I just got an e-mail tonight from my first ex tonight. It never ceases to amaze me how Clay manages to find me after all these years. Well, it’s not like I’m hiding or anything. Hell, I have a fucking webpage, after all. At any rate, Clay’s e-mail just got me thinking about the past ten years of my life since it’s been about that long since we dated. Shit, that was forever ago. Honestly, this is the second post I wrote on the topic, but the other one’s not going up on the main page. More of a mindless musings sort of post, the other one. At any rate, I decided I felt like coming up with a list of things that have changed for me in the past ten years since I’m thinking about it and my stubborn OCD brain won’t let me focus on anything else, not even building houses in the Sims. So here’s some randomness, something you’re all familiar with, I’m sure. Enjoy!

1. I wrote a lot of awful poetry; if I wrote the same stuff today I’d be called emo, but back then, I was just angsty.
2. I switched instruments again from trumpet to French horn and mellophone.
3. I worked at Hardee’s for like three or four years. Basically: too long.
4. I got all of my wisdom teeth removed.
5. I dated Brent Ochs, Joel Padgett, Charlie Bault, and Ian Doyle.
6. I was in a car accident that wrecked the car and resulted in me biting through my tongue.
7. I was in madrigals my senior year as a first soprano.
8. I starred in my senior musical The Wizard of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West.
9. I graduated high school second in my class, though in Loogootee, there aren’t that many people to begin with, so no big deal. I got to give a speech.
10. I was awarded with a Presidential Scholarship, a full-ride at ISU.
11. I went to ISU for my Bachelor of Arts.
12. I stopped going to church and became an Existentialist.
13. I had a short career at the Indiana Statesman that was less than lackluster–far, far less.
14. My Grandma Ringwald died.
15. I finally got the help I needed for all those years of depression.
16. I found out I had arthritis and the beginnings of diabetic problems.
17. I tutored French for about four years.
18. I changed my major at ISU four times before settling on French.
19. I got addicted to EverQuest and still get the bug to play it from time to time.
20. I worked in several places at the ISU library.
21. I dyed my hair for the first time, dying it red with my sister.
22. I studied abroad in Rennes, Brittany. (That’s France, dudes. France.)
23. I began working on my first novel.
24. I had my first (and last) experience with an alcohol-related black-out. Blech, we won’t ever be doing that again.
25. I started my own webpage.
26. I got a cat.
27. I stopped wearing contacts and have been wearing glasses for years now.
28. I started playing DnD with my friends on a regular basis.
29. I got married and switched from Erin Anne Ringwald to Erin Anne Doyle.
30. I gained a bunch of weight (like we’re talking a bunch) and got more diabetic problems. Plus the arthritis got worse. @#$%^&* body!!
31. I got a snail and a male betta and have had a few guppies since then.
32. I went to ISU for my Master of Arts in linguisitcs.
33. I bought my first car: a maroon minivan whose rear passenger tire refuses to stay inflated.
34. I taught freshman seminars for three years.
35. I taught at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College for a semester.
36. I was an academic advisor for undecided freshmen for a year and a half.
37. I dyed my hair back to brown.
38. I wrote a thesis on French insults. Who said a Masters would be a waste of time and money?
39. I finished writing my first novel.
40. I began teaching at ISU as full-time faculty teaching French.

Addendum: It’s funny, but after playing around on-line for a while, I came across this quiz which asked the same question I had asked myself earlier. Funny how life works like that.

You’ve Changed 60% in 10 Years

You’ve done a good job changing with the times, but deep down, you’re still the same person. You’re clothes, job, and friends may have changed some – but it hasn’t changed you.