When the going gets tough, Keep going!

This week has been a much needed enjoyment for me. Lots of good things happened toward the end of the week -of course after the frustration with my job subsided. I didn't find out my placement until Thursday, but at least I found out! Breaking news: I will be working at Brentwood Elementary 3 days/week (about 20-25 minutes from my apartment)... and another elementary school the other 2 days. I will find the other one out this week. I discovered that I go for training & orientation on Wednesday (which is what I really needed to know), which generated a great big sigh of relief. I'm well on my way. In other news: I made a few friends! I got to hang out with an old friend (Josh) and his girlfriend (Laura) who are both from WV. Josh & I grew up in the same neighborhood as kids. Laura actually knew Lacie! I met them in Riverside -where they live -and we went to dinner (I had some great seafood) & then to a late night movie. It was an old theatre that shows old movies on Fridays at midnight, how cool is that!?! We saw Fight Club (I'd never seen it). The theatre is very old & has tables & chairs in it...& even church pews in the front! They serve pizza & beer too. Very neat. It was liberating just to be in a different atmosphere. I know I haven't been down here long, but due to lack of friends I've gotten in a routine of going to the same places, doing the same things. That's what's so great about Jacksonville -the area is SO big that you get a different feel depending on where you go. Riverside was picturesque -with antique shops and vintage stores -and bars where you could bring your beer outside and sit at a table on the sidewalk (without being caged in or chased out the door for having a drink in your hand) and enjoy the weather. Oh, and the bonus is the NO SMOKING policy in the bars -woo hoo! It definitely made me feel more like I was in a smaller town rather than the big city. The people were very personable there too. It was a fun night & good to have friends around. We have made plans to go to a Florida Gators game on September 12th (my dad will be going too, yay!) in addition to a Jaguars game on September 20th. I'm pumped for football! Speaking of football, I am excited to have someone to watch the Marshall games with this season! I met with the Marshall Alumni Association of Jacksonville today for lunch. It was more of a meet and greet rather than worrying about planning or business, although they did talk a bit about upcoming events & such. There were 8 of us there (and a half if you count the 15 month old cutie in the high chair), and everyone was super friendly. I actually knew a couple of the people there...talk about small world!!! I had class with one of them (Bob) in undergrad & remembered the other one from games. He (Chris) didn't miss a single game (home or away) while he was at MU! Now that is dedication to the team! He also hung out with some of the guys I cheered with. He invited me to go watch a golf tourny with him today, but I was tired. Lame, I know. I went to bed at like 4am because my sleep schedule is off-whack due to my lack of responsibilities at the moment (in addition to repeated drunk calls/texts from friends back home, which I'm not complaining about) & got up early for church this morning. I've been sleeping in late every single day. Anyway, most of us are planning to go to the Suns baseball game this Thursday, so that should be fun! We are going to be getting together to watch the games and some other events. Yay for friends! I sound desperate, but I am a people person. That's just me. You can't be a people person without people! :) Plus, it'll be nice to get back into the Marshall spirit even though I am not in Huntington anymore. We will be doing our own tailgating here. I enjoyed the time that I cheered, and this will bring back some of those memories (and create new ones). Besides, I sort of neglected the team during graduate school considering I had approximately zero time to go to the games. I think I went to three games after I stopped cheering (one each year). That's pathetic, I know! Time to pep it back up. GO HERD!!!