Blood Suckers! August 31, 2009

After sleeping in way longer than intended, I decided yesterday that I had been in Montana long enough that I needed to see The Rockies, so I got in my car and headed west… I was driving along state route and all of the sudden there they were. They just appeared out of nowhere, these vast peaks! It was amazing considering I was already at about 3500 – 4000 feet above sea level! I continued driving and ended up in a great little town – Augusta, Montana where I stopped at the Augusta General Store for extra camera batteries and huckleberry ice cream! However, I decided I was not close enough, so I traveled north/northwest along a little dirt road until I hit private property and turned around. From there, I drove north toward Choteau. I still wasn’t close enough, so I contiued north until I got to Glacier National Park. Now I’m waiting until this weekend to get my National Park Annual Pass (I was instructed by a park ranger at Badlands to wait until the beginning of the month.), so continued west on US 2 through Lewis and Clark National Forest. Now I was actually IN the Rockies. Suddenly I realized I had been on the road for almost 6 hours and it was going to take me about two hours to get home. I turned around and headed back south.

The sun was starting to set, and I was hoping to get some great shots! I continued looking in my rearview mirror hoping that I would still be able to see the mountains at sunset. Sure enough I came upon a beauiful lake/reservoir (I’m still not sure.) right as the sun hit the mountains. I pulled over, got outo fmy car, and was attacked… viciously attacked by a swarm (that’s not even a reasonable description) of mosquitos. They weren’t huge, but they were everywhere!!! I tried to get a good shot, but there were mosquitos everywhere! They bit me through my clothes! They got in my car… there was still one in my car when I got home!

Now I can handle mosquitoes. To say I’ve had my fair share of bites is an understatement, but this was a militia of them! I have secessions of bites, two or three in a row on multiple places – my arms, my neck, my back. I don’t know if one mosquito got me multiple times or if it is different mosquitoes. There were so many of them and couldn’t get away! They followed me!

As I was driving, I noticed my windshield was quite disgusting to be honest. I didn’t realize until I got home that I had thousands of these little insects splattered all over the front of my vehicle!  So let this be a lesson… if you ever come to Montana, BEWARE OF THE BLOOD SUCKERS!!!

I Need Cable!!! August 30, 2009

During my interview, I was asked what, besides my family and friends, I would miss most if I moved to Montana. The answer… football. I was promptly informed, “We have football in Montana. You can cheer for the Grizzlies or the Bobcats.” To which I replied, “Our stadium seats over 100,000  people.” Yep – that’s almost twice as big as this town! Montana may have “football”, but it doesn’t have the SEC.

Football season is quickly approaching, and this why I need cable! It connects me to home. Tennessee football reminds me of where I’m from…

Recently I found a copy of ESPN‘s Encyclopedia of SEC Football at the Sam’s Club here in Montana. When I posted about this on my facebook page, it resulted in quite a bit of discussion including the following statement from one of my sorority sisters (As much as I hate to acknowledge Georgia football in this blog…): I am going to go downstairs now and put on my UGA jammies and UGA socks and brush my teeth with my UGA toothbrush. I will then get in my bed with my UGA sheets and switch off my UGA lamp and dream about our home opener vs. South Carolina in 2 and a half weeks. “Obsessed”? Ha! I scoff!!! 😉

Football has become part of southern culture. Tailgating is an all day event that often includes a full meal (particularly when LSU comes to town… gumbo and shrimp boils!). We teach our children to pull for certain teams and despise others ( I recently got a card from my brother’s family that included a “note” from my 3 1/2 year old nephew. It is a scribble in orange marker that my sister-in-law translated as “Go Vols!”)! Our mourning the loss of college football is delayed by basketball season, but come the end of March Madness, we wait in anticipation for September. We follow recruiting all summer long. At the conclusion of signing day, we begin speculating about the next year’s signees. We follow scrimmages and practices all to maintain contact with our team!

The good news is the anticipation ends Thursday when South Carolina takes on NC State at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN. The bad news is… I don’t have cable.

Responding to Requests August 29, 2009

So I’ve had a few requests… I’ll do my best to respond.

I am teaching two courses this semester. Both are undergraduate – General Psychology and Techniques of Counseling. The formats for both courses are quite different from what I am used to and honestly I don’t know that I’m totally bought into the process just yet – although I see the purpose behind it. Gen Psych is an online course. This means I never lay eyes on my students, and they work independently from home. This course is full! Exciting but also means I have to grade 20 papers in November. Techniques is a weekend format. We meet four weekends semester from 5-9 on Friday and 9-5 on Saturday. This is an intense class as is, and the intensity is increased by the course material. It should definitely be interesting!

The house is “fab” (to quote my co-worker, Katrina). My landlord is still working on the finishing touches, so I’ll post pictures then. It is in a great neighborhood. I’ve enjoyed driving home and seeing kids playing, riding their bikes likes we used to do. Great Falls is still, for the most part, a safe place to live and raise a family. It’s been refreshing to see.

I’ve also enjoyed the stars! The heat and smog in Knoxville made for a limited clear sky, but my house is on the edge of town. There’s very little light, so I can walk out and see the stars!!! They’re glorious! There’s a reason they call Montana Big Sky Country. A couple nights ago I made myself a tomato and mayonaise sandwich, sat in the swing in my back yard, and just enjoyed the vastness. It’s pretty amazing to feel so small.

Well, I teach from 9-5 tomorrow, so I’m signing off…

Missing Posts August 25, 2009

So I a message from my mother the other day… “Don’t forget about your blog…”

What?! I’ve been updating regularly from my blackberry. It seems several posts are somewhere in cyberspace… wandering lost, trying to find their home. Since I have no clue where they are, I’ll try to summarize the past week or so – briefly – if that’s actually possible.

I did, in fact head out on the 13th. I left bright and early that morning, stopping in Kingston, Tennessee for gas at Weigels. This particular Wiegels has great significance. It was a refuge for some of us at Camelot. Then I was off. I traveled west toward Nashville and then cut north toward Clarksville. After crossing into Kentucky, I headed toward Paducah and then into Illinois. I saw my first glimpses of the eastern prairie (a.k.a. LOTS of corn). Thursday evening I crossed the Missouri River into St. Louis and stopped at the Gateway Arch.

After crashing for the night in a town I longer recall the name of, I headed west the next morning toward Kansas City where I stopped at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library befor beginning the journey north through Iowa. I wish I had something exciting to tell you about in Iowa, but I don’t unless you just absolutely LOVE corn! Sioux City was a welcome sight by the end of the day.

I headed north Saturday morning for South Dakota. I LOVED driving through South Dakota and would highly recommend it! There is so much I would like to go back and see! Once I hit Sioux Falls, I headed west toward Rapid City. I made several stops during this leg of the trip. First, I drove through Badlands National Park and stopped at Wall Drug Store on my way out. It started raining, so I was unsure whether to head on to Belle Fourche for the night or try to see Mt. Rushmore. I decided to give it a try and took the detour south toward Keystone. The sky cleared just in time for a glimpse at Mt. Rushmore. I was unsuccessful in finding lodging at my first stop in Spearfish, so I headed a little further north to Belle Fourche (the geographical center of the U.S. when Alaska and Hawaii are included).

My last day was spent on local and state routes for the most part. I headed into Wyoming – which absolutely gorgeous – before arriving in Montana. I made a stop at Little Bighorn which I also highly recommend. I spent quite a bit of time there.

I did finally arrive in Great Falls and checked into my efficiency. I stayed there throughout the week last week before finally finding a place. I am very exciting about my new digs, and they should be done in about 10 days! Int he meantime, I am living int he basement. Work started last Monday, and I spent most of the week in meetings.

So there’s the quick and dirty on the MIA posts. I’m so sad they’re gone. they were far more insightful. More to come…

The Guide August 11, 2009

So there’s some great scenes at the end of the movie Elizabethtown. Orlando Bloom’s character is driving across the country to a guide and soundtrack created by Kirsten Dunst’s character.  It’s fabulous! It tells him where to go each step of the way – what side trips to make, what turns to take. It’s all layed out for him. There’s no second guessing plus there’s great music to go along with it! Besides the fact that I would LOVE a soundtrack to go with my 4 day drive, a guide would be nice as well. I have my mapquest directions and will be picking up a road atlas today (Minaly so I’ll have current rest area locations!), but a guide like the one in the film means someone has gone ahead of you. It means that the path is clear and as long as you follow it you will reach the destination and get to see some pretty amazing stuff along the way!

Wouldn’t it be nice if everything in life were that clear, if all paths were layed out for us, if all we have to do is follow the concrete directions? What is clear is that that is not always the case. In fact, I think that situation tends to be the exception rather than the rule. So while I won’t have a guide telling me exactly where to go and when, I will be making my soundtrack over the next couple days and welcome any and all suggestions!

I Have Confidence August 9, 2009

“I’ve always longed for adventure, to do the things I’ve never dared. Now here I’m facing adventure. Then why am I so scared?”  — Maria The Sound of Music

I told someone the other day that I can’t remember ever being this scared which seems completely silly! It’s just a move, right? In fours days, I’ll pack up my car, and Cobi, my sweet, spastic little dog, and I will drive 3/4 of the way across the country to Montana. In the meantime, we’ll travel through a total 10 states in 4 days! I’ll get to see parts of the country I’ve never seen before!  Everyone keeps reminding me… this is an adventure! I love adventure! So why the fear?

My brother had no problem reminding me, “You’d be a damn idiot if you weren’t scared, but you don’t have to worry.” Periodically he knows exactly what to say! Without fear there would be no adventure. So on August 13th, I’m headed out, fear in hand and dog at my side, on one big adventure!

Home on the Range August 6, 2009

When I first told my Bath and Body Works store manager that I was applying for an Assistant Professor position in Montana, she immeadiately broke into “Home on the Range”! Now, three weeks later, I am packing up my condo in East Tennessee for the big move to Montana, where the deer and the antelope play!