Ten on Tuesday

1. Guess who is already done with finals?! That's right, I am! I can't express how happy this makes me to not have to worry about homework or anything for a few months. (No summer classes for this gal!) I didn't have to do a "final" in speech, although we gave a final speech, which was a cinch for me. (I was so happy to be done with that class!) My Biology final was no big deal either, because I'm Olivia Overachiever who did pretty much all of the bonus things, and I'll suffice it to say that I could have skipped the final and still done very well in the class. (Yes, that is sickening, and no, I didn't skip the final, in case you were wondering.) As for Calculus, I took that final this afternoon. It was the first math final that I have ever taken in my life. I am fairly certain that I did just fine on it, besides having a temporary brain lapse while doing one of the problems, but I'm not too concerned about that minor flub. Summer is here!

2. Yesterday, I woke up with an ache in my back, and really my whole body in general, and I felt a little bit feverish. By noon, I was full-on miserable and happy to just sleep in my recliner. Thank heavens, my regular doctor was able to work me in yesterday so that I could get checked out. After running a full battery of tests (strep, flu, & general labs), it was decided that I have a virus that, naturally, will have to run its course. Perfect timing, right? I was fortunate in the fact that my virus wasn't respiratory or GI, and also in the fact that I was able to knock down my fever/achiness with a couple of Tylenol and lots of Gatorade/water. Today, I was still a little achy with a very low-grade fever, but I am worlds better than I was yesterday!

3. This is going back a little bit, but last Thursday was quite the day for me. The biggest thing that happened was the Regents' luncheon that the PLC members were asked to attend. At our sponsors' request, all of us PLC'ers had to sit at different tables so that we could get better acquainted with the people who are making our scholarship possible. Mostly by chance, I ended up with a great table. I was accompanied by a couple of men who work for NOC in Tonkawa, Regent Linda Brown, her husband, John, and the President, Dr. Evans. Wow! I had a nice chat with everyone at my table, and I felt quite humbled to be in the presence of these people. They asked me many questions, and by the end, I felt like I had told them my life story. As it turns out, Mrs. Brown is the CEO of a large local concrete/asphalt company. She told me how she climbed the corporate ladder from being the secretary to being the boss. I found it to be inspiring for her to be in power in an industry that is typically led by men. Not to mention, our current college president is the first female president of our institution, so I was amid a few influential women, which is something that I hold as a personal inspiration. It was a very successful lunch for me, and I greatly enjoyed my time with all of the "higher-ups".

4. Some more big news for me from Thursday, I will officially be the president of both the Literature Club and PLC! The PLC presidency was something that I wanted, but had to work for a little more. There is a long-drawn out story that goes along with this, but I'll give you the Reader's Digest version. Next year, out of the four sophomores that will return, only one of those four (me) is a girl. This led to a little bit of contention, because some of the guys had a few chauvinistic ideas about how things should work next year, which obviously didn't fly with me. In the end, I stated my opinions, I got the presidency, and also received an apology for the previous comments made by the guys. All's well that ends well, I suppose, and I am looking forward to next year!

5. On Friday, I had a fun adventure with Wyatt and Andy. Gina was getting her hair cut and had no alternate childcare options, also, I had brought Wyatt by from school/my dorm. Shortly after getting there, Wyatt and Andy were what you could best euphemize as being spirited, and I knew that Gina needed a short while of relaxation. After a short moment of assessing the situation, I decided to load the boys up in Gina's car and take them to the nearest park for some much-needed outdoor time. I have officially found my new favorite park in Enid, but it bums me out that it is all the way on the north side of town, which is out of the way for almost everywhere, except for where Gina got her hair cut that day. I think the best part of the park was the fact that the closest place to this park is a church, it isn't in a sketchy neighborhood like 90% of the other parks in town, and it was quite a way from the street, which greatly alleviated the constant fear of someone coming in and snatching the kiddos or having them run into the street. Needless to say, the boys LOVED the park! They climbed, swung, crawled, and slid (well, Andy didn't) to their little hearts' content. After about an hour of playtime, the boys were sweaty, thirsty, and in need of a snack. I decided to stop in at Sonic to get refreshments. After getting a Sprite, lemonade, lemon-berry slush, tots, and cheddar bites for us all, all three of us were happy and cooled off! I am glad that I have the opportunity to be an aunt and have fun outings like this from time to time. We got back to the hair salon to find Gina looking all spiffed up, rejuvenated, and ready for some time with her boys! It was a nice afternoon!

6. Saturday was NOC's graduation. The last of my PLC duties for the year, I had to help at the ceremony by helping people in and serving at the reception. I was completely shocked to see that the auditorium was full by 2:30 when graduation began at 3. Yikes! Note to my family next year: Show up early!!! I had a great chat with my buddy Morgan, who I will greatly miss next year. I got to see Carissa, and a few other people I grew to know through the year graduate. It was a nice ceremony, and the reception went just as well. Actually, the cake and punch were delicious, that's really what made it so nice!

7. I made a small trip with my parents to Stillwater on Sunday afternoon. My dad decided that he was going to get a new air compressor. (His is only about 18 years old, and has been rebuilt a few times over. I think he might have earned that one! :) ) A fringe benefit of this trip was our lunch outing to Texas Road House, which is always a favorite of ours, and didn't disappoint. While eating there, my mom noticed that there is a new Olive Garden right next door, which made us happy! I almost come to the consensus that I could probably do all of my shopping/dining in Stillwater and have a much better selection than I do in Enid. It is slightly further, but it would almost be worth it if I could find exactly what I want. The only downside is that my bank doesn't have a branch there, otherwise I probably would frequent the lovely town of Stillwater much more often!

8. Tonight, I went down to the park to watch my cousin, Jake, participate in the May Fete Court. He looked absolutely dashing in his tuxedo, and I was so proud of him to be selected for that honor. If I could, I would show you the wonderful pictures I got. (I'll explain why shortly.) Needless to say, it was a beautiful evening for this rite of passage for the Enid High students, and I enjoyed getting to see two of my aunts, one uncle, Mimi, my parents, and Jake's parents/siblings. In the next few weeks, he will be graduating, so we will all be congregating once again.

9. Yes, the explanation for no pictures...I am home now. When I say home, I don't mean my "second home dorm", I mean back on the farm home. This means that either I wait thirty minutes to an hour for one picture to load, or just go without. If you ask me, I'll take the latter. After May Fete, my parents stopped by my dorm to help me get a few things together, and possibly take a few things back with them. Yeah, that turned into my dad basically loading up everything in my/their vehicles and having me come home for the night. God love him for doing that, but nothing came back even half as organized as I had originally intended. I suppose that is just a difference in genders because while my mom, sisters, and I generally try to organize these kinds of things, my dad just bales everything up into one armful/box and loads it into the car. Oh well, it'll be just fine. I still have stuff in my room that I'll have to go back for tomorrow because both vehicles were full and I was greatly losing steam, because I haven't fully recovered from yesterday.

10. Tomorrow is my last obligation of the school year. The Lit Club is having an end-of-the-year lunch tomorrow. I am looking forward to this, and I am also hoping that my appetite will rebound somewhat. After that, my mom and I will be going back to my room and finishing up in there. I really don't want to move out, because I will be turning around and moving back in in about three months, which is long enough to unpack some stuff, but too short to bother with other things. Oh well, I will continue on in my nomadic life for the unforeseeable future!

I hope that everyone has a great week and enjoys this wonderful (and hopefully storm-free) weather!!!