Me + Garmin = <3

Today was another crazy day in the next episode of the sitcom "Brittany Becomes an Adult". First of all, I lost my Tennessee registration for my wonderful little Honda. Or maybe I never put in my car. I don't really know, but I didn't have it. But in order to get a Texas license, first you have to be registered in Texas. But in order to be registered in Texas, you have to have Texas insurance and your current registration. Tags are not enough proof, and if you want to use your other insurance, the card isn't enough-- you have to bring in your policy so that they can make sure it complies with Texas standards. Oh, and did I mention that the fee for new residents is $193.80, and you can't use credit or debit cards? It has to be cash or check. And the check can't be from an out-of-state bank. Which basically means you either have to bring a whole heck of a lot of cash with you when you move or get a bank ASAP. So, my awesome dad spent an hour at the Shelby County Clerk's office yesterday to get me a replacement registration, which he then scanned in and emailed to me. Unfortunately, the scanner was scanning them at an image size of .2 inches wide and .4 inches tall. Sooooo, new plan. I found an Office Max, and had Dad fax me my registration. Presto! I had it! Yes! Score!

BTW (that was for you, dear sister, who speaks in abbreviations), my garmin was working hard with all the addresses I plugged into it, which was AMAZING! "In point 9 miles, take a left. When possible, make a U-turn. Turn right. Turn right. TURN RIGHT. Recalculating." Wonderful!

Then, it was time to go to the bank. So, I plugged in the address for Wells Fargo, and I followed it until it said, "Arriving at destination on right." That's so much better with the British accent. Anyway, I was trying to figure out where the heck the Wells Fargo was, and then I saw it...the Tom Thumb. No tellers, just a machine operated ATM which needed...yes...the debit card that I do not have yet. So, it was back to the car and time to put the garmin to the test. And she passed with flying colors, leading me to a true Wells Fargo Bank that was only 1.3 miles away from my next destination!

The Tax Office
I brought this huge file folder of information because I didn't want to even come close to forgetting one document that would make me have to go back home and waste more time! Needless to say, I'm sure I looked like a geek lugging it around, but I had everything I needed! And they gave me Texas plates right there! No mailing or anything, just here are your plates! That process only took a half an hour or so.

The Driver's License Office
I don't know why it takes so long, but it does. I got there when they were on number 42, and my number was 59. Two hours later they had somehow blitzed through 54...55...56...57...58...here it comes!! Nope. I did not get included in the lucky blitz streak. But about 10 minutes later, they called me up, took my picture, and gave me a temporary license. I got in my car and sang really loud to Michael Buble's "Moondance" on the way home. It was fantastic, and now I am officially a Texan in every legal way possible. I even said "fixing to" today. Ahh!

Oh oh the Wells Fargo Wagon is a comin' down the street!

It's been a busy day! I got a vehicle inspection this morning at the Honda dealership (along with a complimentary Dr. Pepper and car wash), which was step number 1 in a 3-step process to become a registered and licensed driver in the state of Texas! Courtney took the day off work, so we hung out at the dealership and looked at new cars while her oil got changed and mine got inspected. Then we went to Firehouse Subs for lunch, which I've deemed as my favorite. If you've never eaten there, you are seriously missing out.

Then I got me my own bank, but unfortunately Wachovia is not quite there with the free checking and savings account. While I was setting everything at Wells Fargo, I was chatting with Teresa (the girl helping me), and she said she was in East Texas in this little town nobody's ever heard of called Longview. Little did she know that I had just been there two weeks ago for Samantha and Tommy's wedding! And then she said she moved around a bunch and got to Richmond, but said she didn't know Karen (lol, that would have been crazy!). What a random coincidence though!

And tonight I got a new cell phone and bookshelves and a hamper! So, after I go to TxDOT tomorrow morning, I'm heading back here to put my handy skills to the test!

Dora fell asleep for a while on my bed and woke up looking a little confused. "Why am in a Queen bed instead of a King, and where's Ruby?!"

Almost a Texan

Good news, folks: the final results came in, and it turns out that my graduation was legitimate! I know you were all worried since I didn't cover that topic for almost the entire summer. I think the verdict was that even though I had way too many credits, they would let it slide in my case and give me a diploma. Whew! It was a close call, but it's all ok now.

Summertime... I love summer, and that's one thing I'm really going to miss about being in school. At the end of last summer, I had big plans for this summer: traveling on my own, taking pictures of exotic locations, finding an apartment, buying a car, moving to Dallas, and ending with starting my job. But what do you know? Plans change! I did absolutely nothing on that list (other than buy a car, but that was in December), and it was an incredible summer that I would trade for anything in the world (except maybe dinner right now because I am huuungry).

Traveling on my own
While my initial attraction to this was that it seemed contemplative and new and daring, I realized pretty quickly that that's only good if that's what you want. And what I wanted was to have fun with people I love and soak up every minute of my friends and family that I possibly could before I start "the real world". Solution: drive an insane amount of miles between Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas with the company of Trey for every car trip and Mom and Dad for the trip from Texas to Memphis and back.

Prin to Cedars: 197 miles
Cedars to Gtown: 292 miles
Gtown to Grand Prairie: 493 miles
Grand Prairie to Longview: 147 miles
Longview to Grand Prairie: 150 miles (Google Maps explain this one...)
Grand Prairie to Gtown: 492 miles
Gtown to Grand Prairie: 493 miles
Total Distance: 2,264 miles

Yeah. I think I got traveling covered just fine, and I'm glad I didn't do it alone.

Taking pictures of exotic locations
So much better than that! Instead of going somewhere by myself to take pictures of something that didn't mean much to me, I went back to camp! My job was pretty much to walk around to all the different activities and programs and take pictures of kids laughing and having fun. I wasn't expecting to want a cabin again, but even though I missed playing with the kiddos, it was probably one of the best jobs I've ever had: who else can say they got to meet tons of people, take pictures of happy kids, get certified to drive a Genie, play with sparklers, and lots lots more.

Finding an apartment
If you're looking for a great deal on rent, let me tell you that the Moser Mansion comes fully equipped with live entertainment, cuddly pugs, carpool buddies, and workout motivation (or compulsion, haha, just kidding Court). Purchasing insurance coverage for traumatic stress following Ham Storms is still pending approval from owners but will hopefully be in place soon.

Buying a car
Check! I love my Atomic Blue Honda Civic. She has air conditioning and a sun roof. What more could a girl want?

Moving to Dallas
I'm here now, sitting in my blue room, mostly unpacked, and I couldn't resist the temptation to start a bet a little early.

Starting my job
1 week, 13 hours, and 28 minutes.

Thanks to never knowing how plans can change! Otherwise, I would have missed out on being at camp for one last hurrah, catching Hot Throwed Rolls at Lambert's, being a bridesmaid in Tommy and Samantha's wedding (ahh! sooo wonderful-- this was my favorite weekend of the summer), going to a rodeo in Fort Worth, making the best caramel fudge in the world of chocolate with Trey, playing Dutton/Bogott golf in the middle of a burning hot day, hanging with the Huwers, eating lots of barbeque, learning to make homemade bread and eating it hot out of the oven with honey butter, going to a Redbirds game with Amy, Ruth, Phillip, Mom, Dad, and Trey, baking an angel food cake with Debbie's frosting recipe, and finding out that I am NOT allergic to pugs.

"Being an Adult" training began this afternoon when I tried to get car insurance. Phil called to see if I could be added on to their plan, and as I was giving the woman my information, she seemed surprised that I didn't know my driver's license number, and then she asked me for my VIN. What the heck is a VIN?! Obviously, it's a secret acronym that only experienced adults know. Or it's the Vehicle Identification Number that's on your insurance card. Oh, and I will not be getting insurance with Court and Phil because their rate more than doubled because we would have had to have all 3 of us insured on all 3 cars! When she told me the previous
rate and the new rate, I said, "Excuse me, could you repeat that last number? I don't think I heard you." Oh, but I had heard her.

I'll post pictures soon. I'm going to try to do some kind of slide show or something.

What a small world!

As I can't really manage to stand still while I brush my teeth, I was wandering around my room on the third floor of Settler's House (at Cedars Camps), and even though there is a bathroom right next to the room, there is also a random sink at one end of the room and a toilet in a tiny room next to it. Anyway, since I finally have roommates, one of them had put a few things on the sink, and as I'm walking and brushing, I look down only to see a Germantown Charity Horse Show cup. She's here helping with the horses, so I figured maybe she'd been there once or so, but tonight I asked her, and she said she's been there every year since she was thirteen, and she's fallen in love with Germantown and vows to live there before she dies (well, Collierville now), but how random! She even loves the Commissary!