Myrtle Shenanigans

Wow! What a week it has been. I really didn't have any expectations of this year's spring break other than having a lot of fun, making some new friends even if it would only be temporary, and get to know my teammates better. I did all that and more. Between the quotes, dances, laughs, snap-chats, nights out, singing, games and beer I believe I experience a true (but sadly last) spring break as a college student! All is thanks to Jamie and EWR teammates that came on the trip. It wouldn't have been the same without all of them: Tubs, Catherine, Megs "Trampstamp", Hogan, Cash, Koala, BGraham, BMoore, Ruddster, Schmidty, Tiny, Cherrell, Mo, Anna, Smurf, Urs, and Arny.

 Playing some rugby on the beach the night we arrived 

Our neighbors downstairs were also a big part of the less drama more fun aspect of the trip at least for many of us that had been to Myrtle the year before. A bunch of guys and gals from CT who decided to come to Myrtle Beach on a week in late March that just so happened to fall on our week spring break. Despite some of the unfortunately events that happened towards the very end of the week - cops raided the house and made both renters pour all the alcohol out - we loved hanging out with each other and learning new phrases, games and stories about the New Englanders' culture.


The biggest setback of the whole week was the weather. It was unfortunately that this particular week remained windy and rainy for a good portion of the daytime. What was worse was my stupidity - rather a mixture of stubbornness and pure laziness - to wear flip flops on the first few adventures outside, the first and turns out to be the most painful walks was that to Dunkin Donuts on top of a late afternoon stroll on the beach the same day. Bad bad BAD idea! It would've been one thing if I had brought my sandals that are intended for more that moderate-level walking distances. And you who've thought I would've learned my lesson earlier this week when huge blisters appeared on the bottoms of my feet. But no I continued to "brave" (aka be stupid) trying to walk in my Old Navy cheapo flip flops smaller distances (8-12 looooong blocks here and there) and on Tuesday evening I mustered the ultimate level of dumb wearing my brown 1 1/2" heels to Senor Frog's - yep a night club.

 First walk to Dunkin

 Hmmm...ice cream place a few blocks away? Maybe come back later

 Still walking to Dunkin...turned out to be 2 1/2 miles away

Walk back from Dunkin on the beach 

Staying on the cheap buying food in the beginning of the week served me well. I don't think I spent more than $90 max on food/booze. On top of a beach merch towel ($14), cost of the cottage (around $85), a few nights out ($20) and gas (probably $30 once split) I don't think I spent more than $250 for the whole trip which was entirely within my budget. YAY me!

 Making our first communal dinner as a team :)

Happy Birthday Megs!

It was really great to see part of a sunrise this morning, the last morning we were at Myrtle. The beach was full of life between the walkers, seagulls, and rolling waves. The air was so crisp and even the moon was still peeking from the then sunlit sky. Being the earliest one to get up out of the 14 girls I had the chance to relax a bit before everyone started to run around packing up. The ride back was painless with the exception of coming to the realization that I would have so much work to catch up with. Not to mention the recurring hunt for jobs/fellowships/internships in the near future. But for right now I'm going to take it all in an reflect on what a nice, relaxing and fun-filled break its been so far. 

Thanks EWR!

SATURDAY'S A RUGBY DAY!

So a loooong time coming but I'm finally posting about our rugby match against Wilmington last Saturday. I felt pretty good about the game personally because I had made it to every practice in the last two weeks. Of course when I could make a consistent commitment my buddy couldn't. I had decked out a pair of buddy sunglasses two weeks ago and wanted her to have them but she hadn't come to practice so I arranged to pair them with the sweatpants I made her. Must admit I got pretty creative :) but no I don't have picture evidence.

 Me and my buddy!!!

 Jamie - Scrum Captain and 2nd White girl on the team

to have cornrows

Hydration is my best friend and helps me have good stamina. This was particularly helpful when early on in the game when Courtney's lip started bleeding. I didn't wear a scrum cap for the first time which was weird but not terrible. I played eight man poorly but caught the ball, drove into tackles and successfully passed the ball to my teammates which made me very happy. Everyone on and off the field gave it there all supporting each other and making smart decisions. Despite the fact that everyones hearts were in the game the highlight players were definitely Tipton and Diane!

 Courtney's bloody lip and fierce face

 Lineout GO KIMBO!

 Scrum player of the game: Diane, sharing a heartfelt hug w bbf 

Backline player of the game: Tipsy/Tipton sharing a hug w Schmidty

After our post-game pow-wow I went to La Cocina with Rachel and Urs and Urs's boyfriend Lance. It was sooooo good to finally eat a substantial meal. I hadn't eaten since early that morning mainly due to my fear of getting sick or slightly feeling nausea on the pitch. I never knew how good a burrito mexicano could taste until that moment.

We headed to Cash's place afterwards - as directed by our captains - and the door was open but no one was home. After another hour Schmidty and her dad and uncle came by with a keg and the party finally began! It was so great to finally hang out at a social with everyone especially after our last matrix game.

 "Why were you born so beautiful why were you born at all....no use to

us your not effin use at all so drink mo-fo, drink mo-fo, drink mo-fo, drink!"

 The champs 

Last semester buddies :)

Later that night I went to Jamie's place at West End apts to say happy birthday to her roommate - mutual colleagues from the Arabic Language Organization (ALO) and Nonprofits class we took together. The last fun event of the night was Taphouse's fundraiser for Festivius. The live music was pretty great - covers - following $1 green beers and crazy dancing with so many people I know = priceless. Happy St. Patty's day!

SENIORS!!!!!

Reunion

While interning at The Washington Center last spring I met a lot of great people. Besides having pretty awesome and culturally diverse set of roommates (Korean, Alaskan, and Mexican) the majority of the population living in the dorm was namely international students. However, I did seem to make some connections with a few American students including my good friend Kristi. Since my last visit to D.C. in August Kristi came to visit Elon this past weekend.

Although I love that I live in the south and overall I've learned a lot from my experiences at Elon I am very realistic about its disadvantages especially if you do not have a car on-campus. Burlington is in the middle of NC map and it takes at least 30mins or more in either direction to the nearest city. Coming from NYC or D.C. its a significant lifestyle change. I did stress this reality to Kristi prior to her visit but she didn't seem to mind at all. I'm sure visiting a place like Burlington that is quite a distance away from an urban environment isn't such a dramatic difference coming from Iowa. Additionally the benefit of being a "homebody" means you don't mind doing nothing.

On the ride home from Durham - Megabus drop off - we ate a feast at Cracker Barrel. After a few hours of studying at Acorn we decided for our first night together we'd go out. We went to Arizona Pete's in Greensboro after a pleasant quiet afternoon lounging around. When we first arrived it was as I expected a true country bar playing hard-core country music, drinking beers, line dancing...even the cha cha slide. Eventually the place was hopping with young 20-somethings turning the dance floor into a club scene. Not feeling the hip-hop sloppy music we decided to ride the mechanical bull. I stayed on longer than I expected but my whole arm was sore for the next few days after.

Saturday was pretty chill. It was a beautiful day outside so I went out a few times to run some errands and later I did get Kristi to walk around campus a bit. Later that evening instead of trying clubbing part 2 we stayed indoors comfy on the couch and watched "One Week" with Joshua Jackson while eating slow cooked pulled pork YUM! It was a good time for us to catch up on life too so I could not complain. I also introduced Kristi to the joy and seduction of a Cookout milkshake.

The next morning I requested that Kristi make her famous crazy eggs. They were so good especially with the rest of the cibatta bread I bought at Trader Joe's and their roasted tomato soup. Instead of going to the App State game I stayed home to spend time with Kristi. Ate slow cooked Hawaiian chicken over alfredo pasta for dinner and while watching the Oscars we played a drinking game.

Throughout the entire weekend we scanned over hers and my music library sharing songs via Dropbox. I filled it up within a day. Kristi's obsession with techno/house music left the eternal human jukebox (i.e. me) to change genres. In doing so I ended up getting pissed off because I had fixated on a sound I had heard on an Alias episode but didn't know the artist or name of the song. You must understand the magnitude of insanity this brings considering I'm trying to figure out what artist and song it is and the only reference I have is making noises that don't in the slightest bit help me describe or preview the song to someone else for help. I finally figured out randomly - per usual - the name of the song that was stuck in my head the entire weekend. And the winner is...Paul Oakenfold's "Ready, Steady, Go"

Dusk at Elon