Your Seat, My Lady...

I'm TIRED. SchoolDude university is over and we're all a little worn out but it was honestly so much fun. I'm glad to be back home though, and sleeping in my own bed last night was absolutely FABulous!!!

As you can tell from my pic, I'm now dating Chad, knight at Medieval Times and former American Idol hopeful. Okay, not really. My section got to cheer for the yellow knight at Medieval Times on Saturday night and he was so adorable that I just HAD to meet him afterwards. He threw me a carnation at some point during the show so I'm absolutely certain he was digging on me. Possibly. Okay, probably not, but it did make me feel like a beautiful medieval damsel...who'd been eating chicken with her fingers. Medieval Times, you need more napkins. Seriously. If you're gonna make people eat with their fingers, you've got to give them a TON of napkins. Gross.

Anyway, I was so excited when I got there that I was snapping pictures left and right of everything. I'd wanted to go to a Medieval Times since first seeing the Cable Guy fifty years ago so this was a big deal, falling not much short of Disney World for a ten-year-old. Once inside, we all got our colored crowns, of course, and i noticed that my table ticket number was different than anyone else's. To put it short, I ended up at a completely different table than anyone else in my party. They were all at numer 9 and i was at 8 with a bunch of 30-something men. Right smack in the middle of 'em. It turned out to be a lot of fun though. They were really friendly and talkative and told me about how their kids loved the place. The show itself was rather cheesy at times but the horses were beautiful, the guys had to all be talented to ride and perform like they did, and the dude with the falcon rocked hard. I tried to take pictures of the arena inside but they all came out too dark. Darn. The food was okay and the Medieval Pepsi was, I'm sure, far advanced of the Pepsi they had back in the days of yore, but it was the whole package that made it a really fun experience.

Afterwards, we got to meet the knights and get our pictures made with them. I, of course, wanted a picture with our yellow knight and then i had to get one with the "evil" green knight and the King. With the pina colada machine glowing in the background...very authentic. In short, lots of fun. Not sure it was 42 bucks worth of fun but definitely a fun experience. Thank you Dude.

The rest of Dude U was just as much fun. Of course we all stayed busy, busy, busy the whole time we were there but the weather was awesome, our clients were entertaining at times, and the events were all definitely worth all the work. Our banquet tuesday night was probably one of the most well-planned and decorated event I've ever been to. We had a cruise ship theme so there were ship-crew waiters all over the place, tiki bars everywhere you looked, and even hermit-crab racing, believe it or not. There was a steel drum band, a woman weaving baskets (beautiful but mucho expensivo), and dancing, of course. We all had a blast.

What was the best thing about the experience though was that I got to know so many new people and made a bunch of new friends on our staff at SchoolDude. Doing what i do, I don't get to get out of my office too much and I rarely work with anyone. But this past week, I've spent so much time with the people in my company and had such a good time, I'm really happy to have made some new friends to have around the office. Erin and Linda played and sang with me for the Sunday morning devotional service, which went off without a hitch and they did a great job. It's been wonderful to have someone to play and sing with again.

So in short, it's good to be home and I'm absolutely worn out (and coming down with something, i'm fairly certain), but Dude U 2007 was a wonderful experience I wouldn't trade. What can I say? I love my company.

Did you know that Starbucks caramel macchiatos are absolutely magical?? I can't live without them now.

All I've Eaten Today is Snackwells Cookies..And That Ain't Good.

Well, here it comes. Black monday. It's not here yet, but oh, it'll be here soon enough. Okay, so maybe I'm being dramatic. I do that. What the crap am I talking about? Monday at Dude U, that's what.
Okay, fine. Let me tell you what I'm really talking about. Every year, the company I work for takes five days down at Myrtle Beach and hosts a conference. It's a pretty cool chance to meet the clients we work with and talk to every day but woah, does it take some energy out of you. Last year was my first year and I didn't know what to expect. We left after work on Friday and from Saturday morning on, we were all wide open, working our collective Dude fannies off, and didn't have a spare minute to realize how tired we were until Wednesday came and it was time to go home. Monday is the hardest day. We stay in the lab literally all day until 8 or 9 o'clock at night at which time we finally eat dinner. And by then we're starving because chances are, we didn't all have time to eat an actual meal for lunch. Then the silliness kicks in. Dinner out is on the Dude and there's tons of laughig and talking and eating and the tiredness slowy drains out of us.
Dude U is one of those events that you almost dread with anxiety, you're too busy to really realize it while you're there, and then you look back on it once you get back home and think, "Well, that was actually pretty fun." If last year was any indication, I know I'll come back with a new appreciation for my company, the people I work with, and our clients. One of my good friends won't be there this year though, and it just won't be the same because I'll miss her so much. She's not getting rid of me though...we're going to hang out and eat sushi and watch Ghost Hunters just as much as ever. I miss you girl!!

Know what I'm the most excited about this year on our Dude U trip to Myrtle Beach? Medieval Times. That's right...yours truely will have her very first Medieval Times experience this saturday and I'm a little ashamed to admit, I'm pretty dang excited about it.
"Red Knight's goin' down! Down, down down!"

Unless, of course, I'm sitting in his section. Wench! Can I get refill on this Pepsi?

I've also been asked to keep a blog while at Dude U for the first time ever so we'll see how that goes. I get to chuck my astute observations about the conference onto the web for unwitting victims to stumble onto and then wish they hadn't. Kind of like you guys. Or guy. Or girl. Or drooling monkey. Whichever applies.

Sigh.

Next weekend, I'm actually going to make it down to Caswell for the whole weekend. Maybe even a day or two extra. After this week, and especially after the coming week, I could really use some recouperation. Yam, get the couch ready. And the tissue box. I've got some crying to do. Well...some cookies might help. And Dr. Pepper. And my favorite episode of Friends. I won't get back from Myrtle Beach until Wednesday evening and I'm actually considering taking Friday off (and maybe Thursday), to get some extra Yam time in. I'm tired. I just need to get away from here for a while. And I also need to see my Holly Molly so we can plot wedding mischief together!

And guess what? Somewhere in the middle of all this craziness, I've got to study for the GRE! That'll be here in just a couple of weeks and I've been so busy that I keep forgetting it!

Wish me luck and please keep me in your prayers. March is proving to be a tough month but hopefully I'll come out the other side a little stronger and with a lot to be excited about. For all my awesome friends, I love you and I'm so thankful for every crazy one of you! You keep me sane and laughing my head off. Which doesn't always help with the appearance of sanity, but I love it.

Jennifer, Virginia, and Rebecca....I had such a great time with you the other night! Even though two of you are getting married (we're hangin' in there Virginia! :) ) I love you all and I can't wait to do it again!

If I can update from MB I will but if not, I'll talk to you guys when I get back! Post some love for me!!!