Thank You Charles for the Wonderful Coat

Happy Halloween!!

Today is a wonderful day! It is halloween, I got to spend time with my parents and then when I didn't think it could get much better.... IT SNOWS!!! WOOHOO!!!

Here are some images of what you are missing!!








Lots of Love!
Palmer

Crazy, Leafy Days

Ok so I am really behind on my posts (woops!) and I am really sorr ok so just to give you an update, I went kayaking 2 weeks ago, its has already flurried (yes, like snow), and I am finally cleared to row again! I have been working on a post about the 1st two things but unfortunately my friend has not yet given me his photos from the trip, and I know you want photos.

But anywho, the weather has turned warm again, around the 60s and 70s, which is very nice when I don't feel like bundling up.

For some reason my teachers have decided that it is a wonderful idea to give students tests, papers, and projects due around parent's weekend. Maybe it is a ploy to show those who are paying for this lovely school, how hard we are working. That's just super! Plus, this is also when I finally get to return to crew, which takes up another 2 hours of my day, yippee!

But besides the tidal wave crashing on top of me, I have to admit, I am extremely lucky to go to such a wonderful school. Yesterday Sophie and I walked to the bookstore in between classes. Yellows, reds, and oranges enveloped us as we passed through the quaint town of Hamilton. The Victorian houses, the leaves on the ground, the fresh smell of fall perforated my hardened exterior, letting my body absorb the beauty around me. For that moment, I didn't feel the stress of school work or life. I was content and at peace.

If only those times would last forever, then maybe there wouldn't be sadness and pain in the world. But I'm not a philosopher, no do I want to be one. So I will just stick to knowing that that calm did not last, but that it is important that I find those moments throughout the day, in order for me to not go mad. And even if I do, at least it's somewhere beautiful.

Pops won fifty cents

I am disowning the crimson tide. Well, not really. Let's just say if I could put them in a time out corner so that they could think about their actions I would. But it's too painful to reminisce on the past, so I will not continue the topic of Alabama football.

Fall break was this weekend, and I was blessed enough to go home to see my family. It was a much needed visit. Being surrounded my family, animals, and friends was a refreshing break from the hectic life of college. I ended my depravation of southern culture by having chick-fil-a, sweet tea, sweet potato casserole, BBQ ribs, and a whole lot of southern drawl. Oh, I miss the south. Being home made me realize how different it is up here, not that it's a bad thing, just a different way of life. I guess I never fully understood why northerners couldn't understand us. But after living a time up here, I can see that I am from a completely foreign culture. and heck, I am proud of it!

It was funny being home; like I had never left. I went straight back into my old routines. I guess I thought that life would stop without me, so that when I returned nothing would have changed. But plenty has. Adelaide is driving (ok maybe she is a better driver than me...), Angie and Charlie live in Birmingham, and no drama at Altamont (well not as much).
And it scared me.

My Dad has pointed out to me that there is that point in our lives where you are torn between two worlds: innocence and growing older. That crossroad drives you crazy because your mind cannot make up its mind on what to do and your soul wants to be two places at once.
I am at that crossroad. I hate it. I curse it. But no matter how many times I close my eyes, clack my heels, and say "I wish I was home", nothing changes.

Sunday night my cat Shadow and I repeated our past habits of fighting over the bed. Countless times, we have sat on my bed together, me watching movies, shadow trying to chew my fingers. This has been a ritual for many years, and it never fails to cease. It is one of the few things that has been constant throughout my life, even when I and everything around me were changing. Shadow is my stability through life and a connection to everything that has happened in it. Our rite is my pair of ruby, red slippers.

SHOUT OUTS! YAY!!

I want to send a shout out to some amazing people today!

First of all to my familia living in Birmingham, who sent me a wonderful card when they celebrated Aunt Georgia's birthday!
Happy belated Birthday to you Aunt Georgia!

To Charlie Hartman: YAY!!! You're a lawyer!!! (though I'm still debating whether having another lawyer in the world is a good thing...)

To Blair Hartman: Thanks for the comment! You will now go down in history as the first person to comment on my blog!

To Dr. Angie Hartman: Congrats on your job! I hope it's going great!

To everyone who reads this blog, thanks! I love y'all so much!

As Another Door Slams, Out Jumps an Unpleasant Surprise

Ok, I'm not sure how much more rejection I can take. The real world, even though this is a microcosm of a college, sucks right now. I even told my Grandmother the other day that I wish I had been told "no" more as a child. Yet even thinking back on it, my senior year of high school was full of "no's". Maybe this rejection hurts because I assumed that college would be the opposite of my senior year of slammed doors.
What I do not understand is why each letter/email that has given me the bad news has always included something about how "this is not a reflection of your talent", to "keep up the good work", and to "try again next time".

Really? REALLY?

For some people this may be encouragement, but around the 5th time you've heard it, its just a slap in the face.
Yesterday I was walking through the Coop (which is our student union) to check my mailbox. As I was walking I was singing "wade in the water" (sorry Mom and Dad, you are not here to stop me from singing whenever I choose), and I passed one of the a cappella groups I had auditioned for. So as I am passing, one of the guys who auditioned me says, "hey you should sing with us tonight!"......
Nkele and I about to go Kung Fu whoever messes with us!

really? REALLY?!
What a wonderful combination of a compliment and punch in the gut. All I could say was, "I wish". It amazes me that they now think I am good enough to sing with them, but at the time of my audition, I was not.
Now my auditioning skills are not great, I always get nervous which makes my voice shaky. And that is all on me, no one else.
But it still sucks.
Oh and on top of all these wonderful ego-humblers, I came to an astounding conclusion today. As I mentioned before, my throat had been hurting and I may have had pink eye. Well, my throat still hurts, it woke me up at 5 a.m., and the nurse at the satellite clinic decided that I did indeed have pink eye in both eyes. Luckily my eyes are a lot better, but I am beginning to be skeptical of whether it is indeed pink eye. I had the delightful revelation this morning that I may not be suffering at all from pink eye, allergies or a cold, instead it may be what all college students love: mono.
I really think the world hates me. Oh well, I'll just have to wipe away the blood and wait to knock it's lights out. Because even if the world is against me, it has no idea that it has messed with the wrong southerner. (Me chasing Nelson Jones in Chile)