Happy 2006!

I am back in Kentucky now. On the drive back it felt like I had been gone a long time, but right as I was turning into our parking lot it felt like I had never left, if that makes any sense. The last couple of days at home were good. I saw another good movie, "The Producers." Oh how I love musicals. I celebrated Christmas at my grandma's house in Bluffton on New Year's Eve day. It is a strange feeling to be in Bluffton not as a college student. New Year's Eve was fun, spent at a party with my good friends Kim and Jenni. There were many people at this party who were also at the one I attended three years ago ...let's just say I will never live that one down. This year was quite different. Looking back, 2005 was a great year filled with sad endings and new beginnings. My last semester of college, a fabulous trip to Europe, graduation festivities, a vacation to the Smokey Mountains with the fam, lots of free Starbucks, my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary, and of course my move to Louisville which has so far turned out to be a great decision for me. I look forward to what 2006 has to bring. Which brings me to....

I finished my grad school applications tonight! All two of them. I basically did everything in two evenings. I had been looking into the MSW program (master of social work) at the University of Louisville, but I had not actually started any of the application materials. And after talking to my parents over break I decided to apply to the same program at The Ohio State University (go Bucks!) So yesterday at work I looked at their website for the first time and less than 48 hours later I have everything done. I think that is pretty impressive. Everything will be in the mail tomorrow. In case you are wondering, the GRE was not required for either of these programs unless your GPA is less than a 3.0. Hooray for social work. I knew I wanted to go back to school after this year, and I am glad that I have found something that seems to be a good fit. Right now I think I will most likely stay here in Louisville, but it is nice to have another option (and of course my parents like the idea of me being home). I am a little scared of the thought of making no money this year, then going straight to school where I pay thousands of dollars and make no money. Hmmm...it will all work out in the end I'm sure.

I think I mentioned awhile ago that my housemates and I decided to do the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Well after a two month waiting period after our interviews (it's a lengthy process apparently) I had my "match meeting" today and met my little sister! Andrea and my "littles" are sisters, so we met them together, along with their parents. Andrea's little sister is 9, and mine is 7 (her name is Kristian for future reference). Their family has been through quite a lot. They are Hurricane Katrina victims, the mom is a disabled veteran (she was in Iraq), and the parents are divorced. The girls are sweet and I am sure we will have lots of fun with them. We plan on hanging out with them a couple times a month at least. Our first outing will be this Saturday. Andrea and I are taking them to a children's art exhibit at a local museum. They both love art, so it should be a good time.

Okay this is going to make this entry very long but I have to go off about this! I mentioned in a previous entry that a local paper was going to run a story about our program. It kept getting delayed and I was looking forward to it. I thought it would be an article I would want to show to my family and friends. Well it finally came out today and let's just say it is an article I hope no one reads! The reporter who wrote the story was an intern our age and she hung out with us a few times. Basically, she took a lot of things out of context and exaggerated many things. She was a cool girl and it was easy to forget she was a reporter and not a friend hanging out with us. I am actually pretty upset about this article. Since she went to work with me a couple of times, I am discussed most often. There are a lot of quotes from me that I do not remember saying. And it really does not make me or the place I work sound good at all. I hope none of my coworkers read it, but I am sure someone will. According to the article my job makes me want to cry and I have no control over the children. It happens that the one day I did cry at work because of losing control of the kids in the computer lab, the reporter came over to "hang out." This was after we had met her a few times and the "interviews" were over. She came right when I got home from work and was still a little upset, and I told the story to her and my housemates. And then she details it in this article and makes it sound like that is what happens every day!! She referred to me as "a timid 22-year-old who's only learning how to manage discipline and make people listen." Apparently I am better at dancing with the kids to rap music and "shaking that laffy taffy." And would any of you reading this call me timid?? She also wrote that I do not always love what I am doing, but actually I do! What I actually said is my job can be difficult at times, but I really enjoy it. I also love how little off-hand comments we made went into the article. According to this, we spend most of our time watching "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and we are lacking in culinary talents (which is far from the truth). Oh man, I am really worried about my coworkers reading this and their reactions. I guess I will find out tomorrow. And I didn't even mention the hideous picture of me reading "Curious George" to Juma! AAAAAHHHHH! This article really makes me mad! I wish you could all read it so you would understand, but yet again, I do not want anyone to read it! Including my parents since she had to include the comment I made to her in casual conversation about how my dad is not happy about my decision to enter the social work field since I will not make any money. Moral of this story: Do not make friends with people writing stories about you!