Wow........ I might be the worst blogger in the history of the world. It's just that it's been a fairly uneventful couple of months for me, and when nothing interesting is going on in my world I usually feel as though I shouldn't bore the few readers I have with uninteresting events from my world. Chances are, if you're reading this blog you're pretty damn bored to begin with, and reading about my 40+ hour work week, the condensed soup I eat for dinner, and my inability to keep my apartment impeccably clean are not going to help matters. So I spare you.
So looking back, the last I posted was early September. September wasn't particularly interesting for me after the speaker mania I spoke of earlier. It was lots of hot days, long hours in the office, and we wrapped things up with National Hazing Prevention Week on September 24-28. In other words, our speakers kicked into full gear, speaking every day for nearly two weeks on college campuses nationally, educating about hazing and its repercussions. I then flew home the end of the month for a surprise 30th birthday party for my great great grandbig and best friend, Holly. Holly's husband, Thomas, planned this major event with the help of my other best friend Kelly, and it was a very fun night. I hadn't seen my Fredericksburg friends in quite some time, so it was wonderful to catch up. Plus, my great grandbig Holly from California, and my grandbig Noelle from NJ were both there, so we had some great Alpha Phi time.
October was maybe even less interesting. I worked a lot. It was still pretty warm, nice weather. My baby sister turned 21 on October 29, which although I wasn't there to share it, was very cool. She's getting cooler and cooler the older she gets, so I'm really digging the aging process.
November was wild. I went to the Bacchus & Gamma General Assembly on November 8-11 in Atlanta, GA on behalf of CAMPUSPEAK. I spent lots of time that weekend exhibiting and chatting with peer educators and their advisors about the different speakers and services CAMPUSPEAK offers. It's always cool to get to meet some of the people I talk with so often on the phone, so that was good. A few of our speakers were there, and I got to spend lots of time with my buddy Erin Weed. Our final night in Atlanta my speaker buddy Kevin and I went to visit Lori (another speaker) and had some wine and a great dinner and some good catching up time. It's always fun when I get to connect with my speaker buddies since they all spend so much time on the road in a state of craziness. Then on my final day in Atlanta, I was done with the conference but I arranged for a late flight out so I could connect with my childhood friend- essentially a sister- Megan, who's living and going to school in Atlanta. It was SO good to catch up with her, even though I was super tired and we spent the afternoon bumming on her couch and watching movies. It's always good to see family.
I then returned to Denver long enough to frantically try to catch up in the office, do some laundry, repack, and then on Thanksgiving morning I flew out of Denver to head to Columbus, OH. My family- mom, dad, sister, Aunt Terry, and Uncle Curt- picked me up at the airport and we went back to my aunt and uncle's house for Thanksgiving dinner. It was so nice to see family and just chill around for a few days, even though I came down with a sinus infection and an ear infection that very day. I miss the fam very much so our days together are special. Mom, dad, and Alye left on Sunday and I stuck around until Tuesday, at which point I rented a car and drove down to Cincinnati for AFA's Annual Meeting for the week. This conference is wild and crazy- SO many people to meet!! The exhibit booth was insane and we did some trainings and other things while we were there, so I stayed very busy. I met a ton of people I've worked with over the phone quite a bit, which was awesome. Courtney and I roomed together, and David and T.J. were there, and then a ton of other speakers were around- Lori, Mari Ann, Rick, Ray, Travis, Ross, Erle, Mark, Joel... it was a good time. (See photos above: Courtney, Dan Kennedy, and me at the exhibit; me with Lori indulging in a bit of wine; Travis, me, and Ray at the bar one night.)
December thus far is off to an uninteresting start, except that I've been swamped at work. Today I spent the day getting some thank you notes written and stringing up Christmas lights around the apartment. I also met up with Shannon for brunch this morning, which was lovely. It has snowed all day and the roads are getting a little icky, so I am in for the night. But I'll be better about blogging. I miss everyone back home much, sending hugs and love!
