Hey Abe..Wanna be the Mascot of my School?

2013 Congressional Baseball Game

Last night I went to the Congressional Baseball Game. It was honestly the most interesting baseball game I have ever been to. It sort of reminded me of going to a game with a bunch of fraternity boys from a really big southern school because most people came from work so the guys were wearing button downs and khaki pants...really fratty. Some were even in suits and I felt terrible for them because it was so hot. I myself was unfortunate enough to be wearing pants so you can only imagine how ready I was to jump in the shower when we left. We even made it on the crowd cam or whatever it is called! We had actually been watching it and making fun of everyone's expressions and then it was suddenly pointing at us and one of my co-workers screamed haha. I'm sure we were the ones being made fun of then. I even got to meet Ron Paul which was very exciting!

Ron Paul...so adorable

The best part of the game were the mascots, hands down. Oh my god. I'm including a picture but the quality is pretty bad because they were so far away. Just imagine plush Abe Lincoln, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson with huge heads and that's what they looked like.

I kinda wanna switch school mascots now. How do the Truman State Abe Lincolns sound to you guys?

Last night was great too because I ran into so many people I knew. It really is a small world and even in big cities you surprisingly run into many more familiar faces than you would think. I am excited to get off work tonight because my cousin and I are going to see the movie Brave! It works out perfectly because she loves Scotland and I love gingers so we should both be really satisfied haha. Tomorrow I am hopefully going to the DC United soccer game! So many sports in so little time!

On a more serious note, I wasn't homesick at all until yesterday. There have been three people now in the past week who have passed away back home. I didn't personally know any of them really well but it just makes me want to be near my family. I am experiencing new and exciting things everyday but this makes me take a step back and realize that I shouldn't take anything or anyone for granted. I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such amazing friends and family.

It Doesn't Get More Random Than This...

Good morning! It has been a few days since I have written and I know you all are in dire need of an update so here it is! Tuesday night my aunt came into town and took my cousin and I out to dinner. We went to this little wine bar a few blocks from my work called Cork. The food was seriously the best thing I have ever eaten in my life and you know this is not an exaggeration when I even thought the asparagus tasted good. My favorite was the avocado toast which my cousin had been telling me about for a week. Naturally, I included a picture so you can all just visualize how epic it really was.

Behold the Avocado Toast

While on my way to Cork, I walked past this sign on the wall across the street. Sorry the quality is pretty awful, but I thought that if it was meant to be graffitti then it was the most inspiring graffitti I had ever seen. It basically just looks like a chalkboard that says "Before I die..." and then tons of people wrote all over it with things they wanted to do before they died. There was so much writing on it that people had written over other people's thoughts. It just looked crazy. But it was also really cool to see that there are so many driven people here who took the time to write down items from their Bucket List on this wall. Someone wrote "YOLO" off to the side, though, which kind of killed it so I made sure to crop that out.

Okay so that was Tuesday. Yesterday, which was Wednesday, I had work and then went to class. Not a very exciting day I know. We were able to get out of class an hour and a half early, though, because my professor had house guests. Yay for that! Classes for three hours really should have been a concept that was never created but surprisingly this class does keep me interested for that long. The main problem is that I always get hungry right in the middle of it and I, of course, never have food with me. After class, I went home and Skyped my family and that was great!

And today is Thursday morning and I found out that I have the opportunity to go to the Congressional Baseball game tonight!!! Although I am not a huge baseball fan, this should be interesting, because in case you didn't know, it is a game played by members of Congress to raise money for charities. And I even read online that sometimes the President goes! I'm crossing my fingers that Obama is there because that would be awesome to at least be in the same stadium as him! That's all for now but hopefully I am able to get a few good pictures for you all so check in later!

Love Conquers Hate

The Human Rights Campaign Headquarters

Today was such a long day. It is kind of embarrassing to admit that it is only 8:33 p.m. and I feel like I could fall asleep right now. I even took a short nap today! This morning I went to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Headquarters for a few presentations about what they do as a whole and what some of the committees within the organization do as well. I was so impressed. They have a political committee, a family and children committee, and a religion and faith committee along with many others. It is important to note that although they do advocate for LGBT rights, they also fight for basic rights for all humans which include job protection, safety, and the right to have a family. I couldn't believe that there are people who are actually fired from their jobs because they are gay. How sad. I was most impressed with the religion and faith part of HRC because that has to be one of the most challenging areas to fight for equality. One of their main arguments is that the two most important commandments are "Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and Love your neighbor as yourself" so you should be accepting of your neighbor even if you do not agree with their sexuality. I think many people forget that second commandment and they are quick to judge those who they have been told to believe are leading a life of sin. The religion and faith committee also believes that all people have the right to love whoever they choose while also having the right to their same beliefs. How powerful! After the presentation, I walked to the HRC clothing store and bought this shirt in support of LGBT communities:)

Love Conquers Hate

I had a presentation about leadership later in the afternoon which was rather hard to follow because politics and foreign policy are not my strong points. It only lasted an hour which was great and the commute home was not too crazy. Double bonus! There is not much else I have to say about today just that I hope this week goes by fast because I am so excited for the 4th of July!! Happy Half Xmas everyone:)

Don't Judge! It's Mean.

Beware blog readers, this post may be a litte heavy. I went to the screening tonight of the movie Pariah. It was in this absolutely adorable restaurant named Busboys and Poets. The name is based off of Langston Hughes who was a busboy before he gained recognition as a pretty bomb poet. Cool huh? I went to this particular screening because I am hoping to help out with an organization such as the Human Rights Campaign while I am here in DC to support LGBT rights:) Whoohoo! The movie was about a young girl who is struggling with her sexuality. She is a lesbian but she has to hide it from her mom because she knows she will not accept her for that. It was really intense and I almost cried...almost. It really makes you stop and think about all those people who struggle with who they are and who are afraid to be themselves because others won't accept them. I think that is horrible. There was a line in the movie where her mom says that God doesn't make mistakes and she is referring to the fact that he would never create homosexuals because that would be a mistake. Later the girl says to her dad "Mom says that God never makes mistakes and she's right, he didn't." Wellll the quote was something along those lines...point is I could not agree more. God made everyone INCLUDING homosexuals soooo here's the challenge readers. Lets try really hard to to be accepting of everyone this week:)
Alright that's my serious spiel for tonight. Onto the random stuff! I have a dilemma. I don't know anyone here so who shall I share my sarcastic humor with? Answer: This blog and my readers of course! So I decided I should start giving out some daily or weekly awards to those things or people that I find hysterical, weird, stupid, wonderful, whatever you get my point. For the time being I am calling them the DC Awards for lack of a more creative name but I'll work on it, never you fear. Well we have three winners tonight of said awards so lets announce them!
1. Award Numero Uno goes to the Shell gas station for having the best gas machine card reader response ever. It, like most other card readers, instructed me to insert my card. But instead of saying "remove card quickly" it said "remove card rapidly". Yay for using a new adverb Shell gas station!
2. Award #2 goes to my new pal Marcel from Virginia Beach who approached me after I got off the metro and introduced himself because he and I quote "saw me on the metro, thought I was pretty, and wanted to say hi." What a doll.
3. Finally the best award from the night goes to this lovelyyyyy couple. Not only are you both drunk..riding the metro..on a Sunday night...at 10 p.m. but you sir clearly get the Husband Award for allowing your wife to pass out in your lap while you use her as an arm rest. He proceeded to also jerk awake everytime the metro stopped and the doors opened to squint his eyes at the sign to check which stop we were at and then pass out again. When they finally did reach their stop, he shook his wife awake and tried to get her off the train. She may or may not have completely fallen on her butt on the way out the door so he had to help her up while we all watched. Congrats.

Well that is the end of my awards. I spent the rest of the night jamming to T Swizzle on the way home while not concerned at all that my gas light was on because, hey I like to live on the wild side. Jokes papa bear, I was actually terrified and in a slight panic but dont worry Kia is filled to the brim now so all is well! Night:)

A lot of Tan Going On...Not Much Gym and Laundry..Welcome to the Jersey Shore

Welcome to Atlantic City, NJ...it's kinda like Vegas but with a beach

I am not even sure where to start with this blog post. I am loving summer hours at work because by 4:00 on Friday afternoon I am so ready to call it a day. What I do not love about summer hours is that everyone else has summer hours too so it takes me almost two hours to get home. My car also was letting me know Friday that she didn't like it either. I have had my car for about five years now. She is a blue Kia Spectra that I cleverly named Kia...genius right?...and she of course has a personality of her own...and a gender..clearly. Well sometimes Kia doesn't like to kick into gear when I'm driving on the highway which can be terrifying because I'll be trying to speed up and the engine will sound like it wants to blow up. All you have to do, though, is shut the car off and turn it back on and it's fixed! I have taken her to the mechanic many times to have this checked out but they never find anything so that's the only solution I've found. Well Kia chose Friday evening on my way home to do that exact thing. So what did I do? I just shut my car off...in the middle of traffic...on the four lane interstate heading out of DC. No big deal.

On Saturday, I woke up at 5:45 a.m. (yuck) to get myself up and head to New Jersey! It is always such a stressful commute in the morning because you never know if the metro is going to want to cooperate or not. Well I made it to the bus just fine (charter bus by the way) and we were off! I met a group of girls on the way which was great and a group of Canadians as well. What's funny is this is not the first time I have met a whole group of Canadians this summer. We arrived in Atlantic City four hours later..due to our bus driver needing to stop the bus THREE times to use the bathroom located at the back of the bus AND he took this crazy route through small rural towns which didn't make sense to me either. AC was nice but I don't understand the appeal to gamble. I also am not old enough which could be part of it too. I just don't see the point in punching buttons and hoping you somehow win money. There were also quite a few strip clubs which only added class of course.



I wore animal print to the Jersey shore in case I saw Snooki:)

It was nice to see the beach but it smelled soooo bad. I barely got my feet in because I heard the water was disgusting which was disappointing. I also didn't see anyone from Jersey Shore so that was another disappointment..well kinda haha. I was so worn off by the time we left so I slept some on the bus which is always a challenge. It was even hard trying to stay awake on the metros and my bed never looked better once I finally got home. It was a successful day especially because of all the people I was able to meet and I can check another visited state off of my list!

I don't know where that last train is headed but sounds like a party...



If it Weren't For this Blog, People Would Probably Think I'm Crazy

I bet this crossed your mind today...
"I wonder if I could eat a beefy 5 layer burrito from Taco Bell and walk 7 blocks in 15 minutes"....the answer is yes...yes you can AND you can do it without getting sour cream on your dress. What a successful day! I did get a lot of stares from people walking past me but hey, a girl has to eat. I also had a homeless man tell me he liked that same dress earlier in the day but I guess you can't win them all. That also makes me wonder if I should stop wearing it. Anyways...work today was pretty productive and I had class as well..for three hours...which means I just now am getting home at 11 p.m. Wednesdays are by far the longest days but there is something relaxing about riding the metro home late at night without hardly anyone else on it...my mom would disagree, but I like it. And I had my pepper spray Mom don't worry so it's not like anyone could mess with me anyway. I realize though that it is a good thing I have this blog because I would probably end up talking to myself all day considering I spend quite a bit of time by myself. Just earlier on the metro I was thinking how cool it would be if a flash mob just broke out and started dancing in between all the extremely grumpy looking people on the metro who obviously would rather be anywhere else but there. I always imagine those anti-smoking commercials where it shows how cigarettes have ruined lungs and even people's appearances and how they look so much older than they should except these same commercials feature the metro and how it just makes people look haggard and all wrinkled and depressed after years of riding it. I usually rush upstairs to the bathroom after getting home to make sure my face isn't all droopy or something because I hope I don't have the same expression on my face everyday on the train like some of these people. But back to the flash mob...I imagine them all dancing to "I Want to Break Free" by Queen and it would be amazing and theatrical and then just like that the song would end and they would all exit the train. That would be something. There is also a metro stop called Foggy Bottom which is right next to George Washington University. I change the name in my head every time to the Neville Longbottom stop though because there needs to be more Harry Potter references in this world. See...way too much time by myself to think of these things.

My Wonderful Metro Stop

Nothing else too exciting happened today EXCEPT that I went shopping at Forever 21 for like twenty minutes before class. The store has three levels and a nice man in a suit to greet you at the door as you enter. I thought I had died and gone to heaven...and if heaven really is like that then sign me up for the next trip upstairs because this girl needs some new clothes! But anyways that is all for today. I am off to bed, after eating a few more Twizzlers but surprise, surprise for you here is a Harry Potter quote. You're welcome.

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live" - Albus Dumbledore

Europe!

Europe!, a set on Flickr.

Here are some photos of Belgium and France...more to come:)

"In my mind I'm going to Carolina, Can't you just see the sunshine, Can't you just feel the moonshine..."

View from my desk:)

Good morning D.C. and anyone else who happens to be reading this. It is an overcast Tuesday with a high of 88 degrees today...currently it is 70 outside. I knew today was off to a good start when it only took me 37 minutes to drive the 15 miles from my house to the closest metro stop. This might seem ridiculous but rush hour is rush hour and at least it didn't take me an hour this morning. Another good sign was that my iPod on shuffle delivered a great variety of music this morning so Go iPod!!!...including James Taylor's "Carolina in my Mind" which ended just as I was heading into the building...if you have never heard that song, I suggest looking it up. I also tend to be that girl who will smile at people walking past if we happen to make eye contact, and this morning I got one stranger to return that smile..happy day. I have little else to report but later I will hopefully begin to recap my trip to Europe and add a picture slideshow as well because who doesn't love pictures...am I right? Until then, have a good day readers and fellow bloggers.

“Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow.”

Today was one of the few rainy days we have had so far in D.C. Shocking right? Today was a really great and informative day. As a part of my Media and Communication program through The Washington Center we had panel discussions with ten different professionals in the field of Communication. All of their careers are so diverse which just goes to show you that there is tons of variety in this field and hopefully someday I am able to do a little of everything. I learned some valuable tips today. Most importantly, I was told by not one but THREE different professionals that work experience is more important than grad school!! I couldn't agree more especially with this field because I am going to learn so much more on the job than I will in the classroom. I can always go back and get my Master's degree in a few years if I choose to do so but that will allow me to further explore what I would want to study and I would have a few years of work experience under my belt. Did you hear that Dad? Haha joking of course. One panelist also said that Communication professionals are scared of my generation because of how tech savvy we are especially in regards to social media which he said is threatening because that is really important for communication and marketing these days. Some good pieces of advice we were given were to Be Humble and Have Friends Outside of Our Industry. Both of these are important because as a recent graduate I have to pay my dues and start at the bottom which won't necessarily be fun but it's what I have to do to move up. Also, I have to have a balance and learn how to separate work from other aspects of my life. I think this is important for me to keep in mind now because it is hard to create a balance once you have buried yourself too deep in work all the time. Moving on...after programming, I went to an event held by HIP or Hispanics in Philanthropy. My internship site and events like these have really given me a lot to consider in terms of how minorities are represented in the United States. Besides Hispanics, that also includes women, Asians, African Americans, and so on. I never really took the time before to wonder if we are giving money through grants to the appropriate groups of people and the right amount as well. I also never gave much thought about hiring opportunities for minorities but I do now. I can't believe how much I have learned in only a little over two weeks! I have to help work another event tomorrow hosted by HIP which should be fun:) Only five days until I am on the beach!!

You Can Take The Girl Away from the Country AND You Can Take the Country Out of the Girl...

Jazz in the Garden

End of week 2 in DC and already I feel as if I have always been a city girl. Two things that annoy me now more than anything else are people who do NOT get off the metro quickly and people who stand on the left side of the escalator in the passing lane and block the way to walk up or down! Two weeks ago this wouldn't have bothered me at all. Last night I went to a jazz concert in the Sculpture Garden and it was wonderful! They played for three hours and I talked for probably three hours as well. I met tons of new people but that has now started happening on a daily basis. By the end of the summer though my list of new connections is going to be insane! Also, I love my job:) Yesterday, I went with the other women in my office down the street to the food trucks for lunch. I had my first cupcake from DC and even though it was $3 which is very expensive for a cupcake it was so worth it. I may miss the gelato from Italy but cupcakes from DC might be able to fill that craving. Also, more exciting news!!! I am taking a trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey next weekend! I think I should be diagnosed with an addiction to traveling haha I don't know what I will do when I go back to school and have to actually stay put in the same city for a year. I foresee some random road trips on the weekends because I know I am going to get an itch to go somewhere new. There is also another trip planned to Delaware at the end of July so I would not be surprised if I end up going on that as well. So many new places to see:)

Can I please throw my phone in a river...

Technology can be great but sometimes it is the most frustrating thing ever. Not only am I stuck in traffic for multiple hours a day but then my phone's battery has decided it would like to die after being disconnected from the charger for only two or three hours. This leaves me frantically trying to get home and praying that I don't run into anything or get a flat tire because how will I call anyone? Stupid phone. Besides that, life in DC is good. I had a pretty relaxing weekend hanging out with my cousin and uncle. I also visited one of my high school friends who is stationed here in DC. I went to an Indian restaurant for the first time and ate lamb which I feel terrible about. Today we had Career Boot Camp which meant that we chose two workshops to attend. I chose one about preparing for a job in PR and Marketing and the other workshop was about working in the non-profit sector. Oh my...I realized that I am nowhere near ready to start job searching. They even said that the majority of their tips would be common sense...well to me they weren't. I have a lot of work left to do clearly. It almost makes me want to run off to grad school to avoid that process for a little while...but only ALMOST. There is not much going on for the rest of this week so hopefully I make some headway on my daunting 25 page paper that isn't even started. Yay me

Oh hey DC

Wellll my first week in the nation's capitol has been crazy. I am so sleep deprived because I have to wake up around 6 a.m.and I am NOT used to doing that. It is amazing how fast I have gotten used to life here. The metros are so much easier than the ones in Europe because everything is in English so I understand what is going on haha. I also don't think I have ever felt more independent in my whole life. DC is also not as scary as I thought it would be. Even coming home at night after class does not make me nervous! Hooray! This weekend is the gay pride parade and festival so DC is going to be insane! I am really excited to start volunteering here so I can hopefully meet some people and feel like part of the community here. Now I just need the motivation to do allllll my homework..yuck:/

U-S-A

After two and a half weeks of touring around Europe, our group landed in the United States last Saturday. A few of the guys started chanting U-S-A as our plane's wheels touched down in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a long 10-hr flight and it would be an understatement to say we were relieved that it was over. Only a week has gone by since then and I am currently writing from a hotel room in Winchester, Kentucky-this state is home to the Derby, Bourbon Country, and Bluegrass I have quickly found out. We have another 8 hour drive ahead of us and then I will be moving in to my residence for the next two months-living outside of Washington D.C. with my cousin! In D.C., I will begin my first internship! Scary, but exciting. This blog is going to be a record of things I have done this summer because it is going to be a whole new experience. I am also going to recap things from my European travels because unfortunately I did not have enough Internet there to blog daily. See ya on the East Coast!