If I Could Love Someone Like I Love Music, I Would Live Happily Ever After

Warped Tour 2012:)

Warped Tour...the epic day of all days and quite possibly one of the best days I have had all summer. And you know it has to be great when I can say that and I have even been to Europe and back this summer. It started out on a sour note though when we had to sit in traffic for OVER an hour to only drive a mile and a half. Yep that was ridiculous. And we did miss out on a band that both of us wanted to see but besides that it was wonderful. Amazing. Absolutely breathtaking. You get the point. I was able to crowd surf TWICE and in the process lost a bracelet and the top of my belly button ring but it was so worth it. We also had the front row for one of my favorite bands ever, We The Kings. I wish all I could do all summer was travel with the bands and go to every single show. Maybe instead of being a wedding planner, I should just plan concerts all day and then attend them all. What an idea.

Crowd surfing like a fool

 Anyway, this morning I had to take my best friend to the airport. What a sad, sad day. This time she teared up a little when she was heading towards the gate. I held it in..I don't know how but I did. The rest of the day was rather depressing, and I really haven't felt more ready to go home. I have two and a half weeks left and I sure hope they go by fast or else I'm driving myself home early. Missing the Midwest:/

       

Life Without a Best Friend would be Pointless

I know there has not been a blog post in a few days but I have been constantly moving all weekend. I showed up at the airport to pick up my best friend from the airport Friday afternoon. I decided to make a sign for her purely because she had jokingly suggested it in a Facebook status and I thought to myself "That's a great idea because she won't be expecting it!!" It ended up being an obnoxious hot pink color with pictures of us through the years glued to it. I think most people only expect to see signs when a soldier comes home but you would not believe the smiles and compliments I got when they read it:)

That's one phenomenal airport sign if I do say so myself

Of course as soon as I saw her, we started running at each other like a dramatic scene from a movie and thankfully neither of us broke anything when we collided. Here is once again another example of how I am becoming more like my mom everyday because I was bawling and she wasn't. I'm an embarrassment. I took her to my friend's country house for the weekend. That ended up being pretty tragic after someone fell off the zip line and broke his neck and back in three places.

We do look like thieves don't we??

After that we headed to my house only to have the neighbor suspect us of breaking in and called the cops. It was basically the worst Saturday I have had thus far. Thank the great lord that Sunday ended up being one of the best days I have ever had this summer. We took a road trip to Virginia Beach and it was beautiful! Not only was the weather perfect but the water didn't smell bad like the other beaches I have been to on the easy coast so far. At night, the city pays for performers so we heard some live music and watched flame throwers, hiphop dancers, and trapeze artists perform in the street. At 10:00, they shot off fireworks above the beach as we all stood on the shore and watched. It was pretty romantic minus the fact that her boyfriend wasn't there and I don't have one haha. I think the DC Award for the day has to go to the man who used the pick up line "I'm here ladies, what are your next two wishes?" he was gross. There was another terrible line used but it is far too inappropriate to put on this blog because my family is reading it but let's just say I faced forward and basically ran away when he said it.

We spent all day Monday in DC and I showed her all the monuments. Sandals and flip slops are terrible for the amount of walking we did. She is limping now and I think I have like five new blisters. It's gross, I know. We got some really great pictures though and it was still a very successful day. I am glad that I have gotten to know DC as a resident would because there is only so much sightseeing to do and then you run out of touristy things to do. Tomorrow is the big day I have been waiting for all summer! WARPED TOUR!!! My dream come true would be to crowdsurf again, get a million autographs, and get married to the lead singer of any of the bands there. I'm seriously crossing my fingers for the last one haha especially bc I threw two coins into the Trevi Fountain which means I'm getting married within the year so hopefully this happens...

Fall in Love With a Nerd...

It is an already overwhelmingly hot Wednesday morning here in our nation's capital. It also did not help that the metro was packed so that you could barely feel the air conditioning. My office is cool, though, and I have a glass of ice cold water so things are looking up. Nothing too exciting has happened since my last post. I have a presentation tonight that I am not entirely ready for but I have the next 8 hours to prepare. I do have an article I would like to share with my readers. It's called Date A Girl Who Reads by Rosemarie Urquico.
http://littlemissdorkette.tumblr.com/post/3118512524/date-a-girl-who-reads-by-rosemarie-urquico
I got it from my cousin a few months ago and I had forgotten about it until today. Rather than fall asleep on the metro which I do most mornings, this article inspired me to write instead, so here it is.

Fall In Love With a Nerd

1. Fall in love with a nerd because there will always be someone to share a study room with.
2.She is far less concerned with how you look than what is on your mind.
3. Fall in love with a nerd because she probably games harder than you do.
4. For safety purposes - she knows what to do if there were ever a zombie apocalypse, and she knows all the spells if dark wizards really do take over the world.
5. You will never stand in long lines with her at outlet malls - instead she might make you wait while she scans the bookshelves at every library in town and even the next town over.
6. The only team she was ever on was either the debate team or the math team so you will never feel emasculated by her athletic abilities.
7. Fall in love with a nerd because she probably looks good in her glasses which is a good thing because someday she will be too old to wear contacts.
8. Yes, she is going to stress over her next exam A LOT but you would rather hear all about her calculus equations than the latest gossip on E!
9. The heaviest baggage she carries with her is her book bag.
10. She is not the type to talk your ear off because she has sat through multiple tests like the ACT- she appreciates the silence.
11. Fall in love with a nerd because you won't have to share her with the jocks and frat boys on campus - the number of her GPA is probably much higher than the amount of boys she has ever been with.
12. She was never a spoiled beauty pageant toddler but instead was in far more spelling bees than she can count.
13. She had braces and headgear and bad acne too - she knows what it's like to be unpopular but has embraced who she is.
14. The messiest part of her room is not her closet but her desk - she is far more proud of her collection of letters of recommendations and honor roll certificates than the amount of shoes and purses she has.
15. Fall in love with a nerd because she is going to be successful - all of those AP classes and extracurriculars are going to pay off and as long as you can accept that she might make more money than you, you will never be hungry or homeless.

She Flies With Her Own Wings.

Happy Monday everyone! I do not understand why this day seems to wear me out the most because I never have work on Mondays. I went to a Networking event today for my program. This was nerve wrecking at first because I am the Queen of Awkwardness. Like really, I just stood in the same spot for like ten minutes but then after I talked to the first professional there, it got much easier. I got at least five business cards and a bunch of potential connections to event planners which was really exciting. People pass out business cards like candy here. I haven't handed out one yet. Fail on my part. People even have personal business cards that they give out at social venues like bars when they meet people. This might be old fashioned but I refuse to call/ text/ friend you on Facebook if you give me your business card. Court me like a gentleman please and don't treat me like a business transaction. Okay thanks.
One of the ladies I met at the event tonight was telling me that there is this organization in DC that hosts speed networking events. So it is like speed dating except with professionals...I guess it could be fine OR it would be extremely weird haha. After the networking, I met up with my group from class to finish our presentation on the Peace Corps which we have to give on Wednesday. One of the group members was talking about this horrifying experience she had back home. For privacy purposes, I am not going to offer details but lets just say I was so tempted to just give her a huge hug, and I hardly know this girl. I also was very close to crying. Basically, I just am so thankful that I have not been through anything like that.
Well it wouldn't be a typical blog post from me if I didn't mention food haha. Today is a very important day because I tried sushi for the first time! And I am addicted!!!! It was so good:)

Shrimp Sushi...the only thing that would make this more legit is if I could actually use chopsticks.

Anyway, I only have three days of work this week and then one of my best friends from back home will be here to visit me:) We have a very busy agenda ahead of us so I know I will wear her out by the time she heads home. All I can say is that the next three days better go by fast or else!

Soul Music and Road Trips...Life is Good

Ocean City...the city of the ocean..lo and behold the Atlantic to be exact

Beach, beach, beach, I absolutely love the beach!! This just reinforces why I am destined to live in California. We attempted to get up and leave by 7:30 this morning. It was more like 8:30 but in our defense we had some errands to run first. The drive there was not as bad as I anticipated. The bridge crossing to the island part of Maryland only took about 45 minutes to get across which I know sounds terrible but I had been warned it could take almost 5 hours.

I have to say it was a pretty cool looking bridge, and the view was fantastic so I really would not have minded being stranded on it for a while. My car would not have liked it though. We got to the beach around noon. On a side note, there are a few things I learned today. Harriet Tubman was born in Maryland and Oreos have been around for 100 years. Hooray for random knowledge! Anyways, the beach was so nice. For some reason the beaches on the East coast all seem to smell kind of funny but it was significantly better than the beach in Jersey.

When we arrived, the lifeguards had just closed the beach because they had seen lightening but we didn't have to wait long. The sun even came out about an hour later, and I got sun burnt because I had expected it to be cloudy and rainy all day. I also hate sunscreen...oh well. The weather here is so bipolar. We also swam in the ocean twice, and I got way to much salt water in my mouth but it was such a great day. The actual road trip was fun too because we did not get lost once (go me) and we jammed out to all types of soulful music, singing it at the top of our lungs. Overall, it was one of the best weekends I have spent here this summer! Next weekend should be awesome too because my best friend from grade school is coming to visit. We will most likely be going back to the beach so stay posted for more beach pictures!

Can you intern as a food taster? That would be the Life.

Sometimes I feel as if I only use this blog to talk about all the food I eat here. What a fatty...but anyway I did go to this amazing restaurant last night! It is called Founding Farmers..yes you heard me right, not fathers but farmers. And the food was AMAZING! This has got to be the only place I have ever heard of that serves waffles, fried chicken, and macaroni and cheese all on one plate. What a glorious combination! And they even have fresh homemade lemonade which is always a win in my book. To top it all off, we had red velvet cake for dessert and I brought most of it home so it'll last for a few more days because it was HUGE. The best part was that dinner was all paid for by my lovely university. Thanks Truman:) I can't believe I am admitting this but I am missing school a little. Everyone at dinner was all from my college and after talking about it for over two hours, you kind of remember why you love it so much. It takes a special person to go to Truman. Yes, yes, yes I do my fair share of complaining when finals come around or when I just don't possibly think I can take anymore stress but there really is no other school that would have fit for me like this one does. Once a nerd, always a nerd:)

Best Restaurant Ever..besides Olive Garden of course

I can't believe that tomorrow is already Thursday and that this week is over halfway finished. It seems to go faster and faster now that I only have a month left in DC. I was asked today what the best thing has been that I have done here so far and I am not exactly sure how to answer that. I have had so many random experiences, and if it weren't for this blog I probably would have forgotten half of them already.
Now onto the agenda for the rest of this week! I have class tonight, and we are just watching a movie so that won't be too bad. On Thursday, I am either going out to dinner again with people from school or going to an alumni event...also with people from school..so yay for Truman Thursday! And this weekend is HOPEFULLY the super exciting road trip to the beach..which beach you might ask? We have it narrowed down between Ocean City and Virginia Beach. It is rather exciting to actually have beach options as opposed to being in Missouri where the closest thing to a beach is the sand by the lake at Thousand Hills. I would like to clarify that a state park in the middle of the forest CANNOT claim to have a beach! I also apologize for the lack of pictures in this post because everyone loves pictures but I will take more this weekend...promises!
I have a few small DC awards to give out today and once again sorry because there aren't any pictures to accompany them. For starters, thank you red umbrella sporting the Denny's logo that I borrowed from work yesterday because it looked a little overcast. Although your breakfast selection and food service is questionable, your rain gear is not so thanks for that. I was slightly irritated at first because it was the size of a walking stick and annoying to carry around but when it started down-pouring like a hurricane I was glad I had it.
The other award goes out to the man on the Zamboni-type machine in the metro station. My cousin and I used to have a certain soft spot for the guy who drove the Zamboni in the middle of all the hockey games we used to go to...and really who wouldn't?! He kind of resembled Prince Charming on his gallant steed except he wasn't wearing armor and his machine had a lot more horsepower...get it?? Horsepower..ahhh I crack myself up. Anyway, thank you metro Zamboni for bringing back some good memories.
Final comment for today: I interviewed an operations manager out of Chicago today who plans events with a Destination Management company. She told me that honestly event planners do not make much money..sorry parents..but as long as you love planning events then it's worth it. She also said her company takes interns. Wellllll spending summer 2013 in Chicago doesn't sound too bad to me:)

Remember, No One is Invincible

Hello hello hello! It has been a lazy day in DC. It rained a little today...much less than I was hoping for. Sometimes you just want it to be a rainy/ stormy day so that you can just curl up on the couch and do nothing. I did go see the movie Magic Mike today. It was just as wonderful as I was hoping it would be and anyone who has seen it knows exactly what I mean. I will definitely be purchasing the deluxe edition when it comes out on DVD;) Work last week was rough. My concentration level was dangerously low so I'm hoping that this week is better.

On Friday night, I went to the Marine Evening Parade. It was a lot longer than I thought it would be but it was really cool to watch. There were Marine wives and girlfriends sitting around me, and it is so funny because they have come so many times that they know everything about the parade and even a lot about Marine Corps. history. The Silent Drill Platoon was really cool because they flip their guns around and do creative tricks. I was so scared someone was going to mess up but they were all so in sync the entire time.

On Saturday morning, I went on a tour of Du Pont Circle which is an area of DC known as the Gay & Lesbian Neighborhood or "Gay-borhood" as it is called for short. Clever haha. We learned a lot about its history and important landmarks found within the neighborhood. The picture above is of the metro exit at Du Pont. Engraved is part of a poem by Walt Whitman, not only because he was obviously a very well-known poet but he was also gay. I have had multiple literature classes where we discussed his work but I had never known that about him. The first Gay Pride parade was held in this neighborhood as well. I also found out that there are typically neighborhoods like this in major cities. Maybe sometime I will check out the one in St. Louis or Kansas City just to learn about their history.
Anyways that is about all I have to report today. I just want to give a shout out to my family back home. I will be seeing you in a month:) Yipppeeee!