Happy Friday (Or Something)

Whew, the first full week of the new year is officially complete. I don't know about you guys, but over here, it was a struggle. Though it was my second holiday season in "the real world," last year I was unemployed right around this time, so this was the first year that my winter break was only a week and a half. My brain must've thought it still had another three weeks of rest, because all this week I had to fight hard to find any motivation to get anything done. So by the time Friday rolled around, I was more than ready for the weekend.

Have you ever heard of freezing fog? I hadn't, but that's the precipitation that fell on Thursday night, and Friday morning saw me facing the prospect of a slippery drive to work. So I left my apartment, bundled up and grumbling, and proceeded to spend a solid 20+ minutes trying to scrape the damn stuff off of my car. (Seriously, ice from freezing fog is the absolute worst ice I've ever experienced on Buzz.)

Buzz in happier (but dirtier) times.

So when I finally finished, my arms were burning, my fingers were frozen... and when I went to open the door, it wouldn't budge.

I had locked myself out of my running car. And all of my stuff was inside it. Aside from, y'know, my mittens and my scraper.

I've never locked myself out of anywhere before. I was so beyond furious at myself and frustrated that I almost burst into tears, but I composed myself and thought about my options. I could go to the apartment complex office and have them let me back into my apartment, but that would still leave me without a phone. And I needed a phone, and freaking fast, because my car was running. So I decided that it was about damn time I met one of my neighbors, and I marched myself up the stairs and knocked on the door immediately to the right of my own.

After about 30 seconds, a girl wearing a tank top and pajama pants cracked the door open.

"Uh, hi, I live next door and I just locked my keys and everything in my car... Would I be able to use your phone really quick?"

(Great first impression, right? Awesome.)

Well, "really quick" turned into almost an hour and a half and a whole lot of phone calls. (Shout-out to my mom for, once again, saving my butt from over a thousand miles away!) But I seemed to have lucked out in the neighbor department, because Lauren became my ABSOLUTE SAVIOR. Okay I'm probably being over-dramatic, but she let a total stranger in serious need of help into her apartment and was nothing but incredibly hospitable and helpful the entire time. She even asked me if I was hungry! (Oh god I've already completely encroached on your morning, I don't need to take your food too.)

Needless to say, I spent the entire time thanking her profusely and telling her I'm eternally grateful.

By the time the emergency roadside rescue guy arrived, my poor car had been running for almost two hours and I'd basically given myself an ulcer stressing out about it. So this lovely man hops out of his car and proceeds to essentially break into mine, and I had to suppress the urge to koala-hug him. But I DID tell him, quite seriously, "you are an angel."

And then I dove into my car and threw my arms around the steering wheel, as you do.

And then I got to work two hours late and had my most productive day of the week.

So remember, friends: always unlock your car when you leave your keys inside of it, always be nice to your neighbors, and always finish the week on a positive note!

Home(stead) and Away

I’m being harassed by several people in my life to post here more often… and, considering I’m neglecting some things, and haven’t written here in over a month, they’re probably right.

I have things planned for this blog, too. I was going to have all sorts of fun with posts during the semester, but then life slapped some sense into me. And now it’s winter break and I’m trying to take advantage of the last few weeks I’m going to be in this country until (probably. Hopefully?) August.

Sigh. It’ll happen eventually!

Now, to catch up. The weekend before Thanksgiving (geez, was it really that long ago?) I volunteered at Homestead Miami Speedway, at the NASCAR Nationwide Series. It was the final event of the semester for the field experience program and I was low on hours, so I signed up for a full day that Saturday.

Brave? Absolutely. Stupid? Perhaps. But you know me, always working! Or something.

I got there at around 10 or 10:30 in the morning, and actually had to get accreditations. It was really cool! We all had official lanyards that we had to wear around the track all day and gave us special access. I mean, the only places I went were the photo bubble and the media center, but still. I was official.

The first shift that morning had started at some ungodly hour (6:30, I think), so I headed up to our headquarters in the media center to meet up with Dr. Scott and get my assignment. It turned out that a person that I’m really not a fan of was the event manager for the day. Basically, we’d had a group assignment together a year or so ago, and he slacked off; I did the whole thing and got a 98 for our group. And now I found myself having to take direction from this clown?

It ended up being fine. I am, of course, absolutely incapable of being outright rude to anyone, so I bit the bullet and did what he said. He’s not actually incompetent, he just made that one semester a living hell. Ya know. No big deal. After all, they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!

But anyway, my assignment was the “photo bubble.” Another girl took me over there, where I found out that “photo bubble” meant the photographer headquarters that was sectioned off with glass, forming a sort of bubble comprised of the majority of the room. My job would be to sign in the photographers as they came, and hand out numbered vests.

Cool and all, but there were a minimum of four of us at that desk at all times, and we had maybe one photographer come to us every fifteen minutes. Needless to say, the highlight of my morning was stocking the fridge in there with Gatorade.

Oh, and I also drank like three of them. Volunteering’s gotta have some perks, right? Ours was free Gatorade. Yay sponsorship!

Luckily, at around 3:00 I got moved out of the photo bubble and into the media center. I was stationed with another girl at the welcome desk to answer questions. It wasn’t a particularly riveting job, but it was quieter and closer to both the food and the bathroom (priorities, people). We got to see some drivers pass through on their way to press conferences, and popped outside to watch the beginning of the race. Man, was it LOUD. Really cool, though.



I was only there for a few hours until I was moved again, upstairs into the actual media center. There was more to do up there, so I was definitely excited for the change in scenery! Papers would get faxed in, and they had to be copied and handed out to the room full of reporters working on their stories. Every now and then I’d be handed a stack of papers – the current leaderboard, or what-have-you – and walk up and down the aisles of tables and add them to the growing stacks of literature next to each station.

Things really picked up when the race ended, and it got exciting. The results were coming in and had to be handed out almost faster than we could handle, so it involved very little down time and a lot of really fast walking. By now it was around 9 pm; after having had little, if not nothing, to do all day, I was thrilled. What I was doing was more public relations than journalism, but either way, it was really cool to be in the media center and just sort of feel that vibe.

Yes, I’m a nerd that likes what she does.

I ended up getting to leave earlier than my scheduled 11 pm departure time. Everything was wrapped up and we weren’t really needed anymore. My ride had bailed an hour or so earlier because he was feeling sick, so I hitched a ride with the girl I was at the welcome desk with. By the time I got back to my dorm, it was about a twelve-hour day. I’m tired just reminiscing about it.

I really hope it doesn’t just sound like I’m whining. I’d love long days if I was busy the whole time, ya know? These things might look really good on my resume, but I’m actually trying to get some experience out of them too. And stocking Gatorade really isn’t on my list of life goals.

Does this mean I dream too big?

Alas. It’s a curse.

…But really, is it weird that I want to be worked harder?

Anyway.

Hey, I’m going to London on Wednesday! And I’m starting to freak out a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited beyond belief, but I’m really nervous for the first few days. Actually, just the first day, really. I’m landing at 10:30-ish am, so I’ll be jetlagged, exhausted, overwhelmed, and most likely PMSing. I’ll have to move into my new room by myself, attempt to make friends, and go shopping for linens and dishes and food in a city I’ve lived in for a grand total of never.

So yeah. Freaking.

But I know I’ll be fine. I went to camp by myself and was fine. I did Endurance by myself and was fine. I went to college by myself and was fine. Okay, apparently I do a lot of things by myself. Never anything on a different continent, but hell, if I could survive reality television, study abroad is gonna be a piece of cake.

It’s also a comfort that this stage of panic happens to me before all important and significant life events. Even Endurance, which I wanted with a burning desire for years; the night before, I had moments of sheer terror where all I could think was OMG NO I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS. I CAN’T.

But I know myself, and it’s only because change scares me. I like routine and comfort, so newness is kind of terrifying. I know that my life is going to change, but I like the way it is now, so even if it’s going to get better, I’m nervous about it.

Just get me through the first week and I’ll be golden. :)

And besides, the Universe sent me this message:



Eggnog, anyone?

I’ll see you all on the other side of the new year, and from the other side of the Atlantic!

TOO EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO THINK OF A WITTY TITLE!

So, up until now, I’ve been operating with the theory of “let’s not post about awesome things that are potentially happening so I don’t jinx them.”

But dude? Let’s knock on wood and throw that out the window, because OH MY GOD THE MOST AWESOME THING JUST HAPPENED AND THERE’S NO WAY I’M NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT!

Okay.

On the USOC website, it says that internship decisions are made no later than April 4th. Well, April 4th came and went, and I heard nothing. I pouted a little bit, but moved on. I mean, I’d been hopeful, but not holding my breath. I resigned myself to the fact that I might have to apply during the fall, when I wouldn’t have to pay extra to get school credits for it, and when there’s probably less competition.

Fast forward to Friday. I was getting ready to go to the baseball game with Brittany, and had to print my resume for yesterday (I was meeting with the director of the Special Olympics in Miami-Dade). Our printer doesn’t have ink, so I opened my UMail account so I could email it to myself to open in the computer lab.

Staring at me from the top line of my inbox was an email with the subject line “USA Swimming Internship Interview.”

My reaction:



Except in my case, there was some clapping my hands over my mouth and looking wild-eyed over at my lovely roommate, who chose this weekend to visit and is always lucky enough to be here to see me react to something in this fashion. I swear, if she didn’t know me so well, she’d think I was absolutely insane. And, let's be real, she still might. :P

The email was from the media relations manager, wanting to schedule an interview with me. I was literally shaking. Okay, so it’s not TECHNICALLY the USOC. But the headquarters of USA Swimming are at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado, so their interns live there! I’m still having trouble wrapping my mind around this. I gave my mom a mini heart attack when I texted her “OMG I NEED TO CALL YOU RIGHT NOW!” and I skipped several times on the walk to the baseball stadium. It’s a really good thing I got this email on a Friday as opposed to during the week – I would NOT be able to focus in class.

But anyway, AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! I HAVE AN INTERVIEW!!!! :D I mean, I had an interview with SNY last week, but I had help getting that one (and I haven’t even heard back from them yet). This one was all me! Me and my recommendation letter from a former swimmer and current Vice President of the US Olympians! I KNEW that would help me! Out of all the USOC internships I applied to, I held out the most hope for this one, because the name Gary Hall, Sr. is really significant in the swimming world. I already sent him an email saying OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU! (In not so many words, of course.)

My interview is officially scheduled for Tuesday at 4! Eek! I’m so excited! My nerves should start setting in any day now, but I’m on cloud 9 at the moment! This whole time, I’ve been saying that all I need is an interview. If they’d give me a shot after looking at my resume, I think my chances are really good. I can talk about why I want this job for days on end, so (dare I say it) I’m feeling kind of confident! Talk to me on Tuesday at 3:30 and I’ll be singing a different tune, but I can do this. I KNOW I can do this!



Oh, my life. :)