California

Hey all,

MJ- That weekend totally works out for me because I was actually already thinking about coming up to Columbus that weekend (I think I told LC this but forgot to say anything to the rest of you…) A family friend is swimming in Junior Nationals that weekend at OSU and I’ve never gotten to see her swim so I figured why not kill two birds and see her and you guys! So that definitely works out that you were planning that!

And, that’s so big for you and Eric! How exciting!!! I can’t help but say this with only the very smallest amount of jealousy :)

So the big trip to LA… I think we both had a blast. We got back last night. We did an incredible amount of stuff, I think, even for the go-go-go type of vacationers we are. Poor Erin had to sleep on a yucky old futon in the living room the whole time but as usual she was a trooper… with the help of the earplugs. I convinced her to go to Disneyland haha. It was a lot of fun and it helped that it was free. Mickey touched her butt, too. I’ll let her tell that story… We watched the Buckeye game with the Orange County OSU Alumni Club (It was apparently an unusually small crowd of 150!). In typical fashion a few things were a bust, like, we tried to go whale watching but instead we got up early to see a bunch of sea lions. 

We saw the worst movie ever- Couples Retreat. Don’t see it. I don’t think it’s even worth renting. Erin was scared by people dressed up as Elvis, Johnny Depp, Darth Vader and the like in Hollywood and disturbed by the paparazzi and $12,000 sweaters on Rodeo Drive. (If anyone watches Modern Family we are pretty sure we saw the woman who plays the Columbian wife being hounded by a couple paparazzi.). We did get to go to the Jay Leno Show- a story in itself. We walked around Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach (John’s home). We went to the very moving Tolerance Museum and saw a Holocaust survivor speak (she was in the movie Freedom Writers!). John got to hang out with us when he wasn’t working, which was basically Saturday and Sunday and after 8 or so the rest of the days. All in all it was a really fun week. I hope Erin agrees J Of course, feel free to add your version, Erin! I kept thinking of you all at different places we were throughout the week! John has said you all are welcome any time…

Now it’s back to getting my ass in gear and finding a job! Wish me luck…

Amy

I already have my christmas tree up!

Hey Girls!!!

LP I am loving the blog excitement! And congrats on the job!!! and congrats to LC and ME on the job too!! Amy and Erin I am dying to hear about your trip to the west coast!

Sorry I have been MIA lately. I have still been crazy with schoolwork and such. Yesterday was Eric's birthday so I did that whole deal with him. We went to Brazenhead for burger madness night! You all (sans LC) have to go! They were only 3 dollars for a burger and chips. bomb-dig! It was kind of lonely to celebrate his birthday without a whole group of people (it was a wednesday and no one could go out), but we made do with just the two of us. I am wondering if this is how it will be in the future though... because it definitely did not compete with the best birthday ever and actually made me somewhat sad.

On a happier note, I am considering subleasing my apartment and moving in with him for the winter and spring quarters. It would be a nice way to save money and I practically live there anyway. Besides I would have a safety net, because if the first quarter didn't work out, I could just move back in to my place the next quarter. Things have been so great, I don't predict that being a problem though. Lately we have been looking up puppies online (LP I'm sure you love this!). We have found some really cute rottweilers (?) at petfinder.com. I think it would be cool to have another puppy for Jax. But I would rather wait till the summer to get one, so we aren't potty training in the winter.

Side note: Gina, my mom, is allergic to dogs and has never had one. Therefore, she really has no idea how to care for them. She absolutely loves Jax though. I swear she thinks of him as a grandson and she is always pampering him. Anyways, she gave him a toy that he quickly demolished about a week ago. And she gave him some Tbones from steak a few days ago. Poor Jax has been sick since. Good news though: We figured out the culprit two days ago when he threw up a piece of the plastic toy : ( So if you have any dog advice, I am willing to hear it.

Enough about dogs!

I would really like to have a Thanksgiving/ Christmas pot luck! . I would love to see everyone! Especially around the holidays. How would Dec. 11th work? I know that everyone will be busy thanksgiving weekend, and then the next weekend I'll be studying for exams. So the 11th seems like the best weekend. Plus, I have surgery on the 14th and will be laid up after that (yes, I am finally having that shitty nose surgery. I would love visitors though!!). Just let me know if you can make it, and if so we can all discuss bringing our "specialties"! And of course, my place is available for a sleep over!

I love you all and can't wait to hear back!

Love, MJ

Good news!

I officially got hired! That means I get all the perks now! Enough said though. Amy and Erin I expect full detailed blogs about your trip! LC any big birthday plans? You me and Maria should get a margarita!! Woo! MR any news about that job with Prudential? MJ how is school without all those roommates to distract you? Can you administer a perfect iv now?love you girls-I am dying to hear about the exciting and mundane!

LP

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hey girls!

I haven't written on here in awhile because I don't have too much to say haha. First of all, Maria.. I'm so sad about Kev's ring- that really stinks! The insurance job sounds promising. I bet it will be nice to have more normal hours. But I'm so pumped about the UC game! That will be so fun- that seems so terribly far away though...

Are we still on for a reunion in January?! I've been missing you all lately. I just copied Lauren and made a Mixbook of college pictures. Laur, when you said Facebook will be gone eventually and you want something concrete to show people, I was like I need that too! So I've been working on it the last couple days and it's making me so nostalgic! The point is that I think a reunion with ALL of us is necessary.

I'm making John a Mixbook too (I've entitled it - John and Amy: The College Years hahaha). I think I'm going to give it to him for Christmas. I figured I made him that scrapbook from High School, it would be nice to have one from college too!

I think I told most of you about my trop out there at the beginning of this month but it was so much fun. We did a lot but it was a nice mixture of feeling like I was on vacation and doing absolutely nothing. I'm really realizing how valuable "just doing nothing" with him is and how much I miss that. We did go to San Diego for a night and went to the zoo! We also went kayaking in the ocean and got to go in these caves, which was very cool. In LA we finally drove out to Hollywood and did all that stuff too. It was the most fun time I've had in a long time.

I'm so excited that Erin is coming with me in 2 weeks! I'm so pumped to show someone around and have someone to hang out with! I'm sure we will have all kinds of stories when we get back, probably mostly consisting of us getting lost and meeting strange people along the way haha. I need to get all of you out there at some point. In February when his lease is up, I think he is going to move to a bigger, nicer place. So after that- if anyone's free and wants to plan a trip- LET ME KNOW!! Free place to stay and you can find cheap airfare to LA lately!

So I still don't have a job or any leads on anything. I did start volunteering with the American Cancer Society's Discovery Shop here in Anderson. They call it an upscale resale shop and I'm just trying to help spread the word and get more donations. It's not too big of a deal but I really like the people I've met and who knows what will happen- like Lauren said. Brie also asked me to start coming in once a week to help with her classroom, which I am super excited about. I'm sure the novelty (for them and me) will wear off once I start going over and over but I had so much fun last time that I don't care. Plus I get to see Brie.

So we're going to dinner tonight at the clubhouse for the "Special Autumn Dinner" haha. We're sitting with 3 couples one of them being our builder Pat and his wife, who actually live down here too. Usually I like these things because they're funny but tonight I'm not looking forward to it because if another person asks me about not having a job I may shove something down their throat (It's literally every time I see someone). On top of that, Pat sometimes thinks he is my father and gives me "fatherly advice" about life (For the record- he is harmless and I do love him most of the time but really?). Most of that advice consists of a conversation that goes just like this:

Pat: How's the boy?

Me: Oh, fine.

Pat: 7 years- it's like a fungus... (What that means I have no idea)

Me: (Forced laugh)

Pat: You know Amy forever is a long time. There's a big world out there with lots of people.

Me: Mmhmm

Pat: You know I'm only kidding right? ... well kind of...

So awkward. My life in a nutshell right now....

Miss you all and love you!

Amy

Thank you guys!

I got my birthday present today!!! I love it!! Thank you all so much for thinking of me and giving me a little piece of the oval!

Laur I am so happy for you! CONGRATULATIONS!!! Your job sounds so legitimate, I know you will be wonderful at it!

I am actually in the middle of an interviewing process with Prudential insurance. I have my resume posted on a job search engine for the Albany area and I got a call from Prudential asking me if I wanted to come in and do a sort of evaluation. I didn't really realize what I got myself into. It was an hour long exam on math and logic! But they called me back the same day and said I had done well. Then I had to take another assessment online, I passed that, and they called me for an interview on Monday. I am really excited. I do love the job I have now but I'm getting sad about having to work all day every weekend and how I won't get to spend holidays with the family. It would be really nice to have a normal work week. I don't know much about insurance, and I feel like the world doesn't need one more insurance salesperson, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Ohhh I wanted to tell you guys this! U Albany's opening game next fall is at Cincinnati!! It's going to be a complete blowout but I thought it would be fun if Kev and I made the trip out to watch the game and see everyone. It'll be the first time in 5 years Kev will be watching a UA game from anywhere but the field.

So a couple of games ago (sorry all my stories have to do with either work or football) Albany was away in Pittsburgh I think actually. Kev took off his ring and put it in his shoes in the locker room, and of course, when he came back into the locker room his shoes (and his ring) were missing. Kev told me that like 10 guys stayed in the locker room for like 20 minutes after they had showered just looking for the ring. But, alas, Kev left his cool Columbus ring in Pittsburgh (yet another sign that we belong in the Midwest). So for Kev's birthday this year I had to take the easy way out and get him a new ring. It's not nearly as cool as the one from Columbus, so that makes me sad. But one of the other things I got him for his birthday is this book called "Weird New York: Your travel guide to NY's local legends and best kept secrets." It made me think of you guys because there is a ton of cool stuff in here that we definitely would try if we were all in the are. Like supposedly the best pizza place in NY is the hardest to find. It's like in the middle of the woods in a tree house. So hopefully once football is done and if I get a job were I have the weekends off, Kev and I will have fun adventures to report back to you guys.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the fall. I'm in full boring mode. I've learned to crochet and have just been making a blanket nonstop. So at least I am keeping warm.

MJ I have been giving the song thing a lot of thought and I feel like I have more than one song at the moment. I will continue to think and then get back to you!

Alright love you guys!

Maria R

I GOT ME A JOB!

HEY GIRLS!

I AM WRITING THIS IN ALL CAPS TO EXPRESS MY EXCITEMENT. I JUST GOT OFFERED A JOB! LAST WEEK I ONE OF MY BOSSES AT FISHER RECOMMENDED ME FOR THIS OPENING, AND SO EVERYTHING HAPPENED REALLY QUICKLY. I HAD AN INTERVIEW TUES, A SECOND INTERVIEW WEDNESDAY AND GOT OFFERED THE POSITION TODAY. I START TUESDAY.

LUCKILY, I ONLY WENT TWO WEEKS WITHOUT A JOB, SO BASICALLY I HAD A NICE LITTLE VACATION! I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS POSITION-I THINK IT'LL BE PERFECT FOR ME. IT'S WITH A COMPANY CALLED RESOURCE INTERACTIVE. IT'S IN THE ARENA DISTRICT IN THE SAME BUILDING AS BUCA. THEREFORE, IT'S SUPER CLOSE, AND IT'S A REALLY SWEET COMPANY. IT'S ONE OF THE TOP TEN INDEPENDENT DIGITIAL MARKETING AGENCIES. THEIR COLOR IS GREEN. WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE HISTORIC BUILDING THE FIRST THING YOU SEE IS A BRIGHT GREEN WALL. HEAVEN! HAHAH. IT'S AN OLDER BUILDING THAT THEY'VE PUT A LOT OF MODERN TOUCHES ON. THERE ARE NO CUBICLES, SO IT'S A VERY TEAM ORIENTED ENVIRONMENT. IT'S ALSO A DOG FREINDLY OFFICE! WHEN I WAS THERE THE OTHER DAY I SAW THIS LADY WITH HER LITTLE YORKSHIRE TERRIER HAHA.

MY POSITION IS AN HR COORDINATOR, SO BASICALLY I WILL BE HELPING THE TALENT ACQUISITION SIDE (HIRING PEOPLE/INTERVIEWING) AND THE TALENT MANAGEMENT SIDE (CURRENT EMPLOYEES). IT'S A LOT ABOUT DETAILS AND ORGANIZATION. I ALSO WILL GET TO DO SOME EVENT PLANNING AND SCHEDULING. ANYWAYS, NOT TO GO ON AND ON BUT I AM SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED.

THE POINT OF THIS LITTLE STORY IS THAT... BASICALLY WITHIN A WEEK I WAS REFERRED FOR THIS JOB AND WAS HIRED, SO LC, ERIN AND AMY--YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN A NEW OPPORTUNITY MIGHT COME A KNOCKIN! HAHAHA.

I REALLY WISH THIS WOULD MEAN THAT I COULD GO TO CALI, BUT UNFORTUNATELY I START BEFORE THEN.

PLEASE SOMEBODY UPDATE ME ON YOUR LIFE! I WANT TO HEAR HOW EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING : )

LOTS OF LOVE..

LAUR

Oh Louisville.

Another weekend spent in Louisville. It's been great having the opportunity to relax for a while! It's absolutely gorgeous down here right now. There are so many trees and they're all vibrant reds, oranges and greens. I definitely would love to get married in the fall ; )

The drive down here is so much more aesthetically pleasing than the drive from Columbus to Cincinnati! Alex's apartment was pretty bare still and he decided to give me a budget of $500 to get whatever I wanted for his apartment. I never even said a word--all his idea! So perfect for me haha. Anyways it looks a million times better-very homey. Hopefully it helps him feel less lonely! I just wanted to give my song pick. With being in Louisville Alex and I have been listening to a lot of country music in the car... Each of you needs to listen to Darius Rucker, "History in the Making."

Hope you've all been enjoying your weekend and can't wait to hear some updates!

P.S. I got an iPhone this week! Hopefully that means I can finally talk on the phone in my house/bedroom! WOhoo!

<3
Laur