AWOL

Sorry I've been slacking the last couple days. Had to work last night (from about 6:30 to 6:30, AFTER working a 12 hour day before that) and going back this afternoon, so I'll try to update later. Hope everyone isdoing well.

Whew

Well, the moving is finally done! I don't have everything unpacked yet, but I'm getting close...just some things left to hang and a few boxes of miscellaneous crap that I probably don't need in the first place. It took about three days to get everything done but thanks to Ben, Beth, and Jess, it went pretty smoothly. I've discovered a few things here and there that aren't as great as I'd hoped (bedroom is smaller, closet is smaller, deck is pretty tiny), but for the most part, it is TONS better. If nothing else, it feels much more homey. Plus, I've got a roommate to keep me entertained now, so that is a plus.

Should be a short week this week. I'll keep up the normal routine until Thursday and then I am heading home on Friday to head to a wedding. It's about a 13 hour drive from here, but it's worth it.

No big plans for the evening. Might go see Wedding Crashers if I find a reserve of energy. Otherwise, probably wasting away on the couch.

FYI: If you need my new address, just email me and I'll get it to you. If you don't have my email address, leave me a comment below and I'll get back to you.

Definition of Worthless...

As you probably saw from yesterday, the football games wore me down way more than I thought they would. In fact, I accomplished exactly NOTHING today before 5 pm. The only reason I got up then was to go to the grocery store because I was hungry. Nevertheless, I did get some more packing done tonight and I might have everything around by Friday after all. I think I'm going to try to get my key on Thursday evening which would be a huge help and save me some work on Friday.

On a side note, the weekend was going really well until this morning. Jess stayed here last night since we went out. But, after she left this morning, she came back shortly thereafter because someone had ripped off her stereo. The sad part is that her car was parked right outside my apartment and somebody pulled her window out, ripped out part of her dash, and yanked her stereo. I really feel bad for her...not only did she JUST move here, but she also JUST started her job so she doesn't have a lot of cash flow yet. The perpetrators (sorry, just wanted to use that word) did screw up and leave crystal clear fingerprints on the windows, however, which a cop proceeded to take off her hands for her. Hopefully these guys have been caught before and if so, we'll have them nailed again. Otherwise, she is pretty much S.O.L. I can't wait to our new apartment complex. I will be going to the management here tomorrow to raise some serious hell (I'm really looking forward to venting). They advertise being a safe, "gated community"...however, I don't think they realize that just having gates doesn't qualify as being a gated community until you actually close them! Seriously, they have been closed a grand total of MAYBE three days since I moved here six months ago and they have all been open since at least March. I still feel perfectly safe but this most likely would have never happened if "outsiders" were locked out. I think it's safe to say that it probably wasn't one of the residents here...

A short, four-day week this week, so that is exciting. Plus, only a couple more ref classes til I take the test. Leaving at 6 AM Wednesday mornings and not coming home til 9:30 PM is really taking its toll on me. It'll be worth it when it's done though.

Sunburns Suck

Got up at the crack of dawn this morning so I could go ref football games all day. It was only 7 on 7 so it wasn't that big of a deal, but I still did SIX games today, 45 minutes apiece. In other words, I was outside for a long, long time. And, as you can probably imagine, I got myself a bit of a sunburn. Don't worry though, it's not even a good one that would turn into a good tan. No no, it's my neck and arms. Oh well. Even though I am exhausted, the games were still a lot of fun. For the most part, the kids were great. However, it's going to take some getting used to having people question every call you make (thank you, coaches). Although we didn't get paid for this tournament, I still learned a LOT, so it was worth the effort.

Tonight I'll be lucky to get off the couch...

Hitting the Big Time

Went to football class #?? tonight and it was really fun. We finally started getting into some of the mechanics of officiating and bringing everything together. Also, I found out that this weekend, there is a huge 7 on 7 tournament in Highlands Ranch and they need officials. So, I "get" to work six games on Saturday. I'll most likely be exhausted (and should be packing), but it will be nice to work with some experienced refs while it doesn't really "mean anything".

Wyoming Welcomes You

Well, as advertised, Jessica and I went to Fort Collins on Saturday to check out the New Belgium Brewery. In other words, we drove entirely too far for some free samples. Anyways, when we were leaving town, we figured hey, we came all the way up here...you ever been to Wyoming? The rest was history. So, we made our way up to Cheyenne. It's only about 90 miles north of Denver, so it wasn't unreasonable. Plus, it was only 30-some miles from Ft. Collins, so it really wasn't that far of a trip. Cheyenne was, to be honest, unimpressive. The downtown was very cool and it was as country as country can be. However, there were almost NO people out and about. It had the potential to be a really, really cool town, but it was dead. Oh well, it was still a good time. On a side note, Ft Collins WAS a really cool town.

Sunday hasn't been anything too out of the ordinary yet. I took Jessica up to Three Sisters Park to go hiking and also introduced her to the magical mouth candy that is Qdoba. We are going to kick back tonight, do some BBQ-ing, maybe watch Napoleon Dynamite - I don't know, I don't know if we'll have time :).

More Wyoming pics here - your day isn't complete til you've seen them!

I'm back!

Well, I realize I've been quiet for a while, but I'm finally back! The last week or so has been pretty busy, so I've got an excuse. Last Thursday, Laura, Jess, and I made the trip back home for the 4th of July. It was nice to kick back and relax for a while, although I'd almost forgotten how hot and humid Kansas is. I thought I was going to suffocate a few times. It's amazing how I've become such a wuss in only about 6 months.

On Monday, Jess and I headed back to D-town. Jess is now living here for good, staying at her aunt and uncle's until we move into our new apartment two weeks from tomorrow. I'm getting really excited to get the heck out of this stupid complex. They just do things so poorly that it will be nice to feel like I'm getting what I'm paying for.

While at home, Laura gave me some wonderful news...rather than working in Emporia all summer, she is going to do some odd jobs for the rest of this month and then move out here in mid-August! It seems like yesterday that I packed up and moved here, but we've been apart for quite some time. The interesting part, however, will be seeing how I adjust going from living alone to having two female roommates! I've accepted the fact that I'll constantly get out-voted. All I have to say is thank goodness we'll have two bathrooms!

Busy weekend planned - Saturday I think we're going to try to head up to Ft Collins and take the tour of the brewery is up there. Sunday I'll probably try to squeeze in a hike since I haven't been in several weeks...I'm starting to get withdrawals. Other than that, probably just my domestic duties and laying by the pool. It's a tough life!