Adjusting

    This past week or so as I was running around trying to get residency in Alabama, I was fortunate enough to run to the mall to get my license, only to find that I couldn't get my license at that building--go figure (Something to do with first time license stuff). As I was turning to head home, I called Camille, my very best friend and we began talking when suddenly I realized that I didn't know where I was. I had gotten on the correct road! What had happened? I checked every few minutes to make sure I was still on South Memorial Parkway! It didn't even OCCUR to me that I had driven 30 minutes NORTH on SOUTH Memorial Parkway. I found myself Waaaaayyy far away in a small town called Hazel Green.
So I got lost once--twice--but let's face it, there are a lot of things to adjust to out here, I shall tell you of these things:

• 1. Windstorms. Dorthy, Eat your heart out. The first time I heard a Tornado siren I think my heart about died in my chest. It is an eerie sound. Go ahead and click on the video to hear what I am talking about. From my apartment it is very soft, but just high pitched enough that you hear it, sometimes it ebbs but it goes on for a good period of time. Combined with the 50-60 mile an hour wind, I was sitting in the tiny vanity with a blanket and the radio turned up loud. Poor Jacob, I thought we were going to die. He probably asked me if I was okay a million times.
• 2. Bugs. Thankfully I have not had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a large-nasty-spider, but the other day Jacob and I left the door open while we carried these white shelves into our house. I was lying on our carpet (because we have yet to get a couch or a comfortable chair) when all of the sudden a small brown and black, flat backed creature silently shot across the carpet. I SCREAMED. I was up in a second, dancing away into the dining room asking Jacob to kill it, please kill it. Jacob grabbed some tupperware MY TUPPERWARE and scooped it up and tossed it outside. He still won't tell me what it was, but it looked like, what I have always envisioned to be a cockroach. I have been told the best is yet to come.

   Those are probably the only downsides to Alabama. The people are all relatively nice. I have had police officers who are writing books, explain the area, which places are safe and which are not, how to get my license changed and how to get my tags changed. I receive endless jokes about the humidity and how the weather is significantly better in Alabama. Which, I will agree, it is. We don't get snow here, only rain. And rain, it does! We have little ponds in our parkinglot and rivers that pour off our sidewalks into the drainage system below. You walk outside and just get soaked.

   I would say the other great thing is our ward, I was just called to be the Beehive Advisor, and I am very excited. It's a little daunting, I mean, I am only twenty years old and I am an advisor for twelve to fourteen year old girls! They are really sweet though, I went into the Young Women's room last sunday and two of them, Sage and Coryn, they simply mobbed me with attention, and I was okay with that. I look forward to working with them.

   Jacob will take the GRE a week from tomorrow, then, hopefully he can start school in the fall. Oh, the GRE is kind of like the SAT for Grad School, for those who don't know. And I am currently searching the field for an occupation. For the past few weeks I have been interviewing for CNA positions, but after a spilled drug test incident, I have taken a break and am now pursuing phlebotomy. As I think about it, I am enjoying the idea more and more, and I feel like they have better scheduled hours. I don't know for sure but I am open to the idea. Keep praying for me, please, I know I need it.

Well, I need to get back to work. Love you lotso.

Courtney