To my faithful readers- I have slacked a lot! I apologize for the delay of an update. I have many good and exciting things to report! I'll start with just before my Christmas Break.
On Thursday, December 17th, Chicora had our official Holiday Celebration. Ashley Hall, a local prestigious private all-girls school whose famous alumni include Barbara Bush, sponsored the most selfless holiday celebration I have ever witnessed in my life. The families of the students at the school donated so much money and gifts, that each of the 400 students who attend Chicora received a huge shopping bag filled with- socks, underwear, an outfit, and at least five brand new toys. Some children even received new winter coats and shoes. Prior to the 17th the teachers at Chicora visited a warehouse that Ashley Hall rents out just for this occasion, and picked out items for their students. Every teacher also received a huge bag full of pens, pencils, paper, and other teaching supplies. I had previously heard about how generous Ashley Hall was, but this far exceeded my expectations. I had the pleasure of taking pictures of the children when they received their presents from Santa and it brought my to tears! I am in awe at how selfless people with wealth can be. It even made the front cover of our local newspaper! You can read the article here- http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/dec/18/season-of-giving/ The entire day left my heart smiling and a warm feeling all over. It made me truly thankful for what I have and truly proud to work at Chicora.
That next day, Friday the 18th, I was supposed to work a full day, come home and pack, then head to Myrtle Beach for the night where my friend Andy lives. The two of us were going to get an early start on Saturday and spend the day in Washington DC sightseeing with our friend from high school Ellen, who lives in Fairfax, VA and is finishing up an engineering degree at George Mason University. Well,it turned out that mother nature had other plans for us! On Friday, the news was flooded with urgent reports of a heavy snow storm coming. So, I worked a half a day, ran home and threw what I could into my car and headed up to pick up Andy. Our plan was to try to beat the snow to Washington DC. South Carolina was hit with a torrential down pour. The kind of driving conditions that make you go about 20mph so you don't hydroplane. It took me over two hours to get to Myrtle Beach, where it normally takes a little over an hour. From there, Andy drove the rest of the way.
The rain did not slow down and stayed the same until we reached North Carolina where we reached our old friend SNOW. We hit it earlier than expected. The snow was coming down just as steadily as the rain did. The driving conditions were AWFUL! Luckily, Andy had some experience driving in the snow. Not so luckily, the coastal areas of North Carolina/Virginia rarely sees snow, therefore the people who live (and drive) in the coastal North Carolina/Virginia areas DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE IN THE SNOW. Sorry for the caps, but it is the only way to emphasize how bad these people were driving! Now, I know that I am not a good driver in the snow. I know, I know, I grew up in New York and went to college for 4 years in upstate New York. I really have no excuse. However, I do not get behind the wheel of a car when it snows. Other non snow drivers should do the same! We were going between 5mph-20mph the entire way on Route 95 from the middle of NC up to Fairfax, VA. A half a mile did not pass where we didn't see cars on the side of the road, either because they consciously decided to pull over or because they slid there. At one point we were in the left lane, a good sized pick up truck was in the middle lane, and an 18 wheeler was in the right lane. We witnessed the pick up truck lose control of the car and slam right into the 18 wheeler. It made an awful noise and scared me to death!
To make a long (13.5 hours long to be exact) and boring story short, we made it to Ellen's at 3:30am where our wonderful host was curled up on the couch waiting for us. We made dinner and a drink and went right to bed. We woke up to a winter wonderland and a van stuck in her front yard. Really people, learn how to drive in the snow, drive with someone who knows how to drive in the snow or stay at home! I'm not staying the storm wasn't bad, but I have seen worse in New York. We made the best of it in Fairfax. Although I did not get to see the sites of Washington DC we had fun trekking to the grocery store in the snow and catching up. We even roughed it to walk to a sports bar to watch the Cowboys/Saints game. All in all, it made for a good story and we made it home Sunday without any trouble.
I had an amazing two week vacation at home. Having a nice long break is an excellent perk of working in a school. To all my education major friends- you picked well! I kept busy during my time home. On that Tuesday I met three of my college roommates in NYC to do some fun touristy things. We saw the tree- which we all thought looked a little smaller than normal, but I guess we are just getting older. We just enjoyed each others company and took in the sites. There's something about the notoriously cold and unfriendly city on New York around Christmas time that just gives it a warm and inviting character. It's one of the many reasons I am in love with the city! I got my New York pizza fix, and besides the calories being posted on the pizza (I hate this NYC law) I throughly enjoyed it- Hey I walked a lot that day! No one makes pizza like the hole in the wall NYC pizza joints.
Christmas was just the four of us and it made for a nice and quiet holiday.It marked my first Christmas of almost all adult gifts! I got a lamp, a george forman grill, some fancy coach coasters, a spice rack, work clothes and lots of groceries. All things I needed and will enjoy. I also got money and a gas card! yay! That night we had a delicious dinner of surf and turf. It was a truly wonderful Christmas with a lot to be thankful for!
In between Christmas and New Years was packed with lots of fun events as well. On that Saturday, I got together with my girl friends from High School and we had a pot luck dinner as our Christmas gifts to eachother. I made my mom's famous taco dip and some quessidilla roll ups. We also had chicken parm, penne a la vodka, vegetarian lasagna, salad and cookies. It was a fun and budget friendly way to celebrate Christmas with old friends. The next day, my Aunt Jean and Grandmother came to visit from Pittsburgh. We had a lot of fun! We went into NYC for a day and also saw the tree and other sites. Times Square was crazy getting ready for the New Year's Eve Celebration. We considered eating somewhere else for lunch but went back to our favorite little Italian place on Restaurant Row called DaRosina. Don't fix what's not broken, right? It was fun to have another Christmas celebration and great to see them as well.
I got to go to a Siena Basketball game while I was home as well and spend a night in Albany. It was really great to see everyone. Before meeting up with my friends I got a chance to stop by my old job at the Siena Friary. It was so great to see my old boss Mark and a couple of the friars. I worked there for four years during college and it was the best job I ever had! It might be the only job I'll ever have where I looked forward to going to work. We caught up with each others lives and promised to keep in touch more. Then it was off to Kaitlyn's cute Brownstone apartment right off of Lark Street. A lot of Siena grads settle in the Albany area. Hanging out with everyone made me miss my alama mater a lot. The game was great- We played St. Josephs and were tied at half, but the Saints continued their 28-game winning streak at home and won in the end!
I rang in the new year with friends in Long Beach. A lot of people have been hating on 2009. It was a tough year financially for just about everyone, jobs were lost, graduation threw a lot of my friends into the real world with no direction and no job prospects. However, I still think 2009 was a good year. I had a lot of changes in my life, but things are great for me right now. So, 2009, hate to see you go, but I am excited about the new changes and transformations that will happen in 2010. So bring it twenty ten!
On a sad note, the Siena community lost one of their own on Sunday Night. Our friend Kellie Duggan lost her battle with cancer at the young age of 21. I was extremely sad to hear the news and would ask everyone to say a prayer for Kellie and the Duggan family. Kellie was a great friend and person and will sincerely be missed. You can read her obituary here- http://www.legacy.com/SouthOfBoston-Ledger/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=138179567
