Going Bananas

What happens when you add an extra banana to your banana bread?

After adding the banana, I couldn't remember what temperature to bake it on. Then, it decided to start to overflow, burn on the outside, and stay uncooked in the middle. When I tried to remove it from the pan, only the inside wanted to come out. Needless to say, that was a bit of a disaster. But the inside that fell out still tasted good!

Mark Richt :]

Today I ate lunch with Mark Richt!!!!!!!! St. Mary's hosted a pep rally/picnic lunch for the staff out in the parking lot as part of their "employee appreciation" initiatives. The social workers all sat together after getting our very delicious, very Southern food. The tables seat 8...there are only 6 of us. All of a sudden, Mark Richt comes to the table and asks if he can sit with us!!! The president and vice president of the hospital also joined...they pulled up an extra chair. Better yet, I talked with him about the 2006 Sugar Bowl! It went something like this:

Co-worker #1 : Becky's a West Virginia fan.

uh-oh...i'm in trouble...

Mark Richt : Really? Have we ever played them?

is he being sarcastic? and light hearted?

Me : Yes...in the Sugar Bowl a couple years ago...

he has to be being sarcastic...

Mark Richt : I don't remember that game...

he's smiling and laughing over his great BIG failure!

Me : Yes...we definitely played you!

Mark Richt : I don't remember that at all...

okay...i'm ready to let it go...

Co-worker #2 : Becky...who won that game?

oh no! is this going too far?

Me : Wait...what was that?

why am i playing along and rubbing it it?

Co-worker #2 : When West Virginia played Georgia, who won?

okay...here goes! i hope that laugh is sincere!

Me : (quite triumphantly) That would be us! West Virginia!

i did it! i rubbed salt in one of his biggest failures of recent years!

Mark Richt : Hmmm...

and he laughed! it was a good, full, not half hearted laugh!

I love that I now have this great story that I can tell...at least in West Virginia. I'm not sure home much people in Georgia will appreciate it. I can honestly say that the man behind the glasses and under the middle part is a good, sincere, fun person. It was all followed up with seeing Uga, posing with Hairy Dawg, and watching cheerleaders and older nurses do the Cupid Shuffle together. How great was that lunch hour?

Puppy Love

Kadeeja (the 13-year-old young lady that I mentor) and I have been very interested in pets lately. We have gone to the dog park with my roommate and her dogs as well as visiting two pet stores. And, we both have puppy love!

I almost adopted this rescue dog at the pet store today. I'd felt going to the pet stores as opposed to volunteering at the a shelter was safer because I'd never be able to afford a store dog. However, this store had an adoption program with the local shelter. We took him out and played with him for a very long time. The only thing that kept me from getting him was the fact that I couldn't take him home today. As I walked out, though, a couple was just getting him out themselves. Hopefully he'll get a good home with them!

Bangs!

Today in class, I got bored...surprise surprise. So, I started thinking about things I need to do...which included cutting my hair. I have been a little bored with my hair always looking the same lately, though, so I wanted something new. And, I really like my long hair so getting it shorter was not an option. So, I got bangs cut into my hair today! This is the first time in a while that I've had them, and I love the way they look! :]

Recovery Atlanta

This summer I had a great experience helping develop a drug and alcohol resource website for the Atlanta area as an extra part of my Addictions and Social Work class. It is a sister website to a similar one developed last year for the Athens area. Because September is National Recovery Month, it has just been launched! It's a really exciting initiative if anyone wants to take a look at it!

http://www.recoveryatlanta.org/

Then and Now...

Four years ago, I fell in love with football. I've always enjoyed it, but I really fell head over heels when I started college. However, a few things have changed in the past year.

One year ago, I attended a football game decked out in casual gold and blue with my girls...

This year, I am dressed up in red and black with my boyfriend!

A year ago, I was watching a leather-clad man "Bring on the Mountaineers!"

This year, I watched a very large bulldog be carried into the stadium surrounded by fans.

For me, these two football years can't even be compared...they are apples and oranges. I wouldn't trade or change them. I love them both for their uniqueness. And, I am looking forward to both my teams having an amazing season this year!

Assitantship-ing

This past week my graduate assistantship has really gotten up and running. I am so grateful to have it to pay for my college, but I've been terrified that it would be to much for me to handle. Thankfully, it started of slow, but the past couple days I've really jumped head first into it. However, as I met with the professor that I work with today, I've realized that it provides many unplanned benefits, such as making me feel smart. For example, I've been praised for completing the simplest of tasks that he couldn't do himself. These include but are not limited to:

• Creating a line graph in Excel
• Printing return address labels from a template
• Filing a stack of jumbled old papers
• Recalculating mean scores in a spreadsheet

Needless to say, most of you could have done any of these tasks. But, it still nice to hear him brag about how I'm "smart but not nerdy" to the other professors...especially when one is a WVU Alum! I definitely think this is a job worth sticking with...