A Yuletide Reflection on the Car Horn

Christmas is always a time of great reflection for me, and today is no exception. Something the other day prompted me to reflect on the time-honored tradition of honking at perfect strangers. Briefly, here is a list of messages that are appropriate to send using your horn:

"My breaks are not working and I cannot stop."

"You are about to hit my vehicle and cause me significant harm."

"This is a one-way street, we should not be facing each other."

Here are a few messages which are less appropriate to convey through honking:

"You are driving the speed limit, and I wish to exceed the speed limit."

"Your style of driving, although not illegal or dangerous, annoys me."

"The light has been green for a full second; it is my opinion that you should move."

"I am offended by your out-of-state plates and think you should leave."

Whether it is rainy, snowy, or brilliantly sunny where you are, be safe driving out there! And remember Plato's wisdom: "Be kind to others, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Much love and Merry Christmas!

Boo

PS I fly home TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The LDR

The other day I was listening to a podcast about long distance relationships, and it got me to thinking. While obviously GG and I are in a long-distance relationship, spanning across a few states, I've realized that suddenly all my relationships are long-distance. Family and friends, who were once only a few minutes' drive away are suddenly hundreds of miles away. My primary medium of communication is phone conversation rather than face-to-face. It's been hard on me to be so far away from the people I love, although I have noticed that it has inspired me to be more intentional about my communication.

On the podcast, one of the questions asked was how to keep a relationship alive when you are apart. Here are my tips:

1) Phone calls. Some of my best conversations recently have been spirited phone discussions with close friends! Of course I wish such conversations could be over lunch, but nonetheless it is wonderful to get updates on friends' lives if I can't be there to experience it with them.

2) Skype. Again, although it is a pale substitute, it is still wonderful to be able to interact visually with friends. Two notable recent Skype dates included a Thanksgiving call to all the family gathered at my (parents') house; and the other night when a friend and I each prepared dinner while video-chatting with each other. It was so pleasant to get to cook and chat together. :)

3) Text messages and picture messages. I love being able to update a friend with a text or a picture of something fun I am experiencing, or something that makes me think of him or her. It is just as exciting receiving such a text from a friend or family member :)

4) Letters. I have always loved letter-writing, and since moving I have made a point of trying to write a letter a day. I haven't been great about achieving this daily goal, but I have been able to send at least a letter or two a week. I have really enjoyed making each letter unique by decorating it with crayon drawings; I have also made friends with the postal workers at the downtown Post Office. I am in there 2-3 times a month, mailing small packages and picking out my favorite stamps. I also love receiving letters (wink wink); as it was in college, checking my mailbox makes or breaks a day. :)

Anyway, just a reminder that all relationships take work and effort, and that while relationships change with distance, the effort is always worth it.

Much love to you all! I miss you and I hope to see you--yes, you, reading this!--very soon!

Love,

Boo

Can't I just root for the Saints?

Nobody who knows me would mistake me for a football fan, or really a sports fan of any kind. So it is just one of life's pleasant little ironies that finds me in the middle of Southern-football country, a place where team affiliation is a more divisive matter than political leaning. Seriously, I have heard stories of heated arguments and the break-ups of long-term relationships over team pride.

Anyway, I bring this up is because--in case you haven't heard--Saturday (tomorrow) is the day that LSU (Louisiana State University), the #1 ranked team in the SEC, will play Alabama (University of Alabama), the #2 ranked team, on Alabama's home field in Tuscaloosa, AL. This is huge. The tensions are running high and rivalries are raging up and down the coast--including in our office! Earlier this morning there was a battle of fight songs playing up and down the hallway. Fans are dressed in their Bama gear and their Tiger t-shirts. There is a Crimson Tide flag hanging from one woman's office door. Needless to say, everyone is so nervous about this game that our collective productivity has taken a significant dive. This is for real, people.

Crimson Tide flag, relocated to the door in honor of the game.

When asked a few weeks back what my team was, I said meekly, hopefully, "Can't I just root for the Saints?" thinking that was a safe choice.

"NO!" was the resounding response. "You have to pick a college team in the SEC."

Earlier this week I was asked again who I woud be supporting in this weekend's game. My answer came easier this time. "LSU, by default." My reasoning being that if I don't support the Tigers, I will never again be welcome in Lafayette, LA.

"Booooooo!" said the ardent Bama fan.

"Don't listen to her, Bethany! Stay strong!" said the encouraging LSU sweetheart.

Tiger Pride & Roll Tide Ride.

I remarked to a friend earlier today that my general criteria for deciding how I feel about a sports team rests primarily on a) the team name (example: Saints, awesome name); b) the colors (black and gold, love it); and c) the mascot. Also, the Saints have the fleur-de-lis on their helmets. So classy. In the case of LSU, I love that their mascot is the tiger!

Anyway, whether your battle cry this weekend is "Geaux Tigers!" or "Roll Tide Roll!" one thing is for sure: this promises to be an epic game, and I am just resonating with the excitement filling the air around me!

Have a great weekend everyone!
Love,
Boo

GiveMN: Give to the Max Day 2011--November 16, 2011

Hello!

Today I am making an unsolicited announcement about a fundraising effort that I think is pretty cool. It is called Give to the Max Day (you probably guessed this from the title) and this will be its 3rd year. I first heard about it last year, and although I didn't actually end up donating anything, I am certainly taking it more seriously this year!


Q: What is Give to the Max Day?
A: Give to the Max Day is essentially a massive fundraising effort on behalf of all non-profit organizations in the state of Minnesota. This includes charities, colleges, community organizations, choirs, private scholarship funds, and many more! It is a one-day online fundraising drive which has had enormous success since it began in 2009.


Q: Really? How successful?
A: I'm glad you asked! Since 2009, GiveMN has raised more than $33 million for more than 5,000 nonprofits. In 2010, 42,596 donors participated, donating their hard-earned money to 3,663 nonprofit organizations. Whaaaat? We rock, Minnesota!


Q: So how exactly does this work?
A: It's very simple. Go to this website: http://givemn.razoo.com/
Find a cause (or multiple causes!) or an organization (or multiple organizations!) that you support, and donate whatever you feel called to give. I have only scratched the surface of nonprofits listed on the site, but so far I have come across a huge handful of awesome projects and organizations that I really like!


Q: Alright. How is this different from other fundraisers?
A: Another great question! Give to the Max Day is a really cool way to fundraise because your donations are not the only money that organizations can receive. This year, GiveMN has partnered with a number of community foundations and other large (corporate) donors to create and incentive system.

Here are just a few of the prizes that nonprofits can win:

• The "Golden Tickets": 24 $1,000 grants will be given out, one each hour, on behalf of one individual donor. So essentially, it pays to donate at 3am, because your odds of winning money on behalf of your organization of choice are greater!
• Grand prizes of $15,000, $10,000, and $7,500 are given to the three organizations that raise the most within the 24-hour period.
• AND, prizes of $15,000, $10,000, and $7,500 are given to the three small organizations (with budgets under $750,000) that raise the most within the 24-hour period.
• And many more!

Check it out!

Q: Whoa! Who's paying for those awesome prizes?

A: Good question. 

Winners of all Give to the Max Day prizes will receive the grants funded from the Minnesota Community Foundation.

Check them out here.


Q: Cool! When is this happening?
A: November 16! It begins when the clock strikes twelve (midnight) on November 16th and goes until midnight on November 17th. It goes for 24 hours online, and prizes ("Golden Tickets") are given out every hour, so if you happen to be awake at 4am, consider making a donation ;)


Q: Why are you telling me all this?
A: Two reasons, really. The first is that I really believe in the importance of nonprofit organizations and the work they do. From teaching our children to making music, from supporting sustainable agriculture to lifting up those in need, I believe that every action done in good faith and with a loving heart makes the world a more beautiful place.

The second is that even though I don't live there right now, Minnesota is the land my heart adores, and I am fiercely proud to call it home. All of us, for the most part, have called Minnesota home at some point, and I hope we can all agree that it is one of the best places to live. Minnesota is a place where we value education, family, health, beauty and nature. Minnesotans are giving and caring people, we are a state of volunteers, and we can make a difference!

That being said, I realize that this is a tight economic time for everyone, especially those of us who have just graduated, so please don't feel like I'm trying to pep-talk you into anything. My goal with this post is just to make you aware that this fundraising effort is taking place, and hopefully make you aware of all the awesome work that these nonprofits are doing to continue to make Minnesota the best place to live. And maybe, just maybe, you'll find an organization you want to contribute to. Remember, every dollar counts, so even if $5 is all you can spare right now, that's still better than nothing :)

If you'd like to read the article I cited in this post, click here!

Much love!
Boo

PS Check out what St. Olaf has to say about Give to the Max Day:

“We were so appreciative of the generosity alumni, parents, and friends of the college displayed during Give to the Max Day last year,” said Tracy Fossum, director of annual giving of St. Olaf College, a first-place grant winner in 2010. “Give to the Max Day resulted in the single most successful day in annual giving at St. Olaf, and we are thrilled to be participating again in 2011.”

PPS I was in a meeting this morning and the woman asked what my background was. I said that I had recently graduated from St. Olaf College with a degree in Environmental Studies. She said, "Oh I'm familiar with St. Olaf." I assumed she was referring to Betty White's St. Olaf from Golden Girls, but she said no, she knows of St. Olaf for reasons which have nothing to do with Betty. Whaaat? She didn't elaborate, but it is still cool to know that news of Olaf's existence has preceded me down here. :)

Home.

Something amazing happened the other day. I woke up in the morning and I was freezing cold. I love feeling chilly. It means fall is coming. It means that I am not plagued by invasive humidity. It means hot apple cider, wool socks, sweaters, pumpkins, mashed potatoes and stuffing, and soon, snow. It means home.

"It is starting to feel like home yet?" my mom asked.

Well...I don't know.

I suppose, since I don't believe in simple answers for heavy questions, that it depends on your definition of home.

If home is where my hat is, then I suppose this is home. If home is where my heart is, then I'm not sure where it is. If home is the place that I dream about, that I miss daily, then home is Minnesota. Maybe that's still too simple of an answer.

I feel a twinge of guilt whenever I say "I'm heading home" as I'm leaving work. Home is Minnesota, I remind myself sternly. But maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I have been doing my best to rephrase; instead of staying, "I'll call you when I get home," I say things like "I'll call you once I'm back in my apartment" or "-when I'm done at work." And while these work perfectly well, they require deliberate thought. "I'm heading home" is so natural. And I know that when I say it I am referring to my apartment. I know that the person I am talking to knows that as well. So perhaps there are multiple levels of home. Perhaps home really can be where your hat is. Home is the place you carve out for yourself; the place you park you car, the place you sleep at night, the place you keep your books and your socks, and the place you use as your return address. Home can mean that place for me, guilt-free, because I know that Minnesota is my Home. So maybe all this stress comes down to a capital letter.

Afterall, there is a reason that Homecoming is such a big deal. No one throws a party when they drive home from work on a Tuesday afternoon. But making the pilgrimage back to your alma mater, your hometown, or your parents' front steps merits a full-hearted celebration, because it is more than a place to keep things or rest your feet--it is your Home.

While Edina is the place that I call home, I think that my home is found even more deeply in people. Home is the place where you belong, where you are not a stranger, where you are loved and comfortable. Seeing my family this past weekend was a great reminder of that, as was seeing my good friends A&R in September. No matter where in the world I find myself, when I am gathered with friends or family, I no longer feel like a stranger. I feel anchored to the people around me, and I am instantly transported back home.

Still, I think Minnesota will always be my Home. Wherever I may roam, I will always be called back to Sweet Home Minnesota, where my heart is, where my favorite people have always gathered, and quite honestly, where the majority of my hats and socks are :)

Love,
Boo

Things that make me happy.

1) Crisp autumn days.
2) Friendly cats.
3) Laughing with a friend.
4) When the boy gets the girl in a movie. Or when a girl gets the guy for that matter. As long as they're happy together, I'm happy.
5) Discovering new recipes.
6) Successfully making said recipe! (check out last night's success)
7) Having a rocking good hair day.
8) Dancing with someone you love.
9) Snuggling up in a warm bed on a chilly night.

The world is beautiful.

Love, Boo

the whole wheat raspberry ricotta scones.
the best part of waking up.

Update: The car is fixed!

Yes! The car is fixed! The rumbling sound is gone! It turns out that the rear driver's side tire was having hub/bearing trouble, and the breaks pads were almost all the way worn down. On a recommendation from a coworker we brought the car to a Shell station near my apartment which has a really good reputation, and indeed they were very helpful :) So my mother has taken off for Florida and I will join her in the morning for the wedding and lots of family time!!! :)

It's like a really loud grinding sound. Almost like a giant rock tumbler. That's not a good sign, is it?

So I'm having some car trouble, just in time for the busiest weekend since I moved here. I'll get to the car stuff in a moment, because I am really more interested in talking about all the exciting things going on!

First up is Bay Bash, our fall fundraiser which took place last night. It was a fantastic evening, lots of fun, and pretty successful I think! We here at the office are still recovering from late nights and weeks of stressful planning. We've had sort of a slow start, with people trickling into the office a few at a time, arms laden with stacks of burlap, bags of driftwood, and unclaimed silent auction items. (I am actually one of the guilty parties who left without claiming the framed photographs I won! Pictures to follow!)

Some of us had a later night than others. I'm not actually sure how late anyone else was out, but I didn't get in until about 1:30am last night. My mom got in on a late flight into Gulfport, MS, (an hour west of Mobile) so, accompanied by my lovely assistant Koko, I went out to get her. However, I was late leaving the fundraiser because, even with permission, I felt guilty leaving early, so we didn't really get onto the highway until about 10ish. While driving, Koko and I alternated between trying to distract ourselves from the strange sound the car was making and trying to diagnose it. The car has been making this weird sound for a while, about 3ish weeks at this point. I for sure noticed it on October 22nd. At first I likened it to sounding as though someone had installed a large rock tumbler in my trunk. Now, I am not a car person, I know hardly anything about them or their maintenance, but I could tell that something was off about that, although I couldn't begin to guess what might be wrong. I knew that the brakes were fine and I was quite certain that it wasn't the muffler. Koko noticed it the other day while we were driving to the Dixie, definitively proving that I am not paranoid and that there is actually something wrong!

So on top of the other car problem I've been having (for those of you who haven't heard, my trust in the Accord was recently shattered when I spent a night running down to the parking lot every fifteen minutes to disengage a car alarm which kept activating itself for no apparent or logical reason. I finally had to have roadside assistance come to my apartment to get it all unhooked so that I--and my 200 neighbors--could sleep in peace.) I now have this to deal with. I had warned my dad about the weird noise and alerted my mom to it once we found her at the airport. As soon as we pulled away from the curb she confirmed, once and for all, that there is something seriously wrong. She was reluctant to get back on the highway, but as it was already 11:30 and we had no map, we opted to take the highway, but just go really slow. So we rumbled along at 50mph on I-10E for about an hour and a half until we got back to my apartment building. Koko was a real trooper and after keeping me company and calm on the drive out, took a well-deserved nap in the back seat. The symptoms were also a lot more noticeable in the back seat, consisting of the seat vibrating like a cell phone. Seriously, if you have any idea what's going on, please tell me.

We are in the process of finding a reliable place to take the car in to get looked at, because, go figure, I don't have a car place in Alabama. We're in a time crunch too because my mom was supposed to take the car this morning to drive to Pensacola to meet up with the rest of my extended family. What are a bunch of midwesterners doing in Pensacola in the middle of October? you may ask. We are gathering for my cousin Jonathan's wedding! I am super excited, not only because he's getting married, but also because I get to see some of my favorite family members! G-money is driving into Mobile tonight and we will join the rest of the fam in Florida tomorrow morning.

I think this is a good time to point out that every time G-dawg has come to visit me, we have ended up in Florida. I just think that's funny. I mean, the Florida state line is less than an hour away, which makes it less impressive, but still. :)

So that's all I've got for now! I am in a really good mood, despite the obnoxious car situation. And even though my mom and I are both exhausted, it was so so good to see her last night and show her around my little apartment now that I'm more settled into it. More pictures to follow, of everything (aside from the drive to and from the airport, which I never want to remember, because it was awful), but here are a few that I have so far!

More to come!
Love,
Boo

The back of the venue, Five Rivers.

The view from the upper deck, looking out over the water.

The outdoor tables on the deck.

Wow! For real?? How did I not know that?

That is going to be your reaction to the following list of facts I have compiled about the Gulf Coast. Let me preface this list by saying that yesterday, after a year of meetings and public listening sessions, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force released its report! This is basically a 100-page plan for long-term ecosystem and community restoration in the 5 Gulf Coast states. So far I have only gotten a few pages into it, but they have all been super interesting pages! There is a section which details why the Gulf Coast is so important, and there are some really really interesting facts in it!

So, without further ado, here are some cool things you might not have known about the 5 coastal states that I think you should know :)

Did you know...

• In Alabama "in 2009, commercial fishing trips landed 27.8 million pounds of seafood worth over $37 million. Commercial fishing contributes $391 million and over 8,750 jobs to the state’s economy annually."
• "In 2010 tourism was responsible for welcoming more than 82.3 million visitors to Florida, who spent more than $62.7 billion, generating 22 percent of the state’s sales tax revenue and employing nearly 1 million Floridians."
• "More than five million ducks (20 percent of the continental population) winter in Louisiana each year. During the peak spring migration season, nearly 25 million birds arrive in coastal Louisiana each day."
• "Today, more than 30 states depend on coastal Louisiana’s navigation channels for imports and exports. Louisiana’s ports account for 18 percent of all waterborne commerce in the nation. Five of the 15 largest ports in the United States are in Louisiana. The state’s ports handle an estimated 60 percent of grain exports from Midwestern farmers and are a top importer of steel, coffee, rubber, timber and containerized cargo."
• Louisiana "produces up to 90 percent of the nation’s outer continental shelf oil and natural gas. Louisiana is the top producer of oil and natural gas in the nation (including outer continental shelf oil and gas)."
• "Nearly 25 percent of the commercial fish and shellfish in the United States are harvested in Louisiana’s waters. Louisiana is the nation’s top producer of shrimp, oysters, crawfish and blue crabs." AND "Nearly 90 percent of species in the Gulf of Mexico and 98 percent of commercial fish and shellfish depend on Louisiana’s coastal wetlands."
• Pascagoula, Mississippi, "is the home of the largest military shipbuilder in the United States, and the largest private employer in the state, providing approximately 11,000 jobs for residents of the northern Gulf region."
• Also in Mississippi, "NASA’s Stennis Space Center is home to more than 30 federal, state, academic and private organizations and numerous technology-based companies. The center’s staff includes approximately 2,000 oceanographers, scientists and support staff with a unique capability to study the Gulf Coast from space and in the field."
• "Eighty-two percent of shrimp in the United States come from the Gulf States, with Texas supplying 89.7 million pounds per year. The annual oyster harvest is approximately 5.7 million pounds of meat worth over $19 million."

Okay, so maybe that was more of a textbook-style blog post than I intended, but I still think it is super interesting to realize that so many resources come from this area! Consider this: "The five U.S. Gulf Coast states, if considered an individual country, would rank 7th in global gross domestic product." That is just crazy!!

Oh by the way, all these quotes are taken directly from the report, which, if you are interested, can be found here!

Also, maybe a picture will help liven this post up.

Blue crabs!!

I have sitting-at-a-desk-itis.

There are many things I love about my job. I enjoy the work I am doing, the people I am working with, and the things I am learning. One thing that has been an adjustment though is sitting at a desk most of the time. Through deductive reasoning and conference with other newly desk-bound peers, I have realized that the back pain I have been experiencing lately may in fact be caused by all this desk-sitting.

So far I have tried a few things to combat this:
-biking
-stretching
-back massages
-ibuprophen
-hot showers
-walking around the office every fifteen minutes
-sleeping on my back instead of my front (unsuccessful).

I am looking into getting a heating pad in hopes of relieving some of the muscle tension, and my back did definitely feel better after the hot shower and stretching, but I am a bit bewildered by the suddenness of this soreness!

Any tips??

Painfully and forever yours,
Boo


PS I want to assure you though that I do more than just sit at a desk. I started off this morning by being deployed to Helen Wood Park, which is situated at the mouth of Dog River where it dumps into Mobile Bay. My mission was to ascertain where the tide was, specifically to see if the oyster reefs we planted there in January were visible. I also spotted a beautiful white bird! See?

Yoga in the Park!

There is always something going on in Cathedral Park in downtown Mobile. If it's not a farmer's market, it's a live music festival, a midwifery fair, or an afternoon of free yoga! Let me preface this story by saying that we did not actually end up participating in the yoga. My friend Coco and I heard that yoga was going on from 2-5pm on Sunday and decided to bike over and check it out. However, our departure was delayed by my adventures in the kitchen (learn more about that here!) so yoga had been going on for over an hour and a half by the time we got there. All the little groups of people seemed really peaceful and in the zone, and we felt too awkward to barge in on their stretching, so instead we found a park bench and sat observing.

Even though we weren't personally yoga-ing, we were still overcome with a sense of peace and contentment just sitting there. It was the perfect temperature out, there was just enough sun to be warm but not scorching, and we were sitting in the dappled shade of a few oak trees which would occasionally drop bullet-like acorns on our heads. When the wind would blow, a gentle, fragrant smell wafted towards us, and we realized it was coming from the tropical flower beds nearby. Beautiful! And, it was maybe fifteen minutes before we realized that what we had assumed was a recording of relaxing music flowing across the lawn was actually being performed live by a harpist! Enchanting! I felt like I was living in a real-life Stars Hollow!

I will try to post some pictures once I get them off my camera, because it really was the most perfect day and Cathedral Square is super pretty. All in all it was a lovely experience, and even though no yoga took place on our part, it was the perfect afternoon for a bike ride, and a welcome excuse to get out of the apartment and stretch our legs. Hurray for a temperate climate! :)

Jubilee!

The other day an email was forwarded to me with the subject line: Jubilee in Daphne taking place now 10:30 AM Friday, 9/22/11.

For those of you who are not from the the Mobile Bay area, this information is most likely met with confusion and mild curiosity. Allow me to translate. A "jubilee" occurs when there is a naturally-occurring but uncharacteristically low concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water, causing all manner of tasty sea creatures (crabs, flounder, stingrays, eels) to flee to shallower, more oxygen-rich waters. This of course means that you get stretches of beach where the shallow waters are full of very accessible seafood. Catching them is also made easier by the fact that oxygen deprivation causes the crabs and other sea critters to be very drowsy and behave very strangely.

This quote from Wikipedia really drives home how epic this event is:

The large volume of crustacean and fish that a jubilee can produce is hard to overstate; author Archie Carr comments that "[a]t a good jubilee you can quickly fill a washtub with shrimp. You can gig a hundred flounders and fill the back of your pickup truck a foot deep in crabs."^[4] 

In addition to the sheer mass of the animals present, harvesting them is made considerably easier by the effect that the oxygen deprivation has on the animals. Their behavior has been described as "depressed and moribund",^[2] or "unnatural";^[4] crabs are observed "climbing tree stumps to escape the water" and flounder "slither up the banks."^[1]  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Bay_jubilee

If you haven't heard of this particular phenomenon before, don't feel bad. It is not very common. In fact, in the United States it is unique to Mobile Bay. And the only other place in the world it is known to happen is somewhere in Japan.

So just how big of a deal is the jubilee phenomenon? Big enough that it has its own festival! I may just have to wander over and check it out this weekend. You should also know that people who live on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay have "jubilee bells" on their porches--when they see a jubilee event happening, they sound the alarm! As the word spreads, people come running with ice chests to catch their fill of fresh seafood! And apparently the news of a jubilee is now being spread via email, in another meeting of technology and tradition :)

If you want more information, here is the Wikipedia link I drew from, as well as some articles about recent jubilee events. The majority of my information was anecdotal and provided to me by my wonderful coworkers, who are eager to introduce me to the way of life down here on the Gulf Coast :)

Wishing you smiles and sunshine!
-Bethany

Hello!

Hi! So several people now have asked me if I am planning to keep a blog during my time in Mobile, and after a few weeks of contemplation, I impulsively decided to create one five minutes ago. So here it is!

I've been living in Alabama for about a month at this point. I am really enjoying it so far, although I miss my friends and family like you wouldn't believe. One thing that helps with my homesickness however is the fact that I really love my job and my coworkers. I am spending the year working as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer for a small non-profit organization on the Gulf Coast, which has been an amazing learning experience in the 4 weeks that I have been here so far.

It's amazing to me that I have already been here for a month! It feels like it's gone so fast! To be fair, I did kind of get thrown into things right away. At a non-profit organization there is always work to be done, and especially working for an organization which has been so involved in responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, there are a lot of a meetings and there is a lot of activity surrounding getting information distributed and getting restoration projects funded. It is very exciting and is helping me discover what I want to do with myself as I continue growing up :)

Well, I don't have a ton to say right now. Like I said, this was an impulsive decision. So, I'll leave you with a few things I have learned about the South and Mobile so far.
1) Sweet tea is awesome.
2) Recycling bins are super rare.
3) Humidity makes your skin crawl, but also gives your hair amazing new volume and curl that you never thought possible!
4) There is something going on in Downtown Mobile almost every weekend.
5) The elevator in my apartment building nearly always smells like fried chicken. Or cigarette smoke.

Alright, peace out! Leave me comments! Ask me questions! I'll update this when I think of something clever or interesting to say, possibly with pictures!

-Bethany