My First Month

Hello all!  I am writing this little update from the lovely town of Auburn, Alabama where I am currently sitting in my cousin's house.  Ashley and Michael, gracious as always, are allowing me to crash in their spare bedroom on my weekend off.  I am so glad to be here.  As always, it is so good to see my Auburn folks.  This has been one of the biggest advantages of moving to Georgia.  I love that I have gotten to see them all so much more than usual.

Tonight, as I drove into Auburn, I met Ashley, Michael, Evie, Shelley, and Chuck for dinner at Logan's Steakhouse in Opelika.  It was pretty good food, but Evie was, by far, the most entertaining portion of the evening.  Let me just say... That girl CRACKS ME UP!!!  (:  I'm looking forward to the rest of my weekend here.  Tomorrow we're all going to see Harry Potter.  This will be my second time to see it, but their first.  I'm thrilled to get to watch it with them!  I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!

I just realized a little earlier that I have finished my first month at my new job!!  Woah!!!  That month went by fast!  I am pleased to report that I am really enjoying my job!  That fact absolutely THRILLS me!  While I definitely didn't expect to dislike it or anything, it's always a plus when you actually look forward to going to work.  I just hope it stays that way.  This first month has been great!  I have learned so much already and I am anxious to keep learning.  The people I work with are fantastic!  I can't express how wonderful they are.  Their friendliness and helpfulness is so comforting, especially being the "out-of-towner".  I haven't been as homesick as I thought I'd be.  That's not to say I don't miss everyone, but I've handled everything much better than I expected myself to.  Another pleasant surprise... (:  

I did find out that I have officially been assigned to night shift so towards the end of my orientation I'll be working the lovely 7PM to 7AM shift.  YAY!!!  Yet ANOTHER pleasant surprise!!!  I guess it's been a pretty good month.  

Last weekend, I was able to go to Charlotte to visit my brother and sister-in-law there before they move back to good 'ole Arkansas.  I had a wonderful time.  After I got there on Friday we went to see Harry Potter (my first viewing), which was fantastic!  On Saturday, Treece and I went to a couple of neat little shops near their apartment and then met up with Noah to go IKEA.  This was my first time to set foot in an IKEA... 

OH WOW!!!  That store is AWESOME!!  I've already got plans for my next bit of news...

I finally found an apartment!  It's super tiny and it's a fairly good commute to work, but I think it'll be just right for me and I'm getting it for a bargain!!  YES!!!!!  I completely lucked out on this deal thanks to my new friend and coworker, Megan.  Thanks, Megan!!!  I'll probably be moving in during the begin/middle-ish of August. I can't wait to start decorating and really have my own place.  IKEA... Here I come!!

Other than that, I don't have anything really exciting to write about at the moment.  I'm just trying to keep myself occupied, focus on my work, and figure out my way around town  I'm going to be making a trip to Arkansas in early August.  I ended up with about 6 days off, so it'll be a good little visit home.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!!!  Until then... I love you all!!!

My Orientation Information

I have one thing to say...

They are definitely NOT kidding about this orientation business.

My Fourth of July

Hello!  Hello!  I hope the end of the long weekend finds you all well-rested, refreshed, and ready to face the rest of the week!  I know I had a wonderful holiday weekend.  My sister-in-law Treece drove to Macon Thursday evening to spend some time with me there.  We spent Friday driving around Macon and discovering some of its charm.  We found an awesome little down-home restaurant called Twila Faye's (doesn't get much more southern than that) where the owner already knows our names (which, of course, I love).  We had lunch there on Friday and decided we had to go back again for lunch on Saturday before we headed to Auburn.  Needless to say, we are officially fans of Twila Faye's.  

After lunch on Saturday, we headed to Auburn where we had an amazing time at the beautiful Lake Martin!

Lake Martin reminds me of Lake Ouachita back home.  It is gorgeous and perfect!  The water is great for swimming and even better for some great boat rides.  I think I could probably live on a boat if necessary.  

I loved spending time with my Auburn family and their Atlanta relatives and getting to meet new people.  I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend my 5-day weekend... especially since I don't foresee another long weekend like that for awhile.  I kind of lucked into it really.

Treece and I drove back to Macon yesterday afternoon in time to catch the fireworks here.  That, however, was kind of a bust.  As much as I'm enjoying Macon, the whole fireworks set-up here needs some work.  It was confusing, inconvenient, and flustering... and getting my car temporarily stuck in a ditch (oops!) did little to help the situation.  We made it out, though, relatively unscathed and it made for an interesting night, so I suppose it was worth it... a little.

Treece left Macon around noon to head back to Charlotte and I'm now sitting here in Starbucks (of course).  I go back to work at 6:45 tomorrow morning for my first 12-hour shift.  I'm a little nervous about it, so pray it goes well, if you please.  I do get a break from my shift to take a test (yay...) for which, I should definitely be studying...

That about wraps it all up, I suppose.  I miss and love you all.  I hope you are all as well as can be.  I'll write again soon.  For now, I've got to go study.  Bye!!