525,600 minutes...How do you measure a year?

It has been approximately 365 days since my first post to this blog.

The year in Review: I...

graduated with a Masters Degree
cut my hair
got a job at Mizzou
quit a job at Mizzou
ate fried green tomatoes
made new friends
missed old friends
worked at the alpine shop
have been to boston
bought a hammock
maintain (mostly poorly) a blog
stopped watching Law and Order SVU because it gave me nightmares
experienced a hurricane
have seen Seattle
killed 14 roaches
binged on ramen noodles even though i could afford real food
watched Grey's Anatomy religiously
sang in the car so loud and long I lost my voice
watched Mizzou football win big
watched Mizzou football fall hard
still love Mizzou football
have been bowling 3 times
fell in love with walmart fruit smiles
own a pair of heels
paddled my kayak
threw up
got big kid insurance and a retirement plan
witnessed a race to the white house by a black man & a woman
filled countless conversations with movie quotes
saw a bayou
spent Turkey Day in OK where the wind comes rolling down the plains
sent an email
applied for 24 jobs in the Pacific Northwest
was rejected 24 times for jobs in the Pacific Northwest
talked to myself
sent a letter in the mail
have been called Miss Becca
saw the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 45 times
ate a meat pie
went to St. Louis in a snow storm to see Wicked and eat on the Hill
drove to Austin and back with my mom
met the president of Northwestern State University
have been the majority
bought an iPhone
sold an iPhone
bought an iPhone 3g
have been to Salt Lake City
cut my hair again
have driven a Uhaul 800 miles
sprained my ankle riding down a banister
wore the same outfit for 4 days straight
worked the sound board for a Division 1 University football game
rode my bike
dressed up
ate a mighty max super dog
have been the minority
made pumpkin pancakes
lost a cat (max)
saw Michael Phelps make olympic history
saw michael phelps bomb on saturday night live
have an office
have windows in my office
purchased an iMac
had 2 friends' houses broken into
talked on the phone
played Wii
bought a Wii
became a guitar hero
moved to Louisiana
went to church
wore the same 5 shirts every week for 2 months
have been to a wedding
heard of a divorce
rode in a prop plane
walked on a tarmac
slept in
had a roommate
lived by myself
saw a movie
have friends who are pregnant
have friends who have babies
have friends that are babies
watched Animal Cops
have been to Dallas
went to class
watched my brother on tv
got a job in Athletics Academic Advising
got a new cat (jonah)
watched the phillies win the world series
went to the beach in North Carolina
wrote a paper
have gotten up for work successfully
laughed
cried
got my 3rd tatoo
saw a lot of college baseball games
stalked you on facebook
moved friends out of houses
moved friends into houses
have driven through Arkansas 4 times
gained weight
celebrated Homecoming somewhere other than Mizzou :(
got flowers
said in an interview that I sold adult toys(i meant kayaks & bikes)
read a couple books
watched the Band of Brothers HBO series

i guess what i am trying to say, is that i've lived life. my life.

i did not find hope or friendship in arkansas.

alas, hurricane (or himmicane more appropriately) Gustav managed to leave Natchitoches with far less damage then anyone had predicted. By the grace of God, my house and cat were completely unscathed.

Out of desperation I left Annie in a make shift bunker for Gustav when I travelled north for the first time as an "evacuee" - although I wasn't really evacuating... I was planning on being in St. Louis anyway for Coop's wedding. However, because of Gustav all of my flights were cancelled. I was moved from flight to flight until I gave up. Luckily NSU cancelled classes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday that week and I had already requested Thursday and Friday off, so I packed up stella and began working on Annie's hurricane bunker. you should have seen it-i was pretty proud, think army fox hole meets childhood fort meets kitty playground...all in my bathroom.

The highlights of my trip to St. Louis:

-Getting to sleep in
-Attending Coop's very classy "bachelorette party" at D'Vine Wine & Cheese in Kirkwood (i use quotes because there was no paraphernalia or nakedness involved, thus comprimising it's status as a true bachelorette party)
-Attending Coop's pre-rehersal Luncheon at Mimi's cafe and enjoyed being surrounded by some of the most wonderful women ever(and the most wonderful and DELICIOUS muffins the size of your head ever)
-Coop's Wedding: I can't say enough about how beautiful Coop was, the ceremony was, how much fun the reception was. All in all, the events surrounding the Cooper/Wade wedding were an absolute blessing. It was wonderful to see old friends, meet new friends, and be there to witness such a blessed union that only God could have dreamed up.

alas, the end of my trip. Sunday morning bright and early, I re-packed stella full of clean laundry and the booty that I plundered at Trader Joes and my mom's pantry and headed south for the winter, much like a flock of seagulls, or wait, a flying V, or better yet a school of fish....you get the point.

When I hit arkansas, it hit me. I have great friends, i've been spoiled rotten, and my standards are far higher than most. While I like my job, and my boss (Jodie who is also my friend-duh), Natchitoches just isn't a bustling metropolis of talented, hysterically funny, beautiful, intelligent, caring, gifted, and witty, nurses, doctors, accountants, public affairs loving folks, advertising execs, student affairs professionals, etc... with great taste in music, you tube videos, food, culture, and wicked great dance moves.

all in all, I am not sure if it is where we came from, what we've learned, who we've met, where we've been, or what we've done, the folks in my life are pretty phenomenal. And in cities literally across the nation and even the planet, my friends are changing peoples lives, and giving me some hope in where the world may end up.