So, I’ve been here in Omaha for about a week, and Eric’s mom told us all aboutWicked visiting the downtown Civic center. There’s not a ton to do here, besides go on bike rides, go shopping, and relax and hang out, so we all thought it would be fun to go and see a show together.

FYI: Wicked- the story of the wicked witch of the West and why she is the way she is. The story is of the two witches, Glenda, the Good Witch of the North, and the Wicked Witch ofthe West; they were both friends before dorothy ever dropped into the scene, and how they turned into who they are.

Today Eric’s mother, he and I went to downtown Omaha to see if we could buy tickets forWicked. I have never seen Wicked, but everyone always talks about how great it is. I’m not much of a musicals person, because randomly bursting out in singing and dancing isn’t necessarily my thing, but I wanted to see what all the hype was about.

There were weekly showings, but we were hoping to see a Sunday afternoon show. We drove all the way downtown to purchase the tickets, but they were all sold out!! I was pretty excited about them, too. I was willing to give Wicked a chance. But I guess, sadly, Wicked will have to wait.

Instead of going to Wicked, however, all of us went to see Angels and Demons, the movie. I am still not quite sure how to react to it. It was good, but far too graphic for my taste. Being Catholic, it was a little hard to watch men portraying holy figures in the church being burned alive and whatnot. I think that will stay on my list of “only watch once in a blue moon,” list. So I feel I won’t be adding that movie to my collection anytime soon. I thought the movie would be more like Da Vinci Code, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I thought it would be full of mystery and puzzles, but . . . it wasn’t. Rather, it seemed like a gruesome race for lives. Tom Hanks was wonderful, as usual, and the other actors and actresses in the movie were great, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
 

Until next time,
TV sitcoms will have to do,
Seanna

It’s official. Eric has accepted his offer from Parker Hannifin to work a two semester internship, or co-op in Fort Worth, Texas. I’m SO excited for him, but kind of bummed that I won’t see him on a regular basis for basically a year. If you are confused about this, go back and read my post about the future, called Decisions, Decisions. It explains it all, and it’s really a huge long story and my fingers are kind of tired. Sorry. ::shrug::

So, Eric will be working and living in Fort Worth, Texas until December, working his little heart out at Parker Hannifin, and HOPEFULLY this might lead to a job offer after hisgraduation NEXT December . . . which would be AWESOME.  That is the point of internships for Engineers, in case you never hear this, I’ll tell you a secret. You intern to work in the Engineering world- hiring companies want validation that an employee will be beneficial and profitable to the company, so they tend to hire within their well and their own trained flock, for lack of a better term. So in order to work for a company as a salaried position, one must first have an internship or some sort of experience with that company. Just like my grandfather [the parents I live with], he went to Iowa State for Engineering and had to stop school for a year to work and get money, so he worked as a draftsman for Rockwell Collins, and sure enough, after he graduated, they offered him the job of a lifetime in Richardson, TX, and as they say, the rest is history!

So anyway, back to Eric, hah, after my major tangent, he will be in Fort Worth, living in Hawks Creek Village. This place is terrible! It has a pool, workout facility, a CAR WASH and DETAIL center IN the complex, gated communities, a golf course, a running/walking/biking paved trail around the entire course, and SO much more. He’s excited to have a one bedroom apartment for the first time in his college/education experience. When he moved to Minneapolis, he had a roommate, so this will be his first time on his own.

Don’t worry, I’ve already run to Borders Books and bought him a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I’m on top of it.

It looks like a great opportunity, a great place to live, a lot of interesting things to do [because let's face it, if you're around Dallas/Ft. Worth, there's really no limit to what you can fill your days doing!] and he will be about an hour from my parents! What a perfect opportunity to get to know them better!

In all seriousness, I really do admire him for the strength and courage to undertake such change, after being back at school for only a semester. He’s such a driven individual, and I love him for that. He’s good at what he does, and he’s motivated and determined to achieve his goals. I’m proud of him, I’m just going to miss him.

But on a happier note, yep! He’ll be a Texan soon enough! It’s funny, because he’s been asking me about Texas A&M individuals, since he found out he will be working with five other interns from A&M College Station. We’ll see how he fares.

So until next time,
I will be packing him into oblivion,
Seanna

Gah! So I will share with you an intimate struggle between a girl, a boy, and college. Oh, and life. Oh, and money, Oh and internships. Oh, and relationships.

Complicated enough for you?

So, my boyfriend just a two semester internship in Dallas Ft. Worth. Awesome, right?

You’d be right, about 3/4 right. About 1/4 of that is life changing decisions, here!

We were both scheduled to graduate next spring, May of 2010, and then we were planning on being together and moving somewhere where he could find a job and I could find grad school. Yay! Yippy skippy. Things were falling together in an awesome way. And then what I call a “life fart.” You know, where everything is going your way, you’re confident, smooth, assured, and then a life fart happens and things are shifted. At first you don’t realize what a big impact it will have, but as time goes on, it’s more apparent that that shift just won’t dissipate, and you’ll have to face reality sooner than later.

Yes, I know that was a random association but it works. You’re thinking now, aren’t you?

So, now Eric is looking at taking a two semester internship in Dallas Fort Worth, which is great for me because he gets to know my parents better, he has a great opportunity to work with a HUGE company [Parker Hannifin] and it might even lead to a job offer! It also kinda stinks because in order to go for two semester to this co-op, or two semester internship, he pushes back graduation to December of 2010, so that means the two of us will be in Ames for at least another year.

But then as I’m looking into Occupational Therapy grad school, it’s more and more apparent I need more prerequisites under my belt before I can apply, so I calm myself by reassuring myself that I can go to school next fall, substitute teach, work at Starbucks for health benefits [because Lord knows I need those, hah!] and everything will be fine.

So I feel like I just used this writing to think through all of this. It actually worked out pretty well.
Decisions, decisions. I’m growing up way too fast. Decisions a year from now are starting to creep up on me now. How is this happening!?

Life hits you out of the blue. Like that random hockey puck at the Dallas Stars game in 7th grade.

Yeah don’t ask. Just know it was really random. And didn’t feel too awesome at first. =]

Until next time,
Stop to smell the roses before you turn around and you’re in the real world,
So basically enjoy college while you’re in it,
I am, as always,
Seanna

Wow. Long signature. Intense.

My plane leaves from Phoenix, AZ Sky Harbor Airport at 7:10am tomorrow morning, and I have a two hour layover in Denver, CO. Then I get to fly to Omaha, NE, and see Eric again.

Man, I miss that boy.

It’s been a great time with my family [a tad bit hectic, but still enjoyable] but it’s always nice to drive on I-35 out of Des Moines and see the Ames, Iowa State University sign feels just as much like home as Richardson, Campbell Road does.

If you’re not from Dallas, Campbell Rd probably doesn’t make much sense to you, but for all my locals out there, you know where I’m coming from.

Today I flew home to Ames!
I left at 7:20am, had an hour layover in Milwaukee [YES, I actually went through Milwaukee this time, no bad weather] and arrived in Des Moines International airport at 11:35am! I rode the escalator down to the area where family and friends can wait for arrivals and I saw Eric! I think that goes down as one my favorite memories . . . ever.

Ever since May when his parents and I drove up to Minneapolis, MN to drop him off at his new apartment and his new internship, I’ve seen him sporadically for seven months. He’d stay for a weekend every month and a half or so, but then would have to leave after three days. Today I was able to say hi, hug him, and not worry about having to say goodbye 72 hours later!!

It’s good to be home. While the weather isn’t quite 75 degrees and ‘balmy’ like it was in Richardson on Christmas Day, it still felt good to see the Ames road sign and the exit for Iowa State University. Coming home to ISU feels as comforting as anything, and I know that I’ll be sad to leave when it’s time to graduate.

College is one of the only times in a person’s life that they will be living in close proximity to their education, without the mandate of living in the real world and having a full time job, depraved of any social life or other “bummers” about being in the workforce. College is an experience, and it’s been an awesome one so far. It’s gone by so fast, I’m excited to see what happens next. ☺

So until next time I am [home and happy],
Seanna

It’s Friday night before finals, and my friend and her boyfriend just broke up.

What better way to help a friend feel better than make a BAMF gingerbread house and watch In the Land of Women, drooling over Adam Brody?

Me and Bailey and Nora hung out and tried to forget about the impending doom that is finals. After we made it, we Ding Dong Ditched it outside a friend’s room.

Mission accomplished, I’d say.

To be honest, I was sad to see it go. It was the only gingerbread house I’d ever helped make that didn’t collapse if you looked at it wrong.

Until next time,
I’ll be a hermit studying,
Seanna

Every year, Tau Beta Sigma and Kappa Kappa Psi [our band Sorority and Fraternity] sponsor the Band Banquet, which is open to all those involved in university ensembles, but it is usually just marching band individuals.

This year, it was at the Holiday Inn Express down Lincoln Way, and it was amazing! The theme for this year’s banquet was “Downtown by Twilight,” so it was really nice and classy! Eric came in town today for it, so I was happy for that, and I also got back in town JUST in time to get ready!

Thanksgiving was great. I was able to see all my family, including my parents and my brother. I am adopted by my father’s parents, so I my grandparents are my parents. Confusing enough for you? Yeah, it’s okay. I get it confused, too, sometimes. Anyway, my great grandmother’s house is in Humboldt, IA, so we usually use it for family get togethers. That’s where we had Thanksgiving, and it was awesome! It snowed and I took my aunt and uncle’s German Shepherd, Baron, for walks, which is nice because I really miss warm-blooded animals!

Wow, talk about tangent . . .

Back to Band Banquet: I was able to catch up with a lot of band members I hadn’t seen over break, and of course everyone asked about my birthday. They saw pictures on facebook, so they were excited to hear about it.

The BEST part about band banquet is the fundraiser called Pie in the Face, which was a HUGE hit this year. Usually, the nominees are the three drum majors and the staff. It was a close race between myself and Anthony, one of the drum majors. I brought my makeup to banquet JUST in case I was nominated. I wasn’t thrilled about it, but it’s all in good fun.

As long as they didn’t get whipped cream in my hair, I would be a semi-happy camper.

BUT, sorry to disappoint . . . Anthony won . . . by ELEVEN CENTS. It was a close call!! Since I was the runner up, I got to pie Anthony in the face. It was the highlight of the evening. It’s okay, we’re still good friends.

All in all, it was an amazing night, and a great way to end my band career, if you would like to call it that. When Anthony made his speech, which was amazing by the way, I couldn’t look him right in the eye. It would have been the beginning of a long night of waterworks. 

I’m going to miss the ISUCF’V'MB, but it has served me well, and I’ve not only made the best of friends as result, but found someone that I am so excited to plan a future with.

So until next time,
Seanna

I’m about to leave for Minneapolis, MN to see Eric this weekend. It will be nice to get away from Ames for a while, get away from classes and extracurrics, and see him. I miss him a lot, and I can’t wait til he gets home in January, but for now I’ll take any chance I can to see him. Since I don’t have a car, his roommates from last year in Legacy are driving up to see him, so I’m snagging a ride. I’ll be out of cyber-space range for a few days, but no worries. I’ll be back come Monday, and next week is a game week, so that’ll be exciting!

Keep on keepin’ on, folks.

Til next time,
Seanna

Eric arrives this Friday from Minneapolis, MN and we are celebrating our two year dating anniversary. I am ecstatic. I count my blessings everyday, and thank my lucky stars that I found such a wonderful man and have him in my life. Eric has always supported me in everything I do, and I know that we are bound for a beautiful life.

[He is even patient enough to put up with my nagging over gifts, which has to be the true sign of love.]

Explanation: I love/hate surprises. I love that they occur, but I hate that I do not know. I like to know things, know about them, when they will happen, what will happen, how it will happen, and who will witness it. Surprise gifts [well, gifts in that matter] are the epitome of oblivion, so naturally I have hounded him down to giving me clues. They haven’t helped me much, but he is a wonderful human being for putting up with me and my ultimatums. I love him so much, and cannot wait til he is back in Ames after his internship in January 2009!

Until next time,
Seanna