Rainy Days

They say every cloud has a silver lining, and I'm convinced the only silver lining to rainy days in college is the fact that I get to wear my rain boots. I love my rain boots. In fact, I devoted an embarrassingly significant amount of time (and money) in order to find the most perfectly artsy, sophisticated, Beth-esque rain boots. But hey, if I'm being forced to crawl out of my warm, snuggly bed and trek across an incredibly dreary Gothic campus amidst a monsoon while simultaneously watching my hair frizz by the minute, I should have some darn cute rain boots that make me smile, right?

Unfortunately, I haven't been doing much smiling in my rain boots this week. A huge cold front has accompanied the drearily gray skies, and I know that my days of 90 degree weather are coming to an end. I suppose it's all fine and well for the millions of people who (absurdly) hate the summer heat, but for this poor little girl who is legitimately allergic to the cold (thanksss, mom), I wouldn't mind a few extra weeks of blazing sunshine.

All grouchiness aside, I reminded myself that we need the rain and found these old pictures from one of my summers at camp. This particular summer, it rained every single time I went horseback riding. However, in true camp counselor extraordinaire form, I lived by "fun people can have fun doing anything" and rallied my fellow junior high campers to join me in a rousing rendition of "Singin' in the Rain."

While I have no plans to skip across campus all "bow-legged, head back, & tongue out," the memories did make my heart happy... along with the fact that it's supposed to stop raining by Friday, in which case, I will still continue to proudly wear my rain boots until the very last puddle has completely evaporated :)

1 / 9, Here We Come...

Beth, I have something I need to tell you...

I'm fairly certain those are the most gut-wrenching words to ever be uttered. Tonight was no exception.

My web orders posted today. I leave SOI on the 14th and check into my new unit on the 15th... of October.

I should probably rewind a little. Exactly four weeks ago, Zach told me he had received orders. For the past 15 months, Zach has been stationed at the School of Infantry (SOI East... there's also one in California) and has been working in the armory with the weapons for Marine Combat Training (MCT) & Infantry Training Battalion (ITB). In really simple terms, he accounts for all of the guns that students use during training, preps them for other students to use, and repairs them when necessary. (He does a WHOLE LOT more than that, but you get the idea.) We've been so blessed during this time, not only because he's stationed at Camp Geiger, less than two and a half hours from Duke, but also because it's a non-deployable unit, which is extremely rare. However, one by one, nearly all of the guys he originally started working with at SOI have received orders to new units, and we both knew his time was quickly approaching.

So we weren't surprised when he received orders four weeks ago. But...we were concerned when the official "web orders" had not posted to his account within 24-48 hours. (The verbal orders don't actually mean anything, apparently. Who knew?) A week passed, and we knew something was strange. Two weeks passed, and something was clearly up. Higher-ups emailed "people on the inside," fellow Marines called administrative offices... still no word. Three weeks passed, and we began to think the orders "got tanked" (were cancelled). And during the past week, I've let my guard down & essentially decided it was all a big false alarm.

Funny joke. In just a little over two weeks, Zach will leave SOI and travel all of... ten miles to Camp LeJeune next door :) We won't know anything about if or when upcoming deployments will be until after he checks in, but in the meantime, it's nice to know that he'll be based in NC for the next couple of years.

Zach's favorite part about changing units...other than the fact that he simply won't be at SOI anymore? (Such a love/hate relationship... but mostly hate...) He finally has a battalion nickname! All of the battalions in the "real fleet" (aka--not SOI) have a nickname that they're known by throughout the entire Marine Corps world. Examples include: Spartans, Dragon Warriors, War Dogs, Destroyers, etc. (one of the units in Hawaii is the Lava Dogs. Too funny!) Since Zach is soon to be a proud member of the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines (1/9), he will be a part of...

... The Walking Dead. Yes, my precious boy who was homeschooled his entire life and so desperately wants a mascot to call his own now belongs to the group with the grim reaper. Awesome.

A t-shirt design. Christmas presents, anyone?

In all seriousness, I am so proud of Zach and everything he has accomplished during his 21 months in the Marine Corps thus far. He works so incredibly hard and definitely deserves this. SOI will undoubtedly miss him, but 1/9 is getting the best Marine there is :) LCpl Jones, I'm excited for this new chapter in your life, and consequently, our lives. I know you're gonna do great, and I'll be right here supporting you 110%.

But next time, do you think we could try for the Lava Dogs? :)

Duke Tailgate

Please, will someone take me to a tailgate with hamburgers & cornhole? This is all I've ever known...

Thank you, dear ol' Duke U. You make me so proud.

*Seriously, Youtube "Duke Tailgate" for a further glimpse at this hot mess. I've been on the front row of every football game I've ever attended simply because all of the students go to tailgate, and consequently never make it to the stadium. I'm thinking this is a problem.*

Dear Blank

Just last night, I discovered dearblankpleaseblank.com. It's really amazing what I can stumble upon when I have a chem exam, a Spanish paper, a Spanish oral exam, and a digital imaging project all in the same week.

Anyway, if I were to submit something right now, it'd probably go something like this:

Dear College Students Who Feel The Need To Make Out, Lay All Over Each Other, & Basically Have Sex With Your Eyes Directly In Front Of Me,

I'm glad you're so madly in love. Really, I am. I'm not even questioning the fact that you've probably been "dating" for less than a month. However, I am suggesting some more discrete locations to show your affection toward one another. For starters, I dunno... your dorm room? Call me crazy, but I feel like you can accomplish everything you're currently doing without inflicting pain and nausea on innocent bystanders. Nonetheless, if extreme PDA is really your thing, perhaps getting it on in the library stacks? Or take advantage of Duke's complex tunneling system? You still get your risqué rendezvous without forcing involuntary voyeurism -- definitely a win-win for all involved. Regardless, the "love sac" at the coffeehouse is not actually for "making love."

Sincerely, Gag Me

That pretty much sums up my thoughts for the day.

Beach Retreat

I'm goinggg to the beach!

I know it's technically Wednesday, but it's the weekend for me :) Yepp, I'm skipping my one class tomorrow and my one class on Friday to head to North Myrtle with my sister, mom, maw-maw, aunts, cousin, & lots of other ladies from our church for our annual women's beach retreat. This time tomorrow, I'll be playing in the ocean! I'm super excited for a weekend full of laying out, shopping, ice cream, Christian fellowship, and endless giggles. See you Sunday night.

Birthday Girl

Today... is Amy's 21st birthday! And to celebrate, I figured I'd bring back this blast from the past:

(Hahaha. Taken five years ago at Amy's 16th birthday party. I realize it's horrifically embarrassing, but it needed to make an appearance. I'd probably feel differently if more than just my arm was in the photo...) :)

Amy is the sweetest, most tender-hearted & caring person I know. We've been through a lot together, and no matter what, she's always there for me. I'm so very blessed to have you in my life, Amz. Can't wait until we can finally get together & celebrate -- perhaps even re-enact your 16th birthday photo? Hahaha. So thankful for you, baby girl. Happy birthday... & I love you!

(at Amy's house on her 19th birthday)

State of the Union [2]

I did my first State of the Union post two weeks ago, so I figured it was time for an update. Without further ado:

Beth's Current State of the Union

IN:

• chicken alfredo bread bowls from Dominos (so, SO good)

• selling back textbooks online (just made $55 for three books!)

• warm weather (can't it always be in the upper 80s?)

• the beach (going again this weekend with the ladies from church)

• being a junior (I've decided it's pretty much the perfect year: old enough to have the whole college thing figured out, but still not having to mention "GRE" and "grad school applications" in every conversation... at least not yet)

OUT:

• group projects (yep, still on the list. still hate them)

• the entire hallway strangely smelling like shrimp (help, please?)

• solo road trips (I used to love them; however, they are becoming more and more frequent. No worries. Long distance relationship, you will NOT kick my butt)

• freshmen boys in the dorm hitting on me without realizing I'm the RA (you're right, we haven't met. but no, I'm not going out with you tonight...)

• frizzy, curly hair (I broke down last week & took the bus to West to borrow Laura's straightener. Zach took pity on me this past weekend & got me a new one since my new debit card still has not arrived in Durham. Thank goodness. Goodbye, messy poof of hair)

Is it bad that I had to think pretty hard for the "IN" category, since everything I originally thought up was food-related? Haha. Probably.

"Fun" Day Fail

- I'm so hungry. There's nothing here for me to eat.

- That's what you get for being a vegetarian in the Marine Corps.

Upon overhearing this conversation yesterday, I felt relieved that I wasn't the only one who noticed the lack of black bean/turkey/veggie burgers at the mandatory fun day cookout. Not that I'm vegetarian -- I just prefer them to regular burgers. Seriously, try them sometime. I promise you'll love them (especially the turkey burger) even if you're not vegetarian. Apart from the carnivore-friendly food selection, the only other significant observation I made pertained to the number of children running around. These people pro-create like it's their job. Don't even get me started...

I feel like I should update on the Beach Bash simply because I wrote about it in my last post, but really... there's not much to say. I drove to Jacksonville, met Zach, and we drove onto LeJeune / went to Onslow Beach early Saturday morning. The ocean was surprisingly not cold, but neither of us brought a bathing suit so we just waded for a while. Overall, it wasn't miserable or anything. Just the fact that it was mandatory sucked the fun out of everything. The boys were originally required to stay until 3:00, but some higher-up's wife was clearly miserable and convinced her husband to let everyone leave at 1:00 so she could go home. Haha, yesss.

Since we got out early, we had enough time to watch... She's The Man. Yep. That totally made up for the lack of fun at mandatory fun day. Added bonus: I can officially quote the entire movie. Hope you're all having a great apple & sandwich...roush :)

"Fun" Day

A few times a year, Zach's unit has these "mandatory fun days." In theory it's great, I suppose. A cookout on the beach, live music, raffles, activities for children -- just an opportunity for everyone to get together outside of work.

However, it's absolutely mandatory.

No, like... absolutely mandatory. I'm talking automated phone call reminders a week in advance, confirmation of receiving said reminder, checking in upon arrival, etc. Leave it to the Marine Corps to turn "fun" into something super serious. I don't know why -- it just makes me laugh.

Anyway, I was originally going to Raleigh tomorrow to celebrate Amy's 21st birthday with the Calvary kids. But since that fell through at the last minute, Zach invited me to come experience mandatory fun day with him. So... I'm waking up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning to drive to Jacksonville for the day. Should be interesting... :)

We WILL go to mandatory fun day, and we WILL have fun, darn it!

Epic Perfection

Just watch it. Be as amazed as I was.Anyone wanna learn how to do this with me?

Gabiden

Gabiden and I became good friends during my junior/his senior year of high school. When I switched seats in Calculus halfway through the semester to sit next to Jordan, I ended up next to Gabiden as well. To be honest, I initially thought he hated me. We were nothing alike; Jordan & I goofed off during class, while Gabiden quietly paid attention. But as the year progressed, something clicked.

He started helping me with my homework (for the longest time, I thought he was infinitely smarter than me. I later learned that he had found the answer key online...). We began talking a little bit before and after class, and then progressed to talking during class. By the second semester, we IM'ed every single day (how 1990s does that sound? Crazy to think that was just four years ago...) He taught me how to spell & pronounce his freakishly long middle name. He told me all about how he hated being color blind because he loved graphic design so much. He even managed to smile the one time I got a higher grade on a Calc test than him & Jordan (I'm fairly certain I still have that test somewhere...). I was a Junior Marshall at graduation, and cried when he walked across the stage. His senior bequeathment in the last edition of the Chronicle was:

I, Gabiden Kourman, being of sound mind and body do hereby bequeath my elite Asian skills to Elizabeth Haynes.

We stayed in touch after he went to college. We went out to eat, I went over to his house, he even occasionally came to Calvary although he swore he'd never set foot in the high school again. We IMed & texted all the time. He edited my Duke application essay (correction: he ripped apart my Duke application essay). When I called him in tears the night before a physics project was due, he stayed on the phone with me & walked me through each step, despite the fact that he never took physics himself. He gave me his AP Euro book, although I'm pretty sure the "elite Asian skills" didn't rub off on that. He tried to convince me to go to Wake, but was still happy for me when I got into Duke (he was one of the first people I told). And...he drew me a picture in Japanese. He claimed it says "cute artist," but I suppose I'll never know :)

We talked during the first few weeks of my freshman year of college as well. I told him that I clipped out his senior bequeathment, mounted it on a notecard, and taped it on my desk for good luck. I still have it, and it's still one of the first things I hang in my room on move in day. I may not have gained any "elite Asian skills" whatsoever, but I most definitely gained a wonderful friend.

Today would have been Gabiden's 21st birthday :) So... happy birthday, Gabiden. I love you.

Spoiled Girlfriend

I have been in desperate need of a simple pair of sandals since I've gone back to school and can no longer borrow my sisters' whenever I want. Corrie got these in black a week ago, and I liked them so much that I really wanted a pair for myself. I intended on buying them once I get my new debit card (which still has not arrived at my house...), but Zach found out, and guess what is currently in my closet?

Yep.

I asked him why he bought them (since it's not our anniversary/my birthday/any other holiday that entails gift-giving) and he simply responded: "You said you needed a pair. And I like spoiling you."

Haha -- he's the greatest. Thanks, Zach!

Guilty Pleasure

"Oh my goodness, I used to watch that show all the time in high school!"

That's typically the response I get when having a conversation with anyone about One Tree Hill. I realize liking OTH went out of style years ago, but I must admit that I am hooked and will watch every new episode until the series finale. Needless to say, I am beyond excited about the season premiere tonight. Can. Not. Wait :) Not even the fact that Megan (the only person I know who watches OTH as faithfully as I do) is in Australia and will not be enjoying the premiere with me is gonna rain on my parade. Less than five hours to go... :)

(Do not be deceived by the picture. It comes on the CW Tuesdays at 8. Promise.)

Living Without

If you would've asked me a week ago to list the top five things I could not live without, I'm fairly certain my cell phone, debit card, and hair straightener would have made the list.

After this week, I might have to re-evaluate.

My phone has been acting up for quite some time now -- and after a brief visit to the Verizon store, the experts pronounced it dead. RIP, Chocolate Touch #2. (Yes, I'm now on my THIRD Chocolate Touch in less than a year. Don't do it...) The problem, however, is that Verizon doesn't ship to PO boxes, so I went the entire weekend (plus Labor Day) without my poor phone until I could drive to Winston last Tuesday to pick the new one up from my house. Sad times in the life of Beth.

But wait, it gets worse. When I arrived home last Tuesday, mom told me the bank had called and wanted to verify some charges on my debit card. They're rather protective and have done this before -- better safe than sorry, I suppose. Except this time, they actually were fraudulent charges. Awesome. Honestly, I'm beyond impressed that Allegacy picked up on these (there were only two, and one was for $3.43... I mean, seriously?) but of course, it takes 7-14 days for them to send a new card, and when they do send it... they'll send it to my house. In the meantime, I'm debit card-less. Actually, I'm completely money-less, since I'm a member of a local credit union in Winston that doesn't have a branch in Durham where I can get cash. I haven't spent a penny in a week, which may be a blessing in disguise, but it's still a major inconvenience.

And lastly, the hair straightener. Zach & I went to his house this weekend, and upon arriving back at Duke, I discovered that I left my precious hair straightener in Martinsville. Honestly, how could I forget that? Major fail on my part. The next few weekends are booked solid, so I have no idea when I'll be getting it back. Since I can't even begin to describe what my hair looks like when I don't straighten it, I'll just post this picture that I originally sent Zach when he was in boot camp a year and a half ago.

(Now if that's not the most motivating picture to send to someone at boot camp, I don't know what is...)

Cell phone-less. Debit card-less. Hair straightener-less. As distraught as I am over all of this, I suppose I really can't complain if that's as awful as my life gets right now. I mean, I totally could've made it if I was born in the 1800s, right?

Drop/Add

Yes, mom -- I did it. I'm currently in my fifth semester at Duke, and for the first time ever, I made it through drop/add period without dropping or adding a class. You don't understand how big of a deal this is.

Every semester I've been here, I've ended up at least one class that I...well, not necessarily hated, but clearly could not survive & bowed out gracefully before getting in over my head. For example, the Hispanic art history seminar for upperclassmen I found myself in on my first day of college. Not really sure how that happened, except that freshman at Duke register for classes before ever meeting with an advisor. DROP. Then there was my first attempt at a Spanish language class. I lasted two days before realizing that dear ol' Calvary Baptist did nothing to prepare me for Spanish in the real world. DROP. The photography class description was a bit misleading -- it focused a lot more on photo editing & digital imaging... not the $1000+ I would need to spend on camera equipment. DROP. And to be completely honest, I don't even remember what class I dropped last semester, because I never even showed up (I think it was a sociology course?) Yeah. DROP.

Granted, I always added another course in its place, but needless to say, my parents were less than thrilled the first time I called home to inform them of my schedule changes. They weren't really pleased the second time either. Throughout the years, however, they've come to accept the fact that I drop/add like it's my job.

Until this semester. I started classes two weeks ago with 4.5 credits. And in two and a half hours, drop/add will officially end and I will still be enrolled in the exact same classes. For the record, I make no promises for the rest of my time at Duke, but I'm still rather proud of this accomplishment :)

Perfect Like Chicken Pie

Meet Kacey.

She's been my best friend in the world since we looked like this:

(Yeah, wow. Crazy to think we were ever that little. Now we're all grown up, over halfway through college, and about to turn 21!)

This could easily be a sentimental blog post looking back at our lives since Kacey stalked me down the halls of CBDS on the way to the library... but I'll save that for another day :) Last week, Kace sent me a text out of nowhere that read: "orgo chem lab prof just said spatular." Needless to say, I had flashbacks to our senior year physics class & proceeded to laugh aloud for a solid minute. (The other students in the library clearly were not as amused, no big deal.) However, I started thinking. Thinking about Kace & how even though we don't get to see each other nearly as much as we'd like, we can always pick things up right where we left off without skipping a beat. AND... thinking about all of her random comments that have made me laugh over the years. No, like... seriously laugh. Kacey is one of the funniest people I've ever met and she has brought SO much joy to my life. This pretty girl never ceases to brighten my day when I need it the most, and the best part is -- she doesn't try. She's simply hysterical & I love her.

With all of this in mind, I decided to pull out my old phone from high school (yes, I still have it; yes, it still works; and yes, I lock texts) and I began to relive the glorious years. From there, I skimmed through some old emails, wall posts, even hand-written notes, and within a very short amount of time, I had quite an extensive list of Kacey comments that still make me laugh every time I read them. After condensing the list tremendously, I am pleased to introduce for your viewing pleasure:

15 Of The Most Randomly Ridiculous Things

Kacey Stevens Has Ever Said

(Keep in mind that most of these are not inside jokes or responses to anything I initially said. Nope. Just comments from out of nowhere...)

15. Hii Beth! Wanna come to Costco with me and Ballz? Mmmm!

14. I hate you. I LOVE YOU - caps cancel out the previous hate.

13. You're a virgin cow. HA

12. all the guys will be like "dude, there are no hot chicks here, what the moose." and then you will walk in ohsopretty whenever it suits you and they will all be like AWWWWW HECKNAW!

11. Wait... you don't date Jack?

10. my next move is to take your frown and smash it in the door.

9. Middle aged men are my select favorites. Maybe I'll start putting my cell phone in my back pocket. You know, just as a catalyst.

8. All we've got here is Tykie, Junior (Mint), J'mooso, and Number Four

7. (in response to my text saying, "Kacey, I'm kind of in a situation and I don't know what to do.")

Uh oh. Keep the baby Beth, just keep it. I'll help you raise it.

6. Hey!! Heck you hippie! Alliteration. I immediately regret saying that.

5. I would just like to say, he had us BOTH alone in his car at different points, and he didn't get his lips on me... yup, never letting that go. Okay, I'm sorry. That is the last time I'll say anything... but NOT the last time I will allude to it. That is a guarantee...

4. you could work at Hooters. Its a decent job, nice people...

3. I am eating uncooked easymac pasta. So today is looking like it will be a challenging day.

2. it was perfectly light and fluffy and meaty. Like a chicken pie. you are perfect like a chicken pie as well.

and the number one Kacey quote that still makes me laugh no matter how many times I read it?

1. now I feel like me and hilary and chad are all best friends, and there is a really good chance that I'm middle-schooling it

Now do you see why she's my best friend? :)

*Imagine what you don't see and Do your devos hahaha! made me laugh just as hard, but simply because they have stories behind them. I still figured I'd include them somewhere, just for you, Kace.*

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

State of the Union

Last year, Casey had a resident/close friend who would stop by her room and update her "State of the Union" section on the dry erase board -- essentially, what was "out" and what was "in" her life at the moment. It was always entertaining, and just last week I was thinking how much I was going to miss hearing about her escapades now that she's moved on to bigger & better things (ie: West Campus). However, she stopped by a few days ago for old times' sake & I was beyond excited to find her state of the union posted on Casey's front door. Which got me thinking...

Beth's Current State of the Union

IN:

• cuddling in bed with a spoon & jar of Nutella (my Sunday afternoon...)

• making money (Coffeehouse has reopened & I'm taking shifts galore)

• surprise all-male a capella concerts (best. Sunday. night. everrr.)

• documentaries on typography (go ahead & judge me...)

• chalkboards (one in my room + one in the coffeehouse = pure joy)

OUT:

• spending money (textbooks have officially drained my bank account)

• Spanish 63 (the British kid dropped. AND Kishan. Bad news.)

• group projects (in Spanish AND Chemistry, so far. Hate them)

• broken cell phones (story of my life. I'm getting a new one this week)

• vomit in the bathroom sink (Um, excuse me? Yeah. Not what I want to wake up to on a Friday morning. Or any morning, for that matter. C'mon, dear baby freshmen...)

So, there you have it. My own state of the union, in's & out's of my life at the moment, inspired by the beautiful Ellen :)

LGMH

Over Christmas break last year, I discovered Love Gives Me Hope, this adorably cute website where people can share their own little hopeful love stories. I've gotta be honest -- I've become pretty obsessed and normally read it every night before I go to bed. They're just SO sweet, and each post restores my hope in humanity even more. I wanted to share some of my favorites:

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One day, I finished my volunteer shift at the hospital. In the ER waiting room, I saw an old couple leaving. The woman asked "Do you want me to carry a bag?"

The man answered "For 64 years, my job has been to carry the bags. Your job is to look adorable. And you're doing it perfect." His LGMH.

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See what I mean? The older couple love ones are probably my absolute favorite.

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I work at a Bead Store, and an elderly couple walked in together. She said he could sit at the back of the store and wait, because she would be taking a while to shop and he was using a cane.

The man shook his head and said, "I just like to stand next to you." This old couple's LGMH.

While working at Dunkin Donuts, an older couple came in for coffee. After the woman told me she didn't want sugar, her husband said to me, "she doesn't need sugar. She's sweet enough already."

She then turned to him and smiled the biggest smile I have ever seen. Love that lasts through the ages GMH.

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Are you hooked yet? :) As if that isn't cute enough, the little kid related posts will make your heart melt.

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After walking out of a movie, I headed for the restroom. Outside the doors were two toddlers, a boy and a girl, holding hands. The girl said, "I need to go potty," and she started to make her way into the restroom.

The boy pulled her back, hugged her, and said, "Don't leave me!"Their young and innocent LGMH.

I decided to go to Burger King for lunch. Ahead of me in line were a little boy and a little girl ordering one Whopper.

When the cashier told them their total, the little girl got out her coin purse and pulled out $5. Then the little boy turned to her and said "Honey, I got this." Young love GMH.

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Oh. My. Goodness. I almost can't handle it. You really should check it out yourself. It actually stems from another site, Gives Me Hope, which has posts related to random acts of kindness, inspiring feats, amazing friends, etc. Definitely a positive boost to my day. A few more of my favorites?

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Years ago, my girlfriend was shocked by an electric fence and ended up with an irregular heart beat. I would put my head on her chest to listen to the cool rhythm. Recently it returned to normal, making me kind of upset.

She told me, "Ever think it's because it's not broken anymore?" Meaghan, your LGMH.

I was at Walgreens in the card aisle buying a card for my girlfriend. I pulled out my phone to text her, when this old couple was standing behind me.

He came up to me and said, "Are you texting your girlfriend? You are a good guy. Stay close to her." Then he held his wife's hand and walked away. LGMH.

Last week I was upset that I don't have a boyfriend. I felt like nobody ever wanted me. I was crying.

My 16-year-old Autistic brother patted me on the back and said "I could find you 10 boyfriends right this second, but none of them would ever be good enough to deserve you." His LGMH.

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I love this site not only because the stories are so sweet, but because they constantly remind me of the love of countless individuals in my own life. I am so blessed with amazing family and friends who give me hope every single day!