Adventure #23: Discovering the Order in Disorder and the Comfort in Both

There I am.  Yup.  First thing in the morning.  I'm going to be obnoxious in this post.  I'm going to casually attempt to reference all of my Adventure pics to this thought that crossed my mind in playback mode all day yesterday.  The idea is this:  I flip flop between appreciating the order and disorder that surrounds my life.  From chaos to alignment to disarray to neatness.  I manage to make both work for me and adjust my life accordingly.  So how will I attempt this from my initial wake-up on a Friday morning?  Well, look at that mop of hair on my head.  Is there any kind of order to it?  I think not.  Certainly not.  I give it some help shortly after arousing myself from sleep each day.  Sometimes a mass of tangled curls is good.  Typically for time spent in the public eye, not-so-much.  So there you have it:  short-lived chaos turned to acceptability with a small amount of effort.

Not enough disorder for your taste?  Well, I'm not sure how you'd judge my desk area.  It's an orderly mess.  Everything to the left of my chair is grad school stuff in progress, so that's an expected pile of papers (until I'm DONE!).  The papers directly to the right of my computer are notes to myself/lists.  Again, these bits of mess help me function, and too much order with this would not be productive.  So there you have it:  I can wake up in the morning to this amount 'mess' and can be completely satisfied.

Oh hey--this is my dresser.  This is the getting-ready-in-the-morning state of my dresser.  Pretty organized despite the amount of 'stuff' chillin atop it.  socks needed for Adventure Day.  Phone needed every day.  Hair tie goes around my wrist for emergencies.  Jewelry goes on after lotion.  The stuff lining the back is jewelry/hair stuffs that always chill there.  I'm ashamed to say the nail polish has been there awhile...I gotta paint my toesies some time soon because I just haven't gotten around to it in what seems like ages.

One thing that I've come to realize is that I am happiest when the kitchen is in a complete state of order.  Even when I'm rushing and hustling along in the morning making my lunch and getting breakfast for myself, I tidy up one mess after the other so that I can stay sane.  (There is an exception to this...but I'll get to that later.)  There you have it:  I'm OCD about certain aspects of my life being tidier than others.  (To the right is my most-used kitchen counter space.  Drying hand-washed dishes while prepping breakfast, I believe.  To the left is the semi-organized display of magnets and coupons on the fridge--of which I could care less about how it looks.)

Were ya curious about the promised containment of my bedhead? Final result pictured to the left. (Yup, ponytail day. We all have those days...) 

So what WAS the breakfast deliciousness that I prepared for myself on Adventure Day?!  Well, things I had actually 'prepped' earlier in the week.  A nectarine (or is it a peach?) was going soft on the counter so I had chopped it up.  It was the morning to eat it.  And I had made Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal on Wednesday, and I had another whole portion to eat.  But it was hot in the apartment, and I decided that I would see what it tastes like cold.  Hey guess what?  It tasted delicious cold!  (To me...)
Where's the disorder and chaos, you ask?  Well, when it comes to food, there typically isn't much of that in my life.  I love to cook and bake and plan meals and know exactly what I'm going to eat--it helps me to fully enjoy it.  So I usually go to sleep at night with thoughts of what I'll eat for breakfast the next morning.  (Sometimes that's even because breakfast needs some preparation the night before.  Yup, I mean business when I eat!)

 

Above is an awkward photo of me realizing the misfortune of my hair's current state.  See the lil curl on my forehead?  It drives me crazy.  Can't do anything with it.  Definitely fits with my theme of things not fitting in with the alignment that they're supposed to.  And this is a bit of disarray that I am NOT ok with.  (Not a bad hair day, just definitely not a cooperative hair day!)

Not only was yesterday special because it was the selected day for the weekly installment of the Adventure Blog happenings--but it was also Hannah's birthday!  In my opinion, birthdays are simply awesome.  Once a year, I believe every person has the full right to enjoy their day as much as they possibly can.  I was sure to wish the birthday girl a Happy Birthday, and here we are pictured at her work space, where I successfully bombarded her with my enthusiastic greeting.  (No discussion of order/disorder here.  Just fun times in CoFo Land.)

 

Ooo, a picture!  Yep, I've been having a rough time lately being away from Fish for so long, and I came to the realization that I didn't have any pictures of him at work.  That was quickly resolved--and now I can work productively and know that with a lil glance to my right, there he is, being goofy with me in a picture from his cousin's wedding.  Totally helps and motivates me.

 

So before the next 'exciting' thing happened, I did some typical work day stuff.  Made a bunch of contact attempts, trolled my CoFo Facebook, worked on a couple mini projects.  Ya know, normal stuff.  But THEN...I had a MEETING!  Yes, us Completion Coaches get excited about meetings because they successfully break up the day and re-energize us.  However, this scheduled meeting was to occur at the end of the work day--and it was only 1pm!  Why, you ask?  Because we were all headed to the capitol to get 'sworn in' as Americorps members.  Pretty cool stuff, especially since it all still counts as part of our contracted hours. 



So yes, here be supplies of the day...kinda.  The weird paddle thing is a fan (actually came in quite handy once we were outside in the muggy-ness) and the ceremonial schedule was printed on it.  My College Forward shirt was what I wore to work yesterday, but we were given official Americorps shirts for the event.  Free stuff is good--although I'm sure you all know my feelings about t-shirts.)

 

So it was off to the capitol building!  I was carpool driver, and I had lofty plans of making a quick stop at the central library to pick up a book that I put on hold.  Unfortunately traffic had different plans, and I went straight there with Aeryn and Kathryn riding along in Babs the minivan.  (Yes, I name things.  Don't judge.)

 



Oh look--it's the capitol building!  Pretty awesome building, super large, and super impressive-looking.  We were out front for the ceremonial Americorps stuffs.  To the right are some of the people.  At first glance, it's a jumbled mass of random people in shirts.  At closer look, we are actually pretty organized in organizational cliques, with the occasional mingling from those who were brave enough to recognize others--or actually meet someone new (*gasp*).

There's a speaker here.  Use your imagination.  Right now you are getting Ali's view of the ceremony.  And this is me standing on a curb to add a lil more height.  Ohhh I'm so short.

Some CoFo peeps as the victims of my photo-taking for the blog.  They have no idea.  And actually, Aeryn was the sneak-attack photographer here, since I was awesome and left my camera in the van.  Thanks, Aeryn!  Pictures much-appreciated!

Not sure if the next pics are visible enough, but the one to the left is when we FINALLY made it back to the apartment.  The reason that I phrase it this way is because of dumb one way streets, difficult parking, and traffic problems when finding the library.  The mission was eventually successful though and obviously we DID make it home!  And the above right pic is just the apartment complex's office, but I was in the car while Aeryn checked the mail, so I thought I'd take a pic.

 

Next on my agenda was FOOD!  Yep, I was hungry.  (It wasn't even that late yet, but I had big plans to cook a yummy dinner.)  Below is a work in progress:  diced carrot and potato bubbling around until soft enough to be the stuffing for stuffed bread rolls.

 

 

Stuffed bread rolls were mostly successful (see my photo album on Facebook called 'The Foodie Files' for pics), but the mess you see to the right is the end result of a delicious meal:  DISHES!  It's inevitable that the dishes are going to be aplenty, though I usually do my best to keep things rinsed and organized by the time the meal is done.  Yes, this is my exception to the morning's kitchen rule:  when I'm cooking/baking, I can make as big of a mess as I want.  Sometimes it even helps me be more successful in the kitchen--go figure.

Pretty sure I sat down to eat dinner before I cleaned up the dishes, and again, I'm ok with that because I was way hungry at this point.  (By the way, I shmeared pesto on top of the bread rolls.  Yummy-er that way.)  While I ate, I decided instead of TV time, I'd read.  I've been neglecting reading as a hobby for quite some time, and now I'm part of a CoFo book club, and the reading HAS to happen--especially since I tracked down the book!  First book club book shown above--The Poisonwood Bible.  Aeryn and I are going to share it and pass it along to Kathryn, if possible.  It'll be quite the accomplishment for me to finish it on time!

There haven't been any pics of the actual Adventure Shoes yet, so I thought it was necessary.  'Autocorrect' on the photo editing program I used did this cool grainy color edit to them--I kinda like them like this.  No crazy story about the shoes today, they just got kicked off ASAP when I got to my room at the end of my Friday.  It had been quite the week! 

My evening rounded out with me making some more sense of some of the mess that was existing across my grad school pile of papers.  I filled a form out to be mailed off, I sorted through which personal statements need to be written.  I got myself ready to really finish these last steps so that I can be DONE.  (Pretty sure the whole world will know when this happens, haha.)

 Snack time came around, of course, because I always reach that point at night when I need tea, an apple, and something sweet.  I discovered a greek yogurt with honey that I forgot that I'd bought last weekend--a perfect treat!  And I'm proud to say that I spent quite a bit of time reading my new library book--I made it past page 30!

I wasn't able to Skype Fish last night, but there is promise to Skype him today.  October is almost here, and I am so excited to see him in a few short weeks.  Not wishing time to go fast, just wishing for it to certainly not drag out the next few weeks.

 

One quick thought before parting on this day-after-Adventure-Day:  I see and am updated on every view to my blog with an ever-changing number.  However, I get feedback from viewers very rarely and would love to know who it is who reads and follows my blog regularly and especially what is thought about it.  It's still my coping mechanism for this giant leap I've made in Life by graduating and coming to Austin, Texas, but I'd like to know what other purposes it might serve.  I welcome any and all comments, because despite what is said and shared, I am set to continue it until the year is up. 

 

 Happy Saturday, everyone--Next Adventure Day post coming again soon!

Adventure #22: Every Day Shouldn't Be Awesome--And It Won't

Oh hey look--I had to wear my College Forward t-shirt today!  It's a pretty snazzy shirt...but there's a reason why I avoid wearing t-shirts.  Take a look what happens when worn as most people wear them.  I don't really have much of a skirt to be seen...

 

Let's start at the beginning...Adventure Day pretty much sucked.  (No sugar coating for ya, sorry.)

 

It's been awhile since I've done list form, but I'll give it a shot so that I won't carry on with the bad stuff throughout this whole post:

 

1)  I didn't have internet in the apartment (pretty sure it was day three...who knows why, we were guessing the rain messed up the wiring or something...) so I had no idea how to get to my doctor's appointment that morning.  I had gotten directions from Fish (who looked up the address online because he is awesome), but I was feeling very hesitant.

 

2)  I hate going to the doctor for more reasons than one.  I am very adamant about going to the doctor though--preventative health care is a must.  But it's not one of those experiences that doesn't spark a bit of anxiety in me, especially what with seeing a new doctor in a new city at a place I'd never been to before.

 

3)  I did well for most of the finding-of-the-clinic...until I realized that I really don't know how far two miles is.  I thought I went too far.  I called Fish.  He told me I hadn't gone far enough.  I realized I was way paranoid and should prob stop wasting time...

 

4)  I should have mentioned this earlier...but my GPS didn't recognize the clinic address.  Mostly because I later realized that it was on 'Webberville St.' NOT 'Riverville St.'--which doesn't actually exist at all.

 

5)  Despite getting to the clinic a half hour early, I didn't get seen by even a nurse until a half hour after my appointment was supposed to have been.  And THEN I waited in a separate room for 10+ more minutes waiting for a doc.  Not ok.

 

6)  It was Texas State University Campus Visit Day for the Texas State College Completion Coach team.  Which I am one of.  And I was supposed to meet the team at the Riverside HEB (by where I live) at 10am.  I saw the doc at 10:15am.  Definitely didn't happen.

 

7)  The doc told me a lot of stuff I already knew about myself.  And also didn't have the medical records that I had faxed to the clinic weeks ago.  So Awesome.

 

8)  After doctor appointment, I obviously had to get myself to San Marcos to meet up with the crew and check out Texas State/meet my students.  Since I wasn't part of the carpool though, I couldn't get reimbursed for the hour round trip gas usage.  Major bummer.

 

9)  Parking cost me $14.  BUMMER.

 

10)  I got lost in San Marcos.  This is getting to be quite the list.

 

11)  Students were asking for me, and I received texts asking where I was.  Yup, I was in rush mode.

 

12)  I guess the last bit of 'bad luck' was just me being flustered initially when meeting students.  Didn't last too long.  Oh--and I had a good portion of our campus visit supplies with me (sign-in sheet, candy container--I'll explain this later, graffitti signature pages/markers).  Ah well, better late than never.

 

13)  The day ended, and I'd come to terms with driving home by myself/paying for gas mileage, etc.  BUT I drove to the gate to leaving the parking garage...and found out that the pay booth was back by[the entrance.  And it wasn't a drive-up.  I had to re-park, pay for the parking, and THEN leave.

 

14)  I was hungry.  This would have put me in a bad mood on any evening after work, but...this was a special kind of give-me-dinner-now kind of hungry.

 

15)  I had to pick up prescriptions from the grocery store.  The prescription that I DIDN'T need was there...and would have cost $200 if I actually needed it/paid for it.  The prescription that I DID need was nowhere to be found.  Joy.  (It was also the free prescription.  Go figure.)

 

16)  Did I mention that I cut off a car when turning left into the grocery store.  Minor tidbit that adds to the list, haha.

 

17)  My apartment complex STILL hadn't changed out the locks on our front door as they had promised to do on MONDAY for scheduled lock changing.  I had to go digging in my purse for the old key.  (Annoying at the very least.)

 

Ok, I can definitely say that after that stuff happend, things improved significantly.  For the rest of this post, I will keep things lighthearted and positive--no more bringing down the mood!

Yay!  Happy because I adjusted my shirt!  AND positive things rounded out my day!

 Here's a few positives in my day:

1)  While I had no energy to cook the meal that I had initially planned on making for dinner (and no internet right away to refer to the online recipe), I DID have a can of yummy butternut squash soup!  I fixed that up with a salad and some fried egg salad, and I was well-nourished and happy!

 

2, 3, 4, 5, 6...100+)  I GOT INTERNET!!!  Yup, the internet sporadically came back (THANK YOU Aeryn, for notifying me of this!), and I was not only able to check email, Facebook, Foodgawker, Twitter, and Pinterest, but I also got to Skype Fish!  Made for a great evening!

 

Want to see a couple other great things that happened on yesterday's Adventure Day?  Keep scrolling!

 

SNACKS AT THE CAMPUS VISIT!  Hans and Brendan were kind enough to buy yummy munchies for our collegians and for us CCC's to eat up all day!  I most definitely grabbed one of those cookies to finish off my lunch!

It might be confusing why the heck there are all kinds of Nerds in a milk jug.  Texas State CoFo students got to guess how many boxes of Nerds were inside!  The plan is to mail out an awesome prize to whoever guessed the closest number!  Any guesses, blog readers?!

But really, it was a great experience getting to finally meet a good amount of my students face-to-face, especially since it's so hard to get in touch with most of them.  They lead busy lives, and they are not always to blame for the hit-or-miss experiences we often have with communicating.  I had some good smiles to make up for my day of mishaps, and they are to attribute for many of them.  It gets me that much more pumped to help them succeed this year!  Go Bobcats!

 

And then there's me wearing yoga pants...haha, it was just necessary.  I was tired, needed comfort, and that required yoga pants.  No yoga needed.  (I don't wear yoga pants during yoga anyway--too confining/too much fabric for me to wear during yoga!)



 

And that's that!  I've definitely realized that not every Adventure Day needs to be purely a positive experience.  The Adventure Shoes trip and fall, just as I do.  I grow from it.  Dust myself off and keep trucking.  I've done it once, twice, and many times before, so I should keep it up.  Days like yesterday are a good reminder of that.

 

Well, I'll keep experiencing the reminders and riding this week to its end.

 

Oh--and there were 18 boxes of Nerds.  Were you right?!

Adventure #21: Living Life Backwards

Today's post will be described from the end to the beginning. Because...well, why not spice things up a bit?!

So yeah, last night before bed I of course Skyped Fish (What else is new? Haha, definitely a highlight of every day.) Before that lovely Skype session, it had been CoFo Kickball night! It was pretty fun! Aeryn, Chuey, and I were the whole cheer team for the first game, and we had some others cheering with us for the second (didn't stay the whole second game though). You may be wondering about the odd picture to the left... Some guy on another team had a cape on. It was...odd. And it definitely inhibited his kickball skills. Definite distraction for the other team...but that's about it.

Go green CoFo team! We have two teams: Green and 'Ice Blue.'
Green played first last night. Lost by only one point!
By the way, I'm pretty proud of my action shot above.

Chuey and I were great spectators--AND cheerleaders!

But before any fun kickball times were to be had, I had eaten some dinner. Sustainence is important after a long day at the office! (Like the snapshot that ya see to the left? Check out my 'Foodie Files' photo album that I recently created on Facebook--I basically needed an outlet for my recent obsession with food photography. I can promise one thing: the baking/cooking obsession definitely won't be changing any time soon!)

Oh but hey--I carpooled from home to work and work to home on Wednesday. Yup, and this week was Luigi's turn to drive. He has a fancy mustang. It was good times chillin in a fancy car instead of my ever-so-classy van. A nice change.

Wanna see my project for the day that I am oh-so-proud of?  (No worries, I most definitely didn't spend the entire day creating the pic above, but it sadly took longer than intended).  I was pretty proud of my accomplishment though and am happy to say that it is successfully the profile picture for a Facebook event hosted by myself and the other Texas State College Completion Coaches.  Woo!

Let's see...other projects at work that day...

I found out that my phone clock was a whole hour off!  And...I get all/most of the office phone clocks have been that way...for who knows how long.  Haha, I'm not the most observant...

At lunch time I had...lunch (shocking, I know). My yummy sandwich is to the left. Pretty sure it was red pepper hummus, mozzerella cheese, black olives, and spinach. But the best part of that sandwich was the fact that I got to eat the butt of the loaf of bread! I seriously look forward to the end pieces so much it's ridiculous.



 

But anyway, a bit curious as to what the arbitrary times to the right are/what
they have to do with anything? They are my self-assigned break times.  By 'break,' I mean times that I force myself to leave my desk for some reason or another. And this doesn't include my lunch break. I've found out that breaking up my day like this helps make me feel more productive and less burnt out. (And that was kind of a pun. I love it.)

 

The morning time brought about plenty of productivity in the form of typical student contacts, database maneuvering, etc.  And I was completing my tasks in style, wearing my 'Classy CoFo Trivia' badge sporting our hard-earned fifth placing from the night before.  I enjoy trivia nights with awesome CoFo people and I also enjoy doing silly things like making badges for the team to wear the next day.  All in good fun, of course.  (But hey, last week we were 10th place...a definite improvement!)

Backtracking to one of my first tasks of my Wednesday, I sat on hold on my phone for quite awhile.  Just for fun.  No, actually it was because I wanted to regain my Food Stamps, since mine were canceled right after they were given to me.  (Long story).  In short, I had a 9AM phone interview that didn't happen until 9:20AM.  And since I'm impatient, I called the Texas Health and Human Services Hotline.  The good thing?  They called me while I was on hold to end my misery.  And that is the end of that because I regained Food Stamps.  The waiting game was worth it (I guess).

And that literally was the start of my work day.  Which brings me back to the morning carpool.  I have no idea why, but I decided that Aeryn and I should be mad.  ("Mad faces" to the right.)  But the pic to the left was the first one taken where Aeryn didn't get the memo and looks adorable.  I couldn't help but put that pic, too.

 

 And with Aeryn and I being goofs in the back seat, the lovely co-pilot Kathryn and driver Luigi were jamming out in the front.  Watch out, Team Riverside carpool was in full action.

Random picture to the left but I am obsessed with candles in the apartment.  Mom sent me the fall-scented one here on the coffee table...but I have at least three other scented candles scattered throughout our little apartment.  Ah well, makes for a good-smelling place--and reminds me of home!

Breakfast is a must before each work day, and I treated myself  to a smoothie (as I do every other day).  Today's smoothie was a Mexican Chocolate Smoothie (which pretty much means that the recipe calls for cocoa powder and cinnamon.  Delicious as always.  (I tried to get crafty with the before and after pics.)

We are almost back to the beginning of my Adventure Day...basically I got all un-sleepy and got mentally and physically prepped for the day ahead.  See the beautiful bracelet I wore below?  It was a gift when I was in first or second grade from my Grammie Yaw.  She's passed since then, but I still wear the bracelet on occasion.  It has an inscription on the inside, and I'd really like to get it re-plated one day, since the gold has worn away quite a bit.

 

More getting ready stuff!  I just wanted to show off my new lotion from Adam, Vannessa, and Faye.  They sent me such a great housewarming care package all the way from Michigan, and the lotion is coconut, so it's perfect for me to wear all the time.  (Coconut is the best.  Don't even question me about it.)







And we're to the very beginning of my day!  Why is there this awkward picture of my pants/feet?  Well, it's because I wore my new pair of khakis for the first time.  And I thought they fit me well and looked pretty good AND were comfy.  So I wore them.  For the record, I have still not worn jeans to the CoFo office yet.  I'm so not a fan of jeans...but it'll probably happen eventually.

The delay in this post is unfortunate.  But believe me when I say it was out of my hands--and better late than never!  Future Adventure Days will be here soon, and I will more than make up for it.