June Goodbyes

Well, if the title of this post doesn't say it, I don't know what does. June was full of goodbyes. Goodbyes to my educational career, to friends, to part-time jobs, and to ways of life. Some were happy, some sad, some bittersweet, and some simply necessary to continue growing into who I'm meant to be. Saying goodbye has me reacting in ways all over the emotional spectrum. Luckily, soon I will be indulging in my month of hello's. I can't wait to start my next adventure...because leaving behind this one is pretty darn sad.

My A Cappella Obsession

Take it SLO Senior Gift :)

June 2, 2013 was my very last show with Take it SLO. It was stressful and beautiful and sad. Big huge shout out and thank you to everyone in Take it SLO—past, present, and future—this group gave me the best home anyone could ask for. I am grateful for the opportunity and experience every single day. Another huge thanks to That’s the Key for asking us to perform in their Spring Show and performing in ours as well. It is so incredible to hear the sounds of your group progress in such beautiful ways.

Also, look at this awesome thing the continuing members of Take it SLO made me! (seen to the right)

A Series of Lasts and Beautiful Goodbyes

The Final Party at 380

I lived with the most incredible group of humans this year. As a final last-hoorah (before we had to clean our entire house with a toothbrush), we celebrated our moving-on the only way we knew how—with tons of beer, games, laughter, and friends. Shout out to all of my lovely ladies from Coastal Peaks that made an appearance…it’s been a wonderful few months working with all of you, let’s not let the fun end now that we’re all leaving SLO.

Best Friend Time

Julie Holland Logue has been my best friend and my roommate for the best years of my college career. To celebrate our friendship, I accompanied her to her sorority formal (the only Greek event I have EVER been to). While everyone else was on the dance floor getting their “grooves” on…we were busy at the over-priced bar with the heating lamps. We planned and planned to take pictures in the fun lil photo booth…but it was too hard to tear us away from the heating lamps. Don’t worry though, we still found a way to capture our evening with Julie’s iPhone. Thank goodness.

On Julie's last night in SLO, some jerk spider crawled across Julie’s temporary floor bed so I offered for her to sleep in my bed with me. Neither of us slept well…but it was kind of a cute way to end the era of being roommates. I love you Julie :)

My Last (and first) Pint Night

Since I found out I had Celiac disease just three months before my 21^st…I was never really ever able to capitalize on all the drink deals that go on in my lovely college town of San Luis Obispo. A popular deal of choice is Pint Night. You get ONE dollar beer, which is awesome…if you can actually drink it. I decided to suck it up on my last Tuesday of my Undergraduate career and go to Pint Night with my friends. I had SO MUCH FUN. I definitely was missing out. I saw so many people from my freshman year dorm and from other random activities, people I wouldn't have seen or said goodbye to otherwise. My smiling muscles were horribly sore from all the laughter that went on that night :)

Reminiscent Hikes

I went on the absolute best hike up Bishop's Peak with my friend Scott during finals week. We climbed all the way up to the top, obviously, and then continued to walk along the precarious boulders. We reminisced about our favorite shared college stories and there were a LOT. I loved looking back on those memories with someone else…it really started making the whole “graduation” thing feel real…the sadness started setting in a little.

Sometimes I Pretend I Exercise

I have been using RunKeeper for the past 2ish years to help keep track of my running goals. On January 1, 2013, the App encouraged me to “make a goal” for myself. New Year’s Resolution driven me decided that a goal of running 400 miles by December 31^st would be a good idea. Realistically, it’s totally doable. It’s only a little over a mile everyday…right? Well, as of the beginning of June (5 months into my goal), I was only at about 19% of 400 miles. For some strange reason, I thought the amount of miles to get up to 25% (or 100 miles) was about 12. Since 12 miles isn’t TOO many, I told myself that I wanted to get up to 100 miles by the time I moved out of San Luis Obispo on June 17^th. Well, guesstimating how many miles are between 19 and 25% of 400 without putting much thought into the actual numbers definitely came to bite me in the booty. It’s actually 24 miles. Don’t worry though, the combination of my stupidity and my stubbornness still allowed me to reach my goal. I completed those last 22 miles easily by the time I left my college home. It was a great way to end my time in SLO feeling accomplished.

As a mini graduation gift to myself and congratulations on accomplishing my goal, I bought myself a brand new pair of running shoes, inserts, and socks from Road Runner Sports. They rock. It's also cute because they are the sister shoes (aka the girl version) of my Dad's running shoes. Dawww :)

That Graduation Thing

On June 15, 2013, a lot of awesome things happened. First, my mother went to the pre-graduation bars with me ("to the left, to the left"). Second, I graduated…I guess that’s pretty awesome (seen on the right). Third, I got to spend a wonderful afternoon with my family for the first time in a very long time. And fourth, I bought and wore my Cal Poly alumni sweatshirt :)

My Weekend in Buffalo, New York

Talk about father-daughter bonding-- This has to be the best weekend I have ever had with my Dad.

My Dad, cousin, Uncle, and I went to Sky-High Adventure Park in Ellicotville, NY on Friday. It’s a high ropes course and it is terrifying. Since I knew I was going to be scared going in, I was ready to joke my way through my fears. My dad, however, wasn't as aware of his fears...so I made sure I was making jokes enough for the both of us. Its amazing how you can come out of a terrifying experience so close with someone. I’m glad we were shaking in our boots together.

Since I’m a California girl, I do not see my East Coast relatives hardly ever. Its been four years since the last time I visited Buffalo. Because my visit was so short, my dad put together a nice family picnic so I could see everyone in one fell swoop. I played tennis, lacrosse, and catch with my cousins, chatted with my aunts, uncles, and grandparents…and took the win on one of the rounds of the water balloon toss. Shout out to my cousin Joey for being a kick-butt partner: Dream Team!!

I haven’t been to Niagara Falls since before I began having memories…so it’s been a while. Because of this, my dad and I decided to take a little day trip. Since my dad grew up in Buffalo, he would experience Niagara Falls on the regular...but it was usually from the Canadian side. Because of this, we chose to indulge in the American side. We took an elevator down to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls where we got SOAKED. This was the coolest experience EVER. It was a glorified, natural water park down there. The power of the water was majestic enough to plaster a smile on my face the entire rest of the day.  And here are some pictures of the Falls from the Canadian side too…it was too beautiful not to trek over there :)

My Last Weekend in SLO

After my trip to Buffalo with my dad, I needed one last (not stressful graduation) weekend in San Luis Obispo. It worked out perfectly—I needed to get my last paycheck from Coastal Peaks, it was one of my close friends’ birthdays, AND it was a friend’s last weekend in SLO. Every day was full of excitement. Friday, we started off with raspberry mojitos, margaritas, and hanging out in the backyard. We listened to Natural Incense perform at Frog n Peach and we played card games until last call. Saturday, we took the San Luis Obispo wineries by storm—Baileyana, Saucelito, Claireborne and Churchill, Sextant, and Talley Vineyards. Thank you to Cullen for driving us :) And lastly, we had a nice “family” barbecue on Sunday night with all the roommates and friends. We told stories and we laughed and we all fell into even deeper friendship love. This was the absolute best weekend I could have asked for. Thank you (you all know who you are) for showing me the best last couple weeks in San Luis Obispo I could have ever imagined. It’s been entirely too much fun :)

The Simple Serendipities

Ah, the little things in life. This section never gets old :)

Bottom Buns: As my father and I flew across the United States, we ate at a lot of airport restaurants. We both chuckled at how low quality the aesthetics was at every place we ate….especially when my dad was given a burger with two bottom buns.

Contacts: I finally got contacts! After wearing my glasses every day for over a year straight, I finally rid myself of the rims! So exciting!

Bingo Night: My mom and I went to the local neighborhood bar, Our Place, to get out of our hot, broken- AC home for Happy Hour. Next thing we knew it, we made a dozen new friends and were sucked into playing Bingo for a few hours. Our one hour trip turned into a four hour one. Whoops :)

Silly Notebooks: In the end of March, I met up with my traveling friend David in Europe. He asked me to get him a very specific thing—a black, hardcover moleskin notebook with no lines. Because I’m a pain in the butt, I got him exactly that…but there was a little bit of a print to it. My friend was grateful and frustrated at how closely I followed his directions and still managed to get him something he didn't exactly want. I nearly lost it when I left my Dad’s my last day in Buffalo: he has the exact same notebook that I sarcastically bought David. I couldn't contain my laughter.

Update on the right now:

Countdown to Mississippi: 18 days!! 

I just spent 4^th of July with some of my favorite lady friends ever

I’m going to a Red Sox vs. Angels game tomorrow with some high school friends :)