Hey Fighting Tigers

As I was before the 2007 season, I am super primed up for football season (and well all know what happened then). The following link explains why:

http://collegefootball.about.com/od/schools/tp/rankings-preseason.htm

That year, I argued that we were preseason #2, we had a tough schedule, and if we got through it, we were guaranteed a spot in the BCS game. We got through, barely, with two losses, but we won. This year, I've been arguing superstition about always playing in the BCS game when it's in New Orleans. I argue tough schedule like last time as well, only with a #4 ranking this time around. Let me explain.

Rankings:

1. Oregon

2. Oklahoma

3. Alabama

4.LSU

5. Stanford

6. Boise State

7. Oklahoma State

8. South Carolina

9. Texas A&M

10. Wisconsin

11. Notre Dame

12. Ohio State

13. Florida State

14. TCU

15. Michigan State

16. Penn State

17. Virginia Tech

18. Nebraska

19. Missouri

20. Mississippi State

21. Arkansas

22. Florida

23. Auburn

24. West Virginia

25. Miami

Now, that MIGHT be the most obscure top 10 of all time, but we start the season playing #1, we can make that work. Then, we have to play two more top ten teams over the course of the season. NOT TO MENTION the five, count 'em FIVE other top 25 teams we must beat. If we can knock out Oregon in that first game and set ourselves up for greatness, we are guaranteed a spot.

I'm not gonna lie, I really wish I was in grad school at LSU for this. I'd be at every game just like 2007. But I guess we all gotta grow up at some point. This...is...gonna...be....awesome.

Plus, a National Championship in New Orleans for the third time in a row. We own that place. Lets make it happen.

Geaux Tigers.

when the SAINTS go marching in

I've never missed New Orleans more than I missed it Sunday night.

And I'd only been there five days before.

But here I was, in an apartment in Harlem, in a room full of black and gold, and jambalaya, with people I'd just met who all shared a common love: A City and a Team that for so long has lived as an underdog, and now, people care.

I've felt it all season. Almost every Tuesday afternoon these past few months, someone has walked up to me and said something like "Congratulations." or "We're so happy for you right now."

Why?

Because of a football team. A football team that for 43 years has seen many many downs, and not many ups.

For as long as I can remember "When the Saints go to the Superbowl" has been used in place of a more cliche "When Hell freezes over." We never thought it would happen. We wanted to believe it, and we dug down, and we had faith. Faith people no where else understand. We were that team that the other teams rested their starters against. We were not a team you had to bring your A-game to.

And now, after all this time, our day has come.

We were criticized for spending 200 million dollars to rebuild a stadium when there were thousands of people still homeless.

Ask any of those homeless people in New Orleans four years ago, and each and every one of them would tell you they'd rather have that stadium up and running. We don't function well without our Saints.

And back they came, roaring, with a new team, a new coach, and a new agenda.

Carry the ball for the people.

I remember in 2006 the joy I experienced when we earned a first-round bye. I remember going home for a few weeks at Christmastime, and there was a different air in the city. It felt like a different place. New Orleans no longer felt like the city that care forgot. It felt like a city that had hope. They saw hope in those boys, and their eyes were focused on the road ahead.

I remember winning the divisional playoffs, and realizing in tears that we were, in fact, only one game away from the Superbowl. Letting that sink in was intense.

I remember the pain of losing that Championship game, and being just-shy of the glory that could have been. What I remember most is thinking that the Saints had done just what we always knew they did. Sweet victories wouldn't be as sweet if they were good all the time.

LSU has my heart, and I cannot imagine being more excited and proud on the fourth row at that BCS National Championship game. I screamed and shouted, I pinched myself a few times, but I felt nothing like this. And we all know, I love LSU a wee bit more than my Saints.

But LSU is good most of the time. Or at least decent.

The Saints are a different story altogether. When the Saints are good, it means something. And it gets under your skin. I love those boys. I love how they are a part of the city. I love how they care. I love how they know what it means to us.

I may not live in New Orleans anymore, but New Orleans lives in me. Cheezy as that may sound. I can almost promise you that I will end up back there. I can't seem to keep myself away. I know the Lord has me in New York right now for good reasons, and I am learning so much in turn, but boy do I miss that city. Especially now.

There was a video that nola.com posted of a bar in the quarter where people were watching the game. And watching that last moment, I felt everything I felt Sunday night on Madison Avenue. I felt the tears rush back, and I watched those people in that video scream and shout and cry and pour out into the streets and celebrate. The whole city celebrated, brass bands came out of nowhere and marched down the street like it was Mardi Gras day.

I wanted to be in that number.

Saints Video: Bourbon Street

Houseguests and Such

So, life has been super busy this past week or so.  It reminds me of why I love living in New York.

Last Tuesday, I worked a total of 14 hours between Barnes and Noble and working for Tricia, got home at midnight, went to work from 9 am to 5:30 pm the next day, then to Wednesday night stuff at church.  That night, I relaxed with a cup of cocoa, a warm blanket, and a John Krasenzki movie.  

I went on to work Thursday and Friday, and welcomed houseguests Friday night.  They've been here ever since, so I've spent a lot of time getting to enjoy New York, including a broadway show, and a room full of LSU fans watching the amazing Georgia.  We also went to the Brooklyn Bus Festival, and free admission to the transit museum (ummm, yes please!).  It's been great.  

Today was after-school, and of course, it made me smile :)  Those kids just warm my heart so much.  I wish I could just be with them every day.  Tuesday is the only day I dread my Barnes and Noble job, because it means I am missing the after-school program.  We talked about making sacrifices and turning away from ourselves today, which was really cool. Chris and I are trying to come up with ideas for our Sunday afternoon outings for the semester, and it is a lot harder than it seems, but I've been praying that we find some fun places to go and things to do where we can really spend time with the youth and pour love into them.  

The joy I have from knowing I am following my calling to be here at this phase of my life is overwhelming. I cannot express it in a way anyone can understand.  Taylor called me into his office today just to talk, and we talked about what it's been like and the emotions I've dealt with and just how hard it really is to step out on faith, but the rewards are so great and I am so thankful.  I really have the best and most supportive church family a girl could ask for.  I love them so much.  

South Louisiana is in my Soul

I drove to Baton Rouge last night to visit with my friends.

They were wrapping up finals, and I hadn't seen many of them in a whil

e, so I thought it would be nice to go and spend time with some people I miss.  

Baseball at the Box is a fantastic way to start any weekend, so I bought a ticket early Friday morning (it still kills me to pay for a ba

seball ticket), and I took in my third LSU baseball game of the season.  Beating Florida at just about ANYTHING always makes for a good night.  We decided we wanted to play, like the old days.  

We followed the game with a trip to Celebration Station for a little mini-golf action, and I laughed more than I've laughed in a while.  I was in a giggly mood and it felt GREAT.  I realized just how much I missed my friends, and it made my time with them even sweeter.  After mini-golf (which I lost, horrifically), we went to a Circle K and got Icees.  Strawberry Icees are something no one should go very long without in lif

e.  We took them downtown, and attempted to go for a walk on the levee, but it was even sketchier down there than normal on this particular night.  As a result of the sketch-factor, we decided to go explore the Port Allen levee across the river, which Chris claimed was really nice.  It was. 

While taking in the view of Baton Rouge, I, as always, reminded myself of how truly blessed I was to spend the best years of my life there, and how, no matter what, it will always hold a special place in my heart, even if it isn't the big, booming city I prefer to live in.  

      

 We took the old bridge back, just to add to the adventure of it all.  I always thought that bridge was ultra-creepy when I lived there, but I've driven across the original Huey P. so many times in the last few months that it makes the Baton Rouge Huey seem a much less scary.  I love driving up 110 when you come around that corner where you can see the Capitol clearly.  It was a great way to end the night. 

This morning, after being lazy for a while, we got crawfish and daiquiris and ate and drank them on campus.  The weather was PERFECT, as was the company.  It was so beautiful, in fact, that Kayleigh, Caitlin, and I drove over to visit Mike, who was resting gloriously in the shade (you know, some o

f those trees they put in that 2.2 million dollar habitat of his).  

As I drove around Baton Rouge, and as I drove back home, I couldn't help but note how wonderful a time I'd had.  I couldn't stop smiling.  I have really had the best life, and am so blessed in so many ways.  I grew up in the greatest corner of the country, and am so thankful for that.  I'm also

 thankful for the opportunity to go elsewhere and see what else the world has to offer.  

South Louisiana, you will be missed. 

New Year, New Job, Etc...

2009 is upon us, and I can't seem to grasp the concept that this truly is going to be a NEW year for me.  I am starting a new phase and I have decisions to make and major changes to deal with.

In four days I will start my new job, and I am not so sure I am ready.  Readiness aside though, I am excited.  I needed change, badly, and this is going to be a big one.  

Getting a real paycheck is not so bad either.  

The last few days I've been in Atlanta enjoying my last LSU football experience as a "student." The circumstances of this trip have lead us to having a rough time.  Nonetheless, my Tigers won (finally), and by A LOT.  The good times have been quite good.  But we had some major kinks getting here and it's kinda thrown off the whole atmosphere. 

About thirty miles west of Atlanta, we got into a bit of an accident.  Okay, a big accident.  Cole rear ended Sarah's car on the interstate because all of the cars on said interstate decided to come to a complete stop at the bottom of a hill where three lanes merged to two. 

It was not a pretty sight. 

We are now in two different cars than we came to Atlanta in, and praying we make it home without any trouble.  Talk about going out with a bang!  I've been on about 15 football trips, and NEVER have we had any accidents.  Flat tires, yes, but major accidents, no.  Thankfully no one was really injured, though Kayleigh and I both have nice bruises :)  

Now What?

Five years and a couple of months after the LSU-Georgia game of 2003, I walked across a stage in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and received a degree, or at least a diploma cover (they give you the actually diploma after the ceremony).

I kept thinking of that football game, and how, when I made that decision, right there on the 40 yard line, to become a Tiger, I never imagined how fast it would go by.  I don't think I ever actually pictured the end ever getting here.  

I had a good bit of fun, and now, that part of my life is over.  It still hasn't completely sunken in yet.  It's strange to think that next time I go to Baton Rouge, it will be to pick up my things and leave forever.  I still feel like as soon as the Christmas season is over, and upon return from the Atlanta trip, I will be going back to the normal routine I have grown accustomed to.

But I won't. 

In two weeks, I will have a classroom of my own, and responsibilities I cannot yet imagine.  

Okay, I'll be honest, I'm not really sure I want to imagine them. 

It's also strange that right now, I don't really have any responsibility. I woke up this morning, finished It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium, a book in which John Ed Bradley talks of emotions and uncertainties I am all too familiar with right now (except the whole football thing).  I then watched a little television, and finally left the house to fight Westbank traffic and run an errand for my mom.  I ended up at Starbucks.  After all, where else does one go when one has no responsibility.  I am finished Christmas shopping, and truly cannot afford to do any other shopping since I have no more income until that first pay check comes through next month. So I sit, and wait, and read.  Lots of reading.  I've got lots of catching up to do.  Out of fear of spending this money I do not have, I have banned myself from visiting the Sports, Biography, History, Children's, and Local sections of Barnes and Noble.  

This basically leaves self-help and fiction, which are not worth fighting crowds to explore.  This is not to say there aren't other sections at the BN, but those are the only other two I might possibly buy from, and frankly, I just don't feel like getting out to look through them.  

Call me a hermit.  

I will have no life this semester, which is probably a good thing, considering I have three different preps (meaning, I have to write and prepare lessons for three different classes). January 5th seems eerily closer than I would like for it to be.  I once was very excited about teaching, but I'm not so sure anymore.  

I want to write, I've always wanted to write, and eventually I will.  Now that I'm about to begin my career, I am more and more certain that I want to write, eventually to the point where I don't have to have a teaching career anymore.  

How certain am I though?  That's the scary part...  

So for now, I'm going with the career which fits my degree, and I will later go back and get more degrees, because lets face it, I love school and learning.   Once I have gotten into the swing of things, I fully intend to do part time school and keep this whole education thing going. 

Until then, I guess I will have to see if I fall back in love with teaching once I have a classroom of my own.  

So yeah, I've graduated, and I am fully in quarter-life crisis mode. 

Appalachian is HOT HOT HOT

After many months of waiting, the time has finally arrived and college football is back into full gear.

All of our housing issues were worked out and we ended up at Caitlin's grandma's house in Meridian after what was probably one of the funnest football games I'd ever been to Thursday night.

I expected fun, after all, it's Tiger Football, but Mississippi State does not always make for an exciting game (the final score as 45-0 in favor of LSU), but being on the front row, right next to the band, with a good many of my closest friends standing beside me, meetin the chancellor and Van Chancellor, not to mention the RAIN, made for a pretty memorable night. Despite the sounds of obnoxious maroon cowbells, our student section cheered away. To counteract MSU's ONE obnoxious cheer (here, see if you can do it: Go State, Go State, GO STATE!), LSU gave 'em a taste of what real cheering is, and by request of both a Louisiana and a Mississippi state trooper, the token "Go the hell Ole Miss," just to be nice and cheer as friends. We figured since both LSU and MSU love that one, and we were beating them about 39-0 at this point, we'd allow for one friendly gesture.

The next day, a broadcast e-mail was sent out announcing that the new tiger would be released into his habitat a week ahead of schedule. Apparently, this cub, the two-year-old product of an unwanted pregnancy between a Siberian and Bengal tiger in Indianappolis, was way more ready for the crowd than expected. I remember coming up to Baton Rouge to see Mike V when he was a baby, and the tears I shed in May when I got the e-mail saying he had died, so I was determined to be there to get the first glimpse of the soon-to-be Mike VI. I hopped on the bike, rode under the towering East Upper Deck of the stadium, locked the bike up to the PMAC, and awaited his release. Without ceremony or announcement, suddenly the tiger door opened, and our beautiful new mascot was frolicing about his 2.2 million dollar home. The crowd gasped, little kids pushed their way to the front, and big kids like me cried (as I am doing now just thinking about it). What a wonderful moment to witness. They say they're not sure if he'll be ready to go to the game next week, but he looked so happy and hyper and he LOVED the crowd, I can't imagine them not allowing him to be there to intimidate Virginia Tech. I'm getting chills just thinking about it.

Tod Graves, the Raisin' Cane's guy, was there with his dog, so I can now say that I have gotten to pet Cane the dog, and she was SOOOO sweet. Plus I've alwasy wanted to meet this Graves fellow, cuz I hear he's a nice guy for being a multi-millionare, and he was. One Love. I began craving Canes and had it for lunch. I spent the rest of the day on the couch watching college football, doing a little bit of reading for school, and wondering how in the world Appalachain State beat the number five team in the country in the largest stadium in America. Crazy!

Did I mention how glad I am it's football season?

Starkvegas here I come!

Some have mentioned that I might change the name to my blog now that I am no longer in New York. My opposition to this is that a.)Baton Rouge is a city too... and b.) God made me for the city, and my heart will always be in the city, whatever that city may be.

Tommorrow is my first LSU football game of the year, and the first big away game road trip. I'm skipping four classes, and I don't have a place to stay, at least not in Starkville that is (I'll be driving into Jackson if necessary). I'm pretty excited about going, despite the complications and the fact that I had to get my lab permenantly moved after much begging.

School's gonna be crazy this semester, so don't expect a whole lot of updates. I will, when procrastinating, be updating as much as possible.

GASP, and Bobby

Yesterday I helped out with the Graffiti Afternoon Summer Program at church. Kyle was short one person to help with the 4-6 graders, so I was recruited to join the team. It was a pretty fun day, lots of Guitar Hero. During devotion, one of the kids asked "Why do they always say that God was Jesus's father?" to which we responded, "Because he was." (what else would be the explanation?) She then proceeded to say "No, Joseph was his father." We had to explain that Joseph was sort of an "adopted" father, which lead to some kids mumbling "No, he was his stepfather," etc... Interesting to see the kinds of things kids ask and are willing to argue about.

Today was very slow. I didn't have much work to do at all, I just made a few phone calls, sent some e-mails, etc... Peter said his office (which is the office I work out of), was too hot and he didn't want to make me come up there unless he had something he really needed me to do, so he told me to call it a day pretty early. I met with Ema for a little while. We've been reading this great book about all of the basic Christian beliefs we should know and understand, and then discussing it once a week.

I went to the Manhattan Mall for the first time today, only to discover that there is a Steve and Barry's there, and that it is as cheap and wonderful as I've heard. I bought an LSU shirt for eight dollars, and a nice one at that. After shopping for a little while, I came home, cooked a pop-tart for dinner, and watched Bobby. If you have not yet seen this movie, and are at all interested in history circa 1968, take the time to watch it, it's fabulous. 1968 just so happens to be one of my favorite years, but that is part of the nerdy side of me coming out. I absolutely loved it, and will probably buy it when I get home. There's something about that whole late-sixties cold-war-era that gets me every time.