What Summer?

I cannot believe today is the last day of August! I went to the pool a total of twice this summer..and each time was for less than 2 hours. Pathetic. I'm looking a bit sickly because my skin lacks any color. I guess this is what happens when you work full time...

However, I LOVE cooler weather and everything that Fall brings. College football season, pretty changing leaves, winter clothes, my BIRTHDAY(!!!), Thanksgiving...I could go on and on...I can't wait!

TOP 10 things I LOVED about college:

1. Going out every Thursday night and knowing over half of the people in the bar. Dancing like no one is watching me. Only paying $5 for all you can drink for the night. And when they kick us out at closing time, being able to simply walk home.

2. Not having any obnoxious obligations class until after 10am...only four days a week...Fridays were for doing nothing/shopping/resting after Thursday night.

3. Baking giant chocolate chip cookies the size of my face with our house mother in the sorority house. Even though we weren't supposed to be allowed in the kitchen. She had her favorites =)

4. Recruitment. 150 girls living under one roof provides an opportunity for lots of drama, but also for many hilarious memories. You get to know each other on a whole new level. Love it. And when it's all over and we set a record for recruiting the largest pledge class in the school's history, it feels so rewarding!  

5. Football Season. Period. Tailgating, dressing up, pretending to understand the game, the random things that go on afterwards, and always ending up at the same bar...

6. Enjoying Snow Days locked up in the sorority house playing card games and eating hot tamales until we couldn't feel our tongues anymore because they were on fire. Then, even though our tongues were raw, our house mom would make homemade hot chocolate and we'd drink that as well...usually resulting in burns to the mouth. But so delicious...she topped it with marshmallow fluff and a chocolate covered peppermint stick...mmmm!

7. Teaching a freshman orientation class and having all the clueless freshman look up to me and come to me with innocent questions and worries about college.

8. Wasting time in the TV room...but there were always at least 5 other people in there wasting time as well, so I never felt that bad about being lazy and catching up on gossip. The Ellen Show was a house fav...we watched it every day before being served dinner at 5pm like we were living in a retirement home, not on a college campus. The food was always delicious and I ate too much of it though, so I can't complain!

9. Gaining leadership experience through the many opportunities provided on campus. I learned more being President, working with others to manage all the girls in the sorority than I did in any single class.

10. Giving campus tours as a guide at the school Visitor Center. I loved meeting all the soon-to-be freshman and helping them make the important decision of where to go to college. It also provided many other opportunities...like being in school photo shoots for promotional material, traveling to school college fairs, and meeting many interesting people....which eventually led to being invited on the best ski trip I've ever been on ;)

There are so many other things I love and miss about school. I can't wait until I can make a list about this next stage of my life because good and exciting times should be coming soon!

Success in the kitchen!

I committed to cooking, and I did it...and it was actually delicious! Last night I made an Indonesian Pasta that had asparagus and red peppers in it. It tasted similar to Thai noodles, which I LOVE!

Plus, with the extra asparagus, I made this Tangy Asparagus recipe to eat with my meal tonight:

2 lbs. fresh asparagus
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp dried crushed red pepper

Snap off and discard tough ends of asparagus. Cook in boiling water to cover 3 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender; drain. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process; drain. Arrange asparagus in 13x9" dish.

Whisk together olive oil and next 4 ingredients until well blended; pour over asparagus. Cover and chill 8 hours. Drain before serving.

I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while now, but it takes preparation because it needs to chill for 8 hours. It was worth it though, I highly recommend! =)

Practice Makes Perfect

Ever since I moved into my own place, I have been threatening to do something other than heat a baked potato cook real meals. I really want to be a good cook, but I have yet to find the motivation to get started practicing. When I cook large recipes, I tend to eat larger portions...not good! Plus, by the time I get home from work, I just want to eat because I'm starving.

Tonight, me and a friend cooked homemade spinach and chicken enchiladas. They were ok. For tomorrow night, I have planned to make a pasta recipe from this amazing cookbook I got as a gift before I moved. The book lists nutrition facts for every item in it, and it gives very good directions as to how to make the dish for beginners like me. There are also references in the front and back that have food equivalents and the definition for a lot of unfamiliar cooking terms.

I figure if I plan ahead to cook and have the ingredients ready, I will have a higher chance of following through. Wish me luck! Now, if only I had someone to share my meal with...anyone interested? ;)

Longest Day EVER

I cannot believe it's only Monday. It seems like ages ago that I drank my morning latte...

I also feel very homesick today for some reason, which is weird because I talked to a guy I met several weeks ago on the shuttle this morning and we both remembered each other, I saw people from work I knew at the gym (I usually get really excited when I run into people I know because it doesn't happen much up here), and the instructor of our weight training class asked my (by name!) why I wasn't standing in my usual spot. All of these incidents would normally make me start to feel like I'm getting in a routine, but instead I am missing home.

My best friend moved back to school this weekend to begin classes towards her masters. This has had me thinking about the different directions our lives are taking. It is so weird that campus is full of students again, sorority recruitment is over, and everyone is getting used to their new class schedule...and I will never go through that again. I miss it so much.

At least I am now getting a paycheck...and this week is payday! Hopefully the rest of this week doesn't drag on like today did...only 4 more days until the weekend ;)

I LOVE Sundays =)

Now, more than ever, I have such an appreciation for the weekend. Especially Sundays. I recently put a TV in my bedroom, and I thoroughly enjoyed waking up without an alarm today and lying in bed for a while watching TLC (does anyone else LOVE the marathon of "Moving Up" that's on on Sunday mornings??) until I was completely ready to get out of bed. It was wonderful.

I believe Sundays are meant to be relaxing, and I definitely had a relaxing day. Although I managed to do my laundry, clean the apartment, go to Target, the grocery, and to the gym today, I also spent plenty of time catching up on my DVR. Speaking of which...I think I'm really going to like this season of Project Runway. I haven't watched for several seasons, but I now remember how much I enjoyed this show!

Hope everyone else had a nice weekend! I'm going to get ready for another work week!

The Amazing Race

"It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time" --Winston Churchill

I have a problem with thinking too much about the future. I am a planner, and sometimes that gets out of control. Lately, I have been stressing myself out about my future way too much. Instead, I've decided I need to simply start doing things today that will set me up for happiness and success down the road. Just take life one day at a time, and let life run its course.

I am anxious to meet more people in the area (a guy would be nice as well...), and I've decided that since I met tons of friends through social groups in college, I should try that in the new city as well. There are tons of "young professional" organizations here that look like fun.

Today, a team of four of us (basically all the people I already know in the new city) got together for a scavenger hunt through downtown. A big charity organization in town hosted a social scavenger hunt (similar to the Amazing Race but on a much smaller scale...alrthough it did seem like we were running/walking forever) and a happy hour afterwards (even though it was only 2 o'clock in the afternoon). There were 5 detour locations at bars that were discovered by figuring out clues and 5 destinations where you had to answer trivia about the city's history. Although this event was more social based, this organization does about 30 community service events throughout the year as well. I'm excited to get more involved in the group because everyone was very nice! Being that all of our team members were new to the city, we did not even come close to winning overall, but we did win in our minds because we gained a greater feel of the city and met some wonderful new people!

Workin' on my fitness

Somehow I managed to gain enough motivation to go to the gym after work today for the 5th time in a row this week! Friday workouts usually never happen because by Wednesday the end of the week all I can think about is catching up on much needed sleep. However, this week was different. For the first time since I've started working, I felt energetic and even somewhat productive at work. I refuse to admit that working out actually does give you more energy. That would mean I should work out more often, and let's be honest, that's probably not going to happen.

I took a weight training class today, but that is not the point of this story. After the class, as everyone was putting away their equipment, a fellow "classmate" came up to me. I've met her during previous classes, and she has been coming to this gym for over 6 years. This is the first time people at this gym have been mildly friendly or talkative...something I've been adjusting to because people from the south are much more sweet and welcoming. This woman asked how old I was and said that during her workout today, she realized how perfect I would be for her son who is my age. Apparently her son has been single since February, and I am her ideal perfect girlfriend for him.  She was very nice, and even admitted that this was random/strange of her to do. She said she was going to bring her son to next week's weight class to meet me, but thankfully promised she wouldn't say anything to him in advance.

I guess I'm flattered. She said that I am an attractive and friendly young lady. Now the pressure is on. I always get very self conscious in these situations because after thinking hard about how this guy looks, I suddenly realize he is also going to be judging me. No expectations, but maybe this could be a new friend in the area! Only time will tell... All I know as of now is that pizza for dinner sounds delicious. I do deserve it after all this time spent at the gym!

Inside a Woman's Thoughts

Ok, I know three posts is too many for one night, but I'm on a "new blogger high," if such a thing exists.

Anyway, I wanted to leave on a more positive note. I read this list of "Random thoughts of a 25-35 Year Old Woman" today, and died laughing (in public by myself) so I wanted to share. I highlighted the ones I thought were especially hilarious!

I know it's long, but trust me it's so worth it. Enjoy :)

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I canthink about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tellmy own story that's not only better, but also more directly involvesme.
-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when yourealize you're wrong.
-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink tohave fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint andsticks when they've invented the lighter?
-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you'regoing in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed tobe going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in thedirection from which you came, you have to first do something likecheck your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter toyourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you'recrazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know"feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choosenot to be friends with?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn'twork? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magicallyfix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we allknow how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boardsor FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it. (personal side note: examples for me include Forest Gump--to begin, I thought Vietnam was somewhere in New York, and My Girl--why couldn't she go out and play for 5-7 days? Now I know all too well...)
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actuallybecomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone'slaughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a littlebit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still theonly one who really, really gets it.
-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? (personal note: thanks, mom, for teaching me that one!)
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand thantake 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clearyour computer history if you die.
-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to thespread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say". (this makes me LOL!!)
- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantrontest is absolutely petrifying.
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart",all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nodand smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams upto prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a completeidiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney andsaid "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road andinstinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure Iknow how to get out of my neighborhood.
- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how theperson died.
- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in theshower first and THEN turn on the water.
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,and you can wear them forever.
- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu'to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with anoverweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
- Bad decisions make good stories
-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that theirprofile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just gotthe Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind ifI do!
- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspringwould probably just be completely invisible.
-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to goaround and say their name and where they are from, I get so incrediblynervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at workwhen you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anythingproductive for the rest of the day.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don'twant to have to restart my collection.
-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you aregoing to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that Iswear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of peoplewatching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but willthey judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren'twatching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?' (Totally reminds me of the sorority house TV room...)
-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times andgoes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phoneand run away?
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then notseeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes. (SO TRUE!! This must be a scam to get everyone to buy more music...)
-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruisingspeed for pedophiles...
- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and stillnot know what time it is.
-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not toanswer when they call.
-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their carkeys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on theDonkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snoozebutton from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first timeevery time...
-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com andthe link takes me to a video instead of text.
-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone theydrive behind obeys the speed limit.
-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words,someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to thinkabout it, and then estimated that there must be at least four peopleeating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating bymyself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastardbefore dinner.

Friendly...or creepy?!

So here's a taste of what is going on in my daily life lately:

Since I'm working downtown, I park in a garage about a 10 minute walk from the office. Conveniently, the garage offers a complimentary shuttle service that leaves every 15 minutes. On days that the humidity is above 80% or rain is in the forecast, you better believe I'm taking the shuttle. I didn't spend an hour getting ready for nothing.

However, I may need to change my routine. The shuttle driver may have recently crossed the line from friendly to completely inappropriate.

I have gathered from several uncomfortable conversations we've engaged in that the bus driver is in his 30s and single. He knows everyone...by this I mean he honks and waves at about half of the people walking downtown as he is driving the daily route (he does not discriminate as he waves to an equal amount of homeless people as well). Upon first meeting, he would giggle and tell me he thought I was "so cute." I quickly developed the nickname "cuteness," which is distinctly different than everyone else on the shuttle who he simply calls "buddy." At first, I just smiled uncomfortably because I had nothing to say.

Then last week, I was the last person on the shuttle because my stop is very last. He told me he'd been thinking and "they should reinvent the dictionary to put a picture of me under the definition of cute." Again, I smiled uncomfortably and exited the shuttle.

The next day he said "I really like the dress you wore yesterday. You're just so cute." I tried to smile.

All of these encounters were uncomfortable, but yesterday was the worst. The driver pulled over the shuttle to the side of the road and put on his flashers so that he could tell me a 6 minute story (I timed it) until I told him I had to get going because I'd be late for work.

I don't want to make a scene because I don't want to bring more attention to myself among all the men in the garage, but if this continues I may have to give up the convenience of the shuttle and settle for a parking lot that I will walk to and from in the rain. Until then, I will be sitting at the very back of the shuttle distracted by doing "important" things on my cell phone.

Getting Started

I have many friends that will laugh when they find out I've started my own blog because I've been following others' sites for so long....And I've quickly realized how hard it is to write your very first post...I'm guessing it gets easier. Anyway, I figured this is the perfect time to start a diary of all the new things happening in my life, and this is a great way to keep in touch with friends far away without racking up a hefty cell phone bill (even though my parents still pay that bill, but we won't bring that up).

I have already endured many embarrassing moments since my move to the new city (which, by the way, seem even more awful when you are alone), and wish I had this blog then so that I could have shared these stories as they were happening. Might as well get some laughs out of all these uncomfortable situations or I'm going to start to go crazy! Unfortunately, I know there are many more embarrassing moments to come as I continue to explore the city! Hopefully there will be more stories of fun and friends as I get settled as well. Either way, I can't wait to share my adventures with you and hopefully provide some entertainment along the way!