Our Trip Back to Tennessee (10/17-19)

After Adam and I stopped off at the University of Alabama for one amazing night with Dr. Cornel West (see previous blog), we continued on down (or, up, rather) the road to Knoxville for our first time back since leaving for Mississippi in late July.  

We arrived to my parents' house around 2 or 3am and the plan was to quietly go on in the house without disturbing my parents and just wait until the morning to visit.  Well, as we were unpacking the car, Adam reached across the driver's seat to grab one last thing and accidentally bumped into the steering wheel causing the horn to sound!  This sent us into histerical laughing fits.  Things always seem funnier when you are supposed to be quiet.  It was reminiscent of trying to hold a giggle during class or trying not to laugh out loud at a slumber party when people were trying to sleep.  As you may have guessed, the brief honk woke my parents.  But, Dad was happy to greet us at the door and Mom was more than ready for a hug.  

The next morning (Friday), Mom and Dad stuck to their usual routine and started their day in the early morning.  Meanwhile, Adam was also up early to head over to UT campus to do some research and catch up with former colleagues and friends.  When I finally rolled out of bed with no schedule to follow, I felt pretty worthless.  However, this down time provided me with some much needed one-on-one tummy rubbing time with our cat, Panda.  In Starkville, there are a few neighborhood cats who roam around, but none who just walk up to you, weave around your ankles and drop to the ground ready for some attention.

Anyway, my day truned out to be somewhat productive.  I was able to do a little gardening for my parents, as well as, saw a fallen branch from the very far edge off the back yard and move it to the farthest most edge of the front yard for curbside pick-up.  That afternoon, I was able ot do my MUW mentoring correspondence work from the Starbucks down the street, too.

Friday night was fun.  I met Adam on campus (yes, he was there all day) and we went to the Lady Vol Volleyball match against Ole Miss.   The match was played in Thompson-Boling Arena.  Funny, but on my recruting trip to UT it was believed that UT volleyball would be playing in TBA during my UTVB career (my career was 96-99).  We started in Alumni Gym then upgraded to Stokely Athletic Center.  It's funny how things work out.

Well, the Lady Vols won in front of one of the largest crowds in UTVB history.  An exact attendance number was not given, but it was "Student Night" and there were over 700 students present.  It was amazing to see so many people supporting Lady Vol Volleyball!

Saturday night was the football game between UT and Mississippi State.  We had a nice time tailgating with my Mom and Dad and their G-10 friends.  Adam and I enjoyed walking around, running into a few UT friends, and watching the Vol Walk.  We actually saw a couple from our swing class (in Starkville!).  Miss State was well represented with fans sporting their Maroon.  

Our seats were great; located on the end by the aisle and across from the aisle was not just the MSU fan section, but the MSU band!  By the way, Adam and I wore our UT shirts, but I represented with my "Dawgs" hat.  We enjoyed sitting near the MSU section because we were able to hear all the fun chants and cheers throughout the game.  (Not to worry, though)...Our seats were in the UT section, so we belted out "Rocky Top" and our Alma Mater.

Reminder: When creating usernames & passwords...write them down!

Hi!  Wow.  It has been quite some time since I last typed.  Apparently, forgetting your password is not the only obstacle for logging on for blog entries, but you also need to remember other stuff like your login email address  and login name and other important details.  Not to worry, I have now written all that information down, so next time I won't be caught staring at the computer screen trying to recall which of my twenty-some email addresses, login names, and passwords I used to create this blog account.  Whew!

Adam and I have been doing well here in, surprisingly, chilly Mississippi.  We have tried to get out a little more into the community.  A few weekends ago we visited the Noxubee Refuge for a special day they had to encourage visitation and appreciation for the outdoors and the benefits of the refuge.  We petted a baby gator and later saw a huge gator floating in the nearby water (we were in the car and all the canoers were out of the water for the day, fortunately).  Adam and I learned how to throw tomahawks at a target.  That was awesome!  Adam and I both were able to hit the tree with the axes (tomahawks) sticking into the wood.  We also took a lovely stroll through one of the many nature trails of the Noxubee Refuge.  Someday we plan to further explore more of what the refuge has to offer. 

We have been taking group swing dance lessons once a week.  Those are always fun.  

Also, volleyball on Sunday afternoons and Tuesday nights has proven to be a very fun social atmosphere, as well as a great workout.  Our volleyball group is very culturally diverse.  We have athletes from China, Brasil, Tunisia, Puerto Rico, and other states, too.

Adam and I recently became involved with MSU's Borderless Hosts program.  We were introduced to an international student who we will get together for dinner and/or activities  with at least once a month.  His name is Kamal and he is an engineering student from Nepal.  He is a very intelligent and genuinely kind young man.  We are very happy to be part of what we think is a valuable program.

Last weekend, Adam and I drove to the University of Alabama (on our way to Knoxville) for a special event speaker Dr. Cornel West.  HE IS AWESOME!  (Author of "Race Matters" and "Hope On A Tightrope."  We arrived to the event about thirty minutes before he was scheduled to take the stage.  Already, people (of all ages and races) were lined up out the doors!  The line slowly moved us closer to entering the hall, and we made a move for the front of the theater.  Against all fire codes, people were sitting piled in the aisles on the lower level and the balcolny.  We actually were moved to the stage with about 100 people.  He addressed us as "Brothers and Sisters of all colors" and a few memorable quotes from that night (as well as I could hear and as quickly as I could write them down) were the following:

*"You cannot save the people if you do not serve the people.  You cannot lead the people if you do not love the people."

*(Paraphrased) "Humility, Humanity...What does it mean to be Human?...It is important to muster the courage to examine life through critical thinking.   Certain perceptions, predispositions, prejudice; you've got to give them up and turn them loose."

*(Paraphrased) "TRUTH, JUSTICE, DUTY, LOVE...Cultivation of yourself and the maturation of your soul...find your VOICE, not your echo.  Have pride in your OWN voice."

I am proud to say that Adam and I were a part of a magical evening of hope and love shared amongst many. 

Now that I remember all my login information, I will post sooner than later!  Take care! -la

Fun Times...

Well, after a few weekends of craziness, we took the weekend of Sept 26 & 27 to relax.  Basically, we did a little shopping and watched some football.  Adam got some handsome slacks and shirts to wear for class.  

We also had a little fun during the week, too.  Of course, Adam worked very hard all day and most evenings.  Tuesday night was fun...we went to the Starkville Sports Complex (lots of fields!) to watch our upstairs neighbors play soccer.   M is five and T is seven.  Let me start off by saying that when I asked their mom (who is actually one of my closest friends here in Starkville) about what field they would be playing on she said to look for the coach yelling at the kids, (her husband is the coach).  So, with that detailed piece of advice, I was under the impression that there were only a few fields.  Well, when Adam and I parked in the endless parkinglot full of SUVs and minivans, we were a little taken aback to find there were at the very least over 20 fields of kids running around and, of course, all coaches and parents yelling.  

Fortnately, we found both fields (both games were going on at the same time) within ten minutes of arriving at the soccer mecca.  T (the seven year old) is a great athlete and his team worked well together passing the soccer ball to one another and scoring many times.  M's game was so fun to watch.  There were two teams, each with four boys ages five and under, and a coach on the minature soccer field.  The little guys were too cute, with their soccer shorts meeting their shin guards, leaving no visibility of the knees.  The gaggle of kids running after the ball was often interupted by exciting distractions, like leaves, someone's shoe falling off requiring the coach to quickly come to the rescue and put it back on, someone finding how fun it was to pull their shirt up over their head and run around not being able to see, the necessity to run over to the families and friends standing on the sidelines to give hugs and high-fives (M came over to us a few times, and it was the cutest thing), etc.  The best was when someone would shoot at the goal and the ball would roll down this little hill, then ALL the boys would want to go after the ball, not running to the ball but rolling down the hill to get the ball, then tackle each other and hunt for leaves all before returning to the soccer pitch.  It was awesome.  We had the best time laughing with the kids and families on the sidelines.

Wednesday was Swing Dancing!  Adam and I had a great time.  We were sweating after dancing all night.

Thursday I was able to play sand volleyball (doubles) with a few buddies of mine and that was a great time, even with the massive amount of bugs!!   Friday night we went to MSU Women's Volleyball, and that was great, too.  State did not beat South Carolina, but just being there watching volleyball is always a good time.