Did you really just "poke" me?

My eyes have been enlightened recently to what the definition of a "poke" is on Facebook. For the past few years I have lived in the dark, but now having read Lonesome Dove, the truth has been revealed. Some think it's flirtatious, while others think it's just a friendly hello (or "howdy" for all you good Ags). Hate to break it to you, but it's a little more than that.

Shame on you Facebook. But at the same time, nigh wun.

Wildcat Woes Turn to Whoops

Let's be honest, Kentucky Basketball has not had the season everyone hoped for. With Billy G arriving in Lexington last April, hopes were set high for a return to the old glory days. He immediately was on the recruiting trail and was able to snatch up two more prospects before this season - Patrick Patterson* and Alex Legion. The anticipation for this season was greater than it had been in the past 5 seasons, ever since Tubby Smith had lost his luster in the Bluegrass State.

The wildcat faithful enjoyed a great season in football - an exciting come-from-behind win against our hated rivals, Lousyville, an impressive road win against Arkansas, beating #1 and the eventual national champions LSU in triple overtime, then pulling out the victory against FSU in the Music City Bowl. Rich Brooks had finally turned the football program into something respectable, which then placed even greater expectations on BCG to turn around the basketball program.

Well it didn't exactly pan out that way. No more rainbows and unicorns for Coach Gillispie; the 6 month honeymoon period ended quickly. UK fell to Gardner-Webb (who?), UAB, and San Diego all within the first month of the season. Losing to UNC or IU is one thing, but those other losses were difficult to swallow. Things got even worse when Legion decided to transfer in December. The frustration only culminated with the embarrassing display of basketball that UK had against UofL. Lexington was in shambles, about to implode. Kentucky basketball used to be the highlight of the year, what Kentuckians lived for, the pride and joy of the Commonwealth. Now the Wildcats were entering conference play with a record of 6-7, fearing that they were about to fall prey to the stacked SEC.

Then to the shock of everyone, Kentucky defeats then-undefeated, #13 ranked Vanderbilt at Rupp Arena. Although hesitant to enjoy the victory too much (fearing it was a fluke), Kentuckians did at least get to experience a couple of days of euphoria before the next game. The next week UK faced Mississippi State and Florida, both on the road. They came out of the road swing 0-2, which many would find discouraging, yet surprisingly, it was not. MSU was a tight game to the very end and UF was an over-time loss. The boys were playing with more energy and heart than they had all season. Things were starting to look up.

Then last Tuesday, Kentucky matched up against that ugly orange team south of the state border, Tennessee, ranked #3 in the nation and boasting one of the best point guards in the country, Chris Lofton (born and bread in Kentucky, but Tubby didn't think he could cut it in the SEC so he didn't recruit him heavily). The Wildcats fought the entire 40 minutes, diving across the floor for lose balls, double teaming on defense, attacking the rim for rebounds, and eventually pulled out an incredible 77-62 victory in front of 24,000 screaming fans at the magical Rupp Arena. Besides, no one wearing that color orange deserves to win at anything.

Kentucky was back to 2-2 in the SEC, with two massive wins over highly ranked teams. The state of Kentucky was celebrating that victory like they had won the National Championship. In the O.R. of the UK Hospital, Dr. Raleigh Jones stated that "Everyone here is talking like we are going to win the SEC now since they have figured out what Billy G wants. I think that is way too far personally, but I don't expect more losses like Gardner Webb." A true blue fan in Michigan believes that "this is where we start to turn the season around and make the tournament", while another UK enthusiast in Charleston, SC went as far to say that he has a "man-crush on Billy G".

With another win over South Carolina this past Saturday, the Wildcat faithful are starting to come out from hiding. The Cats are currently 9-9 on the season, 3-2 in the SEC, but even more importantly, they are starting to play Billy ball. But let's see if they can win on the road, because so far, they have only been successful at home. Even though UK will probably not make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years, it's great to see the boys having fun out there and to finally see Coach Gillispie smile while wearing blue.

Needless to say, the future is bright. Gig 'em Wildcats.


*I would like to now take partial credit for Patrick Patterson being on UK's team. As you know, Billy G and much of his staff came from Texas A&M (my beloved school), so when I went home to Kentucky for the month of May, I called up one of my friends, Chris Walker, who is on staff and asked if he wanted to hang out since he didn't know a soul up there yet. He said he was slammed with work so he couldn't, but a few hours later he called begging for a favor. I arrived at the UK Basketball offices to find out he was given the task by Coach G to write 500 hand-written letters to Patrick Patterson by the next morning. So me and a few friends willingly helped Chris and some of the other assistant coaches and wrote letters for the next few hours. I personally wrote Patrick Patterson 100+ letters, telling him how awesome he is and how he will be "King of Kentucky" and the "main man on campus". I promised him a starting position, told him he would be SEC Conference Player of the Year and an All-American as a freshman, and how Kentucky would be the necessary step for him making it into the NBA. Well it obviously worked, because he committed 4 days later and he now wears the #54 jersey, and looks pretty darn good in it.

Delectable Dallas

Until this past weekend, I had never been to the Big-D, unless you count driving through on the way to other exhilarating destinations (ie Stillwater or Norman...yawn). I was excited to get the opportunity to spend some QT with some of my best friends, and hopefully get a glimpse of their new, vibrant existences in Dallas.

I arrived safe and sound to Dallas on Friday night at approximately 5pm. I waited in Ann Carolyn's parking lot for a few minutes before she came driving up in her new ride: a silver PT Cruiser. She was pimpin' that rental car big time this weekend. We soon headed out to get some "local color", Jake's Hamburgers, for dinner. Two of AC's friends, Laura and Haley, joined us and we all got our singing groove on with some fantastic live music while enjoying the scrumptious burgers. Once we were able to tear Ann Carolyn away from flirting with a 3 year old boy, we sped out to Cowboy's Red River for some two-stepping. "Oh fun!" you are probably thinking. Not so much. I only danced with one guy the entire night (which I am very grateful that he even asked me to dance because he was one of the few normal people in the joint), but the rest of the time I was dodging sketchy old guys in wranglers who had their eyes all over me. Around 11, Ann Carolyn and I decided to bail so we called the one and only Amy Boone to come rescue us. Fortunately she extended mercy upon us and drove all the way out there to pick us up.

Amy had spent the evening babysitting some crazy kids so she was not dressed appropriately to go hit the town, so we decided to have a quiet evening in at AC's apartment. But first we had to stop at Wal-Mart for some ice cream and toilet paper (two essential keys to life). Justin met us at the apartment, pumped about getting to hang out with some Aggie babes. We spent the next few hours chillin, listening to music, and mostly having "girl" talk, which Justin was the instigator of. I never realized how uncool I really am until Justin brought up how much he loved Citizen jeans on girls and how every girl should own a pair. Not only do I not own a pair, but I couldn't even recognize a pair if someone hit me across the face with them. Even Justin, a guy, knows what they are...but granted, he himself was wearing designer jeans (which I wouldn't have known unless Amy had complemented him on them). I am so out of the fashion loop. I thought my Buckle jeans were cool. Clearly not.

Around 2:30am Justin decided it was time for him to get out of there so that he didn't get beaten up by Hollywood, the gate security guy. We said our goodbyes then he walks towards the door, opens it, then screams and runs back in. We had forgotten that a crazy bird had been in the hallway, flying into the walls and ceiling, practically killing itself. There was now blood all over the ceiling from where the bird had tried so hard to escape. Obviously the poor animal was demented, so Justin decided to step up and take care of business. Using his trusty tennis racquet, he killed the bird in one clean stroke of his forehand (ok, actually it took a few swings/misses to get it, but he put the bird out of its misery). All of us girls were very impressed as we watched Justin go from fashion guru/Mr. Nice guy to this brave, killer birdman. As Justin drove away we all laughed about how wonderful it is that God made men to instinctually be the protectors of women.

After that exciting transaction, Ann Carolyn and I were ready to quiet down for bed. But to our chagrin, her roommates had just returned from the bars and were partying it up in the apartment, blaring Christina Aguilera and screaming obscenities. We quickly realized they were not going to quiet down any time soon, so we called up Booner and asked if we could crash at her place. We finally hit the sack a little before 4am. The next morning Ann Carolyn and I strolled into her Nazi-lead workout class, already exhausted and dehydrated, but we got no mercy from the instructor. She was not in the best of moods that morning. My abs are still burning from that hour long hell-ride I endured. If I did that every day, I'd for sure have a six pack. Luckily I survived, but barely. The things I do for my friends... =)

We got back to Ann Carolyn's apartment to find it completely trashed, but even better than that, my ipod was gone. I had left it in the speakers from when we had been hanging out the night before, and apparently one of the guys that had come over to party after we had gone decided that a new ipod touch would be nice, so he snatched it. We got AC's roommate to get on the case and figure out where it was. She started calling around to all her friends and finally found the guy who had taken it. She told me that "he took it because we didn't know who's it was so he figured it might just be one of his friends." WHAT!? Who does that? But I got it back later that afternoon. So no worries.

The rest of the day was pretty chill. We ended up going out to the Village Church that evening, which was really cool because I had always listened to Matt Chandler's podcasts but had never seen him speak in person. I also ran into Mason King, which was a pleasant surprise. I met up with Sarah and Luby after church and we headed back to Dallas to catch some dinner before the movie we were planning to see with AC and all her church friends. Luby took us to Cuba Libre, which was really good, except for the hour long wait and then freezing our little phlistokites off on the deck as we ate. But we randomly ran into Parker Dalton's twin brother, whom I had never met, but it was very clear who he was...they look the same (duh) and have the exact same mannerisms; it was so cute! After dinner we went to the movie theater to meet up with everyone to see 27 dresses, but the movie was already sold out, so we had to see another one. Juno was the default selection, but it did not disappoint. Did anyone else feel really uncomfortable when Juno and the future father started dancing in the basement?!! Awkward turtle fo shiz.

After that we all passed out at Luby's house and slept in really late Sunday morning. I got a tour of her house when I awoke the next morning. Her parents collect antiques so the house was filled with cool artifacts. Her father makes and sells old-time sports equipment for a living, so we raided his work room and played dress up. Yes, we're dorks. But I'm ok with that. Remember, I had already accepted how uncool I am from the evening prior.

We then headed out to North Park mall to buy some heinously expensive cream at Neiman Marcus for one of Anna's friends. After that we just strolled around the mall, browsing in all the expensive stores that a po-dunk kid from Kentucky had never seen before. The embarrassing part was that I had never even heard of half the brands or stores. Ann Carolyn had shown me some jewelry earlier in the weekend that belonged to one of her roommates (a rink, bracelet, and watch) and she told me what brands they were and I sat there and nodded my head and showed amazement in my eyes, acting like I knew that that was a big deal when in fact I had no idea what she was saying. When she said they cost something like $3000 all combined, I figured they hadn't been purchased at Target, like mine had been.

My last adventure in Dallas was heading over to West Village for some sushi. Anna and I are both big fans of sushi, but SJ was an ardent defender of eating only cooked foods. We were able to convince her to try one bite of our roll and she loved it. Whoop! I tried for 10 years of my life to get her to eat PB&J (which she refused to do so until this past summer, and now she's obsessed). And now, Anna and I were successful at debunking the "sushi is disgusting" myth that she had held on to so tightly for all these years. I don't know what that girl would do without me. You're welcome SJ :)

I am now back in Aggieland, a place I love and appreciate even more after the crazy weekend in Dallas. Don't get me wrong, I had an incredible time up there. It was so great seeing all those friends and doing new, exciting things, but there is something so comforting about coming home to a place where I don't constantly feel underdressed or unworthy of even walking around a mall. Apparently the cool thing these days are wearing your jeans tucked into your boots or Uggs. My Sperry's are so last season...who knew!?

So now I sit here in anticipation, anxiously awaiting the time that AC, Amy, Justin, Sarah, and Luby will migrate down to CS for a weekend sometime this spring. We can do the Aggie thing - La Bodega, The Hook, Hookah Station (that's for you Justin), and Northgate - all in jeans (which don't have to be designer brand). Kruiser and I are waiting...

It's great to be back in Aggieland

Today was a fantastic day.

My last "first day" at Texas A&M.

Hearing a friendly "howdy" on campus.

My 3 classes: HORT 203, KINE 198, HIST 481.

Floral Design: I get 3 credit hours for playing with pretty flowers?!

Gymnastics: Just rekindling the old flame.

Germany and Japan: Empires and Medicine. Right up my alley.

65 degrees and sunny.

PB&J and an apple for lunch: perfection.

Cleaned my room (yes, I am a dork).

Ran into Kruiser at HEB.

Celebrated Brittany's birthday at Christopher's.

Thank you, Lord, for today.

My NEW TP

So I've gotten oodles of bad press for my last post, especially from the male sex. Most have said that no guy like that exists so I need to lower my expectations. I was more or less meaning it to be a joke, but I have found that most people are taking it seriously. My dear mama fears I may scare off a guy who may be remotely interested in me. So I am here to save my reputation and proclaim that I take back what I previously stated about my TP. I am really not that picky, I promise!! All I'm asking for is a nice Christian guy. That's it.

Thanks and gig 'em! :)

My TP (the Total Package)

Spending the last 4 days with my younger brother and Elizabeth, his new girlfriend who flew down from Philly to meet the fam, made me think about my own personal love life (or lack there of). I have a pretty standard set of rules, like most people do, that whoever I date must abide by (ie he must be a Christian, intelligent, driven), but once it gets past that, I don't think I'm too particular. Sarah believes that I'm too picky with my guys, but I argue that you can't be labeled "picky" when you aren't turning down date offers.

Of course, every girl has their dream guy, someone who would fit their mold completely. I'm here to share with you my "perfect" guy, the Total Package. One of my high school teachers told all the guys in our class that all they need to look for in a woman is someone who can do the 3 C's: cook, clean, and conceive. My list is a wee bit more extensive, and I'd like to believe, less sexist. So here he is, my TP...drum roll please...

Aggie, seeks the Lord daily, athletic, enjoys traveling, can two-step and look mighty fine in those jeans/boots, can dress up really nice but is not a metrosexual, spontaneous yet dependable, going into some sort of profession (medicine, engineering, law, etc), can wear chacos and still look cool, does not question my undying love for both A&M and UK athletics, wears cologne, does his own taxes (and secretly enjoys it), can't wait to be a daddy, mows the lawn for fun, reads The Economist and listens to Rush Limbaugh, is the "sweet" guy who can always find the best in everyone, can make me laugh, still flirts with me even after we are "official", can change a tire or his own oil and fix things around the house (since I can't), would be my perfect partner when playing cards/board games/42, shoots a sweet j and throws that perfect spiral, introduces me to new bands and types of music, has really good guy friends who he keeps in touch with, loves cuddling, is a good speller with an extensive vocabulary, will pretend like they love my cooking, even if it's disastrous, tolerates me crying during sappy romantic movies, is good at a sport or activity that I have no idea how to play (badminton, racquetball, snowboarding) and is willing to teach me, dresses nicely for church (this is oh so attractive to me), pushes me to my full potential, desires to do mission work, is not a picky eater, loves my sass, shaves his chest hair, funny, cute, manly, loves meeting new people, is an incredible encourager, prefers Layne's to Canes, and finds Halo and other such computer games to be childish and immature.

DISCLAIMER: I do not think this person actually exists. As long as he is a Christian and smarter than me, all the rest is just bonus! =)

Spring Break plans?

So I recently bought my ticket to Nassau, Bahamas for the second half of spring break (March 12-16), but that leaves me stranded in CS for the first half. Due to the traveling gene that my mother passed on to me, I am forced to express this gene whenever possible. So I curiously got online to check out ticket prices to random cities throughout the US for the dates of March 7-11, and a plethora of fairly priced tickets came to my attention. So now the decision has to be made on where to go for those 4 wonderful days before I head off to paradise (the Atlantis resort).

1. Chicago - This is probably where I want to go most. I haven't been to the Windy City since I was 10, so I am dying to return. I want to go sight-seeing, peruse the art museums, and watch some baseball. I have connections to stay up there for free, but the problem is: my brother (who goes to school at Wheaton) will not be in town that week because it's his own spring break. So do I want to go to Chicago and not get to see my brother?

2. Washington, DC - Our wonderful nation's capital hasn't been graced with my presence since the awkward years of middle school - my 8th grade school trip. Naturally, I feel like I need a second chance to show America that I have grown up a bit in the past 10 years. As a history major, nothing would tickle my fancy more than a day at the Smithsonian or promenading around the memorials.

3. New York City - Do I really need to explain why I would like to visit the Big Apple? Broadway plays, Central Park, Yankee stadium (before it's torn down), shopping, shopping, shopping. Wait, maybe my budget couldn't handle a trip like this....next!

4. San Diego, CA - I have never been to what many proclaim to be the prettiest city in the US. I hear the weather is perfect, there's good surfing, I have great friends that live out there, and the San Diego Zoo is calling my name...you hear it? I'll brave the possibility of getting attacked by a tiger.

5. Seattle, WA - The great outdoors and a beautiful city, a dynamite combination. Good coffee, great hiking, and hippies...yes please. And it wouldn't be too bad seeing Patton while I was out there either. And how far is it away from Vancouver? I could get a Canada fix too, eh?

Give me your two cents. Any recommendations? Wanna come with?

why i love christmas break

home. family. bowl games. watching 10 straight hours of america's next top model and not feeling guilty for wasting time. renewed sense of love for A&M, since absence makes the heart grow fonder. reading books i never have time to during the school year (currently lonesome dove). wrestling with my brother. going to the cinema, alot. home cooked meals. my biggest responsibility being folding the laundry my mom cleans. sleeping in. watching sportscenter. sitting by the fire. unlimited supply of Ale-8-1. going on walks with my mama and collie, sadie. snow. wearing aggie sweats in wildcat country. playing jetman. talking college basketball with my dad.

Here's to You, 2007

2007 (whoop!) proved to be a crazy, exciting, and life-changing year, and probably the most challenging year of my life. I am sure I will have harder years to come, but 2007 will always live in infamy. Let me just say that it was far from uneventful, from soccer to boys to med school applications, my life was never boring. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride down memory lane (the good, the bad, the ugly).

After much thought and input from the massive EJ Explains blog entourage (ok fine, 2 people), the following have been voted upon as the most memorable moments of 2007...

• FAVORITE A&M - I went fountain hopping on A&M's campus this past April, hitting every single fountain on campus. I have never laughed so hard in my life, as we sprinted across campus, completely drenched, soaking in all the funny lucks we received for being so "red ass". God Bless Texas A&M.

• FUNNIEST - Two-stepping with Sarah, Kent, and his roommates at Harry's, and Kent decides he wants to try some jitterbug moves with me. I willingly agreed, never the type to back down from anything, and we went to the side of the dance floor to practice before doing it in the middle where all the Aggie Wranglers were dancing. He told me he would throw me up above his head and all I had to do was spin around and stay stiff and he would catch me easily in the threshold. Well he jerks me up, I spin, everything is going great, and then BAM, I hit the floor hard. Everyone around us immediately looks over in our direction, but I hop up, trying not to embarrass Kent for not catching me, and determined to get it right. So of course, we try again. Attempt 2...BOOM...this time I land on my shoulder. Attempt 3...land on my back. Attempt 4...stomach. After that, we had the attention of half of Harry's; Kent was dying, he felt so bad, and I was cracking up hysterically. A guy walked up to me, handed me his business card, and said "You may want to call me tomorrow". I looked down to see he was a chiropractor. Needless to say, that is the last time I will let Kent do anything like that with me. Either he needs to hit the weight room or I need to lose a few pounds, probably the latter.

• SADDEST - Getting upset in the 2nd Round of the NCAA tournament to t.u., putting an end to my soccer career. I felt like I was living a nightmare during the last 15 minutes of the game, and when the clock struck 00:00, the tears started falling, the clouds opened up and it began pouring, and I had to watch the t-sips celebrate their first-ever victory in Aggieland. And the only thing our assistant coach had to say to us after the game as we were all sobbing, absolutely devastated was, "get off my field...GET OFF!"

• WEIRDEST - Kat Krambeer and I played detective this summer as we found out first-hand that one of our best friends had been living a lie and had convinced us that her old fiancé had died of a brain aneurism last year, that she was engaged to another guy and was getting married this past August (we were both to be bridesmaids in the wedding), that she was dying of cancer, and that she has had 2 emergency surgeries on her brain and heart to save her life in the past year. All lies.

• SWEETEST - Flying into College Station after Christmas break, going home to find my bedroom covered in rose petals and Hershey kisses.

• MOST IRONIC - Being told by my pre-med advisor that I have a "very, very small chance of getting into any medical school" because I was applying so late and because my MCAT and clinical experiences were sub-par. She told me that I should not even apply this year and wait until next year. Thank you University of Kentucky College of Medicine. =)

• MOST EMBARRASSING - Playing absolutely horrible in the first game of the season and losing my starting position to a freshman. I completed one pass that game, in front of 5000+ fans. Yikes!

• MOST THOUGHT PROVOKING - Mankind lost one of its finest, Spencer Green, when he left us at the tender age of 24, losing his battle to cancer in September. Although I did not know him long, he left an unimaginable mark on my life and everyone else's life who was ever fortunate enough to meet him. The Lord blessed him with incredible musical talents and the ability to bring a smile to anyones face. He showed me what living with hope and joy looks like even in the midst of trials and tribulation. I will do my best to "enjoy every sandwich", just like he did.

• PROUDEST PERSONAL- Beating most of the strength and conditioning records during spring testing. I hold the A&M soccer record in the 60m and 150m suicides and the vertical jump (which tied the all-time record of A&M women's athletics). My hang clean was also first on the team. I may not be that good on the field, but at least I am good in the weight room. Although I wasn't able to beat out Paige as the "Iron Aggie". Oh snap.