There and Back Again

Wow, it's been a while since I've done this whole blogging thing. Shame on me. My excuse is that I've been busy. Sorry 'bout it.

I finally went back home to the Lake of the Ozarks. I had forgotten how beautiful it is there. As a teenager, I couldn't wait to leave, but I understand its appeal now. The fact that it is so isolated is simultaneously its biggest draw and its biggest drawback. I mean, it's within a reasonable distance to some bigger cities, but the nearest major airport is three hours away. In any case, it's a cool place, and I'm glad I have the excuse of visiting family to make regular trips there. Speaking of family, mine is awesome. They got a new kitty--a fluffy white boy named Gunther. We also had a fun Memorial Day Weekend get-together, although I hit a wall halfway through and had to take a nap during the beer tasting. I just can't party as hard as my parents. I did get my margarita on at Tres Hombres, a family favorite. I could bathe in their queso dip. I think I left a leftover cup full of it at my parents' house, and now I'm really regretting not taking it with me. It probably would have stunk up my car anyway. My mom and dad also took me shopping for teaching clothes. Shopping for clothes with my mother is usually a frustrating task for both of us, but we had a lot of fun and found some great things. We bought no fewer than six bow ties, so I'll be looking super fly on the first day of classes. I really like all the things we picked out, and I'm super appreciative that I have such amazing parents who help me out with that stuff.

Alas, all good things come to an end, so I packed up and headed back to St. Louis that Monday in my PT Cruiser with a fresh pair of new tires. I had three more days of teacher training left, and I couldn't wait to get it over with. I did that training from 8:00-5:30 Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and used the rest of the evenings to nest. Taking after my mother, I compulsively rearranged the furniture. The gay in me has had a burning desire to give this whole house an interior decorating makeover, but I'm making due with what's available to me. I'm finally starting to know my way around this part of St. Louis; I'm certainly glad I have my Cruiser back so I can zoom in and out of the traffic. That was not so feasible in the Suburban.

In work news, I finally have my class schedule for the next five weeks! On Saturday nights, I'll be driving to Cape Girardeau where IRD will pay for a hotel and my gas until I leave on Tuesday. I've never been to Cape Girardeau, and I only have a couple of acquaintances who I know will be there this summer, so it might not be that exciting. However, I'll probably be exhausted from teaching and traveling, so I will probably just relax in my hotel (hopefully it'll have a pool, or at least a gym). Once I get back to St. Louis, I'll have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off, so that will be a nice break. On Saturdays, I'll be teaching two classes at St. Louis University starting after noon, so I should have plenty of time to rest. Work will be crazy, but very rewarding, so I'm excited to get started!

I suppose that's enough of an update for now. I'll try to get some new pictures posted. Right now, my kitchen is a sad, empty place, so I'm gonna go fix that.

-Anthony

Back from Atlanta

Traveling is hard.

I've been in Atlanta for the past five days. I just flew back into St. Louis yesterday afternoon, and now I finally have a minute to breathe. I have the next couple of days off, so I'm gonna take some time to relax and get used to living in St. Louis now that there are more people here I know. After these past few days, though, I'm pretty content to just lie on the couch and enjoy not doing anything.

I had a good time in Atlanta. I flew out on Wednesday, met up with three other teachers to share a rental car, and got set up in a two-bedroom hotel room to myself. I had in-person teacher training from 8:00-5:30 Thursday-Sunday and flew back Monday afternoon. The training was pretty intense, but I feel more confident about getting in front of a classroom full of students and being in charge for 2 hours at a time. I say that now, but I know I'll be terrified on Day One. I still have one more phase of training to complete at home, so there's still some preparation ahead.

Apart from training, Atlanta was tons of fun! All the other teachers were awesome people from all over the country. My car-mates were particularly fun people who I'll really miss, one of whom will be teaching in St. Louis as well this summer. Shout out to Nick, Anne, and Arielle! Training would have been impossible to get through without them to vent to. 

Atlanta itself wasn't crazy exciting. We were all exhausted by the end of each day, so we didn't have the time or energy to go out much. On the last night, we were able to go to this really cool bar with the largest beer selection I have ever seen and some amazing food. I believe it was called Porter's.

Teachers know how to party.

I was mostly excited about the prospect of seeing filming locations of The Walking Dead. I at least wanted to drive by the C.D.C., but we ran out of time. I definitely had zombies on my mind as we drove throughout the city. We did see a man shuffling along the side of the highway with a zombie-like gait. However, the scariest part of the trip was taking a shortcut through a graveyard at night after getting ice cream, which is obviously the start to a great idea. We were walking through and realized it came to a dead end (laugh at my pun!) when we noticed a dog sleeping at a grave. We thought it was a dog visiting its owner, so we thought it was super sweet at first. Nope. It and another large, black dog came out of the shadows and started growling aggressively at the four of us. I had never been scared of dogs until this moment. Luckily, the just seemed slightly territorial and let us walk away slowly. 

Anyway, I made it through training, so now I just have this last stretch of training before I'm ready to be Mr. Brownell. I'll be driving back to the Lake this weekend to trade my mom's suburban for my PT Cruiser. It's virtually impossible to drive that huge suburban through the traffic in St. Louis. I am excited to be back at the Lake though. I haven't had a chance to be there since spring break, so I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and family there. 

In other news, my final grades from Truman are finally official. Looks like I did indeed graduate, which is a relief. Once I receive my diploma in the mail, maybe I'll finally feel like a real adult. But that's a big maybe. 

-Anthony

...And A Beginning

We left off with me sobbing like a child as I drove away from the safety and comfort of my apartment, school, and friends. It was 9:00 in the evening, and I had a bit over a three hour drive ahead of me. I tried calling some friends and family to pass the time, but my cell was all "LOL NOPE! :)" I was headed for Webster Groves where I will be living for the summer. My high school friend, Joey, goes to the conservatory there and has a house with two roommates. One of said roommates will be gone all summer, so I get to take his place.

I arrived exactly at midnight. Joey had already left to see family in Florida, so I didn't get the comfort of a familiar face right away. The other roommate was there though, and he was nice enough to make me feel welcome and help move a few things in. I was beyond exhausted, and he had to catch a plane the next day, so we both just got to bed as quickly as possible. I didn't even have enough energy to think about how strange it was to be in a new place before slipping into my dreams.

The next morning, I still had training for the Institute of Reading Development (IRD). By the time I was done at 5:00, I could finished moving in. Moving in was a lot more fun than moving out. My room is much smaller in this new house than in the old apartment, but the house itself is really nice, so I won't spend much time in my room anyway. Also, there is this magical device in the kitchen that washes dishes for you. Crazy! Can I also bask in the glory of the washer and dryer in the basement? I'm sick of needing quarters to have clean socks.

The lawn also cuts itself, right?

Inside, my room is pretty small, but it meets my needs just fine, so I can't complain.

For sleeps.

It will definitely stay this organized all summer.

My favorite new setup is my "office" that I arranged. It's kinda in the middle of the dining room, but that just means I can multitask by having dinner and working at the same time.

This will also remain immaculately organized all summer.

I'm really excited to be in such a nice house. I've had it to myself for the past few days since the others were all gone for beginning of the summer trips, so I did some cleaning because what else do you do in a strange new city in a house all by yourself? I think I'm done with the nesting phase though, so we'll see how much my cleaning matters after a few weeks.

In work news, Phase 1 of my training is officially done! This means I've completed 6 days of guided study and conference calls, each lasting from 8:00-5:30. It also means I'm moving on to Phase 2, so this post is coming to you from Atlanta where I'm starting in-person training to work on teaching skills. I flew out of St. Louis this afternoon, and got to my hotel room just a couple of hours ago. I've met some really cool people already, and all expenses are being paid by the IRD, so I'm diggin' it so far. We start tomorrow bright and early. I'm nervous, but all the traveling has made me too tired to let it affect me too much.

And so my train keeps speeding on. I caught most of what was whizzing past me, but I wish I could have stopped to savor each of these moments just a little bit longer. Yet, I'm beginning to feel comfortable with the breakneck pace my train is chugging along at. I keep stealing glances at what's behind me, but more and more, I find myself looking at the tracks ahead and wondering what will come next.

-Anthony

...A Transition...

Waking up the morning after graduation has to be one of the weirdest feelings I have ever had. I did have job training to complete; I had got to discuss Fellowship of the Ring at 8:00 in the morning. This was fun, but I couldn't help resenting it a little bit for keeping me from staying out late with friends the night before. Apparently I missed a hot mess of tears and laughter and more hugging that lasted until 4:00 in the morning. I'm sure I would have lost it.

After I was done with training, Daniel and I started the long process of cleaning our apartment and packing up the last of our things. We had accumulated piles and piles of odd things. We had a table specifically for our "oddities" such as a dippy drink bird, a shirt signed by Tommy Wiseau himself ("Be good!"), a light saber, naked lady Vegas cards, a dead cactus pot, a gooey hourglass thing, and several other odds and ends complete with a bongo drum hanging over it all. Although we had a specific place set aside for this type of clutter, it still took ages to gather everything to move. Brittney helped us by taking our leftover food items and advising us on how to clean things because we're stupid boys. Eventually, I had cleared out my room except for a desk and bed that I will pick up in August.

This room contains 3 years' worth of memories. It was hard to take this picture.

Somehow, we finally got the last of our things packed and extra items stored in one room. We weren't done until around 9:00 that night.

We left the couch and chair to be picked up in August, but the place looks really empty to me.  :'(

I was dreading what came next. Everything was changing. Daniel and I had been living in that same tiny apartment for three years, and we had hung out all of freshmen year. We were Danthony, but it was time to go our separate ways. I thought about how much he's been there for me the past four years. We had decided to live together on a whim. It was only a few months into freshmen year that we awkwardly agreed to find an apartment, but it couldn't have worked out better. Daniel knows how to make things happen and enjoy every moment of life, even when you're stuck in Kirksville. He called me out when I was bullshitting and tolerated a lot more than he needed to. If it weren't for him, I doubt I would have enjoyed my college experience at all. After grueling classes and frustrating minimum wage jobs, I could always count on him to be there to remind me of what's important. We always visited one another over the summer, and I know I'll see him for many years to come. Yet, closing the door to #5 felt very final. After that, it was a pretty much wordless goodbye. We knew how we felt, and we knew this wasn't the end. It was a beginning.

I kept my composure as I pulled away from Pierce Street and took one last drive by Truman's campus. I made note of how much things have changed since I first stepped into that small corner room on the top floor of Centennial Hall four years ago. And I drove on. It wasn't until the lights of Kirksville were in my rearview mirror that I started to cry.

To be continued...

An End...

I'm on a train with no breaks. It's moving so fast that everything I pass is barely recognizable before being left in the distance. I stick my head out to get one last look, but it has already faded away. I have to turn forward to see what's ahead so I don't fly off the tracks and crash. It's scary, but it comes with a rush of excitement. Let me see if I can remember what's sped past me these past few days.

There was that whole graduation thing. I woke up really confused about what was going on. My parents and brother, Henry, came in the late morning to help me pack up some of my bigger possessions, and then we headed to Pagliai's for Ronzas (Come at me, copyright lawyers) because my parents are obsessed with those things. They bought me a cooler for Christmas one year for the sole purpose of bringing back Ronzas in it. Merry Christmas to me indeed. But I digress...

I jumped into my cap and gown and rushed to campus with Daniel where we were forced to wait awkwardly in a dark auditorium. Then, we were shuffled out into the dazing sunlight to slowly snake our way to the stadium. It felt rather like being led to the gallows, but Daniel, our friend Cait, and I (the Oxford comma is the best) got through with some dry humor that you just wouldn't understand and tassel 'coptering because ADULTS. We watched the valedictorians do some culty head-bow to the Joseph Baldwin statue in the middle of the Quad. Nerds. 

I'm totally not jealous.

Losing a few caps to the unseasonably nippy wind along the way, we finally made it to the stadium. It was unsettling being in there for longer than 45 minutes before losing interest and leaving. Well, I still lost interest in 45 minutes, but I couldn't exactly walk out of my own graduation, so I sat very attentively and didn't make jokes or anything. I didn't even laugh when half a dozen graduation caps blew off nearby graduates' heads and Chinese-throwing-starred Cait in the throat during the most glacially paced speech in the history of the spoken word. The guttural "OUUUHH" that was punched out of her throat was a much needed distraction, and probably the highlight of that entire experience. Also, shout out to Molly "Beebee"--you are a treasure. I did the whole walking thing and received my "diploma" with a big "LOL JK, WE CAN STILL FAIL YOU" inside. 

The ceremony was long, but it really was nice. My paternal grandfather and his mother (my great grandmother) were able to come, and it was nice to know they cared enough to drive all the way up to Kirksville just to see me so briefly. I saw them and took some pictures, then headed to Greenwood Elementary where I started kindergarten. Mom didn't seem phased until this point, and I must admit, it was a struggle to keep my composure as well. I remember being so excited to start school there. We would walk the few short blocks to the simple brick schoolhouse where I was introduced to the Letter People (never ever kick a man). The Letter People might actually be what sparked my interest in linguistics now that I think about it. I sure did love those damned songs. Anyway, it started getting emotional, but this was only the beginning.

Our little group of friends and their families had a nice picnic-style dinner at a park before we college grads ran off to have one last hurrah. I do believe this was the textbook definition of a hot, hot mess. By the end of the night, the bars were full of sobbing group hugs. I was so exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally at that point, so I said my goodbyes/see-you-laters and went to bed. The next day would be much harder...

To be continued...

I Think It's Contagious

Who put all the calendars on fast-forward? No, seriously. Stop that.

Things are moving at a breakneck pace with no sign of slowing down anytime soon. And to top it all off, I think I've caught some sort of disease. For the past few weeks, I've been getting an odd feeling in my stomach, then my throat constricts, and my chest starts to feel like it's going to explode. I explained the symptoms to a friend. Apparently they're called "emotions", and there is no known cure. They might be contagious, so I understand if you avoid me for a while.

Not photoshopped.

It's like some sort of prepartum depression circulating among graduating seniors and their friends. People are tossing around the word "last" like cheap beer on spring break. Last class on a Tuesday, last time studying in Pickler, last AYCD (that stands for all you can discuss, Mom), last Sodexo meal, etc. There's a big "last" cloud hanging over everything I do, and it's making me feel things.

In all seriousness though, the idea of graduating is making me feel somber. High school graduation was not at all like this. I had spent too many awkward years in Camdenton, and I was ready to move on to the next thing. There were tons of people to be missed, but I knew for sure that I was prepared for that next stage in life. Now, I can't help wanting to hold on to college culture for as long as I can before making that next big leap. True, I know it is definitely time to move on. I've been in school for 18 years, so I am eager to see things from the other side of the desk. Plus, three years is a long time to live in the same small apartment in Kirksville. A very long time. Then again, this place has been the first I've been able to call my own. I paid for it with my own sweat and blood, and I do...did...think of it as my home. I'll be sad to leave it.

Perhaps I seem more concerned with leaving things/places rather than people. There is some truth to this, but for a very good reason. The people I've taken the time to get to know here at Truman are some of the greatest people I have ever met. So I know that the 11th won't really be good-bye. It sure won't be the same, but I'm looking forward to meeting up with my friends over the years and enjoying the changes in each of our lives. I am extremely lucky to have met such genuine people whom I can expect to see for many years to come. So for now, I'll just deal with my good-byes to Truman, my apartment, and the college lifestyle. I think that's all my disease emotions can handle anyway.

-Anthony

Chinese Buffet for One, Please

A fortune cookie told me to share my news, so I guess I'll follow through with this whole blog thing.

Sorry, loved ones. You'll have to settle for blogging at a distance.

I and my roommate, Daniel, have a literally unhealthy obsession with a barely-average Chinese buffet in downtown Kirksville. We go so often that I have a frequent diner punchcard which gives me a free tenth meal. I have earned this free tenth meal far more than I would care to admit, but suffice it to say that any extra college weight I've put on can be traced back to this place's crab rangoon. Anyway, since I only have five days left until graduation (Does anyone know how to freeze time yet? Is that a thing? That should be a thing.), I had to make sure I get one last free meal from them. However, I only had 8 out of 10 lunches stamped, so I needed one more to get the next one free. Everyone else is too busy with finals, so I had to go to a Chinese buffet alone for the sole purpose of securing that last free meal. As I sat alone at a buffet eating General Tso's chicken that looks more like General Tso's rabbit turds, I couldn't help feeling slightly disgusted. But I know in a couple days I'll eagerly speed to this buffet and proudly display my punchcard and pat myself on the back for saving $5.65. God bless America.

Anyway, I'm mostly just wasting time writing about my unhealthy college eating habits to avoid cleaning my apartment, packing up my belongings, studying for finals, preparing for my job, or basically anything else considered mildly productive. I woke up from a nap today to find the heaviest box I've ever lifted had been delivered to me. It was full of teaching materials I'll be using this summer.

Apparently, I can expect 17 more of these in late May. 

At this point, I'm just trying not to panic. But hey, at least I don't have to make pizzas for minimum wage anymore.

-Anthony

Introduction to Blogging: The ACBs

Welcome to Easy As ACB!

I'm creating this blog in an effort to build a more meaningful representation of my life and ideas outside of popular social media. Here, I can clearly develop my thoughts, talk about what's happening in my life, and share what is truly important to me without taking up space on Facebook and Twitter feeds. Of course, I'll still use those, but I want this to become a place where those who are interested can find out the details of my life voluntarily. It will also be a great way to journal and reflect on my experiences. I hope you enjoy it!

First, let me explain a little bit about myself. I am from a town called Camdenton near the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Other than my first few years before entering grade school, I spent my entire childhood there. In 2009, I graduated from Camdenton High School and left to pursue my undergraduate degree. I have spent the past four years at Truman State University in the small (but charming?) town of Kirksville in northern Missouri. Being passionate about helping people, the sciences, and the mechanics of language, I found myself studying speech, language, and hearing disorders with a minor in linguistics. I have also maintained my love for vocal music by singing in Truman's top choir for three years and focusing on voice disorders within my major.

Eventually, I want to go to graduate school to earn my certification as a speech-language pathologist with emphasis in the diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders. Until then, I am interested in traveling through teaching English as a second language (ESL). There is a high international demand for native English speakers to pass on English skills, so I would like to take advantage of that before I am tied down by a grueling graduate program or a family of my own. Furthermore, I have missed out on the opportunity to become fully immersed in a foreign language, so teaching ESL would be a great way to do that. This, however, is a work in progress, and I understand I can't plan out everything perfectly. I will do my best to make this happen, but I am flexible and open to other opportunities that may cross my path.

Currently, I'm preparing to make the huge leap from college student to "real-life" adult. It is both terrifying and exhilarating! I am less than a week away from graduation and already in the process of training for my first job as a teacher. This summer, I will be teaching for the Institute of Reading Development (IRD) throughout the St. Louis area. In just over a week, I will move into a house in the Webster Groves region of St. Louis. From there, I will be flown to Atlanta, Georgia to participate in a three-day training conference with the IRD. Classes will start on June 3rd and continue to early August. I get to work with a wide range of students from entering kindergarteners to current college students and adults wishing to improve their reading skills (plus every age in between!). I'll teach in several different cities throughout St. Louis, so lots of driving will be involved (read: buy me audiobooks!). For now, I have 6 days of online orientation to complete, 4 of which will occur during finals week. I can't say I'm looking forward to juggling job training and finals, but the extra work will be worth it.

That feels like enough of an update for now. I'm sure I'll have some parting thoughts on graduation, my Truman experience in general, my upcoming divorce from my roommate of 3 years, and all the frustrations that are bound to pop up during these next few weeks. Hopefully I'll have less serious posts so I can talk about my unending quest to become the ultimate Pokémon master or that one time my mom hosted a wedding ceremony for two pigs. 

-Anthony