Holli Rausch

Here’s a list of “firsts” that happened when I was 21.

• Rented a House
• Received 1st place in 2D for my photo in Beadlemania
• Discovered I didn’t like alcohol, only the fruity stuff in mixed drinks
• I found out I like juice
• Became a Mary Kay independent beauty consultant
• Worked at my favorite place of employment
• Gained a sister-in-law
• Later gained a brother-in-law, three sisters-in-law, and parents-in-law
• Took a summer class – Zoology – and enjoyed it
• Finished Harry Potter
• Acted in a traveling children’s show
• Posed for many more photos than I ever want to for the rest of my life
• Visited Philly
• Modeled and animated a 3D character
• Wrote this letter to Andrew Wilson
• Began creating monthly wallpapers
• Was in the top two for a great job and didn’t get it, triggering the beginning of no graphic design openings in a 50 mile radius
• Gave one of two student speeches at graduation
• Graduated a semester early, summa cum laude
• Fell in love with Albie
• Started a “favorite songs” blog posting excursion and failed to complete it
• Cheered on my fiance as he applied for and obtained employment with a company I’ve wanted to be a part of
• Took a painting class and decided I mega-loathe it
• Spent Christmas away from home
• Got married
• Died a little
• I kid!
• Acted dead
  
• Began responding to a new last name
• Vacationed to the happiest place on earth with the only man on earth that makes me happiest
• Owned a TV bigger than 27″
• Thoroughly enjoyed the company of an 18 month old
• Gained a permanent roommate
• Was unemployed for over 2 months
• Detached from the MilesRausch.com blogs
• Watched an entire Season (and then some) of LOST in less than 48 hours

Wow, I guess I had a lot going on in the past year…!

I think in the finale of Season 3, it’s “Kevin Johnson” in the coffin. I had this revelation tonight, almost a year after it first aired. For those of you who are caught up in LOST, you know who I’m talking about. For those of you who aren’t, or haven’t seen LOST but intend to start, I haven’t spoiled anything. If you know who I’m talking about, then be careful in your comments – there are readers who aren’t caught up yet so don’t spoil it for them.

And there’s a greater than 90% chance that I’m way off.

In the last two weeks, Miles and I have hosted 11 people.  Two weekends ago: Tony.  Last weekend: David, Chris, Tyler, Joel, Bryan, Deb, Luke, Marissa and Patty.   Yesterday/today: Dan.  Our apartment (and we) enjoy the company.

When Tony visited, we saw Heywood Banks, RockBand-ed, talked about LOST and traveled to Madison to see DSU’s play (I threw up 3 times on the way).  I also cooked every meal, except Saturday night where we ate at Ruby Tuesdays.  Then the vomit.  We had a good time.

When our nine friends visited, it was our LOST weekend.  And that was such a fantastic and magical weekend. Who knew that 11 people sitting in our apartment could watch TV non-stop for 11 hours before a break at 11pm?  That’s a lot of elevens.  And then powered through for 4 more hours of LOST watching?  That’s a lot of TV.  With not very comfortable seating.  What was even more awesome was that everyone there was hooked (if they weren’t already) by the end of Friday, which was only 4 episodes.  I cooked every meal that weekend too, except for Friday when we just ordered pizza.  We also had Dharma-issued snacks and drinks.  You wouldn’t understand, if you haven’t seen at least the first episode of Season 2.  The thing about LOST is, you can’t really start watching in Season 4…or really even skip an episode.  You wouldn’t be entirely LOST if you skipped an episode, but you might  miss an important link.  And that’s awesome.  We’re having another weekend in a couple of weeks, and I’ve been thinking of LOST ever since everyone left us.  Good thing a new one is on tonight!

Dan came to us yesterday on his way back from Kansas.  We ate at Valentino’s and will be eating at Panera Bread for lunch and at Skippers in Madison tonight, before Mass (Skippers had been planned for like 3 weeks).  I didn’t cook for Dan because we had planned out our meals this week and only bought groceries for those meals and they all involved meat.  Good thing I like Valentino’s, Panera Bread, and Skippers!

Anyway, we’ve had lots of guests but don’t mind more.  This weekend will be our “last” one alone in Sioux Falls, then we’re off to St. Paul!

Well, Jackie inspired me to take pictures of our apartment to share with my readers. But I don’t feel like putting them all on here and then talking about them. I don’t have a lot to say. So go to my photo set to check it out! Make sure to mouse over the pictures to read the notes – they explain what’s behind closed doors and gives you a better feel for how the apartment flows. Ignore the messiness and random TVs on the floor. Also, if your gift is seen on the floor or something, don’t feel bad. If your gift is hung up or obviously in use, it’s because we like you best. Don’t feel bad. We have a guest room with bed and lots of space, so please visit! But call first.

Oh yeah, also…we got a new TV. The first thing we watched on it was LOST, of course. We bought it over two weeks ago, and finally got it today. It’s been hard keeping it a secret from you. 46″ Samsung 1080p LCD HDTV. Thanks to Kevin who had a truck, and met us at Best Buy at a moment’s notice. This thing puts our iMac to shame. We need to get a bigger one to compete with it. But they don’t make them bigger! We heart this TV.

As some (but probably not many) of you know, I am back at camp. In the summers of 02 and 03, I volunteered for a few weeks off and on as a junior counselor. In the summers of 04 and 05, I was a staff member for the full 12 weeks. Last summer I was interning in Brookings, and this summer I’m back. I’m on support staff, and will be doing odds and ends and filling in where I’m needed, but my main specialty will be taking pictures and preparing an end of week presentation and picture CDs for the campers.

I’m not at camp for the full 12 weeks this summer, however. I have a summer class on campus, starting in July and will be leaving for that. I will return for part of a week later in July and then for the last staff night at the end of the summer. I arrived at camp on Sunday evening and here is a list of things I’ve done so far:

• Slept in Guest, alone, for three whole nights (not a pleasant experience) Guest is where staff members sleep on weekends and when they are not counseling. It has 7 bedrooms, 4 girls and 3 guys.
• Helped unload a truck full of 10,000 lbs of food and other miscellaneous items
• Spilled green latex paint on the carpet of a cabin. I didn’t really spill it, there was a hole in the can.
• Ate at Perkins three times; ordered the same thing
• Was denied part of a donation to Goodwill
• Picked up an order of baby lungs
• Ate Flintstones gummy vitamins like they were candy
• Vomited (unrelated to above item)
• Watched Grey’s Anatomy because the person who owns the TV overruled my request to watch Scrubs
• Squealed when Jim asked Pam out for dinner
• Followed a path of spilled milk throughout an entire community
• Almost ran out of gas. And when we got to the gas station, the attendants made us wait to fill up because they were changing the prices! Up ten cents!
• Went without checking my email for nearly 8 hours, gasp!
• Talked about Spiderman 3 with a 2nd grader
• Cleaned a grill
• “Ran” the camp…I was all alone…
• Spent hours in a basement organizing items
• Threw items in the dumpster in slow motion while singing Chariots of Fire
• Successfully spent hours with a teenage girl, receiving no eye rolls. That I know of.
• Filled up a vehicle and the total bill was $98, and it wasn’t completely empty
• Have seen more bananas than a person should in a lifetime
• Received nearly identical cuts on my forearms
• Drove a 15-passenger van, in the wind, to Sioux Falls

Welcome to my exciting summer. and campers don’t show up until June!