Princess Mommy

I was in the kitchen today and Samantha was in the living room. She said "Mommy is this when you were dressed liked a princess?" I went to the living room to see what she was talking about and she was standing there looking at Sean and I's wedding picture. How sweet is that? She thought I looked like a princess! That totally made my day.

Where's the party? West Virginia University!

I am so proud to be an alumni of this great institution of higher learning. I am being serious! I love WVU and am glad they get the recognition they deserve. This was even on the front page of the Stars and Stripes paper we get in Okinawa. Go Mountaineers! Ya all drink a beer for me!

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - To the disappointment of school administrators — and the pride of some students — West Virginia University is No. 1 on The Princeton’s Review’s annual list of the top 20 party schools. The school has made the list seven times in the past 15 years, despite efforts to curb underage drinking and rowdy behavior. But not since 1997 have the Mountaineers taken the top spot. Last year, WVU was No. 3, bested by the University of Texas at Austin and Penn State, both of which remain in the top 10 this year. Senior Katie O’Hara, 22, said WVU is No. 1 because “no matter what kind of party you want it’s here — bars, fraternities, house parties. ... If you want to take shots all night, there’s a bar; no matter what you want to do, it’s there.” Still, O’Hara said her friends “know how to manage their time. They know when to party and when not to,” which wouldn’t explain the school’s No. 1 ranking in the category of Their Students (Almost) Never Study.

The rankings are contained in the 2008 edition of “The Best 366 Colleges,” which is going on sale Tuesday and is based on a survey of 120,000 college students at those schools, mostly during the 2006-07 school year. No. 2 on the party list was the University of Mississippi, followed by the UT-Austin, the University of Florida and the University of Georgia . West Virginia’s No. 1 ranking is just speculation, said West Virginia sophomore Stuart Sauer. “I think there’s no way to measure that,” said Sauer, 20, of Richmond, Va. “Every school’s a party school.”

Incoming WVU President Mike Garrison focused on the positive rather than the rankings, saying the students he met over the weekend and on the first day of classes Monday are more concerned with their futures “and with the great year we have ahead” than with partying. “I’m focused on the way this university changes people’s lives, the research that we do and the service we provide to the state of West Virginia,” said Garrison, who officially replaces David C. Hardesty Jr. on Sept. 1. “This is a special place, and the whole state is proud of it.”

The Princeton Review says the guide to the best schools is intended to help applicants who can’t visit every school in person. Guide author Robert Franek said each of the 366 schools “is a ’best’ when it comes to academics. “But as anyone visiting colleges can attest, their campus cultures and offerings differ greatly,” he said. “It’s all about the fit.” This year, WVU finishes among the Top 10 in several other categories: No. 4 in Students Pack the Stadiums; No. 5 for Best College Library; No. 6 for Lots of Beer; No. 7 for Lots of Hard Liquor; and No. 8 for Best College Newspaper.

The Princeton Review, which is not affiliated with Princeton University, is a New York company known for test preparation courses, educational services and books. It published its first survey findings in August 1992.

Little girls and little toes.

Before Maggie left, we took the girls to Cocoks to get their toes done together. Samantha got Nemo on her toes. Aren't they all so darn cute!

Gomenasai

We went and made our gomenasai payment to the moped driver that was hurt in the accident. Gomenasai means sorry in Japanese. I have been pissed off and crazy this week that we had to do this. I had this picture of this guy in my head that he was going to be some hateful American hating Japanese guy. Well it turns out he is 19 and married. He was very quiet and seems nice. His wife understands English but was afraid to speak English to us. We had an interpreter from the legal office with us too. His injuries were barely visible. He has a few small scars on his face and his knee is still wrapped up. I expected his face to be all mangled. Luckily he is going to be OK. So now since we did this, when we go to "court" and they ask him if we showed remorse for the accident he can say yes. So who knows what will happen.

So I am calm and not bitter or crazy at the moment. I still can't wait til I can leave here though.

Sad day.

Yesterday was a sad day for Samantha and I. We had to say goodbye to our very good friends and neighbors, Jodi and Maggie. Thank you Jodi for always being there for us. I will miss our olive sucking practices. I will think of you everytime Samantha asks for "a Shrek gogurt that Maggie's Mommy gave me." Thank you Maggie for helping Samantha to be brave. We love you guys and will miss you (Nate and Tim too)!

Car accident

Last week Samantha and I got in a nice little accident. We were going north and getting ready to make a right turn onto base. The light was green and the southbound traffic was stopped because the traffic was backed up. So since the traffic was stopped and the light was green, I assumed it would be safe to turn onto base. NOT!!!! A stupid Japanese dude on a moped comes flying down the road in between two of the lanes of stopped cars and plows into the side of our car. He went flying over the car. I thought he was dead but it turns out he is OK. I had to stay there for hours and go over and over and over everything with the Japanese police through an interpreter. Luckily my neighbor, Kara was able to come down to the gate and take Sami home with her. Kara and Jodi took very good care of Samantha while I was doing all the accident stuff. I was not charged by the military police and I don't think I am being charged by the Japanese police. Motorcycles are allowed to pass cars here but apparently they are only allowed to do that between the car and the side of the road, not between cars. They do it all the time though and drive like complete idiots.

There is also a custom here called something like a condolence payment. If you injure someone in a accident, you are supposed to give them an offering of money. So we might have to do that too. Yea, so get this, I might have to pay the stupid asshole because he got hurt running himself into my car. I will also need to pay to get the ginormous dent in my door fixed. Just more reasons why I hate hate hate it here! And please, don't anyone leave a comment about how this is a wonderful opportunity for us to be living here and how great it is here. I think it sucks, I hate it, and I don't want to be here.