The past few months have been nothing short of a whirlwind! Finding a place to begin may be a task. But I'll take advice from Sound of Music, and start from the very beginning since that's a very good place to start.
Last post was the very beginning of February so I'll pick up from there. About a month after that post, two girl friends (Laura and Alyson) and I had the brilliant idea to venture to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It was a bucket list item for me, so naturally I led the charge! We loaded up into Alyson's car and ventured to The Big Easy for what was potentially one of the
most eventful weekends of my life. We stayed with my friend, Brian, and quickly learned the lesson of "always bring a spare key in case you get separated." Needless to say, we got separated from Brian, his phone had died, and we were essentially homeless from about midnight to 5 am the first night. A few failed hotel attempts (no vacancy during Mardi Gras) and a Facebook status update later, we found ourselves on the floor of a hotel in the West Bank thanks to one of my friends (a KD at Birmingham Southern!) who happened to be in New Orleans that weekend and saw my status update. Trust me, this evening could have an entire post devoted to it, but let's just says "All's well that ends well." The weekend continued with outrageous parades, endless amounts of beads (obtained WITHOUT flashing, mind you), Bourbon Street, Hurricanes, and hilarious memories. What a trip.
Fast forward a few weeks and I found myself on an impromptu trip to Gulf Shores, AL for Spring Break. Yes, I'm 24 years old and still get a Spring Break (one benefit of being a grad student/working for an athletic department). At around midnight on a Sunday, my friend and I packed up his truck and headed to the land of white sand and stark blue waters.
About five hours later, we were in paradise. The highway that takes you into Gulf Shores literally ends at the ocean. So upon arrival, we hopped out of the car and I ran to put my feet into some of the softest, purest sand I'd ever seen. The next few days, we spent our time eating amazing seafood (I think I had shrimp for nearly every meal), frequenting The Hangout and Flora Bama, listening to live music, and enjoying the tranquility of a "private" beach. To say my first trip to the gulf was amazing would be an understatement. I don't care what anybody says, you will never beat the beaches and water of the gulf.
From an ultimate high to the lowest of lows, the next month brought tragedy to T-Town and the rest of Alabama. April 27 will always be remembered as the day the EF 4 (or 5 depending on reports) tornado tore through our town. We'd had tornado sirens a few times during previous weeks, so this seemed like any other storm. I heard the sirens and continued shopping, blowing the warning off as I'd done so many times before. My friend, Laura, texted me and said she was getting nervous and we should head to get shelter. I, again, didn't take it seriously and almost declined her invitation. When another friend texted me and said "Get to shelter. It's headed to campus" I knew things were about to get bad. I live right across the street from campus so my apartment was potentially in the direct path of destruction. Laura and I headed to Foster Auditorium (my work place) and waited for the storm to pass. Cops were driving around with
sirens blaring, the sky was a dark grey haze, and the winds started to pick up. The assistant volleyball coach, Ryan, coaxed us to come out of the basement as he saw the tornado off in the distance. When I could see the debris swirling around in a circular motion, moving at such a rapid speed, I sprinted back downstairs with my heart racing. Ryan continued to watch and again, called us up to watch when the tornado had turned to the east of campus. Watching it continue on its path of destruction, barely missing campus, was an incredible and emotional sight. We headed back to my apartment, not having a clue as to the damage that had just occurred mere blocks away. Luckily, my apartment and car had no damage. A little while later, we headed to Ryan's house to survey the damage. Merely one mile from my apartment was unrecognizable. Power line wires everywhere, cars flipped in the middle of the street, houses that were now piles of rubble, and people wandering around with what few belongings they could scrounge up. We wandered around aimlessly, having no sense of direction due to lack of street signs or familiar landmarks. Streets that were lined with major businesses, houses, and forests of trees were now leveled. You don't think of a tornado hitting populated business areas, but it ripped through the busiest intersection of the city. 15th Street, one of the main streets in T-Town and one that I drive daily, is now completely barren for about a mile. It looks like an atomic bomb hit that section, then after you pass through it, it's as if nothing ever happened. Nearly two months after the tragedy, the damage is still unreal. A diagonal line of destruction was drawn through the city, but the amount of hope and love I've seen has been unreal. These people treasure T-Town and are doing everything possible to make things "normal" again. I've never seen love in action the way I have during the past few weeks. T-Town Never Down.
Post tornado, classes and finals were cancelled and we were asked to leave T-Town if possible so we wouldn't diminish the resources. Alyson and I had already planned a trip
to New Orleans for Jazz Fest, so we loaded up the car and headed to a sense of normalcy. We stayed with Brian again, and yes, we grabbed the spare key. Jazz Fest was incredible, and we got to see Mumford & Sons. They're incredible--check them out! From there, my family flew me back to South Dakota for around 10 days, as we weren't sure when I'd have power, etc. That was when the tornado truly sunk in. For the first time, I was able to see videos, pictures, and news casts of what just happened to my city. To say it felt surreal is an understatement. But being surrounded by family and friends made life seem normal again.
Heading back to T-Town was an unreal experience. Driving down 15th Street for the first time since the tornado struck was indescribable. Some of my friends' houses were demolished. Some of them moved home instead of sticking around T-Town during their post graduation job search. "Unfinished" is the only way to describe the end of my first year of grad school. We all kinda scattered and had a random assortment of passing goodbyes before friends started their real jobs. I've been so blessed with an amazing group of grad school friends, so it's been hard not having them in town anymore. On the optimistic side, with most of them gone or moving soon, it may make August a little easier when I have to leave the city I've come to love.
Wait, leaving the city? Yes, you heard me right. A few days after graduation in August, I'm again packing up and moving on. Destination: Colorado Springs! I got an internship with the Olympic Training Center from August until December. The Director of the Training Center was one of our professors via Skype this semester and a longtime friend of the Sport Management program. I've gotten to know her very well and mentioned an interest in being her intern. While on our trip to Colorado Springs for class (yes, we took a class trip to Dallas and Colorado Springs, be jealous) she briefed me on some job duties. Basically, I'll be doing a lot of administrative work, from setting logistics for incoming teams to reports to event logistics. I'll live at the Training Center and eat meals across from Olympians. Sounds like a pretty legit gig, ey? With the 2012 Olympics coming up this summer in London, it will be a really exciting time to be there! Lord knows where I'll end up come December, but I'm just taking it a day at a time and loving the freedom this summer has granted me.
Whew, now there's a massive recap. New Orleans x 2. Natural disaster tornado. Quick trip home. Accepted a ridiculously cool internship. And all the gaps between have been filled with pool time, concerts, and volleyball camps. Livin the dream.
