16 days and counting

Mood: sad :(
Happy thought: candy!

Today I spoke to my supervisor at Meredith about when my last day will be. Now that I have a job lined up and am getting close to figuring out living arrangements, it was time to talk about leaving.

I was actually sadder than I thought I would be. It's not one of those jobs or environments I could see myself working in long-term (just because I'm not a desk job type), but Meredith treated me very well. The people were great and I got some very valuable experience.

Generally, I think it's also sad simply because it's the end of an era. A lot of things are ending kind of all at once and that's not easy.

17 days and counting

Mood: sad :(
Happy thought: spring breeze

I've been spending a lot of time on campus after classes lately. Usually I'm done at like 3:30 and jet on home. But these days I'm meandering around here and there, visiting with all sorts of people like professors and such.

Part of me feels like I realize that it's all coming to an end very quickly and maybe this is just me squeezing in last-minute visits with everybody before I graduate. It's kind of weird, actually. It's like I feel all of these visits are necessary and are serving as a means of saying good-bye.

First of all, I'm going to be living in Ames. It's a whopping half hour drive. I can come back any time I want. Second of all, nobody ever admits it's goodbye. After every visit I hear "OK, be sure to stop back before you graduate..."

What do you think THIS visit was for? I mean, I'll accept that a month or so beforehand, but when we're down to only a handful of days? ... seems a little weird.

Regardless, it's starting to get sad now. Like I said, it doesn't have to be good-bye if I don't want it to be, but it still is in a way. It's pretty much the same thing with high school. I went back to visit, but the older I got, the weirder it felt to be there again.

And one day that will happen with Drake, too.

18 days and counting

Mood: sluggish
Happy thought: church music

"Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep alone under the stars. Learn how to drive a stick shift. Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back." ~ Eve Ensler

It's time to be brave.

19 days and coutning

Mood: Sentimental
Happy thought: Clean apartment

I was driving to campus today for class and passed the Knapp Center, where there's an electronic sign that flashes "We are Drake Bulldogs." I see it all the time, but never really look at it much.

Today it caught my eye and I read "We are Drake Bulldogs," and before I realized it I was crying like a fool.

The whole semester leading up to graduation has been filled with panic and excitement, but never really sentimentality or sadness... well, maybe a little, but they were negligible in light of everything else I was feeling.

I just suddenly realized that in 19 days I'm going to be leaving Drake. And that's really sad. I can come back, of course. I can come back any time I want. But it'll never be home again like it's been home the past four years.

And it's supposed to be that way, but that doesn't make it less sad.

20 days and counting

Mood: excited!
Happy thought: Ryan Reynolds movies

Today Roomie and I went to Ames to go apartment hunting. Apartment hunting is always lots of fun because you get all riled up and excited about a new place and all that. The idea of moving is always fun. It's a fresh start and a change of scenery.

We visited about six or so places (some apartments, some townhouses) and we found a couple that we really like. We're not sure if we'll pick one of them or keep looking.

The plan is to move in with her fiancee, so we're hoping we can go see them with him soon so we know for sure.

And as fun as it is to look, it makes it kind of hard to come home to your actual apartment at the end of the day. Haha. It's not a bad place, where I live. But I'm definitely looking forward to moving :P

21 days and coutning

Mood: !!!!
Happy thought: seeing the folks

Today I was milling around my apartment and glanced at the clock. It was 10:30 AM. 10:30AM. No big deal for a Sunday morning.

I continued to shuffle around sleepily for like two minutes before OMG, IT HIT ME LIKE A BRICK WALL.

THREE WEEKS FROM THAT PERFECT MOMENT, I WOULD BE SITTING IN A CAP AND GOWN IN THE KNAPP CENTER...

Holy cow! HOLY COW!

Three weeks is nothing. It's nothing. It's nothing at all.

Unfortunately, I have a lot more than nothing to do between now and then.

22 days and counting

Mood: antsy

Happy thought: those really pretty flowering trees with white petals that blow off in the wind

This weekend is Relays and, naturally, the weather forecast is calling for thunderstorms and wind. It can't be Relays without genuinely crappy weather. Of course, the rest of the week was gorgeous, and we're expecting more gorgeous weather on the other side of the weekend, too. It's just one of those things you can always depend on.

Relays is, of course, a pretty exciting time. People come from ALL over the country to compete, Drake gets a lot of attention (and probably a good amount of money), there's lots of things going on... it's just a good time.

On the other hand... our tiny campus was not built to host THOUSANDS of visitors in addition to the students who live here. Traffic is bad, parking is horrendous, the local campus bars and restaurants are packed to the gills with alumni trying to relive the glory days... the list goes on.

So, I hope it doesn't make me a horrible person for saying this, but I'm looking forward to all these people going back home and giving us our campus back.

Perhaps I'm just a bitter senior.

23 days and counting

Mood: sleepy

Happy thought: springtime!!!

I work at Meredith Corp. on Fridays all day, usually proofreading a variety of magazine stuff. It's not a bad job, but sometimes I can feel my eyes blurring and my brain kind of getting tired.

When that happens, I get up and walk around the building for a few minutes so I can get back to my reading with fresh eyes and not miss glaring errors.

Anyway, I really love walking around Meredith because there's stuff kind of everywhere. Not in a bad way, but in an interesting "ooh, look at that" sort of way. It's mostly props and things for photo shoots or samples that companies send in with hopes of getting featured in a magazine.

My favorite stash of stuff is over near Better Homes and Gardens. There's one corner that's just FULL of big, floppy, garden hats of all sorts of different colors and patterns. I don't know why, but they just make me smile every time I see them.

24 days and counting

Mood: contemplative

Happy thought: tulips!

Earlier this week I was offered a job (that I accepted), so all of a sudden I have plans for after graduation. It's a wonderful feeling.

But here's the thing - most of the people I know DON'T have plans. They're trying to get a job; they're trying to get in to grad school... whatever. They're STRESSED out. Just like I was.

So as excited as I am that I got a job, I feel kind of weird shouting it from the mountain tops (or, more realistically, posting it all over facebook). I'm sure they'd be happy for me and all that, but I know watching other friends get jobs and internships when you're not having much luck just adds stress and frustration to the whole situation. And I don't want that.

I did, however, come up with a compromise combining my need to tell people and not frustrate my friends. I'm telling the people who have already graduated and have jobs and the underclassmen who don't have to freak out about all that just yet.

25 days and counting

Mood: Shock

Happy thought: gainful employment

Today I pulled in to my apartment's parking lot and noticed that my roommate wasn't home. I thought that was weird, because she's ALWAYS home when I get home on Tuesdays.

I thought maybe she might have sent me a text message and I just didn't hear my phone go off since it was on silent from being in class. So I lazily pulled my phone out of my pocket to see that I was getting a call RIGHT THEN from Alpha Phi Omega, the group with whom I interviewed for a job just last Friday.

I wasn't as excited as I was confused. They told me they weren't expecting to make a decision for another couple of weeks yet because they had two others to interview.

The gal on the other end simply asked if I had any medical conditions that would prevent me from doing the job, to which I replied no I don't... and then out of nowhere she says "Oh, well then we'd like to offer you the position."

My brain stopped. Or maybe my heart. Or maybe both. I don't know. I don't even think I responded right away. I was still processing what was happening. After my brain rebooted, I was able to accept the position.

Right then, my roommate pulled in next to me and just looked at me and knew. We silently freaked out and jumped up and down, right there in our parking lot.

So, here's the skinny on the job. It's with Alpha Phi Omega, a national service fraternity that I've been heavily involved with at Drake. The national office needed a field representative (that's me) to go around the country, visit chapters, and help them with leadership development, recruitment, starting new chapters... that sort of thing.

It's a salaried position with benefits, which is music to my ears.

I'm incredibly excited to get started. APO is something I've dedicated a lot of time to as an undergrad, and I'm thrilled at the opportunity to travel around sharing my enthusiasm and strengthening other chapters to make the APO experience better for all brothers involved.

I'm walking on air right now... it's a huge burden that's been lifted.

26 days and counting

Mood: sluggish

Happy thought: cardinals!

Really, school? You're going to happen today? You suck.

Love,

Meagan

27 days and counting

Mood: *Grumble*

Happy thought: Ibuprofen

I don't drink, but I highly suspect this is what a hangover might feel like. I suppose 2.5 hours of sleep would have been better than none.

I'm sure that's true... but it was worth it.

28 days and counting

Mood: drained... thank you, mr. sun and excessive walking... oh, and staying up all night.

Happy thought: Festivals!

Yesterday after my job interview in Missouri, I drove straight to Ames to go to Iowa State University for their VEISHEA celebration. It's basically like the Drake Relays, only minus the athletic events, and multiplied by about 8,000. Iowa State pretty much just celebrates itself with a giant week-long festival that people flock to from ALL over the place.

Anyway, I was invited to join some friends from the ISU chapter of APO for the weekend, so I thought I'd go check it out.

Friday night was interesting. We saw some trippy magician guy who did all sorts of mind-blowing card tricks (which is impressive in and of itself, right? I mean, who's impressed by card tricks these days?) and then saw a man called "The Regurgitator" which was appalling and captivating all at the same time. He swallowed live gold fish and then spit them back up, still alive. He swallowed a cup of sugar, drank a glass of water, then brought the sugar back dry. I dunno, the list of weirdness goes on. Check him out on YouTube (Stevie Starr the regurtigator).

We were out until about 3am, but a couple of us had to be up at 5:30 to help set up a booth for Saturday activities. I was spending the night in Derek's apartment, but we convinced ourselves it would be pointless to sleep for only 2.5 hours, and instead stayed up talking. I have no real idea of what we talked about, exactly. We were both kind of out of it and probably half asleep, but we kept the convo going anyway, somehow.

We each got a quick nap, though, when the other person was in the shower. But fifteen minutes doesn't much count.

The day was fun anyway, despite being dead tired. Apparently VEISHEA has these famous baby cherry pies. Like you can't go to VEISHEA and not get one. They sell out super fast and the demand is crazy high. So I ate one (it was tasty - which is saying something because I'm not a huge cherry fan), thus I am able to legitimize my VEISHEA experience.

Derek and I were also able to separate ourselves from the group and go watch the VEISHEA parade (which was a whopping two hours - crazy!). And that was our first date (yes, you may "awww" if you'd like), so that was fun.

Most of the rest of the day was spent with a bunch of other ISU kids visiting booths and checking stuff out and enjoying the gorgeous weather. I really enjoyed myself. It was kind of like a baby Iowa State Fair. And I got to see LOADS of dogs, so that was a bonus.

We had to tear down the booth we were in charge of at 5ish and then I went home shortly after (since I hadn't been home since Thursday) and it was probably incredibly stupid for me to make that drive as tired as I was. It wasn't safe at all. I made it, but I'll never do that again.

So, if you get a chance ever, hit up VEISHEA. If for no other reason than to hang out on a MASSIVE campus that is absolutely gorgeous in the springtime.

29 days and counting

Mood: OMG! ONE MONTH!
Happy thought: OMG! ONE MONTH!

Today was my job interview for the field rep position with Alpha Phi Omega, my service fraternity, and I'm THRILLED to say I think it went really well. I have a really good feeling about it.

I interviewed all day and met with a variety of people and was able to ask LOTS and lots of questions to find out more about the position, which was great. I feel like I have a much better idea of what's expected of me.

They actually gave me a sheet with all the information about salary and benefits, which was nice because I knew I had to ask about it and was feeling really awkward. So that definitely saved me.

Even if nothing comes from this trip as far as a job is concerned, I'm really proud of myself that I even made it to this step in the process. AND I got to see where all the APO magic happens which was TOTALLY cool in a nerdy way.

There are two other candidates coming in for interviews in the next week or two, so I have to just sit and wait and keep my fingers crossed. I hate waiting, but it's at least a bit comforting to know that I've literally done all I can do to get the job and now it's entirely out of my hands.

30 days and counting

Mood: excited
Happy thought: road trips

Today I took a bit of a road trip down south to Independence, Missouri, home of the Alpha Phi Omega national office, for my job interview. The interview itself isn't until tomorrow, but I'm spending the night in the hotel tonight so I can head over to the office bright and early tomorrow morning.

I've been full of nervous energy all day. It's a bit better now that I'm actually here, but I'm still feeling pretty antsy, though tired. I don't doubt I'm going to crash pretty soon. And that will be a good thing; I want to be well rested for tomorrow.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

31 days and counting

Mood: sick
Happy thought: tissues with Vicks (omg, get them)

Four years ago when I was just a wee freshman magazine major, a TV show called Ugly Betty debuted on ABC. It followed a young post-college gal (America Ferrera) as an entry-level assistant at a major fashion magazine in New York. She was overweight and was a bit outlandish with her outfit choices, which made her a fish out of water. But she worked hard and proved herself consistently ... so on and so forth.

No idea why that sort of show would appeal to me... haha.

Anyway, it's ending. After four years, ABC is pulling the plug on one of the quirkiest, most original television shows I've ever seen. It's sad. I also can't help but feel that the timing is a little weird. The show was on four years - it began almost immediately after I came to Drake, and will end only days before I leave.

I get it's a TV show. I do. I'm not one of those crazy people who gets obsessively attached to shows or characters or whatever, but Betty and her gang struck a chord with me. It was kind of encouraging to see this gal struggle and overcome obstacles in the world of magazines while I was studying all those very same things in school. I understand that her experience isn't exactly real, and it's likely over-dramatized, but that doesn't mean it wasn't based in some sort of reality.

She had to change and grow and really decide what was important to her. She had to make goals and chase dreams and make difficult decisions. She had to sell out then make it right. She had to figure out her priorities and stand up for herself. She had to prove herself. She had to fail. Not at all unlike what most of us are going through right now.

On the show lately Betty has been keeping a blog for the kind of writing she wants to be doing (since she doesn't want to spend her whole life in fashion) and the whole motivation behind it is to inspire someone. And, you know what? She did.

Betty Suarez, a person who doesn't even technically exist in our reality, has inspired me. The show is wrapping up so she's starting to consider all these major life-changing options and things, and I feel like I'm doing the same on some level. Watching her is like a reminder that it's time to be brave and take that next step with confidence, even if we don't know what's waiting for us when we do. So thanks for that, Betty.

32 days and counting

Mood: weird
Happy thought: Open windows

I'm in a bit of a weird mood today and I really don't know quite how to describe it.

32 days is not a long time. In fact, it's a very short time. It's like... blink-and-you'll-miss-it short.

School has been going well. The fight against apathy has its good days and bad ones, but generally I'm able to keep my head above water. I'm prepared for the plunge into finals week.

Socially things are awesome. I spend a lot of time with friends. I've been traveling all over the place lately. I was in STL for Easter and went to MN and Vegas for spring break and then a couple of weeks before that I went to University of Iowa in Iowa City. Heck, I even have a date this weekend.

Professionally I don't have any complaints. Thursday I'm leaving for a job interview in Independence, which is about all I can think about. I'm in love with the idea of the job and hope to do really well. I'm nervous about it, but I tend to do well during face-to-face interviews so I think I'll be ok.

So I can't really put my finger on it. I just think it might be the overall reality that in a few short days I will no longer have school in my life. And I'm not just talking about Drake or college and that sort of thing. School has been the primary institution in my life for the past 16 years. That's like 80% of my entire life. That's where I've spent most of my time. That's how I met all of my friends. That's where I learned the most about myself and the world around me. And without it, I kind of expect to feel and odd sort of emptiness.

33 days and counting

Mood: peaceful
Happy thought: leaves on the trees

I've been thinking about the idea of "stumbling around" a lot lately. I had a professor tell us (a room full of weary seniors) that it's totally ok to stumble around after graduation. You know something? She's right. Then again, she always is.

Type A people like me are kind of terrified of the idea of stumbling around because that means we have to learn how to go with the flow and be totally open-minded to things we would normally not consider and deal with the fact that our whole lives aren't planned out to the very last detail.

I'm tired of being afraid of stumbling around, so I decided not to be anymore. I decided that a while ago, and I'm much better off for it. In fact, I'm kind of excited by the idea of getting to stumble around for a while. That's how you find stuff, right? That's how you learn and grow and discover and experience things, right?

I think so.

So I'm happy to say I'm no longer afraid to stumble. I greet the opportunity with open arms and an open mind.

34 days and counting

Mood: eh
Happy thought: no homework

I met some people today and as part of my standard college introduction, had to include my major as part of my information. Frankly, I feel like we should all just have baseball cards or something with our pictures and stats on the back.

Meagan Savage:
Home state: Colorado
Year: Senior
Major: Magazine journalism and English

Man, it would make my life easier. Anyway, today I didn't even introduce myself as a journalism major at all; I was just an English major. It made me kind of sad afterward.

I'm not taking any journalism classes this semester because I'm, like, done with them all. It's a really bizarre feeling. In a lot of ways it does really feel like I'm not a journalism student anymore.

That's not a good thing, either. I want to feel like a budding journalist again.

35 days and counting

Mood: exhausted
Happy thought: being outside

I think it might be true what they say about good things happening all at once.

36 days and counting

Mood: contemplative

Happy thought: love :)

Depending on where you are geographically, it may or may not be news to you that WBC is coming to campus tomorrow. The Westboro Baptist Church, that is. And, for those who still don't know who or what that is, it's a small but incredibly vocal group of individuals under the leadership of Fred Phelps who protest soldiers' funerals and stand on street corners with classy and tasteful signs like "God hates fags" and "God bless dead soldiers." Things like that.

They're coming in the first place because Drake is hosting a symposium regarding the issue of same-sex marriage, which was legalized in Iowa last April. The event itself seems to be a rather standard gathering of civil differences in opinion.

Alas, it caught the attention of Mr. Phelps and his fam, so for about 40 minutes in the early morning tomorrow, our campus (rather, the street across from campus) will be infiltrated with people spewing tactless, vulgar, repugnant, reprehensible, downright vile messages of hate.

You know, I'm a journalist, so I love the first amendment by nature. But... these guys...

Anyway, Drake students weren't too pleased with the news. Not too pleased at all. So, we're exercising our rights, too. We're forming a counter-protest. A peaceful one, of course, to avoid hideous legal ramifications like the father of late Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder who was ordered to pay the WBC's court fees after he sued them for invasion of privacy when they picketed his son's funeral. Nothing short of ridiculous.

So far, I'm really impressed with the level of organization that's being put into this thing. It's entirely student-run; President Maxwell sent out a memorandum a couple of days ago addressing the group's presence and how we should conduct ourselves if we choose to participate in the counter-protest. Drake gets a gold star for this one, I think.

I saw this video a while ago and loved this guy's approach to the WBC. The video caught on all over the Drake network on Facebook, so I believe the plan is to also raise money for local organizations and groups that support the gay and jewish communities (they're also hitting a couple of synagogues after they're done at Drake). A couple of kids had some t-shirts made, the proceeds of which are also going to these organizations.

I'm really interested to see how all this plays out. I've heard before that a couple of times the WBC didn't even show up to protest. Personally, I haven't yet decided if I'll go to the counter-protest. I did, however, buy a shirt (which is really cool - it's the state of Iowa and on it it says "Anything hate can do, love can do better") since the profits were going to worthy causes. Shouting back and forth at the WBC for 40 minutes doesn't seem like it'll do much good, and I mostly think they WANT people to get this riled up about them. They WANT this kind of attention, so part of me thinks the best way to handle them is to not handle them at all.

That and I'm not sure I can be in the presence of evil without throwing up. And I really hate throwing up.

37 days and counting

Mood: content, though tired
Happy thought: ladybugs

Tonight I practically went medieval on my apartment in an attempt to find my mailbox key that has been missing for the last couple of days. It's a tiny, thin silver key that has a knack for slipping between couch cushions and things.

We even put it on a penguin key chain so we could keep better track of it and gave it a nice little home on a shelf by the door, but, alas, it has managed to go missing anyway.

Without it, I haven't been able to check mail, of course. And, despite the fact that I'm sure that all the mail (if there's any at all) will mostly consist of local ads and a variety of questionable credit card offers, knowing I can't check mail is driving me crazy. I check mail like it's my job... and now I can't.

Oddly, this is coming only a week or so after my laundry card went missing. It also has a nice little home on a shelf by my front door, but somehow managed to wander away. I couldn't live without it after a few days and caved and bought a new one.

I'm sure they're hanging out somewhere together.

38 days and counting

Mood: excited
Happy thought: good morning text messages

Next week I have an interview at the Alpha Phi Omega national office in Independence, Missouri for a field rep position I applied for a few weeks ago. See previous posts for more details on that.

Anyway, I'm beyond excited about it. In fact, it's all I can think about. My brain is constantly in Independence. Which I realize is bad because my body is in Des Moines and has plenty to focus on here in Iowa.

But the more I think about this job, the more perfect it seems. First - It's APO, something I've put all of myself into as an undergrad at Drake. I had a variety of leadership positions (including president), I spend every weekend doing APO something or other, I'm constantly talking about it or thinking about it... I'm just crazy in love with it.

The job is really heavily travel-based, which is really exciting to me. Lately I've been feeling incredibly restless. Like I don't want to sit at the same desk every day and do the same job every day and make the same commute every day. But this job doesn't have that. It seems like it's full of different people and places and new experiences and I love that. It'll give me an opportunity to continue to participate in something I love beyond all imaginable reason AND help me feel like I'm experiencing things... win-win, I think.

39 days and counting

Mood: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy thought: tassels

Um. Holy COW! Is it just me, or does it seem like 39 is A LOT less than 40??? OMG! 39 DAYS! THAT'S INSANE!!!!!

I'm apt to freak out. It's not a bad freak out, though. It's good. I promise. But, really??? 39 days!? That's like... a month. Ok, it's more than that. But not MUCH more than that.

I have so much to dooooooooo until then. And I don't want to dooooooooooooo any of it. Sometimes I do, but sometimes I don't.

Ah, I'm so conflicted. And I'm full of this weird nervous energy all the time. Like I totally want to rock school for the next few weeks and go full steam ahead, but then I usually channel it into something stupid like dancing like a fool in my apartment than into school work. Then by the time I'm tired of dancing, I can barely stay awake to do school work. So... that's weird.

I'm just antsy. And excited. And kind of crazy.

40 days and counting

Mood: care-free... in a bad way
Happy thought: cozy sweatpants

Goooodnesssssss.... it'll never just be over, will it? The longest five weeks of my life....

41 days and counting

Mood: grateful
Happy thought: spring :)

So, today, obviously, is Easter. Happy Easter to you all :) Or, if you're not into the Easter thing, happy first Sunday in April. Or happy spring time. Or happy Gorge Yourself on Chocolate Day. Take your pick.

I'm at a friend's house in STL this weekend and having a delightful time. Her family is A LOT like my family which is really awesome. I've been missing my family quite a lot lately, so it is nice to spend time with people who remind me of them.

Anyway, lately I've been having really weird "what a difference a year makes" sort of moments. Like... a lot of them. But today I was just really slapped in the face with it.

Toward the end of last school year and all through the summer I had a really rough time with... everything. For every reason I could list out for you, I'd feel like there are four or five more reasons I just can't put my finger on. A lot happened at once and I didn't exactly handle it well... if I handled it at all, really.

But it all seemed to kind of start last Easter, so to find myself sitting in church again for Easter 2010 was a great relief. Trust me, I wasn't always convinced I'd make it.

I just sat in church and thought about everything that happened and didn't happen and changed and didn't change in the past year and it's really astounding. Again, there isn't a whole lot I can put my finger on, but things are so different now. For one thing, I feel tremendously happy. But also more... grown up, mature. I'm stronger, I'm smarter.

They say Easter and springtime are all about rebirth and, not to be corny or whatever, but in that moment I truly felt reborn. Like maybe I needed this Easter to make me reflect on everything really extensively so I can, at long last, close that chapter and start on a clean page.

It sounds weird, I know.

42 days and counting

Mood: should have worn sunscreen
Happy thought: animals :)

Today I went to the St. Louis zoo with my friend Julia. We went with her little brother, Will, who's in high school. He's 16 and while we were there, we hooked up with a group of his friends.

They're all super nice and funny and adorable in a high school way, but I couldn't help but feel so old in that twenty minutes I was standing there. They were talking about Mr. History Teacher and Ms. English Teacher and Crazy Sports Coaches and I just felt like I aged fifty years.

And they way they were talking about all of it was like it was the center of their whole life and crucial to their very happiness which, of course, it is. When you're in high school, high school is all that matters. Which makes sense.

Not that it's all that different in college. College is all that matters when you're in college, too. It's just a different set of stuff that matters. That's not to mention that college offers you that amazing perspective on high school that really makes you think "Goodness, why was all of that stuff THAT important to me?"

43 days and counting

Mood: dead
Happy thought: driving music :)

Ok, so... I kind of feel like getting 3 hours of sleep on Thursday night, working all day Friday, and then leaving immediately after you get off at 5:30 to make the 6-hour drive to St. Louis is an incredibly bad choice.