Easter & Cherry Blossom Tournament: The Last Hurrah

So in fear that I'm getting too old for childhood pleasantries like trick-or-treating I wasn't sure I'd have an Easter basket sent to me at school despite the past few years surprise in the mail. I called my Mom a week before I left for spring break to remind her I would love to receive some goodies. To be honest asking for an Easter basket isn't the same as getting a surprise when you walk downstairs or walk to your PO BOX in Moseley to find a packing slip you know is not anything you ordered online. None the less I was grateful she sent me a little somethin' somthin'.

About a year ago this June Mom bought me one of my favorite films, The Easter Parade, on dvd. If you are not familiar with this fabulously entertaining and musically thrilling piece of art I will encourage you to rent the film with a spoiler - the best of the best actors of the our time play the leads: Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. As the holiday weekend approached I knew that I would like - as I have for the past three years while at college - to see the movie. Its a tradition my Mom and I started when I was younger  so I feel a personal connection, a memory of the 'good ole days'. Once the dvd was in my possession I kept it in the top drawer of our entertainment cabinet back home in New Jersey. Sad day :(

These days I've been quite nostalgic reflecting about my days in our nation's capital this last spring. I remember it was the centennial of the Cherry Blossom festival and my mom visited me a few weeks after the blossoms bloomed. It was a super quick spotting of the blossoms lasting about three days if that and the rest of the season the trees remained flowerless. This year, however, the warmer temperatures are gradual and not as shocking as the year before. Also different from last spring was that I went to the Cherry Blossom Tournament as a player not just a stand-by member of Elon Women's Rugby.

Huge breakfast spread

This time around was the best yet and its appropriate the last one would leave me feeling accomplished. Although we did not officially win any titles we played hard. It was extremely exciting to play in front of my Mom and other family members of other players. We had so much support from the sidelines which felt really nice. The Simesons per usual are a delight. They are saints in my book opening their house for the past three years to a bunch of ruggers who eat a ton, sleep sloppily and make a lot of noise when together. At least we are not partial to breaking things like when boys get in packs. Breakfast casseroles, yummy snack foods, homemade lasagna...I haven't ate that good in awhile other than the usual dishes I cook for myself. It was especially sweet to have Dennis around because my mom and I were treated to lunch the first day of the tournament. We went to Outback and got the Bloomin' Onion as an appetitizer. YUM!!!!! I have not had one in over five years. It tasted sooooooooo good and it made me feel less guilty eating a 1500 calorie dish among two other people.

I should also mention a great trip up on the Megabus to D.C. from Durham. Never done that before but it seemed to go smoothly with the exception of cramped leg room and the fact I had to leave my apartment around 9am to take the train to the bus depot. No biggie because it was worth meeting up with Kristi, Dennis and Mom for dinner at the hipest italian restaurant in non other than D.C.'s Chinatown, Vapiano's. It was buzzing that night like I'd never seen it and I was so happy Kristi and I's pregame appetitizer and round of drinks around the corner at Bar Louie made us late. Mom and Dennis caught the best spot in the place. After a much satisfied meal we walked it off around the national mall around late dusk. We walked from the Dept of Justice to the Pearl Harbor memorial and turned back going north back to Chinatown. I had to admit how much I do miss life in D.C.

The ride back was an adventure to say the least. While at a rest stop for lunch and bathroom break we locked ourselves out of the van. Yep. That would only happen to van riders. Lucky for us one of our rookies, Lexie, was our savior. AAA Plus member had her card on her, called for service and within the hour a guy appeared and helped us unlock the driver door. In the meantime we were fortunate enough to be surrounded by a plethora of shops. We made rounds to the pet store and Michael's before the towe truck arrive with help.

 Our Savior arrives!!!

Near ready to get out of the van after one hell of a trip Steph plays around 

with the plush dog Natty got from Blaine as a V-Day gift last yr. It talks, dances and sings...well not really but Steph seems to think so :)

Chill Down By the Seashore

Sag Harbor has always been a place of calamity and relaxation. I've been so fortunate to have the luxury of time and a place to spend a few weekends here and there during the summer since I was born. I'm often reminded of the memories I've shared throughout the years going out to the East End with my family. My mom always remarks the time we went out to Sag Harbor with my Aunt Barbara before my cousin Brian was born. It seems to have been a fond memory for my mom especially since that was the time when I ate my first solid food: ice cream. No wonder why its one of my trigger foods! (Along with  Nutella).

In the last five or six years we've tried to bring new people out with us to experience what we treasure so dearly. I feel it is a magical place despite the rudeness of pretentious drivers and the snotty attitudes of the Hamptonites. See the people who've lived out there for sometime like our family still called the South and North Forks the East End. I just don't see the point calling it The Hamptons. Who died and made those people kings and queens.

This past weekend my DC friend and former TWC alum, Kristi, came to spend a relaxing time at the beach. She was an absolute joy to be around not to mention a good luck charm. All the traditional things to go wrong or be challenging were easier with her around...I'm convinced. I was super excited that she had the opportunity to spend time on the beach at both the bay and the ocean. We went out to Montauk for an afternoon and went up the lighthouse. She even had the chance to eat a whole lobster!! And unlike my other friends who ignored my advice to A) put on sunscreen, B) stay out in the sun for a limited amount of time, and C) reapply sunscreen, Kristi, who is paler than almost anyone we've taken out there, listened to everything AND got a really nice tan.

Dropping her off in downtown Sag Harbor on the Jitney was a sad moment. She didn't want to go back to work and I didn't want her to leave. However, there will be other times. We stayed an extra night with Daddio (aka Tom) and even squeezed in a visit to his favorite Candy Kitchen as well as grab a quick bite at this new joint Mom recommended called Bay Burger (TRY the watermelon sorbet - its delish!)

Check out my FB page: facebook.com/catherine.valero1

Farewell DC. Welcome Jersey City!

Okay everybody this is LONG overdue but I've been recuperating after fun times and stressful moving out times. Adjusting to life back home has been a relaxing one but full of work around the house. I invaded my living room with my crap! LOL

Anyway, last week was the end of my time in Washington DC. I honestly cannot believe the time went by so quickly. (Damn our parents and their advice being dead on.) At commencement I realized how many people at The Washington Center connected and had so much fun together. I guess if I could go back and re-do my experience I would try to connect more with the TWC interns. In reality I took my experience in the "dorm" as fun at the time but not permanent. So I probably focused more on networking and my professional experience as well as getting to know my surroundings more so than the interns. However, I do think I made some WONDERFUL relationship with the people in DC including some interns and front desk/TWC staff members who are very dear to my heart -  Alan, Nate, Tristine, Vivian, Tanya, Prof. Keaton, Kristi, Elo, Ari, Alejandra, Terranova, Sachico, Sandra, and so many more. Thank you so much for making my experience worth while :)

 Outside the RAF 

Upstairs at Sticky Rice - restaurant for roommate dinner

In addition to my nostalgia about the "dorm" life and the people who made that piece of my semester away from Elon special I also have to thank my internship supervisors. Mike and Kevin were some of the best internship supervisors. During my last few days in the office both Mike and Kevin mentioned how I was at first unwilling to believe I would be doing as much as they said I would be in and out of the office. As an intern I expected to do the grunt work but never expected to have the opportunity to challenge myself and learn more than I thought possible not only about lobbying but about my skills, my professionalism and most importantly learning more about me. The last day was such a great testament to how well I adapted in their environment and it was a bittersweet moment taking an awkward picture knowing I wouldn't be returning the next morning. Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity that I hope to carry with me throughout my search to find a career(s) I'm passionate about and jobs that allow me to showcase my creativity and provide helpful feedback.

Packing up Daddio's truck was a piece of pie! It seemed so effortless. I feel like the move out was much easier than moving in. That might have something to do with the fact that I had a ton of stuff in the beginning of the semester versus now when most of the cleaning, food, household supplies were used. It was sad not getting to have a real "goodbye" with Elo (my roommate) but I was glad we shared a moment that morning when I gave her a little gift to say "Thank You" for being one of the greatest roommates I could ever asked for (next to Jay of course). lol. It was very calm leaving the apartment knowing that everyone would be moving forward in their lives to better and new things. I couldn't help but smile as I looked back in the side mirror of the passenger seat.

About four hours and forty five minutes we arrived safely to Jersey City greeted by none other than my cheerful Mom. It was a great reunion! As Daddio drove off I remember looking around the rooms in the house with all my crap from the move and thinking "wow, I'm a senior - this is it". I feel very liberated now having my last summer to spend how I want without any regrets! Its a first for me having absolutely no plans as far as work or internships or volunteering something planned for my summer season "home". This time I decided to make the most out of the time I have now before its gone. I'll have the opportunity to visit my friends in the US and perhaps go to Mexico or France or somewhere abroad to visit my pen pals. The options are endless and I prefer my last summer before I graduate college to be relaxing and carefree. Afterall I'm twenty-two...

Oh I can't forget my short trip to Elon for the Rugby (EWR) banquet on Sunday May 6th. Yep I come home for less than 32 hrs before I'm on a plane to NC. Ms. Elisabethe was a goddess and picked me up and hosted me for the night at her lovely (and cheap) apartment. Lauren and Elisabethe are a great duo I was so glad to spend the night at their humble abode. The banquet was elegant and fun x-ing the minor drama. And WHAT A PERFECT DAY it became - rainy and gray clouds to Carolina blue skies with bright sun. Pictures came out beautifully. See for yourself:

 Freshman rookies

 Sophomore players

Junior players

The Seniors

The WHOLE team

Elisabethe and I

I will continue to write on this blog (with the same title) exploring cities like Jersey City (where I live currently), New York and cities abroad as I travel to places in Morocco and perhaps other places around the world. Stay tuned for my next adventures.

Thanks for reading and joining me on my crazy journey called 'life'.

Kingman Bluegrass and Folk Festival

What started out to be a very mellow day turned out to be a very long and exhausting day. After a comfy stay-at-home-to-watch-a-movie night with my buddy, Kristi (we watched "Almost Famous" one of my faves) I was unprepared for what happened next. As if the ride to get to the RFK stadium from New York Avenue metro stop wasn't taxing enough the walk over to Kingman Island was quite a hike. It was nice that I got there fairly early because I got the chance to see the farmer's market in action. I even bought a few apples which made me feel good - helping out the local farmers.

Another scenic stroll into the Kingman Island Park and through the woodsy brush I made it to a small clearing of land surrounded by the Anacostia. The trailer stage was already set up and tuning while the volunteer leaders were scurrying around to allocate jobs for everyone. It was quiet until about 1245pm when streams of people and food trucks came rolling into the clearing. My first slot was working at the "drinks" ticket booth. It was very busy throughout the shift so I was grateful to be relieved of duty at 2pm.  It was nice to have some down time to listen to the bands and people watch. I didn't have another shift until 6pm which I later regretted especially since the rain came down pretty roughly later on in the day. For the meantime it was nice to walk around and experience DC's version of a folk fest. My only other experience was Falcon Ridge up in New York state nearly three years ago. I was so delighted to hear from Daddio that we'd (him, me and Mom) would be going to Falcon Ridge this year! WOOT! But thats not until July so this is a nice buffer

I continued to come back to the booths to see if the volunteers needed any extra hands. The "drinks" booth and the beer tap booth needed hands but everyone was so busy it was hard to help. Sam, the coordinator, was bopping around with his own agenda so I just stayed close in case someone needed some time to relax. I'm glad I hung around because I met a bunch of nice people. It was especially nice to transition from my break time to the t-shirt booth since when I was taking on my 6-8 shift it started to downpour. Always good to be under a tent in that situation and boy was I happy. However, word to the wise - never wear comfortable shoes WITHOUT socks! My feet were frozen by the time I left around 730pm. So many people left due to the weather so there wasn't a lot of action at the booths. Getting on the shuttle back to the metro was my saving grace. It was especially nice to meet a fellow TWC intern, Adam Woods, who worked with LivingClassrroom the nonprofit organization hosting the festival.

All in all a good time at Kingman Island. 

 HIPPIE!

 Demi the lovable dog

 Beer line after the beer truck replaced the beers on tap...didn't last long.

Let the heavens open.

Monday was our "graduation" and commencement for all TWC interns. It was interesting to participate in the closing ceremony for a program that just started. Time did blow by and I'm happy that I tried to make the best of every moment. I've put myself out there more this semester than any other semester in my life. I've made some great connections and friendships as well as create some new goals for myself. We shall see if I continue to reap the benefits of this program as an alum. Portfolio DONE, Class finished today (Tues. May 2) and Thursday will be my last day as an intern with The McGuiness Group. Its no wonder why I feel some sense of relief but also sorrow. Its the bittersweet syndrome.

Tonight after class and goodbye with some colleagues a group of us went out to Chinatown for drinks and dinner. It was nice to talk with some of them outside of business. I like getting to know them and it makes me feel like I've accomplished reaching out to others in return for advice, education and getting to know other cultures. As mentioned at our dinner our class was very diverse as far as country origin, race, ages, and backgrounds. It helped us realize how privileged we were to have had such an experience. It was great meeting all of you and I hope to visit most of you in the future! Good luck!

DC United

Went to the DC United vs Montreal game on Wednesday night this week. It was so sweet to FINALLY go to a sports game. I went with my TWC colleague Kristi. Hopeful for no down pour did us good because we didn't get rained out. It was my first futbol game in years. But DAMN the beer was expensive $8 per domestic beer. The audience was very animated and cheering so loud they literally shook the seats. Here are some photos of the event: