I feel like this is the first morning I have had in weeks to just sit down, collect my thoughts, and write. I take that back - Last Saturday I could have but I decided instead I would sleep until noon and get up just in time to rush over to DePaul Men's Basketball first practice of the season, which happened to be an open one. Tracy and I made a quick run to the Dairy Queen up the street so we could try the pumpkin pie blizzard. Tracy had just run 16 miles that morning. I ran down the street to make sure I was on time to meet her. So naturally that constituted me ordering a large blizzard.
The past two weeks have been a complete whirlwind. After the opening weekend of "Blue Madness" (first day the basketball teams can officially practice), I was off at 5:30 am on Monday morning to catch a flight for DC. I wish I could say I was headed to DC to then head home to Richmond, but alas, it was a work trip. A couple of college fairs, high school visits and a counselor breakfast were on the schedule for the quick trip. I think the highlight of my trip ended up being Monday night when I had a girls night dinner with Matt's sister Catherine. It was just what I needed before starting a crazy 4-day trip. Since DePaul will not NOT pay for even one alcoholic drink on a work trip, we started with wine at her place to save everyone money. Also, just to note - DePaul gives us $35 a day for food on work trips. I spent $33 that day between lunch a dinner. Welcome to DC.
Speaking of "Welcome to DC"....
Only in DC would a COLLEGE FAIR be cancelled because fights break out amongst students. My second day there (and really the main reason for sending me out to DC) there was a national college fair hosted at the Washington Convention Center. Over 450 colleges from around the country were in attendance and its a great place for students (especially juniors and sophomores) to at least get an idea of what colleges they MIGHT want to look further into. Its not a great fair for seniors because at that point, its so late in the game to not have any idea of what you are looking for.
The first part of the fair was supposed to last from 9 am to 1 pm. Since I was staying in Fairfax, I was up and on the road by 6 am since set up started at 7 and getting to DC is AWFUL. I know we have traffic here in Chicago. The difference is, traffic is only on the HIGHWAY. Traffic in northern Virginia and DC is EVERYWHERE. Side streets, back roads, highways. Its miserable. At times, you just want to slam your head on the steering wheel. At least it would take the focus off wondering why the hell you are sitting in stand still traffic on a back road at 1:30 in the afternoon.
The second half of the fair was to take place from 6:00-8:00 pm. For those of you who are not familiar with college fairs, all college fairs that take place during the morning on a week day are ALWAYS a joke. They are overridden with students who are there just because they can get out of class. The majority of them are not there to get information about college. They are there to hang out with their friends and basically stop of tables, ask us really mundane questions, and get us to sign off on a sheet that says they talked to 5 colleges for class. Now, imagine that with 6,000 students. AND at least a third of those were MIDDLE SCHOOL students.
I should not have been surprised when we looked around at 12:00 during the first session and noticed that there were no more students in the building. Looking back, we all should have asked questions. But instead, we were so pumped that we were able to leave for an early lunch. Since we had the evening session later one, every representative left their materials at their table and went about their day. I had one high school visit then headed back to Fairfax to answer an insane amount of emails and get some work done. At 4, I left the hotel and headed back into DC. At 4:30, while I was literally one block away from the Convention Center, I get a call from my supervisor who informed me that the evening session was cancelled.
Apparently, in the first session, fights broke out amongst students and all the students were evacuated from the building, hence the early release for us counselors. What? Your telling me that rival schools were bused into this event, 6,000 students were left with a minimal amount of chaperones, and fights broke out? Shocker! Again, Welcome to DC.
The worst part is that apparently it took 4 hours for the convention center to decide to cancel the event. Instead of making the decision while all of us counselors were still in the building at 12:00, they waited to send out the email at 4:00. Most counselors did not even know why the event was cancelled because they did not receive the email. They found out when they arrived at the convention center and saw a simple sign just stating that the event was cancelled. My supervisor had all the dirt, so I was the lucky counselor who got to tell people the real reason why it was cancelled.
So, there I was, stuck in DC at 5:30 pm and I had to LEAVE DC to get back to my hotel. My college roommate actually lives in DC, but she had dinner plans that night with friends, otherwise I would have told her to meet me at a bar after the day I had had. Forget the fact that DePaul wasn't paying. I could find $8 of my own for a drink at the point. I thought about staying in DC for dinner and waiting for the traffic to die down but then I remember that I am BLIND when driving in the dark. Its really hard for me to see street signs at night, and let's be honest, with the luck I was having that day, trying to find my way out of DC would have been a disaster. Did I mention that my GPS broke and I was navigating through DC and northern Virginia with paper directions courtesy of googlemaps?
I made the decision to just get the heck out of dodge while I could. I had to laugh when my supervisor told me the enjoy my down time and read a book or do something fun. Annie has never been to northern Virginia or DC. She actually thought that at 5:30 PM I was done for the day. She had no idea that even though I was only 13 miles from my hotel, I would not make it back there until 7:00 pm.
And that was pretty much the tone of the entire trip in NOVA and DC. Thursday could not come quick enough. My only regret was that I did not find time to visit Georgetown Cupcakes. No explanation needed. I don't think I have ever been more excited to get into the office before. Thank goodness for fabulous co-workers who made my Friday so much fun.
This weekend is off to a good start with a date night last night with Matt. Today, is a big day. I just recently found out that, wait for it mom and dad, Chicago just opened a CRUMBS store! For those of you who are not familiar, Crumbs is a NYC-based cupcake shop. Every year, when Mom, Dad, Buddy and Donna go up to New York, Mom and Dad always bring back cupcakes from Crumbs. They are the most glorious cupcakes ever. Words cannot describe them. Well, one of my co-workers informed me that a Crumbs has opened up here recently! Scavenger hunt initiated.
Tonight, one of my co-workers is having us all over and then we are going out later on in an area called Old Town. Its a really unique area about 2 miles from out place, with some really great bars. A lot of really young professionals and away from all the college bars in our area. I am trying to get some girlfriends to go with me tomorrow to an apple orchard that is about an hour from here. Apparently they make the best homemade apple cider donuts (I know, I spelled it the way Dunkin Donuts does). I'd drive an hour for that.
More importantly, this time next week I will be helping my best friend of 13 years get into her wedding dress! I can't believe its coming up so quickly! I cannot tell you how excited I am to be heading home to watch my best friend start her new life with her new husband, see my family, and see the best girlfriends I have ever had. Just have to get through this week at work and its home for a long weekend!
One last shout out and note. One of my college teammates, Nicole, is on a mission trip for one year in India. Her story is absolutely incredible and what she is doing over there is amazing. However, she is still $5,000 short of her mission goal. For those of you who have had the opportunity to meet Nicole, you know what an unbelievable person she is. I just want to post two things: Her link to her blog that she is writing while in India and the link to her fund. No pressure, but just wanted to make sure its out there for anyone who wants to help.
http://gamc.pcusa.org/give/E210409/
This link takes you directly to her fund. All proceeds go right to her individual fund.
http://livesimplylovedeeply.blogspot.com/
This is Nicole's blog, where you can read about her doings in India.
Finally, I love you all and see you soon!
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