Weekend in a nutshell

The good: Anna in town, Lehv in town, an amazing time with BCG as always (Sushi, crab, Best Buy... all good)

The bad: missing out and cancelling Halloween party plans at MSU

The ugly: a few hospital visits until absurd hours of the morning

I regret tomorrow more than yesterday

I think I'm onto two extremes, and I don't know how to balance.

The first and better of the two: having the time of my life with my S.O., new friends, new relationships, and excited for upcoming events and holidays.

The second: terrified and embarrassed of how I'm doing in school to the point where I am trying to figure out what the alternative is incase I am really failing.

Friends etcetera etcetera

I absolutely love BGS's friends! They always give me hugs and good handshakes and genuinely want to know how I am doing or what's new in my life. They remember what I've talked about before and ask how those things are going. And BGS is so good to me - we talk to everyone around us in seperate conversations but he always has his arm around me or is holding my hand, but we also talk to each other every so often as if nothing else matters.

I went to Cafe Felix with BGS last night to meet up with Sammie, Brett and Layla (finally got to meet her!), Lovell, and two of Sammie's friends from Toyota and for wine. Had an absolute blast - couldn't stop laughing and smiling while still having both hilarious, stupid-funny conversations as serious, intellectual conversations (and I'll point out I wasn't even intoxicated).

This past weekend, we went to Sammie's to meet with DB, Hugo, Brett, and a bunch of other people from the FSAE team I'd met a few times before to watch the F1 race. Okay, so this time I was a little bit intoxicated (you know, beer on an empty stomach), but I still had such a good time. Sammie made salad and this really good shredded BBQ pork and Brett brought Hobgoblin (yusss an excellent combination!). I actually really got into the race now that I've been following and watching the previous races.

Sam has been pushing the idea of getting together to do weekly potlucks at his and Lovell's house, on top of our sort of regular Wednesdays out to Cafe Felix. I am so excited to feel like I'm part of their group!

It's no good without you

Well, it's been almost a week filled with a monstrous amount of food, sneaking Jack and Coke's from reception open bars, dinner with Stephanie after finding out she's in SA also, missing a huge day at the office, amazing phone conversations, waking up to my loud hotel neighbors at ungodly early/late times, warm weather, brain overload on subjects I know nothing about, absurdly long business dinners with potential clients, and an educational experience in business development. But I miss my baby doggy and I miss my boy, so I think I'm ready for this conference to be over with. Just a few more days! Here are some pictures. This is just a kinda cool structure outside of the intersection where the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center is:
Pictures from restaurants and hotels along the Riverwalk:
Kasabby (hehehe) and I at Pesca's with a slice of chocolate torte on my birthday :)
One of the guys in the mariachi band that sang happy birthday to me at Cafe Ole:
Remember The Alamo!
Made entirely out of pop cans... saw this at the other end of the convention center:

I've got eight pillows

So I celebrated my birthday ahead of time with BGS yesterday, and I had an amazing time! Dinner at my "world ends tomorrow" restaurant, a crafty date place, the most romantic setting I've ever seen, and jewelry that reminds me of our weekend away :) And he respected my wish to keep it low key!

Today, he drove me to the airport. His 3 days away in NM was pretty bad, I don't know how I'm going to make it through a week!

The flight was brutal. I luckily got the kicking, screaming, crying kid sitting behind me. He also stood up in his seat and put his little hands on my head and headrest, dropped his toy cars in my lap repeatedly, and snapped the pocket on the back of my seat for at least half an hour straight until I fully woke up from my nap.

To add, I'm pretty sure this family or a family just like it moved into the room next to me because all I've been hearing is crying, screaming, and loud parents all day!

At any rate, here's where I am currently curled up as I write:

Stressed backwards is desserts

This week has been quite extreme.

I woke up today and actually wondered to myself how I will physically handle these next couple weeks. I feel like I never sleep well or feel like I still haven't slept for days after I wake. My body weight has been madly fluctuating, which I know is not good.

Senator Levin visited our facility today, and we've been spending the last few days prepping for the tour and what not. Everything worked out well, but as usual, it was incredibly hectic. I find that I've lately had more interaction with some of the other exec's that I don't usually talk to, including Dean. He wandered over to me when everyone was sort of waiting for the Senator to ask how things were going and what not.

Manvinder is here this week, so it's been a little bit weird being around him. I don't know why, but it really really bothers me that he's sitting at Claude's old desk. I keep looking over at his reflection in the window the way Claude would check to see if I'm late (hehehe). And completely by accident, I came around the corner talking loudly to Kristi (we always talk over walls and talk to each other as we walk around) about a meeting I had with JVA, and I said, "Well that was a waste of my time!" Oops.

I had an accounting exam at the end of last week that I got back this week. I flipped out because my recorded exam grade on Blackboard was not very good, but then I received an email from my professor saying that I accidentally skipped a page and she would let me finish it before she recorded my final grade. On the downside, I don't think that one page makes a big enough difference to bring my grade up to what is ideal, but it definitely made me feel better that I hadn't actually done so bad.

Last year, part of what helped me keep less stressed through school was all my dorky hobbies, which I've picked back up.I consolidated my aquariums (you thought I was going to say something about loans or money when I said the word "consolidated" didn't you? haha). It's still in the process, but I haven't been making enough time to maintain all three. So I thought my baby guppies should be big enough to join the rest of the fish, but a few minutes later, I found half a body floating around without a head. Ewww. If you're going to eat each other, at least finish each other off so I don't see any leftovers.

I also have gotten back into scrapbooking, and naturally, I have also gotten back into my habit of spending a ridiculous amount of money on scrapbook embellishments. Even though embellishments are usually no more than $3 or $4 unless you get something real fancy, I always think about what I need/don't have while I scrapbook and make frequent trips to scrapbook stores to buy paper and stickers or what not.

To come in the next week-ish:
Celebrating my birthday with my hunny :)
My week long trip to San Antonio
GVSU with BGS to visit friends

I locked my keys in my car at work today

Completely by accident. I'm usually pretty good certain safety things... I mean I'm really good about locking my doors habitually as I open the door to get out, which is probably why I locked my keys in my car.

When I groaned to Lori about it, she immediately called the police station to find out if this was something they could help with. They said yes, and within 15 minutes, a cop arrived. As he started trying to flip the lock with the long metal device thing, he says to me, "Oh just so you know, it doesn't happen often, but I'm supposed to warn you that your lock on this door may never work again after this." Thanks guy.

10 minutes of trying to unlock my car and he stops and says, "If this were a Ford, I'd have already unlocked this by now".

I guess in a way, that's a good thing (I say this now that my car is already unlocked).

Eat Drink One Woman

I started writing this entry called "Favorite Restaurant Foods" while on the phone with BGS and he thought I was talking about one of those "You Are What You Eat" entries on Eat Drink One Woman. So I decided to write both :)

Name: Tammy

Occupation: Student/Eternal Intern

Borough: Suburbia a half hour outside The D, MI

Relationship: Taken, by someone I'm head over heels for!

What did you eat today?
I'm ashamed to say because I ate so poorly today! An iced tea, croissant, and banana for breakfast/lunch, and another iced tea and dumplings with rice and corn for dinner.

What do you never eat?
Tomatoes... even though I like salsa, marinara sauce, and ketchup. Not a big fan of olives or seafood with tentacles.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:
Shredded Mozzarella cheese, apple juice or high pulp orange juice, baby carrot sticks or some other kind of veggies for dipping, Marzetti's Veggie Dip to go with the previous item, fresh frozen fruits for smoothies or other desserts (in my freezer), eggs, sliced turkey, and a roll of croissant dough.

What is your favorite kitchen item?
My Magic Bullet, which I realize sounds like a sex toy but it is really just a small, powerful blender that I constantly use for smoothies, milkshakes, and dicing foods like boiled eggs for egg salads. Best used for pulverizing though.

Where do you eat out most frequently?
Beirut La Pita but probably because it is close to work, fast, inexpensive, tasty, and everyone I'll go out to eat with likes their food. They have this amazing dip they just call Garlic Dip, which I could live off of.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?
A four course fondue meal at the Melting Pot with a couple close friends (which I've mapped out below), and a ridiculous amount of wine:
1. Cheddar fondue: Aged, medium-sharp Cheddar and Emmenthaler Swiss cheeses, lager beer, garlic and seasonings. Served with diced apples, celery, and bread cubes for dipping.
2. California Salad: Mixed baby greens, Roma tomatoes, walnuts, Gorgonzola cheese, with a raspberry walnut vinaigrette dressing.
3. Coq au Vin fondue: Flavors of fresh herbs, mushrooms, garlic, spices, and burgundy wine. Served with chicken, shrimp, teriyaki beef, broccoli, potatoes, mushrooms, yellow squash, sauces for dipping (curry, chipotle, teriyaki, sour cream & chives, and Gorgonzola cheese dip), and two batters for breading (tempura and a sesame seed batter)
4. Yin Yang chocolate fondue: half dark chocolate, half white chocolate. Served with strawberries, bananas, pineapple, graham cracker covered marshmallows, oreo crumb covered marshmallows, cheese cake, and pound cake.

My favorite restaurant foods

Steve and Rocky's House Salad: Assorted greens, pine nuts, grapefruit segments, red onions, dried cranberries, with a honey-mustard vinaigrette). It's a very simple salad, but with a little bit of fresh ground pepper, I can never stop eating it even when my food arrives.

Buca di Beppo's Chicken Marsala: Sautéed chicken breasts and fresh mushrooms in a sweet Marsala wine reduction. Much sweeter than any other Chicken Marsala I've ever had. Until I had Buca di Beppo's Chicken Marsala, I always felt like chicken marsala sauce at other restaurants tasted more like a gravy with a little wine mixed it, but now my opinion has changed! This is what real chicken marsala is!

Zingerman's Roadhouse Mac and Cheese: Homemade cream sauce and lots of 2-year old raw-milk Vermont cheddar caramelized with the Martelli family's artisanal macaroni from Tuscany. I'll never be able to associate the words "real mac and cheese" with "box" ever again.

Sushi House's Lion King roll: Crab meat, avocado, spicy shrimp salad. Toasted, then topped with crunched tempura. Puts a spicy spin on the California roll. Plus, I've never had sushi toasted before.

Beirut La Pita's Chicken Schwarma Sandwich: Aka "Schmarma" or "Schaaa-warma" as we now call it... grilled chicken, tomatoes (not on mine though!), pickles, and garlic sauce wrapped in pita bread and grilled.

Ajishin's Udon noodles: You can't beat a huge bowl of Udon noodles in a broth with crab, seaweed, green onion, and mushrooms for five bucks. Amazing, and you get your money's worth!

Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli soup: white and red beans, ground beef, tomatoes, and pasta in a savory broth. Think upper-class chili with pasta, but not as thick as chili. And you know I'm a fan of chili!