Beaujolais Nouveau

It's another week into November and it's starting to look like a real winter wonderland outside! Last Saturday, the Twin Cities area was hit with about 10 inches of snow, give or take. And since Dad is still in France doing his work training, guess who was left to snowblow the driveway - this gal. Not exactly my favorite way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Oh well, at least Mom is back home so I haven't been quite so lonely this last week.

I was re-reading my old blogs post-Olympics about how I was beginning a new chapter in my life, being back in Minnesota with a college degree and starting to gain new experience. I made the prediction that 2010 would be, oh gee! - "the best year ever!" And while it's hard to say that one year of your life has been better than all the rest, I would admit to having a fantastic year. And I still have over a month left! I have successfully survived my unpaid internships and a short stint at Target, secured a job with bennies and am preparing to move out to Minneapolis in the next few months! I also enjoyed quite a few fun excursions and activities with my friends, including Lollapalooza - definitely the best weekend of 2010. And deriving from that weekend I have started seeing an amazing guy, which is a major plus when comparing to my relationship troubles from '09. I was definitely right in my previous entries: this year would be about change.

Two blog posts ago I was noting how odd it was that the year was half over, and now it's almost completely passed us. I swear, I will just blink and it will be 2011 already.

I want to finish this short and sweet blog with a little treat that has been floating around the web this week: the new Girl Talk album - All Day. He promised his listeners a free download of the album when it arrived, so if you haven't listened already (hopefully most people have), check it out! I'm crossing my figners to get to his concert in March. TGIF!

Peace, love, and iPhone autocorrect,
A

Week Four

So after all my bitching and moaning about not having a job or money over the summer, that thankfully this blog and all of it's (few) readers didn't have to hear about, I have just finished my fourth week in a real, big- girl-with-benefits job! I'm working with the Minnesota AIDS Project, who hired me on after a great internship from April-August as the new Special Events Assistant.

This means, I will be working on our big special events for the company, mainly our annual Minnesota AIDS Walk, held every May. I have also been taken under the wing of our Communication's Director and doing some work that actually pertains to what I studied in school (imagine that), including social media, some biz writing, etc. So, I think that the position is really perfect for me!

On top of all that, I find working for a non-profit such as ours to be more rewarding every day. It might not give the best pay and although I have no personal tie-ins to AIDS or HIV, as I get branched out of my summer special events corner and start working with the rest of the departments, I am realizing how much I appreciate the work that goes on in our building. We really do some amazing things that have a huge impact on the way people in Minnesota are coping with HIV every single day. Over the next few weeks, I'd like to highlight a few of our services and programs so that my friends and readers can get some sort of  idea of the fantastic work that goes on at the office.

On a side note, I got moved into my new cube today next to the rest of the Development department. I was exiled in a teensy cube on the other side of the building for the first four weeks of work and just got to move today! *Chair dance!* It's definitely nice to have my own space and get settled in. The cube for my future intern is right behind me so once they get hired I can just sass them all day. Actually, although I am pumped to have an intern, if you know me at all, I'm not the most authoritative person so I'm expecting a learning experience for me as well.

Also, TGIF. I'm really itching to get done for the day. Looking forward to a nice night with the girls, and then Saturday with the boy :) IF I don't get snowed in. We have had some amazing temp highs earlier this week, but are expecting around 12 inches of snow tomorrow? Yikes. Not sure I'm ready for that. Will keep you posted on the snow status. I would like to get back into the blogging habit, so if you don't hear from me sometime next week, I probably died in a snowdrift. Can't believe my last blog post talked about looking forward to summer. Now I'm dreading winter and Thanskgiving is in two weeks. Wowza time flies.

Anyway, I will leave you with this earworm, When My Time Comes by Dawes. Cuz I feel like my time has finally come in getting my "real" job and making my mark. *silent cheers*And also because Dawes played at First Ave last night and I'm tragically disappointed that I missed the show. Enjoy.

Peace, love and daylight savings,

A

Hey you're playing with my delirium

So today is May 5th. Wow. Hello 2010, I thought we were still just getting started and you're already almost halfway gone. It's strange to think that if I was still in school right now I would be finishing up my semester in EC in two weeks. It still feels like I just graduated! I guess time flies when you're having fun.

Since the beginning of 2010, and graduation, I have:

• Secured two internships with awesome non-profit companies, one doing special events, one doing public relations/marketing. I am equally passionate about both jobs and am hoping to gain some some excellent experience and knowledge this summer. (There's also the Target job, but that one's just there to make my life stressy)
• Had the experience of a lifetime in Vancouvsie :)!
• Saw Chris Koza, aka loml, perform in St. Paul
• Somehow have managed to keep in touch with my EC friends, PL friends, old roomies, and others all over the world, literally!
• Aaand, yesterday, I did the sad, final move-out from Eau Claire. It's so strange to pack up an entire two years of college life and cramming it all into a room at my parents' house. Not to mention forcing me to really realize that my campus and college days are over and things from here on out are gonna be full of change.

Some of these things I'd like to see for the rest of the year:

• Finish up my 3 jobs/internships and find a real job for the Fall
• Move out of ma and pa Widener's - hopefully somewhere downtown!
• Not get too stressed out working 50+ hours a week and only getting paid for 15 of them
• Being organized! I already have so many weekends/weeks over the next few months and I have to stay organized to keep track of what I'm doing. Organization is not my strong suit, so we'll see.
• Go to Lollapalooza!! (Bought my tickets already so I know that's a go)

Whew! It feels good to write down a few goals and accomplishments. When I started this blog right after graduation almost 5 months ago, I didn't know what I'd be doing right now, and I definitely think I'm on the right track to getting a job I want. We'll see how the rest of my goals go by the end of the year, or at least by the end of summer.

Speaking of summer, I cannot wait for it! With 85 degree weather downtown today, I can feel summer getting close. No one I know has put in their boats in Prior Lake yet, but when that happens, I think that will be the official start to my favorite season. Hopefully I won't be too busy to enjoy it!

Also, my good friend Jeff sent me a mix CD all the way from Ireland and I got it in the mail yesterday. It was such a surprise! Always nice to know that someone is thinking about you. Anyway, here is a link to one of my favorite songs he put on the mix. Check it out!!
Ladyhawke - My Delirium
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN8HwUxFouM

Peace, love, and margaritas,
A

Defying Gravity

Whoah! It's been a helluva long time since I wrote anything here. I guess I got into some sort of depressive slump when I got back from Vancouver, and when it comes to writing online to noone/everyone, my ambition has been low to blog. However, things are not all that bad back in Minnesota. I am a struggling graduate, looking for my dream job. At this point, almost ALL jobs are dream-worthy. I did secure a part-time job at Target and (YAY!) an (unpaid) internship downtown at a little place called the Minnesota AIDS Project both in the first couple weeks of being back in the U-S-A.

So far, I really like working at MAP. I'm one of the Special Events interns and we already have our big event in a few weeks on May 16th, so woohoo!!! I've been kept pretty busy doing tons of logistics tasks like writing and organizing about 40 thank-yous, organizing sponsors, researching past events or with other cities to see what to change, and corresponding with volunteers needed on event day. Also, it's pretty much gay-town at MAP, so baaasically it's perfect for me. Because as my fave Canada faggy, Kris, told me, I'm pretty much a gay man in a woman's body. Hmm, I don't really know what else to say on that matter, feeling pretty awkward now. Moving on.....

So I pretty much decided that 2010 is going to be the best year ever! I'm done with school now, I am at a turning point in my life, and who knows what I will be doing in the next six months. I got back a month ago from one of the greatest and most valuable opportunities of my life, and it's already benefiting me. I'm also realizing a few things about myself, now that my life is heading to a new chapter, and I'm finally ready to let go of some things I've been struggling with. Won't go into detail on this matter, but for the first time in over a year I'm feeling like a weights been lifted off of my shoulders and I'm seeing more clearly. I'm feeling really excited about the rest of the year, and especially summer, now that it's getting SO nice out!

So that's the latest update on my life. I'm glad to be back into somewhat of a schedule because I thrive on being busy. The friend count is low being back in Prior Lake, but other than that, and the fact that LOST and Glee are now on at the same time, everything else is peachy!

Peace, love, and Sue Sylvester,
A


Also, I happened to be thinking about my friend McKinley yesterday, who took his life a couple of months ago. He was absolutely brilliant and adored, and it bummed me out a lot, but I found this poem of his, and it really inspired me. RIP McKinley

Sunrise

This is a poem about sunrise.

This is a poem about watching red and pink respiration finesse the base of the horizon, with eyes closed knowing that this is all there really is.

This is a poem about holding someone’s hand or arm or your own hand or nothing and the rush of morning pours over you.

This is just a poem about sunrise. This is not a poem about anything else.

This is not a poem about a first date, the fact that you hate someone you used to love, getting snubbed by your crush, rushing to see someone who you haven’t seen for ten hours and now it’s almost eleven, heaven-sent individuals or hell-bent residual mistakes.

This poem is about the feeling you get getting up at home or elsewhere carefree and free to appreciate the elation based in the sun and encased in it’s run along the tips of whatever it’s framing. It’s the same window with the same view but the difference is you. You’ve seen every sunrise but your eyes are never prepared for what they share with the morning. It’s about the first warming rays of the day erasing the night’s decay and playing games with your levels of vitamin E.

This poem is not about oppression, about how the possession of wealth has stealthily been divided among society so that while we prioritize money it’s funny that so many don’t have enough, or about how tough it is to live the American dream if you didn’t start out sleeping with riches.

This poem is about 5:00 AM, when you’re awake and don’t have to be, or you do have to but you happened to notice that below the blackness is opening up an orange hue and you forget how tired you are and that the stars are fading just that the trade from night to day is amazing and the blazing entrance makes you remember that it might not always be just you and the sunrise but it is always you and the sunrise.

This is not a poem about anything except sunrise. It’s about standing on the handrail of a second-story balcony thousands of miles from home with the smoke from your Black & Mild getting in your eyes as you strain to see the sun come up over the L.A. skyline. It’s about sitting on the shore of a secluded mountain lake alone at home with the water lapping the fog wrapping around your ankles and being thankful for everything in existence, which to you right now is this sunrise. Sunlight goes much deeper than the eyes, it finds your center, and everyone must be meant to arise a little bit earlier. 

Our worlds revolve around our daily lives, but each day evolves from inside a sunrise.   Wake up.

By McKinley Lukes
RIP 1/18/2010

So many tars

Welp, I'm unemployed! Work officially finished on Friday, after a week of wrap-up around the IBC. We had a lot of take-down and I had no more days off after my Whistler trip for my final week. Our wrap party was a success Sunday night after the Closing Ceremonies, and I must say, it should be illegal to schedule work the day after a party is thrown for 2,300 people, with over $100,000 spent and 11,000 drinks consumed. Pretty awesome time, to say the least.

The rest of the week had a bit more work than we've had recently, and was filled with our final goodbyes to coworkers. Starting Monday, people's contracts were ending and people were heading back to their homes with no job (me included, soon).  It's pretty depressing to think about going back to Minnesota after having such a fantastic time up here. I've been in Vancouver a bit over a month now, I'm finally getting a feel for the city and getting to know the friends I've made, but now boom, work's over, and I have to say goodbye already. Not to mention, the work I've been doing has been amazing!

My sister and mom are coming up to Vancouver next Saturday so I will be spending this next week bumming around till they arrive, hopefully getting some applications in for back home. I am quite excited to see them though! I have been assigned to create an itinerary for our plans next week. Any suggestions?

Here's a pic of most of my fellow runners and me. I will miss working with them so much!

That's all I have for now, just gonna be stuck on the couch for the rest of the night, watching the Academy Awards. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for Meryl!

Peace, love, and Oscars,

A

I love Jim Halpert

The Ganes are over!!! Canada just beat the States in the final hockey match for the gold medal! I actually found myself cheering for Canada instead of the USA at the end; I think they deserved to win on home ground. This week has picked up at work, but today is pretty much the last of the excitement, since the Closing Ceremonies are tonight and we are having a sort of sendoff at the IBC afterwards. Most people at work's final days are sometime this week and I can hardly believe that I am finished working with OBS after Friday. It's pretty depressing, actually. I've grown accustomed to "working" these long days with these amazing people and being able to witness the fantasticthings going on with the Olympics firsthand.

I went back to Whistler yesterday with my friend Alicia and we were able to make it to the 4-men boblsedding final, which was awesome because USA won!!! It was such a close race and we beat out Canada and Germany on the last slide down. We got sooo close to the ice, and the venue looked spectacular. It's really incredible to see how fast these men go by! Alicia and I went to the top of the sliding center to watch the flower ceremony and it was packed but we got a few good photos and even one with the Olympic champion cutie Steve Mesler.

Usher was playing at the Victory ceremony that night, so we of course got in, no problem, with our accreditation. That's another thing I'm going to miss when I get home - the ability to get into sick places with just the wave of my pass. The concert was pretty cool, he sounds exactly the same as on his albums, and obviously, his dance moves were awesome. I was on such a USA high after watching the Americans win gold, so I was pretty much going up to every person wearing red, white, and blue gear and raging about our victory. It was actually the best part of the night, because one of the groups I decided to attack were not just random Americans watching Usher at the victory ceremony, but random American Olympian athletes from the bobsledding and skeleton teams! We hung out with them for most of the concert, and I've now spent most of my day today online trying to track the names and photos of the guys. Totally rad.

A few other tidbits of fun that I've been able to do this week was hold the Olympic medals and snap some photos, and I went to a free Girl Talk concert on Friday night, which was uhh, awesome! Here's a pic of me winning my gold in women's curling.

I think that's all for now... getting too tired to type. Party tonight!

Much love,

A

I've got something to put in you

Another busy week up here in Vancouver. I had another awesome weekend, my friend Sami who lives in Alberta came to visit me, which was so fun. She was my neighbor in Australia and I haven't seen her in two years, so it was so exciting for her to be able to make time and come for a short visit during the games.

Since it was the second weekend since the games have started, the city has been busier than ever. There are honestly walls of people walking down the streets at night and every bar has about an hour wait. Luckily, on Friday night, I was able to get to a media party for people like me working in broadcasting and similar departments so there was essentially no line and a bunch of my friends from work were there as well. Soooo much fun! Almost perfect night except for the fact that my camera was stolen (super sad face). Really bummed about that, but I've been trying to make due with taking other people's photos and using Scott's camera. I spent the rest of the weekend with Sami going around the city and letting her take in the Olympic experience in Vancouver. Both Saturday and Sunday nights we got tickets to the Victory Ceremonies at the stadium downtown, which were super fun. I got wicked close to athletes Apolo Ohno and Shani Davis as they were awarded their medals. An amazing experience. Hopefully I will be able to get Sami's photos from those nights because I have none at the moment.

Work has been the usual, hanging out in the runner's lounge, getting free massages, tracking down celebs. We got a photo with Wayne Gretzky on Monday after waiting for him outside of his interview room for a half hour! Kind of a grump, actually. I also saw Bob Costas at the IBC the other day, and I got a bit starstruck, because he pretty much rocks. Saw him on the escalator going up as we were going down and I told him I was a huge fan. He probably gets that all the time, but I'm sure I made an impact.

I've actually been so spoiled with this job with OBS and I think I've even started to take for granted how sweet the place is. Like, how awesome is it to spend my day searching for celebs in the building, or to be walking to the cafe and look over and see NBC filming live footage for the Olympics just a few feet away. Or to be able to watch the games on TV and see the news anchors talking and know that they are filming at that exact moment somewhere close in the same building where I am. I'm getting pretty depressed thinking that I'm already leaving so soon, right after I'm getting really settled in my life here. I really love most of the people I work with, there's always something to do in and out of work, and just being included in the Olympic spirit has been incredible.

For example, last night I took a spur of the moment trip to Whistler with my friend Emma from work. We left work at 5, got up to the mountain around 7, and I had to be back in the city by 9 this morning for another day of work. We met up with my friend Benny, who is from Australia, and another person I studied with when I went abroad. He's been working up there since December and hooked us up by getting us into "The Fray" concert and a few bars around the village. I caught the 6:00 bus back this morning, and needless to say, have been pretty tired all day. Totally worth it though, and I might as well take advantage of the opportunities I can take with my access to the games.

I'm looking forward to the weekend already, hopefully I can make another trip up to Whistler on Saturday, and if I can get Friday off as well, there is a free Girl Talk concert that I'd die to get to. We have an OBS party Sunday night, but with the end of the games approaching, the work around here is gonna start to get crazy again.

Well, I'm super tuckered out after last night and working all day, so I'm probably gonna get to bed. Post more soon. Goodnight!

 Peace, love, and nachos.

A

P.s. Have you guys been watching the games?? They have been incredible! Every sport has had some amazing competitions and performances. GO USA!