First of all-
I had my birthday 7/7/07,
how cool is that?!?!
::Stephanie's thought process inside her head:: ya know what sounds like a good idea? moving 800+ miles away from home to a state where you only really know 1 person, and only kinda sorta know another person, who by the way, you will be living with. and said 1 person who you really know will be 1 1/2 hours away from you. YES! where do I sign up?
Well my car couldn't drive fast enough (actually it could, i got a speeding ticket in South Carolina), I was so excited for a new adventure, New faces, New people.
So there I was in a new town, Wilmington, NC, a new roomate, Beth and starting my job hunt. I started off with a job at a local diner called Saltworks. It is a landmark restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch. To the left is a picture of the sign that is at
the beginging of I-40 (technically the end), it takes you clear accross the states to Cali. Why dont we have one of these in Naples on I-75? I think this is just cool!
At the end of July I met Dan. He is one of the coolest people I know. Sadly, 2 days later, he had to hop a plane for Iraq, and wouldn't return until March. However we were both very good at keeping in touch, we e-mailed almost everyday, and he called on occasion. I'll get to more of Dan in a little bit.
In August I started my job at Qualified Contractors Inc., a world wide construction-staffing company based out of Wilmington. I met some really great people at QCI and the company
really takes care of its employees. For Thanksgiving they gave each of the office employees a Honey Baked ham, and a pre-cooked turkey. For Christmas we got a bonus (no big deal for most, but this was my first, true, post-college Christmas bonus) and a Christmas party unlike most. It was a 2-day ordeal at The Shell Island Resort on Wrightsville beach (right next to Wilmington). During the day, we sat through company meetings about the past year. On the first night, the company paid for dinner at "The Blue Water" (a very upscale restaurant) and an open bar, my date (Beth) and I had a great time. In the picture here you can see one of my colleges Joe Kemp in the background, with the typical QCI demeanor. The second night consisted of a "booze cruise" with dinner as well; my date that night was Lisa.
September was a fun month as well. I went to see Dave Mathews Band in Raleigh at Walnut creek, with Tim, Olivia and Wayne (from QCI) and my friend Ryan.
October was really busy, my friend Ashley was moving from Naples to NY and stopped by Wilmington as a 1/2 way point. And then my Nana and Aunt Donna came to see me! I was so happy to
be visited by family! Plus they brought up a lot of great stuff that I wasn't able to bring up when I first moved. Thanks again guys! I also spent Halloween with some people from work, which ended up being a really fun night!
Well my car couldn't drive fast enough (actually it could, i got a speeding ticket in South Carolina), I was so excited for a new adventure, New faces, New people.
So there I was in a new town, Wilmington, NC, a new roomate, Beth and starting my job hunt. I started off with a job at a local diner called Saltworks. It is a landmark restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch. To the left is a picture of the sign that is at
the beginging of I-40 (technically the end), it takes you clear accross the states to Cali. Why dont we have one of these in Naples on I-75? I think this is just cool!
At the end of July I met Dan. He is one of the coolest people I know. Sadly, 2 days later, he had to hop a plane for Iraq, and wouldn't return until March. However we were both very good at keeping in touch, we e-mailed almost everyday, and he called on occasion. I'll get to more of Dan in a little bit.
In August I started my job at Qualified Contractors Inc., a world wide construction-staffing company based out of Wilmington. I met some really great people at QCI and the company
really takes care of its employees. For Thanksgiving they gave each of the office employees a Honey Baked ham, and a pre-cooked turkey. For Christmas we got a bonus (no big deal for most, but this was my first, true, post-college Christmas bonus) and a Christmas party unlike most. It was a 2-day ordeal at The Shell Island Resort on Wrightsville beach (right next to Wilmington). During the day, we sat through company meetings about the past year. On the first night, the company paid for dinner at "The Blue Water" (a very upscale restaurant) and an open bar, my date (Beth) and I had a great time. In the picture here you can see one of my colleges Joe Kemp in the background, with the typical QCI demeanor. The second night consisted of a "booze cruise" with dinner as well; my date that night was Lisa.
September was a fun month as well. I went to see Dave Mathews Band in Raleigh at Walnut creek, with Tim, Olivia and Wayne (from QCI) and my friend Ryan.
October was really busy, my friend Ashley was moving from Naples to NY and stopped by Wilmington as a 1/2 way point. And then my Nana and Aunt Donna came to see me! I was so happy to
be visited by family! Plus they brought up a lot of great stuff that I wasn't able to bring up when I first moved. Thanks again guys! I also spent Halloween with some people from work, which ended up being a really fun night!
On to November, I had my wisdom teeth removed, which actually was the most pleasant surgical experience I’ve ever had. I'd take that again over cavities any day. Also went to the state fair in Raleigh, talk about a confidence boost- seriously, if you ever feeling down about anything in your life- hit up a state fair in "the south", trust me, you life will look better and better with each minute. HA! But really, we had fun, we found this cart, and we just had to take advantage of the Kodak moment. 
I was upset that I couldn't make it to FL and would have to miss out on the Family Thanksgiving for the second year in a row, but I ended up going to Pittsburgh with Lisa and I saw snow for the first time! On our way home we stopped in DC, which was fun because I had never been.
And lastly (as it is every year) December, the one-year mark of being done with college. Most importantly I got to go home for Christmas, and get out of, at least what I considered, the harsh coastal North Carolina winter! I have never been happier to see the Ft. Myers airport; our decent over the city was wonderful. I was SO happy to be in sunny, warm, southwest FLORIDA! My then very pregnant sister was absolutely glowing and gorgeous, Mom was crying when I first saw her, which was to be expected, and Scott- well Scott was Scott and I was just very happy to see my family after being separated for longer than we have ever been. However, when I first walked through the door of moms house I don’t think my dog (Rocky) even recognized me. But he got a grip eventually. It was so great to spend time with my family and friends, and had to be one of the best Christmas' ever. And on top of that, I finally got my dog back, however, he was not to happy about being in a carry on bag, nor was he happy about me running through the Charlotte airport, dragging him in his wheeled case behind me, in order to make our connecting flight. As I descended into the Jacksonville, NC airport and heard the current weather conditions, I remember thinking to myself "am I nuts? Did I just LEAVE Florida for this?" ha!
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