"What's life without a little whimsy?" -Sheldon Cooper

Sometimes life gets too routine and too focused for me. I am a bit of a control-freak (*cough*, understatement?) and I like to plan, organize and check things off to-do lists. Well, I decided to add a little whimsy, as we'll call it, to my life...however, I got a bit more than I bargained for.

I decided to make my second official trip to Arizona to visit my Kendall-love/sister/bestie! In March, on my first trip, I had a blast. Arizona is such a fun place and to be honest, the heat is SOOO much better than the junky humidity of Texas (seriously, I did not sweat once in AZ and have been miserable since returning to TX despite TX being "cooler"). Anywho, I digress. This trip was no different from the first. I relaxed (despite having grad school work to do) and really enjoyed myself. I'm convinced it's the people I love in AZ that make it so much fun but we do entertaining things as well. This trip consisted of shopping, a Diamondbacks game, shopping, laying by the pool, shopping, movies, pizza, wine...did I mention shopping? :) AND, most importantly, lots of time chatting and hanging out with my bestie. I couldn't ask for more.

Now, while picking up and taking a trip in the middle of the summer school semester when I have assignments due, a presentation to prep for and a major deadline looming is whimsical enough for me, but that is not where this story begins.

Before I left on Saturday, I was chatting with my momma about my plane schedule. I left myself 50 minutes in DFW to get from plane 1 to plane 2 with a terminal change. I've done this before so I had no worries. My mother, on the other hand, pointed out that this was probably not the wisest decision as planes are often delayed. My response, "Mom, it's over 100 degrees in Phoenix. It's over 100 degrees in Dallas. It's over 100 degrees in College Station. I'll be fine." Boy, would I eat those words.

On Wednesday (my return to TX day), my bestie dropped me off at the airport with plenty of time to get to my flight. No worries. As I'm waiting for the flight to board, I notice the time on the TV screen at my gate has changed. Then, one of the flight attendants (?? is that what they're called) comes on the intercom to let us know that our plane had to make an extra stop getting to Phoenix so it is 30 minutes delayed. BAAAHHH! My tight schedule is not looking too good. Feeling concerned, I approach the flight attendant and ask her if I will be able to make my 8:15 flight. "Oh, of course dear. No worries," was her response. I relax. A little.

To compound a delayed flight, our flight was VERY full and it seemed like every person was trying to bring 3 or 4 carry-ons. Totally not allowed! Anyway, FINALLY our flight begins boarding. **Side note: why don't they board the BACK of the plane first? It takes so much extra time to board the front of the plane first. Just a suggestion.** It takes longer than expected to board the plane and we are now 40 minutes behind schedule. So, recap, I will have about 10 minutes to get from one terminal to another in DFW and get on my plane. Easy peasy...right?

I'm anxious the entire flight, but thankfully sit next to a sweet little lady from Indianapolis who tells me all about her daughter in college, her 16-year-old son, Peyton Manning and how great Indianapolis is to live in. Noted. Who knows...maybe one of those nice little universities will offer me a job in a few years?? I spent the rest of the time alternating between reading The Great Gatsby and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Seriously, my adult-onset-ADHD is getting worse. I also spent some time problem solving how I will get back to CS when I miss my plane as there isn't another flight out of DFW to CS tonight.

We land in DFW (or so we we're told). It felt like we landed in CS and then drove the airplane to DFW, if you know what I mean. As Murphy's Law would have it, our flight came in on the runway FARTHEST from the airport. Of course. We are a few minutes earlier but taxi for about 15 minutes. I've got 20 minutes. The flight attendant comes on to announce gates and such. I'm landing in A35 and have to make it to B9. Doesn't sound too hard. Thankfully, when we get to the gate, the captain comes on, "If you have a connecting flight leaving before 8, you've missed it. If your flight is leaving at 8:15 or 8:20, rise now and exit. If your connecting flight is leaving after 8:20, please allow the other passengers to exit first." How sweet!

I jet (no pun intended) out of my seat, grab my bags and speedily walk off the plane and up the jetway. I'm wearing my amazing, favorite Sperry flip-flops which are useless at this point. I kick them off, pick them up, stick them in my purse and begin running as soon as I'm out of the jetway. I'm sure I looked cute, running like a supermodel with my hair gently blowing in the breeze. Ha, who am I kidding? I was definitely a bit spastic. However, as I ran through the airport, up the escalator, to the Skylink and down the escalator, I was encouraged by people cheering and yelling for me, "you can do it!" and "you'll make it"! Again, how sweet!

Finally, I get to B9 - it's 8:10. 5 minutes. No one is at the gate. The jetway is gone. Shit, I've missed my flight! I look panicked hoping this will help matters. Then, a flight attendant approaches me, "College Station?" he asks. "YES!" I shout, as best as I can through my panting and panic. "You must be Ms. Hodges. Follow me and I'll walk you out to the airplane." We then climbed down some stairs to the pavement, walked out to the plane and walked me up some steep stairs into the plane. :) Yes, I made it!

I'm much more at ease on this flight and 28 minutes later, we land in CS. I get off the plane and skip (I'm happy now) to the baggage claim with the other 15 people on the flight. The baggage claim starts rolling and about 30 minutes later (with everyone else gone), it stops. A nice little man walks out and stares blankly at me. "Follow me to baggage claim," he says. He types into his little computer my information, then looks at me. "You're flight was delayed from Phoenix?" he asks. "Yes, sir," I reply. "Oh, wow! How the heck did YOU make this flight?" "I ran." "Well, your bag did not run. It's still in DFW but will be here on the first flight in the morning. Should be here around 11:45. We'll call you." Turns out, if you run to catch the flight and get escorted to the plane, you're luggage will not make it. Good news: the Sprinkles cupcakes (a bit smushed but still delicious), my computer and me all made it, so alls well.

Now, if that wasn't enough whimsy for one week, you haven't met me! The reason I had to so direly make that flight was because I had a presentation at 10 am the following morning (today). This morning, I show up and sign in for the presentation with my co-presenter, Nancy. We head up to the MSC where our presentation is taking place and get all set up. The presentation should start around 11:15. At 11, this little white box on the wall starts flashing. Then a computerized voice comes on the intercom, "There is a fire emergency in the Memorial Student Center. Please evacuate immediately." Are you kidding me?? What the hell? So, we evacuate.

At 11:15, we are still stuck outside, so we meet up with the group we are presenting to and make arrangements to move to a new location. Great, but we left our presentation materials in the first room and are not allowed to go back into the building. At 11:20, a second announcement comes on allowing us back into the MSC. We begin our presentation at 11:30 and all is right with the world.

I think I've had enough whimsy for a while. Time to be back on a schedule and routine, but man does God have a sense of humor! :) (and, Mom, fine. You were right.)

-Tracey

God has a bigger plan or I'm really lucky??

This is a constant question that floats around in my head. Take what I'm about to say with a slice of humble pie, but I feel like my life fits perfectly into place. Things happen that I sometimes don't understand but upon closer inspection, or the passing of time, I find that they fit perfectly. Now, I am unsure what the purpose of this is. Is it God's divine intervention? Am I really that lucky? Or, do I have a desire to find meaningful connections in everything so I create this in my head? I like to think it is God's plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11). Here is a prime example:

This past Spring semester, I took my first Ph.D. level statistics course. I loved it. Clearly. I'm a math person who likes to write. Anywho, a few weeks ago, I received an email from the research center at TAMU asking me if I would like to work some during the summer. Of course I jumped at the opportunity. I would get to work on federally funded projects while improving on my research skills. I was recommended for this position (along with some other students) based on my performance in my statistics course.

This information is important. Now, of equal importance is my tumultuous year. This past year, I taught 8th grade Language Arts. I taught in a time that was full of change and hardship. Along with teaching a new grade - at the Special Education level and Pre-AP, I was tasked with helping to write new curriculum for the district that fused together new TEKS, a new state assessment and College and Career Readiness Standards (which are a National initiative). Got that? It was rough and made me crazy. I had never heard of these College and Career Readiness Standards and became very familiar with them, along with the TEKS and the new STAAR. Along with curriculum writing and implementation.

Hopefully that is all clear as it lends itself to the point of my post. Now, in all of this, I was stressed, uptight, overwhelmed and going crazy! I thought constantly, "Why is this happening?", "why am I doing this?" and "How is this going to be applicable in my future?" My time is stretched so thin as is that I don't like to spend time on things that won't help me in the future or don't have purpose. All year, I felt like I couldn't give my students the best education possible because of the stress all of this laid upon me. However, at this point, I have the 8th grade Language Arts TEKS memorized, I know the College and Career Readiness Standards and I know how to write STAAR style questions without even blinking an eye.

So - Why is this important? Today, I had my first meeting with the research center to learn about the types of projects we will be working on. I was assigned to two projects - both dealing with College and Career Readiness Standards! The directors of the center had no idea that I was well-versed in this information. How convenient lucky blessed whatever! Crazy, right?

I take from this that God put me through an exhausting year to teach me these standards so that I could help with this project and gain valuable experience which I'm sure will help further my professional career as a researcher. So, here is the question - is this part of God's perfect plan? am I luck? or am I fabricating that these pieces fit together? Again, I choose to believe this is God's plan for me as this is not the first, and I'm sure not the last, time that my life fits perfectly into place.

-Tracey

Summer...I can definitely get used to this!

Today was the first "official" day of summer. Monday - no school! :) A few realizations have already been made. 1) My loving "cackle", as my family affectionately calls it, is back. This is the laugh I use when I am genuinely enjoying myself. Feels good to laugh like that again and not be so stressed. 2) Today was the first time in 2-years that I have had my blood pressure taken and it was NOT high! Good things.

Here's a breakdown of my day. I foresee this schedule being repeated to my heart's content until August! (Plus a little work in between.)

5:30a - Wake up.

6a - Bootcamp! (for free...can't beat that!)

7:15a - shower and get ready

8a-11a - drive to the Rock and go to the dentist (blah!)

12p - lunch with the family

2:30p - back at home - Secret Millionaire time!

3:30p-5:30p - nap with Jack

6p - Grad school assignments (online discussions and such)

7p-9p - Writing at Muldoon's for the book chapter

9:30p - dinner while watching Bachelorette

midnight - bed

Repeat.