LIfe

Well, life has been moving along at a fast pace, that makes me forget that I've already been here for a month. Since I last posted some changes have taken place. I dropped off an application at the State College Area School District, celebrated my 27th birthday, went on some adventures, and received some sad news from back home. Let's start with the application. When I dropped the actual application off at the administrative building, I was given more paperwork to fill out and put in for all my background checks, I just nee to get my fingerprints done and the background checks will be finished on my end. I was then told by one of the nice women in Human Resources that I should visit the building across the street and speak with the Assistant Special Education Director. She didn't have time to speak with me at the moment, but I was able to back at 2:30 and speak with her. That meeting was just the start of a long process, because she needed to send my application, along with all the others, to the various schools and wait for a call to interview with the school prinicpal. And that was just Wednesday! On Thursday I woke up to Carrie singing "Happy Birthday" to me. Carrie, Mel, and Scott chipped in and bought me a digital camera with  memory card to go with it! And then my awesome sister ordered me an Edible Arrangement for me to pick up. It was an arrangement full of chocolate-covered strawberries and a teddy bear! They were delicious and I was so touched that my sister did that for me. The little note attached almost made me cry! Then, Carrie and I went to the G-Man after she got out of work to have a drink! Carrie's friend Matt Brown joined us as well. It was fun and we had a good time. I celebrated my birthday with my parents before I left and they got me a photo album, some rolls of film, and gave me some money as well. They also called me and sang to me over the phone! It made me laugh and was a great way to start my day. So, then came Friday! I was woken up at about 10:30 by a phone call from work. It was to let me know that the son of one of my colleagues and close-friend died that morning. No body I had talked to that day knew exactly what happened. This young man was 30 years old, grew up with my brother, and was a well-decorated Navy Seal! When the news finally came out, it said that he died in a BASE-jumping accident. I couldn't believe it! I still can't believe what happened. It doesn't make it easier to deal with knowing he was stateside and not in Afghanistan or Iraq. It is still a horrible tragedy and my heart breaks every time I think of what parents, sister, and wife must be going through. So, I spent my weekend trying to keep busy, because any time I had to myself was spent in my head trying to figure it out. Carrie and I went into State College to go to a farmers market after getting ready and making sure I was alright. The farmers market was nice, we got some fresh corn and some apples. Then we walked around for a bit and headed back to the apartment for a low-key night at home! Saturday we woke up and headed out with Mel to Curtain Village. Curtain Village was an old coal furnace, iron-producing village. We toured the mansion, buildings on the property and the property itself. It seems like it would have been quite a cute little village back in the day! After our adventure to Curtain Village, Mel treated us to lunch at Twin Kiss, which was delicious. Afterwards, Carrie and I came back home for a couple of hours and then went Sayers to sit in the sun and enjoy the warmth of the water! Sunday, Carrie went fishing with a friend and did stuff around the apartment! The next week brought boating with tubing and chores around the apartment! This last weekend, Carrie had another long three days off. Saturday Carrie and I joined Chris and Dave for a wine-festival in Jim Thorpe. It was great, we went to several different booths and tasted several different wines! The first few booths we went to didn't have any wines that I really cared for. Then we finally got to the good stuff. Found a couple of wineries that we would really like to visit! Franklin Hill had some good wines that were fruity. Yesterday we tried to go boating, but there was trouble with the engine that we couldn't figure out and then it started raining, and raining hard! So, we packed up the boat and came home. After hanging out around here, Carrie and I got cleaned-up and went to Home D for dinner. It was great! Today is just a chillin day. Carrie's had some errands to run and is going out later. I might go get my hair cut, but I'm not sure! So, that's my life for the last couple of weeks. So, let's see what the rest of the summer brings! I know that one of Carrie's friends is coming home to visit and bringing some friends with him! Who knows! :)