Love Your Body Week

Last week was love your body week here at Boston College which even the thought of is just ridiculous to me. If girls were going to love their bodies and embrace bodies of all shapes and sizes they won't have gone to BC instead these people picked schools like Wellesley where their mind mattered and not their body or a community college that doesn't have a gym.
There is always a girl who is skinner, with prettier hair, better jeans, more expensive Yves Saint Laurent bags and that girl will ALWAYS work out next to you at the gym. That's just a fact of going to Boston College. My better than me girl has no name, I'd like to think it's something like Gisele but in reality it's probably something more upstate New York, old money like. She could be a Mitsy. She's tall, with long legs and gorgeous long blond. She wears spandex pants that I could never pull off and she carries 'the bag.' It's a large (probably weighs more than she does) white base, black emblem Yves Saint Laurent tote of perfection. This girl makes me want to run a marathon everyday and marry rich to have a perfect Park Avenue apartment and of course to be able to have that bag! No matter what time I go to the gym Mitsy or one of Mitsy's celery eating friends will be running next to the only open treadmill. So thanks girls for making me want to force feed you hamburgers and steal your bags. I'll have extra scoop of ice cream just for you during the next Love your Body Week!

The cold weather gave me a COLD!

For the past week I have been fights a cold. All of my colds go through the same steps

1. Morning Sore Throat
2. Afternoon Congestion
3. The Cough

Of course by the time I'm coughing my other symptoms are gone so I guess that makes it a little better but not really. This cough is horrible it keeps me up at night and is extremely embarrassing in the library! And as much as I complain about being sick it wasn't too bad because it did give me a excuse to sleep 10-13 hours a night and watch an entire season of Sex and the City in a day a half. Today though I decided I'm over the cold. I went to the gym but more importantly I washed my sheets which clearly means I'm healthy and can enter the real world again.

Still having bad dreams

I woke up last night at 5:30 wide awake and coughing up a storm but the good news was that I hadn't woken up due to a bad dream. Two and a half hours later though l woke up in tears well not literally but physically I felt like I had been crying for hours.

Recap of last nights dream (please bare with me it is a dream and doesn't really make sense): I was going to a regatta, big regatta. For some reason I was in charge of my boyfriend's entire life, well not really but for a kid who can pack everything he owns into his car his snowboard bag is his life. So there I was with all my crap for a regatta and a HUGE bag that was bigger than me filled with his snowboard shit. For some odd reason we took a ferry to this regatta (remember this is a dream.) When we landed we piled everyones luggage on the dock and started to move it into the house but when I went back for his bag it was GONE! I thought someone had brought it in for me so I was searching through the entire house. Because it was a dream the house was HUGE four maybe even five stories and I was frantically running up and down stairs searching under beds and even through the garage and no luck. We all came to the conclusion that it fallen INTO THE OCEAN! And was gone forever. So then I had to tell him... In tears I had to break the news that it was gone and it was my fault and I felt horrible.

As I rolled out of bed I wanted to wipe my eyes but of course I hadn't really been crying but I still felt awful! Thank goodness it was only a dream, nothing a cup of tea and a piece of toast couldn't fix.

Dreams

I've never been one to remember my dreams. I normally wake up refreshed, with a clear head and craving some form of food. Normally ice cream after a nap and eggs or toast in the mornings. But for the past two days I haven't woken up craving anything because I've been too distracted by my incredibly disturbing dreams. I've been in houses that are continually changing and slowly dividing up all the members of my family. I've been chased by sharks that end up eating all the kids I'm coaching (a lot of blood in the water it was really bad.) This was clearly a dream because a. I don't like to get wet b. I don't swim with the kids, EVER! Also I've had dreams of blacking out while walking and instead of hitting the floor I continually fall through space.

I think I'm dreaming because I'm not sleeping as hard as I normally do because I'm not as tired. This theory will be tested today, I'm not napping and I'm taking a nice long trip to the gym. Wish me luck!

More Time, More Work

While I thought this whole lack of sailing thing would give me tons of free time to enjoy myself it has definitely not. I spent my entire weekend studying for a midterm I had on Tuesday and preparing to hand in a midterm on Monday. Thank goodness I had a friend in town to get me out of my dorm room and into the city on Monday afternoon. We took a trip to Bodega AKA Boston's Hip-Hop palace! The store front is mini store 24 (for people in the south it's like a 711 but way sketchier!) It has everything you could imagine from toilet paper to random magazines. However as you walk by the Snapple machine the entire front of the machine slides to the side and you enter into an upscale retail store. This place carries all of the latest Nike Dunks, hoodies, t-shirts and of course hats! The clothes were cool and all but for me the store concept was the best part. What a genius idea! It served the upper end of the community with the fashion and the lower end with household goods. Plus they had a permanent crew, 10 guys who were just there because it was a cool place to hang out. Here's a write up if you want to check it out.

Homecoming at Dartmouth

After quitting I did the only thing I could think to do... leave BC and head north to see friends. I had completely forgotten that this was their Homecoming weekend but seeing the halfway constructed bonfire in the middle of the green I knew it was going to be a good time to visit. Thursday ended up being a typical night in the Psi U basement however they have gotten a new pledge class which is always exciting! Seeing Matty and Ben 'all dressed up' was just adorable!

After a quick trip to the hospital on Friday morning (yes my eye issues are back and in full force) I spent the afternoon sailing in the rain with the Dartmouth team and it was blast. Somehow I forgot that sailing should be fun even if it's raining, you're eye is swollen and watery, you're tell tails are wet and you're not winning every race. It made me realize that I had picked the wrong college sailing program... it wasn't so much me but the program I was part.

Friday night was the big campus bonfire which is just one more thing I can check off the list of things to do at other schools. It was still raining a bit but the ridiculously dressed and naked freshman running around the bonfire was definitely a good distraction. I found this video of last years bonfire which is exactly like this years except their were more umbrellas and this video of the bonfire falling. All and all a great way to spend the end of my week.

So I'm not sailing anymore

For the past 3 and a half years I've sailed 3-6 days a week. I've fought a constant battle with my coach who doesn't give two shits about me or my goals on the team. I've sailed in the rain and the snow and have lost hours of my life bobbed around Dorchester Bay. Last Wednesday I had had enough. I met with Greg and before it was out of my mouth he said 'ok' and simple sent me on my way. I wish I could say he fought for me to stay on the team like he has for other members or that he was upset at my final conclusion but he did and he wasn't. As I walked out of his door his finally words were 'You're a good crew, Sorry it didn't work out.' Well funny thing Mr. Wilkinson if you had wanted it to work out it would have...

I had dreamed of this day since sophomore year and it wasn't like the hundreds of times I'd imagined it. I didn't leave his office ecstatically happy or with the feeling of total freedom but instead I cried. I cried for the entire afternoon. Quitting means I won't be an All-American or win a college national championship, I won't even be all NEISA... these goals are gone and I have complete failed at accomplishing them.

Clutter

I woke up this morning overwhelmed by clutter. Clutter of all levels, everything from emotional to physical. I'm probably just stressed about my first test of senior year, ekkk, which will begin in less than an hour or it could be the simi dirty room I've been living in for the past few days. Either way I was forced to clear out my entire inbox. Something about gmail looking so clean and neat has made my morning.

Ice Cream

My love for ice cream comes and goes. Yesterday it hit me in the middle of practice. I needed ice cream, no I didn't want ice cream I NEEDED IT for survival! I dropped my gear bag and ran (yes literally ran) to the ice cream shop down the street because we all know I can't keep the stuff in my apt. Due to a minimum credit card limit I was forced to not only get a scoop of coffee heath with Reese's cups but a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough as well. My thought when I made the purchase was great... next time I'm about to die from my ice cream withdrawals I'll have a scoop out of my cute little pint. I should have known how wrong I was about this. I'm the girl who ate an entire cheesecake in one day. I didn't grab a spoon and dig in when I woke up this morning which was a big step because I do love ice cream with my breakfast. Instead I spooned out a few bites here and there all day. My thought is that all that walking back and forth from the freezer had to have burned off some of those calories. Either way it was delicious and now thank goodness... it is gone!

Plus One

I have never been asked to be a ‘Plus One’ but I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to go like this…

Him: you are going to Spain for the new year right?

Me: I'll be back before new years, I'm just in Spain for Christmas

Him: mm, it’s my Aunt’s Wedding
…you are welcome to come, not sure how weird it would be though

Does that really count as an ‘invite?’ It sounded more like a dare to me. I understand meeting families can always be a bit dicey. Of all people, I understand this. Hell, half of my family hasn’t learned how to chew with their mouth closed (you can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family.)

To make this sound like even less of an invitation there was no real date given other than ‘new years,’ making me question if his invitation to said wedding even includes a plus one behind it. Either way it is months away but new years in New Orleans doesn’t sound too bad.

'Hey Work-Out Barbie' - A. Nagle

Due to my classes, work load and sailing practice it makes scheduling time to work out a bit of a challenge at times. I find myself either waking up early or squeezing it in between classes. My inability to allocate enough time for tasks has me always running late and while I plan to shower and get dressed during breaks or before classes it just hasn't seemed to happen for the past well... 6 days.

Normally living in nylon and spandex wouldn't bother me but every Tuesday and Thursday I pass by a Graduate finance class with boys... men I guess you could call them dressed to the nines. Perfectly tailored suits with designer shoes and watches, gorgeous watches. As I pass their congregation outside of their classroom I feel disgusting. I can normally still feel the sweat rolling down my back as their eyes avoid me to glance to their watches to be sure not to be late for their next meeting.

I'm trapped in a world of Nike nylon running shorts and regatta tshirts! And when I finally find time to shower and change I grab a 'vintage' pair of Jesuit gym shorts and a clean regatta tshirt. I just can't get away from work out clothes! I'm dying for a night in the city when I can pull on a pair of jeans, a top and shoes that don't lace up.

I think I have the flesh-eating bacteria...

Recently there have been a few cases of the flesh-eating bacteria in the bay by the ship channel. I coach in the lake, far away from the bay and even farther away from the channel. But thank you to all the mommies and daddies who have 'educated' there children on this fascinating bacteria. Now I get to deal with "I can't sail... I could die!" Do these parents not understand that every child has a scrape or cut somewhere and that they aren't going to die from it? Because now none of the kids are able to swim because they fear death by bacteria. I'm also faced with questions that I don't feel qualified to answer such as "If this cut on my ankle gets the flesh eating bacteria will I lose my whole foot or just a chunk out of my ankle?" Well Dr. Fontenot believes that the particular bacteria that will infect your cut will not only eat the flesh off your foot but also slowly and painfully eat away at your BRAIN!

Please parents, stop educating your children and leave that the professionals!

Brunch, Bashes and of course Best Friends

This weekend has been amazing! It finally feels like summer but I only have two weeks left. The weekend started off pretty calm. I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and I'm not going to say it was a good omen for the weekend but it couldn't have hurt. The whole theme of the novel was following your own personal dreams (by watching for omens) and appreciating the world around you. Great book for those who are entering a new phase in their life aka graduating college.

Saturday was an adventure to say the least. Caroleene was in town from Alabama so we had to show her a good time. Roberta decided we should head to schlitterbahn in Galveston which was a great idea seeing how it was a thousand degrees! And the lazy river was the only remedy for the heat. Here we are when we decided to finally give up our search for tubes and enter the river before we died in the heat. (Imagine roberta in the group, she was too busy being a great photographer to get into the picture)


Here's the group in the not so lazy, lazy river. Let me tell you right now... I almost lost my bottoms numerous times on those 'lazy river' rapids.

The lazy river was bunches of fun after we stole tubes from small children as they got swept under the water (nobody drowned while we were there... or that I know of) After a few laps we decided to leave the river to go down some slides. But first we had to take a stop in the raining mushroom...


We didn't have time to do too many rides so we decided to take on the two most intense rides in the park and then head back to river which in my eyes was a great idea because I love floating around in a man made river filled with a thousand people I don't know. The rides where awesome though! Here is the park from the top of one of our rides



John and I had to do some Baywatch rescuing in the wave pool and Roberta got some shots as we were searching for the victim


All and all we had a great time floating and sliding and running around the park. Even though there were close to three thousand people in the park and over half of them had less then a year to live because they were so morbidly obese.

On the way home we had to get some Dairy Queen to top the afternoon off and I found my new favorite flavor blizzard. For those of you who don't know I've only gotten M&M blizzards for well... my entire life but now it's all about the reese's cups. Clearly, AMAZING!

After a quick dinner it was time to head downtown for a house warming/goodbye party at Larry's new apartment. After a few cocktails it was time to pull the drums out and start making some lovely music!



Sam and I were just there to say hey but quickly found ourselves surrounds by air force guys who clearly had seen a girls in years. They tried to impress us with their lack of film and literature knowledge and really impressed us their practically none existing international travels. But who can blame them... we were the only two girls there who weren't engaged and well, we were lookin good!


However the evening wasn't all fun and drinks, the night marked our last party with Jeremy (or so I thought) in Houston. I miss him already!


After Larry excused himself to the bathroom to save himself from alcohol poisoning and Sam was finally drunk enough to consider even making out with one of the air force guys and I had grown tired of discussing weddings I decided to gather up my little Sam and head home for the evening.

Sam came barreling into my room at 8am to go search for dolphins (yes the bay currently has dolphins... porpoise if you will) So of course I throw on something decent and head out to the boat to go on a search for the dolphins. Here is sam using her finger as a dolphin finder which actually seems to work because she was the one the spotted the first pod.



We followed these three for a good third minuites which was a ton of fun because she was so excited about the find!

We couldn't stay long because we had to get ready for Sunday brunch with Larry and Jeremy and a few of their friends in town. Of course we get all dressed up for what I thought would be a typical Sunday brunch of elevator music and eggs benedict but boy was I wrong! The bottom floor of the restaurant was pretty typical with a pact bar with hungover guys sucking down bloody mary's. But when our whole party arrived and we were walked upstairs to the patio I was not prepared for the DJ spinning, the shot girls walking around and the dancing that was to ensue after brunch. It was the best going away brunch for Jeremy I could have ever imagined!

Larry and Jeremy :-)

The group (no the guy on the phone who is sweating profusly is NOT with us!)

Sam and I had to leave brunch 'early' = 4:00pm to head back to the bay to make my big summer purchase... my skateboard! After a quick change of clothes we were off to find me a board as Damian says "everyone needs board, more important than car!" And I was thrilled with my purchase!


Damian and I fell in love with the same board so I compromised and got the shorter version which I think in the long run will be for the best. So after the purchase we had to play around in the parking lot...

Damian is a tad bit better than I



But I'm still learning


And even sam tried


It's been an amazing weekend and now it's time help with Sunday dinner!

New Favorite Commercials

During my tv marathons I have seen tons of new commercials which in a weird kind of way I enjoy more than the shows. TBS is currently airing my new favorite ad campaign and yes, it's for beef jerky which makes it even better! For those who haven't seen these commercials they are titled Messin' With Sasquatch and they are amazing!

This was the first one I saw The Pick Up I died laughing and I think it's because this is exactly what Barrett use to do to me every morning on the way to school.

Then I saw this one Watch Face which wasn't nearly as funny until the guy got hit in the face with the fish.

After seeing these two I went online to enjoy the entire collection of these great ads including this unaired commercial which is simply amazing! I hope you guys enjoy them just as much as I did!

Home Alone

For those of you who don't know I've been home alone since Thursday. At first when I heard the the news that my parents where off to Michigan to go gallivanting about with the DeVos' I was thrilled! I had grand ideas of cocktails with Roberta and movie nights with Jeremy and Larry and maybe a few runs to Starbucks with Sam. But instead everyone has left me alone on the same weekend. Roberta is off at some wedding and refuses to take me because she doesn't want her family to think she's a lesbian. Jeremy and Larry are off in Midland, Texas having drinks at the racquet club and avoiding the trash that has recently started showing up at the country club, according to Jeremy. However Sam has stuck by my side through this lonely time. We've been having tea and watching movies but now again I have been left, she's off to Houston for some shopping thing.

All complaining aside the weekend has been very relaxing. I think I've had a total of 20 cups of tea and have only moved off the couch to go to and from the kitchen while pausing my Entourage, Big Love and now My Boys tv marathons. It's amazing how utterly lazy I become when I have nothing to do. I haven't even accomplished my one goal of the weekend... to finish my book. I just haven't found the time between all of my tv shows and cantaloupe eating (yes, I've almost eaten an entire cantaloupe in a day and half.) Wish me luck with my big goal! Hope everyone else is having a more exciting weekend!

Crying

Over the past few days, for one reason or another I've found myself in tears. And for those people who know me, I don't cry which has made each experience even more unique. There are several different types of crying. I'd classify mine into the following...

1. The infant cry: the cry where one is so uncontrollably upset that they cry themselves to sleep
2. The privacy cry: (this, sadly enough, is my most common cry) the cry that one does when they know not a soul around could ever hear
3. The embarrassing cry: these are the tears that come rolling down in public and are normally accompanied by the line "I don't even know why I'm crying!"

Crying to me is a fascination thing. Normally it begins because there is a problem that is out of my control however after crying somehow I always feel better about the situation that has not changed a single bit. Amazing really.

Race Week

The past four days I've been working 12 hour work days at the yacht club and let me tell you... it's far from an exciting gig. There are a few things that bother me about working at a yacht club.

1. The spoiled children out number the well behaved ones
2. While you may have a strong resume, in the eyes of parents you are nothing more than 'staff'
3. You spend every moment outside and it is 103 degrees
4. Out of boredom I find myself eating and out of heat exhaustion I find myself skipping the gym
5. The mothers of 3 looked better than I do in their bikinis
6. At the end of the day I return the children to parents that are too intoxicated to drive home
7. Every parents is a better sailor than you are... just ask them!
8. As a girl you are not a coach, you are a babysitter
9. I've had to sit through two, two hour banquets
10. Having to drive the 'coach' boat around really cut into my on the water reading time
    

Another weekend at the bay...

This has been a week of Franzia (not a tour but a week) and Friday was the celebration of finishing last weekends box, I mean bag of Franzia. Thank goodness we got that thing out of the fridge before my Dad got home. He wouldn't have taken kindly to the pink bladder that was covering the entire top shelf of the fridge.

Saturday was a typical day on the boat. By typical I mean John and Roberta got tanked! and I was a great designated driver for both the boat and the car.

As you can tell Roberta was having problems keeping her balance and sitting up right as she falls on top of me in this picture (secretly I was grateful, that's the most cleavage I think I'll ever have in a picture)


We also had a great time at outriggers where we met our favorite waiter Adam.
Here's John and I pre bucket of beer...



Here I am trying to give John a nice tour of the bay when Roberta decides not only to take a picture but also to jump into it...


And clearly John needed a tour... telling by this picture, he doesn't get out much. As his father later told me on the phone (no, I've never met his father but John insisted I talk to him on the phone) they're not water people, more of land lovers.


After a great afternoon I decided I should sober these kids up. So of course... we headed off to chili's. Roberta was so hungry she ate the orange off of John's drink because she just couldn't wait.

More importantly, I was thrilled to be there as the DD. EXCITED WAVE! (wish nucci was there he would have loved the wave!)

How I just turned my day around...

Most people see my job as easy and FUN! Well let me tell all of you at once... it's neither easy nor fun. I know that y'all are all thinking, what? No! It's all fun in the sun coaching sailing. Well coaching and teaching are two very different things and today I got to teach 20 kids how to tow and it was utterly painful. I'll just give you a few highlights of my day...

• "The Tummy Ache"
  
• Mason: my stomach hurts real bad, I can't sail
• Me: Well ok we'll call your mom to go home
• Mason: Good I think I'm going to throw up
• (I start to giggle at the thought of him voming in his mom's new lexus)
• Me: Well Mason what did you have for lunch?
• Mason: A vanilla milkshake, two orders of chicken tenders, curly fries AND regular fries and well... two cokes

Now guys I'm no doctor but that could be it!

• "I can't tow"
• Now true this is one of my kids that I despise but today he decided to run into my boat, throw me a ball of a bowline with more knots than a homemade ladder, run over my towline with 3 kids already on it and then look at me as if this was all my fault. I threw it back at him, he got huffy and yelled "FINE! I'm gonna sail in!" Mission accomplished

• "I refuse to talk to anyone"
• This is a daily occurrence with my little Anna... She looks at her feet and refuses to acknowledge anyones presence.
• Anna what's wrong, are you ok, are you scared... ok great you can just stand there!

• "I refuse to clip my mainsheet on and go sailing"
• Note: this is the older brother of "I refuse to talk to anyone"
• This is pretty self explanatory... he almost drifted into the rocks and that made me laugh

That was just a few of the things I dealt with today. At the end of it I just wanted to go home but of course I had a billion little things to deal with before I could drive away from 'the office.' But as I drove away I was sweating, angry/annoyed, and very tired and then I received a text "YAY! 4 day holiday" I almost threw my phone out the window! But when I arrived home I quickly changed my day around by doing the following (please feel free to take these tips and try them the next time you're having a bad day)

1. Tell someone how shitty it was
2. Tell someone else how shitty it was but begin to laugh at how utterly ridiculous it was
3. Take your clothes off
4. Eat a bowl of ice cream
5. Take a hot shower
6. Brag to others about how amazing your ice cream was and point out that they don't have any
7. Read ridiculous online posts like this airline complaint (Andrew, where do you find this stuff?)
   

Some how my day has started new again and let me tell you... it's going to be a good day!

Finally the whole story...

Recently Karen asked to hear how Andrew's graduation went and when she began to cry because she was laughing so hard I realized I should write up the whole story. True this was after a few drinks (a lot of drinks) so we'll see how funny it is now... sober.

Sunday morning rolled around a little quicker than I was ready for but when I woke up I thought to myself "Today I would LOVE to sit in the pouring rain wearing a trash bag with Andrew's entire family for 3 hours!" And by gosh if that's not exactly what I did!

Andrew had to leave early because a. he was the one graduating and b. he had forgotten to pick up his cap and gown on saturday so he had to try and track one down before the ceremony started at 9:30am. So I was left alone to get ready for the morning of rain (of course I had forgotten my rain jacket) and to brace myself for more family time...

I called John when I arrived on the green because there was no way I was going to find them through the sea of umbrellas. When I finally ran into him (literally) he brought me over to my seat where my "rain jacket" was waiting. It was was a lovely translucent garbage bag, thank goodness I had pulled together a decent outfit after having to scratch my original plan of a white sun dress. Mr. Loe had even brought me a rain hat (a plastic grocery bag that fit just perfectly on my head, how thoughtful.) As I sat down I felt like an 80 year old, double arm amputee who was protection her curlers from the harsh weather. I looked ridiculous and was embracing it! By embracing it I mean I was trying to act casual as I readjusted my rain hat with my right arm that I had to stretch through my neck hole of my trash bag while still trying to hold a decent conversation about how great it was that Andrew was graduating.

Mrs. Loe arrived wearing her rain jacket (what a prepared mom) and trash bag skirt carrying hot coffee for all of us and an assortment of muffins and cinnamon rolls. She was just elated to be there and was not going to let rain get in the way of the big day. She even made the comment that it felt natural for it to be raining. After she has sat through countless rainy regattas as a supportive fan of course it would rain for one of her proudest moments, Andrew's Graduation.

As we all sat there in the rain waiting for everything to get going we were entertained by this women....

John rightful named her The Usher Nazi. She had one job to hassle anybody and everybody who stood up during the program. And let me tell you, she took her job SERIOUSLY! (You should have seen when a man tried to enter with balloons, she was not havin any of that!)

As the ceremony started we all quieted down and listened to a not so great commencement speaker (I guess I'm a little jaded after Barrett's graduation of awesomeness.)

I sat between Mrs. Loe and John which worked out perfectly because he added some great comments about the Nazi as Mrs. Loe told stories about Andrew growing up and her graduation from med school. It was a perfect balance of entertainment.

As Andrew walked across the stage Mrs. Loe started to cry and I felt horrible as I didn't even have an arm or a hand for that matter to comfort her with see how I was trapped inside of a garbage bag.

As graduation ended Andrew met up with us and it was back to awesomely awkward family time. As always we took some pictures and Mrs. Loe insisted I be in some.

Here we'll play a quick game. It's like when you were a kid... What doesn't belong??


Answer:


Oh yeah, that's me! I'm clearly out of place!

As the afternoon rolled on it was one great family moment after another. First we went to the sailing team bar-b-q and then we all sat together and watch Oceans Thirteen... how cute! And don't you guys worry between the bar-b-q and movie I happened to experience two more of my fears of the weekend 1. falling (yes, right on my butt in front of everyone) 2. saying something horribly stupid. Glad I got those out of the way, I'd hate for them to think I could actually walk and talk at the same time.

And the next day was even better! We all had to wake up early not only to move Andrew out of his dorm but also to pack up his room (here's to planning ahead!) As I bent over to help pack another bag of t-shirts Mr. Loe made some comment about how I don't bend my knees, oh yeah... he thinks I'm a freak!

After everything was packed Mrs. Loe and I did a bit of shopping and then grabbed another fam lunch! Of course from there we had the 'goodbye' moment... AWKWARD!! I really should have planned this parental meet and greet on a less 'family oriented' occasion but what can you do? It's over and hopefully it went well...

Some ups and downs...

The past week has been a roller coaster to say the least.

Monday: Panic Attack (not being a drama queen, legit head between knees panic attack) Even worse this magical first time experience happened at the gym. I tried to act like it must just be dehydration from work but I don't think it was a good cover.

This all started when I ran into Krysten Williams. Krysten and I have been friends since 6th grade and while we have drifted apart it's always nice to run into her (or so I thought.) We had a bit of a chit chat while she was on the elliptical and as I commented on Boston being cold she shoved her hand in my face "AND! I'M ENGAGED!!" I acted thrilled and asked the normal questions

The wedding will be next March
He's an engineer
She'll be moving in with him in Beaumont, TX after the wedding
She's going to be a 6th grade math teacher
....grrrrrrrrreeeat!

As I started to run I felt sick. I have no idea what I want to do when I graduate or even where I want to live and I'm still trying to fight off being a scary old cat lady. And here's Krysten engaged, with a career and skinny (I guess I could be skinny too if I didn't go to a real college where people party and... DRINK!) I want to cry but more then anything I feel like I'm going to thrown up. I get off the treadmill and slowly walk over to the wall. I bend over trying to look like I'm just stretching and it's not helping. It's now coming in waves and really hitting me that she's engaged and her life is settled. I find a chair and put my head between knees and keep thinking "I went to a real college, I did stupid things and woke up in strange place, I live in a cool city, I will get a good job, and I'm happier now then I've ever been before... everything is ok, everything is going to be ok"

After my work out I returned home to my family and Scott our new company consultant. We had a great dinner and I guess I made a good impression because the next day he told my dad I should look into consulting... see everything is going to be ok.

As dinner ended my grandparents showed up with a gift for me and it finally hit me where I get my horrible gift giving attitude from... my grandmother. She had brought over a pretty stained glass piece that was a pair of ballet slippers. However as I open it she keeps say if you don't like it just tell, I'm sure you're going to hate it, Oh I don't know if you're going to like it all...
I'm going to try and learn from this experience and become more confident when giving gifts because all I wanted to do was stop unwrapping it and just hand it back to her unopened "You're right I hate it, take it back"

Tuesday: Last family dinner before Barrett leaves. "To Barrett's adventure but most importantly to family"

Wednesday: I wake up and get ready for work as Barrett is searching for his lost wallet... typical. He finds it just in time to leave for the airport as I'm walking out the door for work. We say our goodbyes and I cry for the entire trip to work. Not having my older brother for a year is going to be so hard. I need to be able to call him when I'm upset and he needs to meet Andrew and hate him and I need him to tell me to stop being such a girl and well... I just need him.

I ran into Krysten at the gym again... I may have to change gyms.

Thursday: We took the castings for my retainer so I can have straight teeth. YAY! Now I won't look like a total hick anymore. I'm really excited to get this done and hopefully everything will be done before school! While this was exciting and all the most exciting thing was that I got the morning off of work... I come home and chatted with my mom over breakfast and I even had time to go to the gym early so I wouldn't run into Krysten.

i need a hug...

Father's Day

My parents and I awoke to a house filled with air mattresses and hungover college kids. I guess the keg stands went until 3:30. I was just glad to see everyone was just 'living the dream!'

Due to father's day most people cleared out before John, Berta and I returned from breakfast. Upon arrival we called dibs on the monstrosity in our living room that we are now calling the TV. As we popped in Emperor's New Groove Barrett insisted that we wait for him to watch it and soon the whole family was laughing at Kronk and being frightened by Yzma. What a great way to start the day!

However around mid afternoon my dad took over the TV to put on some napping programs (Nascar and Golf) We didn't fight it... it is Father's day.

Roberta decided to stick around for the afternoon and research cats on my computer (aka she looked at pictures of kittens named Toby and Tiger) for 2 hours on my computer. To get rid of her I had to pretend to fall asleep and she let herself out...

The day ended with a nice family dinner (only 2 more of those left before Barrett leaves)
And of course we gave my dad his gift for being awesome! My job was to wrap it but I had just been soooooooooo busy this week. So I threw my robe over it and called it 'recycled'
Luckily my dad found it funny and not insulting!

Barrett's Leaving, so we had a PARTY!

It's always interesting to see how a party full of family and college kids goes. Luckily the transition from family cocktail hour to college rager went smoothly.

The begining of the night was very casual...
John and Roberta where vertical and looked thrilled to be there!

Larry and Jeremy showed up!
It was a huge day for Jeremy, he ended his three month vegetarian lifestyle. We were all thrilled to see this because who from Texas doesn't eat meat? We had been questioning his state loyalty.
(For those of you who haven't been to my house recently you can see the new addition to our living room, a GIANT rap star like TV... glad to see some quality party programing is on in)

Steve was the life of the party to say the least. With his continual guy advice and blunt southern statement he was a blast to have around. He was even more fun after a few games of beruit....

Once the drinking games started the party really came alive. People started swimming in hot tub (literally) and in the bay. Roberta couldn't stand up straight and keg stands began shortly after she started napping on the lawn.

PS. Roberta you are not part of our family... stop trying to steal my Dad!

Just Another Day at the 'Office'...

Today was the last day of our opti camp (campers 7-12 years old.) Opti camp has been a blast and a complete headache all at the same time. We had 22 new campers who had never sailed in there life so we definitely had some challenges (push the tiller away from you, no the other 'away')

The last day of camp though is always supposed to be fun. So we had tons of activities planned. Silly string wars and hair/face panting but most importantly we were going to have a BOAT PARADE! The kids were excited but I was thrilled with the idea! Yesterday was our big sail through where all the kids practiced going around the marks by the dock and waving at the imaginary parents. They did great and I thought everything was ready for the big day.

However upon arrival at work we realized that we had the decorations for the kids boats, the silly string, the face paint and the hair paint but we didn't have anything to wear for the festivities. Allyson and I started to brainstorm and agreed upon a pretty imaginative theme, Sailors! I however wanted to be girly sailor so I had to make a quick run home for supplies. On the way there though I was a little nervous... is the tutu I wore when i was 12 still going to fit. But don't you guys worry it went right over my head like a champ! So now I had the tutu and I picked up my famous grandma glasses and headed back to work but not before a quick trip to my dad's office...

Clearly he was thrilled to see me!
When they asked me to come home for the summer I don't think they were expecting moments like this.

After my quick detour I headed back to work to get dressed up with Allyson and get the kids boats decorated.



After our decorating though huge storms set in and really put a damper on the afternoon. I was devestated! (clearly)



Damian our coach from Argentina was also crushed, he had come all the way to Texas for the parade and now nothing....



But with some quick thinking we made the best of the lightning and thunder by having a land parade... (it was no boat parade but it'll have to do)


Abe was having tons of fun (maybe a little too much fun but that'll work itself out in a few years)


It looked like such a blast, I had hop in!!



In the end we made the best of the rain and the kids seemed to have a great time (I guess that's all that really matters.) Now to enjoy the weekend...

High School Reunion at Dinner

There are things about high school that I do miss. One of those things is running into everyone from town at one place for dinner. Tonight my parents took me to Pappadeaux. I love going there because a. they have amazing etouffee b. my good friend from kindergarten, Riley, now manages it. So it's a two for one kinda deal, good food and good friends.

As the hostess takes our name Riley spots us out of the corner of his eye and runs over for a big hug (and to ask where I've been for the past few months.) He ends up taking us to our seat and on the way there I spot Seth another friend from hs and Haili's ex bf all waiting tables. They all head over for hugs and a quick life update. As we take our seat Brad, Crystal's little brother, heads over to wait on us for the evening.

It was really nice seeing everyone tonight. I guess I should start making phone calls soon to actually meet up with some of these people and not just wait to run into them. But where's the fun in that?

Meeting the parents...

Most girls meet their boyfriends parents over a single slow and painful dinner. However when I agreed to attend Andrew's graduation I didn't realize that I was signing up for a 'meet the parents dinner' that lasted an entire weekend. Now don't get me wrong the Loe's are great and tried to make the weekend as painless as possible but there were still a few unavoidable awkward/embarrassing moments.

I flew in Saturday afternoon and started the weekend off with a nice nap (yes, I was staying in Andrew's dorm room... we'll get to that later.) We had dinner reservations at The Hanover Inn which is the nicest restaurant in Hanover. Thank goodness I had planned for this because the conversation prior to the weekend about packing that I had with Andrew went something like this...

Me: Hey what's the plan for the weekend, I'm trying to figure out what to pack
Andrew: I don't know what we're doing
Me: Nice dinner?
Andrew: Yeah, ummm nice dinner on saturday

Wow! Thanks for the help with that one
However when I arrived I realized that he was actually clueless on the event, asking his mother whether a coat was needed

Dinner went well, I think. I did however have to deal with one of my biggest fears of the weekend... spilling on myself. Now normally this isn't an issue for me but when I get nervous I have problems with this. So it wasn't really a spill but more of a drop. I feel as if I recovered well but I'm sure I turned bright red in the middle of dinner.

After dinner we made the rounds of the a cappella groups that were performing on campus. They had some pretty incredible shows. Once we left 'the fam' Andrew and I headed to Psi U... from there the night felt like every other night in the basement. No more pressure to tell good stories or look presentable. The night ended with 6 single flip games of flip cup... I couldn't have asked for a better night.

Steak and eggs

TCYC continues to amaze me. I returned to my old work location tonight for a few Rum Gums and like always, an adventure. Tonight was a collection of the old and the young as we took Mills' new boat back to well... the 70's.

As I grabbed my first Rum Gum of the night everyone was talking about 'the secret room.' The more questions I asked the more confused I got but as we pulled up to the dock it all started to make sense. I walked along the white stone walkway passing life size lawn sculptures of what seemed to be Greek God's (it was very dark so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that it wasn't really Greek God's but who knows) As I approached the house I could see through the glass doors that everyone was correct... nothing inside the house has been redecorated since the 70's. We're talking avocado fridges and matching couches. It was as if I had entered a time warp.

As soon as everyone had made the journey up to the porch it was time to find the secret room. I began to fall behind as I walked slower and slower admiring gold statues of goats and vases that could have been found in Andy Warhol's living room. As I made my way upstairs I followed the voices. The door was to fit flush with the wall and was decorated in matching wood paneling. Luckily for me they had kept it cracked and as I pushed it open I walked directly into a scene from an old James Bond movie. There is a pool table in front of me and a fully stocked rap around bar to my right. The card table was in the back next to the couch and gold statue of what looked to be a sheep laying down. As the first game of pool started I opened the bottle of wine and we all began chatting again. However the conversation never went to far without a comment on the room we had entered. Henry May was still surveying the room when he asked "Hey, does anyone have an ounce of coke because if so this is the place to do it!"

After a bottle of wine and a few beers we all headed back to the club. As the group broke up Mills, Grant and I stuck together as we searched for food and of course a few more drinking. We ended up back to Mills' for a late night snack of Steak n' fried eggs. Only in Texas is Steak n' Eggs and a bottle of wine considered a midnight snack!

The Black's Wedding

Randy's wedding was well... different. Most girls attend weddings to make their own mental list of things they would like to copy and have at their own wedding. However as I walked in I began my own list...

"Things that will NOT happen at my wedding"

• The flower girl and ring bearer will know how to walk down the aisle
• I will not be chewing gum during my vows (or at any other point of my wedding)
• My father will not be chewing gum when he gives me away
• An 8 month pregnant woman will not marry me
• My husband's best man will not have more jewelry on than I do
• I hopefully will not have to ask how to pronounce a word in my vows during the ceremony
  
• If I decide to take communion during the ceremony I will not put my gum on the steam of the glass or chug the entire glass of wine
• I will NOT have a cash bar at the reception
• I will not double fist glasses of beer when I enter my reception or proceed to chug them in front of the entire party
• 'Sexy back' will not be playing as I enter my reception

I just want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Black for this educational experience.

On another note, Jill attended the wedding which is always an adventure in itself. She brought her new boyfriend Stephen along. In my eyes Stephen is the best boyfriend she has ever had. He's intelligent (big step in the right direction), funny and puts up with Jill. Now they've only been dating on and off for a few months but if you saw them together you would think they were on their honeymoon. She can't keep her hands off him as she prances around introducing him as 'My BOYFRIEND Stephen!' As I hear this I just cringe... So maybe I have never really had a steady boyfriend but why not just call him Stephen? Does she really have to drop the BF word all the time? Everyone already assumes he's your BF seeing how he's at the wedding with you and you're all over him! He's either a BF or a male escort for the evening... So ok maybe it is needed to introduce him as your BOYFRIEND! We'd hate for rumors to fly about you having to bring an escort.

Women's Nationals

This event was a blast... who cares about the racing! We had a great time. Lily and I have decided to start our own cirque du soleil act:
This is just just training. Everyone should be prepared for our big act next year... It'll be incredible! Well that is if we beat out the contortionists, acrobats, and stilts extremists, I'm clearly keeping my hopes up for this bright future of ours.

I'm not sure but I think Becky got annoyed with me at some points of the event.
... I just wanted someone to play with! Geez Becky's chick lit is nowhere near as much fun as hanging out with ME!

However the event ended with a sad sad time... my phone ended up in a 'bad place.' I rescued it after I sacrificed my dignity but the my SIM card survived... Lily was shocked!
All and all, a great time had by all! Who knew Norfolk, VA could be so much fun?
GO EAGLES!!
Regatta Report:
Shitty conditions (light air, shifty)
BC finished in 7th
Marf received honorable mention All-American (we're so proud!)

The Eyes of Texas are Upon You!

After a long journey from Boston to Austin, the weekend started off perfectly with a trip to Taco C! One chicken taco and I was ready for the night to begin. Of course we did the large family gathering for drinks and dinner but after we dropped the grandparents off it was off to sixth street. But somehow our parent beat us to the first bar (I was far from socked.)
311 was our first stop of the night. Cheap drinks and a great band, we really couldn't ask for much more. Barrett and I began to pace ourselves after Redbull and vodka number four but not before a few great dances with the parents. Barrett dancing with mom and Dad pulling moves that I swear he'd been using since college made the dance floor an exciting place to be. It was full of cut ins and turns that could land you all the way across the room if you weren't careful. But after a few texts from Jill the party moved over to Maggie Mae's. It is by far my favorite bar in Austin. It is a two story, open air bar that makes me question why I didn't transfer after my freshman year.
As we walked in we could hear the cheering. Two years after the big win Maggie Mae's and almost every other bar on the street was playing UT's big game... The Rose Bowl! With 20 seconds to go we were still just excited as the first time we saw it, great play by VY! As he made his last touchdown the place went crazy and as the cheers simmered down mom and dad decided to call it a night. James, Barrett, Sara and myself acted as if we were only up for only one more drink there before our trip home but as soon as the parent's were out of sight it was off to Logan's.
Logan's is known for one thing, their liter beers. We walked in just in time to get four beers as we all rocked out to Journey. Tonight was what college is all about.
I'm so glad my parents ended up making it to 1:15 (mainly because they were paying for our numerous rounds of Redbull and vodka.) I'm so lucky to have such supportive and understanding parents. I just hope my mom understands that she'll never see my Fake ID... NJ What?

Tomorrow is the big day for Barrett. He seems so happy which makes me happy even through the sadness that is him abandoning me for Spain.

Here’s to UT and graduation. Here's to friends and to family!
Hook 'Em!

Burned out!

Nationals is less than a week away and today I hit the wall, I'm done with college sailing. I hate drysuits (especially having to wear them in May), I hate course 5s, and I hate everyone who is still taking practice seriously! I'm just so tired of being wet and cold and miserable at practice. I can only hope that my weekend home will help with the burn out.
Tomorrow I leave for Barrett's graduation (which means I get to miss practice!) and I'm starting to get really excited. I haven't seen the fam in ages which gives me mixed emotions about the weekend. It will be good to see everyone but I just never know exactly what will be said or done. I guess that could add to the excitement? To top it off my grandmother will be there and you just never know what is going to come out of the women's mouth! I have already requested not to sit next to her during any of the ceremonies because I fear she will embarrass me with one of her comments that was meant a. not to be offensive (but will be about someone black) and b. was suppose to be a whisper.
Parents and grandparents aside I'm thrilled to hang out with Barrett before he leaves for Spain. This gives us a reason to get drunk and hopefully not too hungover on our parents tab. We won't have much time to get too rowdy this summer before he ships off to work on the loft floor. Meaning this weekend will have to be a HUGE celebration.
Hopefully I won't die in the heat but more importantly hopefully I getting over this wall that is my burn out on college sailing!

The Internet

The internet is a fascinating thing. For me the internet brings me international news, vegan diet tips (even though I'm not a vegan), hilarious videos that may include small children and polar bears, and most importantly communication with all of my friends. I have been on AIM since junior high. I realized I had a problem one day, an addiction if you will, when i found myself wasting an entire hour on checking away messages and never even starting on AIM conversation. The next week I dropped my account. But don't you guys worry, I'm still reachable by GChat. The real beauty of GChat is that I only know a select few that use it because of that I spend less time chatting and most importantly less time checking away messages.
GChat gets me into the same kind of trouble AIM did though. In high school I openly discussed my feelings over AIM. Then it worked to my advantage however as I get older it only makes me seem certifiably insane. Today I found myself discussing my emotions over the internet, my real feelings about a situation. As tears rolled down my face I kept typing my little heart out and began to think, the internet needs to come with a filter. If you're crying, yelling, or throwing large objects across a room you shouldn't be able to type. But maybe that's the beauty of the internet, you can post anything, say anything and seem as crazy as you want and you can't see the other persons judgment. The openness I have on the internet is shocking to me.
I can only hope that during today's GChat conversation I was understood and not horrible looked down upon as THAT crazy girl...

Bapst on a sunny Wednesday morning

This year I have decided to take a new approach to studying for finals. I have not spent the past 5 days in the library watching the clock tick down until my next final. Instead I did a bit of traveling to clear my thoughts and prepare for the easiest finals schedule imaginable, two on Thursday and then I'm done!
Not being able to abandon my trusty work cubby in bapst I have returned the day before finals to put a good 15+ hours of studying in. Some people find it boring to spend massive amounts of time in libraries but for me it's a great day of people watching, especially during finals. The girls are unrecognizable without their make up on and their hair pulled back as they try to learn the basic points of good speech (Oh you comm majors, how I envy you.) But there are the select few hoping to find their next boyfriend here on the first floor of Bapst. Such as the girl sitting behind me, her white bow is bigger than her head and her skirt is simply inappropriately short for this fine Catholic institution. I wish her the best of luck in both finding Mr. Right Now and passing her finals, both look to be a current struggle for her.
Recently I've been running into an interesting character at bapst, I call him Mr. Pro. He is the one wearing the "Gay... fine by me" shirt while caring his trusty nalgene that is plastered with Pro-Life stickers. I've come to despise him and while I do get excited to mock in his open opinions this joy is always followed by the feelings of nausea which force me to move so he is out of my direct view.
Since it's still early I haven't yet encountered my favorite bapsters, the kids who have been drinking coffee for so long that their eyes have begun to twitch but I'm not worried I still have time!