Whoops! It's been a while...

Somehow it donned on me today that it had been a hot minute since I wrote a blog post. Then I looked to see how long it had been and it has been over a month! I am so upset with myself for letting this go so long. Here's a quick little recap about what I've been up to since February 12th.

February 13th I went to my first NBA game at the American Airlines center to see the Mavs play! I haven't been able to go back but I would in a heartbeat, I do love attending any sporting event.

Valentine's Day is kind of a big deal at Southwest (being the LUV airline and all ;)) and we were able to attend the Heroes of the Heart award ceremony. This award goes to a department that doesn't directly interact with external customers but has gone the extra mile in their work over the last year. It was very cool to get to be there. Then that night a group of us that are all single (and some that have significant others far away) went out for dinner and drinks for Valentine's.

That next morning I flew home to Kansas City, my parents found a new car for me and I had to go home to get it tagged and to bring it back to Dallas. My dad picked me up from the airport (after I almost slept through my 6 a.m. flight, oops!) and we got to catch up and have breakfast together. Then he dropped me off at my mom's so that I could take car of my car responsibilities - did I mention that a week after my wreck my mom had rotator cuff surgery? That made dealing with insurance companies that much more complicated. Thank God for my stepdad Mike and his patience, he stepped in a took care of everything and I could not be more grateful.

I got my car taken care of, and was able to swing by and see my sister Anne, catch up with her while she cut my hair. Then right before I was about to hit the road to Pittsburg to see my friends my brother Jake stopped by the house and I was able to see him too! It was so great to see so much family even though I was only in town for a few hours.

I decided to head to Pittsburg on Friday and spend the rest of the weekend with my friends because it would cut two hours off my drive time on Sunday and I hadn't seen most of them for two months and I missed them like crazy! Seeing everyone was so good, I had a really hard time leaving Sunday but I just had to remember the bigger picture - easier said than done.

The drive back to Dallas was long and not so fun when you're all alone, but I made it back in one piece!

The next weekend I traveled with Elly and Heather, we were determined to make it to the beach. We decided to try and fly into Orlando and drive about 45 minutes to Cocoa Beach. Flights were getting worse as the day went on but the nonrev gods were with us and we made it! We got to Orlando around 11 p.m. - hadn't made any hotel or rental car arrangements since we weren't sure we were even going to get there - and looked at each other like "now what?" Then walked up one of the flight attendants from the flight we just got off. As we were frantically looking at our phones to try and find hotels he said "You guys need some help?" and we graciously accepted any and all advice he had to give. He ended up helping us find the crew hotel and get the Southwest employee rate AND he informed us that he was also headed to Cocoa Beach the next day and could give us a ride so we didn't need to worry about renting a car. He was seriously our travel guardian angel. We hit up the beach with him and his friends Saturday and then headed back to Dallas on Sunday. We couldn't have planned the weekend any better.

Still craving more time on the beach Elly and I headed to San Diego the following weekend with Carrie, Conner and Corey. We caught the early flight Saturday morning and immediately after landing found a little brunch spot with bottomless mimosas - I was in heaven. After getting our money's worth of mimosas it was time to head to the beach. We went to Pacific Beach which was full of what seemed to be locals. It was a gorgeous day and the beach was equally as beautiful. Some how all of us were exhausted and what was meant to be a nap/rest time before going out turned in to just going to bed. We were up and at 'em early the next morning to catch our flight back. On the flight back we got to fly on one of Southwest's new 737-800 aircraft, I have a new liking for planes after being on them so much the last couple of months. The 800 is so pretty! If you have a chance to fly on one, you will immediately know what I'm talking about.

Monday, March 4th was Southwest's Message to the Field. Message to the Field is basically their "State of the Union" if you will, to reflect on the last year and get excited about what is in the year to come. In true Southwest fashion there was a giant tailgate prior to the event to get everyone pumped up to hear the Message. I thought it was awesome to get to be here for - we got to hear CEO, President and Chairman of the Board, Gary Kelly, speak about where Southwest has come from and where they are going. As if I didn't already want to keep working for this company enough as it is, after getting to hear the Message, I want to stay even more.

Being the second week in March and Spring Breaks starting it became harder for us to get places, since we travel on standby. Somehow Elly, Heather and I found a way to make it to Austin for the start of SXSW, well for the day on Saturday at least. We hopped on a 9:45 a.m. flight there, toured our way around 6th street and caught a 6:50 p.m. flight back to Dallas. It was a very short and sweet trip but it was a blast! I even got to run in to a friend, Ivan, from school who happened to be there for the weekend.

After last weekend being a traveling nightmare it was decided that we would all do St. Patty's weekend in Dallas. Friday I tagged along with Elly and some of her friends from college to go watch the KU vs. TCU baseball game in Ft. Worth, I realized I hadn't been to a baseball game since my internship with the T-Bones and that I actually missed it!

Saturday was the big St. Patty's parade on Greenville in Dallas. We all met at Erin and Elly's apartment, since it was walking distance to the rest of the day's festivities, and for lack of a better explanation acted like we were in college again. It was a great day.

Now that I am all caught up, I plan on not letting that happen again!

Follow me on Twitter @tessrannosaurus 

Social Butterfly

The best part about Mondays while working at Southwest has to be the fact that they end with a Deck Party. Seriously, genius. What better way to make the least favorite day of the week exciting than by ending the day with a party for everyone. This week's theme was Mardi Gras and when you walked in you were greeted with beads and the line to stand in for keg beer and sandwiches. Have I mentioned the live band that was also there? So. Fun.

This deck party seemed to last longer than the others, or I stayed longer - not sure which, but I do know I had a great time. Then walking out to my car a new friend hollered over that some people were going to Katy Trail Ice House for a little bit, so I tagged along to that as well. This particular Monday was a very social one and I got home a little late (10:00ish), but I had a lot of fun getting to know everyone better!

I did not however enjoy the little amount of sleep I got.

Tuesday I had a follow up appointment to make sure I was doing okay since my accident and I am but still sore in my shoulder so I will be heading back to the doctor in about four weeks. The rest of the day at work consisted of making some digital signs, photoshopping the usual picture and then of course decorating the department for Valentine's Day! Cindy (another lady in my department) and I decked out Cabin Services with anything heart or cupid shaped we could find - including a strand of heart shaped christmas lights. Pretty normal day.

Find me on Facebook or Follow me on Twitter/Instagram @tessrannosaurus.

A weekend in The Big D

Thursday at work was the intern scavenger hunt, a.k.a. "The Not-So-Amazing Race". We got split up in to teams of seven and were given clues that had us running (seriously RUNNING) all over headquarters until had collected all nine clues and successfully completed the tasks at each stop, all of course pertaining to Southwest history and trivia.

Early on my team had determined that we wanted to win. I just didn't realize how serious everyone else was until we were seriously sprinting from building to building and my face was the same color as the red Pitt State shirt I was sporting. Each stop was a lot of fun and it paid off to be running like we were because we came in 1st by the skin of our teeth. Thankfully we won, because my face was bright red until 4 p.m.

This weekend I had originally planned on going to visit my friends in Pittsburg, but the whole getting in a wreck sent those plans down the drain, so I decided to stay in Dallas for the weekend. Erin and Carrie (two other interns) were also staying in town so the three of us hit up happy hour at Blue Mesa. Their happy hour is a steal, $4 cocktails, $2.25 draws and a free quesadilla bar - sold. While at happy hour we decided that we should continue the happiness and go out in Uptown that night.

While at happy hour we also found a concert to go to the next night. Saturday Carrie and I went to Fort Worth and met up with some of her friends from college and went out to dinner and then to Billy Bob's Texas to see Easton Corbin.

I loved Billy Bob's. The place is enormous - there is a concert area, multiple bars, a dance floor and bull riding. It was great people watching and the concert was great! I only knew a few of his songs but he did quite a few covers and did them well.

Sunday consisted of doing nothing and watching the Grammy's. I loved it.

Find me on Facebook or Follow me on Twitter/Instagram @tessrannosaurus.   

"We'll pick you up" ;)

So today was a rather uneventful day compared to the last few, but nonetheless still eventful.

There was a whole fiasco with the rental car situation that forced me to wait until today around noon to get one (basically if you have an out of state license and are under 25 you have to jump through hula hoops that are on fire while juggling to obtain a rental car). So I get picked up by Enterprise (kudos to their marketing department for the "we'll pick you up" because that is basically the only reason I chose them, cause I needed to be picked up). I get in the car and make conversation with the guy that came and got me, it's way to awkward if you don't.

The conversation was fine, we talked about not being from here and blah blah blah I tell him my life story somehow, and at the end of the ride he says "Do you like to go out?". I replied "yeah!", thinking that since he is into the music scene he is going to tell me some cool places to check out - he did not. He then asked if I would like to go out some time. He literally "picked me up"- not really the service I was looking for, Enterprise.

Nervously I answered "Oh... yeah, sure", no I did not care to ever go out with Jerron, but I didn't know how to politely decline since we were still in the car (at this point I am awkwardly fidgeting with the handle trying to unlock and break free but was having no such luck). I decided to take matters into my own hands and ask for his information so that I could choose to not use it. Jerron then holds up the paper that he used to find me today and says "Oh, or I already have your information, if that's cool" (keep in mind he used the GPS on his phone to find my house and called me from the same phone to tell me that he was outside). Sorry, but that wasn't cool with me.

I later called enterprise and informed them of the wonderfully awkward situation one of their employees put me in and to asure that he would not have access to my personal information. The branch manager was super apologetic and told me there would be disciplinary action to follow, he then asked if there was anything rental wise he could do for me. I was surprised by this and didn't know what to ask for, so now I get to return the car with an empty tank instead of making sure it is filled to the amount I started with. It's really coming down to the little things to make me happy now-a-days.

After that wonderful start to the day I finally got to return to work! I was so happy to see my team and other interns :). It was a short day but to avoid some of the rush hour traffic I hit up happy hour with some fellow interns and other southwest employees. It was good to see some of the friends I have made as well as meet some more new people.

Friend me on Facebook, Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @tessrannosaurus

Crash

Sunday I was driving home from the airport and I had talked to my mom on the phone almost the entire drive home. I was about three exits away from mine when we hung up, it was about 2:00 p.m. I had pulled up to some stopped traffic and had just stopped my car in the right hand lane, when I heard screeching tires and then a black SUV slammed in to the side of my car. I had ended up in the middle of the busy highway before I even realized what had happened. Those that know me, know that I cry in most situations. So there I was crying and screaming in the middle of the highway in my smashed up Gertrude. I truly believe God was with me on Sunday though because instantly this man, Jayson was at the side of my car telling me to breathe and stay calm and that he was going to help me. It then hit me that my windows were busted out and there was glass everywhere. Another lady came up after him and told me she was a nurse and wanted to make sure I was okay. The two of them had to be my guardian angels because I don't know what I would have done without them.

The nurse was already on the phone with 911 and Jayson had already taken pictures of the scene. Then he came, crawled in the passengers side and helped me move my car off the highway. I was too emotional to know what to do so he ended up moving the car for me. While he went and talked to the police the nurse stayed with me and held my hand until the paramedics and firemen got me out of the car. The both of them called my mom and my cousin for me, since a crying screaming girl isn't really a good phone call to receive.

My back and neck hurt instantly so they put me on a stretcher and in the ambulance to take me to the hospital. The ride to the hospital was almost as scary as the wreck itself. I was all strapped in and down and couldn't move - which I hate.

Finally I got to the hospital and got vacuumed off (there was too much glass to know what to do with) and they started assessing my injuries and doing the whole admitting process (I really wished Cassie could have been there this time). In between getting a chest x-ray and two CAT scans, we tried to find the super bowl. Just my luck, my room didn't get the channel it was on. You've GOT to be kidding me. I finally got to leave the hospital with some serious pain meds at about 7:00.

After leaving the hospital I had to go to the impound to get my things out of my car. I had a full suitcase among other things that i didn't want sitting in my open car all night, and I wanted to see the damage.

Then I needed to get my prescriptions filled - will one of my friends working in healthcare explain to me why it takes a year and a half to do? I finally got home at 9:00, running on about four hours of sleep and pure adrenaline at this point I just about died.

Monday was full of phone calls and naps due to the pain medicine. Tuesday was much of the same.

I did however, receive these beautiful flowers from the Cabin Services department at Southwest! Made my day a little brighter for sure. :)

Getting a rental car is becoming a pain because I'm not 25 or a resident of Texas. The police report hasn't been posted yet so I still haven't been able to file a claim with the other insurance company. Oh and I am broke so the whole buying a new car things has been a fun thing to look in to as well. Basically this has been the crappiest week ever. Maybe by the end I'll write a survivor's guide to totaling your car: the saga of dealing with insurance, rental cars and the stress that comes with it. You know, trying to look on the bright side ;)

Playing Catch up

I have been really bad about keeping up with this over the last week so I'm going to catch everyone up to speed very briefly. 

In my last post I had said that traffic hadn't been too bad right? well the very next day I learned ust how bad it really could be! Long story short, that day it took me four hours to get to work. I was stuck behind a fatality accident and literally was parked on the highway. 

Thursday January, 24 I got to go to Phoenix for the day for work. We are working on a video project with Flight Attendants and we flew out there to film some of them. That was a long but awesome day! 

Friday January, 25 was my first time getting my "flex" day off. I work 7-5 every day and then get every other Friday off. Having this day off is going to be wonderful! I loved having the extra time to run errands, sleep in and just take some me time. 

Saturday January, 26 I went with four other interns to New Orleans for our first non-rev trip. We found out the Mardi Gras had already started and there would be parades to go to and a ton of other New Orleans traditions to soak up. We ended up meeting some guys from Florida and exploring the parade scene with them - very fun! We woke up early the next morning (11:00) and flew home with no problems. It was a very fun and stress free trip!

Last week was pretty mellow, Wednesday after work I got to fly to Austin for work. We were filming another Flight Attendant for our project - he was a riot! Since we left on the last flight out we stayed the night at the same hotel as the crew and then flew to work in the morning - that was awesome, the whole getting to fly to work thing. 

As the weekend approached we planned out next non-rev trip, this time to Nashville! 

We flew out to Nashville right after work on Friday (three other interns, a girl who works full time and myself). Once we arrived and got set up in our hotel we headed out for dinner. There was this really cute place around the corner called Music City Flats. They had delicious flatbreads and an assortment of beer and wine. After dinner we got ready to go out for the night and waited for some more interns' flights to get in and meet up with them. 

We went on on Broadway (made me miss Pittsburg), which was pretty close to heaven for me. This is the street that is referred to as "NashVegas" it was decked out with bright neon lights, live music EVERYWHERE - like I said heaven. We bar hopped for a bit and then called it a night when the bars started closing. We got a late start so we were confused when the lights started coming on. 

Saturday we enjoyed sleeping in, a late brunch, some window shopping and having a relaxing day. Then once night time rolled around we got ready for the night, ate some dinner at Whiskey Kitchen (the name is what sold me on the fact that we had to drink - I mean eat - there) and then hit up the main drag to go out again! 

After meeting some extremely interesting people and two stepping the night away we headed back to the hotel, around 3 am and had to be up at 6 to make our flight. We're quite an ambitious bunch. 

Sunday morning came all too soon and we packed up quickly and rushed off to the airport. The travel day home was slightly uneventful, until I started to drive home - this will be continued in my next post. 

I know this was kind of boring and short and sweet but I wanted to ge caught up before the next part of my story cause it is a lot all at once. 

Find me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instgram (@tessrannosaurus) for more about my adventures. 

You don't get MLK Jr. Day off after graduation

Monday came a whole lot faster than I expected (and I was a little upset that all my friends had MLK Day off and I didn't, but I guess that's what happens after graduation huh?), but it went by just as fast as it came.

Southwest offers classes to employees as interns through their University for People. Monday started out with a class for the communication interns about how to communicate the Southwest Way. This class was interesting since Southwest has a very unique writing style and even their own style guide (which varies from the standard style guides we have been taught all through school). It is going to be a challenge adapting to writing differently than I have my entire life but will be fun to get to play with the different terms and phrases that are unique to Southwest.

After our writing class we had an intern meeting to learn about one of the greatest perks we have - TRAVEL! As interns we have free travel privileges on any Southwest flight as standby passengers, which means there is an art to traveling as an intern. I could not be more excited for this opportunity and get to see all of the places in our beautiful country that I haven't, and get to visit friends and family!

On Friday I turned in my first draft of an article I was assigned to write for our internal publication Onboard that is produced for the inflight crew. Monday I had gotten my draft back with feedback from the editor - which was positive! :)

After work on Monday was a Deck Party (another AWESOME perk for interns and employees). Deck Parties happen every Monday after work and are basically a company wide happy hour. It's a great way to unwind after the day, and makes a Monday, not seem so much like a Monday. It's also a great way to meet people in other departments or get to know other interns.

I was so drained from the weekend and the start of the week that I was actually IN BED before 9 p.m. and dead asleep before 9:20.

Even though I was asleep so early, Tuesday morning came all too fast. Getting used to this waking up at 5 a.m. thing is taking some getting used to, but the commute isn't as bad as I expected (I will regret saying this). I'm starting to get a routine down in the morning, even though I'm half awake.

We are still learning how to do some basic things that our position requires like how to upload the communication materials we are making to the proper outlets and the ways that those differ for the two departments we handle. Tuesday was mostly comprised of that. I did however get to make another digital sign, which is one of my favorite things I've gotten to do. Digital signs are displayed on monitors in each of the bases and throughout headquarters to serve as reminders or things to come. I enjoy making these because it allows my creative/design side to show.

Every Tuesday is our department meeting where we all touch base on what were working on and get assigned new tasks. Each day we are being given more responsibility, but they are doing a wonderful job of not piling on a ton of new information at once. Everyone is also so helpful and nice, it's not scary to admit you don't understand something or to ask a question.

Tuesday night I was pretty lame. I pretty much came home, made one of the best grilled turkey sandwiches ever (it had sautéed peppers and pepper jack cheese on it too) and watched the KU game with Jason. I was also in bed again before 9 p.m. As Jason said to me "welcome to being an adult!"

A Hard Day's Night

I have the goal to update this every day or every other day but this week has been crazy busy adjusting to an entirely new routine and schedule.

So here are the highlights from my first full week of work!

Monday I woke up at 5 a.m. for I think the first time in my life (that wasn't for enrollment) for my first day at Southwest! I was nervous/anxious/excited basically every emotion you can have all at once. My cousin, Jason, woke up early and made breakfast for all of us, he and Sara really take good care of me, and then I was headed off to my first day! The day started with Intern Orientation, where we learned the history of Southwest and more about what the NoLimits Internship has in store for us. I also learned that the 65 of us were picked out of about 6,000 applicants. That was insane to find out. After orientation our departements came to pick us up and show us where we would be working. The other intern in my department, Cristin and I were greeted by Lori and Cindy. Lori and Cindy showed us to our cubicles that were completely decked out with ballons, welcome signs and our favorite snacks. Then our department took us to lunch and we continued to get to know each other better. Our department is made up of five women and two interns. It's small but I really like it and everyone is super friendly and helpful. The first day ended with a "Deck Party", these are usually outside on the third floor deck but in the winter they are held upstairs in the cafeteria. Deck Parties are basically a happy hour hosted by a different department each time for the entire company. Theres drinks, snacks and even a DJ. It was so much fun and such a great way to end the first day - a few interns and I even did the Wobble with four older employees!

Tuesday I was greeted with a wonderful sleet/snow mixture as I walked out of the door. For some reason I hadn't thought to check the weather and wasn't really expecting snow in Texas but I have learned my lesson now. I was worried about being late but everything ended up working out.

Wednesday there was a happy hour hosted for all of the interns after work, another fun way to get to know people!

The rest of the week was nuts. Getting used to waking up so early everyday and packing my lunch and making breakfast has been quite an adjustment. I do think I am starting to get a system down though. I have worked on something different everyday but love what I am doing. I have done work in Photoshop, InDesign and started my first writing assignment for one of the internal publications we are responsible for. Each day a group of interns meets to eat lunch together, which has been a really great and easy way to get to know people and find out what projects other departments are working on.

Friday a group of interns decided to get together and go out in Dallas for our first weekend here. We met at two girls' apartment, hung out and had some pre-going out beverages and then headed to Uptown! We ended up at a place called The Den and literally never left the dance floor. It was a blast! Since I don't live close enough to down town to go home after a night of drinking fellow interns, Elly and Erin, graciously let me crash at their apartment for the weekend.

Saturday was a lazy recovery day followed by a small group going to dinner in Uptown at a really nice mexican restaurant called, Mi Cocina. If you ever go there I recommend getting the drink the Mambo Taxi, it was a little pricey but it was the best frozen margarita I've ever had.

I finally returned home to Jason and Sara on Sunday for a lazy day of food and football.

This weekend was fabulous! I am having so much fun with the other interns and can't wait to start traveling with them next weekend!

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram: @tessrannosaurus

Getting used to Change

Friday was my last weekday to sleep in, obviously I took advantage. I knew that I had a pretty decent sized to do list to finalize some paperwork before I start work on Monday but I felt I deserved to relax a little before I started on that.

When I realized the Pre Hire paperwork I needed to print off and fill out was 54 pages long, I went out in search of a FedEx/UPS Store. Luckily there was one right down the street that was conveniently located next to a Panera. I spent the next few hours at Panera enjoying a bowl of my favorite brocoli cheddar soup, fuji apple chicken salad and many cups of english breakfast tea while filling out my Pre Hire paperwork and completing my online orientation.

While filling out my paperwork I found my self having to re-read a few of the things I was signing, I've never understood why pre-employment things are as confusing as they are but I managed to get through it. Then I did my online orientation, which got me super pumped for my first day! I am so excited about all of the opportunities that I am about to embark on, in many of the materials Southwest says "get ready for the flight of your life" and after all that I've done today I am more than ready! I can't wait to see what the next three months have in store!

Most of my friends returned to Pittsburg today since the new semester starts on Monday. I got a little "home" sick seeing that everyone was getting back together and realizing that I really wasn't going back, it was a little bit of an emotional afternoon.

This is why I'm extremely grateful to be staying with family. Jason and Sara didn't know I was having a rough day but they asked me to come to dinner with them and I was so glad. We went out had a couple beers and a great dinner together, totally took my mind off missing my friends.

Saturday an intern planned a get together so that we can all have a chance to meet each other before our first day. We met at Katy Trail Ice House that was close to the Uptown area I found earlier in the week. There was about 20ish interns that came (there are about 50-60 of us total). I loved getting to meet everyone and enjoyed getting to learn where everyone was from and how they ended up here. There are people from all over the country and world, it's going to be great to be around so many different backgrounds.

Sunday was a lazy day centered around phone calls home and football. I got to FaceTime with my mom for over an hour this morning and see my Tucker man. Being this far from home has been hard so far but I love that we can FaceTime because it feels like I am right back at home hanging out with my mom. Then my day got even better when my girls from Pitt FaceTimed me! There are six of us that are very close and they celebrated my friend Cassie's birthday this weekend. It was hard to not be there and be apart of everything (we make birthdays a big deal and I was bummed to have to miss it) but getting a  FaceTime call from all of them this morning was awesome, I felt like I was back there with them as well. God bless Apple and Steve Jobs for making moving away easier. I even got to talk to my dad and grandma today too, touching base with everyone today was so great.

I am missing my Tucker man a lot, luckily Jason and Sara's dog Oliver is just as much as a snuggle bug and has been hanging out with me all weekend - so I'm still getting my dog fix in.

All of these changes happening at once are a lot to take in, but having all of these awesome people supporting me is making it easier. Tomorrow is my first day at Southwest! I am beyond excited, I don't know how I'm supposed to sleep tonight. I'm sure I will have a ton of new experiences to share in the week to come.

Low Key Day

I have been going non-stop the last few days so I decided that Thursday would be a day to just relax and take a break from all of the driving I have been doing. 

I slept in and made my first "meal" in my new home! It was my first time trying to learn my way around the new kitchen and finding where things are, which was a little weird. I made my old standby turkey bacon, egg white and cheese sandwich on an english muffin - it's one of my favorites and very WW (weight watchers) friendly. 

Then I decided to explore the park that is just up the street from the house and get a little exercise in. I went for a walk/jog up around the park. 

The park has several different ponds and trails throughout. This was probably my favorite with the water fall and bridge that went over it. 

It was cloudy so this picture doesn't really do it justice but in the middle of the park was this memorial for the armed forces. It reminded me of a miniature version of the one outside the Recreation Center at Pitt State. 

I saw this little guy trying to make it upstream, I felt bad for him, he wasn't having much luck. 

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, I came home and found that one of my favorite childhood movies, Annie, was on - so I watched it and reminisced about how I used to watch it and sing along to every song all the time with my mom. Then due to my stimulated interest in the Amish from the drive down I thought I would check out what Amish Mafia was all about. I have even more questions after watching and seeing that the "mafia" literally breaks every rule that the Amish religion is built on, it all seems very hypocritical to me. 

Jason and Sara brought home some Papa Murphy's Delite pizzas (these are some of my mom and I's favorites!) for dinner for all of us and Sara and I bonded over our attachment to Grey's Anatomy. It's so nice to live with someone who watches the show exactly the same way I do. There is absolute silence, rewinding if something is missed and we are both extremely invested in the characters. 

Sara and I ended up staying up till about midnight talking about all kinds of different things (this is the second night in a row this has happened, I'm a little worried for when I have to start waking up at 5 a.m. next week). 

I just realized I sound extremely lame in this post, and felt even more lame when I got this text from one of my friends:

Thursday nights in Pittsburg is karaoke night at one of the bars, I miss my friends so much already but love that they are thinking of me when they are out :) 

Hopefully I will have some more exciting stories to tell tomorrow, if I feel like getting out of bed. 

Posters from Paris

Today was a day for some more exploring! Since I don't start work until Monday I thought I'd take advantage of the free time I had to get to know my surroundings.

Southwest has made a group for all of the interns to be able to get connected with each other on facebook and I ended up planning to meet up with a fellow intern today and went to the Dallas Museum of Art.

Now I can't really remember the last time I went to an art museum but I was excited to do something out of my comfort zone and to meet someone else in a similar situation as me.

The museum was HUGE and had so many cool things in it. The visiting exhibit was called the Posters from Paris.

They were so amazing. This was definitely my favorite thing we saw today. If you are at all interested I would highly recommend doing some research about this art form, I learned so much today!

This was one of my favorites, however this doesn't even come close to doing it justice. Seeing it in person the colors were extremely vibrant and beautiful. I almost couldn't believe it was real.

At the end of the exhibit there was a chance to make our own poster by placing different parts of famous works on a clipboard and placing a transparency over them and tracing the outline with dry erase markers, then placing another transparency and coloring in the outlines, a third transparency is available to add whatever you want to your poster. I used the third one to color in the background. Once we were done designing our poster we handed it to the staff and they completed the process. I'm not exactly sure how they transfer the color from the transparencies to the paper but it came out really cool!

The beginning:

The final product:

After we made our posters we continued to wander around looking at all sorts of different works of art. I was amazed by the amount of things in the museum.

After the museum we met up with another fellow intern for lunch. We went to Fadi's Mediterranean Grill, a Greek food restaurant. I've never really had Greek food so I was a little confused, but the girls helped me and I ended up getting chicken marinated in some sort of oil and sautéed veggies, potato wedge types things, a Greek salad and sweet hummus with pita bread. It was a ton of food but it was sooooo yummy!

Then I decided it was time to head home. It just happened to be rush hour so I got to experience that again. Getting used to driving down here is going to be a little bit of a challenge. I do well on the highways at home in Kansas City but down here the traffic is crazy and no one, I mean NO ONE, uses their blinkers.

Gertrude has also been quite testy lately. A little back story on my car, the front end has some sort of short in it which affects the radio, cigarette outlet and tells me something is wrong with my airbag. So the radio likes to turn all the way down randomly, completely on its own or change the radio station or just beep over and over again. I just got a new FM adapter for my iPod because the CD player is basically shot as well and that has been acting up when Gertrude decides to screw with me. Dealing with all of these distractions while driving AND in a new city has proven to be an entertaining challenge. I just wish someone else could witness it.

I've also been using the new Google Maps app on my phone to navigate my way around. The lady that tells me where to go also causes some frustration due to the fact that she will sometimes forget to tell me when to turn or will tell me to turn after I already have. I have decided to call her Gretchen because I need a name to say when I'm yelling at her for getting me lost.

Everyone should be sad they don't get to witness Gertrude and Gretchen irritating me and me talking to my car and GPS. Wow, I have GOT to meet some people.

I'm trying to get better at taking pictures to go with the stories I have so just bare with me on that :)

Whirlwind

The last few days have all happened so fast that they have run together, so I'll try my best to explain all that has gone on.

Friday I had some of my closest friends over for a "going away party" if you will. It was a great night filled with good friends, reminiscing and beverages. lots of beverages.

Saturday after everyone woke up and headed home I started the daunting task of packing everything I thought I couldn't live without for the next three months. I was dreading this, and we weren't hitting the road until about 6 a.m. the next day, so I started packing around 4 p.m. It was probably the best idea I've ever had. Surprisingly everything was packed up and loaded in to my car by about 8:30 (not to shabby for the day I had). Then I hit the hay, I was exhausted and had an early morning.

There is literally something shoved in every nook and cranny of this car!

Sunday was the big day! My mom and I had decided we wanted to be pulling out of the driveway at 6 a.m. so we woke up between 5-5:30 and somehow didn't leave the house until 7. There were a few last minute things to be done and we forgot to calculate in breakfast. Finally after a stop at QuikTrip we were on the road at 7:30.

There are a couple different routes from Kansas City to Dallas but we decided to take the more scenic one which was 69 Hwy to I-44 to 75 Hwy. This lead us to the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa, OK for lunch. My mom and I can be very productive people in society apart, but when we are together somehow two positives equal a negative and we get so sidetracked and focused on a good story or what a fun adventure something might be that we forget the original task at hand. This is what lead us to have a two hour lunch at Hard Rock that consisted of beers, slot machines and admiring all of the awesome artifacts on the walls.

My first time at a slot machine!

The outfit Britney Spears wore on her Oops I did it again Tour in 2000, an epic part of my childhood :)


Once we were back on the road we were more focused on our destination, after five different bathroom stops. Those that know us know that we are awful on road trips due to always wanting something to drink and our freakishly small bladders.

Our discussions on this road trip were quite interesting. We passed a lot of Amish stores so naturally we discussed what it would be like to be Amish, why the people in the show Amish Mafia get to drive cars and of course the awesomeness of their stores for selling "FUDGE, CHEESE AND BUTTER". I feel like Paula Deen is somehow behind this operation.

We finally arrived to our destination around 5 p.m. I'm actually staying with my cousin, Jason, and his wife, Sara, outside of Dallas in Allen, so we didn't have to fight the traffic the entire way in to downtown Dallas.

Gertrude (my car) was unloaded fairly quick and since most of what I brought was clothing I got things put away in no time at all. Mom and I, without hesitation, decided we should go get some wine and beer to celebrate the move. We stayed up fairly late talking and drinking with Jason and Sara. I'm so grateful they are letting me stay with them, being away from home is going to be hard for me, so it's nice to be with family. The room I'm staying in is even decked out with all different types of gorillas (the Pitt State mascot - my cousin graduated from PSU as well), things that are significant to Kansas City (Chiefs, Royals and Boulevard Brewery) and family pictures (one of which is of our grandma that passed away when I was 10, I feel like she is watching over us). I feel very at home in my home away from home :).

Monday was a day for exploring. My mom and I left the house to find out where I would be working, I also had a meeting later that day so I wanted to be sure to not get lost. We found Love Field with little to no problem and had some time before my meeting so we found a Whole Foods to go to for lunch. We both follow Weight Watchers and were craving a fresh salad so we hit up their GIANT salad bar. After my meeting we decided to do some exploring and ended up in Uptown, a district in Dallas. I fell in love immediately. The main stretch we found had bars and restaurants lining the street and a real trolley that went up and down the 6-block stretch. We stopped in a couple places and had a drink or two and decided it was time to head back to the house so we could treat Jason and Sara to a dinner out.

Today was quite an emotional day. I'm not exactly sure why, but knowing that my mom was leaving this evening and being moved in and realizing just how much I don't know about where I'm at got to me. We started the day off by grocery shopping, and finding out that it was raining after we left the house. Then more exploring, we went to lunch at a place similar to Panera (I was slightly disappointed because it was nothing close to the deliciousness of Panera) and then headed off to explore some more.

After getting lost and stressed out we ended up back in Uptown and at Sfuzzi, a little pizza place/bar. The inside was awesome - dark wood, dim lighting, very cool old fashioned style red chandeliers and a ton of different types of seating. I ordered a Boulevard Wheat since I was starting to get freaked out about being away from home and then so did my mom and we decided to split some bruschetta and artichoke dip. We ended up hanging out at Sfuzzi for a little over two hours, making friends with the bartender, until I had to take my mom to the airport.

Taking my mom to the airport was pretty emotional, I cried at least a little bit every time I left home to go back to college, so you can imagine everything going through my head at this point. My mom and I are very close, sometimes I forget that she's my mom and feel like I'm with my best friend. We have already talked another three times tonight and she even FaceTimed me so that I could see my doggy (his name is Tucker and I constantly refer to him as Tucker Man. I'm not really sure where that nickname came from but I love the crap out of him).

So much has happened in the last few days that I plan on sleeping in a little tomorrow and then probably so some more exploring!

Good Things to Come

I am a 21-year-old recent college graduate about to take the leap in to “the real world” and don’t want to forget anything that I am about to experience. So I thought there is no better way than to start a blog about my transition. I will write about everything from learning how to cook to figuring out what time I’ll actually have to wake up in the morning - since I’m no longer able to roll out of bed, throw on sweats and look acceptable for the day.

Here’s a little background about me so that my future tales actually make sense: I attended Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS (the very southeast corner of Kansas), where I graduated December 14, 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication. I loved every single second I spent at Pitt State. I was very involved on campus and in my sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta. Through being Greek I met some of the most amazing people I get to call my best friends (or even a second family). The hardest part about graduating has been leaving the people I’ve spent every day with for the last four years.

I’m originally from Overland Park, KS, a suburb of Kansas City, and Pitt State was only a short hour and a half drive from home, which is the farthest I have ever lived from my parents, until now.

This Sunday I am loading up basically every article of clothing I own in my ’95 Dodge Intrepid (her name is Gertrude and that is pretty much the only way I refer to her) and am moving to Dallas, TX!

After a long semester of applying for jobs and internships, I came across a posting for a Communication Internship with Southwest Airlines, and the entire application, interview and accepting their offer process happened in about six days. All during finals week and graduation.

These are the kind of whirlwind things that happen to me that made me want to create this blog and document every bit of this I-graduated-college-and-am-moving-nine-hours-away transition that is about to happen.

The last three weeks have been full of all the errands, questions, phone calls, emails that come with moving this far away and starting an internship. This happened over the holiday time span as well so to say I have been running around non-stop might be an understatement.

I’m excited for this journey I am about to embark on and can’t wait to see where it takes me!