It's the little things..

I apologize ahead of time for this post. It will be obnoxiously long.

Surprise within a surprise:

Last week, I made a visit to Hattiesburg to surprise my FYE family before Golden Eagle Welcome Week (#GEWW2011 - a trending topic on the Twitter. Nbd) and @AshleyCang for her birthday. I left Baton Rouge on Thursday afternoon, made a brief stop in Mandeville to meet fellow DC intern and Southern Miss [TTT] alum, @SamSchott for froyo, and departed straight for The Top. Or what others like to call Hattiesburg. The surprises were successful; tears were shed, hugs were embraced, love was all around. Beautiful moments. We enjoyed cookie cake and opened birthday gifts. All perfect.

It gets better - surprises continue! My friend @BPHaro was planning a visit to come into town. But since I was being so secretive about my surprise, everyone (@Maley and @PStafiej - pist. But thanks for hosting us. ) thought that it would be a good idea for us to be surprised by each other. That's exactly what happened. Brett was able to sneak down from Starkvegas (Expanding PKP at Mississippi State) for a brief Hattiesburg visit. I returned to the apartment later Friday pm and all of a sudden heard a perfect "Aye beb" as people came rushing in. And let's be honest, only Brett can produce a perfect "Aye beb". It was glorious. I was literally without words. We were able to catch up and have qt.

Life after surprises:

Because of my schedule, I was only able to stay in Hattiesburg for a short period, so I had to depart early Saturday morning. I spent Saturday hanging out with my 3 nieces and nephew. All characters. I have videos of them doing the "pledge of lesion" (Pledge of Allegiance) and saying "Solern Mints to the top" (SMTTT) to be posted later. Early Sunday morning, I had to hit the road once again for a day full of events at LSU.

I returned just in time for the council meeting for the ambassador team. That was followed by a CRAZY trip to Wal Mart - days after move in day in a college city, mind you. Silly Kyle. Then I went to the Chancellor's Welcome Sunday afternoon. Huge welcome week tradition here. The Golden Band from Tigerland played a few LSU chants and the fight song. I've got to get on the ball and learn this stuff immediately, especially for football season.

Sunday pm, I went to dinner with my cohort at Walk-On's, which is a restaurant right near my apartment. I was finally able to meet more people in the group and enjoy fellowship before classes.

Tonight was my very first class of graduate school. As some of you know, I have been a nervous wreck ALL DAY! The class is Foundations of Higher Education, which is a lot of history based stuff. I think it will be a great course; it's very conversation driven and everyone seems to have a lot to contribute. The teaching assistant also gave me a free copy of one of the books required for the class - just saving my life.

For dinner I met up with @GeneGo, former SGA President at Southern Miss, campus legend and ACTUAL beast. Gene just finished law school and actually got a masters a LSU a few years ago, so he is able to share his experience with me. Really... an actual beast. We went to Izzo's for delicious Mexican dining; also right near my apartment. (Every food establishment is "right near my apartment" - shit happens) I actually ran into a few ambassadors there - they are all precious.

Finally, a HUGE shout out to @WFitts, GEWW Exec, and @AshleyCang for a phenomenal GEWW experience. I have heard nothing but good news about the welcome week transition that the students of Southern Miss had. It's so good to see the work of passionate people be put into action. To the top and FYE love!

Pictures below. Finally. Poor quality, but pictures nonetheless.

Have an excellent week. And enjoy the little things in life.

(Picture of my desk. Still coming together. I need quote ideas to hang at the top of the shelf. Feel free to share. I also need the large sticky notes with the lines. Spoiled by @WFitts)

(A medal that GEWW Exec '11 gave me at the end of Preview in July. Added to my desk because they are champions. Clearly. They've been referenced multiple times - I'm just so proud)