Roommates, Lifeguards, Sun burns and Summer Concerts

That's what my summer was made of.

I know I know I know I've been seriously slacking on the whole blog department.

Summer is officially over for me, as I am now reinstated as a Graduate Assistant for the SIU Rec Center and we have training, prepping and all around madness is about to start again. Get ready for those blogs because I'm sure they will be full of new and fun and super chaotic adventures.

But I'm spending my last hour of freedom at a coffee shop sipping my coffee with a splash of cream and 2 sugars reflecting and slowly waking before the madness that is my job/school/life starts up again.

So…let me tell the story of my summer in the Dale that has been my home for the last 12 months.

The title sorta says it all. I worked as a life guard, both at an indoor pool and at a lake for a camp of elementary students. It was a Jewish camp that lasted for a month and EVERYDAY the kiddos came out to swim. I got to know a lot of them by name and learned some hebrew (mostly bad words though) and on some days they even fed us life guards lunch. I got a pretty sweet tan line and made some great friends with the other guards. A typical day would be set up and clean the beach area, clean off the dock of any duck poop, have the kiddos check in, make sure they were dowsed in sunscreen and then we'd take our positions for about 2 hours around the beach and lake shore and watch the crazy kids jump off the dock, play sharks and minnows and just be hooligans. Eavesdropping on their conversations about how Jessica likes Benny but Benny already told Joshua that he wants to be on Sarah's team after snack time was probably my favorite thing ever. Kids really do say the darndest things.
One of the boys, Benny, loved to show me how he could "dive" off the dock. He wasn't a very good diver in the slightest but he did get better over time. He also was a charmer. Girls would always splash him and tease him, typical of 4th grade flirting antics. One day as he was showing me his umpteenth millionth dive, a girl splashed us and said "HEY! Benny!! I gotta tell you a secret!"
"Ok"
"No…*looks at me* you need to come over here"
"Um why?"
"Just Cuz!"
"*Groan* Fine"
Jumps in and swims 4 ft away.
Yells/whispers"Jessica likes you!! Go talk to her"
"Cool. No thanks. I'll see her at crafts"
"No Benny! Go now!"
"Sorry, I don't deliver." and swims back to the dock.

I almost fell into the lake. I was dying of laughter. He doesn't deliver?! Genius. He climbs out and just smiled, shook his head and said "Females…" and rolled his eyes and gave me a cannon ball to show off.

The kid is pretty suave for a 4th grader and that line…oh man. Highlight of my summer right there. He must have an older brother who has just as much swag and charm and knows how to play the game if you know what I'm saying. Whew…just typing it out I'm starting to giggle all over again.

The kids were pretty cool all around though and what a life to spend an entire month out in the woods in cabins and swim everyday at a beautiful lake and not have a worry in the world minus mosquito bites and whether or not Benny likes Jessica back.

To be 10 years old again…but being a life guard was probably the coolest summer job to have. I'm seriously bummed that I'm not going to continue. Maybe next summer.

The other aspect of my summer was that I got a roommate.

Yes, the girl who swore up and down that living alone was the only way to go and that roommates had always led to problems and who needs companions anyway, got a roommate. To be fair, he was my friend who was helping me workout. He was in kind of a tight spot, out of one apartment, not allowed in another til the end of summer and kinda homeless. The place he was just using while a buddy was back home didn't work out, so one day at the gym he kinda casually said that he hadn't a place to go. "Calvin! Are you kidding me?! You don't have a place to live?!? Why didn't you ask? You can stay with me!"

And well yeah, careful what you say because he moved in about a day later.

It wasn't that bad either. He was pretty easy to live with, took out the trash while I did the dishes, the shared spaces were clean for the most part and he played handy-man and fixed some things around the apartment. I now consider him a very dear friend because it's hard not to bond with someone when it's summer in the Dale and most days you're just chilling talking about everything and nothing at the same time. We would meet up with friends and go to Trivia night, play sand volleyball, and go to the Sunset Concerts that were put on in the park every Thursday night. Kinda nice to watch horribly awful movies with (don't waste your time with 'Noah'. Awful.) or the baseball game while drinking some hard mike's lemonade. (he loves them but don't tell any of his friends because they're girly drinks.) My summer would have been a whole lot more boring without him. I probably will miss that but I know I won't miss him fogging up the bathroom mirror from his ridiculous long showers (he's a dude for pete's sake) and how he used my shampoo (he said he liked how it made his head tingly…good lord) or how he used every dish in the entire apartment for one meal (why do you need 8 plates to cook chicken? How is that possible???) or his absurd amount of protein shakes he drank on the daily or having nothing in the fridge but beer, eggs, and cottage cheese (he ate an absurd amount of cottage cheese. Like 5lb tubs of it. I wish I was joking).

Another highlight was my mom and sister coming to visit. It was a short stay but it was super fun. Now my entire family has seen where I live and work and my mom either must love me a lot or she secretly likes this place because she's visited 3 times now.

We spent our time going to the sunset concert, catching up, cooking, going out to my new favorite restaurant, Global Gourmet, and we went to the St. Louis Zoo and the Arch. But before all that when they came in I picked them up and brought them back to my apartment to just hang out for a bit. They met Calvin and I had kinda warned him that my mom would probably ask a bajillion questions but that my sister would say "Hi" and then not another word. She's shy and only really talkative around her those she's close with. But oh no…she walked in, said Hi to Calvin and then she did not shut up the entire time. She kept talking and telling stories about her friends and her summer working with kids and their 4-H animals for fair, etc, etc. Us Allen girls do love to talk and when you get us together…let me just say that I apologize in advanced if you ever should see it. We're loud. We laugh. We're really really loud. And we laugh really loudly too. And we're kind of a lot to take in and handle. I'm pretty sure Calvin didn't say 2 sentences the entire time and that we scared him away for sure. We're 10000x worse than any Ya-Ya girls. It's quite the scene.

Verbatim how my dad reacts to the women all back together. And Calvin's response to me and SeaStar's conversation as well.

But I had a blast hanging with my SeaStar and mom and it was good to see them once more since I won't head back to Cali til Christmas most likely. They met my friends and they got to see Carbondale in the summer time. A little more relaxed and a little bit slower living but still a good time.

I also went to Chicago one last time to visit a friend and we had her "congrats on getting a big girl job/end of summer/graduation" party and they took me to the Polish Festival and I learned that Polish people love to drink A LOT and that I was ill prepped for such a weekend full of booze but I loved spending time with her and her family and hope to visit them again really soon. I mean, when they had set up shots of Crown Royal just waiting for me once I arrived, it's kinda hard not to like them. They're sassy and sarcastic-y just like me and their go to fix is alcohol too. So it's like I found my long lost relatives!

It'd be Crown Royal but this basically how the family reacts... "How many bottles do we have? Just 10? We're going to need more than that."

And that's pretty much it. That was my summer. Now on to committees for conferences, IM sports and Sport Club training, the new 1st year GA moving and getting acclimated (I'm a second year….what???) and class, books, pretentious teachers and having my last first day of school ever. It's going to be a great year though, ups and downs to be had but I don't think I've ever been so excited to get my life going. And if it was anything like my summer, it'll be full of surprises, but it'll be pretty dang good.

Times up! Time to buckle down and start my last year. Adventure awaits!

Goodbye Summer

To be continued!

LA Wedding: Final Installment

So July is almost over…whoa…again apologies, this blog post about the wedding has taken wayyyy longer than originally planned. It's amazing how my day really only consists of life guarding and some remedial errands and I'm just wiped out. I love sleep and I've been a total grandma, reading after dinner, bed by 10, up at 6:30/7. Who am I?

So…I left off at the rehearsal dinner. Next day- Wedding Day!

We did breakfast around the corner from the hotel and checked out Old Pasadena. My Nana wanted to see the Proctor House, like that Proctor and Gamble, Proctor, because it was super old, but really interesting architecture and blah blah blah. No, it was cool to check out I'm just still kinda confused why it was such a big deal, it's a big old house, why do I have to pay $12 for a tour? 

Anyway, after that adventure the Nana, my mom and I went to meet the bride at the hair salon so that she could get her hair done. We got lost (thanks, Siri. Not.) and ended up walking about 5 blocks to find the place but eh, it wasn't that hot and we only almost got hit by a car or 2 like once. 

You could tell that she was excited but pretty calm for the most part. She had flowers in her hair, that matched her bouquet and she looked simply beautiful. Very subtle and not extravagant but stunning and very her. 

And then it was a mad dash to get ourselves ready. My sister and I probably changed out outfits a bajillion times leading up to this event but who's counting…I was worried about getting cold once evening came along and got a cardigan. To that, my Nana said to my sister "Just make sure she has enough to drink and dances a lot, she won't get cold."
Cool. I'm the drunk granddaughter/niece/cousin at this event. I'll take that crown and wear it, thank you. And it's called being fun. Duh.

Jokes aside, I kinda was. Most of the guests are older and there was only one other family that had kids, and then our new family of cousins by marriage so…cue awkward meet and greets where you just don't have a whole lot to say or really relate to. And my other favorite part of being awkward? Being tipsy AND awkward. So bring on the wine!

The wedding was held at the couple's house, a beautiful domed building on top of hill over looking the college's soccer field and part of the valley that makes up Pasadena.

The ceremony was perfect. And I'm not going to do it any justice talking about it. The bride and groom exchanged vows they had written themselves, both quoting songs but before you get judgy wudgy and say that's so cliche let me explain…she quoted a rock song from Metallica, Nothing Else Matters. Yeah. My aunt is totally rad.

But actually when she read her vows it fit and was actually pretty sounding and it kind of hit everyone that this is happening. Tammy and Angus are getting married. Right now. Like. What? If you weren't there and didn't see her walk up the aisle and see his face of pure joy but how he was sweating because it's SoCal and well, you know, he's getting married, and saw the two mothers sitting there next to the alter looking beautiful and so proud and happy, I don't think anyone would have believed it.

It was a short but very sweet ceremony and there was not a dry eye in that place even if we were standing in the grassy garden of the front yard and Polly, the dog, was whining because she didn't quite understand why she had to stand away from her mom and dad and not jump around all these fun new people to play with.

After the ceremony, the tears aside, the happy still flowing, and the fun began. Food and drinks were a plenty. (no joke though, I think there were 12 different types of hors d'oeuvres and that wasn't even the dinner that was provided) And there was a dance floor and adorable decorations of T&A everywhere. Our cousins kept the party alive by dancing, even getting my Nana to dance which was adorable.
Me and the SeaStar went out and got down a time or two. Our cousins were the real stars though and pulled out the grocery shopping cart, the lawn mower, sprinkler and my personal favorite, walking the dog. A new one was introduced, the taking a shower where you turn on the water, adjust it for temp, lather up, rinse off and towel dry. Hilarious. But it was a lot of fun and the awkwardness had gone away completely.

After filling ourselves with shrimp and fruit and little finger foods that were enough to feed an army, a food truck pulled up. Yes, like a roach coach, taco truck. But this was no ordinary taco truck. It was Korean BBQ and had the best quesadillas and tacos EVER. Hands down. Spicy and delicious and so cool to just walk right up to the taco truck next to the dance floor at the wedding and order a burrito or taco from a taco truck. Attention Future Hubby: We are having a taco truck at our wedding. It's gonna happen and you don't get a say in the matter, sorry I'm not sorry!

And you know how every family has that one family member, the crazy cousin/aunt/uncle that is a nomad and has lived a crazy nomad life mostly moving around the country on his motorcycle and only popping up randomly for like a week at a time and would have all these crazy stories about his adventures and the people he met along the way? Well low and behold, even our family has one, good ol' Uncle Bob, and my aunt had sent him an invite via email since she didn't know where he was living or if he even had a permanent residence. And he showed up to the wedding! So it was a great family reunion and we heard about how he is currently in Southern California for now but still has the bike and rides to Arizona every now and then and the man is in his 70's. Like the dude lives an epic life. And the last time I saw him I think I was 13 or 14. So definitely good to see him.

We spent the rest of the night dancing and eating more and more little finger foods that kept coming out even though we had dinner already. Seriously never ending food! But that's how Angus likes it. We ate, we danced, we drank and we were very merry. And it was beautiful and a perfect evening.

And now I'm officially done with my story about my aunt's wedding, it only took me way too long and sorry about that but here are pictures of the day! Enjoy!

Getting fancy!

Obligatory photo of the decorations

SeaStar from the Dome terrace.

Pops 

My nana waiting patiently

The mothers and the happy couple.

Ta-da! They're officially MARRIED!

Good looks run in the family.

The infamous 'Dome'

Food Truck! I already told the driver that in about 5-10years I'm going to have him at my wedding and to pencil it in for sometime in September.

Quick! Take a photo before he leaves again! The Nana and our nomad Uncle Bob!

T loves A :)

Obligatory photo of decorations at night.

LA valley

Get your groove on.

:)

Love you, mean it.

To be continued!

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!