Anderson University 4x400

Richard was videoing, and he zoomed in and out a bit too much.

First Day to be 20

This video cracked me up. I'm sure cricket would love one of these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PcL6-mjRNk&feature=fvw

Practice yesterday was hard, and I had 3 very boring classes. Birthdays are not supposed to be that way. I guess it's because I turned 20, so life is telling me that it's time to grow up... no more fun. jk I went to dinner with Luke at Longhorn. His steak was too burnt on the outside, and mine was mostly fat. I hat eating fat... the texture grosses me out. The mashed potatoes were good. When we got back to the room Julia, Leah, Rachel, Latrice, Andrew, Andy, Josh, and Paris were waiting to share my cake that Julia and Leah made. It was a red velvet. I just now realized that I didn't make a wish when I blew out my candles. Oh well.
I really wanted a pink lemonade icebox pie, but Luke and I didn't have time to make it yesterday.
I got a pair of earrings from Luke because I lost my last pair that I really liked. I got a tshirt from Julia and Leah that has a hand making a peace sign and it says Invisible Children at the the top. The Cadbury Easter bunny left an egg on my bathroom counter. Andy got me a ticket to go see Never Shout Never, and some other bands that I have to check out to see if I like them. From my family I got a dress, a skirt, and a shirt. They are cute, and I had been eyeing that skirt for a while when we'd pass by it in the store. They also gave me a book titled "Clues for Real Life: The Classic Wit & Wisdom of Nancy Drew". I used to love reading Nancy Drew books when I was younger. I am considering trying to get all of the books in the original series. I think there are 36 books, and I want to get the hardback cover. I'm sure I can find plenty of them on Amazon. I want them to read to my children... unless I have boys, then I'll need the Hardy Boys books. I loved the Hardy Boys too. I am excited to read my new book.
Danni, the difference in the seeing eye dogs (there is a girl in my dorm that has one, German Shepard) and the crisis dogs is that the first is a service dog and the other is a working dog. With service dogs you aren't allowed to pet them while they are on the job. They don't need to be distracted... the girl in our dorm said to not make eye contact of talk to her dog if the harness is on. The harness lets the dog know she is at work. If she got distracted at the wrong time she could walk her owner right in front of a car. Working dogs are meant to be pet because it can be therapeutic for people.
Today I only have one class. I need to do some homework and clean my room.

Last Day to be 19

Today has been a good day. I'm leaving 19 with a bright and shiny aura. Because of the recent tragic events on campus there are counselors in almost every building for people to talk to. There are also crisis dogs walking around... with their owners of course. They came to our dorm at 7 for people to come and pet. There was a great dane, beagle, some pug looking thing with long hair, golden retriever, and a mini long haired dachshund. I was thinking of taking a 15 min nap before I started my homework, but as Luke was leaving to go to his lab he called me to say they were here. I jumped right up, threw on my converse, and shuffled down the hall. I met Andy there, and we stayed the entire hour. I pet the dachshund and the great dane most the time. I would love to have a great dane... they are huge!!!!! He sat with his butt on the couch and his front legs on the ground. I was sitting on the floor and when he stood up he towered over me. His owner was pretty funny. We talked a lot about her dogs and my dogs. She has 10 dogs!!!!!!!!!!! 7 of them are rescues. The dachshund was so cute. She stared at you like Cricket and licked you like Holly. I miss all 3 of our spoiled lumps.
Last night we went to the last basketball home game of the season. We won 74-56. It was a good way to finish up at home.
Monday morning in the dorms Chick-fil-a was giving free chicken biscuits to everyone that passed. It was delicious.
Monday's workout was 5 300s. It was tough, but I think I did really well.
We are going to Anderson Indiana this weekend to compete at one more indoor track. I am personally ready for indoor to be over, but I guess it has to be dragged on for one more week.
I had a dream the other night that I cut my hair short again and I was happy about it until I thought about my long hair. I won't be cutting my hair short for a really long time. I might cut it really short and donate it to Locks of Love someday, but today is not that day.
I am ready to go to sleep, so in the morning I will be 20!

Yesterday was Love Your Pet Day

This meet seemed to be a pretty good one for most the team that went. I'm proud of Luke for easily matching his PR on his first attempt. I know he isn't happy with it, but there is so much promise for outdoor. Sadly his pants disappeared this weekend. He took them off to jump, went to pick them up right after, but they were gone. He thinks someone mistook them for their pants because a lot of teams were wearing the same pants as us. He was still unhappy about it. I gave him mine because they are too big anyway. Isn't that funny... we were wearing the same size pants. The 4x400m went well. We qualified with a 3:55.59. I ran a 58.48 split. That was an indoor pr. I've barely (if ever) broken 60 indoor. My outdoor open 400 PR is 58.54. Here is the video.

I know there is no way we will make the cut, but at least we made the national list! Our time dropped about 4 seconds from last week. If Leah had ran her race, we would have had a chance, but it's okay. I am officially a national qualifier (as is Luke). I'm hoping outdoor will go well.
I have found that visualizing my race before had is NOT a good thing for me. Every time I do it, I don't run well, or the race I want to run. Every time I have not even thought about the race while I'm warming up I PR. Leah is a headcase (not as bad as Megan Frausto) and she has to talk her race out before hand a million times. It drives me crazy. I have heard it a million times. I don't need to tell myself what to do because my body will do what is knows to do. I don't need to think until the last 200 of it. I know visualization works for a lot of people, but for me.... I hate it.
I got a birthday card from Granny and Papa. It was cute. Thank you Granny and Papa! I love you so much!
Danni, I did see the couple's figure skating. We watched it at Julia's house and everyone got really into it. It was a good time. I don't remember which couple it was, but it looked so good that after it we all started clapping. When Luke and I watched Shaun White (AKA The Flying Tomato) we were amazed.
Staying in a hotel made it difficult to not watch tv. As soon as we walked in the room someone turned on the tv so I had to lay in bed facing the wall. At breakfast the tv was on and they were talking about the Olympics. I had to position myself so I couldn't see the tv.
Thursday when Luke and Passen were working on the runway, so I made them lunch. When I went to find them I walked inside Spragins with Leah. I went to the back of the building and saw that the door was cracked open. When I got closer I knew that they were out there because I could smell them... well... not them, but the wood they were using. I love that smell. I sat for a while and waited for Leah to finish with the trainer and to make sure they ate something. I was taking in the smell and realized that it reminds me of my dad. When he builds stuff he always smells like that. The smell of freshly cut wood. Especially when I was younger and it seemed like he was always working on some new project.
I am so cold right now. Our air was at 62 degrees when I woke up this morning. I had to change it.
I'm considering going back to sleep for a bit. The past 2 days were very tiring. I couldn't sleep all the way home from VT. I might get in another hour.

Shaun White is my Hero

I officially decided that for Lent I am going to do 3 things. The first is read from my devotional book every day. The second is to give up television. I will walk in there and if the tv is on I'll just sit and waste an hour. I used to never watch tv, but now that it is always on in our room I just get sucked into it. The last thing I watched was Shaun white win gold in the snow board half pipe. It was a thing of beauty. It's no wonder that he is the king of snow boarding. The third thing I'm going to do is perform at least one selfless act or anonymous good deed everyday. I'm not telling anyone else about it because that would ruin my anonymous good deeds. I won't be seeing any of you, so it doesn't matter.
I accidentally charged my phone over night a few nights ago. I was very disappointed. I hadn't left on the charger overnight since I first decided to stop doing that. I just put it on the charger while I'm sitting in my room in the morning or evening, and I'm good to go. I was pretty unhappy to wake up and find my phone on the charger. It is wasted energy that increases my carbon foot print.
I had my first Cadbury egg of the year yesterday. It was wonderful. I came in my room after practice and there was a box on my computer with a note. I figured who it was by the hand writing. It was my friend Josh who knows that I am obsessed with the chocolate/caramel wonders. Then later when I walked by the mailbox I looked inside and there was a note for me. It was 2 post-it notes teepeed over a delicious golden egg and said "Alex, Easter is coming and we are watching you... -The Cadbury Easter Bunnies" It was Leah's handwriting. I went and told Julia and Leah about my note and they acted surprised.... too bad Julia is a terrible liar. It was funny. I was really excited about it.
Don't forget to vote on my poll.
This morning I'm going to Walmart to get groceries for the track meet. Luke is building the pv runway. He is excited about all this coming together so quickly.

Ash Wednesday

Sorry for not posting in so long. My cork board fell off my desk and yanked my internet cord out of the wall. I plugged it back in, but it didn't want to work. So now I'm using my extra long internet cord that coils at my feet.
To describe the track meet Friday in one word... Long. We left at 7 in the morning in 3 vans. A mad dash was made for CT's van because the other 2 were driven by Coach Cain and Mater. Coach Cain is the worst driver in the world and is socially awkward. We, on the track team, don't really like Mater, a graduated assistant for the CC team. The CC kids creamed into his van. We foreshadowed this when we found out who was driving, so we knew to get there early. The people that came too late were disappointed.
The drive was long and when we finally got there at 3:30 we had to wait till 5 for the meet to start. Watching pole vault and the races was fun as usual, but I just don't understand what kind of person would schedule a meet to start at 5pm! The schedule said the 4x400 would be at 11:30 which is ridiculous. This is indoor! Indoor meets always get behind. We didn't run the 4x400 until 12:30 am!!! Then when we left it took us a while to find food because everything was closed by then. Some went to TacoBell, but we just ran, and that sounded disgusting. Some went to a gas station, but we wanted real food. We looked for a Walmart, but couldn't find one. Eventually we stumbled upon a Waffle House. It wasn't the chain Waffle House. It was a restaurant that had the paper place mats with "mountain talk" terms on it. The food was really good, but I could have just been really hungry.
Not only was it a long day, but the shooting at our school made a few people stress. We were sitting in the stands when CT got a text. She said out loud, "There was a shooting at UAH" and everyone was like What?! It took us forever to get the details. Some kids were worried that it might be their favorite teachers, and when we finally found out who some people were devastated because they were really close to someone that died. It is strange to see it on the tv every time the news comes on. Its like when Virginia Tech happened, but this time its actually us. Someone was talking about the fact that every time Columbine or Virginia Tech are mentioned the first thing people think of is the shooting that happened there. Now people will hear of UAH and think, "Oh, that's where that teacher with a history of violence went nuts and shot up the biology department." What a way to be thought of. People say the incoming freshman class will be really small next year, but it was already going to go down if freshman that live nearby and all sophomores are forced to live on campus. Everyone is opposed to the rule, but because they went and built a really big dorm they have to pay for it somehow.
While warming up for the 4x400 Rebecca avoided us completely. She made a point to stay away from us in the warm up area... which isn't very big. CT handed her the baton and she put it in her bag and kept it until right before the race. She was reluctant to pray with us before. I can't believe she is still acting the way she is. We thought she was improving, but after Leah beat her last week, it has been even worse. Rebecca didn't do that great this weekend either, and if Leah hadn't tripped on another girls foot and fallen so hard, she would have had the school record that Rebecca wanted to get this indoor season. Here is the 4x400 video.


Today is Ash Wednesday and I am still making last second decisions for Lent. Julia is drinking nothing but water. I thought about doing something like that, but I would rather start doing something good this time. I did think about giving up picking... fingers, lips, scabs. It would be really difficult because half the time I'm not even aware I do it, but it worth a shot.
I had a dream a few nights ago that I tried out for a musical. I sang Don't Rain On My Parade and Sanctuary. Unfortunately I my alarm woke me up before I found out if I made it or not. I wish I could be in a musical. I have always wanted to. I can't wait for Glee to start back up in April.
We have practice at the track today... it is going to be 35 degrees and very windy at 12 pm. I'm not excited. This is going to be miserable.

Umbrella Day

So the rain didn't last long yesterday morning. We had practice at the track and it was freezing. It was windy, cloudy, cold, and miserable. Today it says its supposed to snow until about 10 and then be sunny the rest of the day. Looking out the window... I see no snow. We will probably go to the track and have another miserably cold practice because today the wind is supposed to intense. I hate the wind. I wouldn't have a problem with the cold if it wasn't for the wind. It makes everything ten times worse.
Yesterday I received my Valentine/Birthday package from my family. It had a big Reese's heart which Luke and I enjoyed, a pack of red glittery cardboard sticker letters, a pair of earrings, two hand monster puppet wash cloths (one for me and one for Luke) that are just too funny, and a Cake for Two baking kit. The kit has vanilla cake mix, frosting mix, sprinkles, and 2 heart shaped cake pans. I'm excited for Luke and I to make them. Maybe we will do it Sunday... it is Valentine's Day after all.
Yesterday after my physics lab I went to Walmart for a few grocery items. While I was walking down the isles something caught my eye... SpagettiOs. I haven't had them in a really long time and they sounded really good, so I bought them. I got the original kind because the kind with the meatballs stinks really bad. It was delicious. Just as good as I remember them. I felt bad later because I didn't get Luke a can, but he had some really good pizza that I got with a coupon. Tuesday is our find food elsewhere night because we have class and then labs that don't end until the caf is already closed. We found out that Tuesday is college night at Chickfila. Something like buy one get one free chicken sandwich or something like that. Because it closes so early I would have to go get our sandwiches and bring them back for when he finishes his lab. My lab is easy and finishes before his even starts most the time.
I'm going to go study for my math test now.

Happy Birthday Auntie Gem!

Tomorrow is Umbrella Day. It might be raining here, so I might get lucky and not have to carry around an umbrella in the sunshine.
Yesterday it stopped snowing by 10:30. The snow turned to slush by 11, and when I went outside around 12 it was completely gone. It was actually a lot, but it just couldn't take the heat. It was just cold and rainy the rest of the day.
I forgot to say job well done to Luke on Saturday. He PRd and made provisional (15'9 1/4"), so he is now officially in the running to go to nationals indoor. I am so proud of him.
I have a Cal C test on Wednesday. I think I'm ready. I just have to study a bit more.
Yesterday the magazine I ordered because I like to cut stuff out of it came in. On the cover was the girl who will be playing Alice in Tim Burton's new Alice In Wonderland. I am so excited about that movie. I have been looking forward to it for a long time. It comes out March 5th. I can't wait. It will be in 3D, so I have to see it in the theatre. I just watched the teaser trailer again for the millionth time. I can't wait. I haven't been this excited about a movie since... I don't even know. It been a while so I don't remember.
It seems that the majority of my voters have decided that Subway or Taco Bell are the best Valentine's Day choice. I could go for a Subway sandwich right now.
I don't know what we are going to do for practice today. It is raining right now. If it keeps up we will be in Spragins doing something boring. The new team pictures are on the website now.
Save the Seals!

Fly A Kite Day

Today is Fly a Kite Day... but it is snowing here. Its snowing really thick and actually sticking. I don't think I'll be flying a kite in this weather. I like to look at the snow, but I'll leave the touching to others. I will just sing the song from Marry Poppins all day... Lets go fly a kite. Up to the highest height. Lets go fly a kite and send it soaring! Up to the atmosphere. Up where the air is clear. Oh lets go... Fly a Kite!
Last night Lyndsey came by the dorm to get her notebook that I borrowed. She had her dog in the car, and he was so cute. I asked when he was and she said, "A Dorkie. Half Dachshund, half Yorkie." I thought that was so funny. A dorkie! I love it. I want a dog. They love you more than most people ever will.
I had a dream last night that we were on the beach and I saw this huge hermit crab. Then this morning I was thinking about it and I thought, "How are hermit crabs born? Do they hatch from eggs like fish?" I think I'll look it up.
The track meet Saturday was okay. I woke up with a 100.6 fever, and my body was aching all over. Once we got to the meet CT was informed and she gave me Extra Strength Tylenol and told me to take it again in 4 hours. I felt horrible, but I think I ran my 400 leg of the DMR pretty well. CT said I ran a 59.9, but I don't (and no one else does) believe that. I don't know how my 4x400 split was either, but it didn't feel as good. I just felt miserable and wanted to go to sleep the whole time. I don't like getting sick. I didn't get sick once last year. Not once. This year I have managed 2 UTIs and whatever this is with the fever and body aches twice now. I admit my orange juice intake isn't as high, but that's only because we don't have it around all the time because I'm not the only one drinking it now.
Yesterday Julia and Leah invited me to go to the mall with them, so I went. Julia needs nicer shirts to wear when she goes and teaches the kindergarten and 1st graders. First we went to TJMax. She got a couple things, and I got a long sleeve shirt. Then we went to the mall and shopped at Forever 21. I had a really low fever and didn't feel so bad in the morning, but after walking around for a while I started to feel worse and worse. I was miserable by the time we were finished. When we got back my temperature was back up. I did get a smoothie though and it was wonderful... Orange sherbet, yogurt, orange juice, strawberries, pineapples, and bananas. It was absolutely wonderful.

Tennessee State 4x4

Feeling Good

Yesterday I went to the post office, and when I finished getting a stamp for my letter I said, "Thank you!" He wasn't an actual mailman, but he worked for the postal service, so I'll say that counts.
Yesterday Luke brought me a cup of coffee from McDonalds which was delicious. Unfortunately it made my stomach very angry and I was really sleepy. Coffee and tea have always made me sleepy, which I thought was strange until a few days ago. I read an article that said some people have an allergy to caffeine. I'm not saying I actually have this, but the symptoms were the same. It has the opposite effect and makes a person sleepy instead of more awake. So I have decided to cut out coffee from my diet and limit my chocolate intake. I will have to finish my starbucks cards with the amazingly delicious smoothies that they have.
We got new sweats that I quite like. the top is great and the bottoms would be too if they didn't drag the floor. They are so long that the crotch of the pants are a foot below my actual crotch. They look ridiculous. I will post pictures later.
I have a new obsession.... seals. We were watching a tv show yesterday about them and I fell in love. They are so cute and so funny. I made the background of my computer a picture of 2 seals rubbing noses. I am absolutely obsessed now. I love them.
Even though you can't tell, I just went to the caf and had lunch. I figured I'd finish this up when I got back. I would rap things up now, but something happened that made me really excited. People set up booths is the UC for different things all the time. Today there was a booth set up and at first I just glanced over to see what it was. Then I realized it was for Peace Corps. I changed my direction and went straight there. The recruiter introduced himself and asked, "Are you kind of interested, or..." I said, "Definitely." Then he went into the spiel that he is supposed to tell each person, some of which I already knew, and some that I didn't. I would get a monthly living allowance, free travel to and from the country, medical and dental coverage, a readjustment allowance when I get back home, and much more. There are opportunities to do grad school during or after the 2 years service. I would also receive a one year of noncompetitive eligibility for employment by the federal government. The guy said with what I'm doing I could teach math because I'm an engineer, I could teach classes about protecting and saving the environment, or even deal with water quality. It is a 27 month gig, which is usually 3 months of training and 24 months on the job. There were a bunch of pamphlets on the table and I picked up every single one. One is an overview of the Peace Corps and what they do, one is about Agriculture and Environment, one on Education, and one on Youth & Community Development. There will be an information session here at UAH on Feb 23. I am going. If you can't tell, I am ecstatic about this. I have to go to physics now.

Thank A Mailman Day

If you happen to see a mailman today, thank him/her. They work very hard everyday to give you your mail whether its a birthday card, your favorite magazine, or the bills you need to pay to keep your house alive.
I forgot to share with you that my left foot is 10 Hot Tamales long. I couldn't stop myself from eating them before I got to my right foot though. My right foot is my shorter foot, so my guess is 9.6 Hot Tamales.
Tuesday evening I went to my physics lab which starts at 6. Our TA didn't get there till 6:10. When he finally got there he said, "Sorry I'm late. I was talking to my advisor and lost track of time. To make up for it you don't have to write a lab report over this lab. Just complete the lab and you're done." Hooray! The lab was over Projectile Motion. So far, the 3 labs we have done were labs that we did with Mr. Smith, so I already knew what was going to happen.
Lyndsey and I might get together this weekend to study physics.
This weekend at TSU I will be the second leg of the 4x400m and the 400 leg of the DMR(distance medley relay). I'm going to have to eat a lot if I'm going to run 2 400s in a meet. It wouldn't be so bad, but this meet is terrible. The air is so dry inside that your head feels like its going to explode when you finish your race. I'll be ready for it though.
Tuesdays workout was 4 500s. Yesterday's workout was 2 sets of 300/100 (pretty hard workout). I don't know what today will be. I'm guessing something short. I feel like I'm losing my fast twitch muscle fibers... they are slowly turning to slow twitch, and I am able to turn over less and less. CT has us doing way too much long stuff, and barely and short quick fire stuff. I can honestly say that I feel my turn over is worse that it was in high school. I feel like no matter how much I tell my legs to do it, they just don't want to.
Luke had a video to post last night, but it wasn't loading, so I think he is going to try again later.
I'm going to eat breakfast now... Even though I'd rather go back to sleep.

Happy February!

Today was not very good. I woke up and had to go to transportation which was boring. I came home and went pee... and it hurt so bad. My bladder cramped up and there was blood in my pee. At practice it really hurt, so my practice wasn't very good. I went to the doctor and had to pee in a cup. Once the test came back positive for a urinary tract infection I got my prescription and took it to Walmart. It was $4. I am very tired today.
Thursday is Thank A Mailman Day. I never see the man that brings the mail to Frank Franz, so I might have to go to a post office or something.
I read a chapter of Seeing Redd last night. I thought Danni would like to know that. I'm working on it... slowly but surely.
Last night we watched the end of the X Games. It was good stuff.
Happy Birthday to Papa! I hope there was something good on tv for you today!
I repeat... I need Jana Peterson's school address. I think Danni has it. I want to send her a postcard, but its difficult without an address to send it to.
I want to go to sleep right now, but I want to finish my lab report before I do. Its not due until tomorrow night, but I'd rather get it over with so I don't have to deal with it tomorrow.
Don't forget to vote!