Home Sweet Home (for now, at least!)

Hello again from sunny Florida! Mom and I woke up this morning and after our complimentary breakfast at the Hampton Inn and a good rinse for the car (it was filthy from our 1400 mile adventure), we met up with the man who owns a house in the area to check things out. It's in a neighborhood that looks pretty quiet (and is right on a golf course). The guy who owns it, Jim, is hilarious. He's quite the jokester and mom and I enjoyed talking to him. He's a pilot and suggested we come fly with him!! I think I just might take advantage of that! He gives lessons and I have always wanted to be a pilot....new career option?!? I have good news and bad news, however. He is putting the house up for sale once he makes some last-minute fixes and hopes to have it on the market by March 1st. So this living situation may be temporary but I really can't beat the price. Now for the good news......there was a zero-turn lawn mower in the garage!!!! For those of you who may not know, I really have an unhealthy obsession with zero-turn lawn mowers. Ever since I worked for the City of Adrian, I have dreamed of owning my own one day. I told him that he would never have to mow the lawn at this house again because he could include that duty in the price of rent! Yay.
After that, mom and I decided to take a little overnight trip to Siesta Key. We have been here before when we were in Longboat Key for spring break a few years ago and had some places we wanted to revisit. We had a cocktail at a place called Daiquiri Deck and then went for a nice walk on the beach. It was beautiful. We are planning on going to the Broken Egg Cafe for breakfast tomorrow (a favorite place of Dick Vitale when he's in town) and I might hit the beach for a while (to take care of that little ghost problem I have).

The pictures above show mom washing the car, my new humble abode, and mom and I on our walk on the beach! Enjoy

The trip through pictures

Emily and Mom's big adventure

So this isn't going to turn out exactly how I want it to because I am not smarter than the blog website but I think you'll get the picture. My mom and I are in Port Charlotte, Florida!!! We finally arrived around 4:30 pm and are all settled into the hotel. We are currently watching Michigan vs. Michigan State men's basketball (yes we are just sitting in our hotel but we are exhausted - we will start exploring tomorrow). So here's a re-cap of the past two days. Some of you have heard of our entertainment from yesterday but most haven't so here goes....

After a nice little sit-down breakfast of Rhodes cinnamon rolls (thanks mom!) and packing up the car, mom and I finally left Adrian at about 8:30. The first three hours of the ride went without a glitch. My mom and I are both gifted with the uncanny ability to snack. In our haste, we left the house without a single bag of goldfish or chex mix in sight. To remedy this, around 11:30 we decided to kill two birds with one stone and stop for gas and lunch. I pumped gas while she went inside the gas station to fix our ever so brainless mistake (bought us some snacks) and came back outside just as I had taken the gas pump out of my car right as a gust of wind swept through and spilled gas on my pant leg and shoe. Needless to say, our car smelled horrible as we made the short trek next door for our dieter's special lunch. As we got out of the car at McDonald's (ok I may have lied about the diet part but who doesn't crave french fries on a long drive?!) I had my camera in my pocket of my coat and pulled it out to take a picture (because it was our goal to document every part of our super adventure). We snapped a picture (meanwhile avoiding the stares of the other fast food goers) and got lunch. Then it was back on the road for us. We had finally made it out of the most horrible state (Ohio, of course) and into Kentucky when I began to feel warm. I wanted to take my coat off but before doing so, I asked my mom if I gave her the credit card back from getting gas at our stop. She replies, "yeah, I think so" and then proceeds to check her wallet. Unfortunately for both of us, there was a big empty spot in her wallet where her card normally spends its days. My thought at this moment "UH OH!" After searching the entire car while still driving, we finally decided to pull over and check every where. Nothing. Frustration set in and we felt helpless. With nothing else to do, we called the gas station (we had the number from the receipt for the gas) and had one of the maintenance people look around for the card. Nothing. With hope dwindling, I used my iphone to look up the number for the McDonald's in Franklin, Ohio. I tried calling 4 times and no answer. We decided to just turn around with no real idea if our card was lost forever or not. Finally, someone picked up at McDonald's. I was in no mood for games and the man who answered told me that he had the card in his pocket but had already gone on a shopping spree. Finally after more banter, I was about to yell but remained calm and got it out of him that he indeed had Sue Allshouse's visa card. We were 50 miles away. It was a long ride back north (and we had to go back to Ohio - who wants to do that?!?!) We finally arrived at the McDonald's and the manager gave us back the card. From there, it was back South.....again.
I have to say the entertainment of our journey ends there. Every stop from that point on, mom would hand me her card for gas, I'd swipe it and immediately give it back to her and then make sure she had it before we pulled away. We stayed with a good friend in Atlanta (Thanks, Megan) and it was so nice to get somewhere and sleep in a nice bed after 13 1/2 hours of driving.
We left for leg number two of our journey this morning around 8:00am. There was no traffic and everything was smooth sailing. I got a call from my boss on the trip and now don't have to start work until Monday. Mom and I now have 5 days to tear up this town and explore all that Port Charlotte has to offer. I feel that I am scaring people when I walk around here with how ghostly white I am - might have to try to remedy that a bit in the next few days....but there will be plenty of time for that in the next 7 months as a resident of the great state of Florida.
Bottom line: Mom and I made it to Florida in one piece, we are still speaking to each other after 1400 miles in a 2-door grand prix, and life is good and we have no complaints!!
Until next time, Em

Here is our photo documentation of the trip....

Finally bought a new computer!

So I am ecstatic right now because I am writing this blog post on my brand new Dell Inspiron 15 laptop. My old computer had just seen better days (it got me through 4 1/2 years of college though). I had received money for graduation (so thank you for all who donated to my new computer fund) and decided to put it to good use. I don't really want to move to Florida with an unreliable computer. It has a built-in webcam so I can skype and video chat.
I went to Ann Arbor yesterday to say goodbye to my friends who are still there. It was bittersweet but I was able to see most everyone. It's hard to think that I am moving to a city where I do not know a single person. I am hoping that I can meet people through work or by going to a church down there. Time will tell.
I contacted a friend of my boss who owns a few homes in the Port Charlotte area and so I am hoping that something will work out with that. He is willing to rent me a room and so I am going to meet up with him when I get down there and see what we can work out price-wise. I guess I can't really use the excuse that I am a poor college student anymore. I guess now I'm just a poor graduate. It's all relative.
The nerves are starting to kick in but I'm sure the excitement will quickly return as soon as I see some sunshine and feel the warmth of Florida!
Until next time...

Life in 2010

So, since the last time I have written, some things have changed. For one, I graduated from the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology with a BS in Movement Science and a Spanish minor. My parents were there for my graduation and Jeff Daniels was the speaker (yes, he brought up the toilet scene from Dumb and Dumber and the audience was thoroughly amused). Our family had a great Christmas. I was so happy that my soon-to-be sister (in-law but who needs to mention that) was able to celebrate with us. Andrea and Chris will be getting married on May 15, 2010 in Southlake, TX and I can't wait. Here is a picture of the family.
Since then, I have been presented with an amazing opportunity that I simply cannot ignore. I was sent an e-mail by my global advisor in kinesiology about an internship in Florida with a company called International Internships, LLC (). I sent in a cover letter and resume and waited. I was called a few days later, had a phone interview and a couple of days later, I was offered the position. I will be working to contact interested students and give them information, advise students and help them with paperwork if they decide to go on an internship in one of the 14 countries where internships are available, help to recruit at study abroad fairs, and help with marketing strategies for the company since it is relatively new. I am very excited and am excited to get my foot in the door with an international company.
I am packing up my car and leaving for Port Charlotte, Florida on Monday. My mom is driving down with me and then flying back once I get situated (though I know it will be difficult for her to come back to Michigan after getting a taste of Florida in the winter). I feel that she may be visiting me frequently. Once I find a home (yes, that part is still up in the air), I encourage all visitors :-)
I will do my best to keep updated about my new life in Florida. This is a big change for me and I can't wait to see what life has in store for me!