Soo last week consisted of a lot of driving down to Fburg for grad festivities. It's what we at MW call Dead Week. Most people go to the beach for a few days before returning for senior activities.
Tuesday:
After switching around my work schedule I drove down to Anthony's for his bday/Cinco de Mayo party. Traffic, thankfully, was not heinous. But as soon as I got into town the heavens opened up. I quickly ran into Total Wine to get supplied and then headed out. Anthony was grilling despite the rain. Lets just say we drank, ate, danced, and played cards the rest of the day. Evening came around and I found myself making 2 new friends. It's funny how you know someone on our campus, but you never really meet. You have all the same friends, but you still don't meet until that 1 day in the future. That was that day. Marissa, Maggie, and I bonded and then made a run to the ABC store where we ended up discussing which Sweet Tea Vodka we should buy. Even the cashier got into our discussion. Soo eventually we make it back and I find Katie and Ash! They promised to stop in quickly before heading to the Jack's Mannequin concert in Richmond. I also got to catch up with a few other grads and share about my Walk weekend. Sometime later I ended up going downtown to Cap Ale (surprise surprise) with Chrissie and Andi. It was the emptiest I had ever seen it. I knew a lot of people were out of town, but it was still kind of shocking. So we order drinks and fries and proceed to have a merry time. I was still recovering from the Walk weekend so I started fading. I think I left them around midnight..but that was awhile ago. I drove home and crashed.
Thursday:
I drove down for the Morocco Reunion Lunch at Cap Ale! It took me a bit longer than expected because of stupid traffic/construction. Em, Laura, Twin, and Ryan were able to make it. It was us and a few other patrons there so naturally we were the loudest. After lunch Ryan and I tried to help Twin find gold shoes for Grad Ball that evening. It was not a success. On the drive home I swear I almost died. Again, the heavens decided to open up on 95 and I swear I couldn't see 5 feet in front of me. It was pretty intense and only lasted 15 minutes or so. That's the 2nd or 3rd time I've got caught in a freak rain storm on a major highway. And by freak rain storm I mean all cars slow down to 20 mph or pull over on the side of the road and no one can see 10 feet in front of their cars. I made it home and then decided to go out with Bevin and her roomies. They were doing their Dead Week here in NoVA/wherever. It was a very chill evening, which I definitely needed.
Friday:
It took me 2+ hrs to get to Fburg. Stupid Stupid traffic! I finally arrive and I basically just bounce around from place to place seeing different people and hanging out. I changed and bought flowers for Convocation and got to see my CC 09ers! Later on in the evening I was downtown at Cap Ale. It was a pretty chill evening since most seniors were hungover/exhausted from Grad Ball the night before. Eventually Twin and I make it back to her house and we go to bed.
SATURDAY!
We woke up around 7ish and we were on our way to Graduation by 8:15! It was beautiful, of course! I walked all around Jeffy Square and got to see a lot of seniors before heading over to Lee Hall. I also saw Frank and we got to catch up for a bit. People thought we were ushers soo that was nice. No one bothered stepping in front of me so I had a clear angle to take pictures. The ceremony was lovely, but the setup was totally different! I couldn't sneak into the President's tent...sad. Ash and I walked around and ran into Mary W. We all eventually plopped down on the new steps of Lee and just chilled. I still had my donuts from the morning run so we enjoyed some munchkins. I saw a lot of 08 grads wandering around so it was nice to catch up on life. Pretty soon we were all singing the alma mater and then they recessed! It was all pretty much over by 11:30. Then we all got caught up in pictures and somehow finally made it to lunch @ Cheeseburger. Katie's dad paid for everyone which was super sweet. It's always interesting to meet family and see where certain traits are inherited. Take for instance Katie's mom. She and her have the same smile and similar laughs. But Katie definitely gets her distinctive laugh from her father. After lunch there was some party hopping way into the night. Then somehow I ended up downtown with Marissa and Laura M. bar hopping/shooter hopping. We stopped at Bourbon Room, Cap Ale, University Cafe, and Happy Endings. At each we bought each other rounds of shooters. I was so insistent on driving home that night, but by the 5th or 6th I knew that just wasn't going to happen. So I ended up crashing at Mandeville's place. Somehow we managed to crawl out of bed for Mother's Day.
Yup, it was a pretty fantastic weekend even if I left out some details.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Fighting Breast Cancer...39.3 miles at a time
The DC Walk is officially over! What an experience! Lets divide the entry into Sat & Sun.
SATURDAY - 1st day of the Walk
After getting home around 10:30/11 PM I was psyched and way too keyed up to go to sleep. I figured since I had to wake up again at 3 there was no point in actually going to bed. So I stayed up and then left for DC around 3:30. I arrived at L'Enfant Colonial Parking Garage in record time and was on the first shuttle with some other early morning volunteers. We were shuttled over to West Potomac Park (next to the Tidal Basin) and that is where it all began. I helped Annie (our Volunteer Coordinator/VOC) with volunteer check-in for a bit. I didn't really have a specific job to do so I got placed wherever I was needed. I ended checking volunteers in, setting up barricades for the Opening Ceremony, checking late walkers in, and who knows what else. Opening started promptly at 6:30 and then the walkers were off! I was relieved and got sent home for a few hours where I managed to take a 20 minute nap. Then I drove up to Chevy Chase, MD to our Wellness Village/WV. This is the midpoint for our walkers. Walkers get hot food, hot showers, massages, med care, etc etc and they get to camp out in 2 person tents if they so choose. I think around 70% actually camp out and the rest either get picked up and brought back in the AM or they go back to hotel that night. Then it starts over again the next morning. I was helping our VOC again. Saturday afternoon was much more relaxed as we watched and waited for the walkers to arrive. Later on I got to help in the Med tent and it was crazy! We had students from GUH (Georgetown University Hospital) volunteering for the weekend. Most people had blisters. There were some extreme cases of course. I got to meet more Walk staffers from other cities (Brea from NY por ejemplo). Then I drove home, had dinner, and decided that going out for a drink that night was a good life decision. Over the past 48 hours I had only gotten 20 minutes of sleep! Yup, definitely a good life choice. I ended up going out with Erin and we met up with a few of her co-workers and some randoms at Big Hunt in Dupont. I had a drink and didn't feel too tired. But I had to be up around 6 or so to get ready for my last day so I wasn't going to push it. I ended up meeting some new people and it was a nice change of pace.
SUNDAY
I got up around 6:30 and left around 7 to get to DC. I also managed to get some DD for myself and my VOC. I arrived at the garage and eventually we made it over to Closing (also at W. Potomac Park). Unfortunately our shuttle driver was a little confused and we almost went to Arlington. Thankfully we got it all straightened out and she took us to the correct location. Sunday was vastly different from Saturday. I helped with barricades again and got to know Jaclyn (one of the directors). Then I got to unload all of the walkers gear for a few hours in the pouring rain! I wore 3 layers of clothing and by 11 I was completely drenched from head to toe. It wasn't cold earlier in the day, but by 2/3 I was definitely shivering. Annie yelled at me to change so I'm grateful for that. After unloading 4 Budget trucks filled to the max with hundreds of suitcases, sleeping bags, etc. OMG I won't ever need to work out again. Later I went back and helped out with random odd jobs. We had quite a few volunteers so I ran errands for the staffers. It was cool because by then most of them had heard about it and they were always like, " Oh are you Alyssa? It's so nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you!". That was cool and nerve wracking too in a way. I seriously wanted to impress these people and I hope I did. The rain never really let up so most people vamoosed when they crossed the finish line. And whaddya know I met a MWC alum/walker. I was wearing my UMW hat and she just casually said, "Oh that's my alma mater." Out of 2000+ people there had to be at least a few MWers out there =) Closing ceremony was moved up to 3 and everyone departed after that. Then clean up began! Everyone was soaked and miserable, but clean up didn't take very long. Annie described the whole thing as "sweet misery", which is really perfect. The event raised $6.8+ million for the fight against breast cancer. The checks were given out at Closing too. Here is the breakdown:
I've been contemplating working for them in a different capacity. I figure if I want to get where Molly is (our Logistics Coordinator) then I will have to put in my time for a few seasons. She is only a few years older than me so that gives me a lot of hope for the future! If I apply to work as a Walker Buddy and do that for 2 or 3 seasons then maybe after that I can apply to work as the LC. And the great thing is even if I work as a WB for DC I could still go to other cities and help out at their events. Or I could maybe just work in the other walk cities. The have them in: Houston, Boston, Charlotte, SF, Chicago, NY, Rocky Mtns., and LA. I didn't think I wanted to do the WB thing, but it's not so bad and it might be the way to go to get where I really want.
I have no idea what the office is going to be like this Thursday, but I'm excited to find out and discuss my future with them.
In other news..this is an exciting week! The event is over and I think it was definitely successful. It's also Dead Week down at MW so that means party party party. I'll be heading down Tuesday, Thursday (for lunch), and Friday & Saturday. I'm excited since I haven't seen the MWers for a month or so. Plus they are graduating this Saturday! I think there is also a Happy Hour in DC on Thursday at Cap Brewery. Holllla!
SATURDAY - 1st day of the Walk
After getting home around 10:30/11 PM I was psyched and way too keyed up to go to sleep. I figured since I had to wake up again at 3 there was no point in actually going to bed. So I stayed up and then left for DC around 3:30. I arrived at L'Enfant Colonial Parking Garage in record time and was on the first shuttle with some other early morning volunteers. We were shuttled over to West Potomac Park (next to the Tidal Basin) and that is where it all began. I helped Annie (our Volunteer Coordinator/VOC) with volunteer check-in for a bit. I didn't really have a specific job to do so I got placed wherever I was needed. I ended checking volunteers in, setting up barricades for the Opening Ceremony, checking late walkers in, and who knows what else. Opening started promptly at 6:30 and then the walkers were off! I was relieved and got sent home for a few hours where I managed to take a 20 minute nap. Then I drove up to Chevy Chase, MD to our Wellness Village/WV. This is the midpoint for our walkers. Walkers get hot food, hot showers, massages, med care, etc etc and they get to camp out in 2 person tents if they so choose. I think around 70% actually camp out and the rest either get picked up and brought back in the AM or they go back to hotel that night. Then it starts over again the next morning. I was helping our VOC again. Saturday afternoon was much more relaxed as we watched and waited for the walkers to arrive. Later on I got to help in the Med tent and it was crazy! We had students from GUH (Georgetown University Hospital) volunteering for the weekend. Most people had blisters. There were some extreme cases of course. I got to meet more Walk staffers from other cities (Brea from NY por ejemplo). Then I drove home, had dinner, and decided that going out for a drink that night was a good life decision. Over the past 48 hours I had only gotten 20 minutes of sleep! Yup, definitely a good life choice. I ended up going out with Erin and we met up with a few of her co-workers and some randoms at Big Hunt in Dupont. I had a drink and didn't feel too tired. But I had to be up around 6 or so to get ready for my last day so I wasn't going to push it. I ended up meeting some new people and it was a nice change of pace.
SUNDAY
I got up around 6:30 and left around 7 to get to DC. I also managed to get some DD for myself and my VOC. I arrived at the garage and eventually we made it over to Closing (also at W. Potomac Park). Unfortunately our shuttle driver was a little confused and we almost went to Arlington. Thankfully we got it all straightened out and she took us to the correct location. Sunday was vastly different from Saturday. I helped with barricades again and got to know Jaclyn (one of the directors). Then I got to unload all of the walkers gear for a few hours in the pouring rain! I wore 3 layers of clothing and by 11 I was completely drenched from head to toe. It wasn't cold earlier in the day, but by 2/3 I was definitely shivering. Annie yelled at me to change so I'm grateful for that. After unloading 4 Budget trucks filled to the max with hundreds of suitcases, sleeping bags, etc. OMG I won't ever need to work out again. Later I went back and helped out with random odd jobs. We had quite a few volunteers so I ran errands for the staffers. It was cool because by then most of them had heard about it and they were always like, " Oh are you Alyssa? It's so nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you!". That was cool and nerve wracking too in a way. I seriously wanted to impress these people and I hope I did. The rain never really let up so most people vamoosed when they crossed the finish line. And whaddya know I met a MWC alum/walker. I was wearing my UMW hat and she just casually said, "Oh that's my alma mater." Out of 2000+ people there had to be at least a few MWers out there =) Closing ceremony was moved up to 3 and everyone departed after that. Then clean up began! Everyone was soaked and miserable, but clean up didn't take very long. Annie described the whole thing as "sweet misery", which is really perfect. The event raised $6.8+ million for the fight against breast cancer. The checks were given out at Closing too. Here is the breakdown:
- The Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (Baltimore) - $1,490,000
- The National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund - $1,812,018
- Johns Hopkins University(Baltimore) - $850,000
- Capital Breast Care Center (Washington, DC) - $750,000
- George Washington University (Washington, DC) - $300,000
- Virginia Tech Foundation (Virginia) - $300,000
- Food and Friends(Washington D.C.) - $250,000
I've been contemplating working for them in a different capacity. I figure if I want to get where Molly is (our Logistics Coordinator) then I will have to put in my time for a few seasons. She is only a few years older than me so that gives me a lot of hope for the future! If I apply to work as a Walker Buddy and do that for 2 or 3 seasons then maybe after that I can apply to work as the LC. And the great thing is even if I work as a WB for DC I could still go to other cities and help out at their events. Or I could maybe just work in the other walk cities. The have them in: Houston, Boston, Charlotte, SF, Chicago, NY, Rocky Mtns., and LA. I didn't think I wanted to do the WB thing, but it's not so bad and it might be the way to go to get where I really want.
I have no idea what the office is going to be like this Thursday, but I'm excited to find out and discuss my future with them.
In other news..this is an exciting week! The event is over and I think it was definitely successful. It's also Dead Week down at MW so that means party party party. I'll be heading down Tuesday, Thursday (for lunch), and Friday & Saturday. I'm excited since I haven't seen the MWers for a month or so. Plus they are graduating this Saturday! I think there is also a Happy Hour in DC on Thursday at Cap Brewery. Holllla!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Event Eve is over!
OMG...I think I left Event Eve around 9:30 or so. But it was amazing and hectic and over 2000 participants registered today (that does not include the ones who registered online and did not have to come to event eve). There were so many volunteers and it was great! I even got to have my own walkie on the event =) All I can say is this has definitely been worth the wait. And tomorrow starts at 3 AM. I have to be in DC at 4 AM to help with shuttles and then bus on over to our Opening Ceremonies which begin at 6:30 AM. I'm kind of excited to see the sunrise in DC at West Potomac Park (near the Tidal Basin). It should be gorgeous!
I'm sad though that I'm not out partying tonight. Jerbear is leaving town tomorrow and I was really hoping to go dancing at Town tonight with him and company. And Mike W. was also hosting a soiree at his place. *sigh* I think I will just have to make up for this next week *cue mischievious grin*
The topic of me helping at other events came up with some other volunteers. I originally wanted too, but I'm not sure now. I would still like to..it's just a matter of paying to get there. Would AVON pay for an unpaid intern's flight to another Event city? Hmmm...something to contemplate once this event is over.
I half wish I could crash, but there is no way that is happening. I'm too wired. I haven't even had any coffee or energy drinks either.
On another note, tomorrow is the big Embassy day for Passport DC. If you have no idea what I'm talking about google it. I really want to go, but you will just have to enjoy it for me.
Go out and be crazy for me this weekend. I'll be joining you next week;)
I'm sad though that I'm not out partying tonight. Jerbear is leaving town tomorrow and I was really hoping to go dancing at Town tonight with him and company. And Mike W. was also hosting a soiree at his place. *sigh* I think I will just have to make up for this next week *cue mischievious grin*
The topic of me helping at other events came up with some other volunteers. I originally wanted too, but I'm not sure now. I would still like to..it's just a matter of paying to get there. Would AVON pay for an unpaid intern's flight to another Event city? Hmmm...something to contemplate once this event is over.
I half wish I could crash, but there is no way that is happening. I'm too wired. I haven't even had any coffee or energy drinks either.
On another note, tomorrow is the big Embassy day for Passport DC. If you have no idea what I'm talking about google it. I really want to go, but you will just have to enjoy it for me.
Go out and be crazy for me this weekend. I'll be joining you next week;)
Officially Event Eve!
Woooo! Today is officially the beginning of this long long Avon Walk weekend. I'll be at the Marriott Wardman Park until 8ish checking-in participants/volunteers/walkers/you name it. Over 3,000 people have committed to walking so this should be pretty epic. I'll have more to report on later.
Happy Friday!
Happy Friday!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
I hope you're happy Mumtaz
All I can say is I hope you're happy Mumtaz...I have officially returned to the blogging world.
My life has become even more accessible now that I've joined here and on twitter. It's quite impossible not to get in contact with me in some way if you think about it. That's also kind of frightening and exciting all at once.
Anyway..besides that the other big news is that it is finally EVENT WEEKEND! Tomorrow is Event Eve and then Saturday & Sunday is the DC AVON WALK. AND THEN I will be unemployed once more. Haha...that's life, right? I've been working towards this and waiting for this and when it's all said and done I will be back at square one. Blahh I really don't want to start job searching again. My dream job was handed to someone else so I'm not really motivated to hunt right now.
Stay tuned for the next installment...
My life has become even more accessible now that I've joined here and on twitter. It's quite impossible not to get in contact with me in some way if you think about it. That's also kind of frightening and exciting all at once.
Anyway..besides that the other big news is that it is finally EVENT WEEKEND! Tomorrow is Event Eve and then Saturday & Sunday is the DC AVON WALK. AND THEN I will be unemployed once more. Haha...that's life, right? I've been working towards this and waiting for this and when it's all said and done I will be back at square one. Blahh I really don't want to start job searching again. My dream job was handed to someone else so I'm not really motivated to hunt right now.
Stay tuned for the next installment...
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