Here are a few (or more than a few, which I guess would be several) things that I have learned over the summer.

1. Despite being made fun of for carrying it with me everywhere, cajun seasoning is good on everything. Except ice cream. The kicker is, everyone of those people that made fun of me fell in love with the stuff once they tried it. Then they were asking me if I brought it with me everyday.

2. A little bit of hurt now is better than a lot of pain later. At least that's what I am hoping for.

3. I was not made to live in the jungle.

4. White shirts and black skirts get old after, oh, four months or so.

5. Being where God wants me is way more important than staying comfortable. Even though it doesn't always make sense, and it isn't easy, and it isn't what I want. That's the point where I need to start praying that my heart's desires would become more like God's. He isn't the one off track, it's me. It's hard. Really, really, really hard.

6. Red shoes are really fun.

7. My face doesn't melt off when it is 126 degrees outside. I thought it might, but it doesn't.

8. Never spend time at Newport on the Levee by myself. You meet creepy guys that way.

9. The business world is much more complex than I thought. Min/max reports, inventory, purchase orders, price increases, web sites, requisitions and transfers. All these terms and more are now included in my vocabulary. Some correctly and some I am still guessing about.

10. When someone asks you to do something "copy" is only a correct response in certain situations. In general words like "affirmative," "negative," "miscount," "gen-dec," and "higher outbound" aren't words to just throw around. They are appropriate for certain places. McDonald's is not one of them. Also, not everyone operates on military time. And not everyone knows where Zulu is.

11. When someone is running towards me, furious and yelling, I don't like to have someone behind me start yelling at them. It makes me feel frightened and insecure.

12. People are people. They always will be. As such, imperfection is passed on from generation to generation.

13. People are dumb. Well, ok, not all people and not all the time. But I have learned that when people are in an unfamiliar setting or situation, they (hopefully) act differently than they normally would. For some reason, logic and reason leaves the brain and is replaced by an inability to think for oneself as well as the inability to read. There is a saying that is, "There are no stupid questions." I beg to differ. I believe that there are indeed stupid questions. "No ma'am. You are not supposed to turn and try and walk through the concrete wall to get to your plane. Just walk straight ahead down the hallway and when you see the correct number and city, you go out that door." Sigh.

14. If you expect people to be stupid (see above) you aren't as surprised when they are.

15. Radio stations play the most annoying songs every hour. EVERY hour. Why? Don't ask me.

16. Apparently it is uncomfortable for a guy to search through another guy's pants pockets.

17. You can survive the black lung.

18. It is also possible to survive on 6 hours of sleep a night. Who knew that you didn't need more than that? You may want more, but you don't need more.

19. When you leave the house at 715a and return at 1130p, you will be tired. Now repeat.

20. People simply want to be respected. No matter how they dress or what they look like, they simply want to be treated with respect.

There may be more to come. But I figured 20 was enough to start with.