my happy place

while i do certainly have happy places*, geographically speaking, i am specifically referring to the past two weekends.

the college crew is my happy place. if we're surrounded by throngs of people and noise or nothing at all, it doesn't make a difference - it's just us. the group. the college crew, long after we have anything to do with the institutions for which our group was initially named. everything else just seems to fade away. it's being together - in the midst of a party, or just an evening watching football or videos on youtube - talking and laughing, reveling in the comfort of our friendship.

how many nights have we done exactly this same thing - over 15 (!) years now - and it never gets old. as people move away, or move back, visit over holiday breaks, significant others become family, children arrive, the group numbers may change, but the dynamic never does.

we've all been through the happy moments, the sad moments, the achievements and the disappointments - together.  we can be weird, funny, serious, sad, happy, loud, quiet, and no matter what, we'll still talk to each other the next day. and the day after that. at our best or at our worst, it really doesn't matter. because it's just US.



*london. northern california. pretty much any beach. probably harry potter world as soon as i actually visit it.

it's happening.

hi.

what's going on? i dunno, a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

1. work is full-steam-ahead until our conference in january. in addition to conference-related work, there are webinars, meetings (with 50 people), grants, classical music recitals, leadership workshops and much more to run. so i'm busy, and challenged in a good way. as long as i keep getting enough sleep. if that stops, i'll either rip someone's face off or just cry for 12 hours straight. it really could go either way....so here's hoping i keep getting those 8* hours a night.

2. i started with a new trainer at the gym, and will be going twice a week, at least for the next couple of months. i got my ass handed to me last night, but i think it'll be good. an immediate mood improvement has already occurred, and i hope it will continue.

3. i don't think my apartment has been clean in months. i work up the wherewithal to clean bits at a time, but it never stays that way for long. i'm not sure if i'll ever outgrow my messiness. it might just be one of those (unfortunate) things.

4. HOW THE FUCK IS THANKSGIVING NEXT WEEK!?!?

5. shoutout to meghan housley for being awesome.

6. there's an Associate happy hour at work tomorrow, and i'm still invited even though i'm a manager now :) sometimes the new dynamic feels a bit clunky (b/c i'm awkward and over-analyze everything) but it clearly hasn't done any real damage and i'm happy about that. and soon will be half in the tank about it, probably.

7. related to #1, i'll be in NYC in two weeks, and on friday the 30th i get to have (an early) dinner with ro. excitement!! i know i'll see her next week at our home turf of restonia, but hang out times in different cities are always fun. (see also: new orleans) also while in new york?  i get to go see this with some of my colleagues. so amped.

8. ke$ha's new song is my JAM.



*let's be real, it's more like 10.

i don't want to say i peaked at 29, but...

i'm pretty sure i should retire from all social media, because it is never ever going to get better than this:

her?

immediately after following @bluthquotes on twitter, i got the following suggestions....um?

if complaining is cool, consider me miles davis

1. Flying in and out of BWI.
B. Not getting home from three days in Chattanooga, TN until 1:45am. From BWI.
III. The Hokies, Redskins, and Nationals losing (the Nationals managed to lose *both* weekend games)
4. Being requested to complete a nearly impossible task at work (PS: the number of times a day I find my left hand clenched in a fist while at work is alarming)
5. Four things seems incomplete. So, the fifth shitty thing is....did I mention being in Chattanooga for three days?

I'M SO COMPLAINY AND I CAN'T STOPPPPPPPP

(there are good things that exist. they include: california vacations, thursday's nationals game with missy, franklin and meghan, being snarky while watching syfy original movies, 10 month old beagle puppies named Pepper, and pumpkin spice lattes. and yeah, health, friends, family, BLAH BLAH)

emails from frank

i love receiving emails from my dad.

"Bon jiorno Laura Anne !
I hope you're settling into your new office nicely. Have you started adding any personal touches yet ? I hope your laundry went well 'bleach wise' the other day.
This is pretty exciting stuff so I'll stop now before your head explodes from the total overload you must be experiencing.
Cordially, Frank
Plus, I love you." 

(the bleach thing was me experiencing my first load of laundy in our coin-operated machines in our building - they don't have the little trays where you can put bleach or fabric softener, NOR can you open the lid once the water starts. so i of course called my parents to figure out what exactly to do with my whites*)

*the answer, was, just pour the bleach in with the detergent into the empty washer, load in the whites, close the lid, and it'll be fine. i'm an adult, i swear.