80 Things You Might Not Know About Me.

Stole this from Lorna....

80 things you might not know about me. Erase my answers, fill in your own, and re-post.

1. What is your middle name? Gail

2. How big is your bed? Full-sized

3. What are you listening to right now? The Fray.

4. What are the last four digits in your cell number? If you know me, you know the last four digits of my number.

5. What was the last thing you ate? A tangelo.

6. Last person you hugged? My grandmother.

7. How is the weather right now? This is one of the three or so days here that make me want to leave and never come back. 50 mph + winds and blowing dust; however, the wind did result in one of my professors getting smacked in the face by the lid of a trash can this morning, so that makes it all worth it. I don't really like him.

8. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My mom.

9. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Height. The first thing I notice about anyone is height. I'm still a little bitter that I ended up being short.

10. Favorite type of Food? Tex-Mex, Italian.....definitely NOT fish.

11. Do you want children? According to Allye, I'm going to have four of them and name them all after characters on Nickelodeon shows.

12. Do you get high? No, I'm afraid of heights.

13. Ever get so drunk you don't remember the entire night? Not a drinker.

14. Hair color? Dirty blond. Someone needs to come up with another name for that hair color, because I wash my hair A LOT.

15. Eye color? Blue/Green. Depends on what I'm wearing.

16. Do you wear eye contacts? I have some. Wear them occasionally, but I prefer glasses. Don't really like things in my eyes.

17. Favorite holiday? Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July.

18. Favorite Season? Depends on where I am.

19. Have you ever cried over a girl/boy? No.

20. Last Movie you Watched? High Fidelity.

21. What books are you reading? Intermediate Accounting. Operations Management. Accounting Information Systems. Just finished a book and haven't chosen a new one yet.

(Where'd 22-29 go?)

30. Piercings? Just the ears.

31. Favorite Movie? Hoosiers, Mystic Pizza, About a Boy, Gone With the Wind, The Little Mermaid, A League of Their Own, Rudy, The Last Metro, Cinema Paradiso, Harry Potter, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Love Actually, The Princess Bride, French Kiss, Almost Famous, Braveheart, Die Hard 3. Oh, and the Pippi Longstocking movies. Seriously.

32. Favorite college football Team? Tech (because Mike Leach's offense is REALLY fun to watch...not because I like Tech) and anyone playing against UT.

33. What were you doing before filling this out? Checking my email.

34. Any pets? My grandmother's dog, Holly, but I love her like she's my own.

35. AIM? Once again, if you know me, you know my sn.

36. Dogs or cats? Dogs...no contest.

38. Favorite Flower? Tulips...and several flowers that I saw in Scotland and Ireland but don't know what they're called.

40. Have you ever loved someone? I love lots of people.

41. Who would you like to see right now? My grandfather. :( And I could say Lorna, but I ran into her once today already, and once is enough for me. ;) No...Lorna, you can see me anytime.

43. Have you ever fired a gun? No...Guns are scary, but I support the right to carry them, and I hope to learn how to use one someday. My host sister in France never believed that I didn't own a gun. She thinks all Texans do...and that we have gunfights in the streets at noon.

44. Do you like to travel by plane? YES! Once again...scary, but fun. I love when the takeoff slams you back into the seat!

45. Right-handed or Left-handed? Right-handed. But I shoot the basketball with both. It's strange.

46. If you could go to any place right now where would you go? The French Riviera, Tuscany, or Scotland. I'll go anywhere if you just give me a ticket. I'm going to Prague this summer and can't wait.

48. Are you missing someone? Yes.

49. Do you have a tattoo? No. I used to get fake flamingo ones in the summer when I was little, though.

50. Do you still watch cartoons on Saturday mornings? No, but every once in a while, I'll find one I want to watch. Does "The Simpsons" count? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

51. Are you hiding something from someone? I'm sure I am. I used to hide things from my brother, and it's very likely that something is still hidden and I've forgotten about it.

52. Are you 18? No.

53. What is the wallpaper on your cellphone? A picture of my grandfather so I am reminded of him everytime I use my phone.

54. Did you get enough sleep last night? Yes, surprisingly.

55. First thing you thought about this morning? Why was it so freaking hot in my room?

56. What do you have handy at your bedside? Water, books, alarm clock.

57. Grilled or fried? Depends....mostly grilled.

59. What makes you unique? I don't know. You tell me. I'm not good at those kinds of questions. My jaw subluxates each time I open my mouth past a certain point. Not so much something unique as it is something really painful and annoying. And I can make my kneecaps dance. I guess I've seen more of the world than most people my age have.

60. Are you afraid of the dark? It depends. What's the setting?

61. Favorite hangout? My room.

62. 3 things you can't live without? Faith, family, friends.

63. First thing you would buy if you were given $1,000? I'd use it to go somewhere fun.

64. Favorite song? Too many. If you're want to know my favorite current hits, I really like "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter (although it's being way overplayed, so I expect to start disliking it pretty soon), "How to Save a Life" and "Heaven Forbid" by The Fray or "X&Y" by Coldplay.

65. What are you afraid of? Heights (especially "small" ones), sharks, those floor-to-ceiling windows freak me out, snakes, bad guys, my brother.

66. Are you a giver or a taker? Both.

67. What are your nicknames? Whit, Whitter, Whit-Whit, Sha Whit Whit (thanks, Powells), Oh But.

68. What is your dad's middle name? Whitney.

69. What's your mother's middle name? Gail.

70. What if you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring one thing? A fully-functioning airplane (that comes with a pilot). Then I wouldn't really be stuck. But it's an unrealistic question so I can give an unrealistic answer. Okay, maybe it's not so unrealistic since my parents just told me they were once almost stranded on an island.

71. Favorite TV commercial? Definitely NOT that Harley one that played during every commercial break of March Madness. I really like the light beer one right now where the guy tackles the girl on the football field and then she tackles him in the bar. Or the one with John Lovitz (for Subway, I think) where he says, "She makes me anxious! And now, dinner!" in that funny voice. Sure, the commercial's pretty stupid, but that makes it worth it.

72. Who's your cellphone provider? Cellular One. No, wait...it's Alltel, now.

73. First thing you'll save in a fire? Myself, it I'm the only one there. Wait....what's at risk in this fire?

74. Favorite color? Blue, green.

76. What did you wanna be when you were a kid? First, a whale trainer at Sea World. Then, a doctor.

77. What do you usually do when the clock goes off? hit "Snooze" about 8 times.

78. Color of your bedsheet? White with reddish flowers.

79. Who do you want to meet? Joan of Arc, Tim Duncan, Donald Trump (I'd have so much fun!)

80. What do you think about before you go to bed? What I have to do tomorrow.

Getting Ready for Prague

Most of you probably know that I'll be spending six weeks in Prague, Czech Republic, this summer with Tech's Accounting department. I'll be keeping a journal here like I did for New York last summer, although, hopefully, I'll do a better job this time.

Anyway, I'm just trying to get this site ready for all of that since I haven't used it in about seven or eight months.

Here's a picture of Prague (borrowed from www.aifs.com):

A soup kitchen and "Hairspray"

Yesterday (Saturday) I was invited to work at a soup kitchen down in Greenwich Village by another PEO named Holly. She's about 25 years old, but she looks 16. Seriously. And she's an actress...stage and musical theater. We met early and walked around Greenwich Village some before heading back to the church to work. She showed me the restaurant where the term "Eighty-six the _____" was coined. Apparently, during Prohibition, this was the place (then called 86) where people would meet to "break the law" and when the police were spotted, they would quickly hide all of the liquor underground again. We also saw a streetcorner that is used often in movies because it still looks like it did at the turn of the century....well, two turns of the century ago, I guess.

I really enjoyed working at the soup kitchen. There was a youth group there on a mission trip from Denver, and I met some other really neat people. One guy (from Texas) works at the U.N. and is about to move to London. Anyway, I was the bread and dessert person. The first thirty minutes or so were very busy, and trays were sliding down the, um, whatever you call the rack thing on which trays slide, very fast. Holly and I felt a little like Lucy and Ethel in the famous "I Love Lucy" episode where they work at the chocolate factory. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work at the soup kitchen... it is something that isn't so "touristy" and something that most people don't do when they come to New York. And now I can say I've worked at a soup kitchen. In New York City.

Then today, we went to see "Hairspray" a the matinee. It was SOOOOOOOOO much fun. I've wanted to see this show ever since it first opened and I saw the cast perform on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" (back before Rosie turned into the evil, bizarre thing she is now...seriously, what is up?). And it definitely lived up to my expectations. It was even more exciting than I'd expected because the girl who plays Tracy Turnblad is sick so Marissa Jaret Winokur, the original "Tracy Turnblad" is stepping in for about a month. Today was only like her fifth show back, so there were a few rough spots, but I got to hear all of the songs being sung by the voice that I was familiar with, and that was wonderful. However, what wasn't wonderful was seeing Bruce Vilanch as a woman. That was probably the most disturbing thing I've ever seen. I mean, seriously...do you want to see this (http://www.ggba.com/expo/Bruce_Vilanch.jpg) as a woman? Because this (well, my link won't work, so you'll just have to do an image search on Google or Yahoo! for Bruce Vilanch or Edna Turnblad and see what you get) is what it looks like. But he was hilarious. He even inserted a few of his own jokes about some recent events into the show...such as the recent Russell Crowe phone mishap and Britney Spears' pregnancy. He was still hideous to look at, though! Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and I'm sure I won't be able to get "You Can't Stop the Beat" out of my head for at least a week. We did sit behind the most annoying group of high school girls! They were awful. And it reminded me, once again, of one of the reasons why I got out of high school as quickly as I could!

So, I have class tomorrow. I'm down to about two and a half weeks left here, and I've still got things to do. So goodbye until the next time I do something worth writing about here.


Times Square

Tuesday evening I was invited to dinner with some ladies from a PEO chapter here in New York...something my mom worked out. One of them works at the New York Times, so that's where we met. It was really neat to see--just like it is on t.v. or in movies...a giant room with a lot of cubicles! We had dinner at a French bistro called Le Madeleine (not La Madeleine, although it really was pretty much the same thing). It was very good, and I had creme brulee for dessert, which I love! They brought along a girl about my age from Albania who went to Cottey College (my grandmother went to Cottey and my mom does some local recruiting for the school) and is now studying political science and economics at a college up here.

Then Wednesday, in class, I answered my two questions correctly again! Seriously, that is the longest class I've ever had to sit through, and you have to pay attention the ENTIRE time because the professor seems to know when you aren't, and that's when he calls on you!

Also, Wednesday night, I got the biggest surprise I've had in a long time! I was on AIM when I got a message from Bo Zhang, my best friend from junior high! She moved away, and somehow we lost touch. Anyway, I hadn't heard from her in about 5 years, but I'd been trying to track her down. Apparently, my sn (which is different from the one I had when we were in contact) somehow appeared on her buddy list, so she IMed me! It made my day. We got caught up most of the way, until I lost my stupid internet connection. Hopefully, she'll be online again tonight so we can talk some more!

Anyway, that's all...I think I'm gonna work in a soup kitchen on Saturday if everything works out! I'll keep you updated.

Oh, I realized, thanks to Michelle, that I never informed anyone that I was coming back early or why. Basically, I've had a couple of problems with Tech, and there are a couple of courses that I would like to get out of the way before the fall so I can really get into this second major. So I'm coming home to take those at Tech's second session. Besides, that way I'll have a little break before the fall semester starts. And I want to help lay the wood floor at my house. I always thought that looked like fun on "Trading Spaces" when they did it!

My great-uncle James passed away on Tuesday. He was the third youngest of the nine McBrayer kids and the last one living. So now they are all together again, which I find really comforting since I just lost my grandfather (the youngest of the kids) in April and great-uncle Marvin (the second youngest) in January. So all of you who were so great to pray for my family and my grandfather recently, please keep the family of Uncle James in your prayers, too.

Okay, now that's all...

Chrysler Building 

New York Public Library 

I'm terrible at this...

Sorry that I haven't posted anything in a long time. I tried to the other night, but then my internet stopped working and I just forgot about it. Besides, there's not a whole lot to report. Y'all are all lucky I'm coming back early because there's no way I could keep up with this thing through the middle of August. I thought I could do it because I did it in Grenoble, but here there isn't the language barrier to make for interesting stories, 13 other people in the same situation to make for interesting stories, an internet cafe where we all happen to run into each other after class each day, a never-ending supply of sardines (which, fortunately, I was able to avoid eating but it's still disgusting), excursions, a huge host family to make for interesting stories, or late night tram chases. So really, all I can do is update with what I did each day, and it's hard to find the motivation to do that at the end of the day. But I'll try to do at least that every other day or so...so long as the pressure of making it really interesting is taken away.

So, since I last updated, I've attended a service at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, which was so similar to a service at Second B, except they had a huge organ. It was so nice to hear an organ again! I love the organ. I've walked about 7 or 8 miles in one day. I've gone to dinner with some other summer students from NYU and Andrea and Jessica then to see "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" at the Loew's Lincoln Square...it was great. And I've seen the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the New York Public Library, and Grand Central Station.

That's pretty much it. Pictures? Maybe a couple.