On the road again...

On the Road Again…

The team has just spent the last week recovering from Japan. There is a 15 hour difference in time between Japan and the United States. So, the time difference combined with the 24 hours of travel time just about wipes you out! We spent last week doing a number of things. I have spent the week resting, working and hanging out with friends. I arrived on Tuesday at around 11p.m. Crystal and Brady picked me up from the airport, drove me home and then I was finally able to rest in a bed, rather than an airplane seat! On Thursday, I taught a lecture at the University of Florida to a Public Speaking Class that my friend Crystal, a PhD student at Univ. of Florida, teaches. Crystal and I are pictured below. I taught a lecture on engagement methods in public speaking. I taught the same lecture last semester and it is a blast to teach a college lecture!

One of the best things about the recovery time was that I was able to see so many friends that I had not seen in a long time! Our group of friends got together and had dinner.

This picture is of Rusty Hartline and me at dinner. Rusty and I met just about four years ago in Washington D.C. at Washington Leadership Conference. Rusty and I met at the beginning of the conference and from then on out we were friends! Rusty is still in my cell phone contact list as “Rusty WLC Florida”! Haha. Mine and Rusty’s friendship is a prime example of the friendships that FFA allows us to build. I was just a girl from Oklahoma, and Rusty was just a boy from Florida going to a conference in D.C. for a week. Little did we know that we would gain a lifelong friend!

The picture below is of one of my best friends Damaris Pierce, Rusty, me, and Katie Scott, who later became one of my state officer teammates and is one of my best friends! We had no idea at the time how connected we would be four years later!

I did get to see friends; however, the week was filled with a ton of work. There were many emails and phone calls to return. I had flights to schedule, FFA Week to prepare for and many reports to be completed. I also wrote some FFA members some notes. : )

Tonight was my last night of the recovery week. I felt so special, because Brady cooked me my last supper. Yes, our former Southern Region Vice President Brady Revels can cook! And let me tell you, he is a very good cook! He cooked the the group roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, and biscuits. It was all homemade! I was very impressed with his cooking skills. It was great to spend my last supper of the week with Randy, Tate, Crystal, Brady and Miss Erica Der!

I got the much needed rest. I saw friends whom I love, and met new friends who I love as well! I finished a to-do list the size of Mount Fuji. And now, I am on the road again...

Laila