The Great Game

Moms become addicted to Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook and has gotten Dad hooked as well. I don't see the appeal myself, though I shouldn't talk as I have created two fake Facebook accounts to play Frontierville more effectively.

Twilight

Because apparently this is what I do when I don't go anywhere all day. Make animated stick figure videos and take naps. I took 2 naps today, one from boredom and one because I had a headache.

This video makes more sense if you know about the book series Twilight. If you haven't read the books, just know that they involve vampires which sparkle. Mary, my roommate in Italy, loves those books, and when we lived together I read them, because books in English are expensive in other--non-English speaking--countries.

PI: Post-Internship

I am a victim of my own efficiency: My last work day was supposed to be August 14th, but I haven't been to work since Tuesday--I've run out of things to do there.

My mind rebels at stagnation. Luckily it seems I won't have too long an intermission this time, as I had an interview at Starbucks on Friday. It went well except for the beginning, when I spilled a lot of coffee on myself. It occurred before the interviewer, Jason, came out to see me. So the first thing my (possible) future employer saw of me was a coffee stained shirt, which is not the first impression I usually strive to make. I hope I get this (barista) job despite my lacking first impression, it would help me not to be completely bored while my main job search continues. Also I would get free coffee and be able to chat with my friends Nicole and Jenna during work hours, since they also work at that location.

I am going in to work at Communication Resources on Monday for at least half a day, it seems that they have some small thing for me to do--which I am grateful for, of course, though I have gotten used to sleeping in of a weekday.

Busy!

So it's been awhile since my last post, (I feel like I'm always saying that...) but I've been pretty busy. There's my full-time internship, Leah's wedding, Disneyland, and now my new job search!

Yes, I will begin with the bad news. My internship is ending (Aug. 14th) and will not become a full-time job. I guess consulting is just not for me.

I don't believe I've talked about the internship much, so let me fill you in; it was at a consulting firm in Mill Creek, a small business with lots of really cool people. I mostly do research, administrative stuff, packing and unpacking and ordering lunches. I did get to go to Denver on business a few weeks ago, which was pretty neat (I handled breakfast and lunch--obviously the most important job). I liked everyone I worked with but the actual work wasn't super interesting to me and at this point in my life, I think I want to love what I do. I think I can achieve that. So the job search begins again, and there are a few day-time TV shows I am looking forward to watching again. =) Though I'm not sure how much free time I'll actually have, I'm going to try to get a part-time gig at J Crew and the Mill Creek office is going to keep me on an 'as needed' basis. I have the feeling they'll need me plenty at least till the end of August, because there's lots of jobs coming up.

On to less daunting news, for me anyway; Leah's married! She is now Leah Hainey. The wedding was great fun, everyone looked amazing and Leah and Brian seemed so happy. During the reception I sat at a table with Caitlin, the other bridesmaid, Aquila and her boyfriend Aaron, who is hilarious, and Sarah Gogarty and her new funeral director boyfriend, who is also hilarious. It was a good time. Despite his chosen career, Gogarty's boyfriend was very lively--HA!! But really, he was great. The only unfortunate event of the whole day came during the reception as I got out of my chair to go to the bouquet toss. There is some back story to this, so stay with me. There were some crazy issues with the dresses we bridesmaids wore. Crazy issues. First of all, not everyone agreed about the aesthetics of the dress, (i.e. me and Caitlin thought it was...uncute). We picked them up on a super hot day in a car with no air-conditioning and had to drive out past the airport (45 minutes) to get to them. We also had to get them altered. My Grandma was kind enough to hem mine, which I really appreciated as it cut down the cost a bit. But really, the dress process was kind of agonizing. And then half way through the reception, my dress gets caught on my chair and...my dress ripped! All that work, for naught. Very demoralizing. Luckily the rip was in the back, so the pictures still turned out OK.

And then I went to Disney Land! The trip was a graduation present for me and my sister. We spent 5 days in California riding roller coasters and eating too much candy. Oh, we also met Mary Poppins. I think we probably walked about 10 miles a day, but even that couldn't stop us from having an awesome time. We rode California Screamin' (the big roller coaster in California Adventure and Mom's favorite ride) 7 times. Mom and Sarah only let us do Pirates of the Caribbean (my favorite ride) twice. Sarah claimed that the Tower of Terror is her favorite (we did that one twice as well) but I don't know if I believe her. In the photo they take when the ride drops you down a few floors (it is a falling elevator ride, for those who don't know) she never looks like she's enjoying it.

Future Husband Histories

For Leah's Bachlerette Party (can you hear the CAPS? Because that's how I pronounce it), I looked into the future (the past for Maureen as she's already married), and divined who the people attending would marry. This is some of what I found:

Maureen: On the night before Maureen's wedding, a robot from the future, (let's call him Jake 2.0), came back in time from the future to take over the world. He planed to accomplish this goal by infiltrating Jake's life/job as a computer dude and destroy the world's technology, thereby making himself the most advanced weapon in the world. So he killed the real Jake and took his place. He married Maureen (she didn't notice the switch), and then something happened to Jake 2.0; he fell in love. He and Maureen now own a house and dog together and lived happily ever after.

Leah: On the eve of Leah's wedding Brian discovered something; he had a long lost twin! unfortunately for him, it was an evil twin--Bryon. Bryon couldn't stand to see his good twin so happy, so he tied Brian to some train tracks, shaved his evil-twin goatee and married Leah. She didn't notice the difference--apparently my friends are unobservant. They led a fulfilling life of crime together.

Aquila: Aquila was at the beach one day swimming when suddenly an undercurrent caught her and she began to drown! Luckily, Old Spice Guy was on that very same beach building life size sandcastles for blind orphans and kittens to live in. He saw her flailing in the water and jet skied out to her rescue. A shark was circling Aquila but Old Spice Guy punched it in the eye and it backed off. They were married the next week on the very same beach.

Katie: On her way to Ecuador to do medical mission work Katie's plane crashed into the ocean. But don't fear--Aqua Man saved her! They rode to shore on the backs of dolphins and everyone was very impressed. Katie wanted to stay in Atlantis with Aqua Man, but she had a mission, so she left and worked for 6 months in the hospitals of Ecuador. But when she was finished, she returned to the beach where she had last seen Aqua man--and he was waiting for her! They now live happily in Atlantis.

Success!

The party was an awesome success! Here are pictures:


First we went to Ivar's in Seattle, and had happy hour. It was delicious.


After dinner we went to the Can Can and saw a show. And what a show! It was kind of a burlesque thing, very French. Our party had a VIP table right in front of the stage and we all had a glass of champagne while we watched the performance. I think we all enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure Leah did.


After the show we tried to go dancing, but it was pretty late so we ended up dispersing. But it was a good night.

And last Thursday was Leah's Bridal Shower (The wedding events will never end!). It was fun, we all went to Leah's parent's house and had dinner, played a 'How Well Do You Know The Bride' game (which I lost really, really badly), made a scrapbook for Leah out of the pictures we all brought and opened presents. Well, she opened presents. I got her this, a tee-shirt with the periodic table of elements on it, that you can color on with washable markers. I think she liked it.

Now the wedding stuff is done until the wedding. Yay!

Gra[n]d Weekend

In the past week, I've been to 4 graduation parties, which is honestly like 3 too many. Though of course I'm glad that everyone graduated. I remember when I graduated. I went to Mexico, Amsterdam, got double pink-eye, ear infections and a sinus infection. And then I was unemployed for 3 months and made an afghan (which I sleep with every night).

Yeah, there were some ups and downs.

So on to the grads. Marissa got her Masters in Amsterdam and is now cleaning out her Grandfather's garage. Katie finished nursing school and is going to Ecuador (not forever--just a few months). She's doing mission-work. Hannah finished high school and is taking a year off before college to play in a band, write a novel and work. Dan finished undergrad (French) and might join the Peace Corps. My sister also graduated this month, though we didn't have a party. Her degree is in Spanish, and she is now playing Frisbee in Portugal.

I think the time immediately post-college is special and different for everyone. It is truly a time of transition. A time to discover where your intrests lie and to pursue them at last, as an adult. It is a time to acheive, and to realize, and to watch day-time TV. Lots of day-time TV. Thank God my time of discovery is over.