1. My fish died on Tuesday morning. Now, I know this is not a big deal at all, but it just added on to the great week I was already having. I had had Julius Caesar since February, because of Ice Formal. Most of the people who got fish from Ice Formal said theirs died rather quickly, so I was quite proud of Julius for still being alive. He had made it all of Spring Break without being fed (I'm a terrible owner, I know), and a few trips back and forth from Kennesaw to Columbus. This semester, because I'm an RA living in a super suite, he was my roommate, so to speak. I have a daily routine in the mornings which included feeding him, so I got very used to him being around. I trained him how to tell me when he was hungry, so I feel like we bonded and he kinda liked me as an owner. Although he was a fish, it wasn't a good thing to find him dead Tuesday morning.
2. I scratched my throat or something at the Yellowcard concert. On Tuesday night, Jessie, Danielle, and I went to the Masquerade in Atlanta to see Yellowcard. I had been looking forward to this since I became a huge fan of them last semester. I caught a guitar pick! This night was definitely a super-high to the week (and it kept me sane during the mess). Wednesday morning when I woke up, I could tell that something was wrong with my throat, more than just me losing my voice due to the concert. My throat has been hurting like crazy since Wednesday morning, and it sucks.
3. My glasses broke (well, I broke them) on Wednesday night. Sunday afternoons, I play volleyball from 3-5 with whoever shows up to play. I was up at the net, and the hardest hitter on the court was on the other team. The guy on my team tried to set it to me, but set it a little far, and it went over the net. The hard hitter saw this opportunity for a great kill, jumped up, and hit the ball as hard as he could...into my face. My glasses flew off and got all kinds of bent. I had been trying to bend them back into place so much that on Wednesday, the metal finally broke. I have been without glasses since then. It's kinda funny now, living life without glasses. People comment on how different I look, they ask if I can see, and make jokes about me not being able to see. I am adjusting nicely without glasses, but I would love to get a new pair soon.
So those things are some of the things that just absolutely killed my week. If you saw me at all and I was anything less than nice, I am so sorry.
Now for the Mountaintop! Friday gets here, and I am so excited for Fourks staff bonding. A few hours at Red Top Mountain with my staff sounded perfect to me. I just had to get through in-service and I was good to go. It was just a speed bump to a good evening, something that I overlooked. It was something I had to go to, and I wasn't expecting to get much out of it.
I was completely blown away by the amazing afternoon that James had planned for in-service. It started off with a talk from Jeff, and then a guest speaker, Zach! He was an RD in the suites last year, and a supervisor to the UVS Council, of which I was Vice-President then President of my freshman year, so I knew him well. After he spoke, a few RA's talked about what motivated them. It was nice to hear about what kept other people going when life/the job/whatever got them down. After that, James had arranged for each RA to have a paper cut-out t-shirt. We were to write our names on the shirts, then go around and write really awesome things on other people's shirts, starting with our own staff. Reading all the nice things people said about me really surprised me and gave me the pick-me-up that I so desperately needed. I was instantly overcome with happiness, joy, and all kinds of other good things that my valley of a week seemed to not matter anymore. I didn't know I had the affect on people that I apparently have, and finding that out meant so much to me. I have been affected by my staff and others, and I had hoped I was having a similar affect on them. I can't wait to hang my t-shirt up to serve as a constant reminder to the way my actions affect others.
Staff Bonding. I had been looking forward to it since I got the email about what we were doing. An evening at Red Top Mountain. Perfect. As soon as we all got in the van, I knew it was going to be great. My great mood from in-service had definitely carried over, and I was ready for a great evening. We got to the campsite, and Krystal had to check in at the visitor's center. We all decided to go hide from her, so we got out of the van and ran to some trees to hide. It seems childish, but we were having fun. We got to the place we reserved, and it was blocked off, so we had to wait for a camp ranger to let us in. While we were waiting, we took a few staff pictures around the Red Top Mountain sign, and I took a few great pictures of the scenery of the mountain and lake. We got to the site and started setting up things for dinner and the activities we would be doing. I ran down the hill to the lake to look for a fire pit, but didn't find one. I did, however, get another great picture (I just wish I had a better camera phone). We bonded over dinner, the activity before dinner, and the conversation after dinner. It was just the thing that I think we needed as a staff, and that I needed as an individual. Such a perfect evening. I definitely ended my week in the valley on a mountaintop (literally and figuratively!).
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| A few members of my great staff! |
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| The great picture I took down by the lake on my phone |
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