Belladonna update

Belladonna graduated from high school this May.  She will be going off to Grand Valley State University which is approximately 90 miles away.  Part of her decision involved wanting to go to University in a place that was too far away for us, including Kubota, to drop in on her unannounced.

She is showing signs of ambivalence.

One of the most important tasks was to finish some paperwork to nail down the financial plan.   One of the last little piece included watching a short video and then taking a quiz.  She. Just. Could. Not. Do. It.

Ambivalence.

Paperwork.  There was always some little detail that stymied completion.

Tuesday, Mrs ERJ threw her into the minivan at "the butt-crack of dawn" (Bella's words) and drove her to GVSU.  Mrs ERJ parked outside the Financial Aid office and told Bella, "We are not leaving until we are done."  Since Bella does not care for walking, especially 90 miles when wearing sandals, she complied.

She has a job

Bella is a waitress.  This is her third job and it is the first time she has been a waitress.  She LOVES it.  She love interacting with people.  Every table is a puzzle.  She gets to figure out how to interact with each table based on the ques they give her.

She reached the stunning conclusion that increased alcohol consumption leads to reduced computational capability.  Usually, the tipplers round up instead of down.  One notable table tipped her $47 for a $120 bill.  She said it was a table of young men.  Go figure.

She particularly enjoys waiting on tables where there is a baby or young child present.  She loves babies.

She will miss this job when she goes off to school.

Her dog

Mostly she thinks she will miss her dog.  The dog clearly misses her when she spends the night out at a friend's.

It is going to be OK

Several of her friends will be going to GVSU, including girls she played basketball, soccer and ran track with.  They will be friendly faces and there will be many trips back to Eaton Rapids on the weekends, at least at the beginning.

She also has a cousin and an uncle living in the Grand Rapids area.

She has been texting and Skyping her new dorm (apartment) mates.  They have been discussing critical issues like colors of towels (not clashing but distinct enough to keep them separate) and who will be bringing what housekeeping items.  Classic nesting behaviors.

We are sending her with the 2004 Malibu.  The car runs well, gets better than 30 MPH and has new tires on it.  And, in keeping with tradition, it has an extra key wired  to the front suspension for when she locks her keys in the car. 

Finally, I suggested a web-cam so she can get her dog "fix".  She kind of liked that idea.  It will be her baby monitor.