Work Fun

So a bunch of people I work with are also my friends, so we hang out all the time. Last week, for example.

Tuesday night, Josh, Peter, and I attempted to watch a movie, Knocked Up, but it stopped working about halfway through. So we grabbed Cain and the four of us went uptown to wish Emily a Happy Birthday.

Wednesday night, Lisa, Cain, Birkenhauer, Anna, Paul, Jessica, Wyatt and I all went bowling. All of us bowled 2 games, bowling between 80 and 120 each time, depending on the person. Then a few of us stayed for a third game, where I only got a 70. Lame!

Thursday night is basketball night, so a bunch of us (don't ask me to remember who) played. I made two baskets, which never happens! Lisa did, too, but one of them didn't count. (sadface). Levi is still a running machine.

I just love the people I work with because they're so freaking awesome!

A Month's Time

So I've kind of abandoned this. My life has been sort of repetitive and I haven't felt the need to update this. But here it goes.

Pittsburgh: I went home for a week. It was crazy trying to squeeze everything in, but I had a lot of fun and saw people I never see (Libby, Moria, Vickie), and people I always see when I go home (Kerry Jo, Alex). I definitely wish it was a lot longer.

Life: I got my driver's license. :) And a car. Otherwise, there isn't much life to be updated.

Internship: I'm responsible for so much, and it's really wonderful. I absolutely love the empowerment of knowing a book sells because of me. I am filing books according to where they should be placed in the store, which means if I place a book on a table, it will sell more, and it's all because of me.

Other Internship: We just did votes for the fall issue, and it'll be uploaded in September. It's so wonderfully exciting! haha. The meeting was great, and now we have a new way of going through stories that will be a lot quicker.

Shriver: I absolutely love my job. Even though I'm getting no hours, I absolutely love it. Everyone is just so wonderful. :) And the alumni that came in last weekend were just wonderful. Seeing how young these 70 year olds (for their 50th reunion) looked was refreshing.

People: I spend most of my time with Emily going out (as in, like twice a week). Otherwise, I'm usually with Katie in Cinci. I did finally get to see Kori last week, and that was awesome. I hung out with Kelli on Wednesday, going for a two hour walk in flip flops. haha. I finally got to see Erin Haley, as well, though she's moving back to Dayton for the summer (yuck), so I won't get to see her much.

Cinci: I have been to Rookwood with Kori now, to eat at some really nice Chinese place and to see Joseph Beth. It was really cool to see the store that I'm organizing all the way from the headquarters. It's way neat.

Reading: I've read about a book a day all summer. Some books take longer. I really should blog about what I thought about the books and start advertising these really awesome books I've been reading. That's a project.

School: So I don't really have anything to update about school. I did get to talk to someone who went to Michigan, and she's going to see what she can do to get me to see the school and stuff, so that'll be a lot of fun. I need to get to a computer with Microsoft word so I can fix up my resume. haha. Oops.

I don't really have any updates otherwise. At least, not that I can think of ...

Some Wonderful People I Met in Ohio This Summer

I have met some really interesting people this summer while working in Cinci and at the food court.

Amanda- Usually a Sundial student worker, Amanda is working in the food court this summer to make some more money. She and I talked, and she's a really nice girl.

Emily- She's a student manager at Catering. She and I talked a bit on Sunday because there was nothing to do.

Lauren- The other intern with me at Joseph Beth. She's really sweet and a really hard worker. She also dresses to impress, while I just wear college clothes. Oops.

Katie- This is Katie's roommate, whom I met back when I slept over at Theta last Wednesday night. We stayed up talking for a little bit, which was way cool.

Kaitlin- One of Katie's Theta sisters. She was really fun to talk to, and she's gonna plan my wedding, because I'm gonna be famous and she wants to plan celebrity weddings.

Jess- This is one of Katie's high school friends. She was way cool, and very chill about everything. The three of us and Katie's dad talked for a bit last night.

The Problems of Cinci

So I seem to not be very good at living in Cincinnati when I am here. I arrived Sunday night after Amy and I got detoured on the highway (ew). Then Monday morning, on my way to my internship, my phone fell out of my pocket. Katie went to go look for it after her class and couldn't find it, and so we ended up getting a tracking device for it, seeing that it was taken all the way to Kentucky (which is just across the river, but definitely not on my way to my internship). After 4 hours on the phone with my mother and the police, we eventually gave up and bought a new phone (which is like, $50 with insurance). It arrived today.

This morning, while riding Katie's bike on my way to my internship, I realized that the brakes were broken. Was this because we put the bike in Katie's car in order to look for my phone? I don't know. Either way, I was slightly nervous riding downhill without reliable brakes, but I managed to make it to and from without any falls, crashes, or injuries.

I did manage to finish all of my work for my internship today that was supposed to last me two days, so that's always excellent. I really, REALLY like my internship. I love my boss, Deb. She's really sweet. And I love making tables for the bookstores. I picked out which books will be on the June tables on Monday and then today I went through the fall books to see what tables they could possibly go on.

I'll be going to Pittsburgh this weekend and for a week, which'll be nice. I won't be able to see that many people, but I will get to see Mr. Buetzow, my band teacher who is retiring, and a bunch of other band people. That'll be nice :D

First Week at Joseph Beth and in Cinci

I had my internship this week (as I will almost every week), and it was really interesting. I met with two different publishing companies and spent all day in a meeting with them discussing books and purchases. Mary Ann, from Penguin, was really sweet and loved to talk about absolutely everything. Kate (I'm pretty sure that's her name) on the other hand, was really nice, but was very by the book and whipped through her list. It's really interesting how many different personalities there are. Both were so eager to talk to me, and I'm really excited about their books. I took 10 home this week that I have to read and review, so it looks like I'll be having a very busy weekend.

As for being in Cincinnati, hanging out with my roommate from freshman year, Katie, was excellent. I arrived in Cinci at around 10:30pm on Tuesday, and the first thing I did was go to karaoke with SAE next door to Katie (who lives in Theta). It was so much fun, because I hate staying in, and was afraid that's what I'd be doing. Wednesday we went to the same house for a party (it was Patty Murphy week, so they were partying all week). I also saw Katie's family on Wednesday night, which was fun because I haven't seen them since last spring. They're such a fun bunch (6 children=yay).

I had to come home early from my internship, since Amy, who is my ride to and from, got sick. So I wasn't able to do my internship today, which is really sad, but hopefully I'll be able to go back this week. That being said, I'm going to spend the rest of the day reading. :)

Roommates and Friends

So Madi, my roommate for the year, finally moved in on Friday. I was distracted by the Conference and wasn't really able to help her out, but I really like having someone else here. Friday night was really nice. We rearranged the house so that I was sleeping in my room (something I was uncomfortable with doing living by myself). Then, for dinner, we went to her friend's place. She has told me his name multiple times, but I fail at remembering it. It's Nate (she just told me). Saturday, she had her boyfriend, Ricky, over, which was fun. We attempted to watch Bones, and just having people and sound in the apartment really lightened it up.

Sunday Amy moved in. Amy is going to be living here for about 6 weeks, not counting the weekends, for classes. It's nice, because then she can drive me to my internship, which will be in Cincinnati (as you already know).

Oh, important note. I went to my friend, Michael Cain's house on Sunday night to watch a movie. After his finding out that I had never seen Happy Feet, he insisted we watch it. I'm glad we did, because it was most excellent. I can't stop thinking about the fun, one liners from the movie, and the awesome characters.

Monday, Madi and Amy started their classes. Meanwhile, I worked. I met with one of the teachers I will be UAing with, who is kind of crazy, but mostly awesome. We discussed the syllabus a lot, still in its beginning stages. It's so interesting how much detail goes into just designing a class. Kyle, another student manager coworker, brought me over a lamp for my room, and we talked a while waiting for the rain to subside. It was nice. My friend Abby came over for about an hour and we just chitchatted.

One thing I really like about this week compared to last week is that there are people in my life. Roommates and friends are here since classes are finally starting, and I'm getting closer to those at work. It's really exciting. :D

Music Theory Conference

So this week I have spent a huge ton of time working on the Music Theory Mid Western Conference that was hosted by Miami this weekend. On Wednesday, I went in and stuffed folders, organizing them in alphabetical order and putting them into containers, taking them over to Presser for the registration. Thursday, we continued to stuff the folders, finish all last minute planning, and made sure all the small details were finished.

Friday was the beginning of the conference. We had expected about 60 people, and there ended up being 100, which is a huge, huge jump, especially for a music theory conference. It was really exciting. Some really cute boy was there, too, which was fun, because it meant he was cute *and* nerdy. The sessions were really, really interesting, and I really enjoyed absolutely everything about them. I could not make it through the last session, though. There were two more speeches, and about halfway through the second to last one, I was so theory-overloaded that I needed to escape for a while.

Saturday was about the same, though less people. The talks were pretty interesting, as well, and there were speeches on Elton John and the Beetles, so they were pretty cool. I was excited. After lunch, I decided to skip the last session and just come back to clean up, with permission of Dr. Boge, of course.

Dr. Boge is perhaps my favorite teacher at Miami. She is fun, she is crazy, and she is so understanding. She and I talked until 7pm on Wednesday, 5pm on Thursday, and for another hour today. We talked about people, life, thinking, and generations. She's also never been to Bagel and Deli, so that will be a must soon. After she calms down from the intense planning she's been doing for this conference. :D

On the Town

So I haven't gone out quite that much this week, which is fine, because it means that instead I'm catching up on sleep. But here are a few fun things I've done since school let out.

Friday night (May 7th)-

I met up with Lara for dinner at Bagel and Deli (the best place in the world.) I ordered my amazing pizza bagel, a wonderful steamed bagel full of pizza sauce, provolone cheese, and pepperoni. We sat outside for a little bit enjoying our wonderful bagels. Then we went to BTO, or whatever it's called, where they sell frozen yogurt. Lara got a wonderful dish, and then we sat at their seating by the huge window looking out to High Street. It was beautiful just watching people pass by, a lot of people we recognized, and just talking.

After I hung out with Lara, I went over to Erin's place for a few minutes before she and Joel decided they wanted dinner. We went back uptown to Mac and Joes, just in time before they start carding. The two of them ordered way too much food, so I ended up nibbling on some of their nachos and fries, which were delicious. It was my first time at Mac and Joes, and it was a pretty awesome place. At least I enjoyed it a lot. We went to the Rally for a little bit, but it was cold and rainy, so we went back to Erin's place to watch Fight Club. It had only been my second time watching it, so I was excited to see the movie from already knowing the ending.

Saturday (May 8th)-

Emily, a coworker at the Shrivs, hosted a party at her new house, low key. I went over and we played war for a little bit after she toured me through her house and introduced me to her friends. I really only went over for about an hour, but I had so much fun, because her friends are funny, she is funny, and I just love her.

Sunday (May 9th)-

I hung out with Lara for her last day on campus. She was packing, while I sat around and watched, introducing her to the wonderful website of stumble. She gave me some food from her apartment that she wouldn't need at home, for which I am very grateful, and then we said our goodbyes.

Monday (May 10th)-

Karaoke is every Monday night, and I try my best not to miss it. So I went on Monday night, expecting that no one would be there. Surprisingly, there actually were. I first hung out with Christi Mueller and her children's theatre friends, but then they had to leave, since theater is first thing in the morning. So then I hung out with Adam Abt, Alex Price, Chris Dobbs, and Chelsea Groh. It was a very odd group, but somehow we made it work. After karaoke was over, or at least, after we left early, we went to McDonald's to eat, which was actually a lot of fun. Back at Alex's, we watched the 2009 CMTs and played with Alex's friend's dog. It was pretty awesome.

Tuesday (May 11th)-

I hadn't planned on doing anything Tuesday night, so I was surprised when a fellow coworker, Peter, texted me asking me if I wanted to chill with him and a few other coworkers before going uptown. Of course I said yes (this is me we're talking about), so a couple hours later, they came to pick me up and we hung out at his frat house for a little bit. It was my first time at a frat house, if you want to call this place that. It seemed more like a dorm. Michael Cain played music on his computer while we chitchatted about choir and the music department. Then we went uptown at probably the latest time I've ever gone (1am). We first to Stadium, but it was slightly boring, so we decided to hop on over to Brick (where Karaoke is) for 90s night. The one thing I love about Monday and Tuesday nights is that it's free cover. We danced the night away and then I came back, talked to Emily for a bit, and went to bed.

And the Working Begins

So I'm doing a lot of various jobs this summer, when you count all the areas of Shriver I'll be working as well as the two internships I'll be doing. So so far this weekend and week, I've done a little bit for everything.

Saturday and Sunday I worked at my normal job at Haines Food Court. I absolutely love the people I work with here, and it's probably one of the better jobs on campus, though it does involve working with food. I ran register both days, since they actually assigned us to areas. Usually, as a student manager, we go around helping out other areas that are already staffed, so this was something I wasn't used to, but it turned out to be okay. We were slow enough that I walked around and talked to people, anyways.

Monday, I worked at Haines in the morning, doing laundry and cleaning the laundry room, helping upstairs when needed. After doing that for four hours, I went upstairs in Shriver to Catering to do deliveries. It was my first time working there, and it was pretty interesting. Danielle was the student manager in charge, and she showed me and this other new girl Emma what to do and how to work everything. We were actually out of there by 8, even though we were scheduled until 10. Even better, there were hamburgers left from the one picnic we delivered to, and we all had an excellent dinner together.

Tuesday, as in today, I had my orientation with JosephBeth Booksellers. It was a wonderful little headquarters building, unlike the huge building I went to for my American Greetings Project, and the people were so nice, exactly like AG. The orientation went really well, though only three of us actually showed up out of the 12 interns they decided to hire. I'm really excited to be working with them on reading books, fixing their iPage accounts, and going to Publisher's meetings. At the end, we were allowed to take some books, which I took a few, and will be reading as soon as I'm done posting this. :D

School's Out For Summer!

I moved into my apartment yesterday, a nice, quaint place right next to campus. Around 2pm, Madi, my new roommate, picked me up and helped me move all of my stuff into the apartment. It took us about an hour, since we had to make two trips for all of my stuff. I arranged my room into corners, one corner of boxes full clothes, one of books, one for my bedding, and one for other random stuff.

Once moved in, I realized how much an apartment needs and how much I was missing. My living room and bedroom lacked lighting, I needed a trashcan for the bathroom and kitchen. I was so used to using my roommate's can opener that I forgot I needed one for myself. There was no shower curtain for my bathroom. Basically I was missing a bunch of things.

Since then, I have obtained a few things from friends, such as lighting, but I'm still in need of shopping, desperately. Also, I'm going home at the end of the month for memorial day, so hopefully I'll get some goodies then.

Oh, the life of a first time apartment-er.

Internship in Cinci

So, I officially am doing an internship, unpaid, in Cincinnati this summer. It is a book buying job at Joe Beth Booksellers, where I read books publishers send and tell them whether they should be bought and put on the shelves of Joseph Beth Booksellers.

I will still be living in Oxford, so I will need a ride to and from Oxford in order to do the internship. My friend Amy is willing to drive me for the first month, so I'll just need to figure out what I'm doing after that. I'm pretty excited for it, though. :D

A Summer in Ohio: A Beginning

I started out my journey into Ohio almost two years ago, as a freshman Creative Writing major at Miami University, which resides in a really small town called Oxford, Ohio. I stayed in this very flat state for almost nine months before going back to Pittsburgh for the summer. While in Ohio, I learned to love everything about the small town, the people, and its beauty. After coming back for my sophomore year, I decided it was time to stay. As much as I love Pittsburgh, the beautiful cultural city that it is, I realized that my home, at least for now, is in Oxford, close to my friends and the opportunities that I have found here.

My summer is going to be a busy one, but it's also going to be full of lazy days by the pool. I'm really excited for my friends and for my adventures in Ohio, and I'm hoping my experience will be better than the song I got the title of this blog from.

Just a brief overview of my activities for the summer:

-working various places on campus, including my current job at Haines Food Court
-interning online for the Adirondak Review
-preparing for my thesis by doing research and collecting ideas
-researching for an MFA program after I graduate
-organizing my computer
-writing, reading, and singing
-hanging out with friends
-visiting home and getting my driver's license

Of course, my summer will be filled with much more than this, so we'll just see how it goes. Three weeks until I move into my apartment!