I'll Be Home for Christmas

I realized I hadn't posted for almost a week... hmm... it'll probably be that way most of the time. :)

So a lot has happened.  In the past 5 days I got to meet some cool IU peeps, I dressed up as Frosty the Snowman at a local festival, got sick, watched a lot of movies because I was sick, and am not getting ready to fly back to Indiana for Christmas with the fam.

I'm really excited about being home, seeing my family, friends, etc... but can I say... I'm NOT excited about the cold weather.  I'll admit, I didn't think I would adapt to the Miami weather as fast as I have.  But last night it was in the mid to upper 50's and I thought I was going to freeze as I walked to my car from the UM basketball game (Go Canes!).  Granted I only had a long sleeved shirt on, but still.  I am not eager to experience the brisk coldness of Indiana again. :)  

Oh well, maybe fun times with fam and friends will keep me warm and fuzzy... haha 

OH!  On a side-note - I've posted pictures of my friend Kathy in the dinosaur mask.  Hopefully they will post with the blog entry about that night. :)

making life better, one "roar" at a time

Last night some friends and I attended the Florida Grammy Chapter Holiday party. It was really crowded, but we had a good time. Free mojitos; how could you go wrong? :) We were excellent at networking (we only talked with each other... hahaha) and even attempted some salsa dancing. (this is where my whiteness was confirmed... HA!) But the most exciting part of the evening came on the way home.

As we made our way from the South Beach parking garage back toward Coral Gables, my friend Kathy found my T-Rex mask in the back seat. (Side story: a friend gave me this

 mask right before I moved to Miami so that I could have some fun with other vehicles on the way down...) Luckily enough, that is what my friend decided to do with it.  So, as we are driving through South Beach my friend has her head out the window, mask on, roaring at cars and passers-by. It was utterly hilarious. I think I laughed so hard I cried. We got some very strange looks and even caught one little girl peaking back while trying not to be

noticed. :)

Hopefully you have a vivid picture in your head. (This mask, by the way, is a plastic, children's Halloween mask.) As we drive down the road we make contact with a woman driving past us. She smiles and seems in disbelief that grown adults would be doing such a thing.  At the next stop light, she pulls up next to us and rolls down her window.   I'll admit, I had no clue what to expect as I began rolling down my window... especially in Miami!  (And remember, my friend still has the mask on with her head hanging out the back window.) The woman says to us, "I have had such a shitty day. Thank you. Thank you for giving me the laugh I needed." With that, she giggled and drove off.

My point is this... yes, we were having a great time and creating fun for ourselves... but it goes to show that laughter IS contagious and you never know who you can affect in the process. I'm so glad we chose to leave the party when we did and were able to brighten this lady's day... with something as simple and silly as wearing a t-rex mask in the car. Coincidence that we ended up in the same place, at the same time? I'd say probably not. Regardless, it makes me happy that we were able to cheer her up while having our own fun as well!

Challenge for the day: Do something silly, spontaneous, and out of the box. You never know who might need it more than you! :)

Schools out, but I'm still busy!

I'm sitting here at work and thinking about all of the things that I have to do and get done before I leave next week for cold and balmy Indiana. haha Part of me assumed that I would have some free time before I left to relax, hit the beach, etc... and I think I still will... but even though Finals are over and I'm done for the semester, I seem to be as busy as ever. But, I can sleep/rest in death, right? At least the things I'm doing are fun! :) Like tonight...

Tonight is a holiday mixer with the Florida Grammy chapter on South Beach; it should be a lot of fun. They do these mixers once a month to create networking opportunities and I've always had class... so I'll actually get to attend tonight! I'm looking forward to it! I need to find brown shoes though, I don't have any. haha Since I moved here it's pretty much just been flip-flops on my feet. Anyone in Miami know where to get a nice but inexpensive pair of brown shoes? haha

That should do it for today... work, shopping, Grammy party. hahaha I have to fit practicing guitar in there somewhere so that Alex doesn't shoot me tomorrow when we have our lesson. :)

Oh... and for my Indiana/non-Florida friends... I would like to mention that it is currently 81 degrees and there is barely a cloud in the sky right now... if you all could work on getting some warm weather in Indiana before the 19th, I'd appreciate it! :)

History in the Making

Tonight I had the very unique pleasure of attending and "running/serving" at the first ever Republican Presidential Forum broadcast by Univision (in Spanish).

As a runner, I was actually able to interact with and meet each of the Republican candidates for President.  It was definitely a neat experience.  I helped out with the Democratic Forum back in September but didn't get to actually meet and of the candidates, just their staffs... this experience was totally different.

First, the overall atmosphere was very odd.  There seemed to be a heavy air that communicated they (the candidates and staffs) really didn't want to be there and really didn't want to interact with us.  That being said... three candidates, but one in particular, stood out above the rest.  Rudy Giuliani's camp was at least kind and he did take the time to shake hands, but it almost seemed methodical and insincere.  Duncan Hunter's people were very nice and seemed very laid back and jovial.  But, the candidate that really seemed genuine, took the time to talk to everyone, and was in good spirits the entire evening, was Mike Huckabee.  When he stopped to say hello he seemed to mean it.  He took time out of his busy schedule to ask what we were studying, how our days were, etc.  His answers during the forum were strong, consistent, and genuine.  I even talked with one of my fellow volunteers (a strong Democrat) and she agreed.  Huckabee's actions and demeanor stood out far above everyone else.  My colleague even wanted to stay to thank and congratulate him afterward.

From my point of view, and in my opinion, there was no comparison between Governor Huckabee and the other candidates... some of which were just ridiculously difficult to please and work with.

So, take it for what it's worth.  But tonight, Huckabee won me over.  I think he is definitely worth a look!

Welcome!

So... this is my first post and really serves as a welcome to my blog!  I will attempt to update as often as possible. :)  I've not jumped on the blogging band wagon yet because I know how bad I can be at keeping up with this type of thing... but I will be doing my best to stay up to date!

That being said, I'm going to jump right in!  I hope you can find something of value in these posts.

Enjoy! :)