Wordless Wednesday.

I get to sleep with you tonight, right?

It all began on 8-8-08.

In anticipation of our one year anniversary next Saturday, I have some cellphone pics of my best friend to share with you. I love her and just can't imagine my life without her. :)

Watching tv.

Geez. I know I'm cute!
You're interrupting my show, mom!

She's not always the most obedient (but I let her be a carefree spirit) and it's a little awkward when she sniffs the butts and crotches of strangers, but she is just as adorable as the day I brought her home and a lot more cuddly. She's pretty much the perfect dog for me. We will definitely be at the dog park next weekend for some doggy fun!

update

saturday, bella and i went to raleigh to see my folks (her grandparents). my mom and i went to southpoint, to look for her mother-of-the-bride dress for paige's wedding while bella stayed and played/napped with her grandpa. they are so cute together..i will get a picture one of these days. mom & i got back from shopping (she's going to come to charlotte to look for her dress sometime soon, yay!), the 3 of us ate an amazing dinner: filet mignon, baked potato, green beans, and then went to seafood north (across from durant road middle school) to see paul's band, the bomb sniffin' dawgs (bsd's) play. apparently, the staff got rocked because there were easily at least 50 people there (a lot for a small restaurant the size of a starbucks inside) and the kitchen wait time was at least an hour. the bsd's were good..i'm too young for some of their songs (and apparently my parents are too old). :)

sunday, i was supposed to meet them at church, but didn't feel well and spent the morning on the couch with the heating pad. we ate brunch and i got everything packed up. i've been getting the itch to paint (i need something over my bed), so i sorted my art supplies and packed them up (i need new brushes). I was able to get my easel in the car (although it confused bella since she didn't get to sprawl out like she usually does). we got back to charlotte around 6:30/7:00. i unpacked, painted my toenails and hung out with bella, not anxious for a new week to begin at all.

...but, it has. yesterday was definitely a busy day at the office (i practically made an 85-year old man living at an assisting living care facility in charlotte cry on the phone), susie and jeff got yelled at for two hours (apparently they're conspiring with the devil and going to jail).....ah, the life of a planner. :) i love it.

hope everyone's having a great week so far. this week, if brent doesn't have to go to louisville, i'm gonna go to hickory with bella. if he does, then i think i'm gonna hit cheap joe's art supplies and paint! :) catch ya on the flip side!

my shoes are on.

i love to write..i believe it is how i best describe myself. in some cases, words are easy to hide behind and it's a lot easier to hit the 'backspace' button than to try to take my foot out of my mouth. sometimes, i lack tact and perhaps, some common decency, and with text, i can just blame it on my dry, sarcastic mindset rather than admitting my poor judgement. writing papers in school was always easiest compared to getting in front of my peers for a presentation..even short ones. my biggest fear going through school was oral presentations. my palms and feet would sweat (along with the rest of my body), sometimes i'd get the shakes. if there was a podium, i would slip my shoes off (particularly with classroom tile floors). it's not that i lacked the ability to present my ideas to people, it's just that i would get so nervous that i'd psych myself out. sometimes, if i'd lose my train of thought, without thinking (oops!), a minor expletive would escape my lips, proving my nervousness to those seated in front of me.

it's fun to look back and see how far i've come. in a previous post i mentioned that after graduation, i represented ecu in the ncapa student planning competition. i had adjusted my focus/topic of my presentation from my senior summary presentation a few months earlier, so i was not as confident in my oral presentation; but, i knew my paper was flawless and most likely, better than my competition (ended up being a kid from unc-g i think). and, i was right. he did do a better job presenting his research/ideas to the room. but, leaving the conference that day, i walked out with the director from new bern & a judge). i asked him point blank what tipped the scales toward the other guy. and he confirmed my suspicions..the presentation. but he said, my research was flawless and they could find no mistakes in my writing. he even said that he would keep my paper and use it for research/help in his job. that's one of the greatest compliments of my career. how could i be sad i lost with news like that. :)

how ironic that i grew up fearing oral presentations and now i find myself in a career that is dependent upon how we are able to verbally (mostly) communicate with citizens, fellow planners and the appointed/elected officials. and, i can do it without taking my shoes off! :)

Last week was abnormal with the committee meeting, happy hour and social, that this week just seems boring. :/ The meeting was good and the socials were fun. I did get to see Joanna--which we've been trying to work out since I moved to Charlotte! & my friend Chris went with me to the HCYP social. Now, I can say I've been to Whiskey River. Not that I really care....

After the Epicenter experience, Chris and I went to Flying Saucer. I tried 2 new beers. I hated the first, Purple Haze..too much raspberry flavor. The other was a German wheat beer, supposedly close to a Blue Moon. It was okay. For now, I'll stick to my fave. I did want to try the Highland brewed in Asheville I had when I went to Intermezzo, but I couldn't remember what the other half of the name was, and they had several to choose from. All I know is it was darker than I normally like, with a more "hoppy" flavor.

Saturday evening, I went to dinner at Fiamma with Matt in Dilworth. It was really good. I would highly recommend it. Even my wine choice worked out (which rarely does since I'm such an Asti snob!). Then, we drove around and got in a fight. We recovered, and went to Picasso's for a bit. Afterwards, he drove back to my house for Round Two. On the way to work Monday morning, Matt and I talked. Basically, we can no longer be friends. It's been volatile so far and we've known each other maybe two months. I expect friendships to be supportive and comforting, not stressful and critical. It sucks to kick people out of your life, but sometimes, you just have to do it!

Sunday afternoon, Joanna came over and we talked for a bit..got a chance to catch up on what we've been doing for the past few years. I love her and hope that we can hang out again/more frequently.

It been a SLOW week so far and I am ready for 5pm Friday. I've decided to make a surprise trip to Raleigh this weekend..but will probably wind up leaving Saturday morning (I really don't like driving in the dark & I've been exhausted all week). :)

Happy Friday!

!!HAPPY FRIDAY!!

I am SO glad it's Friday. This has been the longest week! A recap on my week: Monday, I got super stressed out with planning my sister's bachelorette weekend for 17 women, out of town. Tuesday, I went to Young Affiliates of the Mint Artitudes committee meeting at the MMC+D downtown. I met some new people, including two Pirates. I am excited..hopefully my brainstorming juices will be flowing next time. ;) Wednesday, Matt & I went to a YAM Happy Hour event downtown. It was fun, but people didn't seem particularly outgoing...I'm really glad he came with me. Last night, I began my evening with a nap (I must be getting old!) and enjoyed the rest of the evening doing laundry and watching my "reality" tv shows. I also made the unofficial-official Bachelorette Party announcement/invite (handmade). Now, the Party will be October 23-25 in Wilmington. Paige just wasn't all that wild about Blacksburg as the destination. Man! Planning for 17 is hard!

Tonight, I am going to a Habitat Young Professionals' Social downtown with my friend, Chris, who just moved here from Raleigh. My freshman year roommate, Joanna, works for Habitat and invited me. This will be the first time we've seen each other since I moved to Charlotte, and even longer than that! It's a long-awaited reunion. 711 Clement whoop-whoop! :) I'm excited to meet her Habitat friends as well. I think tonight will be more fun than Wednesday...we'll see. Tomorrow night, Matt is taking me out to dinner. He hasn't told me where yet, and I really wanna know. I hope the food's good because I can be pretty picky! Maybe Saturday morning, Bella and I can meet Chris, Ebbie & Courtney (2 greyhounds) at the dog park. We'll see. And, of course, I wanna get the house cleaned up and finish my sorting/organization projects.

Hope you have a great Friday & a great weekend! See you next week!

STRESSED OUT MOH

If you could see me know, my hands would be in the air with my head shaking in frustration. Being a MOH is stressful, especially when it comes to the planning of the Bachelorette Party. Everyone wants to help and give their two cents, which is fine; but, when the two cents begins to rapidly multiply--it's all a little bit too much!

Originally, I thought I was planning a night out on the town for my sister and the bridal party. Nope. Yesterday, my sister e-mailed me a "wish list, guest list" with 17 names on it (10 which are not in the bridal party). AGH! My stress pot has begun to boil. (It's been simmering for a few days now with all the e-mails that have been flying back and forth. After numerous threads and checking the calendar multiple times in attempts to be as accommodating as possible, I sent a "tentative, final decision" e-mail only to have one girl come back with, "There's a home football game that weekend."

Leah and Kim are being extremely helpful (and calm!) in helping me to be organized and whatnot since I am a MOH/Bridesmaid virgin. After receiving that last e-mail, I e-mailed Leah: "SHE is getting on my nerves!" Leah's response? "ANOTHER SHE is getting on mine!" UGH!

At this point, the BP is scheduled for 9/26 in Blacksburg, VA; but, with the game, we are also looking at 10/24. I know it will all work itself out, but if you have any suggestions/comments/pointers, I'll take 'em. An outsider's perspective can do wonders. Thanks for the help!

It's hard to believe we are already heading into the middle of July. Man! This year is just flying by! :)

I didn't do anything too exciting this weekend..I had planned on going bowling Saturday with a friend of mine from SC, but they bailed. Ugh..for people who have to (occassionally) work weekends. Gotta love government employment! :) Sunday, I woke up late; stayed awake a few hours then took a 3 hour nap; stayed awake for a few hours and then hit the sack around 11:30 and was up at 5am to a monsoon. The sun is trying peek out of the clouds, so I guess it's not a complete loss of a day.

Tomorrow evening, there is a Artitudes committee meeting at the MMC+D downtown (for the Young Affiliates of the Mint) that I am going to. Then, on Wednesday, the YAM's are doing a Happy Hour at the Epicentre downtown. Matt's going to go with me so I won't look like a complete loser. I can be sort of a wallflower/bar stool hugger when I feel out of my element. Apparently, I am still socially awkward at times. :\ But, I am hoping that this could lead me towards making some girl friends. We'll see.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and is able to kick the new week off with little struggles. Happy Birthday Leah!

RIP Update

I thought I would update everyone regarding the drive-by shooting that happened in Greenville last week. The GPD, with the help of other PDs, have located and arrested the man identified as the shooter, Earl Richardson. He is being held at the PC Detention Center on bond, set at $5 million. The investigation continues, however, as police try to identify the other two men who were with Richardson that night.

An anti-violence march and vigil will take place tonight, beginning at The OP and ending at the cupola on The Mall.

Although I am proud to be a Pirate and applaud the GPD for their dilligence in this case, I was underwhelmed with the news coverage. Just because it didn't happen on campus (only a few hundred feet from the western edge of campus), doesn't make it any less newsworthy. I understand that for a short time, there was a serial killer on the lose in Gaston County; but, shouldn't having an armed man, who already killed two people, at large be news too?

The point: the shooter's been caught and now the search is on for the two men who were with him.

**According to The Daily Reflector (07-09-2009), the police are not expected to charge anyone else except Richardson's two counts of murder. There are no other suspects and no additional charges pending. Additional charges against Richardson are possible.**

July 4th Weekend

Cabarrus County Government Offices are CLOSED tomorrow! :)

So, break out the sparklers and celebrate freedom, summer and fun!
Happy 4th of July everyone!

RIP PIRATES

Early Tuesday morning, the streets of downtown Greenville turned into a crime scene after a drive-by shooting occurred, killing two innocent by-standers. One victim was an ECU student. The other was an ECU graduate and a manager of a downtown pizzeria. Read the story here: http://www.reflector.com.

I think, in general, everyone thinks that Greenville is different from other cities; that violent crimes don't happen there. Living in Greenville for six years, I can't recall hearing about violent crimes that often, more small crimes or student-to-student crimes. It was always, "stay on this side of the tracks, and you'll be okay", or "remember not to walk alone at night." Yet, in the past two years, I've been hearing from my girl friends that Greenville is getting more dangerous. Gang activity is on the rise (last year, they told me that they actually said on the news broadcasts that women should stay inside and lock their doors because an initation stunt was to find and rape as many women as possible in a particular evening), the university is growing, and the lines are being blurred. The last time I went to visit, while we were out, Hannah's car was broken into. Car break-ins did not used to be the norm.

This shooting...it began inside The Other Place. The Other Place is a bar/nightclub that I used to frequent (obviously not so much these days), and knew people that worked there. The pizzeria? It was Alfredo's for the longest time (another frequent stop during our late-night ventures) and still would be if Alfredo hadn't sold it this year and moved to another part of town, to be a more "family friendly" restaurant. With downtown so close to the school, it could've been anyone. It could've been my girls. It could've been worse if it hadn't be "just a driveby."

Events like this remind the Pirate community that we are not excluded from the violence and the negative experiences of this world. We are blessed as a community, that it wasn't a widespread attack, that more innocent people didn't die. It is unfortunate and my heart goes out to the families, friends and other loved ones for the two young men that died, to the witnesses, and to the rest of Pirate Nation. We are strong. We will perservere. And, hopefully, the GPD will find the SOB and give him the just punishment he deserves for taking innocent lives, for CHOOSING to take lives. My head nods to the bouncers and staff at The OP who did their jobs, and protected the patrons inside from what could have been a tragedy had the man decided to open fire inside the bar.

RIP ELB and CAK. RIP PIRATES 6-30-2009.