LA Wedding Weekend Part Two!

Sorry I kept you on the edge of your seat! I bet you've been waiting for the rest of the wedding story so I'll try to get in as much as I can in this blog post.

I left off at the end of a delicious dinner in LA with the new fam-bam.

Next day was rehearsal dinner but we had all day to just hang out. So what did we do? Go shopping naturally.

It may be an addiction but it's so much fun.

So we went out and had plenty of choices of malls and locations to choose from, it's LA, you can literally get anything you want, they are endless. 

LA is a pretty fun city. Sure, the traffic is bad, you're taking 4 different freeways to maybe go 10miles or sometimes more for less, but it's alive and thriving. So many people and so many sights to see and experience. Another city on my list of places I'd be ok with trying to live in. And as my aunt and uncle live there, it wouldn't be so lonely. (hint hint, I'll be looking for a job next year, you guys!)

After a day of shopping we end up taking the 210, to hwy 34 to I-5 and then the 158 to our hotel (I'm joking, but it does sound like that when locals talk directions) to get ready for the rehearsal dinner.

My sister and I like to plan these events by outfit. So we have a thursday outfit, a brunch outfit, ceremony, casual dinner, fancy dinner etc. etc. But we like to have options too. So what seems like a normal amount of clothes for a weekend wedding that lasts oh about 3 and 1/2 days. Apparently 8 dresses was ok. And then I bought another. This is why it takes us girls over 2 hours to get ready for anything. Because we change our minds a bajillion times and with each change of clothes, our makeup changes and our hair dos and that necklace looks so good with the maxi dress but it clashes with that sun dress…

And it's not like we don't have enough. I had 8 dresses for pete's sake and I still felt the need to get another one. Might as well sign me up for shopaholics anonymous. Care to be my sponsor??

Not the most rational excuse but hey, I'll take it.

We head off to the rehearsal dinner with the fam in tow. It was held on Occidental's campus, and it was a chance for the New Yorkers to meet and mingle with the Californians. 

This group of New Yorkers though…lets just say that while I embody the stereotypical bleach blonde California girl, these folks are every bit of exactly what I think of when I hear 'I'm from New York'.

Nasally accents, loud, boisterous, avid sports fans but only loyal to all that is New York even if it's hockey and they've never watched a single regular season game all year, by gosh, they're the biggest New York Ranger/Yankee/Giants/Nets whatever fans you ever did see and the mood levels go up and down faster than any bipolar person's as the game goes on. Also, herein lies why I mentioned the Jewish deal before. All of them, Jewish. Maybe not all but a lot. And they are cracking jokes about it, and it just adds to the whole scene of Jewish New Yorkers coming to visit their new California Blonde friends and family.

Love is blind and the heart wants what the heart wants. It may have taken Angus to travel 3000 miles away from the biggest city in the country to find love but hey, makes for a cute story line.

But man oh man was it a good time. Meeting Angus's family and friends was great. Most of the people who came out for the big event had been his life long friends. I mean life long. Stories of how they met in 2nd grade and stayed close throughout the years. I don't think I talk to anyone from second grade class or even remember anyone. And the stories they told about how they grew up in the Big Apple, how they came to know Manhattan and Brooklyn better than the back of their hand and all the places they would go and the trouble they would get in. Some seriously awesome stories.

This is how I picture the NewYorkahs (say it in your best New York accent) in their youth- running around the streets of Brooklyn doing hoodrat things with their friends.

The dinner was catered by some BBQ place that was a favorite of the couples. Never without good food. Never. But as I know live only about an hour away from the BBQ capital of the world (St. Louis, MO) and I have had my fair share of BBQ since living out here, it wasn't exactly the best. Good, but when you've had the real midwest deal, California's BBQ doesn't cut it. But they did have some really bomb sangria that I may or may not have had more than my allotted 2 glasses and I'm safe from being the drunk niece at the wedding. Sue me. 

After seeing some old friends, making new and eating, drinking and being merry, one of the New Yorkers made a toast.

While the couple didn't have a wedding party, this is what will go down in history as the best best man speech I have ever heard. 

This was one of the original Lunch Bunch crew, and he kinda told a super hilarious but very touching story about their friendship. How they went to school together for such a long time, went off and got married one by one, and how they all had been apart of each other's weddings. How they screwed up some photos, got a little too drunk at the reception, got stage fright during a speech, etc. I never laughed so hard until I heard about how Angus passed out during the wedding photo session and almost fell into the Hudson River because he had gotten wayyyy too drunk at the rehearsal dinner the night before. Priceless. But the main theme was about how they had been there for each other through good times, moves, break ups, career changes and everything and just how happy they were to see him and his wife to be so incredibly happy.

I really hope someone video taped that speech because it really was entertaining but so full of love too, there probably wasn't a dry eye in the place, either from crying laughing or crying from how sweet his words were.  

The rest of the night was spent finishing dessert a few more glasses of sangria and taking countless photos with the bride and groom.

The night was great and there was a whole lot of love. And it made me think about how we define 'happiness'. So here's my version of a bride's maid speech.

My aunt Tammy is my mother's baby sister, and I was born right around the time she graduated college. But even though she is my aunt I have always looked up to her like an older sister. I remember how she and my Nana and Poppy would always come for Christmas and sometimes birthdays and other holidays and how we always had the best time making ginger bread houses, doing our nails, just silly little things. She's a huge supporter of mine and was there for me at my own graduation even though I was going to see her 2 days after it, she still came and it meant a lot to me.

One particularly fond memory I had with her was while on a walk. I was barely in high school, but we got into a conversation about college and choosing who I want to be when I grow up. She talked about how she chose her major and really loved it in school but didn't want to be in that field forever and ever. How she was still figuring it out, going to get her Master's at the time and just had some vague plans but that the most important thing was to just keep trying new and different things to just experience it all and have more choices. She told me that it was never ok to settle, to take my time in deciding and that my happiest years would be in college. 

It wasn't until I went off to college that I realized how important that walk was. Even though Tammy went into the recreational field, I didn't exactly follow her footsteps. Or mean to anyway. It just kinda happened. I got on at UC Davis, she kinda just mentioned the acronym NIRSA and about 2 years later I became a GA. She pursued sport clubs, and whether I like it or not, Sport Clubs have more or less been my specialty in addition to a little bit of the IM side. She's named dropped and I have reached out to those people and most of the time as soon as I say I'm Tammy's niece they get very nostalgic and excited to hear how she's doing and that I look and act a lot like her.

I think that might be my favorite compliment. "You are just like your aunt!" was once said to me at a conference when I finally got a chance to sit down and talk to one of Tammy's old bosses who now works at SIU. (if you thought the world was small, the rec world is even smaller) And I couldn't help but feel really proud. And why not? She's beautiful, a successful woman who has her doctorate and loves her job, a cute puppy named Polly and now is happily married living in LA. She's the cool aunt who has a season pass to Disneyland and loves to take all her family and friends to the happiest place on earth even though she's probably been there 1000 times. 

And I know she's really happy now. I was fortunate enough to go on a trip with her to Paris, with her, Amos, my Nana and her friend, Jack. It was a little weird, I kinda felt like the child of two divorced parents, going with my Nana and Jack in the morning for breakfast and then to the historical sites and museums and then getting passed onto Tammy and Angus in the afternoon with more spontaneous less structured adventures that usually involved finding this really good place for falafels or cafe, checking out the music festivals, etc. 

That trip was the best time with just us. Family vacations are fun but we had so much time together I really got to see Tammy and Angus for who they are as a couple. They argued over directions, they argued over what to do that day and where to go. But he adores her. And she him. It was evident in how they act together and even apart. He would do the things she wanted to do, like go shopping and walk into really expensive jewelry shops and try on tiaras and rings and necklaces but walk out without buying so much as a single stud earring (that one was hard as I couldn't breathe for fear of ruining the 5,000 euro watch I was looking at and Tammy was trying on rings worth 3x that. gasp) *these were the rings that inspired her wedding rings. ya i helped with that ok no not really but I'm claiming it.* and she would do the things he wanted like check out the less touristy areas, and find the best falafel in all of paris or let him go out at 2am to find a pub that was playing the NBA playoff game. (he really did)

And you could just tell that she, both of them, were happy. Really happy and in love. Not the cutesy let's kiss by the eiffel tower (even though they did but it was tasteful) in love but happy with one another just being together or even apart. So hearing that they were getting married was very exciting and I was happy because of their happiness. 

Yes, it seems like my aunt has it all. The looks, the job, the dog, the guy, gets to travel, disneyland season pass holder, etc. But this was a long, long, long time coming. It wasn't an easy road, and she had a lot of trials and tribulations along the way. But I knew in Paris that she was the happiest I had ever seen her. Until I saw her at her wedding weekend that is.

Thanks to her, I know right now is ok, but it's not the happiest I will be. It may take a lot of time. I can't settle though and to trust that better is coming. But I'm ok with that because they were ok with waiting. It was worth it for them. And if I end up only a little bit like my aunt, well, I'll consider that a huge success in my book. 

Next blog post will be about the actual ceremony. To be continued!

Terrible photo but it's of all of us in Paris. And my favorite.

It's A Nice Day For A….

White Wedding!

Hello and ciao and bon jour and all that jazz!

So if you aren't following me on any social media than you don't know that I went to back to California this past weekend for my favorite Aunt's wedding!

But I did! And it was so much fun! And I'm obviously going to blog about it! Yay!

So here it goes. Enjoy!

Last Thursday I got up super early after a restless night (because I was too excited to sleep! and was still packing) and went to see Kaylee at the rec to say good bye and to get a quick last work out in. I know I'm becoming a gym junkie, one of those guys, I basically live there between work and working out. But after a day of shoulders and bi's and skipping the elliptical, I ran home, jumped in the shower and headed off to the airport.

The flight was fine, I hate the process of traveling but I was so excited to go back to Cali. And SoCal at that, as my aunt and her new husband work at Occidental College near Pasadena, part of the greater Los Angeles area.

My dad, mom, SeaStar and the Nana were also going (the baby bro was going to football camp so he wasn't around) and would meet me at the hotel. We would meet up and then go to dinner with the two families. How cute.

At LAX airport I had a personal driver since time was limited and LA traffic is gross and then add airport shuttles it's just nauseating. It was so cool, I walked out of the baggage claim area and found my little driver named Steve in a suit holding a sign that said "M. Allen".

Oooh that's me! I'm so LA! Just like the celebs! No pictures please!

But that glamour went away real quick when I sat in that town car for over an hour stuck in LA traffic. Gross. And to top it off, I get to the hotel say hi to the fam and then right as I lay down on the hotel bed we get a call from my aunt "So the dinner reservations are for 6:30 not 7 like we said before."
Dude, it's 5:59! So I didn't even have time to shower, just jump into a dress, than a different dress, back into the original dress (sorry I'm a girl and indecisive. sue me.) put some make up on, and too much perfume and we were on our way.

The thing with LA and I'm pretty sure most cities is that you could be at 5 star restaurant and next door is a dive bar that no one would ever eat the peanuts at the bar at it's that gross. But you can't judge a book by it's cover or this case the bars on the windows or the chipped paint on the doors.

So we end up at this restaurant called 'The Black Hogg' and it's not the fanciest on the outside. But we meet the groom's side of the family, his mother, his sister and two nephews. They're from New York originally but now the sis lives in SF with her 1 son while the mom and other son live back in New York.

The Black Hogg from the much prettier inside.

Just because it kinda helps with the rest of this tale, let me preface that my new uncle, we're going to call him Angus, and his family are Jewish. But not at all orthodox, we're eating at a place called 'The Back Hogg' and he loves bacon so there's that. It makes sense later but I digress.

So we meet, give kisses and hugs, everyone is so happy, ok let's eat. We go inside and it's uber hipster. Super modern and super hipster. Fine china and glass ware and all. Totally caught me off guard as the interior totally juxtaposes with the shotty paint job and bars on the window on the establishment next door. But I'm ok with it. Angus is sort of a foodie, ok a big foodie, and he says that he's pretty much ordered a bunch of courses for us already. Alrighty than, guess we'll just be surprised.

And boy, were we ever. We had gourmet dishes coming dish after dish. Fried bacon with delish sauce, pork belly tacos that are legit mexican tacos and not the crap they call 'mexican' out here in illinois, roast bone marrow (yes that bone marrow) and corn salsa, and lamb and kale salad, and spicy green beans, and prosciutto and melon and jerk chicken and coconut rice and bacon brussle sprouts and pancotta and oh my lanta. It was so tasty. But such different cuisine  that we never would have tried ever because all those dishes had some sort of veggie or sauce or something that made it oh so much more than just a slab of meat.

If you go to LA, go to that place. Pricey but you get what you pay for. So. Damn. Good.

It's so good I'd go and eat there alone. Who am I kidding, I'd eat anywhere by myself. #noshame

And the company was great too. We chatted with the new fam and spent an absolute perfect evening chatting over good food. Everything revolves around food, especially in my now bigger family. Bad food, bad conversation, bad times. Good food, good people, good conversation, good time. It's not a coincidence people.
My new cousins(?) are pretty cool. The one who lives in New York works in a restaurant and the food thing obviously runs in the family. Angus loves to find awesome new foods and is a total foodie, his mom is an amazing chef and cooks at a restaurant too. So it's in the genes. But he's my age, we just graduated college a year ago and we're just kinda in that weird stage of well now what but kinda have it together sorta kinda meh it's a work in progress. And the little brother is in high school and a sports fanatic, loves to play football and is a huge Giants fan (gah love him like a brother already!) and is super sassy. So full of that 16 year old the world revolves around me I'm so cool and my mom totally embarrasses me and all I want to do is watch sports and I'm so over this scene and when is this over sass it's just great.

This is him in a nutshell. I love it. I want to be his best friend just so we can be sassy together.

With full stomachs and even fuller hearts we left the Black Hogg. Gag. did I really just write that? Yeah well we did, cliched and all but I was so ready to sleep. But me and the SeaStar were sharing a bed so ensue giggling like little girls with a few punches and kicks thrown in there and shut up's and go to bed and it's hot's move over's until Nana got mad and said 'Good Night GIRLS' in a tone that meant be quiet and be quiet now or die. Lights out!

The next day was rehearsal dinner which was super fun but I'll get to that next time.

To Be Continued!

Chocolate Cake and PVT's

So not much has happened since my last post. But I'm a little bit too tired to shower, or just lazy and really don't want to work on my homework for my online class. I may be 22 and going into 18th grade but I procrastinate like I'm back in high school.

I like to pretend I'm being productive by writing my blog. Makes sense in my brain, don't question it.

I went to a new restaurant with some friends from my business class. A super cool place in the heart of Carbondale called Global Gourmet. It seriously looks like it would fit right in to a Davis or even San Francisco scene. The interior is modern and artsy, with globes adorning any and every shelf, a long black bar and black chalk board walls every where and theres a long cushioned bench with pillows that stretches from one side of the establishment to the other and there's tables and chairs seated next to it the whole way down. They have the biggest wine list and their menu is superb, with fancy european styled dishes and wine to pair it with. I loved it and it was the perfect spot for a girls' night. We saw another group of girls walk in as well so we knew we picked a good spot for our little outing.

When you and the girls see another group of girls out enjoying "Wine Wednesday". They know what's up.

We drank wine and had appetizers and dessert all in celebration of Ally's soon to be year long stay in France. She had just bought the ticket, one-way, so it's really really happening. And naturally, we made it into a good excuse to drink, I mean a celebration, duh.

Quite literally how I feel whenever I go out with the girls.

The food was good, and the wine (from France, yes we're corny. Deal) was pretty dang good. But then the waitress told us about the desserts and good lord they were amazing. We split a creme brûlée and a chocolate raspberry cake. Holy. Cow. I need that cake in my life. I want it at my wedding, at every birthday from here on til I die and for every occasion ever. It was mousse like and light but still decadent and both milk and dark chocolate and you got a faint taste of raspberry in every bite and something else that I'm not sure but whatever…to die for. And I don't even like chocolate THAT much (ask my mother, she's a choco-holic so I usually stick away from chocolate) but it was too good. I'm still raving about it and it was days and days ago.

Ugh. Just thinking about I want to go out and buy one right now… but no no no, my workout would have been for naught then. The calamity that is being a girl…don't eat cake because it'll go straight to your butt and then you won't get a date and then you're around other girls and gossiping and drinking and it's like meh, I like cake. So what if I like cake more than boys? Cake never lied. Or cheated. Or sent passive aggressive texts or get awkward in person or stand you up. And let's be honest, I ain't looking for an Illinois boy to say til death do we part amen to so….Suck it.

Whenever I'm worried about being single I go…

and then reality/depression kicks in and I tell myself…

but I stop moping eventually...

And I'm back to being single and perfectly ok with it.

Don't worry I didn't just get up and buy the cake. I do have to fit into my super cute but super tight dress I bought for my aunt's wedding this upcoming weekend. Marriages may not last forever in this day and age but pictures do…(just kidding Aunt and soon-to-be Uncle! It's my sarcasm, it's just on level high today!) And the last time I went on a date me and the guy ended up having a terribly awkward encounter and well you can obvi tell how long that lasted…so there's that.

But I digress...

After Wine Wednesday, I tried to sneak some time in with Kaylee. But Kaylee left me this weekend for her cousin's wedding. Gosh, that girl needs to get her priorities straight. We're both stuck in the Dale for the summer but she works so much I can only see her on weekends and then she leaves me?? Not ok. I kid..kinda.

But before she left I went and visited her like a good friend. Actually a great friend, since she left at 7am on Thursday morning. Guess who showed up at her door with coffee and bagels in hand at 6:20am?? Ya. I did. That's true love right there. If you're reading this you probably know I'm definitely not a morning person so that's kind of a big deal. So I helped/watched her pack and then loaded up her car and we got to sit and chat and drink coffee like the grown adults that we are and it was nice. Not gonna lie I went right back to bed afterwards though. Passed out til 10. Felt amazing.

Go through the motions of another typical day…life guard…yell at some kids…workout… go home…watch tv…sleep.

Boy oh boy is this fun!

On Friday I rallied a few girls because I was going stir crazy. Just get me to a bar, I don't care where or what we do let's just go.

Gotta rally the troops, we may not own any guns but they're the best shooters in town. 

I end up going with some work friends and it turned out to be a fun night. Vodka was on special so that's always dangerous and I ended up leaving my car at the bar and walked home (how was I supposed to know that vodka tonics would only be $3 that night? You can't blame me. Blame the bartender.) After about 3 Pear Vodka Tonics, or PVT's as I like to call them (can't take credit, that's all Ally and they are delish and may even replace my beloved whiskey diet for some time) and I start running into all sorts of people I know. Wait, you're still here? Why haven't we hung out? I'm bored hang out with me!!! And lots of similar conversations ensued. So that's a relief that I'm not totally and completely alone. One or 2 more PVT's and some dancing and then boom, it's time to go home for this gal.

The PVT's rocked my world and so Saturday was a struggle. I worked but other than that I was very unproductive all day and was so not up for a round two. I'm getting to be kinda grandma-ish in my old age. Cali can't hang anymore.

Sunday was much better, I met up with some friends for breakfast that was the bomb dot com and had a day to myself. I went tanning, shopping, cooked some food. Glorious day.

And now I'm going to watch Game of Thrones and pretend that I'm working on business homework. Gag.

To be continued!

Just Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

If you don't get my title, it's referring to a Jack Johnson song, "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" (one of my faves)

Why?

Because I went and saw Jack Johnson on Lake Michigan in Chicago with my friend and her mom and her mom's friends.

And it was AWESOME!

If you don't know Jack Johnson, youtube "Better Together" or that song above, right now. It's beautiful, chill, calm, and sounds like you're sitting on a beach with someone playing the guitar in the background. 

So yeah, we went up to Chicago on the train on Saturday morning wayyy too early and stayed right on Michigan Avenue and walked to the concert when it came time. 

Chicago is so cool. I was with a bunch of teachers -that's what Addy's mom is and her friends are teachers too, but not the old ladies you're thinking, think more like late 20's straight out of school and super cool. We walked around down town for a bit, went to a bar for pre-concert drinks and food and then headed to the concert.

Too much fun. He's so talented, sounds even better live than on the albums. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros opened for Jack Johnson. Quick description of these guys…Uber Hippies. Like big time, shoulda been at Woodstock or at least living in Berkley in 1968. Youtube "Home" by them and you may have heard the song before, maybe not. Outside the indie, hippy scene, they're a one-hit wonder. But still good music.

Chicago Selfie. Sorry bout it.

Sun dresses and blonde curls. That's just how we roll.

Chicago skyline at sunset. Too cool.

 We were grooving and singing along to all the words. So much fun. It wasn't too hot, or too cold, a perfect summer evening to listen to some jams on the guitar and be in good company. Concerts are also the best for people watching. My favorite sport. Lots of drunk people. And lots of people who may have mistaken the concert Denver, Co, if you catch my drift… haha. Lots of those 'toke'n people. What are ya going to do, it was more funny than anything. But all in all everyone seemed to enjoy the concert and no one got out of hand, everyone was chill, nobody was that obnoxious guy singing too loud and stumbling everywhere, the only real issue was how crowded it was close to the stage and how people try to move up. But can't get too mad since we did the same thing. Every chance we got we would try to creep our way closer. Something about live music that makes you want to get up close and personal.

Without zoom. So not so close to touch him but not half bad.

They did have a big screen on the side of the stage that showed off the band for people in the grand stands but we were close enough that we didn't even need it. Ya. We're pretty good. His band were a bunch of hams, and they really put on a good show. There were beach balls begin thrown around, they all kicked it off stage a few times, Jack talked about how his water was getting filled with bugs since we were at an outside venue. He even admitted to drinking a few. Yummy.

Talented musician/surfer who lives in Hawaii? Marry me? Please?

After the concert we walked back to the hotel and rewatched the videos on our phones and talked about the songs he played and how awesome it was. The next day the rest of our crew had to head back to the Dale but Addy and my adopted mom and I stayed and headed to a friend's apartment in one of the suburbs. It was a super small studio apartment but we made do, and it was cool to see the not so touristy side of Chicago. But we did go shopping. Ok we did a lot of shopping…oops. But I got a dress for my Aunt's upcoming wedding. Just in time as it's two weeks away. Again…oops.

To be fair, they were drinks we were holding for the other girls in our group but we looked like we knew how to party. And who says we don't?

After a full day of shopping we did dinner and drinks at one of the local pubs, Wilde Bar in Lake View. It was a super cool place, all wood and dark and had a library across from the long bar. It was felt like we were in a Gentleman's club or some sort of bar that Hemingway and Oscar Wilde (get the name now?) would hang out at. The hockey game was on and there were a few college students watching. We sat and had appetizers and I had my first dirty martini. Not bad but I'm not a fan of olives so I doubt I'll do that again. But I felt super sophisticated and beyond my young 22 years. Nothing says class like a martini in hand in a bar that personifies one of the literary greats. I know, so hipster. But it was really really cool. I mean like if you're into that sorta thing.

We had too much fun. Can never have too much of a good thing.

We had to leave the next day but not til later in the afternoon. So we spent the time in the suburb walking around checking out the different places. We did accidentally break the tension rod in the shower (it was kind of hilarious as Addy was about to shower and it came crashing down, and well she screamed a little bit) so we were searching for a new one to replace the old. We stopped for lunch at this hotdog and gyro place on the corner. It had probably the same owner/chef there behind the counter who had a raspy, chicago accented voice who called us dears and told us that the gyro was the best in the city. So naturally, we got them and they were pretty tasty. At lunch we talked about the future and how both Addy and I hope to have jobs in exactly a year from that moment. Scary to think that I'm half way done with my 2 year stint here in Salukiville.

Chicago definitely has the shopping, the concerts, the parks and touristy sites that are very cool. But it was in that little diner on the corner about mid-gyro that I realized that I really wanted to live this way. I want to live in a city. I want to see the hustle and bustle but then go to my favorite little diner where the store owner probably was alive to see the Cubs win the world series (i kid since that was forever ago but you get it) and live in a big city. My home town is anything but a city. Davis, a bit better but not a city of that level. And Carbondale…ha! Jokes. But even if it's only for a year or a few months I want to try. Chicago now is where I would like to be. But who knows where I end up…guess we'll just have to wait and see.

We headed back to Carbondale on the train, and we slowly rolled back to reality, with life guarding, summer classes and none of the shopping Chicago has. Sigh. Til next time I guess.

Future home? Maybe.

To be continued!

Sweet Summer Time

Hello all you beautiful people!

Again, long hiatus from blogging. Not totally my fault though, not a whole lot to write about now that school is over and it's summer time.

Everyone goes nuts about getting out of school for summer and laying out in the sun, pool time, tan lines and friends.

Expectation:

Reality:

Currently I'm still out in good ol' Salukiville. I'm in Carbondale for the summer. Yay.

Believe it or not, it was by choice. I need to establish residency for in-state tuition and the thought of paying for my apartment but not living in it is an abhorring thought, and it's very hard to find a summer job that will only last a little over 2 months anywhere, even Cali. So I'm taking summer class, life guarding at the Rec Pool and working out and going out to the desolate bars now that most of the students have vanished.

Hurrah.

My GA deal doesn't extend through the summer so I'm now a regular working student, getting paid hourly to guard lives with my red floaty and whistle as I sit on a stand and watch people try to swim in a poorly ventilated indoor pool. But it's a job and I have some pretty cool coworkers that I'm not going to lie, I was kinda nervous if they'd like me. Life guards are different than your average student workers. We sit up on a stand for 30min at a time in solitude. Yeah, we're supposed to be scanning for potential drowning victims but it's a lot of alone time. Almost too much. So we get kinda weird. *Raises hand* I'll confess, it's even happened to me. But they're cool people, albeit we get weird and we got weird very fast with each other. Something about pools and life guarding that just makes you want to talk about nonsensical stuff with anyone willing to listen. I'm pretty sure I've heard at least 5 life stories, shared my own probably more than that and other random topics have been discussed in the brief 2 minutes that we actually get to interact with our coworkers when we rotate shifts. And I've only been working for 3 weeks.

I'll give you a run down of a typical day for Marissa-

Get up- put on my life guard uniform- (swim suit, shirt that says Aquatic Staff, swim trunks, and flip flops.)
Go guard lives - involves 20/30min shifts for 3 or 4 hours that we switch out from on break in the aquatics office, to chair 1 and to chair 2.
Go work out
Go home
Watch TV
*Sometimes* (Cough rarely cough) do online homework (my classes are all online)
Make food
Eat said food
Sleep
Repeat

Yep. I'm living the dream.

The town is desolate, as is my life and for a few days there I was going nuts I was so bored. I would drive around aimlessly just to get out of my apartment.

But on the weekends I do have some fun. Kaylee is in town over the summer as well but she interns every stinking day for like 28 hours a day and so she doesn't have time to entertain me during the week. So we have fun on the weekends. We go kayaking on campus lake, eat ice cream, and go out to the bars. Sometimes. But the bars are kinda dead now or full of townies we don't know so it's not the same. So it does get kinda interesting.

But summer school starts soon so I have quite a few friends who are coming back to get some credit so I'm hoping my life gets a whole lot more interesting.

And this week it definitely did so here's to more excitement! It started with Memorial Day weekend that I spent kayaking with Kayln and then grabbing a few beers with some townie friends for friend's birthday and going to Herrin Fest. A nearby town throws a fun festival that includes vendors, fair rides, and music. We saw Thomas Rhett, an up and coming country singer and it was super fun! I got to wear my cowboy boots and my american flag vest, I was killing it. The booze was expensive but the music was good and it was fun to people watch. We saw some friends that were leaving soon since they graduated so it was good to catch up for a bit and it was cool to see how the locals do fun events. We of course wriggled our way up closer to the stage, even though I didn't even know who the guy was by just his name, I had to listen to a few songs and go "Oh I know this song! I didn't know he sang it!". I'm slowly learning the newer country music songs and singers. I don't have much of a choice as that's about all we hear down in So. Ill. But it was fun and I was glad to do something and be social.

Herrin Fest photos…my new phone case made the photo quality less than stellar but it was a fun time indeed.

A night out on the town with the Townies!

"Sure I'll take your picture, but first lemme take a selfie."

The OGs, Original Goons.

Gonna miss ya, Unkie! (my eyes are open I swear)

It was a short week due to the holiday which made it nice. I worked as a life guard, and most of the time that means baby sitting for school groups that come in and use the Rec Pool.

 Talk about the best form of birth control ever…picture 115 screaming middle schoolers swimming around, jumping off the diving board and high dive. In an indoor pool. So it's slick tile, stuffy, and loud. REALLY LOUD.
And little kids can be ass holes! I whistled at one kid to stop running and he turned at me and stuck his tongue out! It took all my will power to not jump off that stand and grab him by the ear and drag him to the bench and ban him from the pool for life. Grrrr… we had another incident where a kid panicked after jumping off the high dive so the other guards had to jump in to help. It's protocol for us not in the water to get the other kids out while they attend to the injured. So I blow my whistle tell kids to get out and one of them goes "What? Why? He's not dead." Are you freaking serious???  Rude!! GET THE HECK OUT OF THE POOL!
I immediately retorted back "Because I said so! Get out of the pool. NOW!"

So I guess I'm the pool bitch. Sorry I'm not sorry that a bunch of 5th graders don't like me. How will I ever sleep at night…


Most of the time it's not that bad. We have our regular swimmers who keep to themselves and we don't have any issues. Until we have to change lane lines and that's a pain in the ass because we have to get into the pool to do it but that's usually the biggest problem of the day.

Almost every day I work out too. Not much to do and since I work there and have more than enough time, might as well. I work out with a friend, well more like I work out and he teaches me how to. I just don't want to look like an idiot in the weight room, so I asked my buffest friend to just show me how to weight train so I wouldn't end up being an internet meme sensation. And I avoid having a packed weight room with a bunch of tools and really intimidating guys since it's summer so it's perfect.

My luck without WannaBeTrainer, I'd be this guy. I don't want to be that guy.

And then it turned into him being my amateur trainer. Ok, Mr. FormAboveEverythingElse and NoCheatingAllowed. But I can tell it's working and his work outs are freaking hard. I'm dripping with sweat after about 45minutes (not an exaggeration by any means I'm gross and can't keep up with laundry b/c of it) and usually unable to function normally for a full day afterwards. After leg day I can't walk, it's like I'm 83 years old, arms day usually means I can't open a door without strenuous effort, etc. I abhor chest day with a passion and whenever I get too sassy he ups my weight and I struggle and want to quit but I shut up real fast.

On Thursday my good friend Ally came back into the Dale and so we met up at a friends and had a little girls' night in with wine and popcorn. It was good to have them back and be social again. We plan on doing the wineries and hanging out more this summer as Ally heads to France to study abroad for a whole year! I'm going to miss her dearly but I'm glad to be around this summer to hang out before she leaves us.

Friday I got asked to help volunteer at a golf tournament put on by the Rec. I didn't really know what I was getting into but didn't mind helping out for a few hours. Turns out me and one of the pro staff, Amanda, were to drive the beer golf cart around providing beverages to our golfers.

Ummm best job ever! We drove around and put on our biggest smiles and ended up scoring big time on tips. I remember seeing the beer girls when I went golfing with my grandfather one time and thought she was the coolest chic ever and so much older and cooler cuz she knew all the guys and was pretty good at golf too. Looking back it was kinda weird since she got hit on by old men all the time (blek) but we didn't get much of that but we did have a lot of laughs and a lot of beer and a lot of tips. Score.

But then it rained and I mean the heavens really opened up, like TORRENTIAL down pour. For all you Cali peeps who are so used to being in a draught it's kinda like wait what's rain again? I'm not even joking that the term raining cats and dogs means absolutely nothing to you until you've seen rain like that. Flash flooding is a very real thing people. So we all drove back to the club house as fast as that cart could get us there but didn't matter, just 30 seconds left you soaked to the bone. I looked like I took a shower, my hair was all wet, we took our shoes and socks off and ran in the rain and puddles that were the size of Lake Michigan barefoot because wet socks are the worst thing on the planet. Attractive much? Oh ya. But the golf tourney was fun and I will always volunteer to be the beer cart girl for just about every golf outing I ever attend.

And I went to Chicago on Saturday but I'll save that for my next blog.

To be continued!

Year 1: Done and DONE

Hello Lovies!

Sorry for the long long longgggg hiatus from blogging!

But let me explain why…

April was full of crazy, fun, stressful events that literally consumed my life. After my weekend at Davis for Picnic day it was a dead sprint to the finish line—aka May and the end of the year. Thank goodness for semester schools as I'm now on summer vacation.

A quick over view of the last half of April:

-Week long conference for the professional staff and all the 2nd year GA's. The first year GA's were left to rule the roost.
-Softball, volleyball IM playoffs
-Club sport games and tourneys
-A triathlon put on by the Rec
-A 5k put on by the Rec
-Finance project (37 pages long)
-Final global marketing paper (10pages long)
-Brand Management Presentation (30min long)
-Brand Management paper (15 pages long)
-Rec's end of the year banquet
-IM's end of the year party
-Life guard training
-Finals week
-(now May) Graduation

All of that in roughly 20 days.

You know I did exactly that.

Eww.

Oh and did I mention that it rained, like poured for most of those days? Yeah. Like sheets and sheets of rain, no way you can play softball and the fields were ruined. And the triathlon and 5k were in danger as well.

Everyday I was stressed about whether or not we could finish playoffs or continue planning for other events and than trying to run an office on your own is less than fun but we did it.

I'm still not sure how. Not a lot of sleep, a lot of coffee and lots of phone calls to my boss, my staff, my coworkers, etc. But I survived. We finished softball and volleyball. The triathlon and 5k went off swimmingly. The banquets went well too. And I finished all of my projects on time. (Some I turned in literally 60 seconds before they were due but it was on time)

And now I'm in Chicago visiting my friend and relaxing before I head back to summer class and my new job as a life guard for the Rec's pool. Recap of the last week though:

I said good bye to a lot of people who became my dear friends. The other GA's, the 2nd years are moving on with their lives and are heading out into the real world. I was sad to see them go though, as I had gotten used to seeing them almost every day and we became like a little gang of GA's, always there for when we needed to get the job done but still a bunch of goofballs too.

The hardest good bye was to my student staff. My first year staff. They will all have a special place in my heart. For the ones who were graduating and also moving on, I have to admit I was very sad to think about never seeing them again. I hate how people come in and out of my life. Terrible at change in this regard. But they were in it for a reason but time was up. I gave them all graduation gifts and little notes saying how much I appreciated their hard work and that I was proud of them. They made me feel at home when I was so scared 9 months ago. I'll never forget how even when some would call me up and have some sort of problem at the IM field, or make me want to pull my hair out, they still made me laugh and were a great group of people.

One in particular, I'll really miss, was this kid from way up north in Illinois who kinda has a voice of yogi bear. "Hey Boo-boo" type with a deep but funny tone.

He was literally a pain in my side, showed up late, always wanted to leave early and was the life of the party no matter where he was. But he was always knew how to make me laugh, even when he forgot he had a shift and I had to run to the fields to cover his dumb ass. He would walk up and I would try to keep a stern face but than end up laughing as he said "Hey, Mariss, real sorry about that, I'm a real big idiot…" and blah blah some excuse but I couldn't be mad for long. I'd be like "oh, Tim.." and then start laughing. We had a few good talks about his future too, and what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Most of these happened at the bar too, or in a hallway between classes, never in a normal spot. But for as silly as he came off he is a very intelligent, deep guy and I loved being able to see that side of my student staff. Getting to know them on a more personal level than just a work level. Knowing they opened up to me and felt they could come to me made it all worth it. I do it for my staff and seeing them all work hard for me was probably the best part of my year.
I gave all my gifts out, and tried to hide them, as I think it's so incredibly awkward to give gifts in person. I leave them at doors, on people's cars, etc. And the best part was the little calls and texts of thank yous. I really will miss them and I'd rather not start crying in front of them so that was the best way. But it didn't really hit me until after graduation.

Oh Tim…I will miss that guy.

I had spent graduation night out at the wineries celebrating with my friend Amy. She came back into town to walk after taking this semester to student teach. She and I had kept in contact over the semester and I had really missed her. It was a great time and I was so sad though that it was such a short time. I'll come back to Chicago though and visit her during the summer. I absolutely loved her family and we had a blast talking and drinking and reminiscing and it was all around grand. It was later that night though when I was out with some friends and I saw Tim (the Yogi Bear guy) out too. He thanked me and said how he'd keep in contact and all I could do was hug him and say Ya keep in touch before the water works started. And he was just my student staff after 1 year, what was I going to act like when I left after 2 years?!

Ugh. I am such a girl.

But I was glad to have seen him and get to say good bye. Then it all hit me so hard after that.

It's just like last year all over again. I'm super sad to say good bye and graduations really do suck. Like really though, their long and not that much fun and it's mostly just remembering nostalgic times that you don't get to relive no matter how hard you want to. 

My first year. Done. Gone in what feels like the longest and fastest year of my life. One of my 2 year stint is checked off and I'm that much closer to being done for real for real.

Whoa.

Looking back it was definitely anything but easy. Lots of tears and phone calls home and to friends. Lots of reevaluations and wondering what in the hell am I doing with my life moments. Lots of fretting. Lots of frustration. Lots of disappointments.

But lots of laughs. And lots of good times. Lots of smiles, lots of happiness and lots of love too.

But before I get all sappy…let me just say this. I would not change it for anything. I mean it.

I learned more about myself than ever before. I learned who my real friends are and that change can be amazing. I learned how to be honest with myself which I think is half the battle. I never stopped learning. And I learned that I never will stop.

I still have a lot of room to grow. I'm still the shy girl from California who is insecure and scared a lot. I still cry whenever I say good bye. I still care way too much about others who don't care for me. But I'm working on it. Always a work in process. I'll never be perfect but I can be better.

I'm heading back to Carbondale tomorrow. This was a quick trip to visit and mostly just some time to relax and recover from a very crazy year. I loved it but today I took an accidental 3 hour nap. Oops, guess I needed it though after everything. Still hard to imagine that it's summer and I'm still out in Illinois.

So here's to finishing strong, finding even more about myself, but also to change. It's not going to be the same next year, and I'll make new friends and lose some people too. But change can be an amazing, and I have come to really love the place I'm at right now. And that's all I can ask for.

True story. 

To be continued!

Hostest with the Mostest

Hello there!!!

It's a FABULOUS 60+ degrees out at 9am and I am wearing shorts and sandals! Finally!

But since I haven't been totally caught up with my blogging since oh probably ever, I have even ore adventures to tell you about.

So sit back and enjoy the ride!

My mom and brother went to Columbus, OH for his spring break to see the Ohio State University. The little dude has set his bar pretty high, as he should. He's an Allen. I applied to Duke U, and UC Davis was my safe school. It turned out to be the best decision ever (I only applied to 4 schools and so I was more or less forced to go but I loved it obvi) but we were taught to not only reach but achieve the goals we set. I knew I was going to go to a 'big' 4-yr university, SeaStar (sister's nickname) was going to make a name for herself in the show world and went to major competitions across the nation and now baby Brudda (nicknames are kinda my thing, if I love you, you have a nickname) is trying to make a name for himself outside his sisters' shadows. He'll do fine and if he does end up at Columbus maybe I'll be around the midwest to just be at least a mental comfort for him to know that big sissy is only a drive away instead of a couple flights.

The Brudda is sorta rad. He's working on his mustache too.

But on their way back they drove from Columbus to Carbondale and spent the weekend with me.

I was so excited to see my mom and brother, it hadn't been since Christmas that I had seen any of my family and 4 and 1/2 months is a long time.

But the day before they came into town, I went slightly crazy.

Remember when you were little and your grandparents came to visit and mom would start cleaning frantically, pull out her best recipes and if you didn't help clean and dust and vacuum you were better off dead? "Pick up your legos RIGHT NOW, Nana and Poppy are coming in 7 hours!" and there was always a timeline for when they would be waiting at your door.

Well I sure felt like that. Something about having your mother visit that makes you start cleaning like a madman "I can live on my own! I can do this, Mom! I'm not barely getting by, I have my life together, I promise! Look, my laundry is done, my bathroom is clean and toilets are scrubbed, and look no dishes in the sink!!!"

Must. Clean.

So mom and brudda got into town and came to see me at work. They got a tour of my rec center and then went to the club baseball game with to me before we went to my very clean (i hadn't had time to fold my last load of laundry so I hid it behind my bed. Mom found it. Go figure.) apartment. I even had all my decorations up and it looks homey even. Go me.

We went to dinner to a local restaurant that even I hadn't been to yet and we had delicious food, an even better dessert and the waiter was funny and we laughed and caught up and I was so incredibly happy to have them here.

Brudda talked about high school and his friends who I still envision as the bratty 12 year olds that I often had to watch after little league or basketball practice and that would play hours upon hours of video games at my house and eat all the chicken nuggets and pizza rolls we had. Brudda was the littlest always, shorter and weaker than his friends but that's no longer the case. He's almost 6'3 and he can pick me up when we hug. He's definitely not the 12 year old little guy I left when I went to college all those years ago. He's super witty and he gets himself into trouble because he has a smart mouth but he's quiet and reserved at times too. He's got that sneak attack sense of humor. He's shy and takes awhile to open up and then he'll say something sassy and you're like 'Whoa! Where'd that come from??'

How I'll always thing of him. That little one ruining our awkward tween photos.

All us Allen kids have lots of sass. It must be genetic. Sarcasm is spoken fluently in our house.

We spent the rest of the weekend looking at furniture for my place (mom said it was cute but that I needed a tv stand and a coffee table) and just checking out Salukiville. I got a tv stand and then before we got ready to go to dinner, Brudda goes 'Let's just stay in and make dinner. I don't want to go out, let's just watch movies and cook.' Ok. Brudda wants to just chill and hang with me? Chalking it up as a win.

We watched the Lord of the Ring and Horton Hears a Who and ate fajitas that mom made in my little apartment. It was perfect.

That night was also when the rec students were headed out to all meet up at the bars. Everyone from IM's to Fitness and Facilities were invited to hangout as they all had the Rec in common. So after mom and brudda went back to their hotel (my apartment is nice but little and my mom likes a nice bed and a bathroom not full of make up and hair straighteners and dryers) I met up with some friends and went out.

It was a fun night and we walked all over from place to place and it's nice to not have to bundle up like an eskimo. I saw my colleague and talked about how she just got back from an on-campus interview for a big girl job. She said it went well and I hope that she gets it. I'm already getting anxious about finding a job next year and I haven't even finished this year yet. She has more interviews upcoming at the big conference everyone in our field (minus me and the other 1st years. still kinda bitter about it but i'll get over it) so she has lots of decisions to make. But if she has options than here's to hoping I will too.

Even though it was meant to be an outing all together, immediately we split off in our distinctive groups. I was with the IM guys and said hi to the others but really, I know my people better so we're going to hang out, sorry bout it. One of the guys on my staff was there, I call him A-Team since he likes to say that he's the best supervisor we have. He kinda self dubbed that nickname but it stuck. That's up for debate but he's not a bad sup. I see some officials and more club people and I know of them but not really well. We officially get introduced and are talking about the NBA playoffs and how Jabari Parker just officially entered into the draft (and I was upset about it) and how I work a lot with club sports and will work with them even more next year. A-Team kinda butted in there and goes hey. *points at me, looks at his baseball crew* respect. *nods and continues talking to someone else*

Definitely chalking that up to a win. Huge win.

He's a leader of the team as he's older and the guys look up to him. And he just gave me the approval nod and let his whole team know that he respects me as a leader and they should do the same. He may not even know that what he did meant so much or that he was doing anything other than hey guys, that chic you just met, she's not half bad. But it was a big deal to me.

It may have taken almost an entire year but I finally feel like I don't have to prove myself anymore. Right there, he did it for me. And my own boss has given me so  much more responsibility and I know that he doesn't worry anymore when he's not around. He's gone from now until next Monday and we have playoffs and are finishing up everything this week but I got it. I'm going to be just fine, so is this program and everyone knows that. I think they know it more than I do.

I did it.

I am at the spot I have tried to get to for so long and their were lapses and there is still going to be but I won. And I couldn't be happier. It's still stressful, I still make mistakes and my staff and boss know it. But they know I work hard and they work hard too but I think they work hard for me. And that's the biggest win I could ever get.

Cue the hair flip, I'm walking on cloud 9.

Fast forward to me and mom and brudda to spending a wonderful Easter together making breakfast in my little apartment, walking on campus and showing them everything that had become my little home in Carbondale.

And then they left for the airport and I cried a little but then I had to get back to my life that is school and work. But Brudda did say that I was kinda cool and that was kinda cool and a win so it was ok and then I punched him and he shoved me and it was ok.

This is how we show our love for each other. xoxo

Work was going to be crazy because my boss, coworker, some staff, other professional staff were all leaving mid-week to go to a conference. The same conference I got my job at last year, but there was a catch now…I had to stay back to hold down the fort. Lame.

Not gonna lie, this is the biggest conference of the year, THE conference of all conferences and all of my davis peeps were gonna be there, old and new and the friends I had met at all the tourneys and conferences I had gone to.

But that's the deal, only those looking for a job or ga get to go and the little first years do their time and stay home.

Ugh. Green is so not my color.

But on Monday the new GA who is going to be my partner in crime next year came down to Carbondale from Notre Dame for an extended pit stop before heading to the conference with the boss man.

We'll call him PJ and we had met a few times before but didn't know each other well by any means. Well that sure changed after just a day and a half of hanging out. We didn't plan it, or plan much of anything and what we did plan didn't end up happening. But long story short we hung out a lot, he stayed on my couch, we talked through the night, we went apartment hunting for him, checked out local eateries, he watched me panic and stress over im's and then we went to a concert together and then he left.

Whew! What a whirlwind! But it was fun and we got to talk and bond and I'm SO excited for next year. He's creative and good with new ideas and quiet but funny and we have similar tastes in music and we both like hot wings from Buffalo Wild Wings.

Later that night was a concert at SIU, Capital Cities. There a little bit electronic, indie, hipster, fun, dance, whatever you wanna call them that would maybe fit. They have a trumpet in the band, they play that super catchy song 'Safe and Sound' and their fun. It was for $5 so ridiculously cheap and as soon as I found out I texted all my friends to get tickets.

They were like ummm idk, i only know like one song umm yea probs not.

WHAT

Meanwhile in Davis…

All my friends were like WHAT that's so COOL! OMG I'm super jealous they're awesome i would love to go! And for $5?!?! Stop. That's not fair. Stop. You're lying. That's stealing. You can't get anything for $5 not anything. I don't believe you.

And therein lies the difference between Southern Illinois and Northern California people.

We like our music. We pay a lot for our music. We're spoiled by having super cool bands and no namers come out to the west coast that we totally claim to have known about first before they got big and started playing on the main stream radio. snaps to us. we're like so hip, brah. music, sunshine, and the beach, that's california.

No that's lies. But I and a lot of my friends would totally pay to go to a concert or a music festival over pretty much any movie premiere, trip to vegas, etc. like between coachella vs. a night out at vegas we'd go with coachella. hands down.

At the concert there's hardly anyone there. I feel bad but we sit and wait for the band to come on and when it does, they probably see the little crowd, go well, fuq it, let's do this. and they put on a show.

The music was awesome, the light show was super cool and the band was living it up. They had moves and were funny and looked like they were trying to have a good time. So we did too. PJ and I danced like weirdos, took snap chats and had lots of fun. If you would have told me that one of my first times hanging out with my to-be coworker was at a concert dancing I'd have told you that was a good one but nice try.

You can bet that we got down on the dance floor. 

Jk, I'm white and can't dance.

So it was a interesting but fun beginning to the week and PJ and I got to know each other outside of IM's and sports. So here's to having an awesome time next year! And am I the best host or what? Chya!

And now I'm chilling (freaking out) with my staff and it's just me and the other first GA's trying to get ready for this weekend's big triathlon event and continue with Im sport playoffs oh and try to throw some school in there. Nah better not. Who needs to go to a conference in Nashville anyway?

Let the freaking commence.

To be continued!