I got older, I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. (Still do, kind of). Then, in college, that turned to zoo keeper so that I could stay in Georgia. And when I graduated, I got a position as keeper intern at Zoo Atlanta. And I was pathetically naive about the length of time I would need to be an intern when I first started there. After a few weeks, it was more than evident that you don't get hired into a keeper position after a few months of interning. Some of those keepers interned for a year or more before getting a keeper position. And interns aren't paid at the zoo. Keepers are barely paid at the zoo.

So....here's the thing: Were I to continue towards that, I would have to work at another job in the meantime to make some money. Yes, I'm getting married soon to someone who will make way more money than I could even try to make, but I'd like to contribute-we aren't going to start off with a lot. And we need something in savings. And then, after I worked and interned for a year or two, I might get a keeper position. Where I would be doing physical labor all day, coming home completely exhausted, with a low salary and my "weekend" would be in the middle of the week whenever they told me it would be upon being hired-so I'd never get to hang out with Tom and just relax.

Now, there are some REALLY awesome things about being a keeper, and being an intern, I've gotten to experience some of those things. I really like the people that I've worked with, and I really love the animals. They have so much personality, and there is not much other way you get to really interact with those kind of unique animals. But, I have to weigh the good against the bad, and honestly, the idea of having no weekends with Tom and family/friends, of being tired and smelly all the time, and of having so little pay for all of that-it just isn't outweighed by the fact that I love these animals. And that's only if I ever get hired as a keeper.

So, this is where I'm at. I'm a college graduate with a B.S. in psychology and a minor in Spanish. I love animals, and I worked for four years towards getting a degree to let me work with them, only to find out that it's not right for me-at least not at the zoo. And now I need to make money and to hopefully find a job I'm not embarrassed to do with a college degree and that I will enjoy. WOW. This is not the time to find this out, huh?

So here are my thoughts so far-Kristen mentioned that she had a friend who worked at a hotel and was eventually made manager, so I've looked into applying to some hotels. Then, there's the idea of working as a wedding planner...only I don't know how to get into that business, other than looking up local wedding planners/event planners online at yellowpages.com. And finally, I've picked up some business cards of obedience trainers for dogs, and I need to call them. That might be something I would enjoy. Other than that, I'm still searching.

It's probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life to date, to know that I don't have a CLUE what to do with myself and that college is over. I just always had this idea of myself working with animals...and maybe I still will. I'm just trying to trust God in this because He knows exactly where I'm headed, even if I don't, and I know He will only lead me well, but I need not to fight his will. I'm just praying for illumination and direction through this, and I could definitely use some extra prayers. It's times when I DON'T know how to go after something that make it hard. It's like I'm chomping at the bit to go after something, but don't have any sense of where to go get it. So I need the prayer.

~Meghan

Psalm 16:11-- Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.

Underway

It's safe to say that a lot of the key ingredients of Tom and my wedding is taken care of. I have my dress, shoes, and veil picked out as well as the bridesmaids dresses. Tom and I have gone with our moms to look at churches, reception sites, and rehearsal dinner locations, all of which have been decided upon. Tom's even working on making us a more personalized wedding website based on what we both want it to be. Right now, we're using this one. We've settled on a band as well, a band we danced to and were impressed by at a Great Gatsby Datenight thrown by Gamma Phi Beta my last semester.

We also have our photographer picked out, and I couldn't be more excited to have her. Her name is Christine Hall, and she is AMAZING in her profession. Her work has been in several magazines, and she's actually doing the cover photography for Paula Deen's magazine in December. Based out of Savannah, she's going to be traveling to our area to do our wedding. But we'll be going to her for our engagement photos. We'll be having them taken in Savannah on September 22nd-downtown and out at Tybee. I'm so excited! Now Tom and I need to figure out what to wear...

Here are some links to the different venues and services we'll be using, so far:

The Church: Holy Cross Anglican Church
The Reception: Vines Botanical Garden
The Rehearsal Dinner: Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort, Rotunda Room
The Music: Psuedo/Parrothead Paradise
The Photography: Christine Hall Photography

I love quotes

I heard about a movie called Becoming Jane today-it's starring Anne Hathaway and based on how Jane Austin became who she was. Anyway, I was looking at stuff about the movie online, and I saw this quote from it.

"What value will there ever be in life, if we aren't together?"

I really liked that quote, probably because I'm the type of girl who has a romantic heart-always wanted someone to fall in love in a movie or book. I think the idea of someone being so in love that their life wouldn't have the same worth without the other person is pretty much summed up in that quote, and it got me curious about the movie. I've read a little about Jane Austin's personal life, and I'm interested to see how they portray it now that I've read some of the quotes from the movie. That was one of my favorites from what was listed online. It's just a good line, even if it's not perfectly accurate. =)
~Megs

Busy as a Bee!!

I haven't updated my blog for a VERY long time, and that used to really annoy me about blogs, so I'm trying to not be a hypocrite, and to fix it now! =) I feel like a lifetime of stuff has gone on this summer.

Besides being in every wedding or attending every wedding or wedding related event under the sun, or rain, or whatever, from May-June, I've been working at the zoo each Monday and Tuesday from 9AM-whenever I am told to leave (usually around 5 or 6:30 depending on where I am working and what keeper I am with). That means I get up at 7AM, get ready, drive to work, work hard, eat lunch, work hard some more, drive to Tom's apartment, change, try to talk myself into working out, eat dinner and visit a little, drive home. Sleep, shower, repeat. (and depending on the day, there is also a shower between work and other stuff)

Since my last post, I've begun working with Large Mammals on Tuesdays but sticking with Primates on Mondays. I've worked Orangs and Gorillas, Elephants, Tigers, Lions, and Otters. The otters at Zoo Atl are much cuter than the ones at Bear Hollow simply because they are Asian Small Clawed rather than River Otters. They're smaller and cute, and there are a ton of them! We have 9, and they are all family and very group-oriented.

With the elephants, we have three girls. They are all 24 years old right now, and have different personalities, which is fun to see. Each one was born in Africa and came to the zoo as a little, young elephant. Dottie, Tara, and Kelly are really well trained and very food motivated. They make big messes, but I'd rather clean up after them than orangs or gorillas, to be honest.

Tara

(L-R): Dottie, Tara, and Kelly (with hay stuck under her tusk)


I still love working with the primates though, just because they are so unique. I prefer orangs to gorillas, probably because they are more interactive and let you see their personality more easily. Chantek is my favorite orang. He's a big male, currently without any roommates (Hati, who was living in his area, had to be put down because of renal failure one of the days that I was working there. He seemed as upset about it as the keepers; it was heartbreaking). He can do 150 words in American Sign Language, most of them referring to food (typical guy). haha He's obviously really smart, and he does some really funny things, like crawl up in his hammock and pull a blanket over his body (tucking himself in) when he wants to sleep, and showing you his "hurt" (a scar on his airbag) that he wants you to touch all the time (I have to get permission to do that, but he loves it when you touch his hurt). Chantek let me feed him and everything my first day working with orangs, and because he didn't seem to have a problem with me, the keepers will let me give him his food and juice and stuff whenever it's feeding time. He'll sign to me the food he wants. I didn't really get it at first, but it makes me feel kind of special now to know that he doesn't have a problem with me. They said that he really hates some people (I've seen this first hand-usually taller men) and spits at them immediately and constantly when he sees them. He also doesn't normally take to interns, and one of the gorilla keepers said he hasn't ever signed to her. So anyway, I liked Chantek right away, but finding out he liked me back (or didn't seem to mind me anyway) made me really happy.

We also got a new orang this month, Dumadi (Do-Maa-Dee), who is from Fort Wayne. He is only 8.5 months old! Dumadi's mom died when he was only a few hours old, and he needed a surrogate mother. Madu, one of our female orangs, had experience as a surrogate, so we got the baby! He is absolutely adorable-he looks like a muppet baby puppet or something. I've gotten to give him his bottle and hand feed him pieces of carrot and sweet potato, which is awesome. Madu will try to grab you or get you to give her his food, so you have to distract her or get him in a part of the cage she can't reach. Then, if she gets mad, she'll spit at you, but you just have to ignore her so she'll stop, like a little kid...or high school boys or something. haha

Dumadi

With tigers and lions, I've really only helped as far as cleaning goes...I've watched them shift, but I haven't helped prepare diets for them yet (which is fine with me-carnivore diets like that=ground up nasty meat and/or a frozen rabbit, yuck). I have chopped (the fruit and veggies) for all primates (including lemurs, drills, monas, glts, etc.) and for elephants. And the other day, I got to help feed some of the otters, who eat small fish and balls of wet cat food, and they like to eat crickets too (as a treat, I think). I've only helped with them once so far, but they're pretty cute.


















In the gorilla area, it's funny to see how they posture and hit their chests, push each other, bang on doors and mesh, and make noises. They definitely have territory issues with some people, and there is always a dominant male, but that doesn't mean the girls won't gang up on him at times if he is beating them up. This isn't at our zoo, but here is an example of it. Anyway, it's also fun to see how the mothering styles vary. There is one mom that has twin babies, and she never lets them get more than 4 feet from her before pulling them back. One of the other moms, Kudzoo, was Willy B.'s first child, and she got a lot of special treatment, so she thinks she is royalty, and her daughter, Macy B., thinks she is a little princess too. She's really cute, though. And then there is another mom who has a son, Gunther, who she quit letting ride on her back before the age of one (usually they'll catch a ride on mom's back for at least 2 years, getting down, but still allowed to ride if they want to). Gunther is said to be pretty chill about whatever situation, probably as a result of this less babying/sweet parenting style.

Outside of the zoo, plans are coming along for the wedding. We've decided on Christine Hall Photography because she is amazing, and I'm SO excited about that! For music, we are going for a band that has several names, including Pseudo and Parrothead Paradise, but they will be playing more traditional songs for a wedding reception for us. We heard them when Gamma Phi had a Great Gatsby datenight, and they played music from the 40's through today. We loved dancing to their music, and we were pretty impressed at how they adapted so well to so many different styles. So we talked, I called, and now they should be sending me a contract! =)

I tried on my wedding dress today with the veil and my shoes for that day, and it was really fun. I had had a dream last week that I was too fat to fit into my dress, so I felt the need to make sure it would still fit me ok...it does! =) good news. I still want to lose some weight before the wedding though. I want to lose weight before our engagement pictures in Savannah on September 22nd so that I look better for those pictures. Tom works out every day pretty much, and he looks really great. Of course, Tom has ALWAYS looked really great! =) I just need to get back to senior year of high school size.

I'm exhausted because I spent HOURS today packing up my apartment. I had already packed some and brought it home last week, but this time, I went and finished packing everything I owned that I wasn't throwing out, and then I moved it to near the door, brought down enough to pack my car, and drove that home. I need to go back with Dad's truck to get some of the bigger things, but a few more car/truck-fulls, and I should officially be moved out of Athens....and not going back. It's a weird feeling...like I'm not old enough for that reality. Yet, when I think of tests, homework, papers, projects, meetings, and all-nighters, it makes me happy all over again that I am officially done being a student! =)

I need to get some sleep....hopefully this blog has been sufficient in catching up on my last month or two!
Love,
Meghan

Monkey Business....

I had the interview, it went well, and I got the internship! I started today (June 4th), and worked from 9:15-6:45....a long and tiring day! It was great, and I spent most of the day working with orangutans, which was so cool. I am SO tired and have to be out there at 9 in the morning, driving in from Covington, so I want to go to bed right now, but I'll try to update later! =) Basically, I just wanted to say that I'm enjoying being an intern at Zoo Atlanta and that God is good to provide this position for me! =)
Love,
Meghan

Entrevista....

Soooooo...I got a call today from Charles Horton, curator of primates at Zoo Atlanta...and he said that I could come in for an interview! It's all set up for next Wednesday at 1pm, and I'm getting really nervous, because I REALLY want this job! Hopefully, I'll get it and can start June 1st. I told him about my brother's wedding in Scotland, so hopefully he'll see that as upfront honesty and not a problem. I really hope he doesn't need me on Saturdays since he said I "might" get the internship if I'm available "on the days I need you" which means I need to work with his schedule...but I have a MILLION weddings going on every weekend until June 30th.


PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!
~Meghan

Fin.

Well, I did it. This morning, I filled in the last answer to the last exam for my undergraduate degree!!! =) I had the strangest feeling filling in the "A" bubble on the 100th question and turning in my Psychology final, walking to my teacher, and handing it in....it's the last time. Wow.

Just Call Me Steven Spielberg

...Riiiiiiiiiight. I finished what I will be showing as my project on Thursday. It's frustrating because I'm not fully satisfied with it. I had every intention of having a song I heard in class play during the credits, of having clips of asking random people to try to identify Che Guevara, and of having 5 people's opinions in the movie.

What I am doing, basically, is something called Mi Propio Che, or "my own Che." My Spanish class this semester revolved around Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Argentinian doctor, leader of the Cuban revolution, Communist to the point of fanatic murderer, and icon of revolution. An edited version of the picture shown on this page is one of the most famous pictures ever taken in the last century. His face is now plastered on posters, t-shirts, bags, stickers, etc....irony to the extreme for a man who died fighting Capitalism. For Span4080, we had to do a final project that our teacher named Mi Propio Che, with the guidelines that it was to be a creative project, no limits, and surprise him. That actually makes it harder than easier because we had no parameters within which to work. When the sky's the limit, you have a pretty high standard to achieve. What made this more intimidating is that last week, he pushed back our due date and decided to make this count as the final in addition to the original weight of the project.....so it HAS to be good. I mean, really good. He said he pushed it back so that we could have extra time to make something really great. No pressure, huh? In addition to the project, we have to type up a short paper explaining the project in relation to the class and the literature we've read this semester (doing that tomorrow), and we have to give a 5 minute explanation of our project to the class. Hopefully I won't have to talk much further than explaining the general idea, since it pretty much speaks for itself....

What I decided to do was make a video of people answering different questions about Che. I would ask all the people the same question and have the video show the differences in opinion and level of knowledge about this man (he is a very controversial person). Well, I got in touch with about 10-15 facebook groups devoted to loving, hating, or having some knowledge about Che, and asked if anyone was interested. About 25 people told me they wanted to do it. About 3 did. And one of those 3 said that he would get a couple of his friends to do it as well. This is why I was freaking out a couple posts back. I needed more involvement.

Well, I started work on the project, and it just wasn't coming along....my computer memory was too full, windows movie maker is picky, the videos themselves were too large...it was always something. Finally, today, I packed it in and went to the SLC to use a UGA computer. I knew it would have more memory and be faster and have a person I could ask if I needed help....ends up the poor guy had to help me with computer problems a million times because that computer and that program were both dodgy. It ended up that I got there around 4:00, and I left at midnight and went home for supper. I ended up using one of the first three videos I got, Alejandra's video, and the two videos of friends (Ben and Ange) that were promised to me by one of the original three helpers (Alvin). Although I received 5 peoples' videos total, I had problems with a couple, so I had to cut them out, which is really sad since one is Zac from England and would have added a lot of diversity, and the other is from Alvin, the guy who has given me SO much help...even going as far as to get me his two friend's videos.

Also, since Windows Movie Maker is so picky about having you not remove anything once you start, I had to email myself the song I wanted to use on the credits (and I bought it on Itunes just for this)...then when I opened it on the school computer, it wouldn't let me use it without proof of purchase. Of course, that meant I had to download ITunes and a newer version of Quicktime, and when I had all of that....it wanted me to restart the computer if I was going to finish the installation. Well, I couldn't do that because the school computers automatically wipe off all your work everytime you log out or shut down or restart. Even if I saved the project to disk or thumbdrive, all the original videos would be wiped off the computer, and since windows movie maker has to work with the original source, I would lose ALL of my work. So, basically, I did all of that work and couldn't put in the final touches that would have made it somewhat cool and help me suck up to my teacher. ha. I also didn't have Tom's camera with me, so I couldn't include the guerrilla interviewing I did about Che...I'm thinking about showing it as a separate video though, since I think it could be cool.

I did finish and save the project though, and THAT is a huge weight lifted. Even though editing and cutting clips on Windows Movie Maker makes some of the frames freeze while the audio plays, I'm letting it be that way. There is nothing I can do about it, and I'm over it. I've worked long and hard and done all I can...and I've never done anything like this before, so I'm proud of the work I put into it. You can watch the video on YouTube.

And now I need to go to bed....
~Meghan

WOW.

So, after my frantic post last night and begging for prayers about the Zoo Atl position....I get this email when I wake up.

Meghan

I received your resume and application and will pass it along to the curators in large mammals. Your experience and background may be helpful in their department.

Thanks for your interest in Zoo Atlanta and the keeper internship program.

L.Charles Horton

Curator of Primates

Zoo Atlanta

Now, I know that it doesn't promise me a position, but it's better than a rejection, and at least I know that he thinks it's worth sending on. Ps, did I mention that in my cover letter I said that my ultimate goal is to work with large mammals at the zoo? Yeah, this guy must have read that and decided to let me have a shot at my favorite position. Thank you, Lord!! Now, I need to keep praying that they will have a position for me!! And that if it's God's will that they don't have that position for me, that I can accept that without being a brat.

Love,
Megs

Boiling Point....whatever the temperature is where I am.

I feel like I'm on that MTV show Boiling Points. Basically, (I don't even know if this show is on anymore) they would purposely harass someone to see how long they would take it. They would have a timer for the person, and it would be different amounts of time depending on what the harassment was. If the person could put up with it without cussing, leaving, yelling or some other thing like that, the person harassing them would reveal that they were on MTV and hand the harassed person $100 in cash. My life is harassing me, and I'm not getting paid for it. I know it could be worse, but this is my blog, so I can vent.

I have a very important Spanish project due (it was originally due the 26th...yeah, today), and it got pushed back one week. That sounds like a good thing. In my case it is. But, like everything, there are strings attached. My professor (did I mention he's also the advisor for the whole Spanish department? Yeah-pressure.) decided that this project is so important that he wanted us to have it count not only as the original percentage that the project was but also as our final. It's great not to have a final, especially after taking a grueling midterm with him, but this puts SUPER HUGE amounts of pressure on my project. I also have to discuss my project for 5-8 minutes in front of the class and write up a paper explaining how my project relates to the readings we did in class this semester. Total times crying tonight? Three. So far. Basically, for what I am doing, I need a lot of people to participate, so I started working on it weeks ago, trying to round up help. Then I got a lot of responses-lots of willing and helpful people. Then I sent them the questions I needed them to answer for me (8 simple, 30-seconds-per-answer-or-less-questions!!!) and people either don't get back to me or say they are no longer interested in helping out. Thanks a friggin lot. I need to mention that I have one friend and one stranger who have both already answered my questions, which is awesome. But no one else has, friends have even told me that they "just don't want to do it" and I am trying to remember that God is in control and that He will either get me the videos of these people answering my questions or He will give me another awesome project idea. I was really excited about this project; it has so much potential. I know no one has to participate in someone else's project, but there is no way I can do it without participation. Right now, I'm trying not to be nervous. If I do get this project done, I will explain more about it and put it or a link to it on here so that it can be seen.

I also have a Psych test on Friday, and I have a lot of reading to do for it, and I have to study the notes, and I really need to make about a 250 out of 100 on this. (I know it's impossible, that's the point.)

And then, the next week, I have one day of class, one day presenting and turning in the project, and one day taking my last cumulative final ever.....then I have to just wait and make sure I make at least a C in both classes, then I am DONE until Graduation, which is May 12th. SUPER OVERWHELMING.

In addition to all of the academic life stuff, I have a million things going on so that I can try to spend time with people before graduation. Senior Celebration for Gamma Phi was on Sunday, Monday was my last chapter ever + letters written by our parents read to us by our lil sis's, Tuesday I had class and got all my minor completion stuff turned in, today I worked at Bear Hollow then went to dinner with my Gamma Phi family then went to the ice cream party that was the reveal of our senior buddies (each freshman Gamma Phi Beta secretly gets a senior presents all year, and today we found out who they are-ps, mine is Jillian Farr, and she got me awesome presents), tomorrow I have class and studying and dinner with my pledge class, Friday I have an exam and then have to drive to Atlanta for Sarah's lingerie shower/bachelorette party and for Tom's fraternity's Broomball, Saturday Tom and I will be back in Athens for a dinner/shower at the Armstrong's house, and Sunday, I have GOT to get all of the videos so that I can put my project together. Then on Monday, I have my last day of class and pledge class dinner and senior willing, then Tuesday I have lunch with Melissa (and maybe Abbey, Lee, and Kyle) and dinner with my small group and more work on my project, then Wednesday I will study and finish my project, then Thursday the project+paper+presentation is due and that night I have dinner with Claire and our senior buddies, then Friday is my last exam. I am going into overdrive.

I still haven't heard back from Zoo Atlanta about this internship I applied for, and I'm fighting the fear that they won't want me. I know I am qualified for this position and that I would do a great job. I would work hard, and I would love it, even though it's nonstipened. I just need to get it first.

Everytime I look at all of that stuff, I feel like I am going to drown in everything I have going on, but then I try to concentrate on some of the verses I have been really leaning on lately...and I pray, but usually I do that after I panic, which is wrong.

I need prayers....PLEASE pray for my nerves and for God's will in this stuff I have going on and in the internship. And please pray that I will accept His will, no matter what it is.

Love,
Meghan

Psalm 16:11-- Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever.

Proverbs 19:21--Many are the plans of a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord, it will stand.

Luke 12:6-7--Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Matthew 6:34-- Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

365 Days....

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights
In cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

In five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure
A year in the life?

How about love?

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes!
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Journeys to plan.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life
Of a woman or a man?

How about love? Seasons of love...

So....it's really 365 days now until Tom and I say I Do...I can't believe we've been engaged for half a year already! 2008 is a leap year, so it's 366 days from April 5th of this year to April 5th of that year, but that's ok, because it's 365 days from today! WOW. So much is going to change in my life from today until this same day next year. It's overwhelming, but in a good way. =)
~Megs

ENFJ

I just did the personality type test, and this is the link to my results, in case you are interested...and I guess if you don't know me.... since those of you who do know me know my personality: http://typelogic.com/enfj.html.

I'm: Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging

Love,
Megs

Peace that passes all understanding....

So, I was flipping through my calendar trying to see when I can fit in extra volunteer time, when my next test is, when I can do my psych project, when I have formal, when I have philanthropies, when I have my last day of class, when I will graduate, when I can finish my resume...and wondering how I will do it all and more and if I will even have a job or internship for this summer....when I saw the verse that is painted as decoration for the month of May, the month I graduate. It says this:

You have made known to me the path of life, you fill me with joy in your presence.
~Psalm 16:11

Can you imagine the weight that lifted off of me upon reading that?? I just read it over and over, smiling because I knew that God wanted me to think about that, especially for that month, when I will forever cease to be the thing I have been since I was 4 years old-a student. It just puts my life into perspective to remember that it's in His hands. What a relief.
~Meghan

Sunny with a high of 75

79, actually. It's 78 degrees right now, and I am LOVING this weather. It makes me so happy when I can put on a tanktop, flip-flops, and a skirt and remain comfortable all day. LOVE IT.

The cruise was a lot of fun...God definately looked out for me. I think my ipod is being silly but that there is no permanent damage yet. It's still frustrating and not working correctly, but I think it might be fixable....? I hope so anyway. There was beautiful, sunny weather during the cruise, and we all managed to "get a bit of color" as my nana would say. I was pretty sick the first day or two, and I went on some strong anitbiotics to fix it...which made me sensative to the sun. I found that out after laying in the sun all day and itching all evening and night. Other than being itchy and sun-sensative, the sickness went away quickly, and the trip was fun. We went to Key West, Cozumel, and Belize City, and of the three, I had only been to Cozumel before. I had a great time. And while I was gone, Theta Xi won first place in Greeksing for the second year in a row, receiving the second ever standing ovation of Greeksing (having receieved the first one last year), as I knew they would. (See previous post) I am still really proud of them, and especially of Tom, who had about a million other things going on that week with almost no sleep, and he still gave 200% effort.

Now I'm back at school (boooo) and have lots on my plate. My room is still massively messy after returning from SB, and I have a midterm in Spanish on Thursday, a one on one cumulative oral exam with the professor or TA, and that is nerve-racking. At least it's not in front of the whole class like other oral exams have been in classes I've taken in the past. Anyway, I also have to meet with my professor tomorrow because he is the Spanish advisor, and he has to clear me to get my minor in Spanish. So far I have an A or A- in his class, but today he asked me if this was the only Spanish class I am taking, and I don't really know what he was thinking when I said yes or when he asked me in the first place. Hopefully he doesn't think I'm slacking off, it's just that I can't handle more than one Spanish class at a time...well, I did this summer, but it was very difficult to juggle all the work plus living with a family in Costa Rica.

I'm also going to be working on my resume and cover letter and application....all of which I plan to mail to Zoo Atlanta for an internship I want this summer. I am hoping to get a position training how to be a large mammal keeper, but we'll see what happens. In the mean time, I've taken all of that stuff to the Career Center on campus, and Kenneth Linsley, who helps psych students at UGA with their career info, helped me sort through it all and gave me some tips on how to edit my resume. Now, I'm just trying to get back into working at Bear Hollow and doing classes and homework until I have time to send off my resume.

In addition to that stuff, I have to do a project and several papers and 2 exams for my Developmental Psych class before it ends, as well as another project or two for Spanish and the final in there come May. I also need to get invitations for my graduation, and this weekend, Tom and I are going to look at some possible wedding sites and a reception site.

I can't believe I graduate on May 12th!!!! It's wild to think that this could really be the end of formal education for me....forever! I'm really torn because I feel like I need to keep taking Spanish classes on the side to keep up with it, but I don't want to. Mainly, I just hate Spanish classes, I hate the pressure and grades....but I want to keep my Spanish growing....what I really want is to be able to have a Spanish-speaking community that I can hang out with regularly and improve my Spanish with but without getting graded. I don't know what to do...there just isn't anything I can think of like that in Covington.

Also, to be perfectly honest, I'm kind of embarrassed....I almost don't want to have anyone attend my graduation...most of all, not my family. It's just...humiliating because I won't be graduating with honors. I mean, my GPA isn't bad, in fact, it's above 3.0 and all that, but I just feel so dumb compared to the rest of my family. All my siblings graduated with honors, as far as I know my parents did too. And I won't. And no one thinks that UGA is a tough school unless they've been here in the last few years, so I know I'm going to look like a moron being the only one who graduates in my family without honors. No one can say, "yeah but it's _____" fill in the blank with Tech, or UVA, or Harvard for crying out loud. I mean, I chose UGA. I only wanted to come here, I applied, I got in early decision, and that was all there was to it-I didn't even apply to those other schools they went to because I didn't want to be anywhere but here. But I still can't shake this feeling. It's almost stupid...I am so happy to graduate, I want to be done, and yet, I dread it. I feel so dumb, I don't want them to look at me with my plain robes and nothing on them. I never thought I would graduate with more distinction from high school than I would from college. And I don't want to think about it...how they all will say that graduating from college is a huge feat in itself, especially in four years these days, because all of them did it, Kristen did it in 3 years, and all of them had honors doing it. It's been on my mind for the entire school year. I feel like a jerk even typing this because I don't look at other people who don't graduate with honors and think they're stupid. I don't look at my friends who decided that college wasn't for them and think they're stupid. I know that different things are different ways for different people. I just wish that I wasn't always the one in our family who was at the bottom of everything when it came to booksmarts...every single time. I'm not stupid, but I don't fit in with them completely, and I never have. I just don't want to hit graduation and be ashamed instead of happy. But whatever. I'll graduate and get it over with and hope I never have to think about it again. I just need to keep repeating 1 Peter 5:7 to myself: Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

But at least it's a beautiful day, and this entire week is supposed to follow suit. I can enjoy the weather, even if the thought of graduation is a mixture of excitement and fear and embarrassment. So I'm gonna go do that. Latah!
~Meghan

Driftin' away again....

Hey yall,
I am supposed to get up in about 4 hours to get ready to go to the airport...and yet, here I am, awake...but about to get in bed. I have all my bags packed up and ready to go. I've been looking forward to this cruise all semester....and now, my Ipod won't work, and the weather channel says that it's going to rain in every place we are going this week. It's hard not to get frustrated at times like this because I feel like after all this excitement and preparation...I have to pack an umbrella and not have any music at all for a week...a week that was supposed to include laying out in the sun????? I'm also leaving my engagement ring in Georgia since I don't want to risk having someone force me to give it to them during Spring Break. I know that's the best idea, but I just don't want to take it off...and I can't talk to Tom all week.
The sermon at church today asked if you get frustrated with yourself or your situation sometimes. I don't think I know anyone who doesn't get frustrated with their situations at times. Even though I get to go on a cruise and spend a week with my sister and mom, it's hard for me to think that it will be half as much fun without sunshine and music. Two of my favorite things. I knew I would miss Tom, but I was expecting that, even if I don't like it. Not the other two so much. But I want to have a good attitude, so I am hoping that God will help me to bring sunshine with me whether or not the weather provides any. I know that was really cheesy, but it's true! My lil sis has always like the quote that says "No matter where you go or what the weather, bring your own sunshine." or something like that...and that is the kind of person I think God wants me to be, and that is the kind of person that people enjoy, so that is the kind of person I am going to try to be, even if it's raining and my ipod stays home in Georgia with my ring and fiance and ....I'm getting to Debby Downer mode again, so I am going to end that list.

Anyway. I had an AWESOME weekend to start off my Spring Break! I went to Atlanta on Friday and met up with Tom, and we went to Ikea. We were intending to register, but they don't allow you to do that there, so we just walked all over the store and got ideas of different things each other does/doesn't like in a house. And Tom was being really goofy and cracking me up to the point that I was doubled over laughing and couldn't walk for a minute, so that made it that much more fun. Then we went back to his apartment to eat with Robert Lee, and Heather, a friend we met through Bob Lee. That was fun, and then we went to Atlantic Station with them, Jose, Alejandra, Justin, Jennifer, Blake Wood, Devin and Dustin Hipp, Michael Schneider, and some more guys I don't know to watch the movie 300. AMAZING. AMAZING. That movie just makes you want to be awesome. You just want to be beautiful and tough and witty and capable of stabbing a person in a really cool way all at once. It was pretty much what I've been waiting to see in movies about historic figures in wars from that culture and time period. SO excited.
Ok, moving on, the next day I got up and walked to the CRC...kind of got lost part way there, but I made it, and I got to watch Tom and some other Theta Xis practicing for Greek Sing, which will be on Tuesday, and I am missing it. SAD! But they are going to win first place (again), because they are so awesome. And I really mean it, when I watch 20 guys able to dance in sync, sing, stunt, and act without losing their manliness, I am so impressed. Anyway, they should win first place, and I know they will, and I have to wait until Saturday to hear all about it and watch the video online!! Afterwards, Tom and I went to our cars and drove to Stonecrest, where Dana happened to be shopping, so the three of us met up for some yummy ChicFilA lunch and visited, which was fun. Then Tom and I registered at Target, Linens 'n Things, and Bed Bath & Beyond. You have to be careful about that Beyond part. Don't buy any remote controls there. (yes, that was a cheesy joke based on a movie. Moving right along....) I had a really good time picking stuff out with Tom. We were both really tired from our long weeks at school, so by the time we were done, we were about to fall asleep in the store. haha We drove back to Covington, and I stayed with his family that night since Mom and Dad were out of town, and it's creepy to stay in houses alone at night. Especially now that our house has started making noises that even mom and dad say sounds like a person is moving stuff around. It's SO scary, so I skipped the personal freak out session and went to the McFarlin abode, since they were sweet enough to let me stay.
Will, Henry, and Dana came over, and we all watched Borat. It was pretty hilarious, but it was so crude, so I was laughing about stuff today, and then I didn't want to tell mom and dad what it was because it would just be awkward. I tried to explain some of it to them, but it was hard to make someone understand how funny it was without getting into the "bad" stuff. Anyway, Borat was funny. And I went to church at Bethany this morning, then lunch at Tom's Nana's house, which is always fun since I get to see so much of Tom's family there. =)
Tom tried to fix my Ipod when we got back to the McFarlin house, and he did, (restored it and all that), but then I got home, and plugged it into my computer, and it didn't work again. I tried to restore it, and halfway through, it told me it couldn't be restored. Which is annoying since I get up to leave in less than 4 hours now. AUGH. I am so TIRED. I am SO TIRED. I have got to get in bed. I could sleep for days, and I've been sleepy for weeks. I am going to regret being awake right now when I get up in the morning. yeesh.
Anyway, yall, if you think about it, pray that Tom does really well on Tuesday, and if you think about it, please pray that I get a sunny and safe cruise and that we all 3 (me, Mom, and Kristen) get along the whole week, and that my Ipod isn't permanently damaged.
Have a good week!
~Ciao!
~Meghan

YIKES

I have a HUGE quiz tomorrow in Spanish...it counts for two quizzes, and it's going to be HORRIBLE. I met with a group tonight, and we spent 5+ hours just going over our notes to try to make sense of it all. I AM TERRIFIED and tired. I can hardly wait for Spring Break. And what's more, when I get back from Spring break, I have my stupid CUMULATIVE Spanish midterm-AN ORAL EXAM (ONE ON ONE WITH THE PROFESSOR OR TA)- that Thursday. And they can ask us about anything from the last semester, focusing on things we got wrong on our previous quizzes. Super.
~Meghan

Bitter(ball)sweet Week

Soooo...last week was definately not normal! Bitter Ball '07 was a smash- about 20 girls all gathered together to watch Grey's Anatomy, eat awesome food, and have pomegranate martinis. I am still waiting to get pictures from some of the girls there, but I took a few, so will go ahead and post them.
Friday, Tom and I had planned to go to the circus with Jennifer and Justin, but they ended up surprising us by having a surprise engagement party for us instead! Tom and I thought we were going to eat with them beforehand, but when we arrived at Loca Luna (a restaurant I have been DYING to go to for YEARS now) we saw one of my roommates, Kendra, sitting with one of my old roommates, Melissa, and her boyfriend, Lee, one of my close friends since freshman year. Tom and I were totally confused until they explained their trick on us, and then appeared Claire, Nate, Jason, Rex, Jose, and Alejandra! I was totally thrown off-guard! If I had known we were going to have an engagement party, I would have invited some more people, so I am sorry if you were not invited and knew nothing about it...it wasn't personal, and I didn't make the guest list. Some of the people that Jennifer invited but didn't know personally were invited because she had written down names of people that I had mentioned for a wedding shower later, so it was a really random guest list. And some of the people that were invited and I thought would be there and could have been just didn't come, which was kind of weird. But it was REALLY fun, and I had such a good time. We went back to Justin's apartment with some of those people afterwards and had food and a drink and hung out. They had cleaned it up and decorated it for us, and it was really so thoughtful!!
On Saturday, Tom and I had planned to eat together, his treat, for Valentine's Day. We had talked earlier about how we didn't really need to do gifts, so I was thinking that since he was doing dinner, I would give him a small present. I got him a picture frame, and I printed out some of our best recent pictures together so he could pick one for the frame, but the one I put in the frame was more of a joke...it's his current facebook picture. Tom always photoshops pictures for his facebook profile, so I took the one he had done of us making goofy faces that were glued on Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, and I put that one in the frame so that when he pulled it out of the gift bag, that is what he would see! hahaha He thought it was pretty funny, so I was happy with that.
But I was in for a big surprise. Tom made a great steak dinner, but that wasn't all...he handed me a card that read "Roses are red, Violets are blue, Pearls are white, and these are for You." I was so confused...I mean, that's not how the rhyme goes, and he wasn't supposed to get me anything...then I looked at him and he was grinning...he placed a box on the table, and when I opened it, there was a beautiful pearl bracelet inside. It's double strands with tiny silver beads between the pearls. It's only the second thing I've ever owned of real pearls, so I am so excited to have it. I also LOVE surprises, so I thought it was so sweet of him to pull off something like that. I kind of felt bad that I hadn't gotten him a better present, but he said that he didn't want me to, so that's why the bracelet had been such a surprise. He then took me to Café Intermezzo for dessert and coffee, but we were both so full that we both just had coffee (really, really, amazingly good specialty coffee!) and talked. Then we came back to the apartment and played Texas Hold 'Em with Robert Lee, Daniel, and Jessica. It was really fun, and it lasted for hours. Jessica got a straight flush at one point, which was pretty cool, and Tom ended up winning overall!
The next day, I got to play Super Mario World on Tom's Nintendo Wii. He bought it from the Wii Shop online, and I can't put into words how excited I am. He let me be the Mario B player, mainly because he had already started to play on the first one and didn't want me to mess it up, haha, and so I am working my way through the game...independently. Which means I won't let anyone help me, so it's going to take me ages to defeat it because I was definately better at video games when I was a little kid than I am now. And it's also kind of making me wish I had a Nintendo Wii. Seriously, I kind of want one now. I mean...Tom and I won't be married for over a year, and I don't want wait that long to be able to play all those games...especially when I graduate...I'll get home from work, and I'll want to play it and won't be able to. boooooooo
Ok, well that is basically it....I just wanted to update. Enjoy the pictures!
Love,
Megs

Happy Virulence Day!!

See definitions 2 and 3 below....
vir·u·lent (vîr'yə-lənt, vîr'ə-) Pronunciation Key
adj.

1. 1. Extremely infectious, malignant, or poisonous. Used of a disease or toxin.
   2. Capable of causing disease by breaking down protective mechanisms of the host. Used of a pathogen.
2. Bitterly hostile or antagonistic; hateful: virulent criticism. See Synonyms at poisonous.
3. Intensely irritating, obnoxious, or harsh.
   

OK. So last year, I wrote a blog basically saying that I think people overreact to valentines day and that they should chill out and do something fun with the people in their lives they love/have fun with/appreciate rather than whine about not having a girlfriend or boyfriend. That's what I do since I can't ever see Tom on Valentines Day. And I was thoroughly chewed out for posting my opinion on my blog, since I have a significant other. SO, this year, I decided to go the opposite direction...even though I kind of still feel the same way, I can see how a day dedicated to cupid can make someone a little queasy...I mean it is probably the cheesiest holiday of the year.

Anyway, you will be pleased (you people know who you are) to know that my roommates and I are holding a party tomorrow and have named it "Bitter Ball." We are having a bunch of girls over tomorrow to watch Grey's Anatomy...we do that every week...of course I can't do that usually because I am babysitting most Thursdays, but when I'm not, I join in and watch with all these girls. Well, we've invited a few extra people, and we are having a heart shaped red velvet cake, decorated with an icing crack down the middle, we are having pink martinis, lots of yummy food, and are decorating with black streamers and dead roses. We are also giving away twisty straws with hearts on them as favors, and we are using valentines themed candles, chocolates, tins to hold the chocolates, and valentine day themed plates and napkins. All of this as a joke to make fun of the holiday. Just thought yall would find that amusing.

Ok...so for the people that don't gag upon hearing the "v" word, on Friday, Tom and Justin are taking Jennifer and me to the circus in Atlanta for valentines day! I'm really excited. And since that is a double date, Tom and I are also going to go out to eat, just the two of us, the next night. I don't know where, and he won't tell me, but I am pretty excited about it....because it involves to of my favorite things-Tom and Food. Love it. I love to hang out with him, and I love to eat. I'm set.

Yeah....well, I'll try to take some Bitter Ball '07 Pictures and post them online to give yall a feel of what it's like to have 20 college girls hanging out to watch Grey's Anatomy and make fun of Valentine's Day.

Happy Virulence Day!
Love,
Meghan

The Fruits of Labor....Hopefully Aren't Rotten.

Soooo. I got my test grade for my Psych Exam, and I made a 90, so that's good...but I haven't gotten back my grades on my Spanish Quiz yet.

Basically, my Spanish class is a week or a week and a half behind because my teacher miscalculated how long it would take to lecture certain topics....or I should say subtopics, because Che Guevara is THE topic of this course. Anyway, so my quiz got pushed from Thursday to Tuesday. Then it got pushed from Tuesday to Thursday. Then it was a snow day that Thursday, so we took it this Tuesday, and it was AWFUL! It was a page, front and back and then the front of another page. It was confusing and incredibly detailed on some parts and only skimmed the stuff that I really knew that I could have written a ton about. I really thought I had studied EVERYTHING for that quiz, but apparently he found it really fun to pick quotes out from the 200 or so pages of reading we've already had, and he wanted us to identify what author wrote it, why it was important, even to fill in the blanks on some quotes. IN SPANISH.

On Thursday, we were supposed to get the quizzes back, but only half the class did, and the rest of us get ours back on Tuesday. From the expressions, sighs, and groans of the class....plus the tons of red ink going down the page with -10, -2, -5, -3, etc per page, I'm thinking that it didn't go so well, so I probably didn't do well either. ugh. I heard someone say that they don't think anyone passed, which I hope isn't true, but at least if I fail, I won't be the only one, right? This is awful.

Ok, well on to better things. I'm currently planning to go to Charleston, SC. I'm SO EXCITED!!! It's the Theta Xi Formal Weekend up there, and it's going to be a blast, I'm sure. My amazing girlfriend Alejandra is going to be a blind formal date for one of Tom's brothers, Nate, and we're all riding up this evening. Tomorrow is the Formal, then we head home on Sunday. I'm going to have to bring my books though, because I have yet another Spanish quiz on Tuesday over The Motorcylce Diaries...or Diarios de Motocicleta. Yay.

Yall have a great weekend...
Love,
Meghan

P is for Procrastination

Well, I have a Spanish Quiz tomorrow and a Developmental Psych exam on Friday, but I noticed recently that I haven't updated this site in a while, and so here I am. Updating. Actually, my Span quiz was supposed to be yesterday, so I had already studied for it for about 3 hours and will review again tonight and tomorrow, and I studied some for my exam yesterday. (And will do more of that today)

Anyway, what's new with me? Well, I've been at school for several weeks now, but my schedule keeps changing up. Basically, I do 6 hours of Psych research a week (last semester I did 9 per week), and I receive an hour's worth of credit for every 3 hours of work I do. So, with that and my classes, I am in 9 hours credit of class...just under full-time status for my last semester, but still getting HOPE-yay! haha But I am doing 13 hours of class/lab/research combined each week-they just don't give out credit that way. Anyway, I didn't start my psych research until this week since there were some tech problems with the computer program we are using this time around. Now it's all set, and I run on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays for two hours a day. I'm running my last group of the week right now, actually. The Psych research is a lot better this time around since I get a computer and they get computers-thank goodness! It's a lot less busy work this way.

My classes this semester are few but not easy. I have a Spanish class that focuses entirely on Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and it's cumulative, so that's tough. Also, the teacher for it happens to be the Spanish department advisor. YIKES! And my psych class is GREAT. I love it-it's Developmental Psychology, focusing on how children develop cognitively (and somewhat on how they develop physically) from conception to adulthood. I found my psychology of parenting class very interesting, and this class is just as interesting so far. I have a lab for it that covers controversial issues, and we have to read Taking Sides (this version focused on development) and do lots of writeups and have lots of discussions for it. It's really interesting to hear what my classmates think, but sometimes I wonder if certain people aren't talking just to hear themselves. I mean, some of the stuff that is said makes no sense. But that happens everywhere, so oh well.

Outside of school, I will also be starting some volunteer work at Bear Hollow Wildlife Trail soon. I'm going to be part of their new operant conditioning program, and I am SO excited about it. It will be awesome experience to have for working at Zoo Atlanta, and I can't wait to start. Only, I have to wait because we need a behaviorist to come out to help start the program by training us, and it's been hard to get one of them to make the time. I'll be working with a doe named Ginger, a bobcat, and some otters! I'm soooo excited...more about the otters and bobcat than Ginger, though. Deer just aren't as exciting to me, but I bet we'll start off working with her. Anyway, when that kicks in, I'll be doing that for a few hours 4 or 5 days a week.

I've been spending a lot of my weekends in Covington due to birthdays and wedding showers that have been going on in the last month, and it's been great to get some extra time in with friends and family at home, but I am also really excited about spending some time in Athens and in Atlanta in the next month so I can catch up with friends there. Tom's formal is going to be in South Carolina Feb 9-11, and I am SO excited to go on that trip and to spend time with friends in Theta Xi-I love those guys. And I also have a Great Gatsby themed datenight on February 23rd, and that should be A LOT of fun-dressing up in 1920's attire should be really amusing. Also, I'm going to spend various other weekends in Athens or Atlanta just visiting and chilling out a little bit, so that will give me a chance to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while. =)

Ok, my research is done for the week, and I am ready to get out of the psych building, so I will update later!
Love,
Meghan

Well...Ok.

Tonight, I got on the facebook, and I saw an advertisement that said:

"The average person has 604,000 thoughts a day. Your natural gas shouldn't be one of them."

I know I'm not the only one who's mind did not immediately jump to heating a home upon reading that.

The last chapter...

I'm heading back to school tomorrow (instead of tonight, thanks to thick fog and heavy downpour) for my LAST semester of college. I can't believe that I am at this point...It's just so surreal. This year I'm facing graduation, finding a job (* prays for position at Zoo Atlanta*), moving back to Covington to save on rent, planning a wedding, figuring out what I need to register for, looking at a home for Tom and myself to buy for our married life, and being in or attending weddings for what feels like half the people I know between 20 and 25.....It's overwhelming. At this point next year, I'll be less than six months from my wedding and probably just as overwhelmed, if not more so. Life has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.

The good thing is that I can trust that life has good things in store for me. Come what may, God knows where my life will be and what I'll be doing. So that's one less thing I have to worry about. It's not always that easy to let go of the worry and realize that God is the only one who can control my life, but when I do, I have a peace that I can't even describe, so I try to remember to trust in him when I go about talking about my "plans" for the future. I know what I would like to do, but I don't know that I won't be flippin' burgers at McDonalds when I graduate, so I just have to trust that God will put me where I should be.

This break was really wonderful-I was so ready to get out of Athens to just breathe free from classes. I needed a chance to spend some time without that constant dread of the next paper, exam, lab report, group project, or homework. I spent a lot of time with my family, friends, and Tom, which was great. I got to sleep late, go shopping, watch tv, see movies, read books, and look at lots of wedding location and reception possibilities online. The last part was not really relaxing so much as it was necessary. I've looked at places from Athens to Atlanta to Lagrange to South Carolina, and let me tell you-planning this stuff isn't as easy as it should be. There is A LOT of stuff to consider, and I am in awe of my friends who can pull together in mere months (Seth and Rachel, Henry and Dana, and now Esther and Ben, to name a few who planned it under 6 months!!). Anyway, I really would rather keep it within an hour or so of Covington so that it's not so difficult to plan or for people to attend. I would LOVE to have it at The Vines Botanical Gardens in Loganville because it would be perfect, or in Athens because there are so many beautiful picture opportunities, but it kind of depends on budget stuff and location size and church availability and a million other factors that make it stressful to figure out. Atlanta isn't out of the picture, but I haven't had a chance to research it as much for places that I would actually enjoy having a reception at that we could also afford. It's just a lot to think about.

Tom and I did get our wedding bands in Atlanta towards the end of the semester (and I love them), and over the break I got my wedding dress. I wasn't thinking I would get a dress until this spring, but I had to go to David's Bridal anyway to pick up a bridesmaid dress for a wedding I'm going to be in this June, so I made an appointment to try on dresses while I was there. I was expecting to go in, try on dresses and veils/headpieces, and to take pictures in them, then to leave and look at the pictures later and continue to just think about what I like. But after trying on about a dozen dresses, I had found one that fit PERFECTLY and that I loved. We were still not sure about buying it that day, but when entered into the computer, the lady found that is was discontinued, meaning there was a slim chance I could get it anywhere if I didn't buy what was available and someone else got it. It also meant that other girls wouldn't be likely to wind up with my dress since it won't be made anymore, and it meant that we were getting a huge discount. All signs pointed to buying the dress, so we got it along with my favorite veil!! =) I am so happy that that is taken care of.

I also got to go to the Georgia Aquarium (FINALLY =) on the 4th of January. It was SO fun. Tom took me-he bought us a pair of annual passes for my Christmas present so that I could go whenever I want, and so that I could have him come with me so I wouldn't be alone. =) I saw some MASSIVE fish there, and I touched some cool stuff. In the touch pools, there were sea anemones, starfish, sea biscuits (or something similar to it in texture but purple and spiky-it might have just been a different version of an anemone), horseshoe crabs (I've touched one before), stingrays (touched and swam with them before), and sharks......I ACTUALLY TOUCHED A SHARK. I know-I'm a freak who loves animals and sea mammals and touches sea anemones and swims with sting rays (that don't have stingers) but am TERRIFIED of sharks and don't like to touch fish (unless feeding them to dolphins or some other creature like that). But I touched it. I think once is enough for me-they don't feel nice. They feel like they look. And they're scary, even if they are only 3-4 ft long.

I also heard from my Costa Rican family today! =) Wilfreddy called to tell me Happy New Years, and to catch up some. Their dog, which had 3 puppies a few weeks before I arrived, has had 5 more puppies since. Someone should spay Pella, but she does make the CUTEST puppies ever. Of course, Freysal is so rough with them that they probably think all little boys are the scariest thing in the world and will grow up emotionally scarred, so maybe they should spay her anyway. They have too many strays in Costa Rica anyway. =)

I better run! I have class at 10:10AM and I have to drive from Covington to Athens beforehand in this yucky weather.
Here goes everything,
Meghan