Last Week Wrap-Up

Yikes, last week has been LONG. After having something virtually every night this week, I haven't had much spare time to blog, but here is the recap of this past week.

- Monday night was caroling at the nursing home. From what I had heard, last year's event didn't go well, (the pianist had a panic attack on scene and everyone else was left to sing a cappella at the last second) so not many people were looking forward to it. Personally, I was excited. I suppose it's more of the fact that I love singing, community service, senior citizens, and Christmas, so this event was right up my alley. Carissa really didn't paint a pleasant picture of the event, but I decided to go into it with an open mind. I was glad that I did, as I had a grand time. My English professor's wife was gracious enough to play piano, and she did a great job. We sang a total of about nine songs, and most of those included obscure verses I have never heard of...who knew there were five verses to "We Three Kings"? Anyway, I had a nice time, and I am pleasantly awaiting next year's event!

- Our dinner theater excursion was splendid! I would definitely recommend the Mosley Street Melodrama to anyone who loves to have a good time. The only thing that I wish was different is the fact that it is in Wichita, but in reality, Wichita is less than an hour from the KS-OK border. The dinner part of the theater was worth the wait, as they served a garden salad, mashed potatoes with brown gravy, three types of smoked meat (brisket, turkey, and pulled pork), and sliced bread (white, wheat, & rye). After waiting for what seemed like forever, the play finally started. I really don’t remember what it was called, but I do know that it was an original production of theirs. It had something to do with WWII, German spies, and air-traffic controllers, and it was absolutely hilarious! What I didn’t realize was that it was an audience participation theater, and I also didn’t realize that it was a big deal to sit right next to the stage. You could perhaps imagine what happened next, but I will tell you anyway to save us both the confusion. The villain of the play (I don’t know what his name was, to be honest) could best be described as a man who vaguely resembled Hitler, spoke with a German accent (while he was in character), and wore an amount of blue eyeshadow that could really only be acceptable on a drag queen. This guy decided that it would be fun to awkwardly stare at me for the better part of the first scene. And they put the spotlight on me…It was a pretty weird experience for me, although everyone else thought that it was wildly hilarious. (Actually, it probably would have been much funnier in a different circumstance.) We ended up getting back to Enid around 12:30 Thursday morning, and I was very glad that I didn’t have class that morning, because I was bushed. Once again, I am excited to return next year!

- I have really lucked out this semester, as I only have one final this week, and, as luck would have it, it is in Astronomy! It will be on Wednesday morning, so I really have nothing to worry about this go-round. This is the last semester that this is so, but I was able to opt out of my math finals since I have good grades in both classes, and there really isn’t a final to be had in Comp, so that’s where I stand on finals week. I will also be able to pick up a few extra hours tutoring, so this is a win-win situation…Go me!

- Although this may sicken some people, I have been pretty lucky in the fact that I am virtually done with my Christmas shopping, perhaps in record time! Of course, I still have to sew the boys’ aprons, but those are only minor details at this point in the ballgame (Ha-ha!).

- This might take everyone by a bit of surprise, but here it is in print: I am considering changing my major. It really isn’t that big of a deal, because college kids change their major all the time, but this is a pretty big deal for me, because I have been stuck on wanting to teach for what seems like forever. The thing is, the more I think about it, the more unappealing it sounds. Anymore, the thought of writing lesson plans, grading tests, and dealing with irrational administration strikes me as something that I don’t want to spend the majority of my life doing. So, here comes the next big thing...I am thinking about changing my major to engineering. So, it’s really not that big of a change, but, hey, it is still a change nonetheless. Nothing is really set in stone, but I have been putting much thought into this idea for a while, and there is a decent chance that this will happen. After doing some research, I think that I might look into industrial engineering, which is basically a hybrid of business and engineering. One of the biggest roles of an industrial engineer is to make things more efficient, so perhaps this might just be right up my alley…we shall see!

- Yesterday was the annual Hladik family Christmas celebration at my Aunt Genevieve’s house in Prague. I love going to her house, even if it is a two hour drive to get there. We had a great lunch, with delicious smoked brisket. I enjoyed myself, and was able to have some nice chats with my family. The two big questions I was asked this year were what my major was (aka was I still planning on becoming a teacher), and where Tevis was. I gave everyone the run-down on my possible major change, and they were all pretty supportive, especially my cousin Tim and his wife Silvia, both of whom are engineers. (Tim is an electrical engineer, and Silvia is a petroleum engineer.) As for Tevis, he wasn’t able to join us for the trip to Prague, unfortunately. Well, he might have been able to come, but it was probably for the best that he didn’t, as he had to work yesterday evening and he also has a 100-question comprehensive final in Biology this morning. My family remembered him from my cousin Angela’s reception back in September, and they all told me that they liked him and hoped to see him around in the future, so I guess that Tevis has received my family’s approval!

- In exactly one week, Emily’s baby should be here! I am getting so very excited about its arrival, and I am even more excited to meet my new niece/nephew! I think that (actually I know that) Emily is ready to have the baby, as she is feeling VERY pregnant, as could be expected in the ninth month. Hooray for babies!!!