Sometimes I forget just how much I MISS my friends. I feel like I go for so long without seeing them that I forget how awesome they are, which is no good. Definitely need to see everyone more.
I stopped in Cincinnati just in time to experience life as it once was - no power, no internet. Kinda crazy and my sympathy goes out to those 850,000 Cincinnati-ians who don't have power. Luckily, I had Suzi and her little family to hang out with while I stranded in the powerless city. It's funny how different our lives are these days, but even so it hasn't much effected our friendship. I mean, she's got a kid now, Drew, who turns out is a pretty spectacular 9-month-old. In fact, I think we're in love. She's definitely a cool mom and we definitely still have our giggles when hanging out. Ah, we've come a long way since puking in the bathrooms of Armstrong Hall... :)
I have two more cities before heading back to Michigan at the end of the week. I got to Morehead, Kentucky tonight and decided to have a look around. Turns out it's rather gorgeous in these parts. The road that my hotel is on is just a couple miles from a Cave Run Lake, which is beautiful. I'll post pictures later.
Peace out all. Or rather...y'all? Do they say that in Kentucky? Who knows...
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
just south of skunk river
I spent the last week driving around Iowa, and there was some river called "Skunk River" which I found hilarious. I kept seeing signs for it and it made me laugh every time. I also passed a community with a giant sign that said "Cornhaven Community." Also hilarious. Oh, and I stopped at the world's largest truck stop on I-80. It had a movie theater, restaurants, shops and even a dentist office. Pretty impressive.
I spent the weekend in Chicago and I feel like every time I come here, it becomes harder to not want to be here more permanently. I just like the community. Haha, I think I'd be happy with any sort of community at this point. One of the only complaints of being on the road so much (well, y'know, other than the constant driving and bad road food) is that I have zero community. People ask me where I live and the answer is no where. I have no home. I mean, I guess I could call my parents' house my home, but I don't have a bedroom or any of my own space there...I sleep on the couch in the den, so it doesn't really feel like my home anymore. I definitely miss having that sense of community in my life. One day, Chicago, you and I shall reunite in a far more permanent way.
Sigh, not today, though. I'm off again - Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Columbus this week...
Have a good Sunday everyone!
I spent the weekend in Chicago and I feel like every time I come here, it becomes harder to not want to be here more permanently. I just like the community. Haha, I think I'd be happy with any sort of community at this point. One of the only complaints of being on the road so much (well, y'know, other than the constant driving and bad road food) is that I have zero community. People ask me where I live and the answer is no where. I have no home. I mean, I guess I could call my parents' house my home, but I don't have a bedroom or any of my own space there...I sleep on the couch in the den, so it doesn't really feel like my home anymore. I definitely miss having that sense of community in my life. One day, Chicago, you and I shall reunite in a far more permanent way.
Sigh, not today, though. I'm off again - Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Columbus this week...
Have a good Sunday everyone!
Friday, September 5, 2008
p.s. - here's my schedule
So here is my schedule for the next 2 months. If you live or are going to be in any of these places, email or call me so that I can find you and not be super lonely for 2 months!!!
- E.Lansing, MI: 9.5 - 9.6
- Chicago, IL: 9.7
- Iowa City, IA: 9.8 - 9.9
- Cedar Falls, IA: 9.10
- Ames, IA: 9.11 - 9.12
- Chicago, IL: 9.13 - 9.14
- Urbana/Champaign: 9.15
- Bloomington, IN: 9.16
- Morehead, KY: 9.17
- Cincinnati, OH: 9.18
- Columbus, OH: 9.19
- Cincinnati, OH: 9.20 - 9.21
- Detroit, MI: 9.22 - 9.24
- San Francisco, CA: 9.25
- Berkeley, CA: 9.26 - 9.28
- Davis, CA: 9.29
- Rohnert Park, CA: 9.30
- San Luis Obispo, CA: 10.1 - 10.3
- Los Angeles, CA: 10.4 - 10.6
- Santa Barbara, CA: 10.7
- Northridge, CA: 10.8
- Los Angeles, CA: 10.9 - 10.12
- Riverside, CA: 10.13
- Fullerton, CA: 10.14
- Long Beach, CA: 10.15
- Irvine, CA: 10.16
- Costa Mesa, CA: 10.17
- La Jolla, CA: 10.18 - 20
- Berkeley, CA: 10.21 - 10.22
- Detroit, MI: 10.23
- Oaxaca, Mexico: 11.5 (?)
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
ikes, it's already september!
How is it already September?! The summer flew by faster than usual this year. Ikes!
I've made it back to the midwest safe and sound. I spent the last week with Alissa and Matt in Baltimore, hanging out in my old hood with my old dog. Apparently Lucy still sleeps up in my old room despite the fact that I moved out 2 years ago. :)
Anyhoozle, Bmore was fun. I worked from the house most days and then hung out with Alissa and Matt in the evenings. Pretty chill, but after this summer of constant moving and especially after the craziness of NYC, it was nice to have a "home" for more than 2 or 3 days. I did go with Alissa to work one day because she works in the building that houses the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins, which was one of the programs that I was interested in. I quickly realized after visiting that I am incredibly under qualified. Sigh. Maybe in a few years after I have more experience on my resume.
My parents and Paul came out to Baltimore on...Wednesday I think? We were all there because Lauren was getting married in Virginia, so it seemed like a good opportunity to hang out as a fam minus Mark because he was being lame-o. The parents and Paul drove down to VA on Friday morning (Paul was an usher and had to be at the rehearsal on Friday night) and the rest of us drove down on Saturday morning. Lynchburg, turns out, is much like Jacksonville in that there is just NOTHING there. The wedding was a total of 17 minutes long and then we had 2 hours to kill before the reception so my fam, Rick, Donna and Riley all headed to the TGI Fridays to get some adult beverages. Eventually we made it to the reception where, like a bad girl at a high school prom, I spiked all of my family's peach punch with vodka out of a Sprite bottle which I had stashed in my purse. Us McIntee's, we are trouble makers. Anybooze, it wasn't really my style (I prefer dancing and boozing at receptions...go figure), but Lauren and Dustin seemed to have a good time so it worked.
After the wedding, my family drove back to Alissa and Matt's house for Labor Day and then I drove back to Michigan with the parents. It was weird cause it kinda felt like a family vacation, which we haven't taken since I was like, 14 or 15. The 10 hour drive home brought back some bad memories of the summer I was 11 and my parents decided it would be a good idea to pack me, my 2 brothers and my sister into 1 van and drive the scenic route all the way to California and back. I wore my All 4 One cassette tape out on that trip. Not cool...
It's now back to normal life for me. By normal life, I mean car rentals, long drives, countless hotels, too much fast food and college campus after college campus. I'm tired just thinking about the weeks to come. Sigh. I'm getting closer and closer to breaking down and moving back...getting a dog (I really want a dog..Karen called me a pet-o-file the last time we hung out in Detroit because I kept lusting after all the dogs walking by us). I also decided that the next apartment that I have has to have a dishwasher. For all of the houses and apartments that I've lived in since moving out of my parents' house at 18, I have always had to wash my dishes by hand. And now I want a dishwasher because that's fancy. Honestly, I think if I wasn't moving to a place where I could surf every weekend, I'd totally bail and move back to Chicago. The possibility of surfing on a regular basis is the only thing keeping me going...
I'm beat. Night all. Happy Tuesday.
I've made it back to the midwest safe and sound. I spent the last week with Alissa and Matt in Baltimore, hanging out in my old hood with my old dog. Apparently Lucy still sleeps up in my old room despite the fact that I moved out 2 years ago. :)
Anyhoozle, Bmore was fun. I worked from the house most days and then hung out with Alissa and Matt in the evenings. Pretty chill, but after this summer of constant moving and especially after the craziness of NYC, it was nice to have a "home" for more than 2 or 3 days. I did go with Alissa to work one day because she works in the building that houses the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins, which was one of the programs that I was interested in. I quickly realized after visiting that I am incredibly under qualified. Sigh. Maybe in a few years after I have more experience on my resume.
My parents and Paul came out to Baltimore on...Wednesday I think? We were all there because Lauren was getting married in Virginia, so it seemed like a good opportunity to hang out as a fam minus Mark because he was being lame-o. The parents and Paul drove down to VA on Friday morning (Paul was an usher and had to be at the rehearsal on Friday night) and the rest of us drove down on Saturday morning. Lynchburg, turns out, is much like Jacksonville in that there is just NOTHING there. The wedding was a total of 17 minutes long and then we had 2 hours to kill before the reception so my fam, Rick, Donna and Riley all headed to the TGI Fridays to get some adult beverages. Eventually we made it to the reception where, like a bad girl at a high school prom, I spiked all of my family's peach punch with vodka out of a Sprite bottle which I had stashed in my purse. Us McIntee's, we are trouble makers. Anybooze, it wasn't really my style (I prefer dancing and boozing at receptions...go figure), but Lauren and Dustin seemed to have a good time so it worked.
After the wedding, my family drove back to Alissa and Matt's house for Labor Day and then I drove back to Michigan with the parents. It was weird cause it kinda felt like a family vacation, which we haven't taken since I was like, 14 or 15. The 10 hour drive home brought back some bad memories of the summer I was 11 and my parents decided it would be a good idea to pack me, my 2 brothers and my sister into 1 van and drive the scenic route all the way to California and back. I wore my All 4 One cassette tape out on that trip. Not cool...
It's now back to normal life for me. By normal life, I mean car rentals, long drives, countless hotels, too much fast food and college campus after college campus. I'm tired just thinking about the weeks to come. Sigh. I'm getting closer and closer to breaking down and moving back...getting a dog (I really want a dog..Karen called me a pet-o-file the last time we hung out in Detroit because I kept lusting after all the dogs walking by us). I also decided that the next apartment that I have has to have a dishwasher. For all of the houses and apartments that I've lived in since moving out of my parents' house at 18, I have always had to wash my dishes by hand. And now I want a dishwasher because that's fancy. Honestly, I think if I wasn't moving to a place where I could surf every weekend, I'd totally bail and move back to Chicago. The possibility of surfing on a regular basis is the only thing keeping me going...
I'm beat. Night all. Happy Tuesday.
Monday, August 25, 2008
such a vivrant thing
My week in NYC has been pretty outrageous. Such a good time. Mary and I arrived late on Monday night. We drove 12 hours straight, which was entertaining. Wait, no...not entertaining exactly, but fun. Ohio and Pennsylvania just don't offer much to look at when driving through. There was satellite radio and curly fries though, so we did ok.
I split my week between Harlem with Mary and Tim, Hell's Kitchen with Autumn and Alphabet City with X. I'm becoming a professional couch surfer and an amazing packer. :) It was fun wandering around the city for the week and by the end, I actually was finding my way around the subways solo, which made me very proud considering last time I was there for a week, I couldn't figure them out to save my life.
Some awesome touristy and maybe not-so-touristy adventures I found in the city:
And now I am on a bus (with wireless internet) heading for Baltimore to hang out with my sister and brother-in-law for a week, followed by a weekend in Lynchburg, VA for my cousin's wedding and then back to the midwest for work.
Hugs, kisses and many thanks to Mary, Tim, Autumn, X, Nick and Jason for letting me crash on couches in NYC!
Peace.
I split my week between Harlem with Mary and Tim, Hell's Kitchen with Autumn and Alphabet City with X. I'm becoming a professional couch surfer and an amazing packer. :) It was fun wandering around the city for the week and by the end, I actually was finding my way around the subways solo, which made me very proud considering last time I was there for a week, I couldn't figure them out to save my life.
Some awesome touristy and maybe not-so-touristy adventures I found in the city:
- Free wireless internet in Central Park...spent a lot of hours sitting in the grass at Sheep Meadow working on the laptop. If only that could be my office...
- P.S. 1 - Mary and I tried to go to the MoMA to see this exhibit by Jeff Koons that I wanted to see. Sadly, the line wrapped all the way around the block and I didn't want to see it that badly. So as a replacement, we decided to go to this P.S. 1. When the MoMA needed more exhibit space, they decided to buy an old public school out in Queens. The exhibits are in all the classrooms and even in the basement boiler rooms (which was incredibly creepy). In the summer, they have Summer Warm Up on Saturdays, which is basically a giant party in the courtyard area. They've turned the courtyard into a really cool space, with an area for a band/DJ and dancing. On Saturdays they host different musical acts, sell beer and food and people just come hang out all day. Very cool. When the place shuts down at 9PM, everyone walks to the Water Taxi Bar, which is basically a bunch of picnic tables on the beach with beer/cocktail stands sprinkled around, so also very cool. Plus, it offers a fantastic view of the Manhattan skyline.
- QTip DJ-ing @ Santos House Party - Friday night I wanted to do some dancing, so X, Mary, and X's friend Ron decided to go to this place called Santos House Party. It was kind of a strange place in the middle of Chinatown, but QTip from A Tribe Called Quest was DJ-ing there, so we figured the music would be cool. And it was. QTip spun all night playing really good hip hop all night, we all danced like crazy (we even started a dance circle...although the dancing was not that impressive) and at some point Busta Rhymes showed up. That was my celebrity sighting for the week. Mark Ronson was also there, but he's not as well known unless you know all the hot DJs. I only know of him because his sister is having a lesbian relationship with Lindsey Lohan. (I heart celebrity gossip, I can't help it.)
- Sunday morning, a group of us hauled ourselves out of bed early and jumped on a train to Long Beach. An hour later, we were on a beach that was surprisingly quite nice. There was a $10 fee to enter the beach, which was probably why it was so nice, but I really didn't expect to find a beach like that in NYC. Anyway, the purpose of our trip was SURFING. So exciting! We had signed up for a group lesson and board rentals for the day, but when we got there, the instructor guy told us he wouldn't do a group lesson with us because the swell was too crazy and we would all get pummeled unless we each had our own instructor. After a bit of negotiating, we all decided to do private lessons for an hour. We did a quick 10 minute review on the beach (we'd all surfed before) and then we took to the water. The instructor guy was right...even with my own instructor I still got pummeled by the waves when trying to paddle out. Once I managed to paddle my way out though, I was really good! I was so proud of myself because I hadn't surfed in years, but I stood up every time and only fell off a few. My instructor guy was trying to teach me how to do different maneuvers or whatever towards the end of the lesson, but after an hour in the water, my arms were definitely hurting like whoa. I've become such a wimp! After the hour in the water, we decided to call it a day. I was too tired and wasn't about to try to paddle through the waves by myself, so we spent the rest of the day hanging out on the beach and eating boardwalk food. Such an awesome day. Perfect weather. Surf. Greasy food. What more could one ask for?
And now I am on a bus (with wireless internet) heading for Baltimore to hang out with my sister and brother-in-law for a week, followed by a weekend in Lynchburg, VA for my cousin's wedding and then back to the midwest for work.
Hugs, kisses and many thanks to Mary, Tim, Autumn, X, Nick and Jason for letting me crash on couches in NYC!
Peace.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
detroit city rocks my world
I know I don't spend much time in Detroit, but every time I go back, I like it more and more. It's such an interesting city. Sure, it's dirty and corrupt and all that negative stuff, but it also has boatloads of character and really interesting people.
Mary and I drove from Chicago to Detroit on Thursday night with all of her stuff in the trusty old escort. Due to poor planning, I didn't roll into my parents house until about 2AM on Friday morning, but whatever, I eventually made it after dropping her off in Ann Arbor.
Friday night I met up with my best friend Karen. It's so funny because Karen and I are so similar in that we're terrible at keeping in touch, but whenever we see each other (about twice a year), we have such a good time. We met up for dinner at Detroit Brewing Co and then went on a mini bar crawl through downtown Detroit, stopping at Cliffton Mills (a jazz club where we paid for our cover in pennies), The Park Bar (out of tradition) and The Town Pump (also a tradition). We decided it would be appropriate to call up Chris, this dude we met the last time we went to The Town Pump last October and who went through the shooting ordeal with us. We totally bonded over the fact that we were all trapped in a bar with 2 guys who both had guns out and were ready to fight. Oh Detroit...
Anyway, it was so much fun hanging out with Karen. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a months, so it was just a great feeling. We called up Rene from the bar to complete our old high school tripod of friendship. :) The next day I went to my first game at Comerica Park so I got to hang out and see the new stadium, which was way big time, especially compared to Wrigley Field.
Today was a pretty chill day. I went with Mark and Sarah to the Detroit Yacht Club to rub elbows with the fancy people. Mark and I drove his motorcycle from Trenton to downtown Detroit via West Jefferson, which was definitely an experience. I got a quick tour of the yacht club and learned a bit (did you know the first cement building in the U.S. is the original Detroit Boat Club building?), but mostly I just hung by the pool. Afterwards we went to this hilarious bar called The Bronx in Detroit, which was a total dive bar, complete with a Make Your Own Bloody Mary Bar. The bar was a piece of wood set on 2 tables and the bloody mary makings basically consisted of cans of V8, various hot sauces which appeared to have been stolen from other establishments and a whole bunch of olives, celery and randomness. Very cool place though. Delicious hamburgers. Mmm....
So that was my Detroit weekend. Probably won't have another one for awhile. Tomorrow Mary's picking me up early so we can make the trek out to NYC. ROAD TRIP!
Mary and I drove from Chicago to Detroit on Thursday night with all of her stuff in the trusty old escort. Due to poor planning, I didn't roll into my parents house until about 2AM on Friday morning, but whatever, I eventually made it after dropping her off in Ann Arbor.
Friday night I met up with my best friend Karen. It's so funny because Karen and I are so similar in that we're terrible at keeping in touch, but whenever we see each other (about twice a year), we have such a good time. We met up for dinner at Detroit Brewing Co and then went on a mini bar crawl through downtown Detroit, stopping at Cliffton Mills (a jazz club where we paid for our cover in pennies), The Park Bar (out of tradition) and The Town Pump (also a tradition). We decided it would be appropriate to call up Chris, this dude we met the last time we went to The Town Pump last October and who went through the shooting ordeal with us. We totally bonded over the fact that we were all trapped in a bar with 2 guys who both had guns out and were ready to fight. Oh Detroit...
Anyway, it was so much fun hanging out with Karen. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a months, so it was just a great feeling. We called up Rene from the bar to complete our old high school tripod of friendship. :) The next day I went to my first game at Comerica Park so I got to hang out and see the new stadium, which was way big time, especially compared to Wrigley Field.
Today was a pretty chill day. I went with Mark and Sarah to the Detroit Yacht Club to rub elbows with the fancy people. Mark and I drove his motorcycle from Trenton to downtown Detroit via West Jefferson, which was definitely an experience. I got a quick tour of the yacht club and learned a bit (did you know the first cement building in the U.S. is the original Detroit Boat Club building?), but mostly I just hung by the pool. Afterwards we went to this hilarious bar called The Bronx in Detroit, which was a total dive bar, complete with a Make Your Own Bloody Mary Bar. The bar was a piece of wood set on 2 tables and the bloody mary makings basically consisted of cans of V8, various hot sauces which appeared to have been stolen from other establishments and a whole bunch of olives, celery and randomness. Very cool place though. Delicious hamburgers. Mmm....
So that was my Detroit weekend. Probably won't have another one for awhile. Tomorrow Mary's picking me up early so we can make the trek out to NYC. ROAD TRIP!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
"it's complicated"
Vomit in my mouth. I hate when things get complicated for no reason. I mean, I can understand that sometimes, plans change or people change their minds or whatnot...I can deal with complications as a part of life. But when things get unnecessarily complicated, it drives me bananas...region 4 is bananas...B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
Sorry. I think Kate McConnell is the only person in the world who gets that reference.
Anyway. Boo to complicated shiz. That's really all I have to say.
Sorry. I think Kate McConnell is the only person in the world who gets that reference.
Anyway. Boo to complicated shiz. That's really all I have to say.
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