Sox goes to the vet

From the beginning I have wanted Sox to be low maintenance. What else does she need in life that I don't give her? And she's not my child, dangit, she's my cat. However, I do admit I am obsessed with petting and talking to her, but I don't think that's harmed her quite yet. In light of all this, I certainly have never taken her to the vet. She's healthy and never goes outside. Probably the worse thing she's been exposed to is the shock mat or getting accidently locked into Amy's room. But now that I'm done with school I figured it would be good to try to get her her yearly shots and ask the vet why Sox insists on peeing on the right-hand side curtain every three weeks. It does result in that curtain getting regularly cleaned but it sure is dad gum annoying.

All this week I've been getting prepared by telling Sox that "you're going on a little trip" in my weird, high pitched this-is-how-I-speak-to-Sox-only voice. Luckily Amy is sweet and doesn't bug me when I talk in this voice. It happened a lot this week. I was just trying to get her ready.

She somewhat willingly went into Christina's cat carrier that I borrowed for this occasion on Wednesday morning at 8:15am. I loaded her in the car and listened her to meow all the way to Tucker Animal Hospital which was only like three miles. I went inside and checked her in. Then she was called back and I went with her for support. Mostly the check was super fast. I don't know if this is typical, but I was there for like 30 minutes. She didn't complain too much and let the tech pet her and pet her to calm her down. The tech said "she did good." She did flip out when they stuck something up her butt, but who wouldn't? I'm not really sure what that was about. They were all real nice though. I found out that she weighs 10.1 pounds, which according to the vet is healthy and NOT FAT. Thank you very much Kendra, et. al, who insist that Sox is packing the pounds.

Recommendation about the curtain issue from vet: get a urine sample from Sox over the next few weeks. Apparently I can do this if I completely empty her litter box. He said she would still go without litter. Then I use the syringe and squeegie the stuff into the bottle and bring it in to rule out any kind of infection, etc. Low maintenance...what???

That's going to be a post-Mexico activity for sure.

Now I know I am officially done!

Last weekend was Memorial Day, obviously. It was my first weekend in a very long time where I did so many fun things without regard to time or what I needed to do or what I was neglecting to have fun. I could totally tell I was officially done with school! It was an incredible feeling.

I think it really hit me when Angie and I were eating pancakes on her deck on Saturday morning. She invited me over to see her beautiful new flower garden that adorns all the edges of her deck just outside her front door. We got to eat outside with all the flowers, peach pancakes, and orangina juice. Now that's a memorable breakfast!! After that I REALLY didn't want to move off that deck, not to mention start our crazy bike ride which was the main activity for the day. Soon we were pumping up our tires and filling up water bottles and we were off! Angie and I met Courtney and Kate in Candler Park, and there we headed through neighborhoods and paths until about 6 miles later ended at the Decatur Arts Festival. It was a beautiful but hot day, so we had to go to Jake's to get ice cream and get some water refills for sure. Even though this is the farthest I had ever biked, I was feeling pretty good and ready for the trek home. However, I still don't know if we took like a detour or what but the way home was pretty....er....ahh..intense. We did only neighborhoods which were pretty darn hilly. Praise God we did make it. When we got back to Angie's she and I just laid on the couch and tried to drink more water and eat cheese. Wow. It was a ton of fun and I survived!!!

I also got to hang out with Gates and Heather that night and eat at my favorite pizza place Pepperoni's. On Sunday my PSI friend Morgan and I drove to Macon to see my other good PSI friend Alison, who just moved there with her husband after graduation. Her new house was really awesome and reminded me of the old south, which is kind of just the feeling of Macon in general.

I also got to watch two movies and have a cookout last weekend with some more cowboy golf (thank you Matt & Shannon!) which is TAKING THE SOUTH BY STORM.

It's such a blessing to be able to take this time just to rest and enjoy life again. I'm glad God created us to have a need for both rest and work! I'm going to certainly get some sweet rest when Amy Mo, Gates, and Amy Ro and I leave for Puerto Vallarta this weekend!!! Cause I still haven't gotten my massage....

Not exactly...

Today at Target this woman said to me, "Ooo, I really like your perm." What the crap?

I said, "Um, actually it's natural." To which she then of course, acted incredibly surprised and stared at my hair as I walked away.

Wow. I get a lot of random comments on my hair, but that was a first! Most people at least give me the benefit of the doubt and ask if it's natural before beginning the jealously comments and questions about whether or not if I hate it (with the assumption that I do). Why do people always assume I hate it? I like it a lot, for the record. I've also noticed that most of the people who really love my hair are from the older crowd, like 60 and up. Was curly hair like all the rage back in the 1950's?

Other happening's this week

I mentioned in the below blog, that I've had two job interviews and also helped save a child this week.

If my roommate Amy Mo had a blog, she would definitely put the child story on there. She found him Sunday night after all, crying on his big wheel near the dumpster and pool by our house. She had gone to take the trash out while I was putting my pajamas and getting the On Demand ready to watch the CSI season finale. I was laying on the couch just kind a chillin' and then realized that Amy never came back. She claims that I was not worried but I was a little worried. As I was considering whether or not to go out there to see if she was alive, she came in and was talking to someone. I sat up and she had a little five year old boy with her. All he would say is that he missed his mom and that he came over to our neighborhood through the lake. We had no idea what he was talking about. He didn't know his number or where he lived. But he knew his mom's name. With a little luck, I'm BFF with Kendra who's the president of our board, and she had a master list of residents and found his address. So with the boy and the big wheel in tow, we brought him back to his confused mother, who was quite appreciative. Fortunately it looks like he probably just biked a bit too far and forgot how to get back. But it was kind of weird. Good thing Amy has some mad counseling-kids instincts and befriended him.

I also got to go to two job interviews. One of the jobs is with New Hope Counseling Center, which takes drug and dui court referrals from Forsyth County. I know a guy who interns there while he works at MARR, so he hooked me up by bringing in my resume. I had a great time there and really liked the staff. I actually went to the interview after the birth of Elijah, but God gave me the strength I needed to be attentive and ask questions. All the work is part-time contract, but you can work your way up and get quite a few hours leading groups and doing individual therapy for people with problems with drugs and alcohol. My favorite thing! I have to go to some training next week but then I'll start doing groups one night a week after I get back from Mexico. Depending on how that goes, hopefully I will be able to pick up some more counseling hours!!

I'm still praying about the other job opportunity, and I'm still looking for other part or full-time work in Atlanta as a counselor. I know God will provide the open doors! It's quite an adventure, that's for sure.

Baby Elijah's Birth

I would have to say that this has been one eventful week. I've had two job interviews, helped rescue a child, and witnessed my cousin Rochelle's delivery of baby Elijah!!

Several weeks ago, Rochelle emailed me and asked if I would like to be present for the birth of her fourth child, Elijah, who was scheduled to come into the world on May 19, which was the day she was supposed to be induced. The email pretty much flipped me out. I didn't know WHAT to think. I had NEVER considered doing that unless the Lord is gracious and allows me to have children of my own someday. But the more I thought about it, the more I figured it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Rochelle was telling me how laid back she was during the process, and I was pretty convinced it wouldn't be like tons of screaming and blood, so I went for it.

Last Sunday, she called me at about 11:45pm and said the hospital was ready for them and they were headed in. I had already packed my stuff so I could just jet out the door (quietly, my roommate still has a job and all) and drove up to Kennesaw. She was really cool during all the prodding and checks and everything that goes into an induction. After a while, all there was to do was sleep so we tried to do so. I probably slept about 1 1/2 hours, but it was cool trying to sleep to the thump-thump beating of little Elijah's heart. At about 12:00 the next day, Rochelle was ready to push. At 12:29pm, Elijah was totally out, caught by the two nurses, right before the doctor showed up. I'll spare sharing all the details that occurred during and after that half hour, to save what's left of the dignity that quickly flees during childbirth!! It was one of the most incredible experiences. I was wiping away tears and got to hold Elijah just minutes after he was born. The only thing I thought was gross was the placenta. There was NO WAY I was touching that thing!

This experience was definitely one of the most special of my life so far! You can click here to see more pics of the fam with the new baby. I love this family!!

Graduation!!

I have been officially done with all of my schoolwork since Monday, May 5. I should have been done on May 2, but I got an urgent email from our clinical director on that Monday saying that she was "very frustrated" by my handwriting and lack of totaling up my internship hours in the correct columns. Fortunately my math was right, but I had to drive over to school that afternoon in the middle of Atlanta traffic to rewrite the sheets. In hindsight, she could have said that I couldn't graduate, so ultimately I was grateful. And aware of the fact that "doing things in the way that seem easiest to me" isn't always going to be the way that my director wants it!! Isn't that the case with academia.

But now that is all over. In a whirlwind weekend of friends and family visiting and celebrating with me, I had an awesome time at my graduation ceremony in Chattanooga and at the party that Rochelle hosted at her house on the following day.

The graduation day was really special. About an hour before the ceremony started, the students and professors met for communion and fellowship, where the students had a chance to express their feelings about the experience they had at PSI. It reminded me of what a sweet time it was for me and others and what a special school it is, especially to have Christians represented from all sorts of churches and denominations, learning together for the same purpose- to care for another's soul through counseling. The communion was interesting. We had wine in a cup that looked like one of those to-go creamers, and then it had a waffer on top underneath a thin layer of plastic. So you peeled off a layer, took the bread, and then peeled off a layer of the creamer container and took the wine (actually, it was juice). Always something interesting when not in your own Christian tradition!

The ceremony itself was like a worship service. We sang hymns, announced the candidates and had our degrees conferred, and the professors prayed for us in a commissioning prayer. It was my first graduation I have ever attended at a Christian school, and certainly Christ was indeed the center. A lot of the pictures here were taken after the ceremony on the steps of First Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga which is where the ceremony was held (PSI has two campuses- ATL and CHATT, and the cities take turns hosting the graduation).

The next day was beautiful and Rochelle and many others helped to put together a wonderful party in her awesome backyard. We had yummy pork and dessert and sides and lots and lots of cowboy golf. Probably the highlight was Rochelle's presentation of the video montage she made out of video clips sent in by family members on both sides. I was so surprised. And cried from beginning to end. What else could I do when it started with her precious kids saying "I love you Aunt Jessie" followed by the most heartfelt and hilarious words from sooo many family members? It was incredible.

All around, I left the weekend with my heart full. I loved getting to see my family too and showing them my house and more of my life. We had many fun meals together and Matt and Grandpa even fixed my deck door- score! It certainly wouldn't be a weekend with those two without leaving something better than they found it. Also, major props to Sherrie for navigating Atlanta traffic all weekend which included not only dodging cars but Matt's running commentary on her every move. And Ann, did you all really get to the airport like at 5:30am or did you sleep there the night before like Matt requested?

Job search parallel

I realized that looking for a job is like dating. You just keep putting yourself out there and making yourself available, looking as good as possible until finally something works out.

A Tale of Two Boils

I had never been a part of a seafood boil before, and then randomly last weekend, I went to two in 24 hours.

The first one was with Christina's wonderful family. Raymond Sr and Jr were boiling and frying some amazing shrimp that came straight from the Atlantic Ocean, via Raymond Jr's fiancee's dad's boat. They were all camping at Stone Mountain last weekend and they welcomed me into their campsite for dinner. Never fear, this campsite was not without the modern conveniences. I was endlessly intrigued by the 5 flashlights, portable grills and ranges, several lanterns, and of course, the wind-up radio and portable adult size potty. Because you never know when you have to go!!

A seafood boil consists of usually at least shrimp and some other kind of seafood, boiled in with potatoes, sausage, and corn. So it's sort of like a weird stew but it's not soup like. At the campside we ate them on plates with forks, at the second boil, well, you'll see.

Fri night was my campsite extravaganza. I left feeling full, happy, and grateful that I could go home to my bed just 15 minutes away. The next morning I got a phone call from my friend Shannon who had won tickets off the radio to go to a really awesome crawfish boil in Smyrna. Her husband hates seafood, so she was trying to find someone to go with her. I had to baby sit for my cousin that night and she lives over there, so I thought, sure, why not?

This one was a little more fraught with peril. First of all, as soon as I got to Smyrna, it was POURING RAIN. I got out of the car and made my way to the restaurant, dunking under overhangs and cursing myself for not bringing my umbrella. Shannon wasn't there yet but would be momentarily. We both realized once we got there that the boil was supposed to be outside. Crap. We somehow squeezed our way inside and waited. And waited. When the rain let up, the servers tried to reconstruct the boil, but many folks were bailing. Not us. We drove 30 min to get there dangit! They gave us a huge pile of food, complete with crawfish and shrimp, and granted us access to as many damp paper towels as we wanted, explaining, "all of our wetnaps blew away and we can't find them." Okey dokey. As soon as we sat down, it started to rain again. "To the truck!" Shannon exclaimed. We brought everything in the truck. Shannon had to move a cooler she had in the cab of the truck (with a cake inside for a church function to be attended later) and put it in the bed so we could sit inside and eat. It was hilarious. The food was soooo messy. I guess at this place you eat it all with your hands. Crawfish is weird too. You only eat like 1/8 of it and it's sort of gross to open. By the end we had seafood juice all over our pants, our hands, our faces, and the truck. Shannon volunteered to drive to a gas station to clean up (it was still raining). When we got to the gas station, she discovered that the cooler was missing. WHAAAT. Now the tailgate was open when we were driving, but we didn't hear the cooler fall out. We quickly wiped ourselves down with paper towels and drove slowly back, straining our necks looking for the cooler. We never found it. Apparently someone had stolen it while were sitting there. We just kept staring at each other in shock. So someone in Smyrna enjoyed a nice cake with a platter than night!! What the crap. Shannon was ticked and rightly so! As anyone would do it this situation, we vowed never to go back to Smyrna.

Luckily, babysitting that night was not very eventful. But I was thankful for my gum and to wash my hands really good!