Back to Cola, Back to a Routine

So the past week and a half has been a whirlwind for me. I went from California, to Jersey, to Virginia, to North Carolina, and finally arrived back to Columbia South Carolina. My last week in California was amazing. It included the last orientation session, a flashlight ceremony, banquet, a goodbye party and then of course Denica and I leaving. Let me say that I cried the five days prior to leaving California, and every day so far being back. It is not that I am not glad to be back, it's just I was not ready to leave. I miss my bosses (Kelly, Alissa and Sara), the other intern (Denica), all of my students, and California itself. My summer internship experience really made an impact on me professionally and personally, and it has a special place in my heart, and I do plan on returning at some point.

Emily, Alissa, Sara, Kelly, Denica, Me

Sara, Denica, Kelly and Me at the Alice in Wonderland Banquet as the Queen Cards

Core Staff in our OATrageous Snuggies from Sara and Alissa, Thank you!

Denica and I with two of our favorites (Jess and Kristina)

Johanna picked me up in the fabulous Newark, New Jersey and I got up bright and early to head to my family reunion in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Why on earth Harrisonburg, Virginia you might ask? Well simply because half of my family lives in Charlotte, NC and half in New Jersey, so Harrisonburg Virginia is halfway in between. I spent three days with all of my mom's side of my family and did everything from just hanging out to kickball and wiffle ball games. Push come to shove it was great to see my family, but it was also a tease just seeing them for three days and then having to say goodbye again. There were more tears, but I mean I think that's just me. Below are the pictures that we have taken every year since Jess and I were around 5, we used to just to age order, but as younger ones grew taller a height picture was added just so they could rub it in.

Cousins in Age Order: Me(23), Jess(22), Lon(21), Shannon(20), Chris(18), Travis(18), Nick(17), Hannah and Laura(14), Zach(6)

Us in Heigh Order: Travis, Chris, Shannon, Me, Nick, Lon, Jess, Hannah, Laura, Zach

The Girls

After spending the night in Charlotte, my cousin Nick and drove me back to Cola. The humidity aside I am excited to be back (today it was 108 degrees with humidity). I have been staying with my friend Sam for the past two nights while my apartment gets ready, and who does not love a sleepover? I am excited for what this year of grad school has to bring, am quickly filling up my agenda and my time with stuff, and have reached the realization that could be my last year of school for a while, if not ever. So, in keeping with my California motto: why not? I am planning on living the year to the fullest! (But, my heart is still in California, oh and the time difference is really messing with my sleep.)

Do I Really Have to Leave Here?

So with less then a week left in California, the packing has begun, as have the goodbyes. Let me say for the record, that while I am excited to see my family in Virginia, and everyone back at school in Cola, but I am by no means excited or ready to leave here. Somewhere along the line I fell in love with California, my job, and all the amazing people I have met out here, and I just am not ready to leave it behind. With that being said, here are just a few things I am going to miss about California, and a few things I am excited to have again on the East Coast:

Things I am Going to Miss:

1. The lack of humidity out here, it really just does wonders for your hair

2. The fact that it has not rained one day all summer

3. San Jose State University

4. My students, co-workers, and new friends

5. Fro Yo and In and Out milkshakes

6. Great public transportation

7. San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Napa and the coast

8. Living in a city

9. The relaxed pace of life and go with the flow attitude of everyone

10. Palm Trees, they are everywhere

Things I Cannot Wait to Have Again:

1. My family

2. Dunkin Donuts

3. To be able to cook my own food again

4. My shower

5. Fried Pickles

6. No three hour time difference, it makes communication hard

7. Seeing everyone back in Cola

8. My brita filter, and my nalgene

9. Having my car, and not having to rely on other people to get places

10. Gamecock football

I'm excited for the week ahead, prepared for some rough goodbyes, and trying to remember that I am leaving a place I love, to go back to a place I love. WIth that said, here are some pictures from the past weeks adventures.

Jeshuah, Me, Denica, Carolyn and Hector before playing miniature golf

Sarah, Ashley, Me, Kristina, Hector, Carolyn and Alison at the Gilroy Garlic Festival

Lindsay, Denica, Me, Caitlin and Heather before 80's night in San Francisco

Denica and I at Lime in San Francisco for brunch and bottomless mimosa's 

Hurry Up and Relax

This weekend my day-by- day calendar said "Hurry Up and Relax" and that is exactly what I did.

Friday, one of my orientation leaders BK taught me how to long board. Everyone on San Jose's campus either rides a bike or longboards, so to take some of the culture away, I wanted to learn. Luckily, BK is a good teacher and I only suffered one major fall. Long boarding is fun, and I could see how it could make for a good form of transportation, but it will definately take some more practice. Right now I'm working on learning how to stop, versus just jumping off, and I'm hoping Pete will help me some more once I'm back in SC. Then, Tom, a friend from home who is also driving cross country came for the night and we explored down town and caught up!

My first long board lesson, thanks BK!

BK, Me, Kaitlynn at dinner

Saturday I moved from my bed to the pool at 8:00am to soak up some sun. Then in the afternoon I went to tour Winchester Mystery House (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Mystery_House) with Denica, her boyfriend Shane, and one of our orientation leaders Kaitlynn. The house is a huge Victorian Mansion, that is supposed to be haunted by the spirits of those killed by Winchester's riffles. The tour was interesting, and the house and gardens were beautiful. We topped of the afternoon by taking Shane to In-and-Out, a common tradition around here.

Denica, Kaitlynn, Me at Winchester Mystery House

Door to Nowhere, the mansion has lots of weird quirks

Today, I went to the Tech Museum in downtown San Jose. For those of you who don't know San Jose is located in the Silicon Valley, which hosts companies such as Google, Facebook, Adobe, etc. and became really prominent in the technology boom. The museum has a whole array of exibits, with my favorite being the earthquake simulator. I experienced the 1994 Northridge California earthquake, and I'm starting to think that is all the earthquake I need.

Earthquake Simulator at the Tech Museum

Tomorrow brings us to Session 6, which is our second to last. Denica and I leave here in less then two weeks, and while I am excited to see my family in Virginia and everyone back in South Carolina, I am by no means ready to leave here. So, how are we dealing with it, we are just avoiding the topic until further notice, perfect method, right?

Denica and I by our door, its decorated with the symbols of all five huddle groups

"Getting Dragged by a Cab - Priceless"

So what happens when you have an internship in California for the summer, people want to visit you! This past week my mom and sister came out to visit to see A) California, and B) me, or vice versa - depends who you ask. They arrived Wednesday night and we started with a true California tradition, dinner at In-and-Out. Thursday they explored San Jose's campus while I worked, met my co-workers and bosses and then we headed out to drive down the coast (still my favorite party of California). We drove from San Jose down to Bixby Bridge / Big Sur, and even though there was lots of fog the views were still gorgeous. Props to my mom, who is terrified of heights, but drove the curvy roads anyways, with minimal panic attacks so Shan and I could stop for pictures and sight seeing. Then when we returned home Shan and I went to Orientation Prom so she could meet all of my fabulous students!

Mom Loving In-and-Out

Shan and I at Big Sur / Bixby Bridge

Shan and I at Orientation Prom

Friday we got up bright and early to head to Santa Cruz for our surfing lesson! I am considering giving up Higher Education to become a Professional Surfer, but I haven't officially decided yet. Actually, surfing was a lot harder then I imagined, and took a lot of upper body strength (which I don't have). But it was tons of fun, and both Shan and I were able to actually stand up and surf a few waves. Best part, I got to wear a wet suit and really looking legit is half the battle. After our surfing experience we walked he Fisherman's Wharf to see the Sea Lions, and the boardwalk for a mid afternoon snack. To complete our fun packed day we stopped at Henry Cowell Redwood State Park to see the Redwoods, they were just as impressive the second time I saw them!

Post Our Surf Lesson

Hugging the Redwoods

They are just massive!

Saturday we went to San Francisco to continue our how much of California can you fit into four days. We started with Golden Gate Bridge, and then drove around Sausalito, which is where I want to live someday - the houses, views, area, everything is just beautiful. Again, my mother managed to show us the whole area with very minimal panic attacks! Then we checked into our hotel, and took the bus down to Pier 39. We first explored Pier 39, all of the shops, the sea lions and the farmer's market! We set out on a trolley tour, seeing everything from the Full House house, to Pacifica Heights, Little Italy, China Town and everything in between. The only downside was the fact that the trolley was open, and it was freezing. Upon our return we went to Little Italy where we had a delicious meal. Exhausted, we decided to take a cab back to our hotel. Shan got in the cab, I got in the cab, my mom got halfway in the cab and it started to pull off! Now if you know my mother, and know our luck, this is merely the story of her life. The cab drove a good five feet with her hanging out of it before he realized, said I'm sorry and continued on like nothing happened.

Golden Gate Bridge

Farmer's Market

On the Trolley Tour

Dinner in Little Italy

Sunday we went to Union Square, and the three story Forever 21. Then we headed down to Pier 33 to go on our Alcatraz Tour. The tour was great, informative, interesting and fun! We ended our San Francisco adventure with some clam chowder from Fisherman's Wharf and a Cable Car Ride. Shan and I stood on the cable car, like they did in Full House, and it was by far one of the best ways to see San Francisco!

At Alcatraz

On the Cable Car

After Our Cable Car Tour

Monday morning my sister and mom headed home, as me and the rest of orientation staff started session 5! I realize I am really lucky to have family who want to, and can visit me where ever I may be in the country! Oh, and orientation session 5 went wonderfully, but I wouldn't expect anything less from my wonderful co-workers and students!

Jeff, Denica, Me and all of the Orientation Leaders

Interns / Roommates / Friends / Co-workers / Soulmates

My boss Alissa with the Team Leaders

Mixing Home with California

This past fourth of July weekend I spent in California, mixing a little bit of home with San Jose. Meghan came to visit for the weekend! We spent Thursday laying out by the pool, and catching up (if you have met Meghan and I we can talk). Friday we headed to San Francisco where we did everything including a trolley tour, the golden gate bridge, fisherman's wharf, and of course shopping in union square. (Due to me forgetting my camera battery, pictures will have to come later.) Saturday we headed to Santa Cruz where we went wine tasting with Kelly. The wine was delicious, and the scenery was absolutely breathe taking. Meghan liked it so much, we are already planning her wedding there. After wine tasting we headed to the beach where we soaked up some more sun, walked the boardwalk and took in a perfect beach day. Coming back to San Jose Meghan had her first In-and-Out experience.

Kelly, Me and Meghan Wine Tasting

My artistic shot

Meghan and I at Santa Cruz

Meghan with her In-and-Out

In San Jose

Saturday we explored San Jose, and then later that night Morgan and Saybra arrived. They are road tripping across the country! We spent the 4th as most American's do, eating and drinking beer. It was good to see some familiar faces, and show them my life here in San Jose!

Saybra and Morgan

Meghan and I

The next two days I have session, and then I prepare for more guests. My mom and sister will be here on Wednesday night and I could not be more excited! Hope everyone is well.

A Whole Different Side of California

So I realize that a blog post is long over due, it is just I haven’t had a spare moment to sit down and write recently, even though I know some were eagerly waiting. So with that in mind, I will try to explain what I did the past week and a half, fare warning, this could take a while.

Since last writing we have finished orientation sessions two and three, which makes the count three down, and four to go.  Both sessions went relatively flawless, minus a few bumps here and there. Session three allowed me to have my first “on duty” experience. For those of you not in the students affairs profession, some one on duty is responsible for what happens after hours (10pm – 8am here). Thankfully we had a quiet night, the only problem being a disrespectful student. However, due to my type A, anxious personality I only slept from 4:18am till 6:30am that night, for fear that my phone was going to ring with an issue!

Besides orientation, I have also been keeping busy exploring more of California! Last week the other interns and I took a trip to Stanford with our boss Rich (Director of Student Involvement) to tour the campus, and learn about Stanford. The school is very unique, and run unlike a typical college campus. Some random facts that come to mind, the campus has nine separate “cultural centers” which include Women’s Center, Queer Center, Multicultural Center, etc. but they are at the nine corners of the campus, not centralized. Also, the university believes in leaving the land as it comes, so the landscaping of most of the university is “natural”. While the school is often compared to ivy leagues, it is not an Ivy League school (it petitioned a while back, but was not accepted). One of the most prominent conservative think tanks in the nation is housed on campus. All students who attend must graduate in four years, if they do not they are removed from the University and forced to transfer. Lastly, Stanford has a needs based free admissions policy – meaning if you are admitted to the school, they then assess how much you can afford to pay, and pay the rest for you. The campus itself was gorgeous, my three favorite parts being “Palm Tree Way” (each palm tree is worth 1 million dollars), the church and the Rodon garden with the Gates of Hell statue. The visit to Stanford also included purchasing some Stanford apparel, my first experience with Gelato, and some delicious Thai food from downtown Pal Alto.

Gates of Hell

Rich, Denica and I at Stanford

The Church

Denica with "Palm Tree Row"

In my new Stanford Gear

When we were done at Stanford we headed on the Caltrain to go to San Francisco for the weekend. This past weekend in San Fran was Pride Weekend, the largest Gay Pride Weekend in the country. Lucky for us, Denica’s friend Lindsay lives in San Fran and graciously let us stay with her.  Friday Denica and I headed to Union Square to do some shopping, and when Lindsay got home from work we started the weekend with pizza from Little Italy followed by a night out in the marina. Side note, something I love about San Francisco is all the sub districts within the city. Saturday we attended Pink Party the first Pride event, and the biggest free blog party in the country. There were millions of people in attendance. Unfortunately, there was a shooting (three injured, one person died), so it was shut down. The crime was later found to be gang related, but as the police officer I was speaking to pointed out, statistically you put that many people together and something is going to happen. After we headed to Polk street which is filled with very artsy eclectic bars. Sunday we headed to the Pride Parade. The parade itself included floats about letting gay couples adopt, mother’s who support their gay children, politicians who support revoking EDNA and DADT, drag queens, and other different organizations. Proper attired included everything from being completely clothed, to oh, complete nude. After the parade we headed to the concert venue in front of City Hall, where we saw various performers, most importantly the Backstreet Boys! The weekend was both fun, and a learning experience. What I also thought was interesting was the lack of protesters. Minus one small religious group against homosexuality, the rest of the event was peacefully and very supported, which was nice to see.

Denica, Me, Lindsay before going out in San Francisco

Welcome to Pride

Diesel  Window Display

Backstreet Boys

Yesterday Kelly took Denica and I to the Haight District of San Francisco which is filled with restaurants and thrift stores. We ate at Cha Cha Cha’s, a tapas restaurant that I would recommend to anyone in San Francisco. The food was delicious, and it had hands down the best Sangria I have every had. Plus, the atmosphere of the restaurant itself was fun and inviting.

Me, Denica and Kelly at Cha Cha Cha

While I was doing all of this, back at home my little brother graduated High School, and while again it was hard for me to be away, I could not be more proud of him!

It is weird that tomorrow is July 1^st, which means I am half way done with my summer internship and my stay in California. I am excited for what the next few weeks have to bring! Starting with Meghan coming to visit me tomorrow for the weekend, and then getting to see Morgan on Sunday as she road trips across country.

Hope everyone has a happy Fourth of July weekend!