Miss Miss

Still recovering from my trip to Mississippi.  I flew out a week ago and landed in Memphis with no problems.  T picked me up right on time and we went and had spray tans.  I was a spray tan virgin and only agreed to it because I needed to wear dresses over the weekend and my legs were Casper-the-Friendly-Ghost white.  Like, glow in the dark white.  It was interesting to say the least.





After our spray tans we went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant in the Square, Boure`.  http://citygroceryonline.com/restaurant.php?boure  T's friend Tana joined us as well as T's new friend, J.  After dinner J's friends were playing at the local dive bar, Frank & Marlees http://www.frankandmarlees.com/.  The band was really, really good and we had a fun time.  Tana picked me up on her way home from the library and I spent the night on her futon.  And I am way too old to be sleeping on a futon.  T picked me up in the morning and we had breakfast at our favorite breakfast spot, http://citygroceryonline.com/restaurant.php?bbb  After breakfast we had to pick up a few items on the square and then we headed to Vicksburg for Miss Mississippi orientation.






Friday night was a meet & greet and all of the local contestants had photos taken (they also took photos by college -- there were a TON of Mississippi State girls and 9 or 10 Ole Miss girls), were interviewed by the local radio station and received all of their costumes for the July event.  I also got to meet T's  directors and several of the other girls and their mom's.  Afterward we all went out for dinner at a Mexican place and had a lot of fun. 








Saturday morning the girls had to be at the local YMCA for rehearsals.  I went back to the hotel for a little nap and then had an amazing massage and pedicure at a cute little salon in Vicksburg.  The tech who did my pedicure also does the hair for the pageant MC's and had some funny stories to tell!


After my spa day I had to stop at the local mall and buy a short sleeve shirt.  It was almost 80 degrees in Vicksburg and although I had packed capri pants and my cute new sandals, I didn't have the right shirt to wear.  T had to be back at the mall that evening for the little princess crowning.  It was very cute and I got to meet T's "teen" (she's Miss Metro Jackson Teen and works with T's director as well).  It was also the first time I got to see T in her crown and sash. 






Sunday morning we had to be back in the auditorium for a long, long day of meetings and information.  I also like to refer to Sunday as "Miss Miss Boot Camp."  Holy cow.  There was a lot of information.  It's all good though.  They talked to the contestants and parents about expectations, social media, judging, etc.  There was a lot of great information but I think it was a wake-up call for some of these girls. 






That night we drove back to Oxford and had dinner at http://www.oldvenice.com/.  I had never been there but T loves the artichoke dip and the lobster ravioli.  It was delicious.  I spent the night in T's dorm on a futon cushion from one of the girls down the hall.  T has her own room and a loveseat that would have been horribly uncomfortable for even someone only 5 ft. tall.  When we woke up to go to the radio station for T's show, it was snowing like crazy!  And it snowed all day.  I walked across campus to get T's car in front of her dorm while she went to class and had to stop at the campus bookstore to buy some gloves.  It was 18 degrees in Oxford.  It was 21 in DC.  It was actually warmer in MD than in MS.  We had lunch at the AOPi house and I finally got to meet T's big, Anna.  When I was in Oxford in November, Anna was terribly sick with the flu.  I also met a couple of the girls T is going on Spring Break with.  Very nice group of girls. 






T's friend drove up to Memphis with us so T wouldn't have to drive home from the airport alone.  I sat on the runway for a along time for de-icing and barely made my connection in Cincinnati.  And by barely I mean they were paging my name for final boarding.  My flight from Memphis arrived at Gate 3.  My connection was at Gate 32.  I was walking briskly and when they paged me, I started to run.  In heels.  A sweet little old man driving a golf cart saw me hustling and told me to hop on!  If it wasn't for him, I probably would have had to spend the night in Cincy.






It had snowed here all day Monday so rather than drive all the way home from the airport, I just spent the night at my hotel.  I had a hard time falling asleep but when I did, I slept great!  It was weird getting ready in the morning and just walking downstairs to my office! 

Mission "Move-In" Accomplished

"Operation T-bone Relocation" was a total and complete success!  Typical T event -- no fuss, no frustrations, no drama, no tears.  Move-in was a breeze! 

T is a Provost Scholar so she got to move in a day earlier than everyone else and it couldn't have worked out any better.  We didn't rush out to Oxford, I think we left B'ham around 10 AM.  Stopped for lunch just outside of campus and from there it was easy-peasy!  No long check-in lines (in fact, there was one other girl getting her keys at the desk when we arrived).  We got two primo parking spots right in front of her dorm, got the carpet for her room, walked up the two flights of stairs (carpet was too big to fit in the elevator), unrolled it and got right to work. 

BEFORE

I made up her bed while T & Cosmo emptied the cars.  I think between the three of us it only took a couple of trips and we only needed a cart for the fridge and microwave (right when the afternoon monsoon hit!).  Bess doesn't officially move in until today so it was just the 3 of us in the room (very easy to get around!).  The girl's room is a LOT bigger than I remembered.  I think the showroom they showed us was a lot narrower than T's real room.  I remember T & I walking in that showroom thinking, "OMG.  This is TINY."

She had a Scholar's reception at 6 PM so Cosmo & I walked around Oxford for a bit.  Sat on a park bench is more like it.  I think at that time we were both a little over-whelmed and slightly dazed.  Paul Giamatti walked right by us.  It was kind of cool.  Cosmo recognized him immediately.  When I heard him speak to his son (grandson??) I knew it was him.  He has a very distinct voice (I always think of that scene from Sideways when he talks about not drinking Merlot). 

Bess, her best friend Tristian, her mom and her sister drove in from Austin and we met them for dinner at our favorite restaurant on the Square.  We had a really great time and I think the girls are going to get along just fine!  Bess was dying to see the room so we all went back to the dorm after dinner and Cosmo helped set up the TV. 

Earlier in the day the girls across the hall poked their heads in to say hello and T's RA also introduced herself.  After dinner the girls next door to T came over and were so excited to see someone moving in.  One is from Hartford, CT and the other one was from Cape Cod.  They had arrived early because they still had to attend Orientation and were kind of the only ones on the floor/wing.  Those girls are a long way from home and their room was a little barren.  The one girl said they just bought the basics at Wal-mart when they arrived and she hoped to go shopping soon.  She said the only thing she brought from home (other than her clothes) was a set of monogrammed towels she got as a graduation gift. 

Cosmo & I said our good-byes, drove a hour to Tupelo and spent the night.  Had breakfast this AM and were home in B'ham by 11 AM.  I was expecting move in to be an absolute nightmare and I still can't get over how easy everything went!  I hope everyone's move-in is as smooth as ours was.  I haven't spoken to T yet today but she did text me that she ran into her lax friend from SP this morning.  Meg is on the hall above her and T's friend Heather is on the floor below her.  When we first arrived at the dorm yesterday, her friend Caroline drove by and laid on her horn and screamed "T-BONE!!" out her car window.  T had a Scholar's seminar this morning at 9 and she still had to get her parking pass and I think she was planning to stop by the broadcast room. 

I kept waiting for a huge wave of sadness to come over me and it really never did.  I teared up once or twice but I think I'm more excited for T than anything.  Yesterday wasn't about me and what I was feeling.  It was about getting her ready for this next, thrilling chapter in her life.  We were almost finished unpacking and decorating and T turned to me and said, "This is everything I thought it would be."  I think that's a pretty successful freshman move-in!

AFTER