November 9th

So Linden and I have found a new love for fitness. We are reading all the latest magazines/websites for fitness routines and foods. I am going to start eating next week pomogrante as part of my diet. We have come up with all kinds of new recipes. Our latest salad creation includes black beans, corn, lettuce, Rice a Roni Spanish Rice(oh yeah), tomatoes, and pepper. Linden likes to add salsa on top while I enjoy olive oil and red wine vinegar.We're going to try making home made enchiladas next week. We joke that we should record ourselves with our 20 minutes or less healthy recipes to post on YouTube. We’re writing contracts to keep each other in line towards a fitness/health goal. Once I create mine I will post it for everyone to hold me accountable.

On our day off last week we went on a hike through the Hollywood Hills behind the Griffith Observatory (Yeah it’s named after Linden). The Griffith Observatory is a free museum which I recommend to everyone in Southern California to come experience. Behind the museum there is a park with 51 miles of hiking trails through UNTOUCHED Hollywood hills overlooking LA. It is quite beautiful! Linden ran most of the time while I walked in between running. According to Linden I have two speeds walking or painfully kicking her ass. (LOL) Not my fault, I blame it on playing soccer growing up. It was worth the run up to the top to see a 360 unobstructed view of Los Angeles. We could see all the way to the Pacific Ocean in the West and to the 15 freeway which is heading through the mountains on its way to Vegas to the East.
DragonForce was by far my favorite Wiltern event. We went to take video for your "crew video" of working the line and the people in line were so genuinely excited. Linden and I both couldn't believe their enthusiasm. We didn't even tell them what our video was for, nor did they know we were video taping because we had a third party named Ashur taping behind us. Who would of thought those these punk black wearing face painted kids would be so nice!!!!!!!!!!! People just loved hanging out with us at our little booth. We did have some very interesting pick up lines which was pretty funny. I was extremely embarrassed at one point when some guy saw me and started yelling in the hallway, "OMG it's Sarah Palin!!!!!!! Sarah Palin!!!!!!!!!! Look guys its Sarah Palin!!!!" I quickly took off my glasses and was blushing with embarrassment.

The UCLA tailgate party with Verizon Wireless and BlackBerry turned out to be pretty fun. There were so many kids because of the "I'm Going To College" program, which made the sweepstakes they were running a little difficult. I needed to create my own fun and rallied some yelling matches with kids and enjoyed coming up with new VZW cheers. Thank God for my experience of being a cheerleader because I still us it! Being at a college football tailgate party fueled my interest in pursuing my masters or MBA. UCLA definitely won brownie points for school spirit!!!!

November 3rd Update

I am still working the Southern California Verizon Wireless tour and living in Manhattan Beach while visiting San Diego with every opportunity. Linden and I really like the area we live in. We are only 1.5 miles away from the beach and along the beach they have an awesome bike as well as a separate running/walking path. We have a new love for Pinkberry (www.pinkberry.com) which I consider to be a new crackberry. They sell fat-free frozen yogurt, smoothies, shaved ice, or granitas. With your frozen yogurt you have the option to pick fresh toppings to add like fruits, nuts, or candies. What is amazing is they are opened every night till 2am and 3am on weekends. It’s great for us because sometimes we don’t get out of an event until midnight. In my free time, I was able to visit China Town which was a lot of fun and I found a new look out point for the Hollywood sign with a trail to hike.
Unfortunately, I haven’t done much more exploring since life on the road has gotten really busy!!!!! Last week Linden and I worked 52 hours. We had a lot of big events including the Tim Brown Golf Invitational. All the proceeds from this golf event benefited the USA Surf Team. I got to meet some of the marketing directors for cool companies like Cole Surfboards, Billabong, Quicksilver, Oakley, and also professional surfer Kelly Slater. It was pretty awesome! The best part of the entire event was at the end they had an Inn and Out truck serving FREE hamburgers, fries, and drinks! Everyone knows I love a good Inn and Out cheeseburger- protein and animal style.
Another cool event was the two day Chris Cornell and Timbaland in store and concert. It was a great experience being part of the behind the scenes for this event. I got to learn a lot about all the various roles it takes in order to make this type of event successful. Sometimes we go to a concert and we only see the surface part, but it really takes multiple companies to take care of various aspects like pix/text to screen, ticket sales, stage set up, venue location, etc.
We also got to work the exclusive BlackBerry Storm Launch party. It was a free Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age concert at the Avalon on Hollywood and Vine. If you have a chance to see a concert in Hollywood I recommend the Avalon. This venue is intimate, beautiful, and the sound quality is amazing. At this event Linden and I were fortunate enough to work in the VIP area where we mingled with many A list celebrities including Matt Skibba (guitar player and vocalist from Alkaline Trio), Austin (Band Manager from an upcoming band called Drive A), Mischa Barton (Marissa Cooper on the OC), and James (Disney and Columbia records). Yes, I got to play with the BlackBerry Storm and it is pretty incredible. The touch screen display feels like you are really pushing buttons. The resolution on the screen is amazing and videos look better on the Storm than on a big screen TV. Get excited because I know I am!
For Halloween, we worked the Cypress Hills and The Cool Kids concert at the Wiltern on Wilshire. It was a very interesting crowd. We didn’t really get to dress up since we were working; however, we saw a lot of really good costumes. Luckily, after the concert we got to experience a little Halloween since my mom drove up to visit and she made us trick or treat. She is so sweet!
Linden and I were recently asked to do a tour extension until December 12th so it looks like we are going to be on the road longer than originally anticipated. I am excited because it means the clients think we are doing a great job, more money to save for my trip to Colombia, and I don’t need to start looking for a new job until January 2009. I am still undecided if I want to tour again next year in another location, go to graduate school, or move into a corporate job. So many options… If you hear of any really good opportunities please let me know.

So that’s the update from the front of the Verizon Wireless FJ Cruiser.
Peace, Love, and Rock and Roll!

October 12th Update

Hello from the front seat of the VZW FJ Cruiser,

So much has happen since my last blog! I made the 18 hour drive from Texas to South Carolina where I said goodbye to my partner from the South, Germany Mayfield, and headed to the west coast. My new territory is Southern California, so I work anywhere between TJ (Tijuana) up to Ventura east to San Bernardino and west to the Pacific Ocean. I will be working not only Lifestyle events but also latino events since I am able to speak Spanish. I am so happy with the opportunity to move because now I am closer to family, friends, Inn and Out, and non mosquito infested places!!! (LOL)

Upon arrival to the west coast I flew into Los Angeles where I picked up my third FJ Cruiser vehicle, met my new coordinators Jill and Beccas, as well as my new partner Linden Griffith. Linden is originally from Seattle but has been living with her boyfriend in San Diego for some time. She used to be on tour with Tribal and traveled all over the US on a bus with six other people. Crazy huh! She is awesome and our personalities definitely compliment one another.

We wasted no time getting to work with four concerts in a row our first week. We worked Brazilian Girls, Kid Rock, Switchfoot, and Jack FM III concert. All these concerts were different and unique in their different genres but my favorite concert was the Jack FM III concert. It was a flash back to the 80’s with bands like Blondie, Billy Idol, and the main headliner Devo. I was introduced to the Devo Energy Dome hat.

In addition to these concerts, we worked a Comedy Fiesta in which we were able to meet Chris Fonseca(See picture above). He is a famous comedian who is partially paralyzed. He is such an inspiration knowing that he was able to overcome his hardships to still pursue his dreams.

We worked a Kids Fair where Linden and I turning into the finest Mother Gooses since 60% of the parents who attended the event were pushing strollers. We had tons of little kids at our event site in which resulted in us bringing back some of our old childhood favorites and incorporating the phones. We create “Dare to touch it red light green light” (Red Light Green Light), “VZW Says” (Simon Says), “VZW Pokey” (Hokey Pokey) and “VZW Spys” (I Spy). We rocked our booth with all the soundtracks from all the popular Disney movies.

We had an Asian Film Festival premier party in which we were asked to attend the party to show phones. I basically spent the entire night taking pictures of people with the LG Dare and then decorating their faces with the editing features. I edited some people's faces into cats, others pigs, and of course kings or queens. People loved the LG Dare's picture editing feature and I loved striking up conversations.

We worked a Car Drifting Competition over this past Saturday at Irwindale Speedway and it was awesome! Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally skids the rear tires through turns, while still in control and at a high speed. We had a crazy busy event site since we literally played games every ten minutes. Our seven hour event flew by us since we were sooooooo busy!!!! The total attendance was about 15,000, the event was sold out, and 90% of the time our event was packed with people. We met the youngest pro drifting driver Patrick Mordaunt and Verizon Wireless's driver Dai Yoshihara (See picture above). When the main event started we were able to sit in the Verizon Wireless suite and watch the event. It was definitely very cool!!!!

Today, we had an LA Galaxy soccer game. I was surprised to see the high turn out for this event even though there was no David Beckham playing. It was nice to see a lot of enthusiasm behind the sport and the stadium in which they played was absolutely amazing!!! We even found some Star Wars troops and were able to take pictures with them (see above).

So that is my busy update on where I have been and what I am doing. We have another busy week ahead of us but with two days off in which we plan on enjoying the beautiful and sunny 80 degree weather on the west coast.

Thank you for reading, more stories to come soon but until then…ciao.

On the road again...

Since my last update I drove from Atlanta, Georgia to Dallas, Texas. In Texas, I worked the GrapeFest event in Grapevine, Texas. I had a TON of fun interacting with the consumers and I even was able to take part in the GrapeStomp. I couldn’t get my co-worker or any of the people at my event to join me so I signed up by myself and was paired with Aileen. We called ourselves “Team Random”. Together we participated in the event and had a TON of fun!!!! It felt so weird stomping on the grapes barefooted. My strategy was to step on as many as possible in my 60 seconds and when it was Aileen’s turn she just move all the juice towards the spout. We ended up winning our half hour time slot with 16.25 ounces. Unfortunately, the judges only allow one team to advance per hour and the previously winning team got 21.25 ounces (it was two heavier set guys). Oh well! I really enjoyed working the GrapeFest event. I felt a sense of satisfaction when the manager of the Grapevine Verizon Wireless store, Raymond Musquez, personally complimented me for all my hard work in front of our Verizon Wireless client Laura Caudillo. I also received numerous compliments from nearby vendors at GrapeFest who said they have been watching me for two days and wanted to know what vitamins I was taking. Peggy from Sam's club said to me, "It is obvious watching you that you really are passionate about what you do and it looks like you are having a lot of fun."

The day after GrapeFest I was able to fly home to San Diego just before Hurricane Ike hit Dallas. I made it home for the wedding of the year for my cousin David and his fiancé Christine. It was so nice to finally go home even for a day and a half. All my plans to lay by the pool and relax didn't happen since the weekend was so eventful. I was able to take some time to relax at the hair saloon with my mom and get a pedicure at the nail saloon with my girls. The wedding was a hit in which I stepped in as wedding coordinator. The funny part was the DJ coming up to me after the event asking me for a business card to refer me to other clients. I just laughed and also regretted not having a business card available on hand. Maybe I should make a career change?
I returned late Monday evening ready for work mode early Tuesday morning for a Verizon Wireless event. Best Buy was having their big vendors event in which they invited the companies who sold merchandise in Best Buy to show off their latest and greatest for the holiday season. Tuesday ended up being mostly a set up event but afterwards the clients invited me to go to dinner with them. Nine Verizon Wireless clients, two LG (Life’s Good) guys, and I got to ride in a beautiful white limo to a nice Mexican food restaurant. It was a LOT of fun! The following day, Wednesday, was the big event in which I was in cheerleader mode. I was so excited about the big event. There were 25 teams of 10-15 people who rotated through our event site for eight minutes at a time. It was fast so we had to be good. It turned out to be an amazing event in which we received numerous compliments. The Vice President of Verizon Wireless was also in attendance so this event was a BIG DEAL! This was an awesome networking event in which I was able to meet a lot of Verizon Wireless and Best Buy Corporate employees. I definitely had my business card on hand for this event and will be following up! Again, I was invited to go out and this time my co-worker Germany came too. We went to a restaurant called Sanbuko (Definitely worth going to!) and Ghost Bar at the W Hotel in downtown Dallas.
After two long days I had Thursday off. I woke up early and went to downtown Dallas to see the John F. Kennedy assassination museum. It is really called “The Sixth Floor Museum”. In the museum I was given an audio piece to go on a self guided tour of the museum. I was able to learn about JFK before he entered the presidency, his election, the major events in his presidency, and the actual assassination. I knew president Kennedy was popular but I didn’t realize major historical events began during his presidency like the growth of the TV, Martin Luther King Jr’s famous speech, civil rights movement, Cuban Missile Crisis, and the beginning of Vietnam war. It was really interesting!!! I was able to look out the windows from which the bullets are believe to have been fired from a mock set up in the museum. Definitely a really cool Museum and I highly recommend this as a stop for your next trip to Dallas. Afterwards, I went to get a massage at Massage Envy. This place is actually a business chain with lots of locations. My massage therapist Heidi was awesome! She was able to show me all kinds of stretches to do after events to counter my muscles becoming too stiff from standing and prevent back pain. Very cool.
From Dallas I made the two and a half hour drive up Texas to Wichita Falls. We have a big college football game tonight in which we will be having an event site. I am really excited because it should be fun.
Guess what is even more exciting? Guess who is moving back to Southern California? I was interview for an awesome opportunity to be on the Southern California Verizon Wireless Street Team and I got the job. My new territory is closer to home and a whole lot crazier!!!! Sunday and Monday I will be driving 18 hours from Wichita Falls, TX to Columbia, South Carolina. I fly into LAX on Tuesday and start working right away with four nights of concerts in a row. I am pretty excited. I have a new co-worker named Linden, which I am very excited about working with a new partner. I will be working not only lifestyle events but also Latino events. I am really excited to be able to enjoy the nice west coast weather for the fall.

So that’s my update. More updates to come…

Hey Y'All I am in Atlanta!

After a fabulous six weeks in New York I was transferred to do a new tour in the South. I was so sad to leave but I left after we had our best event which was a Body Boarding competition in Point Plesant, NJ. My new region includes anything between Huston, TX down to Miami, Florida and up to North Carolina. It’s a lot of distance and I will be doing a LOT of driving. I am really excited to see and experience the South. I hope to come back with all kinds of stories about the hicks down here… just kidding!
Before heading down to the South I had four beautiful days off in which I spent in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a good friend from Italy named Elliot. We had a great time visiting the surrounding little towns and even went to a Vineyard/Apple Orchard for a little wine tasting. He gave me the grand tour of both St. Paul and Minneapolis. I got to stand on the largest freestanding skyway at the Guthrie which is absolutely AMAZING and a must see if you ever go to Minneapolis. We went to the sculpture garden where I saw the famous spoon with a cherry as well as glass fish statute. I never thought about going to Minneapolis before but now that I have gone I would love to go back. It is truly a BEAUTIFUL city which is sooooo clean. We went out on a Sunday around the lakes and everyone was walking, riding bikes, or running along the lakes. (Quick fact- Minneapolis has about 10,000 lakes and if we ever have hydroelectric cars you better hope you live in Minneapolis! LOL) I have never seen so many biking and running paths in my life. Everything is so green and yes it was a little cooler than I am used to for September. It was about 59 in the evening and 70 during the day. Elliot says come winter it can get to be 10 below and people are still outside running around the lakes. They must be CRAZY!!!
I flew into Atlanta Georgia yesterday and it was a huge shock going from 70 degree weather to 93. Today, I am meeting up with my coordinator and co-worker to do some maintenance. Tomorrow, I am driving 12 hours to Dallas, Texas for Grapefest with my new partner Germany(really that’s his name!). I am really excited about the event since this is the largest wine festival in the South West and everyone knows how much I love wine! I am most excited to see the grape stomp. I wonder if people are really barefoot? I fly from Dallas to San Diego for the weekend but practically for one day since I am attending my cousin’s wedding. I will be reunited with my parents and family who are flying in from Colombia and other parts of the US. You know what happens when you have 3 or more Colombians in a room? It turns into a big arty in which we laugh, eat, dance, and tell stories. I just can’t wait! I just hope I can squeeze some poolside time with my friends and eat some of my mommy’s cooking. I miss cooking and eating home cooked meals while on the road. It is a little difficult to eat healthy while on the road. Unfortunately, the fast food industry has a long ways to go in providing healthier and more economical options.
When I get back to Texas I am driving back to the east coast for a college football game at University of Tennessee. I am actually really excited because I am hoping to be able to take of tour of Elvis’s home in Nashville. The trees are starting to change color so I will be experiencing for the first time the season of fall.
Well that’s my little update. I am alive and well just touring all over the United States. So far since July I have been to five states and more will be added to the list soon.

Week 3 of VZW Tour

I can't believe it is already week 3 of work on the Verizon Wireless Tour. The time seems to be flying by and my schedule appears to still have a ton of events each week. I had to go out and buy a planner so I could keep track of the weekly events and how much I spend everyday because it is easy to get carried away. Last week was extremely eventful. We kicked off the week with a GREAT retail event on Monday in Matawan. The owners were so positive and excited about the event. They had great signage announcing the event. They put up balloons, had their own giveaway items, and contracted a local radio station to be at the event. We had a nice turn out of people from the shopping center.

Tuesday, Tory and I had the day off which we spent half of it sleeping and the other half on the beach at Seaside Heights. Its a pretty nice beach located in New Jersey. In the evening we met up with the Latino Team Diego and Jessica and went out for some Brazilian Food. It was extra yummy!

Wednesday, we went to another concert at Michael Mahoney Playground. Tory and I had an interesting conversation about the people who grew up in this lower class neighborhood. You could tell a lot of these people have never been out of here and the only opportunity they will have is the same as their parents.

Thursday, we went to a Maroon 5 concert. It was off the hook! We were really suprised to learn that the main band was Counting Crows and no Maroon 5. Weird--- most people we talked to were only at the concert for Maroon 5.

Friday, we had another retail event but this time in a small town on Long Island. It was an ok event. We weren't in a big shopping center so we didn't get as many people stopping by the event site. Saturday, we experienced the craziness behind the Jonas Brothers concert. I enjoyed getting a private behind the scenes look at their recording studio bus. These girls are NUTS! The Tribal Bus was tagged over 80% (since they couldn't access the roof) with pernament marker, spray paint, and posters or love notes taped on. The bus is so damaged it will need to be stripped, re-painted, and needs new parts like tires, lights, and windows. The girls honestly thought the Jonas Brothers were on this bus and were taking pictures through the window hoping to get a picture of them. One girl was so nuts she touched the handle to the door and said out loud, "OMG they touch this." The comments were to weird but what was outrageous were the parents. "What do I have to do to get my daughter to see the Jonas Brothers. I'll do anything." Pretty crazy!!!!!!

Sunday, we had the Jonas Brothers concert again. After the concert we enjoyed teaming up with Tribal to do some pranks. We took phone numbers off the bus and would call the girls pretending to be the Jonas Brothers. It was hilliarious and awful at the same time. These girls would actually cry because they were sooo excited to see the Jonas brothers. Later in the evening we went out with Tribal to a bar and we played a prank on the Marketing director, Antonio, for Burger King. I pretended to be a Jonbie and was so excited to get his "working pass" with a picture of the Jonas Brothers. I was jumping up and down, pretending to text my friends, and actually pretended to cry. When Antonio realized I was a Jonbie he started chasing me asking for the working pass back. It was hillarious. I was running around the bar and he was chasing me until we broke the truth to him. It was a great night.

New Job

I am enjoying my new job as part of the Verizon Wireless Street Team. This week we have an action pack week with five concerts to attend and two of them are Jonas Brothers Concerts at Madison Square Gardens.
This job is not as easy as I thought it would be initially. There is a lot of time and effort that go into the job that are not in the job description but at the same time there are a lot of benefits. For example, my team mate Tory and I got to go to the front of an O.A.R concert with our sponsor passes. We watched the event and had a blast.
We've met a lot of interesting people along the journey. At one point I thought I was going to end up having a stocker. This old man was infatuated with me and actually said "I bet you've never really been turned on." CREEP! So besides that incident I have met a lot of cute guys like Ben from the Prospect Park concert.
With my free time off I have gone to neighboring cities to check out the sites. First we went to Philadelphia and saw the Rocky Steps as well as the building where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were both written. We went on a Duck tour of the city and it was AWESOME!!! Our tour guide was named Betsy Ross and she was a sweet heart and so knowledgeable of the area. We drove down some of the old streets of Philly and even went into the Hudson River. Afterwards we went to the WORLD FAMOUS GENOS for a Philly Cheese Steak. It was really good to eat but not very fun for me the next morning.
Our most recent day off we went to Jersey Shore to soak up the sun. We ended up having to pay $8.00 per person to go to the beach. Can you believe it? I was outraged. In San Diego we don't charge and we have nicer bathrooms! Did I mention we had to pay for parking too? It made me really miss the beach back home. The lifeguard was raving about how warm and nice the water was but its nothing compared to home.
So that’s the update on the job. It looks like we might get extended on tour so I could be in the New York region until December. I hope so because I really like this job and I have a break in December so I can go to Colombia for Christmas!

I started my career!

Now, It's official I have started my promotional career. I was contacted by a promotional marketing company called Marketing Werks (based out of Chicago) last Tuesday and Sunday I flew out to Newark, New Jersey to begin working. I am working the New York Metro promotional Verizon Wireless tour with a guy named Torrey. The promotional tour has a total of 27 vehicles all over the United States which roam to various places. In the north east, where I am located, we have seven vehicles total. We have two HQ rover vehicles which drive across the United States. My job actually pays for me to stay in a nice hotel (currently Comfort Suites which is AMAZING) and gives me an FJ Toyota to drive. I had a full day of training on Monday and then my first event was the Project Revolution Tour with Hawthorne Heights and Linkin Park at Jones Beach, New York on Tuesday. I have a ton of upcoming concerts, sporting events, and venues I am going to be attending. So far I have LOVED the opportunity. I got to meet Linkin Park's tour manager and attend band signings. It hasn't been an easy job. My first day we left at 7:45am and didn't get back until 2am but its all been worth it because the experience has been priceless.
So yeah, thats the little update on what I am doing and where I am at. I am staying in New Jersey but workin in New York. Tomorrow I am going to Brooklyn and Saturday Manhatten.

Viva Las Vegas

After a week and a half in Kansas I was invited by my other great friend, Debbie, to go with her to Vegas for a week. Her dance studio Dance Dynamics had a week long National dance competition that I agreed to go to with her. What a competition it was. Every day we woke up at 6:00am to arrive at Planet Hollywood ready by 8:00am. The days were really long and we didn't get out until after awards at 11:30pm every night. All the hard work and time paid off at the end when three of their dance pieces were invited into the battle on Wednesday. This is a huge honor because it means your dance was one of the best. We ended up taking home a First place and two Third places for the three dances submitted to the entire competition. It was a GREAT feeling. What is even more amazing is that this dance studio has only been open for less than three years and was able to beat studios who have been around for 30+ years. It was quite the accomplishment.
In addition to attending the Dance Competition, I was able to once again reunite with my MBA friends. I spent a couple hours on Fourth of July walking around the Belagio and Caesar's Palace with the gang. We started with eating at the famous Belagio Hotel Buffet. It cost almost $40 to eat per person but it was really good. We indulged in all kinds of treats. I taught the Italians how to eat American cookies. Poor Eva hurt her foot and had to be transported on one of those little old people electric carts but it definitely benefited us by getting us to the front of the line.
In the evening we all met at a little bar at the Mirage for drinks before heading over to the club Revolution. Even Diane, who is also from San Diego, flew in that evening to hang out with all of us.
We waited for Tyson's cousin Jimmy who was a dancer in one of the shows to get us free entrance. We ended up all paying $20 per person to get into the club to have our own table and unlimited table service. It was so much fun. The music wasn't very good but the company was awesome!
We danced into the early evening before I had to leave with Debbie and her family since we had to be up early the following morning for the dance recital.
The following morning I met up with Elliot to spend a whole day together. What was interesting about the day was Elliot and I have never really had the opportunity to spend a whole day together by ourselves. We always had something going on which prevented us from hanging out so much together or we were with other people. It was a really nice day. I met him back at his hotel to head off for the Hard Rock Cafe Hotel. We decided to spend the day lounging by the pool. I had always heard the place was amazing but until I really saw it I didn't realize how amazing it actually was. Elliot and I had so much fun just cruising around the various pools. It was so neat because there was a beach area with sand which sloped down into the pool. So you could be hanging out in the pool but standing in sand. It was really neat. The pool wasn't very deep in a lot of areas which made it easy to stand in the water and relax. All the edges of the pool had a seating area in the water so you could sip on a drink and just relax. The DJ was AWESOME and played all kinds of awesome hits the entire time. The atmosphere at the pool was very young. I would imagine most people at the pool were 21-30. Elliot and I spent a great day together and we had even better conversations together. I learned a lot about Elliot I could have never imagined that day. I was really happy.
It was a great week full of tons of activities. I was really happy. Now I am looking forward to the Verizon Wireless opportunity. I have been speaking with the company on and off about having the opportunity to do the tour. Today they sent me information to do a background check. I hope that is a great sign.

Welcome to the Country-Kansas

I flew out to Kansas with sweaty palms knowing that here it is I am going to be reunited once again with my Italian fling who isn't Italian he is Norwegian and from Minnesota. As I sat in the Airport I turned on my laptop and my skype came on. A couple minutes later I received the horrible news that my classmate at CIMBA Danielle Sloan had passed away. It broke my heart. I remained calm and puzzled as I boarded the flight out to Kansas. I couldn't believe it? Why does God take away good people from earth? I know that Danielle is in a better place now and I can understand why she decided to take her own life. I just wish I could have talked to her one more time before she passed and I could have given her the Switzerland video.

When I arrived in Kansas I was so happy to see my best friend Amanda and her husband Cheynne (my adopted best friend). The first thing we did was hit the bars. We celebrated with $6.00 pitchers of Sangria at Coco Bolos. The night turned to a crazy twist when we went to Tubbys and started taking shots. Half drunk I ended up picking up a conversation with some random guy who was cute but not exactly my type. He had a couple flaws. Being a little dare devil that I am I later danced on the bar in front of a group of people at Rustys. It was pretty crazy but a girl should always have some fun in her life.
I spent the remainder of the week hanging out in her classroom, visiting the local stores, and watching Sex and the City.
On Friday I left for Lawrence to attend the Funeral of Danielle Sloan. I decided to carpool with Tara because I thought she knew where she was going. Boy was I wrong! We ended up having the wrong directions and showed up at the funeral as people were walking out because it was over. We went to the Plaza in Kansas City and I talked to Danielle's Dad, Aunt, and boyfriend Henry. Henry was totally distraught. I felt so bad for him and he wouldn't stop blaming himself. I did my best to comfort him but that boy is going to be scared for the rest of his life by this experience. To make matters only worst- Danielle was his first girlfriend.
After a couple days in Manhattan I headed over to Lawrence to reunite with some CIMBAs. It was quite the experience since I haven't seen them since Italy. I first met up at Colleen's place and she wanted to go on a 40 minute run so I decided to join her. We met up at Free State and then headed over to Quintons. I was reunited with my Italian fling and it was very awkward at first because I wasn't sure how to behave except myself. We ended up spending a lot of time together and it felt like we were back in Italy together all over again. The next day I drove around looking at the local sites and spending some time in the pool relaxing. The following evening I joined the Italians and MBAs to cook dinner together. Ethem made his Turkish meat balls. Eva made a peach snapps and garden salad while Mr. Botten helped with the rice and Alberto cooked the meat balls. It felt like we were back in Asolo all participating in household chores. We then went out and had a blast on Mass Street again at Quintons. My final day in Lawrence was spent at Buffalo Wild Wings with a couple MBAs watching the euro cup soccer game. I was secretly shooting for Germany but I couldn't disappoint my Turkish soccer fans. It was an amazing soccer game. Botten and I left in the middle to finish watching at his place and I couldn't believe I missed two goals. The final goal was so impressive because it came in the last couple minutes and was an easy two touch pass.
Leaving wasn't as bad as leaving Italy because I was ready to get back to Cali. I also found out the Italians were going to Vegas the following weekend and I had already planned on going too. So looks like we will be reunited again. Amanda and her hubby are moving back to Cali and should be back in a week so it's not a bad goodbye since I will be able to see them all again real soon

Life Lessons...

I was sent an email with this list included. I read it and then re-read it over and is something we should read everyday before we go to bed because it has a lot of merit

For over 7 years, Regina Brett was a columnist at The Beacon Journal in Akron Ohio. During that time, she was diagnosed & successfully treated for breast cancer. Regina is now a columnist for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland Ohio . Her column runs on Sunday, Wednesday & Friday.

Lessons in Life By Regina Brett:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6 You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear fancy lingerie. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24 The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone, everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36 Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield..

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

'May the Lord's face radiate with joy because of you'
Numbers 6:2

June 11th, 2008

OMG did I have a crazy weekend. I unleashed a bottle of vodka to celebrate my graduation with one of my best friends. We played some drinking games I learned from my CIMBA family. Lets just say I spent the night and half the day next to the toilet. It was not one of my finest moments to say the least. During the day we rode beach cruisers up and down the beach and sang songs. I love my friend Aubree she always reminds me not to take life so serious and to have fun in the moment. We rode down the boardwalk yelling, "Hi Mike" every couple feet trying to see what kind of response we would get. It was soooo much fun!
Yesterday, I underwent a minor surgery to remove a lump that formed on my lower lip. My dentist sent me to an oral surgeon to fully remove the lump to check if it might be cancerous. The procedure went smoothly and now I have three stitches in my lower lip. I am going to be given the results to the biopsy in 10 days. I am a little nervous but I am hoping for nothing but the best. They think it is just a secretion gland that was bitten and is producing under the skin. I am hoping for the same.
I have become very restless with all my extra time. I ordered three new books to read on called "A New Earth" which is on Oprah's Book Club list. I signed up for a Turbo Kick boxing class Tuesday and Thursday evenings to keep me a little fitness oriented.
Next Tuesday I am going to be flying out to Kansas to visit my best friend Amanda Pugh now Sanderson and her husband Cheynne. I am pretty excited about the opportunity to get out, travel, and visit with my long time friend. While I am in Kansas I will be meeting up with my Italian CIMBA family. I am hoping to spend a couple days towards the end with them. It is going to be a little weird because I am going to be reunited again with my Italian fling. Who knows what will happen and where it will go. I am going into the situation thinking of us as just good friends.
Coming back from Kansas I will be going to a wedding rehearsal on Friday for Ashley and Justin's wedding Sunday evening. Saturday I have an extended Colombian family get together, dance rehearsal, and Byron Duff and Marie's wedding. I am going to try to make each of the events even if it is only for a little bit. So much to do in such little time.
Till then I have another party and graduation this week. I have had a party at my parent's house every week since I have been home. Its been a lot of fun. I also have a job interview next Monday in Carlsbad and I am hoping for the best. Wish me luck!

June 3rd, 2008

Heeellllllooooo everyone! Since the last time I wrote on here I helped to put on a full scale production for the bilingual second grade program, I graduated, had a graduation party, and I have been sick.
Since I have a lot of free time on my hands I like to give back to my local community and volunteer. So I helped out with the "World Of Music" second grade annual performance at the Maxine Theater. Hanging out with the little ones reminds me how much I don't want to become a teacher with younger kids. They are soooo hyper yet adorable at the same time.
My graduation took place on May 24th, 2008 at San Diego State University Cox Arena. I graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in Communication and minor in Marketing. It was a really nice event and I enjoyed visiting old college friends. It was a little weird for me because I hadn't talk or seen a lot of them in over seven months so I couldn't remember some names. I was also able to see some of my old teachers like Patricia Geist Martin who gave a phenomenal speech about life being a story and we are the ones who create it. She even asked me to do Graduate School with her and submit my paper to conference. I don't know how ready I am for either of those things.
I know Communication is a great start for me but not something I want to further. I am a Business minded person and I would benefit more from studying Business in the future. That is not to discredit the field of Communication which is very important.
I had my graduation party on May 31st and believe it or not I never took out my camera to take any pictures. I was so busy playing hostess chatting with various people, collecting plates, serving food that I honestly didn't think to take it out. The party lasted from 11am to 11pm with various people coming in and out for various times. I was exhausted by the end of the whole day and drank a lot of Margaritas since every person who came wanted to sit and drink one with me. It felt great to feel all the love and support from so many different people. I was truly honored by some who went out of their way to attend.
So now what? I have been applying for jobs still and now I am going to start calling and bugging people about jobs. I am considering applying for a part time job but I still want to hold out a little bit.
I changed my flight to Kansas to be June 17th-26th so I can see my best friend Amanda before she moves back and briefly see my friends from Italy.
I am also signing up for a Kick Boxing Class Tuesday and Thursday evenings to keep me in shape and give me something to look forward to during the week.
I finished my European scrapbook and I am just adding a couple captions here and there for memory.
I am volunteering at the High School to be panelist who will be interviewing graduating seniors. I am really excited to be able to ask them some hard questions I have been asked when I went through job interviews. It will also be nice to see what they are up to at the high school.
I have a bit of the flu right now which is not very fun. I also have an appointment with a oral surgeon to do a biopsy on a lump I developed on the inside of my lip. We are hoping it won't end up being cancer.

California Road Trip

I know its only been less than a month since coming back to Europe but I still have too much of a need to explore and do great things in my life. I also have a sense of loss right now from not being on the professional career path--well I am at the beginning but it really hasn't taken off anywhere yet.
I started off the road trip by heading down memory lane to Valley Center Sundowners. Here in Valley Center the Chamber of Commerce gets together the third Thursday of each month. This one was held at Two Paws Up.
After the Sundowner I headed to my first location--Sairey's place in LaVerne, California. Sairey is an old friend from third grade. We've been through softball, soccer, powder puff, girl scouts, and middle school and high school graduation together. When I arrived it turned out to be her boyfriends best friend's birthday so we headed to Chili's Bar and Grill (Sairey's work). We chatted and laughed. It was so nice to play catch up with an old friend. Sairey is studying at Cal Poly Pomona.
Friday morning I headed to see Felipe in Pomona California which is about 10 minutes away from LaVerne. Felipe has been my friend since we met through the Palomar College study abroad program in Spain. He has his own painting business and recently painted a tiger of a 20 foot sail boat for $15,000. He is also studying at Cal Poly Pomona Graphic Design. We ate chorizo with eggs for breakfast and then I recieved the grand tour of campus along with an update of his life. After the tour we hit the pool to catch some rays under the 100 degree sun.
Friday Afternoon I was off to see my old foreign exchange student Elena from two years ago. Elena is from the Ukraine but speaks Ukranian, Russian, German, English, and while she stayed at our house she learned Spanish. Elena gave me a tour of her school University of LeVerne and gave me the update on her life. She is going to Germany this summer to work and take German. We both laughed about how if we want to work in the EU we need to marry someone from the EU to get citizenship. (LOL). Her friend Danielle a spunky, upbeat, never stops talking girl told us we had to go to a "Party" at 6pm at the local Sushi place. After seeing the pictures of the people she called friends (Elena doesn't care much for them) I had to check this scene out. Elena and I went but the place was nothing but locals. We didn't care because the party was second to playing catch up. So much for the "party".
After dinner I said goodbye to Elena and headed to my third location Valencia, California. I went to go visit Ashley Nigro and Justin Heddy. Ashley is our neighbor from across the street who my little brother James was in LOVE. She is marrying Justin on June 29th, 2008 and I am one of the bridesmaids. Ashley and Justin moved to Valencia because Justin got a job in law enforcement. They live in a beautiful apartment complex which Ashley says she pays $1700 for the one bedroom place. We rented movies, ate pizza, and chatted. We watched PS I Love You which I was kind of disappointed in the movie. Ashley has two little dogs that are mixed Chihuahuas. Ashley just got the female dog from a rescue center and she was in heat. Little Kingsenth who is only 6 months old followed his natural instinct. They would be attached by . . . and Ashley would freak out. It was hilarious because they were on her bed and she didn't want to touch them or pull them apart. Justin was no help in stopping the situation either. We are waiting a month to see if Ashley will be a grandma. She swears she is going to give me a baby but I am not ready for that responsibility.
In the morning Ashley headed to work early so I got up at 7:30am and took a beautiful back road to Santa Barbara. I got into Santa Barbara around 8:45am so I went straight to the beach to walk along the coast. I walked the pier and all along the boardwalk before my cousin called me. I drove over to University of California Santa Barbara campus to check out my cousin's new apartment. He moved in with a Brazilian girl named Bianca. Oh, I forgot to mention my cousin Alejandro is from Bogota, Colombia and is studying at UCSB on a full ride scholarship to complete his Masters in Liberal Arts. It was so nice to hang out with the family. We went to a documentary screening for a German film maker, Santa Barbara Mission, Turtle Park, and State Street. We walked sooo much and it was REALLY hot! In the evening we all took naps, watched the couple videos I made of my trip, and woke up to eat a Brazilian Meal. It was really good!
Sunday morning I woke up extra early to head out to the beach. I went to read, relax, and journal. Afterwards I went back to the Apartment and we watched Big Fish. This was a beautiful movie with such a neat story behind it. After chatting and exchanging videos I took off for home. As I was heading on the freeway my friend Alicia Harrison, a UCSB student, told me there was a free concert with Saosin at UCSB. So I turned around and went to the outdoor concert. It was a lot of fun and everyone was super nice and welcoming.
The drive back home was definitely a test of patience because I hit traffic for over 10 miles on the 101 which was two lanes and again through ThousandOaks area. The traffic did not damper the whole experience of the trip.
I accomplished a couple things
1. I networked and found out what kind of connections my friends have that will help me.
2. I got to visit some old friends which I was always saying "I'll come up and visit" but never had time to before.
3. I was able to get out of the house, relax, and forget about job applications for a little bit.