Never take your friends shopping...

Yesterday was...boring. We spent the morning presenting our findings on wind energy knowing that the oil/gas team was going to slay us. Good news is, when you put me in a corner I come out swinging. We did a good job and our class was reasonable and since our moderator didn't insist on sticking to the unanimous decision (or any well defined decision for that matter) we never officially lost. We spent the afternoon in a "round table" and doing "one on one interviews" which translates into we spend a good three hours just sitting in our classroom sporcle-ing and napping.

We came home and I got a nap in before making shake-and-pour pancakes for Jennifer and I. Those things are tastier than they sound. We then spent time trying to round people up for a night at the Dusty Dog. We got several people interested and were going to be on our way when we were informed we had to wait for birthday cake in honor of Eric's 21st. Once we all made it to the Dog there was some drama over people not quite as old as Eric (was going to be in 30 minutes from when they ousted him). Finally everything was fine and we had a grand time buying him drinks and carousing with the middle-aged clientèle of the establishment. Things were great until we went to go home and some guy had parked literally touching my car. Good news was he somehow managed to touch it but not put any kind of dent in it. The "mark" was deemed so slight that we could buff it out with some turtle wax which Kevin helped me purchase this morning. That is on tomorrow's agenda. Special shout-out to Kevin for being the ringmaster of our little drunk circus and being a super sport about everything including dealing with the guy who can't park his car.

Today was shopping with the girls. It was deadly. When you take your friends shopping they can help you justify every purchase you consider. I finally have a swimsuit (which I needed because it's HOT as all get out here) but I also have a couple of skirts, two shirts, a pair of sandals and a new set of Sperry's (those were on sale and I've always wanted them and I assure you I thought that one through thoroughly and the fact that Kayla and Jennifer were also buying Sperry's had NOTHING to do with that choice). We also went for cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory. Amazing as you would imagine. I can now personally recommend the White Chocolate Carmel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake. It may have changed my life.

The plan for tonight is line dancing. We were going to go to a rodeo but found out we missed the boat by a day. But for those of us who want a good "midwestern" experience, line dancing is the next best thing. I'm pretty excited about it. I need a reason to wear my new clothes anyway...

TGIF and Weekend!

Friday we got lucky and got to leave the training center early! We spent the day learning to lift things safely and use stairs properly. We also wore drunk goggles to play catch and rode "The Convincer"--an apparatus that simulates a 4-5 mph crash into a brick wall. I did not actually ride it because it looked VERY unpleasant and since I already wear my seat belt and was convinced by watching alone, I opted out. One girl is sore today for it so I'm glad I passed.

When we got home I promptly took a much needed nap. After napping we made a WalMart run (I needed a geek string for my safety glasses--don't judge) and and then joined the intern bar-b-que. Much booze was consumed by most of the interns and shenanigans ensued. There were water balloons and super soakers and people being shoved into the pool. I avoided that bit but it was fun to watch. After a while a group of us decided to go on a little exploratory mission to a little dive "piano bar" down the road called The Dusty Dog. Let me tell you people, it was a winner. The clientele may have been largely middle aged but the group of us girls loved it anyway. Sometimes you need to have girl talk and the Dusty Dog proved to be a good place for "all the single ladies" to pow wow. Good times! We made it back in time to see the remaining shenanigans and have a few heart to hearts with the remaining drunks. Again good times.

This morning, several of us ladies went to get pedicures. We're thinking that when we are in the middle of our month long camping trip style internship, we will look down and what remains of our pedi's and think to ourselves, "oh I remember when I used to be girly and take regular showers and have access to a bathroom...*sigh*" Afterward we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch soccer with a BUNCH of fellow interns. It's nice because in spite of the little clusters that form we still hang out together in large hordes now and then. In case you don't know the game was USA vs. England and it was a tie at 1-1. I don't really follow soccer but it was fun to hang out and pretend I knew what was going on. I sat next to Donald (Rap Master D) and he was less a fan. Very irritated by the tie. He's accustomed to hockey which affords more violence and harsher penalties. He's hilarious when he's griping about stuff.

After the game we fulfilled a dream of Jennifer's; we went to the circus! It was magical. Aislinn, Kevin, and Jennifer had never been to the circus and Kayla and I were happy to take them. There were elephants and tigers and zebras as well as the standard horses and dogs. Acrobats and tightrope walkers (who made Kevin very nervous) and all the usual circus fodder were in attendance. We also got to see two women simultaneously fired from a double barrel cannon. Spectacular. We acted like five-year-olds and got Dippin' Dots at intermission (Mom, I know they're ridiculously over priced but I wanted them and I'm a big girl now so I got them. They were delicious) and screamed and clapped with the best of them. A dream come true.

Post circus, we went to dinner and then I did laundry. A bunch of people are going "clubbing" but it's the intense people and I know I can't hang with them. Several others are boozing in the pool now and let's be honest, I can't ride with them either. Forrest-Gump-Peter is drinking enough to kill a moose and I anticipate him doing serious damage either to himself or the Stratford Palace Kingdom. The boys are gross and keep peeing in the pool so again... there's no real draw for me to stay. Instead I'm lounging at Jennifer's watching The Holiday and blogging for you my loyal readers (Mom, Scarlett, and well... possibly Jennifer).

Tomorrow should be pretty low key also, including Mass and general lounging. If anything else exciting happens I'll try to let you know.