Day 154

"I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend
'cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again

CHORUS
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman"

---Helen Reddy, "I Am Woman"

Believe it or not, they left me in charge at work today!!!!  Ok so maybe I was only in charge of one department...and maybe there is only technically one employee in that department (trade show registration) and he was the one out...so maybe I was in charge of myself...but I was still in charge!!!  And I actually had to solve a few issues so I felt very accomplished today.  I like knowing that people at NAMM trust me to be in charge and trust me to solve their problems.  It makes me feel very special.  I held down the fort.  There were no crash and burns so all in all I would say it was a successful day at work for me!  It was also breakfast Friday...the last Friday of the month where we get breakfast at work.  It was my month to be apart of planning the breakfast and being on kitchen duty.  We did Einstein bagels, fruit salad, and fruit parfait....simple but de-LISH!  Another successful aspect of the day...

I am the proud owner of my first EVER pair of fuzzy dice!!!!  I have NO idea what they were for originally (although they do have the summer 11 logo on them...) but there was an entire box of them in the staff room today for the taking. YAY FOR FUZZY DICE!!!

Not sure if I will write tomorrow or not....so I guess you will just have to check in and see...if I don't then Sunday is sure to be a very informative blog about my exciting weekend in LA :-D

Day 153

"Ooh! This is an S.O.S.

Don't want a second guess,

This is the bottom line

It's true!

I gave my all for you,

now my heart's in two

And I can't find the other half

It's like I'm walking on broken glass,

better believe I bled

It's a call I'll never get

Next time I see you

I'm giving you a high five

cause hugs are over rated, just FYI"

---Jonas Brothers, "S.O.S"

Broken glass!!!  Remember the other day when I mentioned that I kicked over a glass and it shattered?  I'm starting to think something fishy is going on around here!  This evening, I opened one of my cabinets to grab a cookie tray to cook my dinner and there was TONS of broken glass on the bottom shelf!  I couldn't understand where it came from at first.  I knew it didn't come from the cup I broke because they happened on opposite sides of my apartment.  But this is SOOO odd because I rarely touch anything on that bottom shelf.  I soon noticed that it was glass from a glass cutting board.  Number one...who owns a glass cutting board?!?! lol number two...HOW DID IT BREAK?? Weird thing about it...it was still standing up with the other cutting boards...it just had chunks taken out of it where the glass had shattered.  Mom suggested that maybe there was an earthquake...but this theory makes no sense because it wouldn't have fallen.  It was as low as it could get.  Plus I didn't feel an earthquake or hear anyone talking about one.  I also never heard  crash or the sound of shattered glass at any time.  So the mystery remains...how did this piece of glass break?? The world may never know...Mom's other suggestion is Spindle.  Perhaps my darling pet spider was crawling around in the cabinets and some how knocked the cutting board then managed to put it back up before it shattered completely.  What am I talking about?!?!?!  This cutting board is like the size of 50 Spindle's put together...he could never move it.  Where to go from here...I guess I just keep wondering.  I find it odd that two things have broken in the same week when I haven't broken anything since I moved here.  Let's hope that I wont break anything else **runs to the kitchen table to knock on wood**

The way we are...best friends forever!!!  I thought this picture was appropriate...Liz and I had a heart to heart this evening on the phone and it made me miss her...TONS!  I hope our friendship of amazingness NEVER changes! <3

Day 152

"Little deuce Coupe
You don't know what I got
Little deuce Coupe
You don't know what I got

Well I'm not braggin' babe so don't put me down
But I've got the fastest set of wheels in town
When something comes up to me he don't even try
Cause if I had a set of wings man I know she could fly
She's my little deuce coupe
You don't know what I got
(My little deuce coupe)
(You don't know what I got)"

---Beach Boys, "Little Deuce Coupe"

The joys of car ownership.  Today I dealt with my first REAL car owner expense.  That means my first expensive expense!  When I took my car to Audi two weeks ago for my servicing, they told me that several things needed to be done.  The rear brakes and rotors needed to be changed; the timing belt needed to be replaced; and some little things were leaking that needed to be fixed.  They quoted me for about $2,500 (if not more) for the repairs.  Now...I know this is California but really?!?! That just seems a bit absurd!  After speaking with some people at work, I found an auto shop in Carlsbad that they said I could trust.  I called and got estimates for the two things I wanted done ASAP before I drive back to Indiana and it was a good $400 cheaper than it would have been to get these things done at Audi!  I made an appointment and brought my car in this morning.  Everyone at the shop was super nice.  They even offered a shuttle service to anywhere in Carlsbad.  If that wasn't good enough, when they called to tell me my car was done they offered to drive back to my work and pick me up!!!  I got my brakes and rotors, timing belt, and water pump (they called and said it would be a good idea to have this done since they had to take it off anyway to do the timing belt) done for at least $100 less than what Audi would have charged just to do the first two things.  It was a good experience and all but I hope that Heidi (yes..my audi's name is Heidi) is not sick for a long, long time!!  I am willing to fix her, of course, but I would like it much better if she stays healthy so I don't have to! :-)

I love my Heidi!  She has treated me well! :-)

Day 151

"Para bailar la bamba,
Para bailar la bamba,
Se necesita una poca de gracia.
Una poca de gracia pa mi pa ti.
Arriba y arriba
Y arriba y arriba, por ti seré,
Por ti seré
Por ti seré.

Yo no soy marinero.
Yo no soy marinero, soy capitan.
Soy capitan.
Soy capitan.

Bamba-bamba,
Bamba-bamba,
Bamba-bamba,"

---Ritchie Valens, "La Bamba"

Today was a very busy day at work!!  This morning, I got a lot of little tasks done for the registration department.  Dr. Piechocinski, my adviser, showed up at 11 for my evaluation (yes...he flew to California just to do an evaluation and visit me).  He met with Cathy to discuss how the internship was going and then the three of us went out to lunch.  It was really nice to sit and talk with Cathy and Dr. P about how everything has been going.  They were both interested in anything to do differently or anything that I wish I had learned in school that I never did.  As soon as I got back from lunch, I went straight into a meeting about registration at the summer show.  What should have been about a half hour meeting turned into almost two hours...although it was very interesting and helped me to understand some of what I will be helping with during the show.  Before I knew it, the day was over!!!

This evening, Dr. P and I went out to an authentic Mexican meal to catch up.  We ended up in a hole in the wall little restaurant but it had GREAT Mexican food and great conversation.  It was nice to hear about what I lot of former students are up to.

 D-Pizzle and I at my graduation dinner

AND NOW...a word to the wise...NOT a good idea to do a workout after eating a very large Mexican meal!  That's my advice for the day :-)

Day 150

"Words can't express my boundless gratitude for you
I appreciate what you do
You've given me such security
No matter what mistakes I make you're there for me
You kill my disappointments and you heal my pain
You understand my fears and you protected me
Treasure every extraordinary memory and that's why...

I want my unborn son to be like my daddy
I want my husband to be like my daddy
There is no one else like my daddy
And I thank you for loving me"

---Beyonce, "Daddy"


Now I bet most of you expected me to have a post yesterday about Father's Day...but here is the thing...today is really the day to celebrate my dad.  Today is my dad's birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!!  My dad and I have a very special relationship.  From the day I was born and he called me cherubic...I knew that we were going to be amazing friends. I know, I know...how does a new born baby know something like that?  Well I don't have an answer but I know that was the start of something special.  I am definitely a Daddy's girl! (I'm a mamma's girl too but this post is about dad)  Dad and I have shared some amazing memories...we have our own jokes; we share a love for music.  He humors me and makes me dreams come true.  When I wanted to drive 6 hours to Wisconsin (pretty much on a whim) to see Stevie...he got in the car and drove me six hours there and six hours back...no questions asked.  My dad is my hero.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!! 

Thank you for helping me see the future (even when I didn't know you were doing it) 

I Love You!!!!

Day 149

"Hooray for Hollywood,
Where you're terrific if you're even good
Where anyone at all from Shirley Temple to Aimee Semple
Is equally understood
Go out and try your luck, you might be Donald Duck
Hooray for Hollywood"

---Johnny Mercer / Richard Whiting, "Hooray for Hollywood"


I traveled all the way to Los Angeles today and still made it back in time to write my blog!  I was almost 100% positive that this would not get written and tomorrow's blog would be an apology! DANG! Now I need a new idea for tomorrow!  But until then...like I said, today I journeyed to Hollywood-land for a LONG overdue hang out sesh (session) with my good friend Alex Mauricio!!  Alex and I met through....HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry! Complete loss of thought!!! I just broke one of my glasses....I will get back to this story once I clean it up! Luckily it wasn't on the ground!

Ok...gotta remember to write that off so i know the apartment is one glass short! Anyway...back to my story...Alex and I met online when someone posted something about him and I decided to check it out.  That was about three years ago.  We started talking on Myspace...then through SayNow messages...and now, FINALLY, we met in person.  We decided to check out the Hollywood Blvd scene since I hadn't visited since I moved to California.  We walked around, enjoyed people watching, sat down to catch up on EVERYTHING and ate an early dinner at the famous Mel's Diner!  It was a lot of fun and I am so glad we were finally able to meet in person.

What a GREAT day!!!!!!!! <3

Day 148

"1 2 3...1 2...1 2 3...1 2 1 2

1 2 3 1 2 3...1 2 1 2"

Mighty Panther Marching Band 2003, "First Circle"

Well it's official....I miss marching band!!!!!  I spent the evening watching the marching band DVD from the 2004 season (Third Wind).  It is coming up on the time of the summer where marching bands are beginning to rehearse.  Not being in Indiana during this time is weird.  I should be showing up to Snider rehearsals to help the band prepare for the Three Rivers Parade and instead I am in California and not seeing ANY marching bands at all.

Marching band encompasses some of my most memorable moments in my life so far.  I spent 5 years marching with the Mighty Panther Marching Band.  I remember marching in rain or shine; in mud or snow; in blazing sun or freezing cold.  Even the worst parts of marching band somehow have fond memories.  The sucky 8 hour practice days in August have memories of everything paying off in October.  My first year when I fell at Regionals and was POSITIVE if we didn't go to State it was my fault led to us going to state and incredible memories of the first time I was in the air lock and saw the blue doors open to the Dome.  My junior year, when Billy broke his arm the day before our first competition and I sat out a performance and Mr. Klee announced to the entire band that some of their stupidity may have led the loss of a tuba player....well OK...that season didn't end so swell but there are still some fond memories of that year.  I am so blessed to have had an incredible band around me for those five years.  I grew up with them and they are the reason I turned out the way I did.  I would NEVER have wanted to be apart of another high school marching band.  My favorite show is probably a tie between Il Sogno my senior year and First Circle my freshman year (sophomore year in the band)...

College marching band was a fun experience also!  It wasn't the same as being a part of a competitive high school band but I have many memories.  College marching band is how I met my best friend for the next four year, Chels.  In fact, it is how I met most of my friends at Indiana State.  Cheering on a losing football team for two years kind of sucked but the traditions and music kept our spirits high.

Marching band is a family.  It is a group of people that will be down when you are down and be flying high when you are flying high.  It is a way of life...and for 7 years, it was MY way of life.  I will never forget the incredible people I met and friends that I made along the way.