So it has been awhile since I last posted something on my blog. It is amazing how busy and forgetful somethings can be in the real world. Thought that I would take a little time and try to ketchup on the past month or so.

I guess the best way to start this conversation is to talk about the ten hour drive here from all the way up north in Pennsylvania. After teaching two weeks at Mercersburg, I had to pack up all of my possessions and make the long drive to Hilton Head. Only stopping three times to get gas, I made it to Hilton Head in a little over ten hours. That was an experience that I soon wanted to forget!

After enjoying my first weekend on the island I started work that following Monday. I started out my first couple of weeks working in the pro shop in the mornings then teaching the academy kids in the afternoon. It was not a bad schedule, but I wanted to make sure that my bosses and supervisors knew what I was capable of doing at Van Der Meer.

Now my schedule is looking a little different. Im still working in the pro shop periodically, but now I am opening it solely. Previously I was working with another Van Der Meer employee. I was nervous to work in the pro shop alone at first, but it has been working out great. In addition to working in the pro shop, I am also working in the sales office. I even have adopted my own little project with facebook and Im working closely with the sales director on how to spice up Van Der Meer and get people to come out and play! Very fun and exciting stuff.

Well, hopefully I will get better at posting. I think that it is a little embarrassing when your last post is from the beginning of August!

Kat

Adventures in the Capital

Just got back from a wonderful weekend with Alie, also now known as my little sea squirt, in our nation's capital. We did a lot of amazing things and it was difficult to travel back to Mercersburg for one more week. Can't wait to go back and see more of the sites, hopefully sooner rather then later

Since I only work half days on Fridays, I was able to leave Mercerburg around 1230 in the afternoon. After having lunch at Lizzy, the place that has the superman ice cream, Heinrich and I were both on our way to the capital. He had made plans to visit his friend Bobby, while I had made plans to stay with Alie Friday and Saturday. After getting to Alie's house and chatting it up in her kitchen for about two hours, Alie, her mother, and myself traveled to Bethesda to grab some dinner. We ate at this really neat Mexican restaurant, drank a couple Corona's and had steak and chicken faijtas for dinner. Even though we were all three stuffed from the wonderful food, we decided to walk around Bethesda a little and venture to a cupcake place down the road. For a little pre birthday celebration, they bought me some amazing lemon favored cupcakes. Even though at the store I knew the cupcakes were going to fabulous, we could not even wait more then ten minutes before opening the package at home. Alie, her dad, and mom sang to me, while I blew out my single candle off my cupcake. Laughs were shared and it was a great way to start out my adventures in Washington.

Saturday was a early day for Alie and myself as we had made plans to go site seeing all day in Washington. We did not know exactly what we were going to do when we got there, but we knew that we wanted to spend the day going to museums and the national monuments. We first started out at the National History Museum where we learned about the ocean, mammals, rocks, minerals, and butterflies. We even got to go into a butterfly exhibit and be face to face with many different types of butterfly species. After about an hour and a half at the National History museum we ventured across the street to the Air and Space Museum. There we saw tons of planes and air crafts and even went to the planetarium to learn about black holes. Our last museum stop for the day was the National Art Gallery. We did not spend a ton of time there, but I saw actual paintings by Monte and Vincent Van Gogh. It was so incredible to be standing right in front of some of those historical paintings!

After going to three museums, we decided it was time to walk around the mall and see some of the monuments that were close to us. Around 4:30 Alie and I were able to meet up with another Adpi, Rebehak and we all three walked around together catching up on the last three months after college. We saw the Nation's Capital, The Washington Monument, The World War II Monument, the Korean Monument, the Lincoln Monument, and from a distance the Jefferson Monument. Even though I had seen some of the monuments before, it was great to see them all again!

The excitement only increased after visiting the museums and monuments during the day. Myself, Alie, and Rebehak were meeting Heinrich and his friend Bobby for dinner at a bar in Bethesda. Around 6:30 the three girls hopped on the metro to make it back to dinner on time. Throughout the day I had noticed that my legs were becoming extremely itchy and even swelling a little. I thought that maybe it was from just walking to much and being out in the heat. Soon did I realize that I had server sun poisoning on my legs. I started to feel a little ill as well. Poor Rebekah was trying to hunt down water for me as Alie sat there hoping that I was not going to get sick in the metro. The first attempt to get water was a bust, so we just got on the train. About two stops into the train ride, I started to feel ill again. So we had to get off and Rebekah ran above ground to find me water. The second attempt was a success and I finally started to feel better. Thanks goodness I had Alie and Rebekah to help me or I don't know what I would have done.

We made it to dinner and we all had a wonderful time. Alie and I said our goodbyes to Heinrich, Bobby, and Rebekah and headed back to Chevy Chase. Both of us went right upstairs to fall asleep. This morning Alie's mom cooked us an amazing breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and Mimosa's. It was fantastic! Sadly I said my goodbyes and ventured my way back to Mercersburg. I leave this up coming Friday for my permit home in Hilton Head. So excited just to finally be down there.

Kat

Washington

Going to visit my lovely Alie Bell this weekend in Washington. Excited to go site seeing and visit our nation's capital!

Tomahawk Wisconsin?!?

So I was taken back to many of my childhood summer memories in Mercersburg yesterday. Since I was a little girl my Grandparents owned a lake house on the tip of Wisconsin in Tomahawk. I loved going up there each summer, going out on the lake, shooting the bow and arrow, and especially eating ice cream at the Windmill creamery. Yesterday Heinrich and I took the kids to a little ice cream place about twenty minutes away from campus. Even though the parking lot was not for boats, I was so excited when I walked in the door. There right in front was one of my favorite summer ice cream favors, superman. It just took me back to all the wonderful memories of Wisconsin and if I ever get the chance to come back to Mercersburg, I know exactly where I will be stopping first!

Goodbye Virginia

I can not believe that the summer has come to an end and I will be leaving Sweet Briar tomorrow. It has been an interesting last couple of days. Unfortunately I was not able to teach much of the last week of camp because I came down with strep throat. After going to the doctor, I am starting to feel much better. Tomorrow I will making the four hour drive from Virginia to Pennsylvania to help with another camp for two weeks. Then finally on August 14th I will make my big move down to Hilton Head. Not only am I really excited about moving down to South Carolina, but I am just excited to start my new adult life there.

What I have been thinking about a lot is how weird it will be to not be going back to Wittenberg at the end of August. For the last four years, Wittenberg was my social and academic life. Now that I has graduated, I have to start my new life, but it does not mean that I will not miss my experiences that I had at Wittenberg. Hopefully, I will be able to visit soon and see why college and Wittenberg was so special to me.

Boar's Head

Just got back from a weekend trip to Charlottesville, Virginia at the Boar's Head Resort. A couple of the other pros and myself traveled an hour away from Sweet Briar to teach an adult clinic. It was a lot of fun, plus it was nice to have a change of pace. For the past five weeks I have been at Sweet Briar teaching kids ages ranging from 10 to 18. This weekend was a real treat because I was able to take a break from the kids and see some new faces.

The Boar's Head Inn was a fabulous place to stay. Compared to the dorm room, which I have been staying in the entire some, I was living the life of luxury. A nice comfortable bed, clean shower clear of twelve screaming girls, and just some peace and quiet. Two more weeks to go here at Sweet Brair then I'm off to Pennsylvania to help teach a camp up there for two weeks. Then finally I will travel to the land of sunshine and beaches and be in my proper place in Hilton Head. Can't wait to get there, just not looking forward to packing all of my things that I have accumulated over the summer.

Changing Pace

Approaching the end of week five here at Sweet Brair. This weekend I will traveling to Charlottlesville, Virginia, about 45 minutes away from Lynchburg, to work an adult clinic for the weekend. Some of the other pros and I will be driving up early on saturday morning and will come back late on Sunday night. Excited about the opportunity to travel to a different city and change in pace.

Also, my move to Hilton Head has been delayed two weeks because I will be traveling to Pennsylvania to teach in August. Even though I want to be in Hilton Head more then anything, this is a great opportunity as well. Missing everyone back in Indiana and friends from college.

Summer is Flying

Sorry that it has taken me awhile to post a new update from Virginia. Not much has changed in the past couple of weeks. Things are becoming pretty routine. I guess that's how that "real world" is sometimes. The Sweet Briar Tournament is taking place this weekend. It has been fun watching all the kids matches and enjoying a little time off. On Friday, went to go see the natural bridge about 45 minutes away from campus. It was beautiful!

Til next post,

Kat

Learning to String

Just a quick update. Turning a new corner in my tennis career. Learning how to string so that I can make some extra money! Much harder then I ever imagined!!

Kat

Finally got to play!

After about three weeks on teaching tennis to adults and kids, it was finally my turn to play. Believe it or not, I have not been able to really play tennis for about three weeks. It has been killing me to be on the court for six hours a day and not being able to play once. Luckily one the pros, Heinrich, and I were able to get on the courts tonight and hit. Plus he was giving me some tips to improve my own game. The cool thing about it is that he said that he is going to help me get even better so that I can play in some tournaments in Hilton Head. So excited. Teaching and playing tennis, two of my favorite activities!

Survived Week 1

All is quite at Sweet Briar College as the first week of kids have gone home. It was a great week full of new experiences. Even though I have been teaching tennis for four years now, I found that working for Van Der Meer tennis is completely different. Pat and Dennis (founders) really keep their employees on their toes and expect the best.

I think that one of the neatest things that happened this week was with on the students that I had been closely working with, Peter. He was one of the weakest players that we had this week, but one with the best attitude. On Thursday all the kids were put into a group to play matches, but I had the opportunity to work with Peter one on one.

One thing that he really wanted to work on was his serve. It was one aspect that he had really been struggling with. We broke down the parts of the serve for around an hour. By the end of the hour he had vastly improved. He was so happy and smiled ever time that he made a serve in. The funny part of the story was that I tried to ask him if he wanted to work on other parts of his game, but he just wanted to keep serving. He was so grateful! It really made me realize why I love not just tennis, but teaching others to love it too!

Kat

First Paycheck

Hey everyone,

I know that I have already posted for today, but some exciting new. If you can't tell by the title of this post, I got my first paycheck!!! Hooray... on my way to not being a poor recent graduate!

Deja Vu

I thought that many may be curious about where exactly I have been leaving for the past couple of weeks. Here are some pictures of the lovely dorm that I am staying in. Plus as a added bonus I even have thrown in a picture of my dorm room. Its ok to laugh if you must.

Life in the dorm has not been a bad as I had pictured it. Even though it is a small room I rarely spend any time there. The room is just basically for sleeping because we are usually either out on the courts or doing some other type of activity. Plus its nice not have to worry about paying rent and utilities.

Its funny how life works. Anyone would think that after graduating college you would never move back to a dorm. A little deja vu from my freshman and sophomore years at Wittenberg. Oh well... the world keeps spinning round and round.

Here come the kids

Today is the first day of the junior camps here at Sweet Briar.  We have about 18 kids coming this week ranging from ages 10 to 17.  I'm looking forward to all the excitement that is going to be in the dorms for the rest of the summer.  I also had my first official staff meeting this morning. Steve, one of the head pros, told us what was going to beexpected of us for the rest of the summer. A little scary, but good to know what exactly I'm getting myself into!  Much more to come from Van Der Meer.

Kat

New opportunities are coming my way

Some exciting news from life in Virginia. I just found out that when I move down to Hilton Head, I have the opportunity to work in the management and communication office, mostly working on writing newsletters and press releases.  Even though I had an idea that some new opportunities were coming my way, I had no idea how quickly they were going to progress. I was talking to Pat Van Der Meer (one of the founders, small hint because of the last name) about writing and helping out immediately when I get down there. Even though at times I have had small doubts about taking this job, I know now that I need to take these small opportunities and just run with it! 

"No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required, that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction" 

A quote said to me by one of the Van Der Meer staff (pretty inspirational!)

Kat 

Much more then just tennis

The first week of my new job is almost complete. I really enjoyed the group of seniors that were here. They were so much fun to talk and play tennis with. The last night that they were here they had a party with lots of food and dancing. Of course I was one of the tennis pros that was cutting up a pretty mean rug on the dance floor. I think that I learned about six different dances throughout the night. It was so much fun. 

Much to come,

Kat

On the Court

Hey everyone, 

Yesterday was my first day on the court. A group called the AASSTC (Adult Aces Super Senior Tennis Club) arrived at Sweet Briar yesterday.  It is a group of seniors that have been coming here for years, ages ranging from 60 to 86! These people are a blast to talk too and really shows me that tennis is a sport that you can play and enjoy at any age!

Going to breakfast and then back on the courts, 

Kat

I love this country

Today was a great day in Virginia.  In the morning my dad and I ventured to Sweet Briar to take a look of where I will be living for awhile. The dorm is nothing special, but I will be in good company. 

After spending about four hours on campus we returned back to Lynchburg and explored what was here in the city.  The neatest thing that we discovered was actually a  furniture company. The story behind the owner, Thomas Johnson, is that he is a small craftsman originally from Ghana Africa. When he was giving us a tour of his workshop he kept on mentioning how much he loves this country. I had no idea how in-depth he was going to go into it, but for about thirty minutes he talked about all the opportunity America has and that we really have to treasure our country and the dream that the founding fathers had for all of us. 

He even went into depth about his own opinions about our current American government and all the changes that have been occurring over the past couple of months.  I don't really want to talk about politics that much, but a couple of things that he said really stood out to me.  He said that in order to keep this country great we have to remember the American dream.  We can not be so dependent on the government to provide for us, we need to provide for ourselves.  I think that a lot of his view points really have to do with him coming from Africa.  He knows where hard work and determination can get him and he does not want to be given anything... he wants to work for it! The whole time that he was talking, I was just in amazement. I know that he is in the minority, being a black man and a republican, but it just really made me think about all the opportunities that I have been given and his words of wisdom will make me work even harder in my new career!

Lots to think about, 

Kat    

Lynchburg Virginia

After a long day of driving I am in Lynchburg Virginia for the night. Lynchburg is about 10 miles from Sweet Briar where I will be for the next four to five weeks. Tomorrow my dad and I plan on venturing around the town and surrounding areas and then going to Sweet Briar.  

One of the coolest things that we discovered in Lynchburg so far is the hotel that we are staying in Lynchburg. The Craddock Terry Hotel was once one of the most successful shoe companies in the country.  The grandson of the original owner turned the old shoe factory into an historic hotel. It is listed in many different historical hotel books and has a great atmosphere. With my love of history and old building basically I am in seventh heaven. I will post some pictures tomorrow. Everyone should check out their website!!!

Til next post, 

Kat

The boat (the name of my car) is all packed up and ready to go!

I know that I said that my next post was going to be from Virginia, but I thought that I would do a quick one this morning. I finally got all my bags packed and planning on leaving in about an hour. Its about an eight hour drive to Sweet Briar. Just going to take my time and enjoy my last couple of days before starting my job Monday. 

Updates to come... possibly from the car

Kat

All my bags are packed... well not really!

So tomorrow marks the first of my two big moves.  Bright and early tomorrow morning my dad and I are leaving to travel to Virginia. As part of my new job as a tennis instructor for Van Der Meer I am heading to Sweet Briar College for four or five weeks.  There I will be able to work with a variety of different groups and ages. The funny part about going to Sweet Briar is that I am moving back into a college dorm room. Just when I thought that my college days were over I get to go back to dorm life. Fortunately, after Virginia I will be in Hilton Head were I get to live in a amazing condo, three blocks away from the beach, and free of charge. Because of that, I think that I can survive college life for just a little longer. 

Next blog will be written in Virgina!

Kat

A New Beginning

I was inspired by some of the work that I had done at Wittenberg to create a blog writing about my new adventures for my friends and family. I think that blogging is a great tool not only to keep people informed about what I'm doing, but it's also a lot of fun. 

Next week truly starts my new adventures after graduating from Wittenberg one week ago. I have been home in Indiana busy sorting and packing all of the things that I collected over the last four years. It has been a little stressful, but fun at the same time. Looking at little scraps of paper and other memories that I thought were going to be important after college have been sorted and some even thrown away. The good news is that I was able to take a lot of my old clothes and other fairly new items and donate them to this charity in my small town called Lord's Locker. It is a great charity where families can come in a shop for free! They can find a variety of items ranging from clothes, shoes, toys, just to name a few! With my goal of always trying to help others, it makes me happy to donate items that I do not need or use anymore. 

If anyone reading this blog does not know, I will be starting my new job June 1st. I was hired by the Van Der Meer Tennis Academy as a youth tennis instructor and also working in the management and communication office. It is an amazing opportunity for not only my first job, but also gives me the opportunity to grow and get promoted in the future. In about a week I will be traveling to Virginia to Sweet Briar College to start my new adventure. I will be there until around the middle of July then moving down to Hilton Head, South Carolina. There I will be able to use my passion and love for tennis and merged it with a job in communication. Even though I was a little skeptical at first, it is an amazing opportunity and I feel very blessed! How many new college graduates can say that they are moving to somewhere cool like Hilton Head!

My new adventures are only beginning and I hope that everyone finds this blog interesting and exciting. Plus I want people to know where I am and what I am doing because I want to have lots of visitors. 

Until next time,

Kat