Spring Break...yeah I still get one at 26

Houston and Nashville here I come!
So I am leaving today for "Spring Break" although it's definitely not the wild and crazy kind that most kids are having. I will be heading out to Houston to meet the boyfriend's family...eek. Needless to say, I'm a bit nervous but it should be fun. Gonna go shopping at the Galleria and eat at lots of good places. Can't wait! Then it's onto Nashville. Ray and I will be staying with Elizabeth, my old college roommate, and her husband out in Murfreesboro. We will be looking for jobs and places to live, etc. Not exactly a "fun" trip since there will be much to do, but I am so looking forward to getting out of Auburn! No, I won't be spending my week at the beach, but I'm not gonna complain at all about getting to travel. Anyway, that's about it for now. Time to finish packing!!

ohhhh heck no!

I'm sure many of you have already seen this on the news, but let me just emphasize the sheer amount of fear I have in regards to this unbelievably ridiculous idea: the glass floored bridge spanning the width of the Grand Canyon. Has anyone ever been on one of those rope courses for team building and you are required to slither across two ropes attached to trees face down from one platform to the other? Yeah, this is like that on crack. There is no way that anyone could ever get me to try that bridge. Can you imagine staring down at the Colorado River from 4000 feet above? Yeah right. Thats just crazy.

Awesome concert...

So tonight I went to Atlanta with Ray, Mom and Dad to see Josh Groban at Philips Arena and it was excellent I have to say. The set was really impressive with graphics that were stunning to look at. Not only that, but he had one of the best violinists playing with him who broke it down with a Led Zeppelin song. He was surrounded by awesome musicians and of course, it was amazing to sit there and listen to his voice. I could probably listen to him all day and never tire of it. He finally brought out the choir to sing with him during "Raise me up", which brought down the house. Anyway, if any of you get a chance to see him in concert...do it. You'll be glad that were able to witness an amazing musician (yes, he plays the piano AND drums!).

Results are in...

So I got my test results back, and let's just say I am HAPPY!!! I only failed about 1.5 out of 10...which is awesome! I will retake those on April 10 and then will be good to go on graduation. Looks like all the studying paid off!

My Celebrity Look-alikes

http://www.myheritage.com

And here we go...

TESTS THIS WEEK! (please please please pray!) Hope I know everything I'm supposed to!

Way out of control

Most girls know what I'm talking about...yes, that would be my emotions that are way out of control. Obviously, the stress that I am under and have been feeling for the past 2 months is starting to get to me. I have cried more this past week than in a long time. Not fun. I have never worked so hard for anything in my life, yet I feel like I am going blind into these tests and that I don't know anything. Academics have always been easy to me, and I sailed through highschool and undergrad. Hardly lifted a finger. Not so here. It seems like everything I am reading/studying is going in my brain for a millisecond and then leaving. I can't recall much of anything at this point. I will be sooo glad when this is all over!
To add onto this stress, I realized this past week that I will never step foot in the house that I grew up in again. My parents have been building a new house for a while now, and I knew that the time would come that it would be time to leave, but it came faster than I was expecting. I have no time to go home now due to all the studying and it being crunch time (6 1/2 days!). My parents move on Friday and I will never see the inside of the house that I love so much again. I know its just a material object, but there are thousands upon thousands of memories that I have made there. So I've cried about that part too this week.
And yet one more thing---the job hunt. After working so hard for this degree, I am finding it hard to locate a job that will be worth all the hard work and studying. I don't want to keep working in these small jobs that I have been doing for the past several years. Yes, I can always teach...but I HAVE to get away from that for a little while. So no surprise...the tears have come over that.
Just a few more days of this stress and it will all be over. I will either be graduating in May OR I will be coming back in the fall to retake my tests and go through this all over again. Let's hope for the first option.

Dead or alive??!?!??

I hate having to wait a whole week to see if Meredith Grey actually dies. And I really hate that a TV show has this much effect on me. But I can't help it...I'm obsessed.

Only 23 days left...

....of studying! I have been reading and studying so much spanish literature that it is now haunting my sleep. I have names, definitions, etc. running through my head at all times. Not so much fun. Again, please please please keep me in your prayers and pray that I pass these exams or there will be no graduating for me this May. Not the end of the world, but I sure wouldn't want to come back for a week next fall just to take these exams all over again. To top it all off, I have been sick with a stomach virus almost all week. Apparently there is all kinds of nastiness going around and I hope this is all I will have to suffer through. Another little piece of information...after looking around at many different places to move, I am about 95% sure that I will be moving back to Nashville once the semester ends. Ray will be changing programs and will be starting at MTSU in the fall and hopefully I will find a job. Anyway, I am excited to be heading back to Nashvegas once this all ends. Sorry for the boring post...just procrastinating a little before my next study group starts. Hope everyone is well.

Spanish Literature....ugh.

So I have now entered into the final semester of grad school. Some might think that I am in the home stretch, and I am, but it's the absolute WORST semester of grad school. In about 6 1/2 weeks, I will have to complete a series of 10 comprehensive exams over everything ever written in Spanish (novels, poetry, plays, etc.) In order to graduate, I MUST pass these exams. Talk about some stress. Anyway, I will probably be out of the loop for the next 2 months and now you know why. I will be checking in with all of you on your blogs, but will probably not be posting my own. There just isn't enough time in the day. Keep me in your prayers...not only that I pass the exams, but that I maintain my sanity while I am spending my days cramming.

So at the request of Ashley, I have decided to dedicate a blog toward the new relationship in my life. Those of you that are in Montgomery have probably seen Ray once at church, but will hopefully be seeing him more in the future. Just some basics--he is from Houston, is in the PhD. history program here at Auburn, and lives with one of the guys in my own program (which is how we met). He has been in the military before (long time ago), is a pilot, and wants to work for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Geez, I feel like I am writing an ad for a dating service. I don't really know what else to say without coming across as a total sap, but he makes me laugh alot, treats me really well (he sent me flowers the other day! ;-) and he gets along with all of my friends and family. We are both going to start coming to Vaughn Park some more since I haven't found a church that I like here in Auburn. So anyway, I know it's not that interesting, but I really had nothing else to write on at the moment so I took Ash's advice. Pictures will be coming later...after Christmas probably.

Ahhhh...no more papers!

So I am FINALLY through with all of my papers for this semester, and I have to say it feels GOOD! Only one final to go...then I'm in my last semester of grad school. WOOHOO! Thought it would never get here. Other than that, there is not much going on around here. Am looking forward to seeing some movies once I get done with all this work. Am really wanting to see "Holiday" with Cameron Diaz, Jack Black, Kate Winslet and Jude Law. Looks really cute. And I have heard that "Bobby" is really good, although sad. Will probably be spending most of my time before Christmas here in Auburn relaxing and starting to study for my comprehensive exams that I will have next semester. Will be coming to Montgomery around the 23rd to go to "Beauty and the Beast" at the Shakespeare festival, which I heard is awesome...so I'm excited about that. Ray will be spending Christmas with my family, so he will get to witness the craziness that is the Entrekin family. Games and movies galore for 4 days or so. For any of you that will be attending "Last Hour" down at the beach, I am looking forward to seeing some of you down there. I will be singing on the praise team with Mitch, but I do have to say that I feel like I will not know too many people there. It's been so long since I have been around any Montgomery people for any significant amount of time. Hopefully it will be a good time to catch up with some of you. On another note, I am getting closer and closer to being another year older...26. Never thought I would still be in school at this age, but I guess the longer I can put off becoming a "real adult" the better. If any of you read Ashley Mills' blog, be sure to read the one titled "Happy Birthmas." She has put into words what I have felt for the longest time. I totally feel your pain Ashley! :) Anyway, that's about it for now. Gonna go home and take a looong nap. It is very needed at this point.

Thanksgiving

Sorry I haven't had anything to say in quite a while. Still don't have anything exciting going on. Am working on a paper over Thanksgiving break, so my life is full of fun right now. Hope everyone has a good holiday and stays safe!

So tired....want to sleep....the point of writing 20 page papers?....oh wait, there is no point.

So I'm gonna take a minute to make a very brief but public announcement--I am finally dating someone after 5 years. Crazy right? Anyway, it's very new, but he makes me happy and so far, everyone that has met him absolutely loves him. Please keep this in your prayers and we'll see what happens!

WAR EAGLE!!!

How about my Auburn Tigers???

Everybody tune into Bravo tonight to see the series finale for PROJECT RUNWAY!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Michael!

Job Search

So I know I'm a little early in posting this, but I guess the earlier I get my name out there, the better. Just thought I would let everyone know that after May I will be getting back into the working world and am looking for a job translating in a hospital. If anyone has any contacts, please keep my name in mind for something like that. I am currently trying to narrow down where I am going to look, but for right now my preferences are Birmingham, Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, and maybe Austin. Who knows what will happen, but if anyone hears about anything, let me know! :)

Oh politics...how I loathe thee

I'm sure this post will not interest many people, but it's mainly a way for me to express what all is going on in my head. For the majority of my life, I have had no interest whatsoever in politics. I am very apathetic to it all. I have had a lot of trouble putting enough faith in a politician to lend my support to them, considering that they all have an agenda (a lot of times, a selfish one) and many of them lie to get ahead. Being a person that is aware of world issues (albeit those mainly concerning Spanish-speaking countries) I will admit to losing a lot of respect toward President Bush. I still maintain the mandatory respect that is required towards someone that is in office and making decisions for our country, but my support for him has dwindled since the recent events concerning immigration issues. How can someone in a position such as his, with these unbelievable amounts of resources at his fingertips, completely disregard those that have so much less than we in the United States do? Anyway, getting off of that soapbox, most of you have probably heard of the controversy this week concerning Hugo Chavez, the current dictator of Venezuela. At a general assembly meeting of the UN, Chavez accused Bush of basically being the devil incarnate. While there are several decisions Bush has made that I don't agree with and am somewhat ashamed of, it is interesting to hear what other people around the world have to say about our current political situation. My main problem with what Chavez said has nothing to do with Bush. In fact, I respect the way that Bush's advisors gave a response, saying that although it is all well and good to insulte our government in a forum like that, Chavez doesn't allow his own people to make those same critiques toward him or the government he runs. Throughout this whole situation, I keep thinking about the awesome ability we all have to have our own opinions and state them in the presence of whoever. We are allowed to worship our God without someone coming to knock on our door and take us away. We are allowed to criticize whatever decision that is made without any consequences. I am so thankful to be in a country like ours, although I can see that our country is in for a rude awakening the further and further away we go from being a light in the world (i.e. helping others out, showing compassion, being like Jesus). I thank God for the blessing He gave me to born here, and I pray constantly that our leaders will learn to be more like Him each and every day.

Anger management problem

So today during my classes, I made my students divide into groups to work on some stories that they had to come up with. Each group had a certain person to write about, i.e. Paris Hilton, George Bush, the Pope, etc. and tell what they did this past weekend. I knew it was gonna be interesting, but had no idea what they were gonna come up with for MY weekend. It's always fun to include myself as someone they would write about. Anyway, apparently they must think I have some type of anger management problem, which is just baffling since I haven't gotten mad once. In fact, I tend to laugh a lot during class. Let me just convey the story that they made up about my weekend--So I was working at Niffer's Friday night (true), and some guy that was there got really drunk and I got mad at him (also probably true). He then proceeded to hurl a beer bottle at me (not so true, but would be entertaining). After leaving work I went to the gas station where I saw the guy that had thrown the glass object at my head. (Here is where the fun part comes in) I proceeded to douse the guy with gasoline straight from the pump and then set him on fire. What??!? I knew my students had active imaginations, but this just takes the cake.