Day 178

"Ready, let's roll onto something new
Taking its toll, and I'm leaving without you
Cause heaven ain't close in a place like this
I said heaven ain't close in a place like this
Bring it back down, bring it back down tonight
Never thought I'd let a rumor ruin my moonlight

Well, somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It's not confidential
I've got potential
Rushing, rushing around"

---The Killers, "Somebody Told Me"

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I have so much to do before I leave for Nashville tomorrow night!!  I don't know where my evening went but I did not get anything done!  Good thing my flight isn't until late tomorrow night so that I can get stuff done after work.  I'm feeling a little anxious about how this is going to work just because I feel like I have NO idea what I am going to be doing in Nashville.  I know I will be sitting at registration and helping out there but I don't know what time they need me to be there in the mornings...I don't know how late I am working in the evenings....I don't know when my lunch break is....I just don't know!  I know that once I get there it will all become clear but this not knowing is weird!

One thing that did take up part of my evening...I skyped with the next NAMM intern to answer any questions she may have about coming out here.  She is coming from IL (so another midwest girl) and this is going to be a big move for her.  I was so glad I was able to help her and answer all of her questions.  We spoke for almost two hours and I was able to show her the apartment and give her some insight into the NAMM intern lifestyle.

Picture of the day is from our trip to Vegas...but it was just posted today...

Love these girls!!! Had an awesome trip and made two new friends :-)

Now...to get back to getting things done!!!  I will not be blogging while in Nashville because I am not bringing my computer.  As soon as I get back I will be finishing my packing and heading back to Indiana!  So until then...

Day 177

"I wonder how it feels to be famous
But wonder is as far as I will go
Because I'd probably lose myself in all the Pictures
And end up being someone I don't know.
So it's probably best I stay in Indiana
Just dreaming of the world as it should be
Where every day is a battle to convince myself
I'm glad she never fell in love with me"

---Jon McLaughlin, "Indiana"

So this song doesn't really represent how I feel..and I don't want you to get the wrong idea...HOWEVER...it was just playing and so now it's in my head which makes it the song on my blog today lol

My final California weekend....two weeks from today I will be pulling back into Fort Wayne (next weekend I will be in Nashville).  Today was filled with a lot of packing...I packed up two large boxes that are going to be shipped back to Indiana and tried to figure out what else I can pack before leaving for Nashville.  I still have a lot to do tomorrow to get ready for this adventure.  Last few days of work here I come....

I really thought I was going to have something of substance to talk about tonight but as I sit here...I am coming up with nothing.  Sorry for having such a short post about nothing.

JUST REMEMBERED!!!! I watched the final game of the Women's World Cup Finals of USA against Japan today.  I will say that I am not a soccer fan...I don't find it the most exciting sport to watch BUT I was in to today's game.  I wish the United State could have pulled it off but it was a fantastic game and it was great to see some hope for the country of Japan who has been hit so hard this year.  CONGRATS JAPAN

Day 175 and 176

"What if I fall

If I fall in love with you

I'll give you something that

You never even knew

Everybody wants to say

That we should take our time

I want to fall in love tonight"

---Mark Russell, "Her Song"

I know what you all are thinking..."she didn't write AGAIN?!?!" but I promise I have a good excuse!  Well at least it is a good excuse to me and I have several goodies for you for accepting my excuse!  First off...let me say that yesterday was my FINAL Friday in the office at NAMM!  How freaking crazy is that?!  It was a really quiet day around the office which is strange since it was the last week before the show.  I did a lot of nothing or trying to find things to do at work.  The pennies were back and put to good use which I think everyone enjoyed...

After work, I journeyed to San Diego to hang out with Steven (my cousin) and go downtown to the Hard Rock Cafe to see Mark Russell perform!!  We took the trolley from Steven's apartment down there which was a lot of fun and was cheaper than trying to find a place to park once we got downtown.  (side note...I never knew HOW many homeless there were in downtown San Diego!!!  We passed down one street where there were literally 20-30 homeless making their home on the sidewalk!)  When we finally got a table at the Hard Rock we were super excited because it was right next to the stage!  Little did we know that Mark would be performing on the opposite side of the stage...where there was a giant column right in the middle!  We had to do a little re-arranging to figure out how we both could see but we made it work.  Here are a few pictures of the night...

Oh!!! I forgot to mention the most important part of the evening....Mark performed the song that he wrote for me!!!!  He promised me the very FIRST time I met him that he would write me a song...and like 4 years later I finally got to see my song performed live (I just heard it for the first time about a month ago...he didn't write it until about a month ago HAHA)  Here is a video of Mark performing my song from last night...sorry about the background noise...it is a restaurant and a lot of people were talking around us but you can really hear Mark on the choruses:

Amazing, right?!?!?!  I can't believe someone actually wrote a song for me! :-) Steven says it is bound to be a #1 hit!

As for today...this morning I went to see "Horrible Bosses" with Bonnie at a theater in Vista.  It was a lot funnier than I was expecting it to me!  Some parts were pretty predictable but we both enjoyed the movie a lot.  Then Bonnie took me out to lunch at Chili's!  We enjoyed good food and great company.  I am really going to miss her when I move back home but I hope that we can keep in touch.  This afternoon I had a long conversation with my landlords while sitting out in front of my apartment.  It was a nice and relaxing Saturday.  Tomorrow I have to start playing the packing game...I probably should have started today but I procrastinated so I guess I really have to do it tomorrow!

Day 174

"Woke up in London yesterday
Found myself in the city near Piccadilly
Don't really know how I got here
I got some pictures on my phone

New names and numbers that I don't know
Address to places like Abbey Road
Day turns to night, night turns to whatever we want
We're young enough to say

Oh this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life

Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life"

---One Republic, "Good Life"

Today was a good day at work!  Lots of laughter and good times.  I think with the show so close everyone is getting a little loopy...I can only imagine what it would be like right before the winter show.  We started off the morning with the return of the pennies and penny wars!!

I can't remember if I mentioned this yesterday but the pennies disappeared during the day yesterday!  Everyone was sad that they were gone and there was no more creativity to be had.  Then...this morning...they returned again!  The creativity returned and everyone was happy to continue arranging the pennies into fun shapes and messages.  During the morning, Ken and I had what we call "story time" with our members.  We read lots of e-mail and listened to lots of phone message stories, some of which were quite amusing, about why they hadn't ordered their badges on time or issues that thought they were having.  Always a fun time sitting next to Ken all day.

During lunch, we had an in depth conversation about a million different topics and played some rounds of "would you rather" which can be pretty amusing with a bunch of adults who enjoy acting like kids!  It really makes me realized that I am going to miss the atmosphere at NAMM.  I hope that where ever I get a job, I will have fun people that I work with and people I can joke around with and enjoy my work day.

After lunch, I was covering the receptionist's break and the CEO of NAMM, Joe, came down and we had a pretty lengthy conversation about what is up next in my life.  He was very supportive and said that if I needed anything that I shouldn't hesitate to ask.  He said I am now a part of the NAMM family and there is nothing I can do about it.  I think it is amazing that as an intern in a decent sized company, I was able to actually get to know the CEO.  Not every CEO would take 20 minutes out of their day just to chat with the intern about life.  It really meant a lot to me that I know I can ask him to be a reference for a job.  He told me that if I do not get a job right away that I should definitely talk with Sweetwater...if for nothing else then just to visit with Chuck (who is a NAMM board member).

I am really going to miss it here.  I hope a find a work community that is half as much fun as NAMM has been for me.

Day 173

"So hot in...

So hot in HERE!!

So hot in...

(I said)
Its gettin hot in here (so hot)
So take off all your clothes"

---Nelly, "Hot In Here"

I was told by someone that probably wont even read this blog that tonight's blog needs to be about my evening.  Tonight was my LAST Carlsbad laundry night!  How weird is that to say?  As you may have noticed if you really paid attention to my blogs over the weeks, I do laundry every two weeks on Wednesday nights.  Two weeks from tonight I will be in West Yellowstone, Montana with my mother on our way back to Indiana!  It is so strange that laundry is what is showing me the end of my time in California is near.  I don't feel like it is really time to be moving back to Indiana but when I think about the fact that in two weeks I will not be in California any more I realize that I really am almost done.  I got an e-mail today about my going away "party" in the office which will be on my last day (July 25).  Only 5 days in the office are left.

On another note about laundry night...there must have been something about my laundry outfit of workout pants and a tee that made me look good tonight because I got hit on FOUR times while out and about!  What is up with that?!?  Once in the laundromat, twice in the grocery store, and once at Subway!  By the last one I was so ready to laugh...especially cuz the kid was clearly in high school.  He kept asking me about my husband or boyfriend.  I guess it's a memory of my final laundromat night!  I will be very happy that I can start doing laundry in my own house and not have to remember to grab cash on my way out the door.  SO EXCITED!  Bye bye collecting quarters...bye bye spending a few hours at the laundromat...bye bye people hitting on me :-)

PS...the one I went to wasn't nearly this nice and clean! (notice I said "went" CUZ I NEVER HAVE TO GO AGAIN!

Day 172

"Ma, you always taught me
What was right from wrong
And now I just wanna give it a try
Mama, I've been in the nest for far too long
So please give a push and mama watch me fly
Watch me fly

Hey, mama, say mama

Someday i will meet a man
You won't condemn

And we will have some kids
And you can torture them
But let me be a star
Before i take that vow
'Cause mama, i'm a big girl now"

---Hairspray Cast, "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now"

And it is officially starting to hit me.  Today I finished my long term project for the internship, my Steinway scanning project!!!  I am super excited to be done but it is strange.  I only have 6 days left in the office until my internship is over and I am spit out into the real world.  How can it be possible that my six months in California are going to be over in two short weeks?  Then I move on to be an unemployed college graduate.  A plus, that I don't think I mentioned in my blog with all of the other stuff going on, is that I applied for my first big person job!!!!  There is a job opening for an Events Manager at the Embassy Theater in Fort Wayne.  It seems to be a new position and I think it would be an awesome position for me to being my career in the entertainment industry.  The resume and cover letter are in and now I play the waiting game.  I am trying not to be to anxious about it but it is hard.  I don't like waiting!!

For my picture of the day I had this BIG plan to do "The Penny Diaries"...

 A few days ago (I think it was Thursday of last week) a pile of 4 or 5 pennies showed up on the ledge next to the stairs at work.  The next time I walked by the pile had grown to about 10 pennies and they were in the shape of a star.  Each time I pass by the stairs (normally at least 4 or 5 times a day) the pennies number of pennies have grown and the shape has changed.  This is actually a picture I took yesterday of the pennies (I haven't been able to capture more photos but if I get some I'll post them).  They have also been in the shape of a happy face, ice cream cone, and hot air balloon.  There are probably more things but those are just the things I remember.  The fact that people keep adding to the pile and changing the shapes is awesome.  I am going to miss the people at NAMM when I am done.  They are so awesome and so creative.

Day 168, 169, 170 AND 171

"Viva Las Vegas with you neon flashin'
And your one armbandits crashin'
All those hopes down the drain
Viva Las Vegas turnin' day into nighttime
Turnin' night into daytime
If you see it once
You'll never be the same again"

---Elvis Presley, "Viva Las Vegas"

Well....I can honestly say that I survived my trip to Vegas!  We did a TON in our short time and I spent a lot of money but it was all worth it!  I also came away with two new friends...Esther and Sarah!  The four of us spent two whirlwind days touring Vegas.  The first night (after all of us were traveling all day) we actually ended up going to a Vegas staple: Chippen Dales!!!!!  Sooooo...it wasn't really my cup of tea but it was still a fun time and we got to meet the guys afterwards.  They were super nice.  On Saturday we spent the day wandering all over man's creation!  We pretty much walked the entire strip and visited most of the big name hotels and attractions!  I enjoyed seeing a lot of the same things that I saw the last time I was in Vegas (when I was 15) but it was nice to be able to experience more of it this time!  That evening we decided to go see the original Cirque show, "O", which is the water show!  It was incredible!!!!  The stage was one of the most amazing parts...one second it was there and the next it disappeared completely and there was a deep pool full of water with people swimming around.  And the acrobatics that the performers were able to do were absolutely amazing.

I didn't end up taking a lot of pictures with my camera due to all 4 of us having cameras...so I will be stealing pictures from the other girls once they are posted but here is a few of my favorites!

Fantastic weekend with fantastic girls!

Day 167

Quick blog...cuz I have packing to do!  No matter how hard I tried to stay on task this evening and get everything done, I still feel like I am behind!  I haven't even begun to pack...where am I going you might ask?! TO VEGAS!!!! I am spending this weekend in Vegas with my friend Elaine from elementary school.  It's one of my last weekends in California and I couldn't leave without visiting Vegas at least once.  We are having a girl's weekend and I am super excited to get away for the weekend and relax in a fun atmosphere before the final push to the Nashville show starts next week.  There will be no blog posts until I get back because I am not bringing my laptop.  But have no fear....a nice long post will be coming your way full with pictures and stories about my adventures.  So...until I return...

This is where you can find me for the next few days :-)

Day 166

"Summer starry nights

We can spend tonight at your place

I'm not picky

Watch the stars go by

Losing track of time

There's not place I'd rather be

Wooaho uh oh

Got me thinkin'

Wooaho uh oh

Everything I wanted

I know, I know

I need to meet your parents

uh oh, uh oh

You're everthing I wanted"

---Mark Russell, "Annika"

So it's late and I have been trying to catch up on stuff all evening....I feel like this post is not going to be very long...or informative!  It was a long day of work but I realized that two weeks from today I will be in Nashville preparing for the first day of Summer NAMM! I still can't believe that this internship is over.  In fact, in 19 days I will be done with my last day of the internship and preparing for my drive back to Indiana.  HOW CRAZY IS THAT??

Anyway, I took some time this evening to watch Mark Russell perform on StageIt.com and it was super exciting because I finally got to hear the song that Mark promised he would write me over three years ago!!!  The lyrics of the day are what I could interpret from the song (I in NO way think they are 100% accurate but it's as close as I could get lol)...it has no title but Mark said he may just have to call it Annika for now so that's the working title.  It was very exciting!!!

And here is the great Mark Russell performing live on StageIt.com :-)

Day 161, 162, 163, 164, AND 165

"Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?"

---Inner Circle, "Bad Boys"

I've been bad...I'm not a boy but I have been bad...I've missed FOUR days of blogging!  But I warned you, my dear blog readers!  And I have a very good excuse.  I'm going to go with...my boyfriend was here and I was on total vacation mode and it was AMAZING!!! The last few days I have been playing tourist with Adam.  On Friday we explored the Nixon Museum and Nixon's Boyhood Home in Yorba Linda, California. We learned a lot about the life of former president Richard Nixon and saw many artifacts.

It was beautiful California weather, although a little warmer than we expected.  This is a photo of the house that Nixon grew up in and in the bottom left corner is Nixon's final resting place.  After the Nixon Museum, we traveled about twenty minutes to Anaheim where we attended the Anaheim Angels v. Los Angeles Dodgers game.  We made friends with two of the ushers (we were early and the only one's in our section for awhile) and one of them reminded us of Dad and Pop Pop.  I think those two have a triplet in California!  The game was interesting since it was very much a rivalry game of the two LA teams.  There was lots of friendly rivalry between fans.  I loved the view from the stadium as the sun was setting especially the mountains in the background...

It makes me miss living somewhere where there are actual HILLS and mountains.  Indiana is just too flat for me.  On Saturday, we journeyed the opposite direction on the 5 to San Diego.  We visited the USS Midway and took a tour.  I don't know if I could ever live on a ship like that.  It was so confusing to get around I never knew what level we were on or how to get to different parts of the ship.  While on the flight deck, we witnessed another part of history.  Docked across the harbor, in Coronado, was the USS Carl Vinson.  This ship recently returned from deployment.  It was the ship that Osama bin Laden was taken to before being buried at sea.

The banner behind us in this picture was hung on the the Midway when the Carl Vinson came back to port about two weeks ago.  It says "Welcome Home."  After our adventures on the Midway, we traveled to Old Town San Diego to eat some authentic Mexican.  We found a restaurant called Casa Guadalajara and it was SOOOOOOO yummy!!

I ate a chimichanga and Adam had a burrito.  We also had a yummy shrimp appetizer and some much needed margaritas after a hot day.  We wandered around the rest of Old Town for a bit before heading back up to Carlsbad to catch a movie.  We went to see Transformers 3.  Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it even though I never saw the first two movies.  I have decided that I need to see the other two now.

Day three was full of more fun.  We actually slept in, which was nice, then heading down to San Diego again to visit the world famous San Diego Zoo.  The zoo was extremely crowded.  So crowded, in fact, that we couldn't even park in the normal parking lot.  We ended up parking in the extended parking which is actually a track for a middle school down the road from the zoo.

Once we were inside the zoo, it was equally as busy.  We tried to start at one end of the zoo and make our way to the other end without too much repetition.  It took us a while to figure out the pathways but I think we hit everything we wanted to see (except the pandas which had an extremely long line).  I love the San Diego Zoo but MAN do you get a workout wandering up and down and all around those hills.  We decided to call it an early evening and made dinner at home, went on an evening walk, and called it an early night.  Oh yeah...we also rented Yogi Bear and watched that.  It may have gotten bad reviews but I found it pretty funny!  Gotta love Yogi and his pic-i-nick baskets.

Monday, the 4th of July, was our busiest day.  We were up and on the road by 7AM to make it up north, past Los Angeles, by 10AM when the Reagan Museum opened.  We ended up making it there with almost an hour to spare.  I don't know where everyone was on Monday morning but the roads to, through, and out of LA were completely traffic free.  I don't think I could get that lucky again if I tried!  After making a donut stop, we heading to the Reagan Museum about 20 minutes before it opened.  Little did we know that there would be TONS of people there.  We weren't even allowed to park in the parking lot...we had to park going downhill on the road leading up to the museum.  It was INSANE the amount of people that were there.  We found out they were having a 4th of July celebration with many free events for kids and families. This museum was very different than the Nixon museum.  It was obvious that the Reagan's had more money to work with.  There was a lot of interactive elements in the galleries and everything was very well put together.  Some of the most memorable parts was being able to tour Air Force One, seeing a portrait of Reagan made out of Jelly Bellys, seeing a beam from 9/11, seeing a note written to Nancy Reagan by Queen Elizabeth after President Reagan passed away, and seeing a portion of the Berlin Wall...

Adam and I then traveled down to Los Angeles to eat at Phillipe's for some French Dipped deliciousness...

And finally finished our 4th of July festivities at Dodgers Stadium to see my Amazin' Mets play!!!!!!  It was a great game and OF COURSE the Mets won which made it simply the best.  The fireworks after the game were amazing and the cherry on top of the sundae came when I met and took a picture with Justin Turner, a Mets player originally from Long Beach, California, who's family was sitting in the section just over from us.

It was a great weekend with a fantastic boyfriend!!  I am so glad that we were able to take a mini vacation together.  Again, I am sorry that the blog wasn't written for a few days but I am hoping that these extra pictures and text about my adventures make up for it.  I could probably go on forever about this weekend but I think it is time for bed.  For more pictures from the weekend, check out facebook tomorrow or Thursday.

Good night world!