1 Birthday. 2 Injuries. 3 Stiches.

First things first.

Happy 24th Birthday Big Brother!

Kyle and Mom
(Picture courtesy of Terry from his wedding last May).

Second things second.

It's been a while since I've roped Kyler into doing something he didn't necessarily want to do. In fact, I think the last time I did it  was our freshman year of college. I talked Kyler into going ice skating with me and five girls. I was so happy when he finally caved and came with us. Unfortunately, he ended up falling and busting his MRSA infected elbow.

Since then, I've tried not to rope him into things...except I really NEEDED him Tuesday night. My co-ed flag football team had a game, and we were short a few players. Kyler had said he was going to play basketball at 6:00, and I suggested that since my football game was at 6:00 that he come play with us instead. He agreed. I got giddy. I was going to see my man in action and get to play along his side. I was super stoked.

Kyler and our friend John basically dominated most of the game. If it's any consolation, we won 50-6. But I think the real highlight/lowlight (for me and Kyler anyway) came about 10 minutes to go in the game.

As an opponent was getting ready to run into the endzone, Kyler caught up with him and tried to strip the ball. As he did, the guy lost his balance and shot his legs up into the air, right into Kyler's face. I saw Kyler immediately grab his cheek and all I could think was that he lost his teeth. So, of course, my first question to him was if, in fact, he still had his teeth. I didn't want a toothless groom.

Kyler took off running to the bathroom to spit out blood. I continued playing football. We won. I went to find Kyler. As it turns out, if anyone sustains a head injury during a game, the ambulance has to be called. Lovely. We had things to do, and one of them was not to wait on an ambulance--just to deny treatment.



Kyler's pre-treatment wound.

So I filled out a witness form for the police guy (after he figured out we were making light of the situation, he started making jokes which made our time waiting more enjoyable).



Filling out the witness report

Then the ambulance finally got there, and as the driver stepped out I screamed. The EMT on call was none other than Kamaron's groomsman, Jeff.

Jeff and Kyler

Kyler and Jeff filled out paper work. Kyler denied treatment and a ride in the ambulance, but Jeff said he needed stitches. So we had to head to prompt care, but first, he stopped by his house so I could pick up a tax book. He knew we were going to be there a while and wanted me to still be able to do my homework.
He's so kind like that.

Kyler is very insensitive to pain. To him, it's just a hassle he'd rather not deal with. Seriously, I think he was more aggrivated that he had to take time to go get stitches than being injured. His immediate thoughts were hilarious, and I'm so glad I thought to make note of them as we were heading to prompt care.


"Dang it Kara! I have interviews next week, and they're going to think I was in a bar fight."

"If I breathe, will air come through this hole in my chin?"

"What if I could just put a straw through it and drink that way?"

 "I've never just seen a chunk of skin come out like that."

"Good news is, I've been there [prompt care] before so I won't have to fill out all that paper work."

"I hope it leaves a cool scar. You'll still like me with a scar right?"

"The embarrassing thing is, this happened playing CO-ED, FLAG football. A little less manly don't you think?"

"This is why it's a good idea for people to play high school sports. You learn how to handle getting hurt. Some people would freak out, but I knew there were protocols to follow and knew that I would survive."

Anyway. We got him all stitched up. And quite honestly he looked worse after that. I don't know what that nurse did to him, but she had blood smeared all across his chin. Below are the post-op pictures. I must warn you, they're a little gross. If you have a weak stomach, you've been warned.

All stiched up.



Three stitches total.

He has to keep those in for five days, and then he should be healed. But don't think for one second that three stitches will keep Kyler away from football. Our teammate John asked him if he could make it to next Tuesday's game, and Kyler said he'd try to make it. And then (don't tell his mama), but he told a guy on his all-boys team that he'd probably still be able to play Thursday night. Only offense of course.
And because I can't let Kyler get all the attention, I need to share with you my own injury. Unfortunately, I don't have some heroic tale to tell. I just ran into the coffee table, but man it hurts.

It's worse in person, I swear.

But back to the point of the post. I think I've learned my lesson when it comes to coercing Kyler into doing something he doesn't want to do. I guess I'll have to learn to accept "no" as an answer...

until the next time I really NEED him.

My New Job

For the past three years of my college career, I have worked at Wright Food Court. It was somewhat of a family tradition considering that my mother worked here back in 1975 (please, please check out the photos for a refresher) and Kristoffer, Emily, and Kamaron all worked here as well. In fact, Kristoffer/Dana and Emily/Zach's love life flourished in this romantic atmosphere. Yes, even Anique has a WFC stint under her belt. But Kara (being decidedly different in typical fashion) has been Eigenmann Eatery fiend.

This job, despite all of the complaints, was actually pretty ideal considering that the hours worked completely around my schedule and my workplace was literally just down the hall from my room. The people I worked with there became some of my closest college friends over those three years. However, upon realizing that I had the opportunity to get a different job this year while in graduate school, I had to leave the food court and move on to something new.
 
So, this year I am working as a Graduate Assistant in the Business Communications department. My main job is to be a grader for a junior/senior level communications class, where I maintain the online gradebook for several class sections.

New Business Communications Department

My other major responsibility is to be an office assistant/receptionist for the department. Basically, I sit at the front desk, answer the telephone, and direct students to their professors' rooms in the building. I am just now getting used to where everyone is, and since it is a new building, there still aren't room numbers on any doors which makes explaining where people are a little more difficult.

My Receptionist Desk

The job is pretty ideal, because when I am not answering people's questions, I am doing my homework and studying for my classes. Pretty convenient! Oh, and they are helping to pay for some of my tuition, which is a HUGE bonus.

Awesome Wooden Staircase

Funny side note: The week after giving a big presentation in one of my classes, I pulled up the recording that was posted online so I could self-critique how I did. However, I forgot where I was and was soon receiving the collective criticism of 5 business communications faculty members on little things I could improve on. They all had good things to say, but I definitely won't be pulling that one again!

It's been busy around here...

and I haven't gotten to write what I wanted to write because it takes time, and I'm lacking time. So I beg your pardon that this post will be fairly shallow and hardly thought out at all. Sorry you're the one to suffer, but I suppose it's better you than my grades.

Anyway.

Last night at work, I was counting drawers. A couple of days ago I saw a 2010 quarter. I must say that on a college campus, cash is a rare sight. And I realize that seeing a 2010 quarter in September is not amazing whatsoever. What IS amazing, is last night I saw my first 2010 penny. It was all shiny, the newness not worn off. Then I saw another, but this time the tails was up and I thought it looked rather strange. So I picked it up(and lost count of what number I was on), and inspected the penny. It was beautiful and...

missing something. Where's the Lincoln Memorial? Where's little Abe? What did they do with our 16th president on the back of the penny? What is this world coming to?

If you want to read about what this world is coming to, check this website out.

I thought this was rather strange, but eventually started counting the pennies in my drawer all over again, and I stopped thinking about Abe until this morning. (Yes, I have a horrible train of thought. I lose a thought and it doesn't come back until twelve hours later.)

So this morning I was thinking about Abe, and I was reminded of a funny movie I saw once. I don't really remember the whole movie, but there are some humorous lines I thought I would share with you.

In case it's difficult to understand because the clip is horrible, the blind man's name is Blinkin. The other guy says, "Hey Blinkin." And Blinkin replies, "Did you just say Abe Lincoln?" (See the correlation with the penny and Robin Hood Men in Tights now?)

And here's one of my absolute most favorite parts of the movie. I realize it's a bit immature, but so hilarious. Let me preface it by saying, the country just finished fighting (a war?). Blinkin was in the castle, but it was blown away. Robin Hood just returned from battle, and Blinkin is seeing him for the first time. Enjoy.

Have a great day! If you're busy and need a break, get in some old movie clips and laugh out loud. (Advice to myself). Eventually all these exams will be over, and I will have a more "in depth" post. One that might be worth your time to read anyways.

The Job Search

This week marked the official beginning of the job search for both Kara and I. Kara is graduating in May and is looking for a full-time job, and I am looking for an internship next summer since I still have a year of graduate school left. We are lucky that we attend Indiana University when it comes to finding a job, because they really bring the companies to you instead of trying to find them, which is definitely a plus. But that also means that we have to experience the student-fest that is a Kelley career fair.

Basically, 60-70 companies come over the course of a few days and set up shop in the Union. Then, students looking for jobs approach the tables and talk to recruiters. It sounds like a good way to meet people, but sometimes it can be frustrating trying to talk to everyone and hoping that you made a positive impression (I have definitely struck out a few times...awkward).

Randomly, the Undergraduate Career Services Office was taking pictures at the event, and as I was looking at their Facebook page, I stumbled upon a picture of myself speaking with a Raytheon representative.

Shmuck on the left

I am interested in working for a large manufacturing company next summer, so I was visiting companies that fit the bill. While visiting the John Deere table, I stumbled upon some luck and actually got an interview for the next day - which was not typical, but I definitely was not complaining. Large manufacutring company + farming and machines + an awesome finance development program = an ideal job for me.

If Anyone is in the Market for a John Deere Hat, I Have Three Now

The interview went pretty well, even thought I was definitely a little rusty considering I have not interviewed in about a year. Hopefully, I will hear back from them soon. Kara spoke with several companies that she seemed to connect with, and hopefully many opportunities will pan out for her as well.

As we continue our job search, I just want to ask for some prayers - most importantly that we will both find jobs, and secondly that their will be ample opportunties so we can be in the locations we want without adding strain to the beginning of our marriage.

He is the Rock

DISCLAIMER: If you are an environmentalist, be prepared for content that is not environmentally friendly. However, I urge you to look past your environmentalismness because the following post has the good of the earth in mind...maybe not the physical earth but for those who occupy it.

On our last Sunday still at home, our Sunday School class was taught by our friend Jessica. Jessica became a good friend over the summer through our Sunday School class. She was inspired by a story she heard on the K-LOVE radio station and had asked our teacher if she could teach our class. It was definitely one of my favorite classes all summer.

I don't remember the exact story, but a man called in to KLOVE and said he had found a balloon with a note inside, and all the note said was, "Pray for my son Zach. He is sick." That was all. And the man prayed for Zach and his illness. We don't know what was wrong with Zach or if he is better now, but I do know that God honored that parent who asked for prayers for Zach and the man for being obedient.

Can you guess our assignment? We had to write a Bible verse and note on a piece of paper, tie it to a balloon, and release it. Everyone got to pick their own verses, but I believe the assignment had something to do with introducing the reader to the Lord. (Sorry Jess if I'm butchering your lesson.)

Mine and Kyler's Bible Verses

]Kyler chose a verse from the book Revelation, and I chose one from Deuteronomy. I can't tell you why Kyler chose his. You'll have to ask him, but I chose one because it's familiar to me. I memorized it in fifth grade during Vacation Bible School, and I have never forgotten it. I wanted whoever found my balloon to know that God is the Rock: solid, strong, sturdy, and unbreakable. I also think of this verse in the context of faith. Build your faith on the Rock, for it will withstand storms. Do not build it on sand for the rains will wash it away.

Anyways, that is what I wanted a total stranger to know. So we tied our notes to balloon strings and took to the streets...er, parking lot.

Kyler checking his ballon's buoyancy

We prayed over our balloons and off they went.

Most of our attendees (wake up Jacob)

Well, some of them went. Some of them got tangled around me or other balloons. But most of them took to the skies, flying over our parking lot, clearing power lines, and floating over the cornfields.

My late release due to picture taking

We stood there watching and speculating. Whose would go the furthest and where they would land? Jessica said that the lady filling the balloons up with helium at the store told her that if nothing sharp popped the balloons, the helium should last 3-4 days. We're hoping for phone calls from Colorado or California. Michelle, whose balloon skimmed the top of the corn field, is hoping to reach a lost college student at Ball State.

Wherever God took these balloons though, hopefully whoever picks them up will come to know God or be curious about Him or acknowledge His constant presence in our lives.

(And THAT is the reason why I believe that if a bird chokes on a rubber balloon, it's okay; because whoever finds the content of that broken balloon might come to know Christ).

Role Playing Game

Disclaimer: This post is (almost) purely textual.

The title reminds me of the stories I heard about Kamaron's old World of Warcraft playing roommate, where he was probably a commander of a barbarian horde out to defeat all the evil goblins in the world. But that is not at all what I mean when I talk about the Role Playing Game I was involved in this week at school.

As you all know, I am in my first year of graduate business school at THE Indiana University. It has been an incredibly quick two weeks (only 14 left), partly because of a project that I was involved in all of last week. The project consists of a case study that requires on average 40-50 hours per person for one week - on top of all other class and work commitments we may already have. Luckily, my team was chosen to present our case early in the semester when the workload in other classes is not extremely heavy.

My New School

Each week, there is a different case that a team must solve, and our case involved acting as a professional service company (PwC) that was helping another company assess whether or not they were ready to go public through an initial public offering (IPO). While this may not sound interesting at all to a lot of people, the thing that made the project worthwhile is that we worked directly with PwC employees in Chicago who wore many different hats playing different characters. Sometimes they were PwC peers, other times they were blue-collar employees of the company considering going public, and still other times they acted as the CEO and CFO of the company. All the while, we were role playing as consultants and accounting advisors.

Needless to say, we were able to interact with these people throughout the week through conference calls and constant e-mail communication. While our team knew nothing about the IPO process initially, we worked all week to get educated and develop a strategy that we could present at the end of the week to the company's management on the following Friday.

Not going into too much detail about what we did, we devised a strategy and presented it to the PwC professionals (who flew down from Chicago) on Friday who were acting as management. Overall, the 1-hour presentation went very well, and they seemed very satisfied with our recommendations.

This was definitely a huge learning experience for everyone involved, and we even had to deal with what our professor calls the "fickle finger of fate". Basically, something goes wrong with every case (can't use projector, two people can't present), and our fate was that due to the labor day weekend, we were unable to receive any information on our company's position until last Tuesday. This turned out not to be too bad, and we were able to handle the added pressure pretty well.

Anyways, I hope that didn't bore you, but that was pretty much ALL that I did this week. Literally, I only spent about 1-hour per day at home and awake - the rest of my day was spent at the school with my team. And luckily, my team is pretty great!

Glad it is over, and it should be smooth(er) sailing from here!

Special Treatment

A couple of weeks ago, Kyler told me not to make plans because we were going to the first IU football game of the season. I wasn't going to argue with the man, so I cancelled my eye appointment for that evening and penciled in the game. We've got our priorities straight around here.

Memorial Stadium North Endzone

This past Thursday, we went to the first game of the season, and man we were treated like high rollers. Kyler had responded to this email that said if you were one of the first 50 who replied, you received two tickets to dinner and the University President and the Athletic Director were guest speakers. We had a phenomenal dinner with these lovely elderly couples, who we later found out were retired trustees. Who knew! Also on the table were cute little favors: IU tattoos and a "credentials holder". I loved the tattoos. Kyler loved the holder...probably because it came with the 500 most commonly misspelled words on the back of the blank reference forms. (Did you know misspelled is one of the most misspelled words?)

Kyler showing off his credentials

Seriously, he kept pulling that fold-up thingy out of his pocket and saying, "You want to see my credentials?" And then he would inform me of five more commonly misspelled words. We're nerds like that :)

But back to the football. No wait, back to the dinner. Yes, that's where this was going.

Banquet Hall

The room dinner was in was incredible. They finished construction on the North Endzone last summer, and it was mighty beautiful. This is a view from the balcony, overlooking our tables. Through those doors is the outdoor balcony that seats important people (including Kyler and myself that night).

After dinner and hearing President McRobbie and AD Fred Glass speak, it was time for some football. We had incredible seats. Like only-a-few-rows-in-front-of-us incredible.

Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!

This is the best I can do for showing you how close we were. There were probably ten rows in front of us and then the tunnel heading into the locker rooms.

This section was much...more tame...than our regular student section. We had little elementary school boys behind us going crazy trying to catch the football after it went through the uprights, but that's about as crazy as it got.

Sitting in this section was a luxury in more ways than one. My favorite was that we actually got to SIT. And don't think we were sitting on aluminum benches either. We had theater style seating WITH cupholders. It was incredible. And to top it all off, we got little banners tucked in our cupholders. Kyler thought they were corny, but I thoroughly enjoyed mine.

Free Hoosier Banner

 About the time the second quarter began, the student section was at its max. I suppose the tailgating had ended by then, and everyone figured they might as well stumble walk across the street to see what all the tailgating was for.

Student Section: The Quarry

I'm sure they're glad they stopped by. The Hoosiers won. We beat some little school called Towson. I'm still not sure how to pronounce it or where it's located, but by-golly we won!

Showing off our special passes

We had so much fun that night. The weather couldn't have been any more perfect. The game couldn't have ended any more perfectly. Thanks Kyler and whoever emailed him for the awesome night!

Beatlemania

When you think of Conner Prairie, I am sure you have a pretty fond memory that goes something like this: a fourth grade field trip where you see the pioneer lifestyle reenacted by older people who will not break character regardless of what happens. Typically, the boys in the group do all they can to ask strange questions and do weird things to get the older women (I'll tell you who it was, it was that dang Sasquatch) to break out of character, while the girls stand in awe and listen intently to the fantasy-world of pioneer living.

Well, this was definitely not the case the other weekend when Zach, Emily, Kara, and I ventured to The Prairie. We caught Beatlemania and headed to see The Classical Mystery Tour, a Beatles cover band, take the stage and entertain us. Many thanks to Kara's aunt who hooked us up with four free tickets to the show, which was part of Marsh's Symphony on the Prairie series.

Emily and Zach - pre show

This was actually quite an event, and a lot more people attended than I expected would be there. In fact, the entire lawn was full of spectators, many of whom brought picnic tables filled with supper and dinner wines. It was definitely a different experience than any other concert I have ever been to, but for the better.

Paul, John, George and Ringo

For some pre-show entertainment, Zach and I walked around to some booths that were giving away free stuff in exchange for our e-mail addresses. After 5 sign-ups and 1 Chevy Malibu tour, we made out with T-shirts, pens, recipes, bags, food samples, and a chance to win something huge. Much to our surprise, Kara was announced as a winner of a floral arrangement at the beginning of the show.

Should Be Kara's Future Psychedelic Bridal Bouquet

We were sure that someone was going to win the $7,000 home entertainment system, but we are still waiting to hear back on that one...Oh well.

Another cool thing The Prairie had going on was hot air balloon rides for $20/person. We didn't go, but we watched several crews go up in the massive balloon that was apparently hooked up to a giant wench at the bottom.

BP Balloon (circa 1851) - Precursor to Goodyear Blimp

Overall, we all definitely had a great time, and I was content to sing along with The Beatles all night long. I would definitely do a repeat event at The Prairie, but I hope that we can get some legit pioneer women to sing some bluegrass on stage next time.

Fake Smile on Right (not a true indicator of overall experience)

Famous in a Small Town

Have you ever heard Miranda Lambert's song Famous in a Small Town? Everytime I hear it, I think of our small town. This past weekend, Kyler and I went home for a concert on Saturday night (more on that later). In the meantime though, our little town was having its annual Community Days on Friday and Saturday.

We spent much of Saturday morning at this year's events:

• 5K Run in the Son (Okay, only Kyler went)
• Annual Community Days Parade (Main feature of today's post)
• Lunch provided by our church

I have to say, I was very much surprised by this year's parade's lengthy display. It's no Thanksgiving Day parade by any means, but it lasted a good 20-25 minutes. Our high school principal even joked that if you show up 10 minutes late, you'd miss the whole thing. Just think, they doubled the length of the parade this year!

Without further ado, here are some pictures from our parade. (Sorry if you're a Not-Quite-Country-Girl follower. I was sitting about ten feet away from her where she also took pictures.)

High  School Marching Band

Wheelchair Soccer Team

Campaigners of every age. HI KELLI!

Little ones on our church's float

One of our princess candidates (Her mama is my childhood best friend)

A couple of men from church with a more "unique" display
(No worries, that is only a dummie on the trailer)

One of the many (5) classic cars

The one and only mini car

Tractor Parade

I must say that well over half of our parade involved a John Deere tractor or some type of emergency vehicle. What happened to baseball teams, horses, clowns, or kids on bicycles? Just wondering...

Donkey? Miniature Donkey?

I must let you in on a little secret of mine. I have a thing for farm animals. Mom and I have all but begged Dad for chickens. When I was 12, I tried to convince my family to get me a pig. I was going to keep it in my front yard of course. I've wanted horses to put in our neighbor's horse pasture, cows to put in my other neighbor's pasture. Needleess to say, I didn't get any farm animals, though I did get a puppy. But I tell you all of this so that you will be there to support Kyler when I get on my next animal kick...because I believe it will involve a donkey.

But back to the parade...oh wait, that was the end of the parade. Back to Community Days!

After the parade, our church served lunch to the community. I've gone to Community Days for YEARS, but I had never eaten at our church's lunch. Well, this year I guess I was old enough to fend for myself when it came to lunch. My family wasn't going home for a meal, so my sister Kelli and I split a plate. AND IT WAS DELICIOUS! I had no idea what I'd been missing out on! Kelli ate the chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I ate our dessert. We shared a room growing up. We've learned how to split things evenly...

This year the church dinner was a big hit. About an hour and a half after the parade was over, we ran out of food just as the line ended.

Community Days Lunch

I love Community Days so much, and I was so happy to be able to go to some of the events again this year. Although I would've loved to watch the mud bog or play some Friday night BINGO, I'm glad I was able to at least catch a snippet of all the activities this year.