home sweet home

It feels so good to be home. :)

Charleston is treating me quite well. I got in yesterday afternoon after a rather eventful series of late and missed flights back from Baton Rouge, LA. I walked out of the Asheville airport and almost cried with glee -- my interviews are finished!!

I got in my car and realized nothing good was on the radio, so I popped in a random unlabeled CD that was sitting on my dashboard (thinking it was some mixed thing Cory had made), and all of a sudden, I heard...

C-A-R-O-L-I-N-A... GOOOOO COCKS!

Yes, the Gamecocks fight song. Blaring over my radio in the middle of the Asheville Regional Airport parking lot. It was in my car from "tailgating season," and I guess it somehow resurfaced. Ironic timing, too, considering...

My last interview was good -- I got an offer for LSU's clinical psychology program, which was exciting. I still haven't heard from a few places, but I think I know where I'm going now. I've given it a lot of thought, and it just... makes sense. I liked other programs, but they either weren't funded enough or were missing that *umph*. So here we go...

I'm going to be a Gamecock :)

The program is exceptional... I'll be earning my doctorate in School Psychology, and I'll have the opportunity to study autism under a brilliant, personable researcher in the field. I'll be working on her research predicting autism in infants using eye tracking technology (amazing, right?) and doing some practicum placements in a local residential facility for the "tough" kids with autism. The program has been ranked #3 nationally for the caliber of research, and graduates go on to do amazing things... and they're nice. The people are so supportive and incredible (rather than competitive and stuffy). And its completely funded. And then some.

I'm really, really excited.

Cory's helping me look for condos in Columbia, which is really fun and feels really grown up. We haven't seen each other too much since a bunch of stuff has happened, so I'm looking forward to seeing him when I get back to Greenville. It's a whole new chapter of my life... our lives?... and while I'm not completely leaving the world of college, I will definitely have a bit more independence. And he'll have some fun role in it all, I'm sure. It's going to be an adventure :)

Speaking of adventures -- break has already been pretty snazzy. I got home from the interview and caught up with mom a bit. Hannah and I were going out to catch up, so I convinced mom to come. She first declined, saying she didn't want to go to one of those "pick up bars where girls wear short skirts," but we told her she could bring Boomer and we'd go to Red's... and who could turn that down?

So mom, Hannah, Pat, me, and Boomer headed to the bar :). Red's is fun.. it's this outdoor live music place on Shem Creek -- always filled with buckets of beer and lots of labs. Boomer frollicked with the other puppies, and we sat around talking about life. It was nice.. really nice. I really love my family, and Hannah's basically my sister.. so it felt very homey :)

The fam is just... funny. Nolan is 13 years old and 6'3 (240 lbs or something ridiculous). I pulled in the driveway, and he was checking the mail... I made some joke about recruiters, and he responded,

"No, Bridge... we're waiting to hear if Eric got into college yet."
--"We?"
"Yeah, we. Would you want to live with him another year?!"

It was pretty funny. They're the last two in the house, and I think they're both ready to do their own things. Nolan's very concerned about the whole process :)

Today was pretty low key -- I worked on discerning grad school stuff a little more, then started a mini condo-search to see whats out there. Grandma and dad came in a little later -- we decided kind of last minute that she would be moving in with us; her PT messed up her treatment, and she's had a lot of trouble getting around... so she's moving in. As of three days ago? I'm excited to spend some time with her, but I know she's frustrated. She has a very independent spirit, so I hate seeing a walker tie her down. And as anyone who has ever met my family knows -- our house is far from a peaceful retreat. We'll be keeping her busy :)

So that's Charleston... lots of busy fun, but not too many plans. I'm heading out to Kiawah/doing bridesmaid stuff with Mary Helen later this week, which will be AMAZING!! She's going to be a beautiful bride, inside and out :). ... and I have shopping to do, lab stuff to plan, dates to set, etc. Nothing unmaneageable, but plenty to keep me busy.

.. on to watch the office and look up recipes! :)