Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Two posts, one day

So I feel like I have been a crappy guest blogger. Jsto will be back soon and I have hardly posted anything. So my fun news of the week is this: I have hit my first deer. I can't believe that I have been able to go 30 years (14 driving years) without hitting one. If you live in PA it is almost like a rite of passage to hit a deer. I know people who are on their third or fourth deer. And the best part of my story is: I never hit my brakes. Not once. Not when I saw him. Not after I hit him. The whole thing happened so fast I'm still not sure what happened. One minute I'm driving to work then there was a deer and a loud bang. After further examination it appears the deer may have jumped over a concrete barricade and landed in front of my car, hence my lack of reaction. But I'm not entirely sure.

I'm fairly certain he lived for at least a little bit because he ran off and he isn't currently lying on the side of the road. After I hit him I did eventually regain my senses and pull over, which was no easy feat since I was in the passing lane of a 3 lane highway. Granted it was 5 a.m. but there are still cars on the road that early and they drive just as fast (if not faster) as they do any other time of day.

Once pulled over I got out and inspected the damage. Upon the sight of blood and fur on my car I freaked out and decided to finish my drive in to work. When I got to work I got the facilities guys to come out and check my car to see if it was drivable. They decided to rip what was left of my bumper off and throw it in the back of my car. Apparently the bumper is not supposed to rub against your tires. Who knew? After removing the bumper they tell me that it is drivable but that they wouldn't recommend driving it far. Crap! I was going to go to Florida this weekend......

I go through the normal notifications (parental unit, insurance) and then wondered if I should call the police. I mean it was an accident but no one was hurt and I was the only one involved. I elected to not call which apparently was the right thing to do (I asked one of the statey's at work). He said the main reason to call is for insurance reporting but I assured the cop that there was plenty of blood and fur so there should be no speculation as to what happened.

After work I took my car to a body shop for repair and found out that there is almost $6000 damage and that it is reparable. They weren't going to total my car. Thank god. I also qualified for a rental so the rental company decided to give me the biggest (and possibly only) car on the lot. I have finally gotten accustomed to driving it but I really want my car back. It should be done in the next few days and I can hardly wait. I just hope they get all of the blood and fur off.....

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Philly continued.....

So I realize it has been a few days and you are probably all just dying to know what happened for the remainder of my trip. There have been other fun things occurring in my life lately (actually bad things) that have prevented me from blogging. But my friends, that is for another blog. I will finish my Philly blog first.

So when I left you we were en-route to Philly. On a Friday. At 4 p.m. Do you know what that means? Traffic. Lots and lots of traffic. Add a screwy GPS and it was a blast. At one point the GPS told me to get off the highway and get right back forcing me to do some very scary merging. And the only reason I did it was because I was worried I was getting off on some "business route" of the same highway and didn't want to get lost.

As we sat our estimated time of arrival continued to change. It started at 4:43. Then 4:55. Then 5:02. Then next Thursday. Seriously. We were NOT moving. Lanes turned into exit only. Lanes ended. People were merging from one lane only to merge back into the previous lane. There was lots of merging. Now remember I picked a random address on the same road of the pier since the pier did not have an official address. Thankfully we saw signs for the pier so we turned the GPS off. We followed signs for Penn's Landing and before we knew it (6:00) we were there. Traffic was still shitty and was I getting sick of starting and stopping. I decided that I was parking at the first garage I found and walking the rest of the way.

We found a parking garage attached to a Hyatt and decided to park there. Although it had been raining on and off all day it was actually nice out when we parked. We walked to a map to find where the pier was. When we got to the map there was a couple and random single girl there also looking for the pier. We realized that the pier was 9 blocks away and decide to walk together.

As we walked the couple began to fight. The guy was pissed at the girl for parking where they did. They had to walk 9 whole blocks!! He tried to get a cab but the girl said that there was too many of us and we should just stay together and walk. It was, after all, nice outside. The couple started arguing and he stormed off. The rest of us followed but Derek and I kept our distance. The guy was approximately a block ahead of us but that did not stop him from turning around and screaming at his girlfriend. Derek and I decided that he was probably going to beat her later that evening. Eventually we put enough distance between us and them so we no longer had to listen to them (or provide witness statements). On the walk Derek found a sign that said "no swimming, sewer overflows". Seriously. Ew.

We finally made it to the pier and it was actually pretty cool. There was already a group playing and they were okay. At one point the lead singer asked the audience if there were any black people in audience. Uh....what? Awkward. He then said that we were all a bunch of dumb white people. Sadly it was near the end of their set and they had to go away.

Next up was a group called Fun who were more interested in talking about the impending apocalypse than singing. And I was more interested in the 12 year old girl with perhaps the largest head and largest mullet that I have ever seen in my entire life. She was wearing a lovely tie-dye shirt and maroon pants. Awesome. We also had possible old lady lesbians beside us who were wearing fanny packs. Also awesome. And finally, there were two guys who were standing way too close to one another and may have possibly been on a date.

There were beach balls bouncing around because who doesn't love some beach ball action at a concert? One of the balls was heading our way and some smart ass guy decided to spike it. In doing so he smacked the beach ball directly in the face of some fat awkward guy. Hilarious! Never laughed so hard in my life. The fat guy just stood there and didn't say anything while everyone around him laughed. Good times.

After all this fun Panic at the disco finally came on. During the middle of their set a group of 6 or 7 guys moved beside us and were basically a drunk mess. They eventually pushed their way in front of us and of course they were all well over 6 feet talk. Seriously, we're talking 6'7". They were huge. The one guy started yelling at his friend, asking him why he was so fucking tall. It was kind of funny. The first 10 times. After that, not so much. These guys then decided it was their goal to throw as many beer bottles into the crowd as possible. Thankfully the bottles were plastic and no one got hurt.

I missed most of Panic's set because of the antics of the guys but I didn't mind since I know maybe three of their songs. Weezer went on last and I was surprised how many of their songs I knew. The rest of the concert went on without a hitch and before we knew it, the concert was over. We walked to the car and attempted to drive home. After missing a few of our turns we finally found the highway (thanks to my lovely GPS) and went home. It was way late and I almost fell asleep driving but eventually we made it home (sans traffic) at around 1 a.m. Overall it was a good time and I highly recommend going to the pier at Philly for a concert if you are in the area. Just make sure you leave early enough so that you avoid all of the TRAFFIC. That was for you Nenna.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Philly, the city of brotherly love....

Hello fans of jsto. As she mentioned in a previous post, our lovely jsto is currently traveling the world, or more importantly, Italy. I would like to think she is on a gondola ride in Venice with some nice hot Italian man meat right now. And if the boat tips, hey even better. Anyways, this is Danielle, dear jsto's bestest of best friends. If you are a regular reader of jsto I'm sure you have read some about me. I was a guest blogger for dear jsto before in which I mentioned that I have a shitty job, no money and I live at home with my mommy. Well guess what kiddos! Only one of those things have changed since I last guest blogged: I now have money, woot woot! The job has changed but it is still shitty but it pays a hell of a lot more than my previous one so I guess I'll stick it out for now. I still live at home with my mommy but I prefer to say that she lives with me, cuz hey, I'm the one paying the bills now.

Anyways, as you can see from my lovely title, this post is about dear sweet Philadelphia, Philly for short. And before I get into the story, I would like to first mention one of my pet peeves (I have many). And maybe it isn't so much as a pet peeve as an observation. You can always tell who the non-PA natives are when talking about this fair city. They always refer to it as Philadelphia, which is just wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It is Philly. Get it right people. Gah.

Okay, back to the story. About a week ago, a former employee of mine (and now friend) asked me to go to a Weezer/Panic at the Disco Concert. Since I have no life I agreed, despite only knowing a handful of songs by said groups. The concert was in Philly and he asked if I would drive due to lack of funding on his end. I reluctantly agreed, mostly because I get lost almost every single time I drive to Philly. And it is kind of sad because as I drive through Philly there are tons of times where I'm like, "hey, I remember that" or "I've been there before". And yet, I still get lost. Shameful.

So naturally, before we leave I am on a mission to find directions to the Festival Pier at Penns Landing. Unfortunately, it is a pier and therefore address-less. Great. What in the heck am I supposed to program into my GPS? I resorted to typing one of the roads that the pier is located on and to my non-believing eyes, that particular road spans 3 different zip codes. Three! I find the zip code for the pier on the internet and pick a random address on the street in that zip code, hit go, and we were off.

Now my friend Derek is a bit of a queen and since we were pressed for time, he had to resort to putting his eyeliner on while I drove. Not really a good idea. After a few close calls of poking his eye out, he decided to wait until I stopped to get gas. When I got back into the car after getting gas I see an antique automobile pencil sharpener and a mess of pencil shavings all over the place. I also see a broken eye liner pencil and Derek laughing hysterically. I decided not to ask. We get back on the road and the GPS says we should be there at 4:43. Plenty of time to listen to Derek's eclectic music mix and watch the world go by.

And sadly friends, this is where the story is going to end for today. I have many important things to do (watch TV) and this post is getting way long. So stay tuned for tomorrow where you will hear about the fun drive and maybe even a little bit about the concert. Don't you hate cliff hangers??

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

10 Things to Do During a Commencement/Hooding Ceremony

Ok, so I'm bored, so you are getting another blog. As many of you know my MBA commencement and hooding ceremonies were this past weekend. They can be somewhat long and boring so here are some things that we did in order to occupy our time.

1) Try to figure out where the crap your parents are in the mass of humanity.
2) Cheer wildly for anyone that has the same first name as you.
3) Enjoy the snacks and beverages that you have stashed away in the weirdo sleeves of your graduation gowns.
4) Look at random people and yawn to see if it makes them yawn.
5) Play hug/no hug. Will the person being hooded hug the person hooding them or will it merely be a handshake?
6) See if you can figure out what's going on by watching the sign language interpreter.
7) Count the number of people in the program that are from your home state.
8) Find the weirdest middle name/name combination possible. Foreign students don't count.
9) Play telephone.
10) Just be generally disorderly.

Fun times. I'm going to miss all my MBA classmates.
Things That Annoy Me

Last night I was exhausted, not sure if graduation caught up to me or what, but I fell into one of those sleeps that makes you think "Man, if this is what a coma is like, someone bash me on the head right now." (I apologize to all my comatose readers for the insensitivity of this remark.) Then at around midnight, my upstairs neighbor's security alarm goes off. At first, I have like a moment of sheer panic where I have no idea what is going on. Is it my fire alarm going off? No, doesn't sound like a fire alarm. Is it my security alarm? No, don't have one. Then I realize what is happening. I'm a little confused because I thought my upstairs neighbor had left for summer break since I hadn't heard her tromping around or having late night booty calls with her boyfriend like I normally do. Sure enough the alarm continues to blare, and I don't hear anyone walking around up there. I peak out the window...nope, no car in her parking spot. Is someone really trying to break in? I call the police. They had already received the alarm and were responding. Police show up, don't ever talk to me, but I hear them knock on her door and see a flashlight being shined around outside. I never do fall back into peaceful slumber, but I do fall asleep knowing that Winston-Salem's finest has checked everything out.

Also annoying, almost dying. Kathleen's car spun out 540 degrees yesterday on an on ramp to the highway (not her fault) and ended up facing the wrong way with a YWCA bus bearing down on us. We, however, did not die or even get injured.

Can't decide if I'm going to blog about anything from graduation or not. If not, I leave for Italy soon, but don't fear, we may have a guest blogger to keep you all entertained.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Bunny Haven

My yard has been over run with bunnies. At any given moment, my backyard looks like this.

I've circled the rabbits because if I get any closer to take a picture they hop away and no matter how much I zoom in, you can't really see them in the grass. I'm like super paranoid I'm going to run over one with my car.
Letters from Prison: Visual

I give her a lot of crap, but this is actually somewhat heartwarming.

My favorite part are the little pieces of confetti drawn throughout the letter. Kathleen likes the balloons that say "MBA".

Monday, May 09, 2011

Further Proof that Airlines Suck

I realize that since I kinda work (or whatever) for an airline that I shouldn't say that, but I am SOOO fed up with United Airlines right now that I can't even stand it.

Flash back to February: Somehow my reservation to fly back to PA for my grandfather's funeral got screwed up. I had to pay an extra like $50 for the new flight plus a $150 change fee which I was told could be refunded because it was in relation to a bereavement. Trying to get the refund was a pain in the behind: death certificate, wait 20 business days (aka 4 weeks), etc. etc. etc. I call the refund hotline, and it tells me that the refund was processed but returned because of an improper address that I have to mail my correct address to them. Then I received my credit card statement today and find out that not only do they not refund my $150, but they recharge me for the flight. So now i'm double charged for a flight, plus they still owed me the original $150.

I call United. Totally pissed. Can't for the life of me get a real person on the phone. Finally go to their reservations department just so I can talk to someone. "oh, i'm sorry, we don't have a phone number for that. Here's the e-mail address." REALLY? You owe me like $450 and you don't have a phone number for that? So after e-mailing them, AGAIN. I file a formal complaint with the Department of Transportation, which I only know to do because of working with AirTran this summer. The airlines can get fined and crap based on the number of complaints they have against them. So anytime an airline royally screws you over, go on the DOT website and fill out the little complaint form.

Sunday, May 08, 2011

New York: Part 2

Well, I did some laundry, made a grocery list and figured I'd finish out this blog before I lost momentum. Saturday, Marcia and I woke up lazily and I took an absolutely life changing shower in Marcia's fantastic shower. We go to get coffee and a wonderful apple galette from a very eco-friendly place called Cafe O. The weather is absolutely wonderful. Perfect for picking up avocados at the Brooklyn Flea which is great because that's exactly what we need to do. Marcia is defending her title as people's choice for best guacamole at Guactacular on Sunday.

We take the subway to the Brooklyn Flea and after looking around for a while, start the absolute glutfest which we call lunch. We share everything because then we get to try more things. We start off with this:
A fantastic Maine Lobster Roll from Red Hook Lobster Pound. We followed that up with this:

A pork Huarache. And then this:

Grilled corn with cheese, chili powder, and butter. We washed it all down with some yummy limeade. My tummy was sufficiently full. Marcia then fell in love with a Herman Miller chair, so after searching for an ATM (cash only at a Flea market of course), buying the chair, and picking up the Guactacular avocados, we took a car back to Manhattan. There was some debate about whether or not we could take it on the subway, but decided not.

We took Maddie to the dog park in Washington Park. She was still chill as a lot of the other dogs ran around and were totally spastic. It was a beautiful day and fun just watching all the dogs. We dropped Maddie back at the apartment and went for some manis and pedis. I got my toes done in OPI "Purple with Purpose."
Yes, those are my little troll toes. While bright, they were completely shown up by Marcia's fingernails.
Neon is apparently really in now. I then caught a cab to LaGuardia and left my wonderful trip to New York behind me.
My Trip to NYC

I'm spending a lazy Sunday recovering from my two day trip to New York City. This post is going to be chock full of pictures and links. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to cover my trip in one complete post or if it will be split across two. I'm just going to play it by ear.

My final presentation for my Advanced Branding class was in New York City. Wake Forest was paying for the flight and so I figured, why not spend an extra day to hang with Marcia, my amazing roommate from Notre Dame who just happens to live in downtown Manhattan.

First of all I must say that I was not in the best shape when I boarded my plane in Greensboro at 7am as the night before was the official End of the Year party where like any good Cinco de Mayo party there were plenty of margaritas and tequila shots (and a bounce house with a climbing wall and a slide!!!). I suffered through my presentation and at around 2pm was finally set free to meet up with Marcia (well, there was some slight mix up and I apparently bailed on part of an office tour and may or may not look like a jackass...oh well...school's over).

I hailed a cab (cause I got cab hailing skillz) to Wogie's where Marcia was having lunch with some of her friends that were in from Toledo. I had a beer, drooled, cursed myself for eating so much pizza in my class presentation and watched them devour what appeared to be amazing cheese steaks. Then we went to BLT Burger, and Marcia ordered this:


That's a "Grandma's Treat" which is a caramel milkshake with Maker's Mark in it. I had a "Night Rider" which was a chocolate milkshake with Kahlua and Oreos in it. YUM. I was fading fast and so we went back to Marcia's apartment. Marcia made an amazing goat cheese spread with caramelized onions (cause that's what she does...see?). I watched Downtown Abbey and had her adorable dog, Maddie, lounge on me.
Maddie is the most chill and lovable dog EVER. We then caught the subway and took it to what was supposed to be a rooftop party Uptown. It was really windy and chilly on the roof, so the party stayed down in an apartment. After some drinking, eating, possibly drunk yoga, it either was warmer up on the roof (a little surprising since the sun had gone down) or we just didn't care as much (probably more likely).

Good first day in NYC. I'm going to pause here and will blog the rest probably later today.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

MBA with a Concentration in Alcoholism

Further proof that I may have a slight drinking problem (don't fret, my dear friends, it's really not as serious as I make it sound.) Today was my last day of legit MBA classes. I say legit because I have a skit for Advanced HR management tomorrow which is not legit because a) it's for an HR class and b) it's a FREAKIN SKIT! Here's a timeline of my day:

11am--Business Analytics exam (which was pretty traumatic)
12pm--Drinking in the parking lot
12:30pm--Drinking in my MPA class (SN: During this class, this girl Katy ate 8 Krispy Kreme donuts and then promptly went to the bathroom to throw up.)
1:15pm-- Continue drinking in the parking lot
1:30pm--Drinking on the patio of the on campus restaurant
3:30pm--Drinking in my group meeting for HR (It's about a skit, ok? don't judge.)
5pm--Andy texts me to see when I'm ready to go to dinner. I reply that i'm sobering up at school so that I can drive home. He asks if I just want picked up at school. Of course I do.
5:15pm--I hop in Andy's car, and he says "My God, woman, I can smell it on you." Then after a few minutes says "you smell fruity, what were you drinking?" uh...sangria...holy crap I must've been doing some drinking.

Monday, May 02, 2011

I Have No Self Control

Lately I've had a history of convincing myself that I will not get too drunk and will leave at a reasonable hour from school functions only to get significantly shit faced and have Kathleen drive me to my car the next morning. This is not normally a problem; however, the end of the year party is Thursday evening and I have a 7am flight Friday to New York city for my Advanced Branding class (and to see Marcia). So while I would like to drive and be able to leave at a reasonable hour, I would be screwed if I have to leave my car downtown. I asked Kathleen how I got to such a point that I can no longer trust myself not to be a total drunk. Her response via e-mail:

"Business school happened to you. In addition to our degree we will all be graduating with a slight case of alcholism! Just sleep it off on the plane! I mean it's the end of the year party, you can't not be a shitshow, that would be wrong!"

This is in line with the other argument that I often get from people when I try to cut myself off which is: "stop being selfish!" When did drunken ridiculousness become some sort of civic duty?
I'm Not a Computer Person

I've had many somewhat embarrassing interactions with Wake Forest's IT department because I have no idea what is going on with computers. Compared to my mom, I'm a genius, but honestly, I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

I walked into the IT guy's office with a tiny spring in my hand, held it out to show him and said "this fell out of my computer. is that an issue?" Apparently it's not a big issue, but should get fixed.