The lasso has moved south...

Hello Friends...

I am up to 20 followers of the blog! How exciting. I know that people can read it without following it but it is so interesting when I talk to people who say they read my blog or know what is going on with me, I almost forget this exists, or assume people don't read it! So thanks :)

It is official after a night on the town Saturday night my favorite dance move of 2010, the lasso has officially moved to the Wilmington area. I had already shared it with my students on ACE but most recently shared it with a few of my new friends. I explained that the lasso is "like a good purse, it goes with anything". Several of us broke out the lasso at Level 5, a bar in town.

As many of you may know, Katie Kolkmeier, one of my best friends moved here on Friday and I am happy to have her here. I enjoyed time with the Kolkmeier family this weekend! Special shout out to Sue Kolkmeier who made me a sweet new blanket for my apartment. Overall this weekend (which started Thursday night) was very fun. I got to experience many new bars and places. My biggest accomplishment was successfully playing the ring and hook game for the first time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjp02QuRvpw . I stated that I thought it was impossible and then was successful on my 2nd try to both my and the guys I was with's surprise. Another accomplishment was staying out late but Thursday and Saturday. I am often a grandma when it comes to those types of things but was a champ.

I have made many new friends which is always great! Last night Katie and I hung out w/ Adrienne, the other "new girl" who is an RC with Katie and I have a feeling we will become friends quickly. She just graduated from USC and is a UNCW alum. I think we are all excited for what is ahead and are confident we are in the right place :) I have secured a bedroom in Katie's apartment should I need/want it which has caused some angst for some of the guys here who formally lived/hung out there. I took a picture on the bed last night to remind them. :)

Anyway...all is well! Glad everyone enjoyed the Ramsey story. They are great people!

Shout out to the EX chapter of ADPi for winning some great awards this weekend!

Also, shout out to Jimmy O who will present at a conference in Wilmington in October.

Good luck to KTK starting her job Thursday :)

What are people doing for the 4th of July?

Travis Ramsey

Hello Friends...

First of all, Congratulations to Ashley and Craig Carlton as they were married last weekend and included me as part of their big day. I could not be happier for them. The wedding was fabulous and we lassoed, did the tic-toc and cupid shuffled all night long (aka I was loving myself). Ashley woke us at 6:15 to start our day (she was "hungry" aka EXCITED) and the party continued all day long.

I also was able to celebrate fathers day with the one and only Wild Bill Shanley. The entire Shan-man clan (that's a lot of -ans) was able to celebrate together as Todd was home for a week. There was lots of food, cannon balls and beers for everyone :) I of course was thinking of my own dad on Sunday...the one and only Peter Mancuso and remembered how lucky I was to have a great dad for 18 years :) He continues to help me...this week it was in the form of a man named Travis Ramsey.

While driving back to Wilmington after a fantastic weekend on Sunday I was chatting w/ the one and only Lauren Shouldis when I pulled into a gas station/Blimpie to pee (you know I can't drink a whole diet coke and then hold it for more than an hour). I got out and saw a sign on the door that said back in 5 minutes (it was about 6:15 pm). I went back to my car and tried to start it and it would not start. I told Shouldis I would call her back and called roadside assistance (calmly may I add). The man...not helpful informed me I was far from Wilmington (no, really?). He was giving me less than helpful options and sharing stories about his father's car troubles...now I was frustrated so I was like ok maybe I need a jump. I go into the store (now re-opened) and asked a man for help jumping the car. He stated he wasn't sure how to jump a car (is that not a requirement of an adult man? Really any driver but particularly a man in his 30s...whatever). I schooled him on jumping a car and with little luck the man continued on his trip to Charlotte.

I called back roadside assistance and was connected to someone significantly LESS helpful...she told me that I could have the phone numbers of towing companies, I informed her that was why I (well, Joann) paid HER. I explained that I needed to be towed to Emporia (I decided that was the best option as I was about 12 miles away). Just when I was beginning to get upset a nice man around 60 years old walked up to me and asked if I needed help. I explained to him my situation (it has been about an hour at this point) and he tells he is a mechanic and asks me to pop the hood. I do as I'm told and he notices that it is the battery as well. He takes out his wallet shows me his ids and says "I'm Travis Ramsey and I live up the street. I can fix your car but my family is waiting to do birthday cake just up the street so if you feel up to it come with me and have some cake and I will get tools and come back" I look at his work id for the VA department of Corrections and figure ya know what the heck. I call my mom giving her his information and get in the car. We arrive at what seems to be a nice little house about a mile from where I was and I enter a room full of people waiting to eat birthday cake and ice cream! Travis introduces me to everyone in the family and I explain my situation. Their daughter graduated from Longwood in 2004 so we had that connection. After cake and ice cream, which I did not eat we went back to Travis and Lynn's house down the street so Travis could change. In his house I got to see his Native American artifact collection and chat with Lynn about her back surgery and she and Travis' life.

We then rode back to the gas station where Travis determined that it was not my alternator and using heavy duty jumper cables got my car to start (apparently water had drained out of my battery which in turn ruined it). We drove into Emporia (it is now after 9pm) and Travis and I turned my car off and tried to restart it. When it did not restart we went into Walmart where I bought a new battery (that Travis offered to help my buy) and he installed it in the parking lot. The couple offered for me to stay with them but I insisted that I drive home so I could atl east wake up and go to work in the morning even if I did go in late. They made me promise that I would call them when I got home and visit when I was driving through the area so I did. Travis called me every 30 minutes until I was home and Lynn called my mom when she got back to the house to assure her it was ok.

Lessons learned:

1. There are still good people in the world.

2. Dad is still there when I need him.

3. Allstate roadside assistance blows

4. When the battery in a Honda dies, the radio resets itself and requires a code that can be found in the owners manual to reset it (also a safety check if the radio is ever stolen).

So big shout out to Travis and Lynn Ramsey...wonderful people in Drewryville, VA :)

Also...KTK moves to Wilmington on FRIDAY :)

The Wilmington Swagger...

So I apologize for this update coming so much later than the past few but I had some uploading issues last week and forgot to come back to the blog.

I have started my job at UNCW and so far it has been fantastic! The people are outstanding, my students are awesome and in general the atmosphere is wonderful. I started on June 3 and dove right into orientation. My first day I worked a services fair for parents and though I knew little to nothing did my best to chat up strangers and convince them their child would love UNCW. I did well until someone asked me a question I had NO idea the answer to: "Where is the bathroom". Now, anyone that knows me well knows that this should never stump me because on average I spend more time walking to the bathroom than I do doing most things in a day. However, this fair was in a building I had not been in before and so I politely responded to the parent "I do not know". She looked terribly confused, how could she send her child to a school where people can't answer the simplest question. I of course asked my co-worker the question and showed the women the direction. Whew...tough day.

This past weekend I went on a retreat with my students (the ACE executive board). We traveled an hour up the road to a baptist camp on the water. It was beautiful and we had a GREAT time. My students are as smart as they are funny and I know that I've made the right choice. They kept me laughing all weekend but made serious goals for the year and I know they will reach them. I hope they learn half from me that I know I will learn from them.

In other news... the Keys (my apartment complex) is a sweet place. While it is beautiful, it houses a hodge podge of people who I have had the pleasure of people watching over the past few weeks. These people range from high class, overly tattooed, half drunk 40 year olds to young families with kids who without a doubt soak my book with their constant splashing. I have made several friends over 50, most of which are relocated from New York (only Yankee fans of course). There are also several young professionals like myself who also enjoy watching and interacting with the wide array of people who comprise our neighborhood.

Italy update: I have received an e-mail from Federico, my Italian boyfriend. I think we're engaged. :)

That's all for now. Next up: Ashley and Craig's wedding :)

Back to the Homeland :)

Hello Friends (and family) or should I say Ciao! As you all know I spent the last ten days traveling with my Aunt Roe around Italy. The trip was as fun as it was amazing! Everyone has told me how great Italy was and I was not sure it would live up to my expectations but it did. Rome is a great city with wonderful people, food and well the scenery is like no other. While our trip started with us not reading the self check-in properly in the airport where it clearly stated "slide passport here", getting ripped off by the cab driver from the airport and ending up at a Lebanese restaurant for our first lunch with a pre set menu that could have fed the entire Italian army. We however rallied like champs and didn't look back. The food was amazing...it is as good as everyone says. I took a picture of pretty much every lunch and dinner I had just so I could remember how good it really was. The Gelato? Well that literally is a "slice of heaven" as Aunt Roe would say as she ate her pistachio each day. I on theFed other hand got crazy and tried a different flavor each day, my favorite was mint chocolate chip :)

We made several friends on our trip, most of which were 60 year old couples. My favorite couple though were the 70 year old Aussie's who we met in the hotel bar. They were charming and lovable and bought us wonderful Champagne. The other set of friends that I made were the members of the Sofitel staff. Fabio - the front desk guy greeted me a smile every day, would draw on the map where I should go that day and when I returned from a busy day would listen as I yammered about my day (I'm not confident he actually ever knew what I was saying). My other friends were the bar staff. Antonio (who I let order my lunch once and I got a BLT and fries- signs we weren't soul mates) and Federico, my new e-mail buddy. They were very entertained by us at the hotel bar at night. I often tried to turn it into a "bumpn" club but apparently the music had to stay mellow due to the rooms on the 7th floor. My only complaint about the Sofitel was the cookies and wine in our room Aunt Roe and I came back to our last day there only to realize (when the note was written in French) that it wasn't for us and we had to give it back (that's right I gave back cookies).

The Amalfi Coast was incredibly beautiful I would argue that the food there was even better than in Rome. My favorite of these towns was Ravello. It lacked the traffic that the other places did and the scenery was by far the most breathtaking.

Overall I would say I was most amazed by our last day in Rome which was spent at the Vatican, St. Peters and three other Basilicas. The history nerd in me was speechless as I stared at the work of Rafael and gazed up at the Sistine Chapel. Overall, great trip with lots of laughs and excellent food! Shout out to Aunt Roe - boom boom pow :)

The following congratuations is in order: Lauren and Mike, my dear friends got engaged while I was away. Katie K is moving to Wilmington the end of June and Joseph Peltzer also go a job at Drexel University. Love all of you :)

Tomorrow is my first day at my new job... cross your fingers :)