Natural Disasters

There is a hurricane warning for the Gulf coast. Joel has to go man the warehouse where the military personnel and families will be sheltered. I am at his house which is thirty minutes north of the gulf coast. Hopefully it won't hit here but I might go to the hot, stinky, warehouse to keep Joel-y-poo company. It's ironic that it's my first week here and this is the welcome that I get from the great state of Mississippi! I am a little freaked out but it's kind of cool to see how the communities prepare for such disasters. There were long lines at the gas station. The stores were packed with people buying food, water, wind-up radios, flashlights, grills, and whatever else they needed. My first day of work has already been postponed due to the hurricane. It will be interesting to see how things are after the hurricane hits. It's so sad to hear stories from people who lived here when Katrina hit. Living in other parts of the country I never realized the impact that Katrina had on so many lives. My supervisor was telling me about his co-workers whose homes were destroyed. They had nothing left...not even clothes. It's heartbreaking. The good news is that we won't be getting the brunt of the hurricane but the bad news is New Orleans is. Sad stuff!

Starting Over

It's funny! When I was in Minnesota, sometimes I felt like my life was going nowhere. I would find myself yearning for the opportunity to start my life over in a new place, with new people, and new experiences. Now that I am in that exact predicament, I realize that it's a lot more complicated. Starting over would be easier if I was guaranteed that my start in a new place would exceed where I ended in the old place.

Today I filled out all my paper work for my new job in Mississippi. When I accepted the job I wasn't told that I wouldn't get paid during breaks (which totaled is a month without pay), the benefits aren't as good, and worst of all I am not allowed to wear my nose ring :( I guess the problem is that I was super blessed in Minnesota with a wonderful job that paid well and had great benefits, not to mention a great group of ladies who I got to schmooze with every day. I am going to miss that a lot.

I think what I have learned most about this transition is that God has blessed me immensely and He continues to do it every day. Although the transition is hard I know that I made the right decision to come to Mississippi. I am blessed to be near the man I love, to live in a warm state, and to have a job (even if it's not as grand as CRHS). So Mississipii....here I come! :)

Sarah's Last Few Weeks in a Nutshell...

Camp ended on a friday. That same day I drove to the airport to visit Joel-y-poo for five days. We spent most of the time beautifying his bachelor pad. I flew back to VA and got in at one in the morning. That same day I woke up and drove over seven hours through hectic east coast traffic to NY. Later that night at 11:30pm I picked up my two wonderful Minnesota friends. We jammed lots of fun stuff in four days. We went to WTC, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, China Town, Little Italy, we saw Wicked on Broadway, went to Time Square, Rockefeller Center, we went wine tasting on Long Island, we went to Suck...I mean Sag Harbor, we went to the Today Show, the Museum of Modern Art, Central Park, Madison Square Park (waited in line for delicious burgers), Greenwhich Village, and Jones Beach. We didn't mess around. We had lots of fun and lots of memorable moments. I will elaborate more in later blogs! :)

I dropped my friends off at the airport in the morning...hung out with my NY friend for part of the day then went up to Connecticut. I started my job search. I already have a job offer in Mississippi and applied at an agency in NY and an educational interpreter position in NJ. I decided to officially resign from my job in MN. I just knew in my heart that it was time to move on. Sometimes even when it doesn't make sense you just know what is best for your own soul :)

The next day I saw my sister, her husband and four kids who I haven't seen in over a year. My sister and bro-in-law went away for a few days to celebrate their nine year anniversary and left us with the kids. Oh my good lord...kids are a lot of work...especially four of them!

Tonight Joel-y-poo will be flying in to visit...this is the weekend where he will meet most of the family! Should be fun and interesting. I am super worn out from all my travels...but it is so worth it.