Punchin the Clock

This is where I hang out 40 hours a week.  University of Texas at Dallas (UTD).  There are 19 schools in the UT system in Texas, so once again, sticking to true Texas form, everything really is bigger in Texas!

Lets take a lil' virtual tour, shall we?

Howdy!  And welcome, to the University of Texas at Dallas!  Main entrance...

 

Visitor's Center, home of the school bookstore, but I like the circular atrium..

 

 

I guess UTD had a lady who donated all the money to landscape the campus, however, she also got to pick the landscaper of her choice, she chose a guy named Peter Walker, who's name is a swear word at UTD among the grounds crew, so don't mention it to any of them when you run in to them, thanks..... but parts of it I really like... like the mall, which runs right now the center of campus...

 

And the trellace, which is new, but all those vines are supposed to eventually grow and cover most of the white beams on the top.  And the big grey pillar on the right is set on a timer and creates a foggy mist, which is cool too.

 

 This is the Student Services building... I love the architecture, I haven't been inside yet...

This is by the theater and performing arts.... it's called the 'Love Jack'... I guess the artist's last name was love, which he put on every end of the jack.

This is my favorite building, it's hard to see, but almost the entire building, except this side, I guess is teal and purple!  It's so pretty! I thought it must be arts or something fun... nope, it's a whole center designated for research.  Boring.  But the building is pretty!

 

And on the 'north 40' of campus is the lowly Facilities Management building.  This, is where all the action happens, grounds, maintenance, shipping, moving, electrical, plumbing, etc etc etc.  And where I hang out 40 hours a week, scheduling all the above services for campus. 

 

UTD is just a little D3 school, but it's growin' like crazy!  They have so many plans to build in the next 5 years, it's crazy, everthing from parking garages to student housing, to a new visual arts building.  It's fun to see this little school transforming!

 

 

Saddle up, and welcome to UTD!

I'm on a boat!

Ok, so I realize this is a bit out of order.... but better late than never, right?
In March I convinced my friends Sunny and Rikki to vacation with me!  We hit up a Royal Caribbean cruise line, the Serenade of the Seas.... oh, what a much needed vacation and we had a blast! 

We flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico, spent the night, got a tour, Rikki aquired a blistering sunburn (literally) and we boarded the Serenade to start our journey to the Southern Caribbean!  St. Kitts, St. Maartin, Barbados, Dominica, and Tortola!

Just a small recap via pictures:
Rikki's rockin sunburn, before we even got on the boat!

 

Chillin in San Juan...

 

We found the best tour guide, Marcos, who toured us around San Juan before taking us to the dock.  There are statues of all of the US Presidents who have visited San Juan... they even included Teddy's pup!

 

There are some forts with thick walls in San Juan...

 

Loved the forts!  There were people all over having picnics and flying kites

 

Senor Frogs - Puerto Rico style!

 

I loved this, it was kinda scary, and romantic all at the same time.  Marcos tried to explain the meaning to me, but I never really understood the choas goin' on here

 

Marcos took us to this awesome cemetary... it's right on the cliffs and all the graves are above ground.  They learned the hard way when their buried bodies all ended up on the south end of the island after a storm...

 

We're on a boat!  Look out Southern Caribbean, you're about to be had by 3 WY girls!

 

We went on a lil tour to the falls...

 

 

Sunny and I went to our first nude beach... Bayau Rouge in St. Maartin... we left our suits on, but that guy didn't...

The midnight buffet was cool. We had late dinner and were too stuffed to eat anything at the buffet, but it was cool to see all the culinary art!

 

 

 

Every night we'd try to catch the sunsets... the pictures dont do them justice, but they were beautiful, and I swear I saw the flash!

 

 

 

We may be bias, but we had the best waiters, they made dinner so much fun

Best of all, we met some awesome people and made some great friends!

 

Elaine and her hub Mike from FL and Mike's brother Dan... we met and danced the nights away and met in Barbados for some beach time, and chilled together on the last day at sea.

The McKays...
Clay and Marilyn and their daughters Lauren who brought her fiance, and Christy and her hub, who was 7 months preggers... Their dinner table was right next to ours and we saw them on the islands and ran in to them every night

 

 

And the Persaud family... they were having a family reunion and had a group of 16 people.  They were found anywhere on the boat where a band was jamming!  They were so fun!  A lot of them were our age, so we would see them dancing and hung out with them quite a bit

 

 

 

 

Which leads me to last, but not least....
Rich...

 
 We met while we were both trying to tell the DJ that his music was terrible.  We ended up chatting instead of dancing for hours, and every night.  He's asked for my number and has called me every day since... hence my move to TX, it just so happens to be where Rich resides, it's turning out to be the cute little story I wished for and I couldn't ask for a sweeter guy in my life...

More to come on the adventures of Julie and Rich in TX, but that sums up our cruise!  Such a great time with so many fun memories!

 

It's Official...

It's starting to sink in after almost 4 weeks, and most of those who read this already know, I have relocated to the "lovely" state of TX.   

Home of the: 

 

 



 

 

I currently reside in Dallas, well, what they call the 'Dallas Metroplex' because it consists of so many cities... the greater Dallas area is HUGE.

 

 

 

 

More specifically I live in Irving.  Home of the 'Irving Mustangs'.... not sure the significance... but they have a statue with fountains and it's near where I live, so more to come on that I suppose! 

 

 

 

See the red mess of lines and dots on the top right-ish part of this?  Yep.  That's where I live, right in the middle of it all.

 

A couple things I've learned about TX in 4 weeks:

1. I thought folks from WY were proud to be WY Cowboy fan, and proud to be from WY.... ya, Texans puts them to shame.  EVERYONE originally from TX is a Dallas Cowboys fan (if they're from TX) and EVERYONE is proud to be a resident of TX (I however, still claim WY as home and will shock myself if I ever consider TX as home)

2. Everything REALLY is 'bigger in TX'.  For example, on the 20 hour drive it took to move here, 8 of those hours were driven through Texas, and we didn't even make it 1/2 way through the state.  If Rich and I go out to eat, we can always split an entree... food portions are HUGE.

3. "The stars at night, are big and bright, deep in the heart of TX".... NOT true.  There's so many lights it's impossible to see the stars.  I was sitting out by the pool at night last week and only saw 7 stars...

4. There are no mountains in TX. A new friend here said we should camping, but explained there are only mountains 9 hours from Dallas.  Gently rolling hills if you're lucky, but this state is flat as a pancake. 

5. Texans love their tex-mex and their Texas BBQ. 

6. Texans pride that they don't have state taxes to pay.... but I think they forget sales tax in TX is 8.5%.

7. 'Southern hospitality' is a real!  I was on a mission to buy my first cowboy boots, and the girl (who was maybe a few years younger than me) would answer all my questions with a polite 'yes ma'am.'  The lady at work training me is in her 50's... everyone call her 'Mrs. Debbie'. 

8.  It's hot in Texas, comparable to the climate in St. George.  BUT.  It's humid in Texas... unlike anything I've ever experienced.

9.  Stay off the I-114 westbound... it's under construction, and a disaster.

10.  Thank goodness for TomTom's and GPS navigation.

11.  Texas needs Cafe Rio.  Badly.