A Stroke of Serendipity

Well, goodness gracious great balls of fire, it has been a long time since I last blogged! There is no legitimate excuse for my absence, so I will simply apologize to myself and my readers and move on. It's time for me to jump back on the blogging train, and boy am I ready to write!

So, what's new in my life? Well, I'm home for the summer (I guess I have been for a month now...awkward). I began my summer working as a marketing intern at a place that shall remain nameless for the purpose of retaining respect for the institution. I have dealt with some pretty unpleasant people in my short twenty years of life, but the people at this establishment were quite easily some of the worst I have ever had to work with. After repeated questioning, they never gave me any projects to work on, did not take any of my suggestions on how to improve their advertising and marketing tactics, and completely ignored my existence every time I came in to work. I lasted there for about a month, but quickly realized that I was not getting anything out of the internship, so I politely resigned.

If only Stanley Tucci were my mentor...

I have never had a work experience that terrible, and I hope I never do again. I realize everyone is bound to have a bad internship experience at some point, but this one was just awfully bad. I am so relieved it's over. Now, I have been super busy contacting various other marketing and advertising departments in the Columbus area, trying my hardest to find *something* to do that will, in all honesty, be a resume booster. Wish me luck: I'm definitely going to need it.

On top of that, I have been nannying for two separate families, and they are some of the most adorable children ever. I nanny three kids in total: a three-month-old, a three-year-old, and a seven-year-old. And, of course, I have been picking up random shifts at the lovely Sew to Speak. I guess thinking about it now, I have been pretty busy so far. Way busier than I was last summer, that's for sure. However, I still feel fairly sluggish at home. It's probably because when I'm at school, I'm constantly moving. My day began at 8:30am, and very rarely ends before 2am. I'm used to running across campus to different rehearsals, club meetings, and classes. I'm used to being surrounded by my goofy friends, and now I'm just a bit isolated.

Now, don't get me wrong: I absolutely LOVE being home. I'm incredibly close to my parents and all of my siblings. I love being able to play with my puppy, sit outside by the fire, and babysit my niece and nephew. Being home isn't bad by any means-- it's just very different from being at school.

It's also hard because my Spring Quarter was the best and to leave that behind was difficult. Not Our Forte had multiple, successful performances, my grades were good, I accomplished a lot of marketing networking in the Chicago area, I had a blast with all of my friends, and...I fell in love for the first time. Crazy for all of that to happen in one quarter, huh?

NOF be lookin' fiiiiiiiiiine.

Rooooooooooooooooooooooomz.

Not sure there is a more attractive picture of me out there than this one.

*our friendship*

"Ah yes! Springtime! How glorious!"

Exploring Evanston in the spring is incredible.

Little secrets.

I guess the beauty of life is the uncertainty of it. Paradoxically, the uncertainty of life is also (in my opinion) the scariest aspect of it. I have no clue what's going to happen tomorrow, let alone six months from now. Add on top of this the fact that I will be studying abroad in London for all of Fall Quarter, and the life uncertainty escalates twenty-fold. I'm afraid I'm going to be away for so long that all of my friends are going to forget about me. I know that's probably an irrational fear, but "Irrational Fear" is actually my middle name.

"May you get all your wishes but one, so you always have something to strive for." 

For the record, I am BEYOND excited to study abroad and would not change that opportunity for anything. The timing just majorly sucks. Imagine finding a guy you perfectly click with, enjoying every moment you're together, being able to see him every day for two months, falling in love, then having to say goodbye for six months. Yeah, it sucks. A lot. But it happened, and unfortunately, there's nothing I can do to change the shitty situation. I guess all I can do is cherish the memories I have, be thankful for the stroke of serendipity I was granted, and look forward to the future.

Too damn true, Mr. Lakefill Rock.

In the meantime, I need to live my life and enjoy it.

And that's exactly what I've been doing.

Yesterday, for the first time *litrally* all summer, my mom and I both had the day off. For months now, we've been talking about having a girl's day where we have lunch together and shop in the Short North (the super cute, boutique-y region of Columbus). We finally got our day and it was nothing short of amazing.

We began the day eating at our favorite little brunch cafe, Tasi. If you live in Columbus or are planning a trip, you have to eat here. If you don't, I will disown you. It's inexpensive, the food is to die for, they have the second best mocha I've ever had in my life, and the atmosphere is really cool. 

(Do I sound like Guy Fieri yet?)

Fact: brunch is the best meal of the day.

"Soft, creamy beige."

The chicken panini I ate. Words cannot describe this sandwich.

Even better than the food was the company. Hanging out with my mom is my favorite thing. She understands me better than anyone else and gives me the best advice always. Talking to her made me feel infinitely more relaxed about my life. As always.

I mean, c'mon: how cute is she?!

I think I'm going to start renting out ad space on my forehead. 

After gorging ourselves, our Short North journey began by exploring a vintage toy store called "Big Fun".

Not gonna lie, Spock drew me into the store.

We found some pretty crazy toys, but quite possibly one of the funniest was this "gadget":

Ya gotta keep it clean somehow, I guess! 

The store was *~*crazy*~*. And oh how I love crazy! I bought a couple of goodies, and we carried on our merry way.

Yes, I bought this. Best $8.50 I've ever spent.

I don't even know.

E.T. was the best possible thing to use to say goodbye to customers.

Continuing on our journey, we meandered through art galleries and various adorable boutiques.

Jostled by the waves of life.

The best part about Short North is easily all of the gorgeous murals. This is my favorite one: a play on "American Gothic" on the side of Jeni's.

My not-so-hidden art geek is screaming like a wild groupie.

We even ventured to my favorite stationary store, and I bought waaaaaaay too many cards. Honestly, there is nothing better than a handwritten letter, in my opinion.

I even had the chance to go to one of my absolute favorite stores in Columbus for the first time in forever. Tigertree is the bomb diggity.

If you look close enough, you can see the reflection of my knocked knee in the mirror!

And when I saw this, I *had* to buy it. Skulls? Ohio? Black tank top? How could I not buy it?!

Ohio 'til I die-o.

And of course, no Columbus wandering adventure would be complete without a trip to Jeni's.

Behold: Buckeye State & Brown Butter Almond Brittle in a cup.

There was nothing better than being able to explore Short North with my mom for the day. Constant laughter, mother-daughter bonding, and shopping: these are a few of my favorite things. 

Mommy & Me.

I'm in the time of my life where I want to wander. I want to explore my surroundings and learn about interesting things and philosophize and enjoy the strokes of serendipity that I'm granted. And even if those strokes temporarily end, that doesn't mean that they'll never reappear.

And therein lies the beauty of life.

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"Never let your fear decide your fate."

-AWOLNATION