An Epic Weekend of Sorts

For various reasons, I knew August was going to be a good month. I had many people come to visit, I spent some time at the beach and went back to JMU for my first football game as an Alum. Sepetember proved to be equally as awesome and due to this past weekend, and October is pretty close behind. In fact, October could  pass the others if Homecoming and Halloween festivities live up to my expectations.

There are five things that I try to do/see as often as possible and that, for whatever reason, make me blissfully happy no matter what kind of mood or mental state I'm in at the time. They are (in no particular order):

• Roller Coasters
• Parades
• Fireworks
• Anything with water (pools, lakes, oceans, water sports, etc)
• Snow (snowboarding or just being near snow, doesn't matter)

Fireworks, snow and water things are very seasonal activities. Sadly, I found out recently that North Carolina, at least the area I'm in, doesn't get a lot of snow. (Note to self: plan ski weekend for winter). I'm lucky enough to see the ocean at least once a year and make it a point to live around water (by that I mean, my complex has a pool). Parades usually occur around Holidays (LOVE parades and Holidays) and my access to roller coasters is limited to the warmer months.

Fortunately, the amusement parks open on the weekends through the end of October to do some kind of fall festival or scary event. Kings Dominion has Fear Fest, Busch Gardens has Howl-O-Scream and Carowinds has Scarowinds. I tried to coordinate with my sister to get her down here for a Scarowinds trip but she blew me off (numerous times) and I ended up going with some coworkers. I don't get scared easily, the scary parts are more funny than anything, but I DID get to ride a few roller coasters and spend some quality time with my coworkers. (Yay roller coasters!)

The Intimidator at Scarowinds

I woke up early on Saturday but spent most of the day in bed recovering from my adrenaline rush from the roller coasters and my work week in general. I mostly caught up on my shows from the week and of course, watched Saturday morning cartoons. I got up (eventually) and met Mike and Whitney for an adventure down in the city. (Side Note: this is the first of many trips into the city together). A couple of weeks ago, Mike and Whit introduced me to the comedian, Amy Schumer, via one of her stand-up acts on Comedy Central. She was playing in Charlotte for the weekend and we got tickets to see her stand-up act at the Comedy Zone at the NC Music Factory. Two guys (also very funny people) opened for her and then she did about a 40 minute bit of some of her (mostly old) stuff. If it hadn't taken over an hour to get our car from the valet and start heading home, the night would have been damn near perfect.

Me, Mike and Whit at Amy Schumer

Since sleeping in is now only a myth that I can't seem to figure out, I woke up early Sunday and beat the crowd to IKEA to pick-up the correct cover for my new couch and FINALLY get the thing put together. (Thanks Mamaw!) So, my now not-as-empty apartment has a couch AND a coffee table AND a side table with a cute little lamp on it. I'd like to pretend that I started to finally unpack my last couple of boxes but I felt breaking in the couch with a much needed nap yesterday afternoon was a more appropriate use of my time. (I had to make sure it was "nap worthy," right?)

SOMEONE forgot the "No Sitting On the Couch" Rule

So, roller coasters? Check. Stand-up comedy? Check. New couch AND a nap? Check. Not a bad way to end the week. Homecoming in Harrisonburg this weekend and my all-time favorite holiday next week. Bring on the candy and awful orange and black outfits :)

Home Sweet Harrisonburg

This past weekend I got to spend another glorious few days in Harrisonburg and see some people I haven't seen in quite a while. The weekend started with homemade Mac & Cheese and some much needed catching up with Rachel while we waited for Shawn to get home. It felt like old times minus the work drama and the fact that I wasn't in my PJs and Ron wasn't running around bothering Avery.

I eventually made it to Harrisonburg to meet up with some people at Ham's. At this point I was not only full (Thanks, Rachel!) but also waning on straight-up grumpy as my day (thanks to work and driving) was nothing short of exhausting. I can only be sorry for being in such a bad mood but hope Ashley, Jess and Connor didn't expect too much from me to begin with. I managed to eat half of a cookie skillet and sip a Blue Moon only to go home and pass out promptly on Jess's floor.

Saturday we made a game plan (pun intended) to tailgate at 10am with a kickoff time at 3:30. Five solid hours of beer and burgers complete with cornhole a couple of trips to visit other people in the area. My attitude went downhill quickly when I realized I wasn't feeling any of the alcohol and was full on junk food. We made it to the game and I anxiously watched the first two quarters before meeting up with Jill and my FAVORITE little sister and Mike.

Surprisingly enough, I decided to actually get concessions food and opted for a soft pretzel and hot chocolate. To my surprise, the cashier had NO idea what she was doing (I knew that place would fall apart without me). Resisting the urge to reach over and do it myself, I walked her through the transaction (flawlessly, I might add) and got her through Molly's too. She was more the grateful but I made sure to tell my old boss, Mike, that the new people weren't hacking it.

After an exhausting day and a failed dinner outing due to every place having a 45 minute wait, we went back Jess's and ordered pizza and cookies. We managed to entertain ourselves for a few hours thanks to Doug playing puppet with Kate's shoes including British commentary by Connor. Breakfast with Keitha and Leslie and a impromptu stop at Rachel's to see her new pup dog made my weekend complete.

The first time I went back to Harrisonburg a few weeks ago, it didn't feel any different. I was hanging out with the same people and doing what I would be doing if I was still going to school there. The only difference was I actually got to watch the football game instead of working it. Even that was only half-enjoyed as I was running around visiting people and trying to make sure I saw EVERYONE.  Naturally, I was sad to leave and return Sunday knowing I had to go to work the next morning.

This time felt a little different. I guess now that I'm more settled into Charlotte, I actually felt like an alumni this time; like my home really wasn't in Harrisonburg any more and I was just visiting. I found myself judging the freshman and their hipster attitudes and watching and analyzing the game instead of just trying to see who else was there. It was definitely a different feeling and this time, I wasn't as sad to leave. I'm still going to miss the people but my longing for Harrisonburg is slowly turning into a need that can be satisfied with a few days and some awesome people. Nonetheless, it's still in my top two favorite places in the world; only second behind Vegas but who can really compete with that?

Counting down the days till Homecoming! Ikea, Scarowinds and a stand-up comedy act with Mike and Whitney should get me through the next weekend until I can make it back to VA for my FIRST Homecoming as a JMU Alum.

Food Trucks and Tequila

In kindergarten I met this girl I couldn't stand. The story of how we met depends on which of us you're talking to and to this day I can't really be sure which one of us is right. Regardless, we officially became friends in 3rd grade when I didn't want to sit next to this other girl at lunch. We stayed close through college and once I got settled, I convinced her to come visit me down here. I use the term "convinced" lightly mainly because I didn't have to beg her to leave Fredericksburg for the weekend. We both have a mutual love/hate relationship with that place.

We started off the weekend with a Food Truck rally in Southend. I have a few coworkers that live down there and it's probably one of my favorite areas of Charlotte so far. The food truck rally is pretty much a gathering of random food trucks from different parts of the city in a gravel parking lot. They make a giant circle and you walk around and buy food from their trucks. They usually relocate during the week and drive around catering (intentional play on words) to the businesses uptown, but every Friday night they can be found at this parking lot.

The food ranges from turkey sandwiches, Mexican fusion and various cup cake trucks. For the most part it is BYOB. There are a few picnic tables in the middle but most people gather in the field behind the trucks to eat on blankets and fold-out chairs. Alex and I and one of my coworkers settled on The Queso Truck which was sporting a giant cheese-themed mustache on the top. I got a sandwich called "The Big Cheesey" which was pretty much a giant grilled cheese and Alex got a BBQ sandwich that was topped with Mac and Cheese. Moustache truck for the win!

Moustache on top of the Queso Truck.

Saturday morning consisted of my couch getting delivered (yay!) and a few hours at the pool which is crazy considering it's only in the high forties today. After a quick power nap and a nothing-short-of-stressful wardrobe change, we headed downtown to meet up with some coworkers. One of them was turning 30 this weekend and we all went out to celebrate and pretend we didn't have to act completely professional again on Monday.

A few bars and shots of tequila later, we were in route to head back home. To say I didn't do anything Sunday is not a general statement of just not being productive. After breakfast at Ihop and going back down to the city to pick up my car, I literally did not move the rest of the day. By dinner time I was able to get up and meet Mike and Whitney to do so much needed catching up with them. I'm still not quite sure how Alex was able to make the 5-hour trek back to Fredericksburg when the 20-minute drive to Mooresville about killed me, but she made it safely with plans to return for my birthday. 

In keeping up with exploring my new life, it's always nice to integrate the old with the new. Two weekends in row with people visiting from VA plus reuniting with people I'd never thought I'd see again have been a nice little detour from the regular routine I've settled into. If the stars align correctly, I'm headed to JMU this weekend for some much needed time in my other favorite city and take a break from Charlotte before we see Amy Schumer and I maybe go to (fingers crossed) Scarowinds the weekend after!! Here's to hopin.

Quality Family Time

Being away from my family sucks but so far, they’ve all tried really hard to make it easier. My sister came to visit before the beach, my older sister and parents send pics of my nieces and nephew and I try to talk to my grandma at least once a week. Though it was hard to find a weekend that worked for all of us, I was more than grateful that my dad, step-mom and grandma could work a weekend in Charlotte into their busy schedules.

It was weird to show them around my new "home." It's equally as weird to call a place home when it’s that far away from the people that mean the most to me. But regardless, I've fallen in love with Charlotte almost as quickly as I fell in love with Harrisonburg and was glad they were able to see the city I keep talking about.

I took them down and drove them through the actual city, being sure to stay on the roads I was familiar with to give the allusion that I knew where I was going. My grandmother was impressed that I’ve learned my way around so quickly and while I definitely know it better than an outsider, there’s still a long way to go.

We spent most of Saturday with a planned outing to Ikea and they surprised me by showing up to my apartment with Bo-berry biscuits from Bojangles. (Seriously the best breakfast I've and probably ever will have). We trekked through the Ikea showroom where I somehow convinced my grandmother to buy me a couch, a coffee table and end table for my otherwise empty living room. Maybe now I can actually invite people over to my house. I didn't figure out until about 10:00 Sunday night that I had picked up the wrong cover for my couch and have to make another trip back to warehouse to get the right one.

We all agreed on an afternoon nap followed by dinner at 131 Main. I wanted to take them somewhere they couldn't eat at home. Not only was this place suggested to me by one of my friends but also way too expensive for me to ever consider going on my own. (Good thing they were picking up the tab.) We ended the evening with a rousing game of Apples to Apples and while my initial plan was to go meet up with some friends afterwards, I was secretly grateful when they called and cancelled.

Sunday morning they snuck me into their hotel for continental breakfast and to my surprise, my dad did not protest. He’s usually against anything that breaks the rules but I guess the risk was too small to put up a fight. 

I promptly went home and went back to bed upon their departure only getting up to meet some friends and watch the Panther’s game and a later trip to the doggie park. I expect my Sunday’s will look pretty much the same until after the Super Bowl.

For the rest of year, I have random weekends filled with visiting friends and family members and could not by happier. My evil master plan is to slowly convince ALL of them to move down here so I can have all my favorite people in my new favorite city. A girl can dream. 

Randomly Reuniting

My first time on JMU's campus was when I went in June for Orientation. We were separated into small groups by major and went to various computer labs to register for classes. I met a girl named Jenna, we exchanged numbers, became Facebook friends and that was the end of that except for random sightings in Harrison Hall. We really didn't see each other that much until one random class during Senior year that I took for my major (her minor.) We ended up grouped together on a project and worked together for the whole semester.

And once again, it just ended there. I checked her Facebook periodically to keep up with her racing career (she drives race cars), but I found out she had relocated to Charlotte during  a Thursday night Panther’s game. We met up for drinks last week in South End to catch up and in keeping in trend with my recent vow to try new things, we picked a little hole-in-the-wall market hidden down an alleyway.

The place is called Common Market and is a beer market-gift shop-deli combination with an eclectic collection of beer. I had to search to find anything resembling Bud Light or Blue Moon but opted for a wheat beer with an owl on the label. We went up to pay and I asked the bartender if I could keep my bottle cap. He asked if I wanted some more and I agreed thinking he would throw a few more into my hand. To my surprise, he reached down and emptied the ENTIRE  box of bottle caps into a grocery bag. I now have a target back full of bottle caps and more than a few ideas of what to do with them.

We sat outside on the patio and watched what slowly turned into an open mic night of sorts. It started with a few guys but they kept recycling musicians and bringing in new people. Eventually it turned into people hopping up and playing a song or two, both covers and originals, and then various people then joining them by playing the bass or the drums or whatever else seemed to fit. It was an impromptu concert coupled with an unexpected reunion.

Jenna just accepted a job with Nascar and will be based in Uptown starting two weeks from now. She’ll be in the area for a while and we’ve planned a few trips back to Harrisonburg in addition to a few random events in Charlotte. The way we met was weird and even weirder that we reunited because of a random Facebook post. It’s still one more person to add to my Charlotte network and one that shares my love for Purple & Gold.  

It's All in the Cards

I don’t really buy into palm readings, tarot cards or psychic powers but I’m not about to turn down a learning experience. One of my coworkers is a psychic. She says she has an intuition that lets her see and feel things when she reads tarot cards. She and her mom both have it. They are called “healers” so after the reading is done, they work with the client to work through the reading and decisions to plan out their next move.

So one Thursday at Brickhouse (our regular Thursday happy hour spot) my coworker agreed to do a reading for me. The client (me) is supposed to think of a question and it’s up to the psychic and the client to draw meaning from the cards to answer the question. So armed with my deep dark secret, she handed me the deck to shuffle and cut and she laid out my 10 cards (picture to come).

The first two cards represent my question and the one thing that opposes it, good or bad. The next two are my past and future and the two after that are my family and support systems and the foundation for wanting to ask the question. The final four are my answer, the support to the answer, my mood/feelings right now, and the outcome. When she was finished explaining what each individual card meant, she asked me to look at the cards and point out symbols or anything that stood out to me. She used my own “insights” to provide further clarification to some of the things that she had noticed.

All in all, it was an awesome experience and one I will more than likely repeat. For the most part, I feel like there is a little something to this tarot card concept. I know the idea is to be vague so the clients can draw their own meanings from the cards but there were a few things that related directly to my question that I’m not sure she could have known otherwise.

I don’t need to go into detail about the question, or the reading or the what the “outcome” might be but I’m not going to pick up and move to another country or look for a husband whose last name only starts with a “Q” (which apparently, others have done). If nothing else, it gave me a little insight on things that have very little importance in my life right now and gave me a new respect for the psychic world.