Valerie's Adventures

Lone Star State

This past weekend marked my third visit to Texas.  This time, I was not attending a Premier Designs rally, nor was I traveling through the Pan Handle on choir tour.  Instead, I simply went to visit my good friend Soren. 
 
We met at the Alumni Office at APU when I started working there almost a year ago.  He is my fun, basketball-loving, philosophical, singer/songwriter, flip-flop wearing hippie friend.  We don't always agree on things...in fact, we tend to disagree on a lot of things, but we can always find something to talk about.  And we really do have fun together. 
 
Soren is now an RD at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, which is where my adventure took place this past weekend.  Brownwood is about 3+ hours from all major cities in Texas--Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio.  There is not much in or around the town, which is smaller than Reedley (my hometown). So, the University is where all the fun happens. 
 
Although there was not much activity around Howard Payne over the weekend (at least not compared to the amount of activity over a weekend at Azusa Pacific), we did have a lot of fun.  We watched the HPU basketball games, we ate dinner in a train car, and I even got an exclusive concert from Soren and his friend Rachael (their band name is "So Aware")!  But the best part of the weekend was getting to meet and spend a little time with Soren's new friends in Texas.  It was so nice to be able to put faces and personalities with the names that I've been hearing about for the last few months.  It was the warm, friendly, welcoming people who made the weekend a success.  I enjoyed meeting every person and just getting to see what life is like for Soren now in Texas.  I never thought he would willingly move to the Lone Star State, but one thing about Soren--he not only makes the most of every situation, but he thrives in it. 
 
Thanks for a great weekend in Texas, buddy! 
 
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Lone Star State

This past weekend marked my third visit to Texas. This time, I was not attending a Premier Designs rally, nor was I traveling through the P...

16-Hour Drive, a Wedding, and the SuperBowl

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road Trip!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This weekend I drove 16 hours in 3 days.  Leg 1: LA to Reedley on Friday.  Leg 2: Reedley to Roseville on Saturday morning.  Leg 3: Roseville to Reedley on Saturday evening.  Leg 4: Reedley to LA on Sunday night.  Thankfully I had one of my best friends with me, Nathan.  After being friends for 6 years, I am proud to say our friendship survived after this long weekend.  Not only did it survive, but we are now even better friends. 
 
The trip to Roseville was to attend the wedding of Bri and Robby.  Bri is a former roommate of mine from Spring of 2010.  They are an adorable couple who I know will build a wonderful life together.  Congrats, Bri and Robby!  After this wedding, my statistics are as follows: 
 
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Congrats, Bri & Robby!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> 
 
# of Former Roommates Now Married = 7 
# of Weddings I've attended since 2009 = 8 
# of Former Roommates Now Engaged = 1 
# of Former Roommates Now Pregnant = 1 
 
 
 
 
The weekend concluded with SuperBowl 2011, Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers.  Being that my dad is from Wisconsin, my family is loyal to the cheeseheads.  We were so excited that the Packers made it all the way to the SuperBowl this year!  After a few colorful words yelled at the TV screen and many bowls of Green Bay Packers stew...our team played a great game and came out on top!  Now the Vince Lombardi trophy is headed back home to Green Bay!  Way to go Packers! 
 
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16-Hour Drive, a Wedding, and the SuperBowl

Road Trip! This weekend I drove 16 hours in 3 days. Leg 1: LA to Reedley on Friday. Leg 2: Reedley to Roseville on Saturday morning. L...

Lone Star State

16-Hour Drive, a Wedding, and the SuperBowl

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