Pages

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Muddy Buddies and Glowstick Shenanigans

Before I get on with this post, I must apologize for the last one. It sounded a bit Debbie Downer of me, like the semester was going just the opposite of how I wanted it to and nothing was going right. Well, despite another jump in schoolwork to wrap up the end of the semester, the past two weeks have once again proven to be one of my favorite times of year in college. Sure there's a lot of work, but with it comes December, with December comes Christmas, and with Christmas comes FUN!!!!

I guess technically speaking I shouldn't be writing this post right now and should instead working on one of the three papers I have due within the next week. But I guess that shows what kind of a time this always proves to be...we always make more time for fun at Christmas. Last Saturday we made sure to do just that, me and my wonderful roommates - just my roommates - for a wonderful girls night in. Maura and I had already been planning our traditional "Love Actually" night, but luckily our other three roommates were able to join in as well.

We made the ritual batch of rummy bears before starting the movie, and this year, introduced a new tradition of the peanut butter/chocolatey goodness that is muddy buddies. Let's just say the muddy buddies - a recipe that calls for 9 cups of chex - did not last a full 24 hours. Then we all curled up in our living room and watched one of our favorite Christmas movies for the first time of the season, going "aw" and getting way too excited all the way through. Somehow we all wound up with crazy hairdos toward the end of the movie (Maura - funny bun at the front of her head; Heather - dweezle; Gab - Princess Leah hair; KB - pigtails; KP - ponytail with crazy clips/feather hair). We truly made it a night to remember...but it didn't end there.

Now that we had crazy hairdos, we had to actually act crazy...it just wouldn't be a girls night without it. And honestly, I'm not sure the rest of you could handle it. So here is a list, a brief summary if you will, of our awesome activities of the night...
1. Locking KP in the bathroom
2. Screaming out the window at random people walking down the street
3. Setting off Jim's car alarm to said walking people
4. GLOW STICKS!!!
5. Kati Bel getting glow stick stuff in her mouth
6. Realizing we can't hide from the people we're screaming at if we have glow sticks in our hair
7. Making up an impromptu, in-the-dark, glow stick not-so-choreographed dance to "Fireflies"
8. Tea time
9. Dance party!! (on video)
10. Scaring Joe when he knocked on the door.

And now you see where the "Glowstick Shenanigans" part of the title comes in. I apologize for not going into more detail about all the fun we had, but let's be honest...when I tell too much of stories it gets boring after a while. And I'm sorta out of my blog-writing groove, so you get what you get. Besides, I think all you may want is a general idea anyways...you may have wound up with a glow-stick to the face if you were actually here :P

This is how we locked KP in the bathroom...

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Long Time, No Write

Well, as you can tell from the 2+ month gap in my posts, life has gotten to be crazy busy. While I would like to say that it is because I have been living up my senior year just as I'd imagined, sadly it's just the opposite. Professors have decided that, since we're seniors, it's time to crank up the work load. The worst part is, it's not just me...everyone else in my class has also been subject to the evil, never-ending flow of school work that continuously drains our lives. Even that friend that always encourages everyone else to take a break and have fun has been too busy with school. So much for enjoying the last year of the "easy life" before entering the real world.

While that all makes the year sound absolutely miserable, I can't lie...the year really hasn't been THAT bad. In reality, it's been about average - nothing too exciting, nothing too frustrating. And while I was hoping to get out into the city more, I've still been able to have fun with my friends, even if just for a little bit. And I must say, as excited as I am for Thanksgiving, I'm ready for all the Christmas celebrations that are bound to come when I return to school: Love Actually, rummy bears, peppermint mochas from Starbucks, all the classic Christmas excitement...the list goes on and on. Then next semester, I'm hoping that my new time management skills will help me keep on top of things so I can fully take advantage of - *drumroll please* - MY FOUR DAY WEEKENDS!!! You got it, I have off Mondays and Fridays, just the right way to wrap up senior year.

Now, you might be wondering what I'm going to be doing with those long weekends. Well, the hope is that I will be taking at least a couple of road trips to see my friends at other schools. As a matter of fact, one trip is already planned, but travelling by plane rather than car. Around mid-February, Mike, Lucy and I are going up to Michigan Tech in Houghton, Michigan to visit some friends and enjoy their winter carnival. You heard right, I'm going to the UP in the middle of February. Questioning my sanity yet? It's OK, so am I. But you know what, I think it'll be fun, and it will certainly be something different.

And now, for one last MCM Update...I FINISHED THE MARINE CORPS MARATHON!!! This has probably been the highlight of my semester thus far, and it was absolutely incredible. It was a bit of a rough start to the day since I couldn't find my pace group, but luckily I found them before the start of the race and they helped me through all the way to the end. I was so blessed to be able to train with such wonderful people and I couldn't have done it without them!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

In Loving Memory


Just a few weeks ago, on August 23, 2010, we lost a very special member of the Phelps family--my Aunt Char, after a long, tough battle with cancer. An incredibly loving family member and friend, Aunt Char always managed to bring a smile to your face. A charming person through and through, she brought a renewed kindness to the world, a kindness that made life just that much brighter. I know I can't even come close to describing every amazing aspect about this incredible woman, but I'm going to give it my best shot with my own little tribute.

No matter what happened, Aunt Char was always there. She was there for me, too, but I never truly realized just how much until I thought about it recently. As a kid, I was always going over to Uncle Pat and Aunt Char's; whether Dad had a business trip or I was just going for a simple weekend visit, I always remember being there. Aunt Char was always taking care of me, and she amazed me every time I saw her. I remember going to the basement with her and looking around at her plethora of craft supplies, asking about what everything was and admiring her current projects. I loved to help her make tasty treats in the kitchen, while other times I just watched as she cooked away...often times getting distracted by her gleaming copper pots. If I happened to be spending the night, she would take the time to get me tucked in to the cozy little bed upstairs and would read me a book. And of course, who could forget the traditional giant globs of play dough we made at nearly every visit--each time a different color.

Then there were Aunt Char's crafts...from pots to baskets and everything in between, she was always making something. She made all sorts of little gifts for everyone around her, each one of them personalized. I will never forget each year at the beach, when we would all wake up on Easter morning and find special hand-made gifts from Aunt Char. She even made a scrapbook to capture all of those wonderful beach memories. She always brought such a wonderful spirit to the house, and I can still see her sitting on the beach in one of her giant sun hats.

When I first learned of Aunt Char's passing, of course I cried; but I don't think the reality had hit. While sad, we all seemed to take some sort of consolation in knowing that her suffering was over. Then came the day of the funeral; from the moment the casket was brought into the church through the entire mass, I couldn't stop myself from crying. The tears just kept flowing as I realized she was gone, remembering what a wonderful person she was and the joy she brought to everyone that knew her. While I know that she's in a better place, it still just doesn't remove that pang of sadness.

Yesterday's burial at Arlington was the last "official" event tied with Aunt Char's passing. It was a lovely ceremony, and the priest even requested to give her the honorary title of "general," one that she rightfully deserves. But while each service has come to a close, the pain that we hold is still there. We will each have to continue to work through it in our own way every day; and everyday we'll get just a little bit stronger, and know that with everything we do, she will be looking down on us, smiling.

Parrotheads Unite!!

I write here at the desk in the lobby of my dorm, playing the lovely role of HSA, at 1:03AM. While I would love to use this time to get homework done, I'm not sure how well I would actually be able to stay awake by just doing reading. So as promised, I now bring you the long-awaited post of the 2010 Jimmy Buffett concert.

The day started as any other Buffett day would...scrambling around the house, trying to get all the food cooked at the last minute, getting the booze safely packed away, and painting our classic Buffett phrases on the car windows. Dad was on edge as usual, trying to get out of the house as soon as possible. Mackenzie pulled up in her new minivan, and the men discussed their fears of being castrated just by riding in it; all in all, a typical Phelps family pre-departure gathering. This year, however, had an added twist. There was a miscommunication for my cousin Dennis getting to the house by 1:30 and he was not yet there. Long story short, the late departure put my dad even more on edge (as well as some other things), and I was one of the lucky souls who got to be in the car with his bad mood. Of course this was Ryan's first Buffett concert, to which he had an interesting beginning, and Kathy just kept pushing my dad's buttons. It was an interesting ride for the four of us.



When we finally piled out of the car at Jiffy Lube Live, we were ready to start the party. As it turns out, we were a little behind the times...all those riding in the "swagger wagon" (as Mackenzie's van was lovingly nicknamed) had drank all the booze on the way down and were already drunk. It was great. My dad had apparently also gained a new nickname from the passengers of the swagger wagon, "Uncle Mother-F***er." How that happened I have no idea, but it was entertaining as hell for the whole night. We then gathered up all of our stuff and headed over to Mike's trailer, where we had our own little setup, bathroom included. We had brought Grandma's beer bong along, which ended up being a huge hit to both family and strangers alike. I was introduced to the amazingness that is a Malibu bay breeze, and enjoyed the tailgating festivities as always. This even included my cousin Matt breaking his wife Kristi's camera, then proceeding to chuck it on the ground, at coolers, and eventually pouring beer over it. Needless to say Kristi was not exactly pleased; luckily we were all able to laugh about it, and the party continued without anything else being broken.



(This is the picture Matt took when he broke Kristi's camera--glad he didn't break mine!)

Now, with my recent milestone birthday of 21, there was quite the hype about it throughout the entirety of tailgating. We got way too excited about getting free non-alcoholic margarita mix from the Buffett golf cart driving by, and pretty much told anyone that would listen how old I was. We all got carded several times, but for me and my recent legality, I managed to get a few extra "happy birthdays" from the people checking my ID :)



The concert of course was fun as usual. We had pavilion seats this year, center section and decently close to the stage. But I must admit, I missed the lawn. We stayed in the pavilion for about half the show before heading out to hunt for the rest of the family on the lawn. After another awesome concert, we headed back to the trailer, ate and drank more for about an hour, then headed on our journey home and back to the real world.

Well, it is now 1:56AM as I finish writing and editing this post. I've killed about an hour with a few visitors here and there, and have managed to keep myself awake. One more hour til freedom and sleep!...after I ad pictures of course.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

New Beginnings


Well the first week of school is finally over...and what a week it's been.

I must say that the past several days have been filled with a lot of fun. I saw friends that I haven't seen in months, moved into my dorm, celebrated my 21st birthday, and started classes for my senior year of college. Crazy to think that all of that could be squeezed into just a few days, but there it is. I guess I'll start my rambling at the most obvious point, the beginning of classes...

Senior year of college definitely stands out from senior year of high school on the homework level. Some education experts feel like senior year of high school is almost pointless...we don't really have that much more work to do, there's not much more we can do to make our college apps look good, and it's a pretty easy ride til graduation day. Not so with college. It's only the first week and I already feel like I'm drowning in reading assignments. We're trying to get anything we can to make our resumes look even better for grad school or the work force, and this year seems to matter more than all the others. I think it's going to be a good year, but it's going to be busy and challenging as hell. Time management skills, activate! Now, on to a bit more of a cheerful topic...

I'M FINALLY 21!!! I celebrated by having dinner with my dad on Tuesday at The Dubliner, followed by my friends joining me there at the bar for drinks. We had a really good time, and everyone else paid for my drinks! Woohoo! I was happy to see both old friends and new friends there, and truly felt special on my special day. Probably one of the most amusing things, however, was seeing so many people there who don't exactly like each other (or at the very least don't hang out together). The past three years have been so ridiculously drama-filled that a ton of people that may have been friends at one point have somehow or another been pulled apart; and yet here they all were, coming together for my birthday. While they all pretty much stayed apart and talked to the people they did like, I do appreciate everyone coming together for my birthday to make it a great night. Just want you all to know, it really meant a lot :)

The birthday celebrations continued on Friday night with a combined surprise party for my roommate Maura and me. Maura's 21st birthday was not only in the middle of the summer, but also in the middle of her intense army camp, and thus she had no way of actually celebrating. As it turns out, our friends had been planning this little gathering since before school had even started, and we were both pleasantly surprised. Once again, there were many people together in the room that otherwise wouldn't have been, but it was still a blast; and once again, I thank all of those people for putting up with each other.

Oh yea, and one more part of the birthday celebrations was last night's BUFFETT CONCERT!!! As always another great family gathering, but I think I'll refrain from Buffett stories for now...that could always deserve its own post ;)

One other thing that could be seen as either a good or bad thing (or potentially both), is my nostalgia for Spain. My newly-acquired independence has almost given me a bit of a smothered feel on this somewhat sheltered campus, and part of me just wants to return to my travels around Europe. I've found myself speaking Spanish to anyone that will tolerate it, and one of my biggest current goals is to try and meet a lot more new people this year. While these aren't necessarily bad things, it's definitely made me realize that I'm going to have to change my way of life at CUA compared to years past. I must admit that this can be a bit of a daunting thought process, but an exciting one as well. I suddenly find myself looking for other things to do around DC and even around the country (road trips have already been brought up in conversation). I'm so ready to branch out in the world and see even more new things...and while I can't exactly afford to return to Europe right now, why not start with exploring a bit more of my own country? I just hope that these new goals and desires to explore hold out for the year (and beyond of course) and I don't fall back into the typical college-ness (don't really know how to describe it) that I seem to have been stuck in until now.

So that's about all that's been going on and running through my head this past week. I realize that this post's length is probably disproportionate to it's level of being interesting, but that's ok. I need to get in what I can while I still have time to write a blog...work for classes, preparing for comps, and looking for a job are quickly beginning to take over my life :P

P.S. In case you didn't make the connection with my picture choice, it's because I'm sure I'll be needing a few drinks to make it through this crazy, albeit fun, school year!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

It's Been an Interesting Ride...

It's the night before the last day of camp. I've worked at this camp all summer, my group specifically being with first graders. I wouldn't say it's the best or worst thing I've ever done, but it's definitely been interesting. Not to mention, I've learned a hell of a lot.

Since day 1 of camp, I've had one of the hardest groups in the entire camp. My co-counselors and I constantly had our hands full, and there wasn't one moment that we could let our guard down. Having never worked with kids before, this was a bit overwhelming for me, especially for the first couple weeks of summer. I had quickly started thinking that maybe I had made a mistake, that I wasn't cut out to work with kids after all. However, I gradually got used to it, figured out what to do, and realized that maybe I do really enjoy working with kids. The frustrations are more than many other jobs, but you know what? So are the rewards.

When I first interviewed for this job, one of the questions I was asked was "What is the most rewarding experience you've had working with children?" I didn't really have much to say since the only real work I had done with kids was a regular family that I babysat for. Now, after the summer that I've had, I could list so many more. One story in particular is one that I'd like to share. For the first several weeks of camp, I had some REALLY tough kids in my group. One of them was so tough that we never really knew what to do with him and didn't know how we were going to handle him for the time that he was there. Then, we started talking to our directors and getting some extra help, and his parents were helpful, too. We were able to use some methods to help calm him down and keep his behavior in check, and suddenly he got to be much easier to work with. He always had his moments, but the more summer went on, the more fun it was to be with him, and the happier it made us to see him smile. Suddenly we all began to realize -- while he is a tough kid to work with, he really is sweet, and truly does mean well. I got to see him and his parents tonight at our family night and can't tell you how happy I was to see him again. After talking to his parents a bit, they expressed to me how much they want people to see his good side. I'm so glad I was able to honestly say that I got to see it and enjoy it. His growth over the few weeks I had him was one of the biggest rewards I could ask for.

It's been a tough summer. Long, tiring, and a hell of a lot more work than I'd ever done at a job before. While I'm not sure whether or not I'll return to this particular camp, I am actually still considering working with kids some day. Despite the challenges, working with kids truly is a great experience. I'm not making any final decisions, but taking some sort of career path with children is certainly not ruled out.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Reminiscent



In an attempt to get me to "come back" and spend more money, Shutterfly sent me an email offering me 101 free prints. While I most likely will not be giving them more money due to a starving bank account, I am going to take advantage of their free offer. I see this as the perfect opportunity to get started on printing my pictures from study abroad. However, there's just one problem - while I have in fact cut down a lot of my pictures, I still have several hundred that I have to pick through to decide which ones are the best ones to print...not exactly an easy task. Due to the ever looming deadline of my free prints offer, I decided to take tonight to continue on my picture-sorting endeavor. What did this lead to? Really missing Spain...

The first folder I started to sort through was my "Best of Valencia" folder; all of the everyday stuff that just happened in Valencia, separated from special events and trips. I barely started scrolling through when I just wanted to go back. To be honest, while it was a bit of a sad feeling, that sadness actually made me feel quite happy...I suddenly remembered what I great semester I did have while I was in Europe. Every picture made me think of a random funny story or wonderful moment. As I flipped through I remembered how many of those wonderful moments I really did have, and how lucky I was to have them.

Now you might be wondering, why would I even question my happiness studying abroad? I got to go to Spain! Who wouldn't be happy?? While I always saw it as an amazing experience, I had started to wonder lately if I had really made the most of it. There were trips I wanted to take that I never went on, things I wanted to do that I never did...not to mention talking to friends of mine that did so much more than I did during their study abroad experience. After talking to them, I started to wonder if I had left too much of that opportunity to go to Europe slip away. But even looking at those few pictures, I remembered that I didn't let anything slip away. While I didn't get to do EVERYTHING I wanted to, I sure did a hell of a lot. I had good moments, bad moments, and everything in between...and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

By the end of my study abroad experience, my home-body self was ready to come back to good ol' Derwood. Now, as I look through these photos, I just want to go back. Going to Spain helped to open my eyes to so many things -- a whole wide world, my independence, and plenty of new life lessons. I had an amazing experience that made a huge difference in my life, and I'm so incredibly glad I did it. Now I just have to start saving my money so I can get back to exploring the rest of the world as soon as possible :)

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Wedding Bells

July 17th 2010: a date that I (and many other people) have been looking forward to for the last 6 months. But the occasion that actually took place on that day? Something we've all been looking forward to for much longer.

For as long as Kelly and Matt have been dating, we've all known that they would be great together; and at least speaking from the Phelps side of the family, we've known that Matt would fit into our family just right. He's always been a part of our family, but Saturday's wedding finally made it official. Not gonna lie, I got a bit teary-eyed during the actual ceremony. While I admit that I seem to be crying at a lot more these days, it really was quite the happy sight to see those two get hitched. It's been a long time coming, and I couldn't help but think about what a truly wonderful event it was.

The ceremony itself wasn't the only great part about the day. Who could ever forget the reception? It was a blast. Great music, dancing, food and drinks, and a best man speech that should win an academy award...it was a night to remember. As to be expected at a wedding, everyone was lighthearted and happy, and having a great time; but from the way I saw it, there was something more. Now, I haven't exactly been to a lot of weddings, but there was something about this one that was extra fun, extra special. Maybe it was seeing everyone in my family together again; maybe it was seeing Kelly light up as she finally referred to Matt as her husband; maybe it was all that combined with so many other little things. Who knows? All I can say is, it really was a great night.

Congratulations Kelly and Matt, I'm so happy for you and love you both!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Little Things

I think we can all agree that some of the most important or entertaining things in life are the little things. While I will probably go much more in depth on this topic, I have to start with a couple things that really aren't deeply significant or anything, but did in fact make my day.

First of all, on our 12 mile run on Sunday, it was once again quite hot. However, this week, we had two lovely surprises waiting for us...the first was at the halfway point in the form of another runner's husband with 2 jugs of ice cold water. The second was around mile 8 or 9, in the form of a fellow runner (or at least a runner's wife), with ice pops, ice to put on our necks/in our water, and Christmas music playing from her car. I wanted to give all of these people flowers, a medal of honor, something. It meant so much on such a hot day!

Second of all, yesterday was Crazy Hat Day at the camp where I work. My dad had gone to a Green Bay Packers game a few years back and brought me a cheesehead, so I decided to wear that for Crazy Hat Day. I thought the kids would like it, but I totally underestimated how much. They LOVED it, and I had kids all over campus pointing out my cheese hat. The kids in my own group just wanted to touch it all day, and I had been told several times that someone was going to eat my hat. And of course, there were all kinds of awesome crazy hats all over camp. It was a very fun day :)

So these aren't those super deep/meaningful little things that we tend to point out a lot, but these still put a smile on my face. Just thought I'd share :P

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Reality Check

When I first signed up for Marine Corps Marathon, I thought it would be just like training for my first Army Ten Miler...tough, but just gradually adding more distance and being fine. Well, guess what...it's a bit more complicated than that.

As it turns out, it is quite a bit more difficult to train for 26.2 miles vs. 10 miles. Hydration is a much bigger focus, but so is food. I found this out the hard way last Sunday after an attempted 11 mile run. I drank plenty of water, but the heat and humidity took more than that out of me. The main things? Well, they all happen to begin with the letter "E"...energy, electrolytes, and ego.

Funny thing, all those weird gel packs and gummy chews that they tell you to train with actually have quite a bit of significance. They aren't just calories for extra energy, but also have electrolytes. I never realized before Sunday that electrolytes actually are pretty important to maintain. That heat and humidity sucks you dry of these friendly little hydration-supporters, and before you know it you're facing heat exhaustion and puking on the side of the running path.

Hopefully you've gathered by now that I did not finish the 11 miler on Sunday. However, I did learn a lot from it, and hopefully can avoid another outcome like that one. The first step, and probably the toughest, was to slow down. One of the directors/coaches of the program told me that I'm in too fast a pace group, that I need to drop back 2 groups. At first, this crushed me. While I've always focused more on completion than time, I was proud of how well I was doing in a faster-than-usual group. Dropping back meant that I had to suck up a bit of pride, ego, and stubbornness, something that's not always easy.

Fighting with myself up until the last second, at this Wednesday's track workout, I joined up with the 11:40 pace group (instead of the usual 11 min group), and shyly introduced myself, head hanging slightly. Surprisingly, one of the coaches knew who I was, and everyone else in the group kindly introduced themselves and started up some friendly conversation. I didn't really expect anything different, since everyone in the program is very nice, but it was still a nice pick-me-up. As it turns out, the only one giving me a hard time about dropping back was myself.

My dad's girlfriend, Kathy, had been reminding me since Sunday that I was training for completion, not time. It took a little while for that reminder to sink in, but luckily it finally did. I had a bit of an ego trip that could have gotten me in quite a bit of trouble. Hopefully I can maintain this reality check that I've obtained, and remember what being tough in training actually means...pushing through the pain and overcoming challenges...without overdoing it.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

A Love-Hate Relationship

I am a person who loves movies. While I wouldn't call myself the ultimate movie expert or anything, I do enjoy them, and many different kinds. From action to comedy to drama, I will willingly watch most types of movies. But then there's another genre...the romance/romantic comedy/love story...the chick flick.

I will be the first to admit that I absolutely love chick flicks. While some of them do in fact go over the top and annoy me, I'm usually a total sucker for that gushy love story that puts a smile on my face and sometimes even tears in my eyes. When I was a sad little teenager in high school, chick flicks were like a sign of hope. Having always been single, they were what kept my dreams dreaming and thinking that someday something amazing like that could happen to me. Then I hit college, and the hate part started to sink in a bit.

As I got older, I finally got the reality check that life was not like the movies. We single girls had always sat around watching these movies thinking "See...it happened there, it can happen to me." But let's face it--not only is this highly unlikely, but every chick flick has a different scenario, therefore making us think that ALL of these situations will eventually come our way. Which, of course, is not true. After I finally got the slightly-belated reality check that life is in fact not like the movies, I went through a short phase of hating chick flicks and the lies they tell us. Needless to say this hate phase didn't last long...

So here I am, sitting here watching the end of "Sleepless in Seattle," one of my all-time favorites. While I still know that life is not like the movies, I can't seem to break my love of these guy-repellent films. Yet at the same time, I still have a combination love-hate relationship with them. While I still get highly entertained, I get very frustrated when I watch a movie in which I feel like I'm in just that situation with no resolution, in turn pissing me off quite a bit since I know it's just a movie. I still love them though, and just did what a classic chick flick lover would do: I added "An Affair to Remember," the movie referenced in "Sleepless in Seattle," to my Netflix list. Go me.



I hope that last paragraph made some sort of sense to all of you out there. If not, let's just say that maybe chick flicks and I need to hit up therapy and heal our wounded relationship :P

And now, for something totally unrelated with my MCM training update: ran 10 miles on Sunday in the freakin tough humidity. Finished, but barely. Had a decent track workout tonight and trying to up my miles on my own. Slowly but surely getting there!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Good Morning!


I think we can all say we've been there...just walking along the street, blank look on our face, just completely spacing out. Sometimes we're upset, sometimes just plain bored, or even grouchy because we have way too much work to get done. Then all of a sudden, you hear a cheerful "Hello!" or "Good morning!" and look up only to find some kind stranger walking past with a smile on their face. No matter how you felt beforehand, that random stranger managed to make you feel at the very least a tiny bit better.

Being in a running program, I have been lucky enough to experience this random act of kindness on quite a regular basis. As we run along the trail in our little packs, we always pass other people...whether it be another pace group or someone else out for a morning jog, everyone says good morning. Maybe it's just the fact that we are all sharing in the misery that we're putting ourselves through and the only thing left is to be nice...misery does love company. But let's face facts...none of us are really that miserable, we've got endorphins running out the wazoo!! Everyone really is just nice to each other.

But it's not just running that brings about a random hello. As we drove back from our run today, we saw Rolling Thunder passing by on the other side of the highway. Regular traffic had been stopped to allow the parade of motorcyles to continue on their way. Generally speaking, dead-stopped traffic on the DC-area highways would cause for screaming and frustration. Instead, people started to get out of their cars, waving at the bikers as they passed by, receiving kind waves in return.

This may be making some of you think of those ultra super peppy people that go a bit overboard, driving us all nuts; those aren't the people I'm talking about. I'm not talking specifics, I'm talking about people generally just being nice to other people. We seem to live in a world where the general custom is to just ignore each other. If we're not doing that we'll find any reason to argue. But luckily, sometimes, there's still that kind, human interaction that keeps us all together.

MCM Training Update: 9 mile run this morning was tough, but went well. Getting into a good routine and am feeling better about this great undertaking every day.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

God Bless Our Troops

There are all kinds of videos on the internet, from trashy to cute, entertaining to just plain pointless. Sometimes you watch videos and wonder why the hell you just wasted the last few minutes of your life watching them...and then there are the videos that amaze and inspire.

A good friend of mine watches all kinds of videos online. When he finds a good one, he generally posts it as a link on his facebook, and I usually find them all pretty entertaining. Since I don't have nearly enough time and patience to sort through videos, it sure does save me a lot of effort in finding the good ones. The other day, he posted a video and a comment, "Happy Memorial Day." The video was of soldiers coming home and surprising their loved ones...I clicked the link, watched the video, and cried like a baby.

I've watched that video three or four more times, and have cried each time. I also started to watch the related videos, and cried at those, too. But the one that got me the most was the first one...it really serves as a good reminder of the sacrifice that not just our troops make, but that their families make. Even despite the controversy that lies within the wars that our country is involved in, our soldiers never give up; they still fight for the freedom of our country.

Despite all the problems that the USA has, both domestically and internationally, we can never give up. We have to stay strong and united, and support each other every step of the way. Our soldiers help us to remember this, and sacrifice more than the rest of us could ever understand. If you'd like to watch the video, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkGzqpGx1KU

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, but I warn you now, you'll probably cry (guys too--don't be ashamed).

Monday, May 24, 2010

The Wheels are Turning...

Sorry it's taken me a while to write another post. To be honest, I haven't really wanted to. Coming up with a name for this blog has been more trouble than it's worth, and I just get more and more frustrated with each bad idea that comes to mind. Coming up with the title for my Spain blog was at least a little bit easier...at least there I had a general theme/topic to work with. But life in general? There is no one title (for me at least) that could do that subject justice. So here I am, settled on the plain and simple title of "The Coffee Break," after almost abandoning the idea of a coffee-themed blog altogether.I'm hoping that maybe in the future I can come up with a better name for this blog, but what can I say, titles have never exactly been my forte.

I return to my new blog tonight after finally watching "Julie and Julia" all the way through...the first time I attempted to watch it was on my trans-Atlantic flight to Spain, sharing a screen with the girl sitting next to me because mine didn't work, eventually ending in the movie cutting out about halfway through; all this while I still felt sick as a dog from my nerves that had built up over the course of the day. But now I have finally gotten to watch it, and I must say I really enjoyed it. While I can't say that the movie brought me to tears, it did get me thinking about something (besides food, of course)...that something big can in fact grow from something small. Something...like a blog.

Now, before you begin to think that I'm totally narcisistic, let me just say that I am not looking for my blog to become something big. Sure, it would be awesome if it did, but for the most part I just got to thinking that this blog could end up bringing about some sort of good. What kind of good, I'm not really sure, but any kind of good will be nice. Even just to be able to get some sort of writing experience, whether it's total crap or pretty decent...well I guess I can say that's a type of good in itself.

I must admit that looking at all these other fancy blogs with tags and long archives and hundreds of followers, etc etc, is a bit intimidating. But for now I think I'm just going to stick with the simplicity of my blog and go from there. Maybe as I write more I can get a bit fancier, but for all you tech-challenged people out there--you're welcome :)

Well, that's about it for now. Who knows what my next post will be about...I guess we'll all just have to wait and find out. But before I close, my marathon update...

MCM training update: Every run last week was a total bitch, even the shorter runs. Started to get discouraged in my traditional "bummer week" but had a good 8-miler on Sunday...even if it was in the pouring rain.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Blogging, Round Two

Writing my blog for Spain has inspired me to start another blog just on everyday life. I guess that officially gives me the nerdy title of "blogger," but it's fun, and I'm already a bit of a nerd as it is, so that's OK.

I realize that the coffee theme to this blog is a bit cliche, but the recent increase in my coffee addiction just made it all the more appropriate. I must admit that the theme to this blog didn't come from my own imagination, but instead I stumbled across a fun template and went from there. It was then that I remembered that some of the best conversations happen over a cup of coffee. Whether meeting a friend at a cafe or enjoying a casual Sunday morning coffee with your family at home, this caffeine-infused addictive drink just seems to be a great conversation starter. I'm hoping that maybe this blog can do the same thing. I'll write about anything and everything that comes to mind (that I would want to put in a blog of course)...thoughts about life, fun stories, and probably plenty of other random things as well. Whether this sparks conversation or not, I hope you all enjoy it.

One specific thing that I will probably write about is my running progress. I am currently training for the Marine Corps Marathon, so I figure if I have to post how good/bad I'm doing, I'll actually end up doing better. Don't worry, I won't go into tons of details that would bore any non-runners out there, but I'll just have short little updates here and there. For instance...today I had to make up for the 8-mile run I missed yesterday. I only made it 5, which sort of pissed me off (and clearly didn't make my dad happy either), but hopefully from here on out I will accomplish my workout goals.

I promise this blog will be more interesting (at least I hope so), but what better way to start than with a few random fun facts!