Jerica Mellens

All I Ever Wanted

2010-07-18T22:15:00.003-04:00

Well, he didn't go to Jared.

But I think he did even better than that anyway.

Back story.

Adam and I try to have date days with each other at least 2x a month and Adam decided to book me for this Sunday. After a huge let down of not winning that free wedding (and much less, losing it by one point), I was really looking forward to his surprise date. With our schedules - his law school and my new full time job, it's hard to find any time together.

The day started with Adam waking me up eeeeearly and made me pancakes shaped like hearts and with J's in the middle of them. Even though he didn't measure ingredients, they were still delicious :)

Our mystery day continued when our friends started showing up at Adam's house, mainly Katie, Joe, Erika, and Kate! He then told me we were going to Cedar Point.

Puke.

Now, I happen to absolutely hate Cedar Point, but since Adam had been training me since Disney to be able to stand roller coasters, I wasn't totally unwilling ;)

Our first ride was the Magnum. 1st of all, it is WAY scarier than Adam said it would be. I don't care that little kids can go on that ride. It is not made for me. Haha. 2ndly, I kept my eyes closed the entire time. And when I heard Adam tell Erika "It wasn't this one," I closed them even MORE because I was afraid they were talking about more drops.

Oi.

After we got off the ride, we followed the line to view the pictures of the ride, and I knew I would look like a moron because my eyes had been closed the whole time. Katie and Joe pointed ours out to us and my jaw dropped.

I honestly thought it was a joke.

My hands flew up to my mouth and I probably said "What?!?" about 3 times and as I turned to look at Adam, he was pulling out the ring and getting down on one knee.

I stared at him like an idiot saying nothing for forever until he said, "Well......?"

All I could do was nod yes :)

He got up from bended knee and I proceeded to...

Ball my eyes out.

The lady behind the counter told us we made their "happy book" and she wrote our story down. She then charged us for the photos.

This ain't Disney, folks. Where are the freebees when you need 'em? :)

So that's pretty much the story. We spent the rest of the day at the park while the sun beat down on us incessantly. After the park, we saw Despicable Me (GREATNESS), met Erin and Matt for dinner and now I'm here writing this story, super thankful for my new FIANCE who was not only wonderful enough to plan this amazing day for me, but was wonderful enough to invite my friends to enjoy it with us :)

I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him and to become Jessica O'Neil :)

Neglected

2010-02-23T19:35:00.002-05:00

*Disclaimer: I [Erika] just logged on to our blogger account after many many months of neglect and found this unpublished blog. The information is therefore a little old, but good nonetheless, so I decided to post it. :)

It has recently been brought to my [Erika's] attention just how neglected our poor little blog has been in the past months. [Thank you, James].

So this is me trying to be good again. And update you on my life.

I am still working at Blockbuster and as a dental assistant. Both jobs are going swimmingly. It's fine for now as I search for something more related to my field of study. And as I live at home. And as I chip away at the massive amount of student debt I have accumulated over the past four years.

First item of business: Blockbuster.

Things are going fine. There really isn't much to tell here. I really like all the people I work with which really is one of the most important things [in my opinion] to have in a job.

Though, I have learned that I need to be more tactful when turning people down. A while back, a guy asked for my number. My response wasn't, "No, I'm sorry I have a boyfriend." [even though that would be a lie, it does help to sugarcoat it.] Nor was my response, "No, I'm sorry, I don't date strangers." No. This was my reponse: "No. I'm sorry." That's it. No reason why. Just "No." I felt bad afterwards. Also. He used to be a regular. I haven't seen him since. Sorry, Blockbuster.

Also. A couple weeks ago, I was given my very first cheesy pick-up line. Before I tell you what it was, you should know that he was both totally serious. And totally sober. It was a guy who was trying to sell me coupons. After listening to his [LONG] spiel, I turned to walk away, and he said to me, "I just want to let you know that you have a really pretty smile." I said, "thanks," and continued walking. He then said, "And thanks for keeping America beautiful, and I don't mean picking up the litter." Hahaha. Oh, man.

Second Item of business: Dental Assisting.

I really am enjoying being a dental assistant. Again, I really love all the people I work with. They are all SO nice. And I get to do things that I never would have thought I'd do. Ever. In my life. Remember when I was worried about doing extractions? Well, call me morbid, but now they are one of my favorite things to do. It's just so fascinating. And today, the dentist had to sew somebody up after pulling their tooth. I never thought that I would be able to have a part in sewing somebody's body back together. But I did. It was gross. But oh, so fascinating.

Third Item of Business: Living at Home.

I love my family. Sure there are times when we (and by "we," I mean my siblings) bicker, but for the most part we all get along quite well. And I have to say, my mom's home-cooked meals sure do beat what I was eating in the Dining Commons a year ago. I also have full access to a television again and can watch all the sporting events I want, with people who also watch (and enjoy) sporting events. One thing I have to say that I don't like about being home is the dirt roads. I love living in the woods (I mean today, I saw about 7 wild turkeys run through our front yard. How cool is that??). But I do not love the dust, mud, bumps and potholes that come from living on a dirt road. What can I say, though. Ya win some, ya lose some. The moral of this story, though, is: I love my family.

And that's about that for now.
Ok. Peace out.

*Disclaimer: That ends the recently discovered unpublished blog. I will try my hardest to be better. . . even though I am fairly certain we have lost many (if not all) of our readers.

Breathe

2009-10-02T16:06:00.005-04:00

I know, I know.
It's been about a billion years since I [Erika] posted. And for that, I'm sorry. But man oh man. My life has been crrrazy lately. I have to remind myself to breathe...

For those of you who don't know, I got a job as a dental assistant. And no, you're not crazy if you think that is not what I went to school for. I was, in fact a Graphic Design major. But as it turns out, you don't have to have any schooling to be a dental assistant. Don't worry. I'm not the one doing the cleaning. That's the hygenist. I'm just basically the person helping the dentist when he needs his instruments for fillings, crowns, root canals, and yes, extractions.

How did I land this job, you may ask? Well. Let me tell you. Over the summer, I was house/dog-sitting for a family that goes to Timmy and Rebekah's school. The dad is a dentist. Towards the end of the summer, he called me one day, and I assumed it was to tell me that they were going up north again and needed me to watch their doggies. But oh, no. He says to me, "I know this wasn't you're major or anything, but I was wondering if you wanted to be my dental assistant." After the initial shock, I said yes and the rest is history.

I have to say I was rather nervous about doing my first extraction. For those of you who don't know, passing out runs in the family. For my mom, it's the sight of blood. For my brother, it's needles. For my sister it's... well, she almost passed out when my mom had to "pop" one of her blisters. For me, it's always been broken bones. I broke my toe and almost passed out. Not from the pain, but just the thought of a broken bone being in my body. I jammed my finger. Passed out. Diane almost broke her finger, I got woozy. So! Since pulling a tooth can be compared to breaking a bone, I was nervous that I would get in there, he'd pull the tooth, and I'd hit the floor. Not good. But. As it turns out, I survived. The first one I did was about a week or so ago, and it went fine. I mean, it was pretty gross. He had to kind of dig around in her gums to get all of the roots. I had to smack the hole with the suction thing to suck up all the blood, which there was a lot of. My mom wouldn't have been able to handle it. Yuck. But! I didn't even feel woozy. Yes!

I am also still working at Blockbuster. And totally rockin' it out, if I do say so myself.

And when I'm not working at one of those 2 places, I'm finally working on my final class. Let me tell you, it was a trick getting registered for that darn class. Stupid money. Or lack thereof.

Also. In other news. Most of you know [if you read my past posts] that my computer conked out on me this summer. It has been dead since.... oh, I want to say... end of May, beginning of June. Something like that. My very best good friend Jessica had the marvelous idea of taking it in to the computer repair center at SAU. I did that last week, and the initial diagnosis didn't look good. He said that he wasn't sure if he could save my files.

Frick.

There go my 5,000 pictures [that's only a slight exagerration]. There go my 2,000 songs. There go all the papers and such that I wrote [ok, I wasn't too broken hearted about that]. Thank goodness I had all my art work backed up. I still had hope that they all could be saved, though.

Then a couple days later, I got a call from the tech center and he said that he wasn't able to save any of the files.

Oh no.

I was devastated. He had left a voicemail wondering what I wanted him to do next. If I wanted him to go ahead with the reboot and lose all my files or if I wanted to take it someplace else. I called back, hoping to get more of an explanation before I made a decision. And that is when he told me that he WAS able to save my files!!

PHEW.

He went ahead with the reboot, and to curtail this story, I am now typing this blog on MY computer with a software updated and all. For only $50.

There are a couple morals to this story. First and foremost: back up your files! Second, if you are still a student at SAU, take any broken computer to the tech center. Cause they are the best. If I took my computer to the Apple store or Best Buy geek squad, I would have had to pay $60 for them to even look at my computer. Lame.

Ok. Last item of business. [I know this is a long one, but it's been so long in coming, you had to expect a long, rambling blog from me :)].
I don't know how many of you may have heard, but alas, my soulmate Jiri Hudler is no longer a Red Wing. :( I know. So sad. Happy Hudler will be missed. So this means that I need a new soulmate from the Wings, and I know that you are all anxious to know who I will pick.
My new Red Wings soulmate is.... *insert drumroll here* .... Darren Helm!

I mean, c'mon. How can I NOT fall in love with that?? I also love it when the announcer says that the Detroit crowd is "knowledgeable." Yeah. We know our hockey.

Okie dokes. I think that's about it for me. We are going to FLORIDA on Monday, and I'm sure there will be a few blogs sharing that joyous occasion.

Ok, peace out.

Gives You Hell

2009-09-30T16:03:00.002-04:00

I never thought one of my days at Disney could ever trump the horrible awfulness of my days in strollers, but I was wrong.

So wrong.

Yesterday, my dad came into town on business so Megan and I picked him up from Downtown Orlando so that we could go to T-Rex for dinner. This was all well and good, but as my dad was driving, he noticed that another light on my dashboard came on. Previously, it had just been the "ETS off" and "Check Engine" lights, but now the battery light was on. We decided to bring the car in Wednesday to get it looked at.

After dropping my dad off, the seatbelt light and ABS light come on. Megan and I are now five minutes away from home, and the airbag light and check fluid light come on. I'm in panic mode and am starting to come frightening close to Cuss-ville USA. We approach a stoplight and all of the lights go off.

All.

And then my car turns off. Completely and totally.

So Meg and I are trying to wave people around us while we figure out what to do. A cop pulls up behind us and tells me to move.

No kidding. Really? I can't just park here?

We tell him that we're calling AAA, but he tells us to just call a friend and get a jump. Okaaaaay. We call David, but he's at a Halloween party. We call Mike, David's roommate, and he books it over and gives me a jump.

As Mike's following us home, I'm on the phone with him, and I begin to panic again, because the gas pedal is pushed all the way to the floor and my car's slowing down. He tells me to keep going, but then I lose power steering and have to pull over.

Mike then decides we'll push the car home. All two miles home.

So there we are. Mike's pushing and steering, Megan and I are pushing from behind, flip flops flailing, running pell mell. Mike complains that he just showered. Megan has to pee. Things aren't looking up.

Then a humongous bus comes and tries to run us over.

Not only does it try to run us over, it calls us in to security of the apartment complex we're passing to tell on us.

Skeeze.

We pull over and Mike goes to talk to the security guards and they let us in. I finally call AAA and a tow truck comes to tow my car to the nearest repair shop. The tow truck man was in fact very jolly and put me in a good mood, which was a tremendously difficult feat. Dan. What a great guy. He even called me an hour after I got home to make sure I got home safe. Precious.

Anyway, we end up catching a ride home from Erica, a friend of ours and don't get home until about 12:30 am. We had left my dad around 9 pm? Something like that....and poor Megan had to be up for work around 5 am.

Suckiest day in Florida thus far.

To top it all off, I have a broken alternator, alternator belt, ruined spark plugs, and something to do with fluids that need to be flushed. You can add up the cost on your own.

Needless to say, no good.

A Whole New World

2009-09-13T22:07:00.002-04:00

They're revamping my old stomping grounds of Fantasyland. Needless to say, everyone at Disney is straight up freaking out. Enjoy the first sneak peek :)

- Jessica

Don't Stop Believin'

2009-09-11T18:35:00.007-04:00

I'm sorry that I'm the worst at this, but my (Jessica) days are rather full...it takes a lot to just sit down and actually write on the computer, you know?

First of all, there's work. Lots of it. But I do love it. As a Fairy Godmother in Training, I work on princess' hair and tell them stories about my life in the castle - how the Fairy Godmother (as in, Cinderella's) recruited me from Michigan to get me out of the cold weather. Now I live upstairs above the boutique, eat chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, and am 220 years old (You have to be at least 1,000 years old to be a real fairy godmother, so that's why we're all in training. Also, the pixie dust keeps us young looking, even if one princess did tell me I looked my age. Ouch.) Here are the 3 hairstyles:

The Fairytale (my favorite):

The Disney Diva:
The Pop Princess (the hairstyle on the left):

When I'm done working, I work out. I'm kind of in a competition, so I'm work out semi (but not really) -hardcore, even though I honestly think that David and Megan are being paid off to try to deter me from working out. Just a theory, but probably correct.

They distract me by inviting me to do stuff, like go to cast previews of parades, go out to movies, play in the parks, yada yada, yada. They are bad.

The cast preview of the Halloween parade was off the chain. For those of you who know me, you know that is a BIG deal that I liked the parade, considering the complete and utter disdain that I hold for parades in general. It was totally legit though. LOVED it.

The headless horseman totally took my breath away. It was excellent.

We went and saw "All About Steve" in the theaters and I haven't laughed that hard in a theater since "The Hangover."

Oh. My. Word.
SOO freaking hilarious.

In other news, I went to Cinderella's Castle to eat breakfast for Ebonee's birthday (the one with the tiara).

Again, off the chain. I never thought I'd be able to eat there!! Now I've been in every place in the castle that the public is allowed to go.

I know. Be jealous.

Also, Belle played with my hair and told me it was soft and beautiful. Excuse me while I go pass out for a bit from excitement :)

As always, for more pictures of my Disney adventures, click here.

Lastly, I got my first package in the mail yesterday!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I totally 100% loved it :)

Speaking of love, love you all (probably...considering I don't know absolutely everyone who reads this, but I'm gonna go with it's mostly true...)

Jessica

Begin Again

2009-08-30T00:07:00.004-04:00

And so begin the chronicles of my (Jessica's) life at Disney:

About a week ago, I arrived back in sunny Orlando, and it's like I never left. I can still navigate around town, in the dark much less, without my GPS, and I'm a little ecstatic about that to say the least. I'm not quite as pitiful as I was last time I came down here :)

Thursday, I officially started work as a Fairy-Godmother-in-Training in Cinderella's castle!! As if all my dreams werent already coming true now, they put me in one of the world's most recognized landmarks and I get to play with hair and makeup all day long. Score. My outfit is pretty legit this time- you can actually tell that I have a feminine form, so I'm pretty psyched about that. Here's just a sneak preview...maybe someday I'll post a picture of me actually being a fairy godmother. We'll see. Or maybe we won't.

I've already spent a couple days doing princess' hair and makeup and nails. I've even gotten some tips so far...the money kind for all you smart alecks out there.

I'm rooming with a girl, Megan, that I've known since elementary school. It's been great living with her so far - she's a character attendant and I don't envy her job one bit. She has to be able to cut off character's lines and not be influenced by crying, pathetic children whose lives she's just ruined. No fun.

Speaking of no fun, David's the opposite. Last year, I came down to Disney all by my lonesome, but this year, David came down to intern as a character. It's really nice to have someone I know to go to the parks with and hang out with in my rather sparse spare time, but nonetheless, he's a barrel of laughs and we're gonna have so much fun this semester.

Obviously.

Also, don't worry. My love for Prince Caspian hasn't wavered in my absence.

But don't worry - I haven't forgotten about all of you. Some of the best parts of my week thus far have been talking to people, and you know who you are, from home. I really miss you guys, but thank goodness for cell phones/texting/Skype. What lifesavers.

Miss you and love you,
Jessica

Boom, Boom, Pow

2009-08-12T11:48:00.010-04:00

Ok. We know. We've been baaaaaad.
It's been over a month since our last blog.
But absence makes the heart grow fonder...so in reality, the time lapse in our blogs is for your betterment. You're welcome.

Buter got married. And we were there.

But first, we were there for her bachelorette party. There was Mongolian bbq, chocolate fondue fountain, chick flicks and presents. Scandalous, I know.

A week later, she got married, like we alluded to just a paragraph before.

I (Jessica) was fortunate enough to be asked to be Buterface's maid of honor, and Erika, Kate, and Adam made it up the day after to join me for the wedding.

It was a super classy and we were so happy to see one of our best friends get married.

And Erin's niece and nephew were SO cute walking down the aisle!!! They were Erika's favorite part :)

At the reception, things happened.

#1 - Adam did not dance and we were all aghast.
#2 - Boobs McGee was 26. Shocking. (note, she's the one wearing the pink dress...)

#3 - We sat with James Grant and it was great!! Holla!!
#4 - At each table, there was symbol of Erin and Matt's love - let's just say that in reference to our symbol, they'll have a great time "playing putt-putt" on their honeymoon.
#5 - Kate and Adam got closer. Not sure if I was ok with that...or that either of them were either ;)
#6 - Erin and Matt made out a lot. Gross.
#7 - They played Boom, Boom, Pow, Low, and Gimme More all at our request, though they tried to put up a fight.

And that's that.

We also got together with Jamar and Alison and Kate a couple days after the wedding and were able to hang out and have dinner and smell a guy who had used waaaaay too much cologne. Yikes.

That's pretty much it on our end. Well, almost. I started writing a book for Kate and Erika and it's sooooo good (aka, pretty cheesy, but intriguing), that I'll probably post a couple chapters at a time on my blog, hopefully get noticed by someone who wants to make it into a real book (and a movie to boot) and live happily ever after.

Get excited.

Love always,
Jessica and Erika

P.S. If you want to see more pictures from Buter's party and wedding, click here to see more.

Beat It

2009-07-14T19:49:00.007-04:00

So, I [Erika] think the time has come to update you all on my life.... although, I'm not so sure there is much to update really. But. I'll tell ya what I know.

I think the first order of business is to say that the Red Wings broke my heart this year, and there is nothing more that I am going to say about that. It's hard for me to even write that much. Pathetic? Maybe. But it is what it is. Also. I hate Sidney Crosby. And that is that.

Also. Due to some changes in teams this summer, I have been forced to reevaluate my soulmates on some teams. If you are unaware of my soulmate rules, check 'em out. For those of you who don't know, my Pistons soulmate - Amir Johnson is officially gone. He was traded or something. So sad. But luckily, Rodney Stuckey is still around, so he is now my new Pistons soulmate.

Things aren't looking very good for my Red Wings soulmate Jiri Hudler right now either. Who wants to play in Russia?? Apparently Hudler. I'm going to put this change on hold, though until I hear something more concrete.

Last bit of sporting news - shout out to Granderson [my Tigers soulmate], Inge [my favorite tiger - still love him despite the 0 homeruns at the homerun derby], Verlander, and Jackson for making the All-Star game.

Haha. Now that I've bored you all to sleep with my soulmate rantings, I'll tell you what's really going on in my life. :) Which really isn't much.

I finally saw Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen and absolutely loved it. Some day I want to own one of those Camaros. And I'm not usually one for a sports car. I like Jeeps. But man oh man. That's a good looking car. And Shia LaBeouf.

Enough said. Remember when he was Louis Stevens on Even Stevens? Haha. I do.

I'm still working at Blockbuster and haven't made too many mistakes yet. *knock on wood* And no crazy stories yet either. At least none that I'm going to put on here. ;) How's that for mystery? I also got offered a job at Old Navy, although I'm not sure I'm going to take it because I also interviewed for a job at a shoe store, and it went well. I'm hoping they offer me that job. I find out tomorrow if I got that. And just so you all know. These aren't jobs that I plan on having for a long time. Just enough to get me through the last class of mine and on my feet with some of these student loans that are going to start coming due soon. I don't aspire to be a shoe lady. :)

And I think that's about that. Sorry for the rambling, boring blog that this was. I just felt like it had been a long time since I updated... so I updated. :)

One more thing - how 'bout all these celebrity deaths? Michael Jackson [tribute to him w/ the title], Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, and Billy Mays? Crazy-land.

Ok. Peace Out.

Beyond the Sea

2009-07-07T17:56:00.007-04:00

Now that I'm (Jessica) half way through my trip, I feel like I can tell you about some of the "highlights."

Highlight #1 - It's not so much a highlight...just a huge part of our vacation...I'm hugely allergic to something down here...my eyes have been all irritated and allergy-y and it kind of sucks. I'm not a fan. And I've gone through a whole bottle of eye drops. Yuck. Today I've been good though - no allergy eyes. Granted, I didn't leave the room today, but still...

Highlight #2 - Putt-putt is only one of my favorite things in the world. I suck quite a bit at it, but it's always fun. And I don't care that I have bad form - it's only putt-putt...plus, I've been promised that I will be taught how to have correct form...but after the 9th hole.

Highlight #3 - Ripley's Believe It Or Not Aquarium...I really get so much joy from aquariums and zoos, which is interesting considering I hate animals and nature...but considering that I don't have to touch them, I think that makes sense as to why I love them. Also, this jellyfish picture is one of my favorite animal pics I've ever taken. I love it. Not to toot my own horn or anything...

Highlight #4 - Cirque de Chine - It's a little like Cirque de Soleil, but with Chinese people. This particular cast were the performers at the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. Somewhere around the 1:30 mark was my favorite part of the show...

Highlight #5 - Phone calls from back home. I know I'm supposed to be getting away from home on vacation, but it's sooo good to know that I'm loved :)

Highlight #6 - I've beaten my dad 3 out of the 4 times we've played rummy this week...and when he beat me, it was by 10 points.

Peace out
- Jessica

P.S. Low light of my life? Sheed is no longer a Piston :(

My heart is breaking into a million gazillion pieces.
I loved him more than anything.

Fire Burning

2009-07-04T12:50:00.008-04:00

So...I'm a horrible person.

I (Jessica) haven't blogged in a million billion years.
But thanks to Theresa, she reminded me of this, so lucky for the rest of you.

I feel like a lot has happened in my life...it's just a matter of actually remembering it...

I do remember that my parents went to AZ for a week. And being that I hate being in my house alone, Adam, Hal, Kate, and Erika were nice enough to come spend one day with me so that I wouldn't get too lonely.

And Adam actually won a game. Twice. He broke his long time losing streak against us ;)

We then watched Se7en...and I only got scared once...well, startled...I did accidentally smack Adam...it's a good thing he's tougher than I am.

The next day, I went out with Adam and Hal and Anita and we went and saw the Hangover. I laughed way more than I thought I would, and everyone loves a good laugh, so that was pretty great.

Also, Adam's winning streak went on when he and Hal taught me how to play Hand and Foot. I'm pretty sure that me and Adam slaughtered Hal and Anita....but I'm not sure, because Hal wouldn't let us count the points in the last round...but if he had, I think we would have won like one million to ten...just sayin'...I believe we also drove Hal to Cussville, USA.

Now I'm in Tennessee on family vacation, minus Jeremy who couldn't get off of work. The trip down was slightly a nightmare...it was hotter than the blazes in the back of the car being the AC wasn't working. I was rather pathetic, really...sprawled out in the back...and for some reason, I really thought the only appropriate way to talk was by whispering to conserve energy...desperate times call for desperate measures.

Also, my dad scalded something in the kitchen and filled our whole timeshare with smoke.

Lastly, I wanna say that I love my best friends so much. Especially after this past week.
And you know who you are.

- Jessica

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2009-06-23T12:24:00.005-04:00

So.
Diane and Kendal are up from South Carolina for a few weeks. I [Erika] was able to see them a couple weekends ago. My family has an annual kickball game [apparently... heh. This was the first I had ever heard of it]. So we went to that. And played 0 kickball. But it was nice seeing that side of the family. I hadn't seen any of them in a long time.

On the way home, Diane asked Kendal and I what we wanted to do the next time we hung out. Kendal said, "How 'bout go to Cedar Point?" expecting to get shot down. But much to our surprise, Diane said, "Ok. How about tomorrow?"

What?!

Well, to truncate this story, that's what Kendal and I did. We went to Cedar Point the very next day, and it was grand. I hadn't been since 10th grade. I had never even been on the Millennium Force. But we did it! And the Millennium is now my favorite. Followed immediately by the Maverick. Also GREAT.

The thing that freaked me out the most was the Power Tower. Heh. We went on the one that takes you up slow and then drops you. We started out and were probably about 15 feet in the air, and I already felt really high. Not a good sign when you still have about 225 feet to go. We started going up. And up. And up and up and up and up. When you finally get to the top of the darn thing, they hold you up there for about 15 agonizing seconds before they drop you. Oooiiy. But needless to say, I went on the Power Tower and lived to tell the tale. And I'm glad I did it. It was fun. :)

I think the thing that freaked Kendal out the most was the monorail thingy. Heh. She was concerned that the cables would snap. Hence her face in this picture, I think:

Then the next day, we went strawberry picking. And got about 20 pounds of straberries. It was fun. And I love strawberries, so it's good that we got so many. We're just all-stars when it comes to picking strawberries, really.

This is only about half of the strawberries that we picked.

All-stars.

More All-stars.

I think that's all I have to report on. I started working the register at Blockbuster and haven't messed up anybody's money yet, so that's always a good thing. :) And despite the fact that I want a job that works me more and I want to be able to work on my class more [my computer's still fried...], it has been great being at home w/ my family and eating delicious dinners made by my mommy. :)

Ok. Peace out.

PS - Yay for Steve Yzerman getting into the Hall of Fame! :)

Come See About Me

2009-06-09T14:56:00.006-04:00

So. It's been one heck of a summer so far. I [Erika] don't even know where to start, really. So many things have happened. And it's all 100% weird cause I don't have school to go back to in the fall [hopefully]. But yeah, like I said. Lots of things have happened. Both good and bad. And here's a list to fill all y'all in on my life. :)

1. Tigers' game.

This has definitely been one of the highlights of the summer so far for me. Rebekah won Tigers tickets at a thing a few months ago, and let me tell you. They were GREAT seats. Rebekah and I were sitting on the 3rd baseline only about 15 rows back. Best seats I've ever had. It was spectacular despite the loss. And believe it or not, the good news doesn't end there! It was kids' day, so if you were with a kid, then you were able to go on the field w/ them as they ran the bases. So much fun. I can now say that I have been on the field at Comerica Park, ran the bases at Tigers' Stadium, thrown a football on Ford Field, and skated at the Joe Louis Arena. Palace of Auburn Hills, here I come. :)

In front of the Tigers' Dugout. Yeeaah.

My Tiger: Brandon Inge. Adam's tiger: Gene Lamont

2. Weddings galore.

As you can see from Jessica's post a few down, we went to Alyssum's wedding. And then the very next weekend we went to Andrew's wedding. They were both fun. I love dancing at weddings. :) It's my favorite part. I'm still waiting for somebody to play Boom Boom Pow, though. Buter - it's all you. As for the ceremonies, they're nice too. . . but, I don't know. It's just weird seeing so many people my age getting married. Goodness. I'm not an adult yet! Why are people my age getting married?? But. It's been great for seeing all my friends. It'll be weird not going to a wedding this coming weekend.

3. RED WINGS.

They are on their way to win their 2nd cup in 2 years. And I love that it is agains the babies of the NHL - Malkin and Crosby. Good gracious. Do I hate them! My hatred for Crosby rivals that of Barry Bonds and Kobe Bryant. And if you know me and my position on these people, you know that is saying something. But... *sigh* Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Datsyuk (welcome back, you were missed), Franzen, Maltby, Abdelkader (Who'd ever heard of this guy??), Osgood, Draper, Helm, Rafalski, Cleary, Filpulla, Hudler, Homstrom, Hossa, Kronwall, Samuelson, and any other Wing I might have missed, you all hold my heart. Thanks for being awesome. Also. Thanks, NBC for taking away JoeVision, I was really hoping that I wouldn't be able to go downtown and enjoy the game on the big screen. It's much appreciated. SIKE.

4. Job searching/Classing.

Yes. Classing - it's a word. It means to be in class and doing things for that class. Blah is what I have to say to this part. Blah. Blah. Blah. Who knew this is what came after graduation. Ok. I guess I did, but that doesn't mean I am enjoying it in anyway. But. Just so you know what I'm doing with my life, right now I'm just looking for a temporary job as I finish up my last class and prepare for my art show in the fall. I did get a job at Blockbuster [yes, with Jessica], and I have a couple other prospects right now... but I will mention those later if something actually comes from them. But for now, all I have to say is: jobs, class, loans, money [or lack thereof], and tuition - BOO!

5. Computer crash. . . ?

Yes. You read that right. My computer just might be done-for. Which totally sucks. And I don't really want to spend too much time writing about this cause it sucks, but. Yeah. I'm using Timmy and Rebekah's computer right now. :( My poor little Mac . . . Come back to me . . . please?

6. Adam.

Haha. Yes, Adam - you get your own point. He and Hal (Whose birthday is today, by the way - happy birthday, Hal!!) came over to Jessica's house and we played [and won] games like Catchphrase and Uno attack. And then watched Taken. Great movie . . . I just wish it wasn't hyped so much [andrew...]. And our interactions w/ Adam don't end there. On Sunday, Jessica and I went to his church to hear his band play. Adam plays the bass, and it was great fun. We didn't even get lost on the way there. Or get a ticket because of Jessica's lead foot. But if you ever go to one of Adam's concerts, don't get excited if there is a microphone stand in front of him. He is probably not going to sing. Even though I wish that he would. And then we went to Red Robin for lunch. And Adam got egg on his burger. Weird? Yes. Jessica, Hal, and I all got normal lunches. And it was fun.

Umm.... I think that's about all I've got for you right now. Ooh. I did love the storms yesterday. You know, as long as they don't cause mass destruction, I am totally fascinated by storms.

Also. One more thing. I'm reading Captivating, and it's so good so far. :)

Ok. That is all.

Peace out.

Don't You Want Me

2009-06-02T08:00:00.002-04:00

Well, it's another summer at Blockbuster for me (Jessica), so I'm back to reviewing new movies in order to get a blog quota.

He's Just Not That Into You (PG-13)

This was one that I personally loved. On Valentine's day earlier in the year, Erika, Kate, and I went and saw this in the theater and it kind of opened my eyes a bit to what guys may be thinking...especially in the whole "pre-dating" mode. I think that the 2nd time around, it was still just as good for me. I'd have to give it 3 1/2 stars.

However.

My mom, dad, and brother all didn't care for the movie. Maybe you can only appreciate it if you're a single girl who doesn't understand what guys are thinking...I dunno. I liked it.

Revolutionary Road (R) and Defiance (R) also come out this week, but we didn't get them in time for me to rent them before they're released to the public. But from the previews, I can't say that I'm heartbroken I didn't get to watch them early...

I saw the new Pixar movie, UP, and it was great. I was scared out of my mind, considering it was in 3D (for those of you who don't know, 3D is one of my worst fears, 2nd only to 4D movies...) but it was super cute and not actually scary. It was right up there with Toy Story in greatness. LOVED it.

On a separate entertainment note, last Friday was Jay Leno's last Late Show, so here's a clip from one of his "Jaywalking" tournaments as a tribute to my favorite nighttime talk show host:

"Well that's boring."
Oh Adrien. :)

Green Eyes

2009-05-31T19:21:00.006-04:00

Green eyed Alyssum finally went and got herself married to her Canadian. And we saw it.

Yesterday, we (me-Jessica, Erika, Kate, and Andrew) made the perilous journey into the frozen winter wasteland of Canada to watch the nuptials of Alyssum and Matt.

We got held up at the border for a little bit going into Canada (the border patrol man was totally flirting with Kate)...and got lost in the cones trying to get to the bridge...and we pulled up to the border way before we were supposed to. It's quite confusing...they should have more signs telling us newbies what to do. But at least we didn't get so lost that we missed the entrance into Canada and went back to the States like Jamie. :)

Once we hit the border, we realized that we left the wedding present in Kate's room. We're a bunch of geniuses.

The ceremony was great and the dancing afterward at the reception was even better. But even better than that were the bikers that were chillin' outside of banquet hall. Kate was in love...with the bikers...and the border patrolman...and a Canadian.

The way back to the US was pretty uneventful until we made it to the border again. I was really excited because I had won a bet with Adam, so I was texting him...and the border patrol man said something to the effect of "any other border patrol man would have gone (pardon my...or rather...his french) 'ape shit' on me for having my phone out and we'd get stuck in an hour long process of being checked at the border." Again, more signs with more directions would have been appreciated.

We're so lucky that we didn't get arrested or detained on this trip...

P.S. On a side note, last week, Erika, Kate, Adam, and Hal came over and we had a game/movie night. I would just like it to be known that Adam and Hal lost to a bunch of girls while playing Catchphrase. For shame.

Chocolate Rain

2009-04-28T00:17:00.009-04:00

What do you do when it's hotter than the blazes in your dorm room and all of your Easter chocolate is melting?

Have a fondue night, of course!

No, we didn't melt our already melting chocolate, but we did have a fondue party nonetheless and it was the best. First, I (Jessica) dropped my Hannah Montana sunglasses in the fondue. Then a bunch of really cool people came over.

And then more really cool people came over.

And then we cleaned up.

It was awesome.

On Friday, Kate went home for a job interview (and it was a success I might add), so Erika and I were on our own. We watched John Tucker Must Die and I think almost an entire season of FRIENDS. We also went to McDonald's looking like this:

Yikes.

On Saturday, it was just a lazy day afternoon. I'm trying to get Erika hooked on the TV show, Chuck, and I think...I think...it might be working.

Chuck is just so cute and endearing :)

After this, we went and saw 17 Again in the theaters.

#1 - Zac Efron = SO HOT.
#2 - I haven't laughed that hard in the movie theater since I don't know when..
#3 - We popped our own popcorn and snuck it into the theater.
#4 - Zac Efron = SO HOT.

On Sunday, it was back to the daily grind. I went to the photo lab and printed this picture for our "solitude" assignment, and three things came of it.

#1 - I was able to print it in one shot...that never happens. What usually takes me 3 hours to make, only took me 45 minutes.
#2 - I kind of electrocuted myself a little bit while in the lab, but I'm ok now. Lesson learned = stay away from outlets after handling prints in the stop bath...
#3 - Everyone in my class loved it in the in class review.

And this is the last picture I printed...it was supposed to be a Christian photograph. It also got rave reviews :)

It's also better looking in person.

That's pretty much it, I think...I'm probably forgetting something...but that will get added eventually, I guess...

P.S. One day, Ryan Ploch will be famous.

We Win!

2009-04-19T12:53:00.004-04:00

This is epic.

This is the first blog since August that Erika and I have actually written TOGETHER.
Yowzas.

Also epic: this weekend.
It included Relay for Life, Mario Kart tourneys, baseball games, Taco Bell, Meijer runs, Friends marathons...and CORN DOGS (or, as labeled, corn battered frankfurters on a stick).

#1 - Relay for Life.
It was a pretty dinky turnout this year, but our team raised 1/5 of the total money earned.

Also, When the Clouds Run for Cover played a concert for us

and Erika I walked a total of 2 hours around the track with lots of fun people.

Pablo made another appearance this year and enjoyed it thoroughly, mostly due to the fact that he never got kidnapped. He just got loved on by a little girl.

#2 - Mario Kart Tourneys
We SLAUGHTERED Adam in MK. A lot of talk for someone with very little game ;)
As if anyone could hope to beat us.

#3 - Baseball game
This was the first athletic event that Erika and I had been to all year. Quite a big difference from last year. Our team is pretty much amazing, as usual. And the sun was shining, which was glorious. The only not glorious thing was the ladies behind us who were talking about us like we couldn't hear them. Too bad for them, I have super sonic hearing when it comes to eavesdropping, not real life.

#4 - Taco Bell
Tasty as always, and I won $25 off of my cup! YAY!

#5 - Meijer run
Erika and I witnessed a sight not suitable for the internet. But we also got the makings for fondue and we got corn dogs!!

#6 - Friends marathon
Is any weekend without our favorite friends a complete one? I think not. They'll be there for us!

#7 - CORN DOGS!!
When you mix corn dogs with Friends marathons, life is just that much more worth living :)

Other than that, it's hotter than the blazes in our dorm room, so I'm going to go to the art building now to do photo stuff and Erika is going to cut her toe off in protest.

Ok, Peace out.
Jerica Mellens

PS - Red Wings are totally dominating. Series: 2-0. For those of you who live under a rock.

Let's Go to the Zoo

2009-04-15T17:52:00.007-04:00

For Easter, my (Jessica's) parents took me to the Cleveland Zoo.

Contrary to popular belief, I do not think that this zoo belongs in the top 5 in the US...or whatever it's ranked...

I love the Detroit Zoo. It was the first ever zoo that allowed animals to live in their "natural habitats" as opposed to keeping them in cages, like the Cleveland Zoo. Boo.

Free - YAY!!

VS.

Not free - Poor little jaguar :(

But it was nice to get a little time off and go on a vacation with the family. Even if this monkey didn't think so. He's mostly mad that he's in a cage :(

Poor little monkey.

In better news, one of my photos from photography class got hung up on the "Photo of the Week" wall! Yay!! I'll scan a copy in...eventually...as soon as I get to the library...but it won't be the exact picture, because that one's ON THE WALL!!!!

Oh. Lastly...

Animals Rule!

Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)

2009-04-11T13:31:00.008-04:00

For those of you who don't know, I [Erika] am a sports fan. I love all sports... well... almost all sports. I'm not a golf fan or a nascar fan... or any other weird sports fan. But I love hockey, baseball, basketball, and football. Not necessarily in that order... although hockey is my favorite.

Since I have this love for sports, I have chosen a soulmate from all of my favorite teams. Now, a soulmate is very different from favorite player. For example, my favorite Piston is Tayshaun Prince, but he is not my soulmate for 2 main reasons: 1. He is too old for me. and 2. He is married. So the rules for soulmates are that they must be unmarried, and they must be close to my age. And once I pick a soulmate, I am loyal to that soulmate until they are traded or leave the team for some other reason.

Now that you know the basic rules for soulmate picking, it's time for me to share who mine are. I have one from the Red Wings, Tigers, Pistons, and.... Lions... I think. I don't pick college soulmates cause... well the longest they can be my soulmate is for 4 years... and... well, I just don't.

Red Wings
Soulmate: Jiri Hudler - 3 years older than me.

I just decided this last night. It was between him, Jonathan Ericsson and Vlaterri Fillpula. And I know it's risky cause Hudler might be leaving at the end of the season. But... he's just so great. By great, I mean not necessarily skill-wise, because I think Filpulla might have the edge on him there, but I mean he's just so endearing. He always seems so happy. Happy Hudler. He was also the reason the Wings won the first shoot-out that I had ever seen. And his interview afterwards was so great. The person asked him what was going through his mind as he skated out to center ice and he said, "Don't fall... Don't fall... Don't fall." Hahaha. So great.

Favorite: Undecided
This always stresses me out. I just can't choose. And when I think I can... Like... Zetterberg, for example [he's always high on the list]. I start thinking about how great he is and how he should be my favorite. Then Franzen pops into my head. SO great. Then Datsyuk pops into my head. SO great. Then the old favorites pop into my head - Maltby, Draper, McCarty. Also great. Then Lidstrom pops into my head... and it's about at that time that I just resign to the fact that I can't choose one favorite Wing.

Tigers
Soulmate: Curtis Granderson - 6 years older than me

I think this choice is pretty self-explanatory. Even though 6 years is a bit of a stretch, how can I not choose Granderson? He's great. In all aspects. He's a great player - how many triples? And just take a look at that picture. What a catch. And he's smart. Read his blog - great writer. And, let's be real, he's attractive. Great all-around soulmate for sure.

Favorite: Brandon Inge
I was excited... but worried when they signed Cabrera. Cause I have always loved Inge and I didn't want him to be released or traded. I'm sooo glad they got things straightened out. Inge has been my favorite since the Tigers sucked and he will be until he leaves. For reasons like yesterday in the home opener - he made a spectacular catch. So great.

Pistons
Soulmate: Amir Johnson - about 3 months older than me.

This choice shows my loyalty to my soulmates. Back when the Pistons were good, like - really good, they picked up a player that was the same age as me. At the time, 18. I was immediatly excited about this and chose him as my soulmate. He was actually the first of any of my sports soulmates. He has since come a long way with the Pistons. From being a bench warmer to an actual player, he has been an exciting soulmate to watch. But, to be honest, if I hadn't already picked Amir, Rodney Stuckey would be my soulmate. But, hey! No regrets. :)

Favorite: Tayshaun Prince
Ever since Tayshaun made the "block heard 'round the world" on Reggie Miller, he has been and forever will be my favorite. I also just love his quiet style of play. I still say he's way underrated.

Lions
Soulmate: Calvin Johnson - 2 years older than me.

Much like Granderson, I think this choice is pretty self-explanatory. He's the best player on the Lions. And I have always been a sucker for wide receivers, running backs, and corner backs. And, whataya know - Calvin Johnson's a wide receiver, and excellent one at that. It was a travesty that he wasn't in the Pro Bowl last year. Just cause he's on the worst team.... ever, doesn't mean that he's not great.

Favorite: Calvin Johnson
Let's be real... I don't have much to choose from when it comes to the Lions. So my soulmate and favorite are the same.

So there ya have it.
I love sports and those that play sports. I also love the sunshine and warmth we've been having lately. Just to throw that out there. :)

Ok, peace out.

Walk Like an Egyptian

2009-03-30T22:50:00.008-04:00

Erika and I were observing a cultural phenomenon the other day.

While walking to McDonald's for some weekend ice cream, we discussed a drama class that I took in 7th grade where we analyzed the way that people walked. These are some of the things that my drama teacher said you could assume about people by their walking body language.

*Disclaimer: If you walk like one of these things and are offended by the description, it's not my theory. Don't even try to get mad at me, Andrew.

Walk #1 - The Sasquatch (my name for it, not his)

Essentially, this is walking with your head far forward. It means that you're not really aware of others around you, nor do you care what they think. You're highly motivated, and might be a little socially awkward.

Walk #2 - The Peacock

This is when a person walks with their chest being the forward central point of their body. It's pretty much like you have a string around you, and whatever your walk type is, that's where the string is pulling you from. (I know this picture sucks, but it's the best I could find...)

These people tend to be pretty well grounded, but depending on how far they stick their chest out can tell you how much they think of themselves. Super far out = pretty pompous. Erika is this walk but Erika is not pompous.

Walk #3 - The Hipster

This one is when you walk with your hips pulling you forward. I'm guilty of walking like this. I could not find a picture of this, but I did find a picture of a man doing an exercise.

People who walk like this tend to be popular and have a lot of self-esteem...sometimes to the point of arrogance...Spot on.

Walk #4 - The Sloucher

These people walk with their shoulders forward. They usually have little to no self-esteem or have been made fun of for being tall and try to compensate by being "shorter." Sometimes, this one can be mistaken for the Sasquatch. Don't be fooled.

So, that's all I want to talk about. Now you can all go around analyzing/judging people because of their walking habits.

You're welcome.

P.S. Emily, this one was for you. Not because I was thinking of a walk that you do, but now you have to get me a certain celebrity's phone number ;)

Carolina on My Mind

2009-03-23T23:48:00.012-04:00

Back by popular demand.
Sorry we have neglected for so long. I [Erika] am taking 18 credits this semester and it's whipping my butt. So that's my excuse. I'm not sure what Jessica's is. Maybe she will say in her next post. :) Whenever that may be.

Lots has happened in our lives since our last post, obviously. But. I'll skip the play-by-play and just go straight to the newest most exciting information: SPRING BREAK!

Yeah.
It happened last week and it was... marvelous. I really can't explain just how great it was. It was so nice to have a break from school. And a fun one at that. Jessica, Kate, Alyssum and I all headed down to Greenville, South Carolina for the week. And like I said. It was great. I think I'm gonna just do what I always do and make a list of the highlights for y'all. [Yes. the "y'all" was on purpose to get you all in the southern mindset].

Ok. Highlights. And... go:

1. On the way down we stopped at a gas station that was so old you couldn't even pay at the pump. It was great. And the people inside were so nice.

2. Alyssum/Jessica accidently super-sized it at Arby's. Hahaha. It was so funny.

3. We ate in Buttermilk. Aka: the greatest place on earth where everything is funny.

4. We called one of those "how's my driving?" numbers on the back of a semi to report a good driver. You could tell the phone lady wasn't used to that. And she called me "sir." Oiy.

5. I saw a dead dog on the side of the road and Jessica and Kate took advantage of my dismay and took the... best... picture ever taken of me.

6. Kate waved at a trucker who then followed us at a pretty high speed [for a semi] for quite a while.

7. When we went to Sonic, there was somebody there w/ narcolepsy who had been there for hours and just kept passing out in the car. I'm not making this stuff up. I swear.

8. The grass was green. And the sky was blue.

9. We climbed on the waterfalls of Falls Park even though it's "strictly prohibited." Shh, don't tell. ;)

10. We went to the "coolest toy store on the planet" and I thought a chair was a hat. Don't even hate on me. It would have been a sweet hat.

11. Alyssum FELL. hahahahaha.

12. We went downtown on the St. Patty's night for the Blarney Bash. Let me tell you. It was an experience:

13. There was a drunk couple there who.... well.... let's just say were a little too close to each other for too long in a far too public place.

14. And. There was a "drunk" child. Ok... let's hope not literally, but it sure seemed like it.

15. And. There was an Irish Gypsy Fairy Queen. She wanted to dance w/ everybody. But we wouldn't let her dance w/ us cause she was weird. And obviously we don't dance w/ weird people.

16. Kate and I got a picture with the guitarist from Gypsy Soul - the band that was playing. They were really good, but the man held us a little too tight and too long for comfort. Haha.

17. A man with long braided pigtails [we now refer to him as Pocohontas] was impressed with how excellent we all smelled. What can I say? We aim to please.

18. We went to Table Rock and went on a slew of adventures there too:

19. A boy took his shirt off so that we could gaze lovingly at his muscles. Or lack thereof.

20. Kate and Kendal and I went off the path quite a bit and always took the adventure way. Which means going over trees that would be much easier to go under. And Jessica and Alyssum did a great job taking beautiful pictures of it all.

21. Kate and I climbed a tree. Kate fell in a hole. Hahaha. Yes. I do get joy from seeing people fall, ok?

22. Jessica, Kate and Alyssum experienced Waffle House for the first time. They liked it... except for the gas that followed. Yes, I'm sure you alll wanted to know about that. :)

23. Our waitress there said that we were all very polite and then compared us to teenagers. But it was all good in the 'hood cause she was so nice about it.

24. Jessica and Kate are in love with the Game Show Network. And we almost got to be on it and talk to Carlton from Fresh Prince.

25. We got all dressed up and went downtown for dinner, and a man looked at Kate with the opposite of disgust.

26. We went to Liquid Highway cause we got mad at another coffee place for not letting us sit where we wanted to. But it all worked out for the better cause the barista there was HOT. And he put a heart shape in my coffee. SCORE.

27. We were slightly scared by a homeless man trying to talk to some girls and following them. Yikes. Don't worry, though. He didn't follow us. Kate was too fast for him.

28. We had wrestling matches galore. Kate and I always won.

29. Kate and I got cool sunglasses, I got a cool ring, Jessica and Alyssum got cool dresses, Kate got cool earrings and a headband and Alyssum got a cool... something else. :) [for a picture of Jessica's dress, look at our dressed up picture. for a picture of Alyssum's dress, email her and ask her to take a picture of her in it and send it to you. for a picture of our cool sunglasses, look below. for a picture of Alyssum's something else dream on]

30. Kate and I are the best singers in the world. We did a cover of All-American Rejects' "Gives you Hell." Let me tell you. It's great.

31. "Truth," My workshirt, Bat Cave, Buttermilk, GSN, Liquid Hotguy are just some of the many things that will now live in infamy because of this trip.

So that was our spring break in a list of 31 highlights. Hope you all enjoyed it.
And sorry again about the neglect. We will tryyyy to be better.

Ok. Peace out.

Life in Technicolor

2009-02-02T13:25:00.015-05:00

All right, folks. Here is part 2 of my 2 part Costa Rica blog. :)

Day 12 -
Today was kind of just a travel day. We made our way to the Arenal Volcano. And the place we are staying at is a BEAUtiful resort type place today. When we got there we all just lounged about by the pool and the hot tub. It. Was. Spectacular.
Couple things I noticed today: (1) I wish I could sleep better on the bus. (2) I am SO thankful for my iPod. (3) When you tell people that you are getting credits while sitting in a hot tub, they will laugh at you.

Day 13 -
Today would have been 100% cooler had it not been rainy and cloudy. But, hey. You win some, you lose some. We went on a boat ride today to the bottom of the volcano which was really neat. I am always up for a good boat ride. :) We also went to the hot springs. Which was cool. Like... 8 or so natural hot tubs. Spectacular.
Couple things I noticed today: (1) Ellen Degeneres is hilarious. (2) Lava looks like a white cloud coming down the mountain during the day. (3) Iguanas look like mini-dinosaurs. (4) The hot springs weren't quite as natural as I would have expected/hoped. It was kind of like a little mini-resort. I thought we would have to like... hike to them.

Day 14 -
Today was our first day in Limon. I have never felt so much like an outsider. I don't like walking around unfamiliar cities at night. Oiy. I just felt like such a tourist today. And I don't like that feeling. Not to mention the fact that everytime we went out somebody was stressing the importance of keeping your bags in front of you at all times. Yikes.
Couple things I noticed today: (1) if a car sees you crossing the street, they don't slow down. They speed up. (2) Talk about a snap back to reality - coming from the resort type place here. I can see why they think all Americans are filthy rich.

Day 15 -
Beach day! Oh my gosh. It was great. We got up. Ate breakfast. And went to the beach. Now, I don't tan. So I therefore normally am not a lay-out-in-the-sun-all-day type of person. But. This was great. I had so much fun. And I saw wild monkeys.
Couple things I noticed today: (1) the monkeys are very bold. They will come right up to you and steal chips out of your hand. (2) Yeah. I don't tan. (3) I got offered a joint. It's not really something I noticed, but still worth mentioning.

Day 16 -
So today we made our way back to San Jose. It's funny how this city that I was so intimidated by has become our home away from home. I love the Don Carlos Hotel. If you're ever in San Jose, stay there. :) We had dinner at somebody's house and they performed traditional Nicaraguan dances for us. They were really neat.
Couple things I noticed today: (1) I like euchre. I hadn't really played in a while. And I like it. (2) I also like my roomates here and that we can do stupid things and think they are funny. (3) Diane would have loved the dances.

Day 17 -
Today was just a chill out in San Jose day. We ran some errands: last laundry run, last bank run, that sort of thing. And the main event of the day was getting pierced and tattooed. I didn't get anything done, but there were 3 belly button rings, one tattoo, and one eyebrow ring. We also saw Valkyrie. Which was a good movie. Not really the light-hearted comedy I was in the mood for. At all. But good nonetheless.
Couple things I noticed today: (1) Mandy handled getting a piercing just like I would have - by passing out. (2) It's important to get off at the right bus stop. Otherwise you will risk your life like 10 times crossing one street. (3) I did my mini-lecture. And our professor likes to interrupt me. A lot. (4) Brooke looks great w/ her eyebrow pierced.

Day 18 -
Today was another travel day. Off to Manuel Antonio. My first trip ever to the Pacific ocean. Yes. After all the travel it was a marvelous day. Swimming in the ocean, watching the sunset on the beach, eating a really nice, fancy dinner - all great. Really really great.
Couple things I noticed today: (1) The waves in the Pacific are huge. Like seriously 2 times my size. SO much fun. (2) I have very little patience for people with no patience. (3) I can't stop taking pictures of beautiful sunsets. (4) Brooke still looks great with an eyebrow ring. (5) People think Jamar and I are or should be dating.... awkward. (6) I'm better at the salsa and meringue than I could have guessed. Our teacher chose me to be his partner when showing people how to do it. Yesss. :)

Day 19 -
So could today get any more perfect? Nope. I don't think so. Today we went to the Manuel Antonio National Park which is home to the 3rd most beautiful beach in the world. Yup. It lived up to the hype. Then after we spent some time there, we went on a boat. Like a little mini-cruise that included free [non-alcoholic] drinks, dinner, snorkeling, dolphin sightings, salsa, meringue, and jumping into the ocean off the upper deck. Seriously... Perfect Day was the theme song of the day.
Couple things I noticed today: (1) snorkeling is so cool, but it takes some time to get used to so that you're not inhaling salt water. (2) I love jumping off of high things into the water. So much fun. (3) I saw a rock that was in Jurassic Park. (4) It's much harder to dance the salsa and meringue on a boat than it is on the ground.

Day 20 -
Ok. So today was pretty darn great too. We went zip-lining. Probably one of the coolest, funnest things I have done in my entire life. Oh my gosh. I really don't think I can express how much I loved it. Right after zip-lining we headed back to San Jose. Ugh. I definitely was not ready to go back...
Couple things I noticed today: (1) Alex [Our substitute leader who also taught us to dance] didn't really like zip lining, despite what he said... (2) Amanda Petrakovitz is popular among the Ticos. (3) Like I said - I absolutely love zip-lining. (4) Danielle has huge guns.

Day 21 -
Today was just a get-ready-for-tomorrow day. We did some last minute souvenir shopping. Went to dinner at the place we ate on our first day... and just kinda relaxed before our 16 hours of travel tomorrow.
Couple things I noticed today: (1) I like shows like CSI, The Mentalist, and House. (2) They have these carmel-coffee candies that are delicious. (3) Mandy Phillips and Brooke Nanna are awesome.

Day 22 -
Today is the long, long, looonnnng travel day home. It's weird how fast this trip has flown by. When we made it back to the States, it was so nice to be able to read the signs, talk to people easily, and pay in American money. And it was sooo nice to see my family again.
Couple things I noticed today: (1) 5 hour lay-overs aren't quite as bad as they sound when you're with a bunch of friends. (2) Bennigan's in an airport is sooo expensive. But so good. (3) Quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies are sooo much smaller than Colones.

And that's about that. Hope you enjoyed and I didn't totally bore you. But. In my defense, if you were bored, you had the option to navigate away. :)

Annnd...
I'll leave you with this image:

Ok. Peace out.

What You Know About It

2009-01-30T22:11:00.001-05:00

Peer pressure is good cause it works.

Here is my (Erika's) 25 random things about me. Don't worry. More Costa Rica is to come as well. But... like I said. Peer pressure.

1. I have an extra bone in my jaw and cracks in my tongue.

2. I have been on over 200 plane rides.

3. My dad, stepmom and sister live in South Carolina and people down there tend to think MI is a frozen tundra land.

4. My great-great grandma was in the mob.

5. I have never had a boyfriend.

6. I can't stand Britney Spears.

7. I Love Lucy and The Office are my favorite shows.

8. I have brown, not black, hair.

9. The color of my eyes is highly debatable. I've heard brown, green, yellow... but I say hazel.

10. My favorite book series is the Little Miss and Mister series.

11. I have 4 half siblings - all younger, 2 boys and 2 girls.

12. I'm really good at Mario Kart. :)

13. I love camping and hiking. And waterfalls.

14. I also absolutely LOVE hockey and have since I was... like 7.

15. Since I love hockey, my mom thought it would be a good idea to sign me up for figure skating lessons when i was little.... yeah. that didn't last.

16. I also took clarinet, gymnastics, and played basketball and volleyball in middle school.

17. I have passed out a number of times... I think at least 10. It just runs in my family.

18. I worked at Dairy Queen for 3 years and never got sick of the ice cream.

19. I read part of the Twilight series, and unlike almost every girl on the planet am not head-over-heels in love with Edward.

20. I burp a lot.

21. My parents took me to jail once cause they thought I stole something from a store when I didn't!

22. I love Aretha Franklin. Even when she does wear crazy hats during performances.

23. I was plowed over by a basketball player during a game while standing on the sidelines.

24. I survived the worst earthquake Costa Rica has had in over 100 years.

25. I cry almost every time I laugh - so the term "I laughed so hard I cried" means nothing to me.

Do You Remember?

2009-01-29T10:37:00.001-05:00

I (Jessica) finally caved.

I'm writing my 25 random facts. And you get to read them. I hope they make you laugh rather than want to throw up a little.

1. I HATE peeing. Unfortunately, God gave me a bladder the size of a chihuahua's.

2. I haven't had chocolate milk since I was in kindergarten. I saw a boy drink it and throw up, and have since quit it cold turkey.

3. Six months ago, I never noticed Volvos, but now I'm always curious and try to look at the driver.

4. The scar on my lip is courtesy of a poorly planned game of volleyball in a room with a [formerly] mounted deer head.

5. I have never hated my life more than the 2 days that I had to lift and stack strollers at Magic Kingdom.

6. I think that my dad could beat up my new roommate's dad, no problem.

7.I have ever only had 2 regrets in life
- I didn't take my picture in front of the Black Pearl at WDW
- I didn't buy a Disney Princess waffle iron in the shape of Cinderella's carriage
- Since working at Disney, I rectified both regrets so that now I have none.

8. Speaking of the Black Pearl, I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl 7 times in the theater.

9. I have never dated, or even kissed a boy for that matter.

10. Part of the reason #9 exists is because I'm slightly afraid of rejection, but it's mostly because I just haven't found the right guy yet.

11. I make jokes about how I want to fulfill gender roles (staying in the kitchen, not wanting to drive, etc...), but I'm actually fairly serious about wanting that for my life.

12. I can't let my bare hands touch dishrags or sponges that have already been used on dishes.

13. I used to be pretty unique in remembering people's birthdays until stupid facebook came along and made it easy for everyone to remember them.

14. I love to buy gifts for people, but I never have enough money to do so.

15. While at Disney World, I had a dream where they picked me to be a Belle character and when I woke up and realized it was just a dream, I almost cried.

16. While working at Blockbuster one summer, I rented over 100 movies and watched about 80 of the movies I rented.

17. I feel like I lost some of my innocence watching the Block Party Bash at Hollywood Studios. Green army men should never under any circumstances do any form of the pelvic thrust.

18. I can't wait until I'm an old woman and I can partake in Senior Citizen discounts, play BINGO all the time, and call young people whippersnappers.

19. I can relate almost any situation in life to either an episode of "The Office" or "Friends."

20. I cry ALL the time watching movies or reading books, but hardly ever cry in real life situations. I even cried while watching "Elf."

21. I love to take jumping pictures, but not as much as I love to photo-bomb people and jump in their pictures.

22. If I really like a book, I reread it more than any human being should. I read the Chronicles of Narnia twice a year, have read each Harry Potter book 7 times,and have read each Twilight book four times since June.

23. I really hope that my Disney World roommate gets famous because she said she'd put me in one of her movies and introduce me to other famous people.

24. If I didn't have a GPS, I don't think I could find the way from my bedroom to the kitchen.

25. I would love it if Rasheed Wallace from the Detroit Pistons punched me, just so that I could tell people that Rasheed Wallace punched me.

Sun is Shining

2009-01-26T16:31:00.016-05:00

Oh gracious. Where to start...?

How 'bout here:

...or here:
... or here:

Yes. It's true. I [Erika] spent my January in the most beautiful place I have ever seen: Costa Rica. I honestly don't really know where to start w/ talking about the trip... so much happened....
Ok. I think I'm going to just list highlights of the days I was there... hopefully this doesn't become too long winded. Heh

Day 1 -
We spent the day in San Jose. Which was kind of different than I thought it would be. It's big, but the whole city shuts down at like 6:30-ish. And then there are only sketchy people on the streets. Well... sketchy people and us. Heh. I was a little out of my comfort zone for a while there.
Couple things I've noticed so far: (1) the women all wear very high heels (2) they label very few of the streets (3) they sell "butt-booster" underwear.

Day 2 -
We went to church today. In the red light district of San Jose. It was cool. A lot like a non-denominational type church in the States. Except during the meet and greet time, people actually do that. And enjoy it. We had so many people come up giving us hugs and kisses on the cheeks welcoming us. It was cool.

Couple things I've noticed today: (1) A lot of women and girls wear like... boots w/ fur. Even though it's summer here. (2) The cool thing to do in the parks is chase the pigeons.

Day 3 -
Today was one of my favorite days of the whole trip. We spent the day in one of the burrios of San Jose. Translation: kind of like the ghetto. All we did was play with the kids. It really made me realize how blessed we are. Really the only thing that is different between me and the kids is where and when we were born. They aren't going to have the great opportunities that I had as a kid. I just hope and pray that they can grow out of their circumstances and live a great life.

Couple things I've noticed today: (1) kids LOVE tattoos (2) if you make balloon animals for a group of kids they will all be popped in a matter of hours.

Day 4 -

So. Today was another favorite of mine. We went to La Paz waterfalls and the Poas volcano. I am in love with waterfalls. So it was great. I am just amazed at the beauty of God's creation.

Couple things I noticed today: (1) I'm out of shape (2) Cocoons can be absolutely beautiful (3) Snakes don't freak me out, but very large bugs... they may freak me out.

Day 5 -

Not much happened today. We went and heard a couple lectures. Yawn. Brooke's camera was stolen today. Literally right in front of me. If you want to hear the story... I'd be glad to tell it. Just ask.

Couple things I noticed today (1) People are very good at stealing things. (2) Brooke handles things very well.

Day 6 -
We went to the Basilica in Cartago and QERC (Quetzal Educational Research Center) today. At the church there were tons of kids trying to sell us little necklaces and bracelets and stuff. It's sad that they are forced to do that. At QERC - one of the most beautiful places on earth, I'm sure - we went for a "little" hike to some mini waterfalls. And since I am in love with waterfalls, it was great for me. :)

Couple things I noticed today: (1) Costa Ricans must have very tough knees. At the church they "walk" up to the altar on their knees. (2) It's much harder to say "no" to a cute little kid selling you things than an adult. (3) "Peter" is much more fun to say in an English accent. (4) I felt an earthquake today. (5) I am still out of shape.

Day 7 -

Today was a hike through the forests of QERC. I love hiking. So this was great. Not quite as tiring as yesterday's hike. But still great.

Couple things I noticed today: (1) Baby hummingbirds are TINY. (2) Don't always trust the guide when they hand you something and tells you it tastes good. Even if they've eaten one too (3) I love hangy chair things.

Day 8 -
Today was the first of 3 days spent with coffee farming families. It was a little overwhelming at first. Mandy and I didn't know what to do... so much so that we just looked at each other and laughed our eyes out for about 5 minutes. We got a hold of ourselves. Thanks to my high school Spanish teacher. :)

Couple things I noticed today (1) They eat dinner about 8:30... at about 6:00 they serve a snack. Don't think that the snack is dinner and get totally full... trust me. (2) These people are SO nice and good at making us feel welcome despite the language barrier. (3) You don't have to speak the same language to have fun playing cards and the guitar. (4) Baby cows are SO cute.

Day 9 -

Second day on the coffee farm. And it's Sunday, so we went to church. And then the families did something that is rarely done in my house: absolutely nothing. It was so great to see them just chill out and enjoy each other's company. I also found out today that the earthquake caused tons of damage. If we had been at the waterfalls or the volcano 2 days later, we would have been killed. Thank God for his protection.

Couple things I noticed today: (1) Everybody is so good at soccer here. (2) I loathe roosters. They don't just crow in the morning. All. Night. Long. (3) I know enough Spanish to give them

English lessons. How cool!

Day 10 -

Today is our last full day with the coffee farmers. We picked coffee today!! Something I never thought I would do. It was nothing like I pictured. We were like... in a jungle... on the side of a mountain. It was fun, though.

Couple things I noticed today: (1) It's hard to keep yourself standing on the side of a mountain w/ a basket of coffee strapped around your waist. (2) I hate bugs. (3) I am out of shape. Still. (4) I am not a very fast coffee picker.

Day 11 -

We all reunited and headed back to San Jose today. It was nice to see everyone and exchange stories. When we got back to our hotel, we splurged for an All-American girls' night. Manicures, pedicures, and pizza.

Couple things I noticed today: (1) It's amazing close you can get to people when you are w/ them 24-7 (2) Manicures and pedicures are much cheaper in Costa Rica. (3) San Jose has become like our home away from home. (4) I can't stand living out of a suitcase.

Well. I think it's time for me to end this mile-long post for now. I'll fill you in on the 2nd part of the trip when your eyes aren't burning from reading so much and I can think again. :)

Ok, peace out.

P.S. If you want to see more pictures click on these: Album #1 and Album #2 and Album #3 and Album #4 and last but not least, Album #5

The Rose

2009-01-19T23:29:00.006-05:00

Tonight was my first official date with Jason Mesnik.

And he didn't exactly give me a rose, but it's ok, becuase I already had one :)

I know that some people think that "The Bachelor" is a terrible show and has a total lack of morals, but I don't even care. I love it.

What I don't love is how DeAnna broke Jason's heart two seasons ago. Anyone who lets a man propose to her on national television, just to say no is a terrible, awful person. Every time I see her, my blood pressure goes through the roof. She's pretty much the bane of my existence.

Anyway.

Back to my date.

Some of us from the village (P.S. I'm back at SAU now. In case you didn't know...) got all dressed up like the ladies of The Bachelor and drank sparkling juice and had variations of pizza and it was the BEST. We got to watch TWO WHOLE HOURS of The Bachelor followed by my other new favorite show, "True Beauty."

People are nuts these days, let me tell you. One of the bachelorettes threw up. One bachelorette went in for a kiss and got more than she bargained for. Numerous bachelorettes were involved in cat fights.

Seriously. Go watch it NOW on ABC.com. It's phenomenal.

And we took many pictures - this is going to become a weekly ritual.

There's nothing like watching a man date 15 women to try to find his one true love.

Also. I've been meaning to give a shout out to my aunts Cindy and Judy.
Aunt Cindy - thanks for commenting on my blog and making me feel special. Holla! ;)
Aunt Judy - thanks for commenting to my mom that you love my blog. I love it :)

Peace out
Jessica

I'll Be Home for Christmas

2009-01-09T21:34:00.003-05:00

Well, I missed Christmas, but I'm coming home!!!

Much to the chagrin of Prince Caspian, however. ;)

Peace out and see you SOOOOOOON!!!

Jellens

I Guess It's Christmas Time

2008-12-20T10:48:00.015-05:00

As hard as I've been working, I've been playing even harder.

Friday through Wednesday, anytime that I wasn't working, I was playing in the parks.

Friday after work, I went out with Taryn and Graihagh. We took pictures in front of Cinderella's castle and went to T-Rex for dinner. I can honestly say that I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Taryn even found a prince charming of sorts ;)

Saturday and Sunday weren't really that exciting, so I'll skip to Monday.

Monday night was Mandy's birthday. I made her a cake (chocolate cake with oreos and M&M's mixed in with chocolate frosting and oreos and M&M's on top) and we went to Epcot to celebrate. We met some characters and I got muscled out of a lot of the pictures and got mad about it, so I didn't even bother uploading those pictures. Dinner was good though - we ate in China and I got orange chicken and it was grrrrreat!

Tuesday was an eventful day. At 6:50 (yeah. that means I was up at 4:30), my boss Sidney took us on a backstage tour of the Haunted Mansion. We got to go on the ride, but we also got to walk through the ride and see all of the special effects and hidden secrets. It was awesome...yet early. Very early.

My boss, Andy, came in on his days off to give some of us from Fantasyland a tour of the parks and their holiday decorations. That started at 1 though, so before that, I got together with Theresa and Jillian and we met the fairies and princesses and rode some rides before we got together with Andy.

Andy took us to the Grand Floridian (they have a life size gingerbread house there - it's pretty sweet). We also went to the Boardwalk and Hollywood Studios and saw the Pixar Block Party Bash (whoa.) and saw the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights. This Osborne guy went nutso on his own house for the holidays...so nutso, that he bought the 2 houses next to his so he could decorate those too. So, they use millions of bulbs to create this:

(for some reason, this might not be working...i'll get it up eventually...)

Wednesday, Theresa and I signed up for Andy's other tour which started at 4, so we got together early and went to Hollywood Studios to meet my main man, Prince Caspian. I totally love him. As you can see :)

After we met up with Andy, We went to the Grand Floridian again, Magic Kingdom (to see the castle lighting), and Epcot. The places we went weren't the most fascinating, but Theresa and Andy were hilarious and talking with them was probably the best part of the tour :)

For more pictures from my facebook albums, click here.

Crazy

2008-12-14T14:43:00.004-05:00

Ok. I know I [Erika] talked about this in my last post, but it's so monumental that I have to mention it again.

It's crazy that I'm done with my first semester of my senior year. Man. Time flies.

So yeah. I'm home now. Which... won't last for long.
My "break" is not really a break at all. It kinda stinks. My breaks are always crazy. Here's what's happening:

Dec. 12-16 in Michigan
Dec. 16-26 in South Carolina
Dec. 26-28 or 29 in Indiana
Dec. 28 or 29-Jan. 2 in Michigan
Jan. 2-Jan. 24 in Costa Rica

It's crazy. I am doing so much it's not even funny. It'll be good - I'm excited to go down to South Carolina to see my family, but I also kinda just wish my breaks were just that - breaks. But! I won't be bored, right? :)

In other news, I'm a freak.
I get songs stuck in my head like it's my job. Last week as I was trying to fall asleep, I had 2 different songs go through my head, neither of which I had just listened to. So I decided to go through the day [midnight to midnight] and write down which songs I get in my head. Here's the list:

1. That song from Hannah Montana when she is learning the bones of the body
2. “Don’t stop Believing” – Journey
3. “The Sound of Settling” – Death Cab for Cutie
4. “Beverly Hills” – Weezer
5. “You Can Have Whatever You Like” – T.I.
6. “Unwritten” – Natasha Bedingfield
7. “Hot and Cold” – Katy Perry
8. “Keeps Getting Better” – Christina Aguilera
9. “I Don’t Care” – Fall Out Boy
10. “Blessed” – Robert Randolph and the Family Band
11. “Bend and Break” – Keane
12. Some Christmas song… I can’t remember which one
13. “So What?” – P!nk
14. “Mano Mano, Beso Beso” – a Tagalog Christmas song.

The ones in italics are the ones that I actually heard. All the others just popped into my head for one reason or another. So, just to reiterate how much of a freak I am, the total came to 14 songs, only 5 of which I actually heard that day. Another sad thing about this list is that I only like half of the songs.... oiy.

That's about that. I'll do my best to keep this updated throughout my adventures... but we'll see how that works out...

Ok. Peace out.

Just a Dream

2008-12-10T20:26:00.007-05:00

I know that I really haven't written anything in a while...my life hasn't been super overly exciting lately...and I'm kind of tired a lot, so I forget a lot of what's happening to me if I don't write it down right away.

My bad.

So what's been happening to me lately?

I've been working a lot. A lot, a lot. When I'm not working, I'm running errands and such. But here's a recap on my life in the past week...ish...

I was able to go to the mall last week with Mandy after I got out of class. We mostly just window shopped, but we also got to go to Borders and I got the TV show, Chuck, for only $25! That pretty much brightened up my life :)

Don't worry - for those of you not versed in the hilarity of Chuck, we can watch it together when I get back and it will be fantastic.

Yesterday was the last day of my class, and yes, the last time I would see my friend Tyler. Sad.

We also totally schooled our group project on Jones Soda. It's nice to be done with classes. Finally.

I also learned that it's impossible to take a normal picture with Jeff. It's just never meant to be, I guess.

The guy in the background? So weird. And he wears his shirts unbuttoned so that you can see his chest hair. Sick.

I also graduated from the Disney College Program yesterday. It's kind of insane that I'm coming home in less than a month now. Time has seriously flown.

Now. Something a bit more recent and memorable.

Today, I was able to go to Magic Kingdom with my friend and coworker, Taryn, but not before I made Belgian waffles for breakfast :)

Characters mistook us for sisters. That may be because we told them we were. Go figure. For a more comprehensive look at the pictures from today (and the rest of my trips to the parks from this year), click here. We got to meet the princesses and the fairies and we ate hot dogs and rode rides. Spectacular.

I really can't believe that I get to be here at Walt Disney World right now. It really is a dream. I've met incredible people and have gotten to do so many fantastic things.

But I can't wait to come home.

Love always,
Jessica

Precious Memories

2008-12-07T23:10:00.010-05:00

Wow.

Is it really already December? Is this semester really almost over?? Am I really about to enter my last semester of college ever??? Unbelievable.

I'm not really sure where to go with this blog... I [Erika] just needed a breather [another one... :)] from homework. And I really really can't believe this semester is coming to a close. I also can't decide if I'm ready for it to end or not... I mean, part of me is. The part that is sick of homework, studying, and ugh. All that school stuff.

But then the other part of me says, "hold up!" When this is over I only have one more of these! Then I have to go out and be a real person?? What is that? Yikes. Scary Larry, man.

Anyways. There have been some significant happenings in my life lately. I'll start with the bad news first and get that out of the way. I worked really hard last week cause it was when all the stuff for the end of semester art show was due. I spent over $90 on frames, mat board, and glass.... annnd... none of my stuff got selected. Talk about discouraging. Oiy.

But, you live and learn - I'll just have to work even harder next semester. And hopefully I'll be able to reuse frames. Yes for saving money. :)

Some other significant happenings:

We had our village Christmas party on Friday and it was the best ever. I got Mr. Tickle!!! Yesssssssss! I love him. Kate got a nifty pen and a Harriet the Spy notebook, and Erin got a popcorn bucket, popcorn, and inside-out Junior Mints. They're very refreshing. :)

And as if that wasn't enough... we also got our Christmas presents from Jessica!!! Wahooey! She got me a spectacular Ugly Betty t-shirt, a notebook w/ The Office people on it, and refrigerator notebook w/ The Office on it. Marvelous. She got Erin a stuffed Piglet doll, and let me tell you. It's the cutest piglet I have ever seen. It's so fat! And cute. Kate got pretty much the best "necklace" ever made. I think the best way to describe it is to just tell you to look at the picture. So... look at the picture. K, thanks.

Also. Before anybody says anything, I already know that we all look like doofuses in this picture, but it's the only one we got of all of us w/ the gifts from Jessica.

In other news, Kate and I have made yet another friend. His name is Scott and he is a fascinating person. He has snakes (including a boa constrictor and a rattlesnake), he is a chemistry major so he likes to make balloons that explode [Timmy would love that :)], and he knows how to fly planes! Crazy-land.

We went to a Christmas party with him and that was pretty much the best ever too. Kate wore her new necklace and got lots of compliments on it. Oh, and I don't think I mentioned that the necklace chomps. Yes. Chomps.

Then... after the party, we came home. And watched What About Bob? and had a sleepover on the futon. Great fun, but not so much great for the back. Heh.

And! Happy Birthday Erin! We went to Applebee's to celebrate. And yeah, the waiter was definitely hitting on all of us. He wanted a good tip... heh. But we were on to his tricks, so we just left normal-sized tips. :) Well, normal for us... which is a pretty good tip...

Also. Our wildest dreams came true this weekend. Kate and I finally dressed up like the song "Low," - Apple Bottom Jeans, boots w/ the fur.... Baggy sweatpants and the reeboks [or in our case, Nikes] w/ the straps. Translation: we are so cool. ;)

It was a good weekend... despite the disappointment that was the end of semester art show. And despite the homework... which... yeah, I need to get back to.

So yeah, Peace out. :)

PS - Everyone should go vote for all the Red Wings for the NHL all-star game: http://fanballoting.nhl.com/

Home on the Range

2008-11-26T15:30:00.001-05:00

It's Thanksgiving break. And for that I (Erika) am... SO thankful.

These past couple weeks at school have just been so draining. School-work, work-work, extracurricular-work, scheduling-work.... just so much work. And then there's fun that needs to be had.

And then there is all that other stuff - roommates, the DC serving all their good food on one day and all bad food on another day, Jessica being not here, nbc.com being stupid, and boys (goodness, haha).
All that to say - It's good to be home.

Reasons why I love being at home:

1. Timmy playing the drums for me. He can play almost the whole Switchfoot song "Meant to Live."

2. Being able to go out to lunch w/ Rebekah and watching movies like Aladdin w/ her.

3. Watching The Office and the Red Wings Stanley Cup DVD w/ Daniel (haven't done it yet, but we will).

4. Driving on the dirt roads. Ok. I don't really like this, but still - it's a sign that I'm home. Paved roads are totally overrated. ;)

5. Our backyard. 10 acres = pretty covered in snow.

6. Watching Spongebob Squarepants w/ Timmy and Rebekah and not having to worry (too, too much) about what homework I should be doing.

7. Telling my mom all about my life. And Kate's life. :)

8. Having a better internet connection than at school.

9. Daisy - she's so cute.

10. Being able to finally catch up on Heroes.

11. Toby - hahaha. I love tormenting our cat.

12. Watching Elf (again, hasn't happened yet, but it will)

13. Space heaters. Haha.

14. Free laundry! :)

15. Drinking hot chocolate w/ Rebekah.

16. Being able to watch or listen to sports games w/ Daniel.

17. Playing the Wii

18. Hearing all the crazy stories that I miss when I'm at school. (Crazy hunters on our property...)

19. Watching Seinfeld w/ Daniel and my mom.

20. Eating non-DC food!

Being at school is so much fun. But being at home is spectacular as well. And I was soooo ready to be home. :)

And hey! Thanksgiving is tomorrow!! Eat turkey and be merry, everyone!
Ok, Peace out.

Fairytale

2008-11-25T13:41:00.017-05:00

I know some of you may scoff at me, but I've come up with some for real reasons why I should be a Disney Princess - I'm a montage of them, so it makes sense.

Ok.

Here goes.

Snow White:
I have to pick up after little midgets all day long. They throw crap all over my stores and I have to pick up after them with a smile.

Ariel:
Since being sick, I've lost my voice. Twice. I tell guests in Fantasyland that Ursula stole my voice because I'm too pretty and she got jealous.

Aurora (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty):
I sleep all the time. When I'm not working, I'm sleeping.

Jasmine:
A man whom I had never met before saved me from getting my hand chopped off. No, it wasn't in the marketplace, and it wasn't with a knife, but it was in the back stockroom with stacks of strollers that almost smashed my hand.

Cinderella:
When I get home, I clean for those who live in my house and won't do it themselves (not mentioning names...)

Pocahontas:
I live in North America and am part Native American...I know it's a stretch, but it works.

Gisele:
I have started singing things when they should be spoken.

Belle (last, but not least, and certainly still my favorite):
I live an average life and read books. I am extraordinarily beautiful and am destined for something more.

I know. Now that you have the proof, it's kind of hard not to see me as a Disney Princess, huh?

- Jessica

Picture Perfect

2008-11-19T12:55:00.007-05:00

As promised, I'm going to recap my last week for you when my aunt, uncle, and cousins came to visit. But being so much happened, I'm just going to give you the highlights of each day.

Tuesday
My phone broke. My uncle was trying to call me and I couldn't answer. This basically stressed me out to the max. They ended up forcing me to buy a new phone. I was not a happy camper. Once all of that was settled, I finally got a hold of my family and they took me out for a birthday dinner.

Wednesday
We went to my home - Magic Kingdom.
The best part of the day? My cousin Mitchell got chosen to take part of Captain Jack's Pirate tutorial. It was straight up awesome.
The worst part of the day? My phone broke. Again. I had to leave my family to go BACK to Verizon to get another phone. I wanted to kill something. But that wasn't all - and this is just speculation - but I had an allergic reaction to something (we're guessing Verizon) and I actually had to consider going to the hospital. Scary Larry. Don't worry, though. I benadryl'd it up and ended up being totally ok.

Thursday
We went to my favorite park EVER - Disney's Hollywood Studios.
I met Caspian. Again. He's just so dreamy...I can't resist his charms.
I also got to go on the newest ride - Toy Story Midway Mania. It's a 4D ride (I know, it was terrifying and I was screaming my head off) and I totally schooled it. I got the highest score in the family. Excellent.

Friday
My family went to the beach and I rested all day. Mandy's family also happened to be in town at the exact same time as my family and they pitied my being away from family and friends this holiday season, so they made me Thanksgiving Dinner and a birthday cake. It was so awesome and we have soooooo many leftovers that I don't think we'll have to buy groceries for a couple weeks...

Saturday
Busy day. We hit up Animal Kingdom and Epcot (and spent like 30 minutes outside of Magic Kingdom while I talked to stroller friends).
The best part of Animal Kingdom? The Kali River Rapids. We got totally soaked and it was awesome. I also had a lapse of judgment and went on Expedition Everest (AK's only roller coaster) and screamed like a little girl for the entire duration of the ride.

The best part of Epcot?
I got to dance with the Beast!!! I was in line with Belle and told her all about how the last time I met her she let me dance with the Beast and it was the best moment of my life. As I was leaving her line, the Beast walked up and I must have looked at her with the most forlorn look on my face because she grabbed my hand and brought me back to the front of the line. She told the Beast my story and he danced with me again. I love him.

So, that was pretty much my life this past week. I'm sick right now (blech), but it's ok because I just made waffles and I'm watching the Even Steven's Movie.

This is why I'm the best.

Peace out
Jessica

Also, for a more complete look into my last week, here are two links to my facebook photo albums. Enjoy :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021918&l=d9bc1&id=178200245

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021963&l=78c13&id=178200245

2nd also.

This is waaaaay harder than they make it look. Just so you know.

Wheel of the World

2008-11-15T23:48:00.005-05:00

This post is really just a shout out to 3 of my new favorite guys. I'll be updating you on my past week in a later post...this is just gonna be the type of post that starts with me whining and then sighing with relief.

So. Back story.

This past week, I got deployed to strollers. Strollers at Magic Kingdom basically equals the hardest job at WDW for the worst pay. My heart goes out for the strollers people. They are so hardcore.

Back to the point.

I'm supposed to work in the castle.
I apply makeup and nail polish.
I am not strong enough to lift strollers on top of each other.
I belong in the kitchen...or something along that gender related role.

I am extraordinarily weak and I don't know how on earth I deserved this kind of bad karma.

All in all, had I not had Thomas, Diego, and Morgan there to save my life, I would have probably tried to scratch my own eyeballs out.

So, thank you Thomas,

Diego,

and Morgan.

I pretty much love the three of you more than you even know.

So that's it for me whining. Sorry, but it had to be done.
Also, my phone died. Long story short, I owned 3 phones in less than 2 days.
I also think I'm allergic to Verizon Wireless...because they suck.

But don't worry. My life is great now.
I don't even want to scratch my eyeballs out anymore.
My eyes are too pretty for that ;)

- Jessica

Hole In My Head

2008-11-14T18:51:00.006-05:00

It's been kind of a while since I (Erika) updated... and lots of things have happened. Good and bad. So, the best way to go about this, naturally is to make lists. :)

List #1 - things that kind of made me want to shoot myself (in no particular order):

1. Not knowing who comments on my blog - "This one time..." Who are you??

2. Painting. I'm not very good at it... and it's frustrating.

3. Senioritis. Bad, bad, bad.

4. Not being able to say "no" when people ask me to do stuff for them.

5. Being sick and losing my voice for like.... 5 days.

6. Jessica being in Florida.

7. Never being able to take naps.

8. Typography - especially Dreamweaver and Flash.

9. Cold weather.

10. Rainy weather.

11.U of M and the Lions losing a billion games each.

12. The Pistons trading Chauncey for AI. I know it's good for the future... but still. I don't like AI.

13. Making plans for Christmas - stressful.

14. Research.

15. NBC.com

16. Britney Spears - seriously? "Womanizer" = worst song ever written.

But, hey! Guess what! Despite all those things that kind of make me want to shoot myself, God is good cause He gives me more things that make me happy. :)

List #2 - Reasons I will never ever shoot myself (in no particular order):

1. I got a good grade on my last painting and felt really good about it!

2. Happy Hippies.

3. Still having Core reunions in my Senior year. (Bobby Pratt = officially the best core leader ever).

4. Getting my voice BACK.

5. Cell phones and free IN talking so I can talk to Jessica almost every day.

6. Little Miss and Mr. books.

7. Art shows.

8. Warm weather in November!!!

9. Making a significant amount of money from the LINK concert for African babies.

10. The Red Wings winning a billion games, and Hossa playing like an all-star (despite the loss to Pittsburgh - uunnggh).

11. People liking my poster designs.

12. Making plans for Christmas - stressful, but it's making me excited. :)

13. Macs. So superior to PCs.

14. Mugs from Sacred Grounds, Coffee Connections, and the little ceramics shop in North Carolina.

15. AG Silver - proof that superstars are not better than non-superstars. Seriously, 110% better than 90% the stuff they play on hit stations.

16. The Office, Heroes, and Friends.

17. Coffee Connections going great.

18. Code names.

19. Let's Network and the people involved.

20. Talking to Jessica on the phone. I know. I already said that. But I just love her so much it needs to be stated twice.

21. Speaking of great friends. Kate really makes my life complete.

22. Lay's Barbeque chips.

23. Camping. Ok. I know I haven't been camping in a long time, but people have been talking about it and I really can't wait to go... sometime when it's not cold anymore.

24. Scarves. Probably the best thing about the cold.

25. Erin being able to spend more time w/ us this year and watching her plan her wedding.

26. My Detroit Tigers bracelet. And my bracelets from Mexico and Aruba. I love my bracelets.

27. Facebook stalking. Ahahaha. Yes. ;)

28. Pickles. And Pickle time.

29. Singing random songs really badly with Kate.

30. And last but not least..... Chap stick. What would I do without it? :)

That's about that. Don't worry. I won't shoot myself. The good list is longer than the bad list... and it could have been even longer, but I have to get to homework. Blargh.

Ok. Peace out.

Chapters

2008-11-07T14:37:00.016-05:00

Prologue

I'm so sorry it's been about a million years since I've written on here. Don't worry - I'll make it up to you with a novel of a post.

Chapter 1

So, Halloween (fun fact - that's Kris' favorite holiday) has come and gone. I saw some great costumes being that I worked Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (Johnny Depp was again in attendance, but alas. I did not see him this time). Obviously, any Disney costume was fair game. I saw lots of Troys and Gabriellas (and parents were THRILLED that I actually knew who they were dressed up as. See? It pays to be obsessive about High School Musical. Score), LOTS of Captain Jacks, Cruellas...

But some of the best I saw were as follows:

#1 - Atomic Wedgie Boy. Unfortunately, being I was working, I didn't get pictures, but I googled some so that you could get a mental picture...this kid was like 8 years old and I was laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe. Mad props to this kid...and he looked a lot better than the fellow in this picture...

#2 - Nerd boy. Basically, picture any description I ever gave you from the boy who's in my class, but add a propeller to the hat.

#3 - The Jolly Green Giant. Some man dressed up like this and painted himself green. It just seemed a tad bit extravagant to me...

#4 - This one was a bit of a combo...I was hosting a limbo game and this kid dressed as a New York Yankee went through...then two kids later, a Boston Red Sox kid went through. I of course yell, "Oh no! Not the Red Sox and Yankees together!" The 2 kids then pretended to get into a fist fight. They were like 7 years old. It was precious/slightly terrifying for me in the sense that if it turned into a real fight, I'd probably get fired for instigating such things. Oops...

#5 - I saw a mom turn her stroller into a tepee and she dressed her daughter as Tiger Lilly from Peter Pan. The dress was ho-hum, but the fact that she transformed the stroller was what caught my attention. Brilliant.

Chapter 2

For my class, we had to go to the mall and check out different stores and analyze their layouts and what not. Then we had to combine 2 of the stores to make a mega store. We decided to combine a sports store with a makeup store. I know it sounds lame, but it's a class assignment...anyway...here's a couple pics of my group...I know, I'm a pimp.

And here's a picture of Jeff trying to get fresh with me. I was not having it.

I believe that I punched him after this picture was taken...

Chapter 3

This week and next week, all Florida Disney employees get 50% off of all merchandise. SCORE. This was the shirt I almost got for Andrew, but didn't because the front of it could be misconstrued for...something else...

Thanks to Mandy for modeling for me. We basically spent a ton of money. But it's ok.

Because we met Caspian again!

And speaking of Caspian, this little British boy asked me if I fancied him. I replied that I indeed did.

Chapter 4

I had to throw away my ipod blaster. I kind of wanted to run it over with my car, but I just threw it away instead. Rats. I really miss music in my life. I don't know what I'm going to do next week, because I'm SUPER pumped for the new Taylor Swift CD.

And speaking of Taylor Swift, check out the MAJOR diss that she dissed Joe Jonas with (forward to 4:10-4:50 for comments....)

http://www.popeater.com/music/article/taylor-swift-mocks-ex-boyfriend-joe/238879

Ouch. He should have known better than to hurt her...you know she's totally gonna write a song about it...She's Taylor Swift and that's what she does :)

Chapter 5

My family's coming next week!!! And so is Mandy's!

And by my family, I mean my aunt, uncle, and their 3 kids...but I'm sooo pumped to see someone actually related to me for the holidays!! I'm working on giving away my work shifts (because my managers wouldn't give me time off) so that I can hang with them a ton...I'm pretty much pumped to the max.

AND.

On top of that, when Mandy's mom comes, she's going to make us Thanksgiving dinner and a birthday cake for me! YAY!!

Chapter 6

Buterface is getting married. I know you already knew that, being you've read Erika's previous blog...and she asked me to be in her wedding. Yes. I love actually being able to talk about wedding stuff with her and not totally freak out Matt when we talk about stuff like that...

Epilogue

That's basically my life right now. Sorry I've deprived you of it for so long.

- Jessica

"It's Spooky in Here" (Digimon Halloween Song)

2008-11-02T11:44:00.007-05:00

Friday was Halloween! WooHoo!

For the first time ever, Kate and Andrew and I (Erika) had a Trunk or Treat trunk. We decorated our trunk like Hannah Montana. Unfortunately we are also incompetant so we don't have a picture of all of us or our trunk. But! It looked spectacular. We borrowed a Hannah poster and cut out a bunch of purple circles and yellow stars and taped them all over the trunk and the bumper. Kate was Hannah. Andrew was Robby Ray. And I was Lola/Lilly. The kids loved us. It was better than last year when we dressed up as them cause people actually knew who we were.

Here's Hannah:

And here's Lola:

And yes, Andrew - she is pigeon toed.

We don't have any pictures of Robby Ray. But he looked good.

The most notable happenings of the trunk or treat were these:

1. Me offering a little boy a piece of candy and him sticking his tongue out at me and walking away.

2. Kate being impressed with a little boy's light up candy bag and saying, "Woah, that's a really cool bag ya got there!" To which he responded, "It's just a flashlight!!"

3. The homemade Spongebob Squarepants costume and Robot costume.

4. A little girl being in love with Andrew.

5. The skater boy who smiled at me. (yikes.)

6. The little girl who hugged Kate cause she was soooo excited to meet Hannah.

7. The number of risque costumes. (double yikes.)

And that's about that. It was suuper fun to see all the babies all dressed up. Not so much as fun to see all the adults trunk or treating.

After trunk or treat Kate and I went to Denny's because we hadn't eaten dinner yet and we were starvin' marvins. On the way there, we heard a song that was a combination of the Ghostbuster's theme song and Sexyback by Justin. Ohmygosh. It was. so. cool. Even though I'm definitely not a fan of Sexyback, I do like the ghostbusters song - and it made me happy.

Anyways. We wore our costumes there and on the way in some guy yelled, "Hey! I like your shiny hair." Hahaha. So Kate and I decided that the next time we get our hair done we are going to take the wigs into the salon and say, "here - make my hair do this." So I'll have a short blue pixie cut and Kate will have long blonde extra-shiny hair.

All in all it was a great Halloween.
And then on Saturday we went to Nate and Missy's house. And that's always a marvelous time. I got to meet Missy's sister Liz for the first time, and she's suuuper fun! We played all sorts of games -

1. Sniglet's [not the best game even though I won]
2. Compatibility [Kate and I totally kicked Nate and Missy's butts. We are more compatible than married people]
3. Scum [I was king twice and scum twice - so it was an average game for me]
4. X-men [Even though Kate and I totally sucked at killing the bad guys, it was fun. And! I got Wolverine on my team! That's an accomplishment!]
5. Uno where you make up a rule when you win. [Again, even though Kate and I didn't get to make up one rule, it was pretty much the best ever]

And, as if this weekend wasn't already good enough, it was Fall Back - so we got an extra hour added to our lives. Yess.

Ok. Time to get back to school and homework. Blech.

Peace out.

Surfin' USA (Picture edition)

2008-10-25T19:03:00.004-04:00

Ok, for those of you who couldn't see my blog pictures, here's a link to my facebook album so that you can view them in the order in which they appeared in my blog. The ice cave picture didn't make it in, but you're really not missing that much with that particular picture. It was kind of a piece of crap.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020245&l=b28ae&id=178200245

Also, don't forget to read the novel that Erika wrote today ;)

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Nothin' But A Good Time

2008-10-25T14:45:00.000-04:00

So. Last weekend was fall break. And it was the best. Ever.

I (Erika) went to Kate's house. And we had a grand old time. So much so, in fact that I'm not even sure where to begin..... I guess the beginning, eh? :)

Thursday:

We left a little after 5:00 cause I'm in class till then and we both still had to pack. It's cool, though. And I didn't loathe packing as much as I usually do cause I got to do it w/ Kate. :) She makes everything more fun. Even packing.

Anyways. We went to her house. Ate a delicious dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and carrots. Yumm... but... still not as good as my mom's pork chops and rice.

Then we watched The Office. Yes. Then we watched Project Runway. Yes. Then we went to Applebee's for half off appetizers. Cause no matter how much you eat, you can always take at least one more bite. Right, Kate? ;)

Friday:

Kate got her hair cut!!! It is soooooo cute!! And here it is.

Also, little nugget of information: the salon she went to get it done is owned by a girl who goes to SAU's mom. Crazy-land. And we saw her there. It was pretty spectacular.

Then, we were going to go get Erin Joy's wedding gift, but Kate missed the turn. Bad? No way! It was great, because we stumbled upon the prettiest cemetary ever!! The trees all looked so pretty. So naturally, we got out and walked around. SO much fun.

Lunch time! We went to Whole Foods and got sushi. Mmm. :) It was good... but... I was kinda scared to eat it cause the only sushi I've ever had was homemade by my Japanese aunt, and I was worried that nothing would match. Well, I was right. Not bad... but not nearly as good.

In Ann Arbor, Whole Foods just happens to be right next to........ shoot..... either Barnes 'n Noble or Borders. Either way, they're basically the same. And being the sophisticated people that we are, after lunch we went to look at photography books. It was grand. I looked at 1,000 buildings you need to see before you die. I think I've seen 9 of 'em. Kate's seen like 11 or 12, I can't remember. One of them is in Dearborn, though! Roadtrip!! :)

Anyways, then back to Kate's house to watch more Project Runway and lay on the floor being the coolest people ever.

After we were done laying on her floor being the coolest people ever, we went to downtown Ann Arbor to hang out w/ some of her friends. It was a grand old time.

Saturday:

Today is Erin Joy's wedding!! Woo! So Kate and I got all dressed up and went to that. Unfortunately we were a tad late cause we ran into construction (not literally... :) and we got a little lost. But it was all good. It was a nice wedding.

But we didn't stay for the reception so we had our own little reception when we got back. We went and bought a mini cheesecake to eat outside cause it was a beautiful day. And it was spectacular.

Later that night we were curious as to how many people live at SAU during fall break, so we decided to go on a community floor tour. It was grand. We didn't see too too many people, but more than we thought we would see. And we left random notes on peoples' wipe boards.

Sunday:
Ok. Don't worry. My mile long post about my weekend is almost over. I just wanted to let you all know about the best weekend ever.

The most notable things that happened on Sunday were a little more few and far between cause we had to do homework. Bah. The bane of our lives. But we did watch Iron Man - excellent.
And we went to Taco Bell for dinner. Always amazing. Especially when Kate uses her "new" cup holder and the cup falls out as we are driving down the road. HAHAH. It was one of the funniest things ever.

After Taco Bell, Tony came over and was... well, Tony.

Then. We went to Ormston 4 to make a new friend - Jake. Which, like the rest of the weekend was spectacular. He has lots of stuff for dress up, so that worked out great for me and Kate. And he has a guitar and harmonica, so naturally we created a band. Jake played guitar, I played harmonica, and Kate sang. Watch for our first single on iTunes.

And that's about that. It was really basically the best weekend ever.

Peace out.

PS - don't forget to read Jessica's blog that she wrote yesterday. :)

Surfin' USA

2008-10-24T22:17:00.008-04:00

The Florida Mall is fantastic. You can actually go surfing in it. Case in point:

Today was my day off, so I got together with a fellow Fairy Godmother in Training, Allie, and we went to the mall and Downtown Disney.

In the mall, we got makeovers and went to an M&M store...who knew there were even that many M&M's in the world. The store was the size of the Dining Commons. It was humongous.

After shopping, we went to Downtown Disney to go eat at their new restaurant that opened last Tuesday.

And Kate. I found the PERFECT place for you to work.

Imagine Rainforest Cafe, but as a prehistoric dinosaur land!!!!

The restaurant is called "T-Rex" and it has all of these animatronic dinosaurs EVERYWHERE!! There's even an archeological dig in the restaurant where you can dig up dinosaur bones.

There are 4 lands.

Land 1 - The Underwater Reef:

You get to eat under a giant squid that moves. There are also tons of aquariums everywhere and jellyfish that swim over your head.

Land 2 - The Volcano Zone:

You can see the kitchen in this area behind a ring of fire. It's the T-Rex zone and they go crazy because a comet crashes into this area and then they get all the other dinos from the other zones all riled up, so basically everyone's going crazy at once.

It.
Is.
Awesome.

Land 3 - The Ice Cave:

Here you get to see icy woolly mammoths and dinosaurs preserved in the glacial walls. Again, it's awesome, but very cold...

Land 4 - The Fern Forest:

This is where I ate.

As you can see, I was terrified.

We then got a GIGANTIC dessert. I think it could probably feed Cambodia.

It had 4 pieces of brownie chocolate cake covered in caramel, butterfinger, whipped cream, and ice cream. Holy smokes.

Speaking of smokes, it also had a dry ice "volcano" in the middle of it.

I know. If you're not craving this by now, you're probably from Mars or something.

Yes, mom - I know I just called you an alien ;)

Also, Build-A-Bear Workshop created a Build-A-Dino Workshop in the restaurant so you can bring a dinosaur friend home.

Lastly, I found out that my fake fiance, Alvaro just got a job there and I saw him there tonight for the first time since his proposal to me.

Excellent.

The Boys Are Back

2008-10-21T20:58:00.007-04:00

It's not so much the boys are back so much as a man is back. And by man, I mean Johnny Depp. He's back at the Magic Kingdom from now until the day after Halloween. Any time you wanna come down and hang out with me and Johnny, just let me know.

Now on to the chronicles of my life.

My roommate got me a present. Looking at it makes me giggle like a little school girl. I don't really know why...I kind of think it's terrifying a little bit...but it still just makes me giggle. One of life's little mysteries, I guess. Here's a picture of me posing next to it in my new favorite sweater next to my new Edward/Twilight poster :)

I also had class again today. I really can't get over how many fascinating things happen to me in class...

First of all, we watched this youtube video. Seriously, it's out of control. I know it's ballet, but you for real need to watch the entire video. I just sat there with my mouth hanging open. It's a Chinese version of swan lake...I know that doesn't sound like something anyone would want to watch...but you need to...it will astound you.

Today also continues the chronicles of the wacky outfits of my classmate. I actually went grocery shopping with him and am quite intrigued. His name is Tyler. He uses stencils to make shirts. He's pretty awesome, actually. His personality totally justifies his wardrobe.

Here's what he wore today:

Green tennis shoes.
White shorts.
Pink short sleeved shirt.
Hot pink tie.
Red sunglasses hanging from his neck by the red and black string (repeat article of clothing from a previous week)
His treasured hat.

I sent a picture via Pix text to Kate, so if you need to see it, go see her.

Also.

Erika, this girl sullies your good name. It's even spelled the exact same way.

Every week, my prof asks us if anything fascinating happened to us. People usually talk about how they got recognized by managers or went to concerts or something.

But not fake Erika.

She raises her hand and proceeds to tell the entire class about how she got a boyfriend.

My eyeballs almost bulged out of my head from trying not to laugh out loud.

And speaking of eyeballs...I got this new shampoo. It's a tea tree oil shampoo (it helps prevent/kill lice. unfortunately, i need it as a precaution while working in the boutique. and no. i do not have lice. knock on wood.). It's made of tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and lavender.

Bizarre combo, I know.

Anyway, when you use it, your whole head tingles. This morning, it got in my eye and I can't even begin to explain to you how it felt. It burned for about 1 second and then just felt...for lack of a better expression...minty fresh. It was the strangest sensation I've ever felt in my life.

Lastly, my life is over.

They killed off David Anders' character on Heroes. My heart is broken into about a million pieces. I don't know if any man will ever be able to put it back together again the way it was.

I'm going to go mourn now...not only for David Anders character, but also for my ipod docker. It has officially kicked the bucket too :(

- Jessica

L-O-V-E

2008-10-15T14:50:00.001-04:00

Yes.

It's the final theatrical trailer.

I can't even wait.

But I suppose you'd want to hear more about my life...

Well, that crazy dressing kid wasn't in class yesterday :( I was however talking about his outfits with my prof. She told me that she discussed his attire with him, saying he was "pushing the limit" and he said "but I'm wearing a tie!!" like it was ok. Hahahaha.

Also, long story short...I was talking with this little girl (3 years old) who was about to go to the Bibbidi Bobbidy Boutique (and for those of you out of the loop, I work there a TON now)...anyway...we were talking for like 20 minutes and she had to go to her appointment...she asked if I'd still be there later so she could show me her transformation and take pictures with me. Unfortunately, I only had 10 minutes left on my shift so this is how our conversation went:

Little Girl: "I'll come back and show you how I look like a princess!!"
Me: "Oh...princess, I won't be here...can I tell you a secret? Can I tell you why I won't be here?"
LG: "Yes!"
Me: "I'm actually a princess in disguise and I have to go find my prince charming. Do you think he will find me?"
LG: "No."

Ouch.

Oh well. Her mom reassured me that I'd find my prince charming someday :)

- Jessica

Please Don't Stop the Music

2008-10-13T20:55:00.010-04:00

Okie dokie all you Jerica Mellens fans, I'm [Erika's] sorry I've dropped the ball lately with my posts, but I've just been soooooo busy!!!

First of all.
For you iTunes users who haven't downloaded the new version... do it! Do it now. They have this thing called Genius, and it's... well... Genius! I love it.

Second of all.
I have been busy... but surviving. I'm pleasantly surprised that I'm able to have a social life with 17 credit hours and all of them being art classes. But they haven't totally consumed me... yet...

Third and most important of all!

This weekend was Homecoming!!!! For those of you who don't know, Kate and I are always the best dressed people at homecoming. Last year we got the most ridiculous outfits we could find from Goodwill:

How on earth were we going to top or even match the magnificence of last year??

Quite the conundrum.

But have no fear, Underdog is here! ... Ok. Not Underdog, but better: Kate. She came up with the idea of dressing from an era. You know, like the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's... etc. And do our hair, makeup, everything like the people from that time period. Yes! Great idea.

So we head out to Goodwill with our spirits high.
Well, that didn't last long. We didn't have too much luck. We found a great 70's dress. But only one. We found a couple alright 50's dresses, but they didn't fit right and/or were hot and itchy. Boo.

We went home. Discouraged.

But! Have no fear! Underdog is here! [no, I do not know why I am so inspired by Underdog tonight...] We went out again the next day and found great tops from the 60's. Two of them. Yessss! And we remembered that our good friend and [engaged] roommate Buter-face has a couple long skirts. Double yesssss!

So here is the finished product:

We. Are. So. Cool.

So... I'm not sure it topped last year, but I'd say we were still the best dressed people at SAU's homecoming this year.

All in all, the dance was kind of a disappointment. It may have something to do with the fact that not many of our friends came. Jessica, Alyssum, and Erin all weren't there. Andrew was though. And so was Lizzi. So we had fun with them.

But! The title of this blog is not only a Rihanna song, but kind of the theme of the night. The DJ was........... not the best. There were long gaps between songs. And then he would start a song that everyone would get excited about....... and then change it. For real, dude? And as if that wasn't enough to ruin a dance, the songs he did play were for the most part lame, and he played those songs more. Than. Once. Boooo!

Here are some of the most notable pictures:

Again. We. Are. So. Cool

I was alllll about the peace sign that night.

They are getting married!

Peace.

"Get Silly"

Annnd.... that's about it for me.
Peace out.

Keeps Gettin' Better

2008-10-08T21:50:00.012-04:00

My life=so good.

I met Matt Lauer.
For the record, he's a lot shorter and a lot less attractive in person...and if you don't know who he is, google him.

I also went to EPCOT with my friend Alex. We hadn't really talked since HS, but it was pretty sweet that we finally got to hang out.

However.

He did take me to go see "Honey, I shrunk the audience."

I almost peed myself. 3D movies scare the CRAP out of me. They terrify me out of my mind. I don't know why I agreed to go.

But I didn't pee myself. Thank goodness, because I was almost sitting on his lap out of fear. I don't think I actually watched that much of the show...

It's ok though - I got out alive!!

We also went on the Nemo ride and the Norway ride and ate in China. Excellent!

Lastly.

My ipod blaster is working again!! It didn't work for like 3 weeks and as I told you in my last blog, I had no music in my life. It was pretty depressing. I had to sing to myself to have music. Not good.

- Jessica

P.S. Kate - that boy I described is not foreign. Yesterday, he wore blue tennis shoes, brown striped socks (They came up about 6-8 inches above his ankle), khaki shorts, a green button up short-sleeved shirt, and green striped tie (the 2 greens clashed), and his hat again. This guy. I tell ya. I need to bring my camera...

P.S.S. David Anders is back on Heroes!!! YEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

Stupid Boy

2008-10-02T14:50:00.006-04:00

I got new clothes today!!

It was the first time I ever bought clothes from Forever 21 and I LOVED it!

Especially being I got a dress for $3. It was marked at $7.99, but rang up at $10.99. The manager who came to fix the problem was flirting with a girl, and rather than taking $3 off the price, he took $7 off the price.

When I saw the total, I just figured that I did really bad math in my head. That's happened before. On many occasions.

After I'd left the store, I realized his mistake. But he was flirting with a girl, so I don't feel that bad that I got a great deal on this really cute dress:

I also got this shirt...that was also on sale. My whole purchase came to under $15.00. Yess.

In really bad news, though, my ipod docking station died. My life no longer has music in it :(

Lastly, I wrote a blog yesterday, but I was too excited about my new clothes to wait and tell you guys. So don't forget to read that blog too.

Love, Jessica

| |
v v

The Trouble With Love

2008-10-01T17:12:00.006-04:00

I was proposed to!!

And I said yes!!

Here's the cheese:

I was at a counter ringing up this 8 year old kid's purchase. One of my coworkers (Alvaro - Don't ask me - I totally don't even know how to pronounce his name) came up to me with 2 handfuls of plastic jewels and said "for all of these riches, will you marry me?"

And I replied, "Sure!"

And then the 8 year old kid starts jumping up and down shouting "Marry! Marry! Marry!" He threw a couple fist pumps in there too as he walked away.

Only sad thing about this story? Alvaro isn't into girls. Rats.

Next item on the docket. Dress codes.

In our classes, we are required to dress professionally. Let me tell you about one of my classmate's interpretation of this rule:

Let's start with the feet and work our way up...

Blue crocs.
Khaki shorts.
A black button-up long sleeved shirt.
A red and black checkered bow tie.
Red chunky sunglasses hanging from his neck by a red chain.
A blue, white and yellow cap. The bill was straight. Not curved.

Yikes. He reminded me of a mix of Steve Urkel...

...combined with Will Smith from Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

New topic: I'm a detective.

Because.

This guy came up to my counter and said, "I'd like to buy these two pops please."

I said "Are you from Michigan??"
He replied "Yeah! How'd you know?"
I said "You said pop! No one says pop except for Michiganders."

We chatted a little bit more and found out he's from Brighton too and lives like 10 minutes away from me. Small World.

Last bit of news.

I get more mail than my roommate because you guys are so awesome and send me letters all the time. Thanks for making me feel more loved and for allowing me to lord it over my roomie :)

Jessica

Working for the Weekend

2008-09-28T15:16:00.004-04:00

It's funny.

As I (Erika) get older, I find that more and more I really am working for the weekend. It's the thought of those 2 days off that really help me get through the week.

This weekend I was planning on going home to get my warmer clothes, my TV, some other stuff, and see my family. I was looking forward to it, and at 5:00 on Friday, I left the admissions office to get my stuff together and head out. Yess.

Nooo.

I gathered some of my stuff and headed out to my car (which, by the way, was parked by Ogle Villages because the parking lot by my village is always full. Grr). I got to my car, and lo and behold: a flat tire.

Are.

You.

Serious.

Oh well. I know how to change a tire. When I got my car, my dad got me all kinds of good tools to change my tires with and taught me how to do it. I'll be like Pam! :)

I get my stuff out. Take the hub cap off, and jack up the car.

Then I thought that I should call my mom and tell her that I was going to be a little later than originally anticipated. So I did, and she put me on the phone with my stepdad. He reminded me that I'm supposed to put the parking brake on and loosen the nuts before I jack up the car. Oops. Good thing I talked to them. :)

So I go through all the motions: parking brake, loosen the nuts, jack it up, take the nuts off, take the tire off, get the other tire out.

And at this point I was feeling pretty good about myself. I can change my own tire with no, well... only a liiiitle help! Yesss.

Nooo.

I got the other tire out and lifted it up to put it on. But!! It. Doesn't. Fit!!

AAARrrrrggghhh.

Apparently when I was in South Carolina, my stepmom and sister took my car in to get new tires. Very nice of them. But, the guy gave them the wrong size for the spare. What a scam artist.

I was SO ticked. I was going to be so proud of myself for changing my own tire and driving home like normal. But now... it's still sitting in the Ogle Village lot with the flat back on it, and it will be sitting there for quite a while until I can get the old one fixed or a new one.

Luckily, I have the best roommate ever and the best parents ever. Kate took me to her house for Friday night (Smart People = best movie ever... er... something) and then my mom came and got me on Saturday morning.

My mom made me homemade chicken noodle soup cause I'm sick, and Timmy gave me a great way to get out of classes - tell my profs that I busted my brain. Why I didn't think of that before, I have no idea. Maybe my brain is already busted.

So, despite the less than happy start of my weekend, it turned into a pretty good one.

Also. One more thing: I was surprised at how few people asked me if I needed help.

I mean, I didn't need it... and the 3 people who asked, I said, "No, thank you."

But still... where is the chivalry?

Ok. Peace out.

PS - I found this picture of my dog Daisy as a puppy:

Isn't she soo cute?!

Kiss the Girl

2008-09-24T19:38:00.006-04:00

A. I'd like to say 2 things first.

#1 - Erika and I wrote blogs on the same day. Again. After reading mine, make sure you keep scrolling down and read hers. Or else.
#2 - A boy kissed me.

B. I'd also like to say that my life is fantastic still. I dyed my hair and I love it.

If it weren't for my ugly costume, I'd probably get hit on all the time because it looks so good.

Just kidding.

But seriously.

C. I started my new class. It's about creativity and innovation. It's pretty sweet and I feel like if anyone knows anything about those two topics, it's Disney, so I'm really glad I'm taking it from them.

But that's neither interesting nor fun for you to read about, so I'll talk about people in my class.
#1 - There was this guy (Phillip) and he's from Ghana. In the middle of my prof talking, he stands up and starts taking pictures of people like it's no big.
#2 - Later in the class, Phillip and a friend of his from Ghana kind of circle around me and tell me they'll give me money. As I look at them with a completely blank stare, they tell me it's so I can buy the textbook for them. They can't buy it online because they don't have credit cards. Makes sense. So rather than getting hustled, I made some new friends. And then they documented it...

#3 - Then there's this boy Chris. He's from Puerto Rico. I met him on the bus ride home one day and it turns out we have class together. Being he lives in the same apartment complex as I do, I offered him a ride home from class because I drove and no one wants to wait 40 minutes for the bus to come when they can get a ride home from a girl with greatly colored hair. We went to Wal-Mart to get groceries and when I dropped him off in front of his apartment, he turned to me and kissed me on the cheek.

Whoa.

I didn't really know what to do. So I just kind of sat there. And then he got out of the car and went home. (Don't worry, Mrs. Miller. My mom knows and is semi-ok with it)

D. I went to Magic Kingdom today. By myself :( It was sad, but it was kind of a recon mission. People keep asking me about rides and they keep asking me for dinner recommendations and being I haven't ridden any rides or eaten in the park in about 5 years, I figured I should scope it out. So I did. But I was by myself. I kind of felt like a creeper...you know...walking around a park where there are tons of little kids...all by myself. At least it's not like I went to go see Wall-E in the theater by myself, eh Eric?

However, I got these great pics:

So, that's my life right now.

Chris, you better have read this by the next time I hear from Eric.

And as for the rest of you, i hope you are having fantastic lives and that you don't forget to read the blog that Erika wrote today. It's brilliant.

Love,
Jessica

P.S. Do any of you actually pronounce the "W" when you say the word "sword"? I don't, but it seems like everyone here in Florida does. So let me know, because it fascinates me.

Let's Get Married

2008-09-24T17:01:00.005-04:00

"Meet me at the altar in your white dress.
We ain't gettin' no younger, we might as well do this."

That's basically what Matt said to Erin this weekend! Ok, not really like that at all, but the result is the same: ERIN AND MATT ARE ENGAGED!!

In other news, Kate and I (Erika) went to the roommate games. And it sucked. Cause we didn't get to play. Seriously, we were like 1 out of 2 rooms who didn't get to play (the other room was Heidi and Caitlynn).

So we decided that we should so something really cool to make up for it. Unfortunately, that's hard to do when Jessica's not here to help us come up with things to do and people to do them with. We sat in the middle of the road for a while wondering what we should do. Pathetic, I know.

Then we figured that we should go to our friends' house. So we did. We went to visit Josh, Ben, Steffan, Mike, Dan, and all the other people who live in that house. It was great fun. They have On-Demand cable that teaches you how to dance. It doesn't get much better than that. I now know how to do the heel-toe, the wop, and... well, Kate and I sat out on the booty pop lesson. Heh.

Then the next day we went back to their house again for a bonfire. That was great fun as well. Fires are great, even if there isn't a band to throw in them. ;)
And we met a nice girl named Betsy.

And then, on Sunday we went back to their house to watch the football game. I was definitely conflicted cause I'm a Lions fan (YAAAY for Millen getting fired, btw), but they suck and it's hard to watch a game and root for them cause then you just get depressed. And on top of that, they were playing the 49er's which is the team Andrea's brother plays for. So it was pretty sweet watching somebody that I've met play in the NFL.

In short that was our weekend. Really the only reason I wrote this blog was to tell everyone that Erin and Matt are engaged! Woo! Annnd.... this is what her ring looks like:

Very simple, very pretty - good job, Matt.

Ok. Peace out.

Blitzkrieg Bop

2008-09-20T12:40:00.001-04:00

So. Arbor Games = The best ever.

Some people would claim the opposite. But don't believe them. They're liars.

Our theme this year was the Punk Movement. Which, at first I wasn't so sure about cause I don't know anything about punk. Or so I thought. When I started looking at some of the punk songs on iTunes, I recognized a lot of them. And then when I heard some of the other themes ("The best thing since sliced bread," "SAU Baseball," "The Founding of SAU") I realized just how cool ours was. It was so much fun dressing up as punks.

For those of you who don't know, that girl who's not me, Kate or Erin is our new roommate Karis. She was really good at doing mohawks! That came in very handy on Wednesday, that's for sure.

Kate got so many compliments she is considering changing her whole look to punk forever.

For our skit, we did a fake punk concert to the Ramones Blitzkrieg Bop. Before you think you haven't heard the song before, you have. It's the one that goes: Ay, Oh, Let's go!

It was great. James even gave himself a real mohawk. There's dedication for ya. It was spectacular.

Kate and I ended up rocking out the rest of Arbor Games too.
Kate participated in all of the games except for the first one cause we were off changing.
I participated in all of them except the first one and the bat spin. No face plants for me this year.

We even got sucked into doing the tug-o-war. That's the first time I have ever done that.

And I never knew how exhausting it was! Man. I was tired afterwards. Although, that maaay have something to do with the fact that I could NOT stop screaming. I really tried cause I know it was probably wasting a lot of energy. But I just couldn't stop. You all know me and my weird sounds. They will never stop.

Also. Here's a video of Kate doing the bat spin. Spectacular.

Also. If you would like to see all the marvelous pictures that I didn't post, go here:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020634&l=0ca11&id=178200466

Ok. Peace out.

PS - don't forget to read Jessica's blog that she wrote today/yesterday (not sure which) too!!
She has some aaawwwesome news and pictures!! :D

When You Wish Upon A Star

2008-09-20T01:46:00.008-04:00

I have huge, gigantic, tremendously colossal news.

But I'm not gonna tell you until the end of the blog.

And for all of you who scroll down just to read the end first, you are losers.

First things first...it's what you all have been wishing for...a not so great picture of me in my uniform:
It is neither a good picture nor is it an attractive one. Look closely to see the chickens on my skirt...Blech.

So. On to my news.

I met someone.

Someone great.

And no. It is not my gay NASA friend.

I met...

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.

In the flesh. And totally 100% for real and verified.

Starting in September, Magic Kingdom hosts a series of Not-So-Scary Halloween parties and apparently, they have a contract with Johnny that he will make appearances as Captain Jack in 3 of them. None of the guests know about him - if they ask to take pictures with him, he has to decline it - but he just looks like a guy who spent a couple hundred dollars to look like real thing.

And this is how my interaction went with him:

Jessica: "Hey, Captain Jack!"
Johnny Depp: " 'Ello mate!

That was pretty much the extent of it. I did a double take when I saw him and was only like 97% sure it was him (I could only imagine, right?) but when I talked to my manager about it, she told me that it was definitely him.

I know. Even I'm pretty much jealous of my own life right now.

This even tops meeting Caspian. Who could have guessed that life would be so great??

Sorry for making you all jealous (but not really...)
- Jessica

If it makes you hate me any less, I still haven't met the people I really want to meet.

And that would be the Jonas Brothers ;)

Strange Things

2008-09-17T19:55:00.009-04:00

Ok, guys. First things first.

I have to give a shout out to my fantastic cousin Chantelle and my ex-coworker, Eric...so...holla!

Now. On with the blog.

Lots and lots of things have happened to me since I blogged last. You really have to expect the unexpected when you work for Disney.

Let me first bring up my greatest disappointment.

Johnny Depp was in Magic Kingdom at the same time as me, but no one told me until the day after. I was in the presence of greatness, and no one thought I would care. Think again, guys. And, I heard he was waiting for Lizzi in this pose...

Interesting, no? Too bad no one told her about it either. She missed it.

I also got to go to a Halloween party. We have them 2x a week here in the Magic Kingdom. It's actually pretty awesome. People go all out with their costumes. And being that I'm super fun, I was in charge of coming up with ways to interact with the guests, so I had limbo contests and sword fights with these Mickey Mouse plastic light up swords. In fact, I was so good at sword fighting, that Dopey the Dwarf saw me and challenged me to a duel. I won and he ran away. It was fabulous.

I'm not even kidding. That actually happened. 100% truth.

The day after, I got to go INSIDE Cinderella's castle and get a tour of her guest suite. It was AWESOME! There's a waterfall in the bathroom.

It was equisite. I want to live there forever.

I also got "robbed." We were having a tremendously bad storm (courtesy of Hurricane whatever. I can't keep them straight.) and I was selling this lady like 8 ponchos. This other lady came up and just grabbed them and ran.

Seriously? You're gonna steal ponchos from Disney World? Ok. You're cool.

Lucky for me, I didn't get fired.

And now, for the best part of my blog.

Two days ago, I was out at a cart (and it felt like 100,000 degrees out, but in reality, it was only like 100 degrees...) selling water bottle fans. I would spray unsuspecting guests, and they would either be thrilled, or get kind of mad about it...most people were thrilled, thankfully.

Anyway.

Here's how one of my encounters went:

Man: "Douse me girl, douse me!"
Jessica: "OK."
M: "That was great! What kind of deal can you give me on that fan?"
J: "I can sell it to you for $17!"
M: "That's not a deal! That's how much it costs!"
J: "I can fill it up with ice?"
M: "Alright, girl! You SOLD me!!"

Then, he moves his head in a zig zag motion and says:
M: "Guuuurl! If I wasn't gay, I'd snap you RIGHT up!!"

He saw me later in the day and told me if he wasn't gay, he'd kidnap me. He also asked where I was from, and I said Michigian, and he said he was from Ohio. Then he says, "I work for NASA!" and then does the Heisman move and runs out the store. What a great guy.

For those of you wondering, the man in the picture is not the same man. I just wanted you to get a mental picture. My gay friend was skinny, white, wore glasses, and was almost 50 years old.

I know. Excellent.

So, that's pretty much my life.

On top of all that wonderfulness, I'm watching Air Bud right now.

Yes. It's true.

Peace out,
Jessica

Oh. P.S.

I had to clean the apartment today because we get room inspections (LAME!!!). It took like an hour and a half, but as I'm cleaning the bathroom with bleach, I spray down the mirrors to clean them, smell something funny, and then realize that I'm using bleach and ammonia at the same time. Oops. At least I had the sense to close the bathroom door and use the fan to ventilate it and get out.

At least if I had died, they would have found me rotting away as the inspected my room.

And probably would have then fined me.

Some Kind of Wonderful

2008-09-09T20:44:00.006-04:00

Today, my wildest dreams came true.

I stepped into Disney World.

And then I stepped into Narnia.

And met Prince Caspian.

He was quite dashing. I'd date him. He was the best part of my day.

I then got to see the rest of Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly, Disney's MGM). I saw the stone table that Aslan was killed on and stood in the room where the White Witch tried to seduce Caspian and Peter to bring her back to life in Prince Caspian. It was brilliant.

I also had the pleasure of seeing a kid run into a wall. He thought he was taking a short cut through a curtain, but it turns out the curtain was hiding a wall. I'm still laughing about it. Out loud. And it was like 6 hours ago.

Finally, I had met Kim Possible and had dinner at Pizza Planet. It was a fantastic day. Although Ron wasn't very cute. Pity.

But what's worse was the character attendant who took our picture with Ron and Kim was trying to get fresh with me. He pinched my nose and played with my sunglasses. I really wanted to punch him in the face.

However, being that I'm so good at reacting, all I did was grimace at him. I'm awesome.

So, that's pretty much it.

I know this is going to sound corny, but the only thing that would have made this day better is if I could have shared it with all of you. Corny, but true.

Still love and miss you,
Jessica

Oh. P.S. Paul and Andrew.

In the Great Movie Ride, they added clips from Rambo. I laughed and everyone thought I was nuts.

Hot Fun In The Summertime

2008-09-06T21:18:00.013-04:00

So, after Washington DC was Virginia Beach.

I love the beach. This was the view from our balcony.

I also love my Birthday, which was spent ON THE BEACH! Yessss. Spectacular. Awesome way to spend my golden birthday. 21 on the 21st. Yessss again.

There are many things that one can do when at the beach. But really... "I just want[ed] to lay on the beach and eat hot dogs. That's all I've ever wanted." - Kevin Malone, accountant at Dunder Mifflin. That's really all I wanted too. And my birthday wish came true!! :D

Needless to say, it was a great birthday. Although, this is the first year EVER that I was not able to blow out all my candles in one blow. Gosh, I'm getting so old.

Other notable things took place while we were in VA Beach too.

The cool thing to do there is to rent these bike-things. We got a 6-person bike, since there are 6 people in the family it worked out great. Or so we thought. It was a very difficult thing to move and maneuver. And it was hot. And I was already sunburned. But it was a nice way to see the coastline of VA Beach. And we got Dairy Queen. Dairy Queen makes everything ok. But the moral of the story is: don't always follow the crowd cause they don't always know what they are doing.

Virginia Beach kind of prides itself on being family friendly and not a spring break party town. Naturally there are still those types of people. But don't worry. The people of Virginia Beach have taken that into account as well.

That's enough to scare anybody into obedience.

Finally, the last really notable thing that happened in Virginia Beach was a ride on a boat called the Rudee Rocket. It's a yellow speedboat that takes you speeding out into the ocean to a spot where there are tons of dolphins and then you come speeding back. It was... an experience. They warned us prior to getting onto the boat that the ocean was in "red flag" conditions due to the high winds, and that because of this, we would all get very very wet. I kind of thought they were exaggerating and telling us just in case that happened. But no. They surely weren't. We got soaked! It was fun, though. At least that part was. When we stopped to look at the dolphins, it was cool - there were tons of dolphins, but the up, down; up, down; up, down; up, down motions started to get to people. I came very very close to throwing up and poor little Timmy actually did. Other than that, though, it was a great experience and I'd totally do it again. :)

And for the record, it's cool being at school.
But I miss Jessica.

Ok. Peace out.

America the Beautiful

2008-09-06T16:32:00.001-04:00

Hello all! :)

It's been a while since I (Erika) update, but that's cause I was on VACATION, and super busy at school...

We (and by "we" I mean my family and I) went to Gettysburg, Washington DC, and Virginia Beach. It was spectacular.

First I'll tell ya'll about Gettysburg and DC. Gettysburg was kind of just a pit stop on the way to Washington DC, so we didn't see all the great sights that there are to see. Regardless, when we got to Gettysburg, we drove around for far too long a time looking for the visitor's center. When we finally found it, we went in and saw a movie about the battle and Civil War in general, and then went to a museum for a while.

Then the real fun and games began. We bought a car tour-cd-thing. It let us go at our own pace and get a feel for the HUGE battlefield. I had no idea how big this place was...
All in all - it was cool.

Then we were off to DC. We stayed in a "quirky" little place called the Hotel Harrington. It was right downtown, so that was really cool - we were only a couple blocks away from the White House.

The problem was.... it was kind of a pit.

It kind of reminded me of a hostel that we stay in when we go to Chicago for school trips. So, actually - I was quite used to it. My family, on the other hand was not.

But, despite the less than satisfactory living conditions, we had a great time in DC. We did your typical tourist-y type stuff. We got tickets for the Tourmobile:

Oops, that's not it. ;)

There we go. This bad boy took us to see all the sights. They would drop us off, we'd get out, and then catch the next bus. It was nice, cause it cut down on the walking. And based on how much we walked anyways, if we didn't have the bus, I DEFinitely would have died.

Some notable things that happened while in DC:

1. My mom talked in her sleep. We all know how funny people talking in their sleep is. :) First she said, "Get out of here!!" and then she started screaming... but the funny thing was that she sounded like she was a ghost. And Timmy sat up and said "What are you doing??" Haha. It was hilarious.

2. We saw this on the way to Arlington National Cemetery:

I wish you all could see this thing better. It was hilariously creepy. A man's head on a fish.... yikes.

3. All the monuments and stuff, they were all great. I saw the WW2 Memorial for the first time, and it's really cool. I also saw the National Cathedral for the first time... and it was sweeet!

4. There was a hullabaloo at the White House, and we thought maybe we would see somebody famous (like the Jonas Brothers, for example), but unfortunately, no. All we saw were cops, police tape, and news crews. And no. I still don't know what was going on. All we know was that you couldn't get anywhere near the White House and people who had tours scheduled weren't allowed to go on them.

Okie dokes. That's all for now. Sorry I've neglected for so long.

And the next post will be all about VA Beach. yay!!

I'll Be Missing You

2008-09-05T11:01:00.007-04:00

Ok. I have some terrible, terrible news.

Poor Christopher Robin got kicked out of the Winnie the Pooh clan.

What's more, he's been replaced by a girl. Darby. Seriously?

I know. It's devastating. We don't even sell his merchandise in our stores.

Life no longer makes sense.

In other news.

I think that Disney World is the only place in the world where you can buy pantyhose from a vending machine.

Also, Jamar's birthday was yesterday. Yay!

And the Jonas brothers even wished him a happy birthday. Double yay!

That's pretty much it.

Love and miss you all!
Jessica

Space Cowboy

2008-08-29T16:32:00.009-04:00

So many exciting things happened today.

Like how McCain chose that governor from Alaska. I like him better now and won't hate voting for him. I would have liked Romney better, but still. At least it looks like McCain's campaign will get a boost.

I went through more training today. But it was sweet. For 2 reasons:

#1 - While I was walking "backstage" under Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom, Michael Phelps was walking over me on...you guessed it...Main Street USA. Yeah. He got his own parade for being the best. And being that he was just 10ish feet above me, it's like we met.

#2 - I TOTALLY rock at the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. We got to go on it during training and save the galaxy. Well, I saved the galaxy. The highest possible score you can get on the ride (You shoot lasers at the Evil Emperor Zurg) is 999,999. Before today, I had never gotten over 300,00. Today, I scored...drum roll please...

999,999!!!!!!!!!

(for those of you who needed proof...)

This just proves how awesome I am. I got special recognition and everything. And a pat on the back because they ran out of sweet prizes. But still. I told Buzz how I saved the galaxy and he saluted me AND gave me a high five. LOVE him.

I'm king of the world!!!

Or at least the galaxy :)

I also got my costume (aka my work uniform). It's so ugly. But what can you expect when your skirt is nicknamed "the duck skirt"? Pictures may or may not come later...

- J

The New Girl In Town

2008-08-28T17:55:00.007-04:00

Training has commenced. I have to say that before training, I really wasn't that excited to work. I felt kind of laissez faire about the whole working thing.

But yesterday, we reviewed the history of the company (you have to know where you've been to know where you're going) and the nerd that I am cried at almost every single video that they showed.

I just love Disney. I probably bleed Disney.

When I was a little kid, I was all about Disney. Disney was always magic.

And apparently, it still is. :)

We learned lots of stuff, most of it all old info for me, but one tidbit of info totally shocked me and I'm gonna share it with you.

Disneyland Paris has more visitors every year than the Eiffel Tower does.

Take that. Chew on it. Think about it.

I don't know. It at least it fascinated me.

Today I learned how to use a cash register. At first, I was dreading this process. It's not like I've been working a cash register for 4 years or anything. But Blockbuster's registers still run on DOS and Disney is in the 24th century or something. It's waaaay more advanced. But better. And I love it.

I would also like to add that I went one whole day without getting lost. I didn't even have to stay holed up in my apartment all day. I actually went on a trip that lasted like 30 minutes total and didn't get lost once. Yessss.

Lastly.

I miss all of you terribly. I wish that you could be here with me. Send me emails and letters (if you email me, I'll give you my addy - I'm not a total idiot about internet safety) and stuff. If you send me something, I'll send you something of equal or lesser value. :)

Love you all!

Jessica

A Whole New World

2008-08-26T09:42:00.005-04:00

Well, I guess I should just start where I left off...because there's at least one good story in between there and me arriving at Disney...

We totally got creamed by Hurricane Fay. That sucked. I think I prefer blizzards. I know, I know. Who prefers blizzards to rain and wind storms, right? It must be the Alaskan in me...

My dad and I finally arrived in Orlando when I realized that I had made a fatal mistake in South Carolina. This is how it went right before we left SC:

Dad: "Jessica, we're leaving in 15 minutes. Get out of bed."
Me: "What?? I thought we were leaving in an hour!"
D: "Nope. Move it."
*I get ready in 13 minutes
Me: "Ok, my straightener is still on. I'm gonna stick it in the fridge so it cools down before we hit the road."
D: That sounds like a good idea.

Basically, not a good idea, because I awoke the next morning in a panic when I realized that I never moved the straightener. Crap, crap, crap.

Don't get to depressed because of me, though. My dad bought me a new one.

I dropped my dad off at the airport Sunday morning and started crying after he got out of the car. The toll booth people must have thought I was having a serious breakdown b/c my face was all red and puffy and I had tears trickling down my cheeks.

I then proceed to spend all of Sunday holed up in my room watching the Disney channel and talking to Andrew on IM and Erika and the phone. I survived.

The next morning, I packed my stuff up and left for Disney (don't worry - there was no refrigerator in my room, so i didn't leave my straightener again).

And I just want to let you all know that God really does answer prayer, because I've been praying for God to send me a good roommate that was a Christian and someone that would be able to live with me peaceably and God answered my prayers and more. The very first girl I meet (Mandy) is the one that God sent to me and now we're roommates. She just graduated from a Christian college in North Carolina and wants to pursue a career in acting. She'll be working in Epcot and has to memorize a 28 page monologue for her job. Sick. But she can't wait.

So anyway, the similarities carry on. She's an army brat too, is highly allergic to mosquitoes (exactly like me - it's soo weird, erika), and basically, the list goes on and on. We're pretty similar, so it's great that God sent her to me. It's just too bad I look high in our very first picture :(

Haha. I almost forgot. She supports me and Erika and our quest to meet/marry the Jonas brothers. Being she's going to be famous someday, I think our percentages of meeting/marrying have gone up exponentially. :)

I just found out that I'll be working in Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom. I'll probably be skipping around to a lot of different shops in that area. Basically, the hours are crap (it's possible I'll have to be there at FOUR in the morning or work until 2-3 in the morning. Blech.), so don't mind me if I get really cranky sometimes from lack of sleep...or forget to blog because my body clock will be so out of whack...

And here are some pictures, so you can visualize EVERYTHING.

Don't judge me - it's a work in progress. We were really tired yesterday and got lost A LOT (like, an insane amount - even for me) so we didn't have a chance to unpack yet. I can update pictures as the apartment looks a little more lived in...that is, if you don't judge me...

Our bathroom and HUGE closet that you really can't see.

Our bedroom. Bet you can't guess which bed is mine...

Our living room...we still don't have the TV set up...or anything set up... yet...

Our kitchen. There's not too much to say about that...

I hope that gives you all a little look into my new life.

Don't worry. I won't forget you when I'm famous.

- Jellens

Life is a Highway

2008-08-22T21:41:00.010-04:00

First things first. I have 3 words.

Naked Mountain Winery.

Ok. I'll get back to that later...here's what happened since I last blogged.

- I quit my job at Blockbuster. On my last day, one of my favorite customers bought me ice cream. Unfortunately, he bought it for me w/3 hours left in my shift, so it was pretty melty...
- Julie and Scott became Mr. and Mrs. Scott Hamilton. It was about time.

- Some of my great friends (Andrew, Austin, Alyssum, Caitlynn, Jamar, and Alison) came to visit me before I began my trek down to Disney. We hung out and went to Los Tres Amigos and then ate some ice cream cake that I made. That may or may not sound super fun to you, but it was for me :)
- My FAVORITE olympians (Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor) won their 2nd consecutive gold medal in beach volleyball. I heard that they won it for you, Andrew...just to spite you...

- I began my trek down to Disney. My dad is helping drive down (I wasn't brave enough to battle Hurricane Fay by myself) and being we have a time share in Virginia, we made a major detour and stayed the night there. It was a rustic, equestrian time share (they probably train for the Olympics, eh Austin?), so I was a little skeptical about staying in log cabins, but they had fancy accommodations that included the Disney channel, so I was set. Here's some things that I noticed on our trip:
*Naked Mountain Winery. It's located in Virginia and it's off of I-66 eastbound at exit 18 for those of you interested in visiting.
*The trees are already changing colors :(
* The cheapest gas we found was for $3.39
* My aunt found this newfangled gasoline saver thing that you put in your gas tank, so we're getting like 36 miles to the gallon.
* UPS is EVERYWHERE. We saw and counted 31 UPS trucks in a period of 2 minutes (we passed a hub).
* That Kid Rock song is no longer popular in just Michigan. We heard it on the radio 5 times in 3 hours.
* I got a pepsi slushie for my big gulp and it tasted like popcorn :( I dumped it and had to buy another one. :(

On a separate note, as you'll probably read in a future blog, Erika made a tribute to the Office on her birthday. I decided to thus make a tribute to Friends, particularly Ross, and got myself some extra toilet paper and kleenex from our time share room. Yes.

Lastly, I decided to write a book. I've always wanted to and decided that I could get started and hopefully make more money off of the book then I spend writing/publishing the book. Don't ask me to tell you about it, because I won't tell you. For those of you who think I'm a bad secret keeper, I'll prove to you otherwise.

Oh! Lastly for real, Austin is the newest employee in the admissions office! YAY!!!!!!
(sorry if I just stole all of your thunder, Austin, but I couldn't help it)

- J

Too Little Too Late

2008-08-12T20:14:00.011-04:00

I know it's been a while since I last reviewed a movie and I know that you're all clamoring for some reviews, so I figured I could rewind a bit and review a couple movies that just came out as well as fast forward and review some that haven't come out yet.

So here goes.

Never Back Down (PG-13)

Basically, this is Karate Kid meets Fight Club with lots of teenage eye candy. Jake Tyler (Sean Faris) starts going to a new school and gets mixed up in an underground fight club. He ends up meeting a martial arts guru and begins to study fighting under him and learns to control his anger. He gives up trying to get revenge from a fellow student, Ryan (Cam Gigandet who also is the bad guy in Twilight. Some guys are just meant to play baddies. Like Cillian Murphy.). Ryan had previously humiliated him, and begins to threaten him and when his friends start getting hurt, Jake he challenges Ryan to a final fight. As lame as this sounds, it was actually pretty good. I'd have to give it a 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.

Nim's Island (PG)

Starring Gerard Butler, Abigail Breslin, and Jodie Foster. I would have loved this movie as a kid. To be honest, the only reason why I rented it is because I think Gerard Butler is hot for an old guy. It's about a girl (Breslin) who lives on an uninhabited island with her scientist of a father (Butler). Butler goes out on a scientific mission and gets lost at sea. While he's away, Breslin gets an email from who she thinks is her favorite action adventure hero Alex Rover, but in reality, is the author of the books, Alexandra Rover (Foster). Foster is an OCD agoraphobic who leaves her sheltered life to save Breslin and her island from being invaded. 2 out of 4 stars on this one.

Prom Night (PG-13 - Release date: August 19)

Considering how much I hate and am terrified of scary movies, it was surprising how much I enjoyed this movie starring Brittany Snow (John Tucker Must Die, Hairspray) and Jonathan Schaech (That Thing You Do!). Donna (Snow) witnessed her family's murders as committed by her former teacher turned obsessive stalker, Richard Fenton (Schaech). Fenton was captured, and surprise, surprise, escapes 3 days before Donna's prom. Her new family and police chief don't tell Donna what's happened to prevent the news from ruining her prom, but I'd have to say that if 8 or so people died at my prom, that would pretty much have ruined it for me. That being said, I'd give this 1980 remake a 3.75 out of 4 stars. It's not so much super scary as it is simply a good thriller.

Mrs. Pettigrew Lives For a Day (PG-13 - Release Date: August 19)

Sadly, this movie was not interesting at all. The only thing interesting about it was trying to figure out what movies the various cast members were from. Some of the stars of this movie are Amy Adams (Enchanted, Katie The Purse Girl from The Office), Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies), and Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - it was fascinating to see her in this movie. She's a real adult, yet she played a 13 year old in Harry Potter. Simply fascinating.) I can't really tell you much about this movie, because it lost my interest and I started writing this blog instead of watching the movie, but it's about a woman who becomes a social secretary by mistake for a woman who is dating 3 men. Let's be honest. Who hasn't seen a movie like this before? 1/2 a star out of 4. Thumbs down for sure.

I hope these reviews help. It's been a slow month. You should be watching the olympics, anyway. But have no fear - Iron Man comes out on the 30th of September. Yesssss!

And on that note, one of my coworkers told me that I smelled nice - like a tropical fruit. Excellent.

Peace out
- Jessica

The Great Gig In the Sky

2008-08-10T19:19:00.003-04:00

If you didn't know, that is the title of a Pink Floyd song.

I (Erika) don't know much about Pink Floyd, so I couldn't tell you if I like them or not.

I can however, tell you that I am impartial to The Echoes of Pink Floyd.

During the summer in Howell, they do this thing called "Concerts at the Courthouse," and they get a bunch of almost-nobody singers and bands to come every Friday during the summer and perform outside for free. The music is usually semi-lame, but it's still nice to get out of the house and do something different. And free. And! We usually get Dairy Queen when we go too, loooove ice cream. :)

So this last Friday, we (and by "we," I mean my mom, Daniel, Timmy, Rebekah, and I) decided to go and see the Echoes of Pink Floyd - a band who covers only Pink Floyd songs if you hadn't guessed that already. But, believe it or not, The Echoes of Pink Floyd were not the real lure to the show that night. They had been advertising a laser light show. Yess - Everyone loves laser shows, so we were psyched.

We showed up at 6:30 - half an hour before it was supposed to start... or so we thought...

We claimed our spot, my mom ordered pizza, and Daniel and I started people watching. We were surprised at how few people were there, I mean this is The Echoes of Pink Floyd, after all!

We got our pizza, and the man who was in charge (who I'm pretty sure was a Hippie back in the day) approached us and handed us coupons (for the pizza place we had already bought pizza from) and "reminded" us that the concert didn't start until 9:00 because the laser show was going to happen at the same time.

Goodness. No wonder there were so few people there.

We had over 2 hours to wait still. Oh well, thank goodness for interesting people (the most intriguing being an overweight man wearing a button up shirt.... unbuttoned. Yikes.) in Howell to watch. And pizza. And Dairy Queen.

As we watched the band set up and listened to about 10,983 mic checks, Daniel and I started wondering just where this laser show was going to be... there's really no place in downtown Howell to project lasers onto... so it was quite the conundrum.

As it got closer to 9:00, we slowly started to realize that our definition of a laser light show:

was very different from the hippie-man's definition of a laser show:

Yes. It's true. This man considered the multi-colored stage lighting a "laser show." If that's not false-advertising, then I don't know what is.

Despite the laser disappointment, we still had a good time. I'll tell you one of the many great parts of the night:

The Echoes of Pink Floyd had some backup singers (who were semi-ridiculous, by the way... but that's a different story), and for one of the songs, it was just her doing a bunch of oooh's and aaaaah's. The ooooh's and aaaaah's went on for a long time. Much longer than you would have expected. And she was ok. Better than me, but I'll put it this way - she wouldn't make it very far on American Idol. At all. After she had been singing for about 3-4 minutes, Timmy said very loudly, "Why is this lady still singing?!" Oh my. Needless to say, we got some looks from the people around us. But from the grins on their faces, he said just what everybody else was thinking. :)

Also. I got to see Kate. And Nate and Missy. And the babies.

It was pretty much the best ever. Be jealous.

Home

2008-08-03T13:06:00.004-04:00

Well. It's official.

I (Erika). Am. Home. :)

It's nice. As great as South Carolina is, I've missed good ol' Michigan. I figured the best way for me to get my point across is to make some lists. :) Gotta love the lists.

First, things I missed about Michigan when I was in SC:

1. My friends and family - duh.

2. The weather - Ok. I know this one might seem kind of shocking, but it got HOT in South Carolina, and it's nice to be able to be outside for more than 5 minutes w/o being covered in sweat.

3. Watching sports - In South Carolina all they care about is college sports: Clemson and USC (not University of Southern California, it's University of South Carolina). So I have definitely experienced a Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings withdrawal.

4. The sunsets - Michigan has some of the best sunsets. I realized it's because it is cloudy here... a lot. So that can be a bummer sometimes... but they make for great sunsets. In South Carolina, they don't get clouds very often.

5. The drivers - down south... they don't drive very well. I know that's a generalization... but it's true. For the most part. We may drive fast up here, but at least we know what we are doing. My dad says it's cause they watch too much Nascar - they drive like they're coming out of the pits.

Ok. Now for things I'm going to miss about South Carolina:

1. Family (including my dog). Duh.

2. Working at NuVox. I really enjoyed it there, and my last day was surprisingly sad.

3. The weather. Even though it was insanely hot sometimes, I will admit that it is nice seeing the sun everyday.

4. The gas prices. It was funny... being up here, driving around with Jessica, she said that it was nice to see the gas prices coming back down. At $3.89. In South Carolina, $3.89 was expensive gas... I think that's the highest it got all summer.

5. The scenery. Mountains = Beautiful.

So... fairly short lists, I know. But, give me a break - my cousin got married last night... and I'm tiiiiired.

Oh. and one thing I'm NOT going to miss about South Carolina - Seeing these:

Gross. I know. They call them Palmetto Bugs. But don't be fooled, it's definitely a cockroach.

Aaannnd - I'll leave you all w/ that lovely image.

Burnin' Up

2008-07-31T20:45:00.006-04:00

High heels.
Red dress.
All by yourself.
Gotta catch my breath.

But I (Jessica) wasn't all by myself.
Or in high heels.
Or in a red dress.
And I was fully in control of my breathing.

I just really wanted to start this post like that because it's such a good song. And it's sung by our future husbands.

By our, I mean me and Erika. I don't have a multiple personality disorder.

And by me and Erika, I mean that we were REUNITED!!! SHE'S BACK IN MICHIGAN!!!! and sitting right next to me. right now. yup. that just happened.

So, this is what we did today. Prepare to be amazed.

#1 - We reminisced. We talked and looked at our senior yearbook. For the record, our spanish teacher was...so much fun. But really. That was a fun class, as was our yearbook class. Zobodos.
#2 - We ate. We went to Applebee's and got a free dessert for Erika's "20th birthday." We couldn't very well say it was her 21st when it wasn't. You know they would have checked up on us. We're too clever for that. Our waitress (Monique) has different colored eyes. Fascinating.

#3 - We went to our 2nd favorite place on earth. Walmart. Our Howell Walmart is far superior to the Walmart in Jackson, but we were disturbed by the lack of Camp Rock merchandise, so we scurried over to Target to get our fix. And a slushie.
#4 - We the went to Target to find our beloved Camp Rock Gear.

It.
Was.
Awesome.

Here's proof:

#5 - We went to Blockbuster. I had to prove to Erika that the people I work with really exist. And she wanted to read the Rolling Stone article about the Jonas brothers. Here's an excerpt:
"I have waited to meet Nick Jonas my whole life!"
"How old are you?"
"10."

Music's in my soul. Apparently, it's in hers too.

Can't Lose 2 Tha Game

2008-07-21T17:57:00.005-04:00

Well, this week is pretty much not exciting if you want a million movies to be released.

However, if you want just one good movie to be released, then this is a pretty great week, because the movie "21" is finally on DVD.

21 (PG-13)

Someone once told me that this movie was a lot like Ocean's 11. They were lying. Or at least they were wrong for a number of reasons.

#1 - This is actually based on a real story about students scamming Vegas while counting cards. Sweet.
#2 - It's about average looking college students. Not criminals who look really hot. And I think that it's more geared at college students/teens rather than for anyone older.
#3 - The plot isn't based on revenge. Revenge takes place, but it's not the main plot.
#4 - It's not as good or as clever as Ocean's 11, but it was a pretty good movie anyway. Especially if you aren't comparing it to the Ocean's movies.

This movie is pretty solid. I liked it a lot. It's not going on my Christmas list, but it's definitely a good one to see at least once.

On a separate note, a new trailer came out for Twilight, so obviously, I had to share it because I'm TOTALLY PUMPED for it to come out!!

Lastly, I agree with Erika. If you haven't seen The Dark Knight yet, you need to otherwise everyone will ruin the plot for you or you might just end up socially crippled.

Lator Gator.

Jessica

Carolina Drama

2008-07-20T15:11:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday, I (Erika) went to my first ever "meeting." It was an all-day long thing, so they took it "off-campus." We went to this vineyard in the mountains, and it was BEAutiful. The only downside of the location was the fact that the place didn't really have a conference room, so most of our meeting was in the wine cellar. Translation: FREEZING.

A lot of the day consisted of people giving presentations on how their marketing program has increased, how the company has increased, and some of the products they offer. Which, to be honest, a lot of the product part was waaay over my head cause it's all telecommunications stuff, and I don't know enough of the millions of acronyms they use to follow along.

It was a good day, despite getting lost on the way there. I got to talk to a bunch of the people in the office that I don't normally talk to, so it was nice getting to know them a bit. It's just a shame that this happened with only one more week of me working there. The other intern and I were also told that one of the big reasons we were hired is because we were the least likely to bring any drama with us. Heh. Clearly they don't know me. Just kidding.

After the presentations, they had a guy come in and give us this personality test. I was the only person in the entire department who scored as a "counselor." So that was kind of interesting to start out with. Here's the overview on what it means to be a counselor:

Counselors are kind, thoughtful, quiet listeners who are sensitive to the feelings of others and always take the time to offer a kind word.

People turn to counselors for help. They are perceived as forgiving persons who will listen without judging. They are mostly passive and avoid telling others how to fix their problems.

Mmmm... Yeah, I'd say that describes me. I scored second highest as a "rock." Those are the only 2 categories that had more than... 10 (I think) points. So I'm a pretty solid rock. Hahaha - pun intended. I'm so cool. Here's what it means to be a rock:

Rocks use a controlled, casual style of communication that focuses on getting the message across. They focus more on the message content than on the manner in which it is delivered.

Rocks are easy-going team players who avoid interpersonal conflicts and focus on getting the work out. They build relationships based on trust by consistently doing what's right for the customer and their organization whether or not it benefits them personally.

So. There ya have it - I'm a Counselor/Rock.

And on a totally seperate, unrelated note - if you haven't seen The Dark Knight yet, do it.

Do it now - 5, 4, 3, 2....1. NOW! (also, if you don't watch The Office, do that as well)

A Dollar Down and a Dollar a Week

2008-07-15T13:34:00.009-04:00

Yeah. Unfortunately, that's almost my salary at Blockbuster.

But being nothing spectacular happened this week, I'm going to give my reviews of the movies that came out today that I got to see before all of you because I'm awesome.

#1 - Penelope (PG)

I'd have to give this movie 4 stars (out of 4, obviously). I love a good fairy tale, and this was as good as gets. It had a great plot and a great moral. I know learning lessons from movies is slightly lame, but this one had a great one. And I kind of think James McAvoy is a hottie. Not so much in this movie, but sometimes he is, so I can give bonus points for that. Basically, it's about a girl (Christina Ricci) who's cursed to have a pig nose until "one of her own kind" (socialites) can love her for who she truly is. She's kept hidden by her family, and when one of her suitors finally gets a look at her, no one believes what he says she looks like, so he pays a man (McAvoy) to get a picture of her so they can publish it and clear the suitor's name and reputation.

#2 - The Bank Job (R)

I'd give this one 3 out of 4. It was a pretty good plot and it's based on a true story about a bank robbery, but there was A LOT of sex and nudity and I was really embarrassed that I was watching that with my parents. Basically, unless you have a pretty good fast-forward button for those bad parts, this may be a movie to stay away from. That being said though, it was a good movie and starred Jason Statham, who is AWESOME, and it's set in England, so they call all criminals "villains." Ha. I pretty much loved that and wished I was British so I could say stuff like "villains." Moral of this story? Don't have sex out of wedlock, because it will come back to bite you in the butt at the worst possible moment.

#3 - Step Up 2: The Streets (PG-13)

I'd give this one 3 1/2 out of 4. As far as sequels go, this one was pretty solid. Channing Tatum was only in it for like 5 minutes, which was sad, but the new characters made up for his absence. The plot of this movie wasn't as strong as the original Step Up, but the dancing is much better and if you like break dancing even a little bit, you'll probably love this movie. Basically, this movie's about a girl who's about to be sent away from her friends and dance crew to live in Texas or something if she doesn't get her act together. She ends up going to the Marilyn School of the Arts (the school from the original movie) and creates her own crew to compete in the streets against her old crew that dumped her because she started going to a preppy school.

Some other movies came out too, but I didn't watch them because they looked lame (College Road Trip, Meet Bill). The movies I reviewed would be your best bet if you just want some good entertainment for under $5.

You're welcome ;)
- Jessica

Blessed

2008-07-14T17:39:00.005-04:00

So. I had a really good weekend this weekend.

Probably one of the best since being down here.

It started on Saturday. It was really nice outside – it’s been rainy lately… which is ok, cause we really needed it. We were in drought status. But it makes for doing things outside more difficult.
Anyways, since it was nice, my dad, Diane, Kendal and I went to the lake. The bummer thing is, unlike Michigan, there isn’t a lake around every corner, so we had to drive an hour to get there. But the cool thing is, also unlike Michigan; this lake is at the base of a mountain. So needless to say, if you got tired of swimming, you could just look around and take in the awesome view.

We did all the normal things people do at lakes. We rented a paddleboat, read, barbequed, and went swimming, of course. We also played the “spectacular catch” game (Daniel) and I had some pretty great catches, if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, though there was no HydroSmash. So no diddlies. Or even diddly-squats. (If you don’t know what that means… don’t worry about it).

This lake also has a high diving board. And I went off it. I’m glad that I did it cause now when I play whoonu, I can actually have an opinion for “the high dive.” It is a card. And it was… an experience. I’m not sure if I’ll ever do it again because of the gallons of water that went into my head through my nose and ears… but, like I said – I’m glad I did it. And, just so you know, this thing is like… 20 feet above the water. So it’s no small task.

And then Sunday was the best ever too.
I went down to see Brian in Atlanta. And it was awesome. I haven’t seen anybody from school since the Slagers’ wedding, so it was really really cool.

When I first got there, we went to a mall called the Santa Fe Mall. Brian had never been there before and wanted to check it out. So we did. And it was… an experience, that’s for sure. I don’t think I can really explain just how… different this place was. It was clearly a Mexican/Hispanic mall. Brian and I were… I think the only white people there – definitely the odd people out. Almost everything was in Spanish first and then English. The storefronts looked like they could be outside… but they were inside. The best way we came up with to describe it is that it was like walking down a road in Mexico, except instead of dirt, there was tile. And then obviously a ceiling. The best thing about it, though was we got to see a live Mariachi band. I’ve never seen one before, and they were pretty good. :)

It was a pretty small mall, so we didn’t stay there very long. We left and made our way into Atlanta. For the next 2 hours or so, we just drove around, and Brian showed me… everything, really. It was sweet. I got to see where he works. We actually drove into the Bowen Homes, and he showed me where he saw the drive-by. I also saw the neighborhood where T.I. grew up. Just driving through those places was… sad. I don’t really know the right word for it… but it’s definitely one thing to read about this stuff in books, but it’s a whole different thing when you see it. It really makes you realize just how blessed we are.

We did more driving around. And it was still sweet.

For dinner, I experienced Firehouse Subs for the first time. Brian's right. They're DEFinitely good.

And to top the night off, as I was backing out of his driveway headed for home, I hit a tree. Yesss. Probably the best part of the night. Just kidding. It wasn't really at all. But, it's ok - it didn't hurt the car (or the tree) at all. :)

Everything's Not Lost

2008-07-10T22:46:00.003-04:00

Don't worry, everyone.

My book finally came.

And I almost hugged the mail carrier.

Almost.

I also got my hair cut today. I don't have any fabulous pictures of it yet, but I didn't want you all to clamor for a picture, so I took a semi-ok one, just for you guys.

And then, I got The Prestige, Stardust, and Sydney White on sale at Blockbuster.

All in all, I think it was a pretty good day. Now I'm gonna go do some pilates.

Peace out.

- Jessica

We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes

2008-07-07T15:20:00.005-04:00

Ok. I (Jessica) stole this from one of James' friend's blogs, but I thought it was really interesting. There's this site that you can go and take a survey and from those limited results, it tells you who you'd be interested in voting for.

http://selectsmart.com/president/2008.html

And these were my results:

1. Theoretical Ideal Candidate (100%)

2. Stephen Colbert (campaign halted) (70%)

3. Chuck Hagel (not running) (63%)

4. Duncan Hunter (withdrawn, endorsed Huckabee) (63%)

5. Sam Brownback (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (63%)

6. Mike Huckabee (withdrawn) (62%)

7. John McCain (59%)

8. Mitt Romney (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (59%)

9. Tom Tancredo (withdrawn, endorsed Romney) (57%)

10. Alan Keyes (withdrawn) (56%)

11. Newt Gingrich (says he will not run) (51%)

12. Jim Gilmore (withdrawn) (50%)

13. Tommy Thompson (withdrawn, endorsed Giuliani) (49%)

14. Fred Thompson (withdrawn) (46%)

15. Bob Barr (46%)

16. Ron Paul (concedes nomination not possible) (45%)

17. Rudolph Giuliani (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (44%)

18. Michael Bloomberg (says he will not run) (43%)

19. Wayne Allyn Root (is now Bob Barr's running mate) (42%)

20. Al Gore (not announced) (41%)

21. Hillary Clinton (defeated, endorsed Obama) (40%)

22. Kent McManigal (campaign suspended) (37%)

23. Wesley Clark (not running, endorsed Clinton) (36%)

24. Joseph Biden (withdrawn) (33%)

25. Barack Obama (32%)

26. John Edwards (withdrawn) (32%)

27. Bill Richardson (withdrawn, endorsed Obama) (31%)

28. Christopher Dodd (endorsed Obama) (27%)

29. Dennis Kucinich (withdrawn) (27%)

30. Alan Augustson (campaign suspended) (24%)

31. Mike Gravel (withdrawn) (19%)

32. Ralph Nader (18%)

33. Elaine Brown (withdrawn) (16%)

Who knew? I mean, it's a limited survey and it doesn't go into all of the issues, but it makes you decide about most of the major issues.

And it took up 15 minutes of my time. 15 minutes of non-boredom means 15 minutes of time well spent. :)

Her Eyes

2008-07-04T01:14:00.004-04:00

Work at Blockbuster has officially begun.

And I (Jessica) already got hit on. I think. Actually, I don't really know what to think...

Here goes.

I'm shelving movies, minding my own business. I then notice that this guy has slowly made his way next to me. I kind of saw him eyeballing me earlier, but I ignored it. I find that being ignored takes away a lot of gumption that creepers think they have.

Anyway.

He looks at me and starts saying something. However, he's speaking in such a low tone, that even a person with the best hearing in the world couldn't have heard it. We all know that I'm practically deaf, so I obviously didn't hear him.

I ask if him he needs any help finding anything and he mumbles something more and then sulks away.

As I continue to put more movies away, I notice that he is now facing me...no...staring/gazing at me over one of the shelves. I ask him again if there's anything I can do to help him. He says, "mlckdanjdalsjfdslkjfasdlf." Or at least, that's what I heard. I told him I didn't understand him and then he says at an audible level, "Are you wearing contacts?"

"Uh...no." I respond, slightly disgusted and a little taken aback.
"Oh. It was just a question. I was making small talk."

Right. Gotcha. Guys - please add "Are you wearing contacts?" to your list of pickup lines NOT to say to a girl. It's weird. You can only say that after you've known them for a while.

And then later, a coworker was just staring at me and when I asked him if he needed anything, he said no and asked why I said that. I told him that I tend to ask people what they want when they just stand there staring at me for no reason, and he was like "I can stare at what I want."

I then proceeded to tell him and another coworker about the contact guy, and the staring coworker says, "maybe he was just in awe of your wonderful beauty."

Maybe he was. But still. Weirdo McBeardo.

Whistle While You Work

2008-07-02T19:24:00.005-04:00

Ok. Most of you know that I (Erika) got an internship this summer.

But I have failed to explain what it is I am doing exactly. Well, here is that post. :)

First and foremost, I must say that The Office has forever skewed my view on what office life is and should be. I want, and expect there to be a Dwight, Michael, and Jim in every office in America. There doesn't have to be Pam, I'll be Pam. :) No Roy either, he's a bum. Anyways - there isn't a Michael, Dwight, or Jim at my office, much to my dismay.

And, as for the blog title - I don't whistle while I work (I do listen to my iPod, though), but there is somebody who everytime he/she walks by, he/she is whistling. It brightens my day. Before you start wondering - I said he/she because he/she walks on the other side of my cubicle-like wall, so I can't see who is doing that. Not because it is a person that I can't really tell by looking whether it is a boy or a girl.

So. What I do there...

The fun stuff is designing flyers, making graphics for the website, photo editing, and coming up w/ new ideas for the website. Here's some examples of that.

So, they have a company store online that's pretty ugly. This is my updated version. It's pretty conservative. I know. But it had to be.

This was a flyer for a sales incentive they are doing. This actually isn't the finished product, but it's the one I have on my computer at home, so it's the one you all see. :)

The boring stuff is helping the web lady research and compile the research of how good their website is doing. Blech. It's all excel stuff copy, paste, organize. Copy, paste, organize. Copy, paste, organize. Copy... well, you get the idea.

So, yeah. Despite the boring stuff and lack of "The Office" drama, I am really enjoying it. And I've said it before, I'll say it again: as much as I love ice cream, it's definitely better than Dairy Queen. :)

In other news, if you haven't seen Wall-E yet. Go. It was SO cute.

Twilight

2008-07-01T11:32:00.006-04:00

Ok.

Now I'm bored.

My (Jessica's) job hasn't started up yet, and my family is in Arizona and my friends are far away. It's just me and my dog, which, I know for some of you would be worse than being alone.

Anyway, I've had lots of time for reading. So much time, in fact, that I'm already re-reading a book I read just last week.

Pathetic. I know.

But in my defense, ALL of the books that I'm interested in reading are checked out of the library and I'm on huge wait lists.

Anyway, in my boredom, I'll tell you a story about this new book series that's captivated me: Twilight.

I first heard about this book from facebook flair. I saw all these stickers about "Edward Cullen" and "So what if my boyfriend is a vampire?" and lame stuff like that. If you haven't noticed it, you have to get out more...or stay in more, i suppose, being it's on the computer. Seriously. I'd never even heard of this Edward Cullen, and I didn't realize those bumper stickers were related, so I figured if people were obsessing about him, he must be from American Idol or something.

So one day, I wikipedia-ed it. And I found out that he's a character from a book about vampires. I thought to myself "how lame. A human girl falls in love with a vampire. Whatever."

I was wrong.

I think this is one of my new favorite books. I would even bring it on a deserted island before I would bring Harry Potter. It's captivated me.

So, before it took over my life, I was in Aruba and saw it on sale on half. com for $4, and I figured, if I hate it, it was only $4. So I bought it. When it came, I read it in less than 24 hours.

My next step was to buy the next 2 books. I saw the prices online, and the 2nd book was comparable to prices at Borders right now, and I wouldn't have to wait, so I bought the 2nd book at Borders and ordered the 3rd book online, figuring I could control myself and be done with the 2nd book around the time the 3rd one arrived.

No dice. I finished the 2nd book even faster.

And then. Much to my chagrin, my 3rd book couldn't be delivered. I reordered it (It was 2x as expensive at Borders, and I'm not that desperate) on Friday. It still hasn't been shipped. I then called up my library and am on a wait list of like 25 people. Ugh.

In my attempt to defeat boredom, I created another monster. It's something combined with impatience and anxiety. I know. I'm obsessed.

But, for what it's worth, I still function like a normal human being. I just want to read. Right now. And I can't. It's infuriating.

I would really recommend the books. The 4th one comes out in about a month and it's the last one of the series, so you won't totally be held in suspense for long. And the movie comes out in December, which I can't wait to see.

Ah. I'm glad that you guys put up with this "woe is me" post. I know I've been doing exciting things that normal people would be jealous of, but after going nonstop for a month and then coming home to nothing...well...that's culture shock, in and of itself.

Chapel of Love

2008-06-26T20:22:00.009-04:00

About a week ago, Erika and I were reunited.

And it was great. I miss my best friend a lot. A lot, a lot.

Erika was able to fly up from South Carolina for the weekend for the purpose of going to the wedding of Justin Slager and Laura Hawkins.

And that was also great.

To be honest, I wasn't all to worried about saying goodbye to a lot of my senior friends this school year because I knew that I'd see them at Justin's wedding. And I did. And it was great to see everyone. And to see Justin and Laura get married of course.

Their ceremony was beautiful and I totally want Pastor Mark to do my ceremony too. Justin (at least, I'm assuming it was Justin) put together a slide show of the couple before and after they met and it was super cute. And then the groomsmen "lost" Justin's ring. His face made it look like he didn't think it was that funny, which surprised me because he thinks just about everything is funny. I dunno. Maybe he thought it was funny and I was just sitting too far back to really know anything :)

Their reception was pretty hoppin' too. There was great food and cheesecake and line dancing. That was sooooo funny to watch.

As for the present that Erika and I got them, you won't understand it if you haven't seen The Office. We got them an exercise orb (red), a makeshift Jello mold, Jello, and scissors (to put in the jello in the jello mold and then eat them out and pop the exercise orb).

And yes. All of what we got them was on their registry.

Except the jello and scissors. No one in their right mind would put those on a registry. That was just our own creative touch.

So that's pretty much it. She's already back to SC and I'm bored again.

Not too much is interesting after South Korea and Aruba (yeah. i know i'm rubbing it in a bit...ok...maybe a lot). I'm waiting for my job to start back up at good old Blockbuster. Yay.

Welcome to Detroit

2008-06-21T12:07:00.006-04:00

Just once, I'd like to arrive at Detroit Metro on the same day that I was scheduled to arrive.

I hate delays.

Especially in the Miami airport, because it is FREEZING. Blech. I for sure peaced out Miami. Good riddance.

Ok. Not too much happened, but I want to tell you 2 things.

One, we saw the a man who could have straight up been the father of Beans, from the Disney Channel show, Even Stevens. It was incredible.

Two, a girl fell down the escalator and it was terrifying. I wanted to cry. Seriously.

You could see it coming from a mile away. She stepped on 2 steps at once and when the escalator went down, she kind of teetered, and then she tumbled - like somersaulted - all the way down.

I don't know how my dad made it down the side stairs that fast, but when my dad's on the move, you best be gettin' out of his way, because he's a colonel and he will take you out. No joke.

But he got down on the scene. The girl's skirt got stuck in the escalator and was dragging her into the crack between the floor and the stairs. Her shoe also got stuck and was being sucked into the bottom of the escalator. She was just laying like a rag doll, bleeding from her knees. They had to rip part of her skirt off in order to keep her from getting even more hurt.

Seriously. It was terrifying.

I mean, it could be funny - once it made it to America's Funniest Home Videos or something - but not today. Yikes.

She got up and was being tended to. She looked kind of dazed and they didn't stop the bleeding by the time I left. They called an ambulance, though, so at least she got taken care of.

So, that's pretty much it.

I'm home and it feels great.

Welcome to Detroit.

Big Rock Candy Mountain

2008-06-18T18:07:00.004-04:00

Ok, Jessica's in Aruba.

Let's all take a moment and be insanely jealous of her.

Well that was fun. Time to get back to the lives of people who don't travel the world in a span of 4 weeks. Like me.

My internship. I promised I would update when I had something to report. And I do, now that I've been working there for 3 days. It's pretty alright so far. I've gotten to do a logo, and some graphics for their website, so those were fun. But the downside is, I still have to do typical intern-y type stuff like putting information about their company into 500 water bottles for the baseball game they are sponsoring. And make spreadsheets w/ all the info on how well their website is doing. But, you win some you lose some. And it's still better than Dairy Queen. :)

For Father's Day this year, my dad, sister and I went to this place called Stoney Mountain in Georgia. And it was super cool. This mountain... is a big rock. Literally. We took a skyride up to it, and we could see for miles around - Atlanta looked sweet. (Brian, if you happen to read this, yes - I was right outside of Atlanta, I would have called you, but I figured you wouldn't really be interested in hanging out w/ my family all day).

After hanging out at the top of the mountain and watching the people who had walked up the mountain (haha, suckas - shoulda taken the sky rail), we walked down and checked out the festivities down there. Oh, I forgot to mention: there is a carving in the mountain too. It's kinda like the confederate version of Mount Rushmore except not quite as big. There's Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and.... shoot, I can't remember. Google it if you want. Anyways, there was this thing called the Sky Hike, and that was super sweet - it was basically a high ropes course. I'd never been on one of those, but - like I said, super cool.

So that was the excitement that was Father's Day.

And that's that.

Oh. One more thing. In my short experience, the guys down south are much bolder than the guys up north.

And that's that.

Spanglish

2008-06-16T20:09:00.002-04:00

1st of all, the fact that I (Jessica) knew this song title is due to Justin Slager. I guess he's not the worst. Today anyway. But he'll never know that b/c he doesn't read this blog.

So, today we went on a tour of the island and our bus driver was soooo funny! Everything he said was a mixture of Spanish and English. He said to us "My English not perfect - But I do it anyway."

See? Funny guy.

On top of that, while we were on the tour, some guy behind us honked at us and passed us, so naturally, my bus driver's reaction was to flip the guy the bird. Yessss.

He also asked us if we wanted to see his house, and my dad says yes. He then pulls up to this "house" that's 2 feet tall and about 4 feet wide. Seriously? :)

This guy just cracked me up. And you all know me when I crack up. It was uncontrolable. So at least it was just my family and the bus driver on the tour. But it was cool, b/c everytime I would laugh, the bus driver would say, "Good joke!" and start to laugh too. As soon as I get a chance, I'm gonna post a picture of me and my brother with him.

What a great guy (Still won't tap that, Andrew).

Back to the Spanglish thing, though...I just want you all to know that on a scale of 1-10, my 4 years in HS spanish has helped me out about a 1.33. Thanks, Riordan.

On a seperate note - Erika and Kate - the Olsen twins have gotten smaller. Ever since they went abroad for a couple weeks and ate less and exercised more, they dropped a couple sizes. If you haven't seen pictures yet, you will - they've lost weight for sure. Weird, huh?

Paradise

2008-06-15T09:44:00.003-04:00

Seriously. It's great here. This is honestly what the view from my window looks like.

I know you're jealous.

Because if I wasn't here experiencing this, I know I would be.

My number one goal while being here is to get an even tan for Justin's wedding (don't worry, Andrew. I'm wearing SPF 50 to avoid skin cancer).

But it's great being on the beach. Even thought it's REALLY hot, it's windy here. Not breezy. Straight up windy. That has it's ups and downs, but it keeps the hotness from becoming unbearable.

Not too many exciting things have happened thus far. Except that Taco Bell's here serve fries instead of the xtra soft taco in their value meals. It's weird, but it's ok. They even taste good dipped in the fire sauce.

So, I just want all of you to know that not only am I on the best beach in the world right now, but they've also shown High School Musical 2 and Hairspray on cable. Yesssss.