I didn't mean to be a creep.

In 2009, right after Carl and I got married, I took a class that I had wanted to take for as long as I could remember.  Sign language.  I had wanted to learn sign language forever, but it was just never in the cards for me to take it.  Year after year in college, I tried and tried to get into a class, but it just never happened.  Classes filled up, schedules were too tight, you name it.  So, in 2009 I was finally able to take this class that I had dreamt of.  And I soaked it in.  Every minute of it.  I adored it.  The language is absolutely beautiful.

Every single following semester, I did my best to be accepted in to ASL level 2.  However, the professor at UF is nationally known (Dr. Sign... I think I've mentioned him here before...) and it was IMPOSSIBLE to get in his class if he didn't know you personally!  I was really bummed out, but I figured I'd just finish my degree and work on sign language after I graduated.

Well, after I graduated, I up and moved across the country.  I've been trying to find signing classes that I could enroll in, but I couldn't find any that weren't on a specific degree tract.  Then, I looked into community ed.  No luck there, either.

Hmm... where could I go to learn sign language??  A deaf person!  But wait, I don't know any deaf people.  Dangit.  Where else could I go?  A sign language group!  I investigated, and once again I hit a dead end.  There were no sign language groups within 200 miles of Turlock (that I could find, at least.)

I had one last option.  Find a church that had a service for deaf individuals to worship, and study with a person there, IF he or she was willing.  After even more googling, I found an entire deaf church in Modesto (the next town over.)  I looked up that church's website and couldn't find it!  Dang it!! Yet another dead end!  I did, however, find a woman's myspace page where she mentioned that she attended that church because she loves sign language even though she was not deaf.  I quickly tried to send her a message on myspace but it required me to log in, and I couldn't figure out my old info.

Overly determined, I looked at her name and I copy and pasted it into the facebook search.  Creepy?  Yes, I know.  I tried not to be.  I even apologize profusely in my message I wound up sending her for appearing creepy.  So, she wrote me back and said she would try to get me some phone numbers.  I am beyond excited!!!!  I might finally be able to learn sign language.  Oh what a joy it would be for me!!!!!  I am just dying to get past level one and be able to really communicate.

I'm so excited.  I really hope this comes through and everything works out.
In my countdown post yesterday, I mentioned being thankful for Melanie not being creeped out.
This was what I meant.

I am beyond excited and I hope and pray this will come through!  Wish me luck!

Graduation!

Here's another post that was neglected.  

A big oopsie on my part, seeing as how it was one of my highlights of 2010!  You ready?  

I GRADUATED!  

YAY!  

The day finally came where I could walk across the stage in the O'Connell center and say "See ya later Alligator" to the University of Florida.  

As previously mentioned, Georgia came to my graduation.  Here she is in front of my parents Christmas tree the morning of my graduation.  Isn't she a cutie?

And here's a wonderful photo of my dear parents, with little Miss G.

It felt so good to walk across that stage. Two years of hard work paid off in that moment. Told y'all I would graduate, even though I got married in school!  

Don't know why some of y'all didn't believe me!

Once we all met up after my graduation, Georgia ran up to me so I picked her 

up and she gave me an unsolicited kiss. The best kind!

I love this little munchkin.

Then, the pictures commenced. Here's Carl, Austin, me and Georgia.

Here's me with Uncle Scott and Aunt Donna. Thank you both for coming to my graduation. It meant so much to me to look up in the stadium and see you 

there for me!

Here's the family!

Thank you to these two gals for coming, too!

Here's me with my wonderful husband. I saw him jumping up and down in the stands when I walked across the stage... it sure meant a lot to me.  

I love you, honey.

I appreciate all your support.

Here's me with my Daddio!

And here's me with my Momma!

I also appreciate your support. I couldn't have done it without you two.

Here's Austin and I...

Thank you ALL for coming! I GRADUATED!!!!!

After graduation, my Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Janet threw me a party!  

They completely decked out their house with everything orange and blue... 

beads, streamers, balloons, utensils, plates, napkins, and even the television had old Gator football games playing. Oh, and did I mention the cake??

Thank you Uncle Jim and Aunt Janet. I love you both!

I am now Lindsey (Omitting-my-last-name-for-internet-privacy), 

Bachelor of Health Science in Communicative Disorders

Thank you!

Thank you all for your help with my missing comments button! It was a silly error on my part but I am glad to have it resolved.

So, here's a semi-funny story. Or, maybe it's more awkward than anything. I'll let you decide.

I switched bus routes this morning due to my issue described here.  So, I get on the new bus, and I'm on only one on it.  That's a first for me, but it was okay.  Being the semi-paranoid (or safety conscious) person that I am, it occurred to me that if the bus driver knew that I hadn't ever been on this route before, he could drive off to no-man's land and it might take me a couple of miles to realize he's not going where I need him to.  I told myself I was being overly "concerned" and that the bus driver is in fact not out to get me, and I decided to just sit back and enjoy my coffee.  Then, he turned and asked me this.  

"Have you ever ridden this bus before?"

I wanted to say "Oh yeah, all the time.... I'll know if you take a wrong turn!  Then I'll know you're trying to kidnap me and I'll jump out the back door!"  But instead, this came out: "Nope."

I realized I was in a position to be taken advantage of, so I got a bit squirmy in my seat.  Then, ya know what he asked me???

"Do you know which way I turn up here?"

Umm... you are a bus driver..... right?  I mean, even if it is his first day, one of the very first things he should make sure he is aware of is his route, no?

"No, I don't.  I'm sorry."  He informed me that he saw a sign saying "No right turn" but there was a median in the road so he couldn't turn left even if he wanted to.  So, we can't go right, can't go left, and can't go straight.  I didn't see this sign he was talking about, but I just sat back and tried to relax.  He then called in to the dispatcher that he didn't know what to do.  I figured at that point I was safe because a kidnapper wouldn't call and ask for directions.  Anyway, turns out, that sign he saw said "No left turn," not "No right turn."

Luckily, after that "hurdle" he knew the bus route.

Maybe I found this interesting because I hadn't had my coffee yet.  Or, maybe I just find too many little circumstances "interesting."  Either way, I'm glad it's all said and done and I can go on about my day.

Have a good one!

I'm back!

Hey everyone, sorry for being away for so long! School is intense this semester, so my blogging might cut down a little bit. But, it's a great outlet for me, so I certainly hope that doesn't happen too much!

My first week of classes has been pretty great....except for my blasted 7:25-making-me-leave-the-house-at-6:30-class.......grrrrr. I don't like leaving when it's dark outside, and if that's not bad enough, I have to walk to a bus stop that backs up to some thick woods that some mugger (or worse) could pop out of! After explaining my fears about being mugged (or worse) to my hubby, we decided it would be best for me to pay $60 and get a parking pass. That'll make it easier, for sure. Anyway, back to my classes...

Audiologic rehabilitation seems pretty boring so far, but that's okay. Boring equals easy, and easy equals an A. TV and American Society is pretty fun. I sometimes almost nod off in there, though. But the teacher is nice and lively, so my hour in there isn't too too bad. Next comes forensics. Oh my goodness how I love that class. I was nervous to take that class, but it's AWESOME! We're learning all about how to determine the cause of death, and we watched a documentary on the LA Coroner's Office! We watched autopsies! This sounds really disgusting, but it was actually pretty interesting. Don't judge me. After that class, I travel down the hill and across campus to Acoustics. All I can say about that class is oh shoot. Not gonna be a cake walk, that's for sure. I might end up enlisting the help of me and hubby's friend, Matt...who actually enjoys the subject! My last class of the day would be boring, if it weren't for my awesome teacher. She's a graduate student and she makes things really fun for us! She shows us youtube videos, and the way she teaches is just all around kind of quirky, making her funny for a 5:00 class. And of course, I have my online class, Diseases of Eating. Not too sure about this one yet. Trying really hard to give it the benefit of the doubt. Buuuuut....... I've taken three online, open-note, open-lecture, open-everything quizzes, and to be safe and to ensure an A, I have looked up EVERY SINGLE answer. Once I heard it in a lecture, or saw it in writing, I clicked the choice. And yet, I haven't made about a 90. Huh? So, I'd like to ask my teacher to let me review the quizzes but that is "strictly prohibited." Great. We'll see how that turns out.

On the positive side, guess what I did last night.

I......

applied.......

for...............

GRADUATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY! FINALLY!

Now, here's where you come in. I need prayers. Lots and lots of prayers. Why? Well, you see, my degree audit (which tells me which classes I still need) says I need 3 more classes, of which I've already taken. The computer will deny me for graduation if these are not corrected, so I emailed my advisor and she said "She'll look into it." (Translation: I'll hear from her in 4 weeks if I email her every other day and call her office every morning begging her to look at my transcripts.)

That's about it though. I just need prayers that I will graduate in December, and to complete this semester with as few gray hairs as possible!

Final Decision.

I made a decision.
I WILL: graduate in December.
I WILL: take 18 hours of classes at UF. (UPDATE: it ended up being 19, for the record!)
I WILL: be miserable but only for one semester so I'll be okay...I can do anything for just a semester, right? RIGHT????
....eh, so that last one wasn't so much of a decision as it was a by-product of a decision.

In case you haven't heard the story of how I had to fight to get one of my classes accepted at UF, I'll brief you really fast. Back when my major required foreign language, before our college change, I desperately tried to enroll in American Sign Language. I always wanted to learn it, so I was bound and determined to take this course as my foreign language requirement. Imagine my disappointment when I realized it was next to impossible to get in to Dr. Sign's class. Luckily, there's a college nearby that we are aloud to transfer credits between. So, I gladly took ASL at the other college. When I returned to UF, they said "I'm sorry but you've transferred too many credits. We can't accept Sign Language from another school." I didn't know there was a limit to the number of credits transferred, so I was quite disappointed. But wait, the only reason I took it at the other school was because I couldn't get in to UF's class! And this class was required, for Pete's sake! I must protest.

After much back and forth (I'll spare you), ASL was accepted. Here's the hitch. It's accepted as a foreign language, but not necessarily as an upper level elective (Which I need so many of to graduate)...... and then when my advisor wrote me and told me how close I was to graduation, she said I needed 9 more hours of upper level electives (supposedly) because she counted ASL as an upper level elective. I'm not sure what to do now, because technically it's not an upper level elective but they are counting it as such. If they continue to count it as an upper level elective, I will graduate in December. HOWEVER, if they decide at the last minute to say "No, we're not going to count this as an upper level elective....." then I will have to stay yet another semester at UF taking one course. Anyway, I'll let you know how it turns out. As for the fall semester..... I'm in for a doozy.


Here are my classes that I'm registered for. The first three are required.
Audiologic Rehabilitation.
Audiometry
Acoustics
Skeletal forensics (I heard this was an easy elective, I hope these people weren't pulling my leg....)
TV and American Society (Again, word on the street says it's an easy elective....)
Diseases of Eating (same as above.)

I pray that I get through this semester will an A-B average, and I graduate in December so I'm not told that I need one more class.

Winding roads

Dear UF-Advisor-In-My-College-That-I-Was-Assigned-To,

I will allow you to remain nameless in this post.

I only complained to my husband when you wouldn't return my phone calls.

I only CC'd your boss when you wouldn't respond to my emails.

I only consulted with your department chair when I waited by your office for 3 hours with 23 other girls, none of whom were able to be seen by you.

I only got kicked out by the only other advisor because I was not "his responsibility."

But now, I don't know who to go to. I feel like you've sent me in circles. And then some. My one question for you is this:

How did you miscalculate the completion of my undergraduate degree by EIGHTEEN hours?!?!?!??? I've consulted you several times over the last few months, and I don't understand where "we" went wrong. I'm a little burnt out after being told "one more semester" a couple of times now. I'm not mad that my major changed colleges; I understand it is a big change for everyone. But, how did so many students get "lost in the shuffle?" More importantly, why are we not aloud to register for our own classes? Why have you all taken away that right?

I just want to graduate and get on with life. Whether it be graduate school, or working... I just want to get out from under you. Now, should I take 18 hours in the fall? Will it be the death of me? Will my friends all think I've moved out of my home to live under a rock? Perhaps. Or, should I ease up some stress and stretch the 18 hours out to last two semesters? That is the question.


Requesting prayers and making a decision soon,
Lindsey