Bingo!...well not so much.

This week has definitely been a little rough. My dad's anniversary is about to come up and I've been a little emotional lately so it was necessary no mandatory to have fun this weekend! So as promised I went to Greensboro Friday evening with the girls to play and enjoy the amusement of Green Queen Bingo. I was a bingo virgin but happy to be sitting with some fellow bingo virgins from Elon's Spectrum peeps including our advisor Dr. Ringelberg. It was fun to watch the drags - especially Big Shirli Stevens - do their thing and anticipate losing bingo. I was close about five outta ten times to win but nope. Here's some evidence of my losses:

 So close, off by one.

 My friend Jamile and the tallest Drag at Green Queen Bingo

Big Shirli

Although I would've loved to continue on the night watching a movie or hanging out I knew better. When you have to be somewhere at 8am the next morning get your butt to bed! And that's exactly what I did (after I watched an episode of The West Wing...so addictive). Rise and shine at 645am. I got my stuff for rugby together with the idea that I'd bring everything I'd need as if I'd be playing in case Jamie (Scrum captain) needed an extra player. Lo and behold my surprise when I find out that I'm "sipped" and will be playing today. I'm glad I thought ahead because I would've been royally screwed.

It was nice to ride with BGraham and Hogan especially since our car wasn't driving like a manic down I-40. We reached NC State and warmed up before doing our usual team bonding routine. Today was a Round Robin meaning three teams would be playing throughout the day: Elon (EWR), UNCGreensboro and NC State. Luckily we didn't have to play first but boy were we tired by the end of our first game. We did have a lot of tris (goals--CashMoney/Merit) and beautiful kicks (Smurf and Anna). I was appointed as eightman for UNCG after one of their girls was taken away by an ambulance. It was fun to try and tackle my fellow teammates. They were a great group of girls and I hope they take up my offer to come play a friendly scrimmage @ Elon.

 Merit (L2) under the bleachers 

 Former Scrum cap. Bmoore came to visit us

 And former backline player Totie came too!

 Hello lovely ladies!

Some of the newest players came to watch their first rugby game and

suppor EWR!

NC State = big girls who curse a lot. We made a good effort to hold them back and the scrums were really great but all in all NC State won the second game. It would've been nice to meet some of them to see a different side to these girls but considering Courtney was injured, couldn't drive and I volunteered to drive someone else's car I ended up driving a few EWR freshman (and Ursula) back to Elon before the social. The ride back was fun since Ursula was my DJ and we rocked out to Nsync, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Bewitched, Kim Possible, Sisqo, and so many other 90s hits. The L1s in the backseat hardly knew these songs and it made Urs and I feel incredibly old. Oh well at least it was an amusing ride back to campus. 

Saturday night was quite and short. I was in pain and popped a few pills before going to sleep. I did manage to eat, shower and watch two episodes of TWW before I plopped down on my bed and ZZZzzz-ed. Sunday was a working day and I'm so exhausted from reading so much. The sad thing is I'm an incredibly slow reader - not as bad as I once was thanks to summer reading - and it delays my research schedule so much. I wish I had more time and more willingness to stay up late but I can't. I listen to my body and when its tired I sleep. In my mind school is when I'll be able to sleep and create good habits not when I'm working so hard M-F and having a social, active and adventurous life after school. 

 A line out

 TACKLE!!!

 Avoid injuries please.

 TACKLE!!!!

NC State game

Elon Poll Press Conference & A Silent Film

This past Monday I woke up at the crack of dawn to get on the shuttle to Charlotte. It was such an interesting discussion among some very prestigious panelists at the Elon Poll press conference at The Charlotte Observer. Last week, Professor Ferandez and Professor Husser were the leaders for the student run poll to see how NC was likely to vote for President Obama vs Rep. candidate Mitt Romney. I had the opportunity to see the newsroom (hearing the theme song of HBO's newest summer series "The Newsroom") and speak to Dan Gergen. You can see more in the article below: EPoll DNC Press conference OR check out another article focused on the students HERE

 'Where the enemy works'... (Almost Famous - a paraphrased line related to journalism)

 Elon students

 Groovy art wall

 The Panelists

The following evening me and my girls (Lindsay, Jamile and Dionne) went to Chapel Hill after a head aching senior seminar and long day waiting for it to rain (dressed in rain boots and an huge IKEA umbrella walking around in sweat). We saw A Silent Film - a British alternative band Lindsay and I saw last fall with Civil Twilight - and had a blast. Now that we are all legal to drink we had fun experiencing drinks especially Dionne who hadn't ever tasted a rum and coke. It was so fun hanging out people watching after the gig to see if we could get a picture with the band. Robbie, the lead singer, came right up to me and we got chatty (more like I kept asking questions to soften him up for my favor) and was such a good chap getting all the guys together. So merch to take home and we reminisced on the drive home.

 From left to right: Cat, Jamile, Dionne and Lindsay

 Gals with the guys

Merch!

Wedding Bells, Party Hopping and Range Shooting

Its been a wild yet fun two weekends so far....

Starting with last Friday when my mom and I went to the nail salon to get our pedi mani done for Kerry's wedding. Saturday was the big day from a very early hour. We went to get my mom's hair done and later went to the Coach House Diner off of JFK Blvd in Union City for a quick bite. I'm glad I remembered that the invitation said the ceremony started at 230pm not 3pm. However, as tradition goes the Purtell's have been notorious for doing things later or just late. No bother but it freaked mom out a bit when she realized she had even less time. An hour and a half more or less we made it to the church and lo and behold no bridal party in sight.

 Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Herandez

 The most beautiful Maid of Honor - Sweta in a gorgeous purple dress; 

she's her own princess

 Beautiful bridesmaids - Kristy, Madiha, and Hadiha 

 Congrats!!!!

 Kiss, Kiss, KISS

The service was beautiful and Kerry and her mom, Mary, looked gorgeous. (Way to go Aunt Mary, the dress looked amazing!) A close family friend, Ed, was so cute getting so pissed off that the photographer was blocking his shot using his disposable camera. Although the photographer made up for it having a photo booth at the reception selling $1 photos.

Like these:

 The band at the reception hall

 Uncle Rene and Grandpa

Ed and Aunt Mary

The reception location was so authentic to our family's tradition. Marbella's was the perfect setting and the band was great! It was so nice to have both families in the same room full of laughs, tears, and happy hearts. Kerry and Chris looked so happy and it seemed to me like the actually act of getting married didn't really matter because they worked together effortlessly. As an outsider looking in I would've assumed them to have been married awhile. Its in the genes I'm convinced: Mary and Gerry Purtell 35 yrs and Ricardo and Isabelle probably 25+yrs.

 Aunt Mary and Uncle Gerry

 Chris and Kerry and cake!

 "My Key Lime Pie" Father Daughter dance

 Bridesmaids danced for the newlyweds and the bride decided to join.

My cuz and I (in blue)

After we returned home and rested for the night it wasn't long before I was on the road in a rental car alone driving down I-95 heading south to Elon. I made it in record time: 8hrs. Rooming with Laura is perfect and I thinking positively about this living situation. Classes were extremely overwhelming but I made it through. Now its a matter of working hard and keeping myself sane. Adding some fun in there is necessary. Like last night when the girls and I went out to a 90's themed b-day party. Though that party was a bust we walked around and observed other activities, I even came across Jamie (new VP for rugby) at Trollinger. A cookout run and sleepy eyes concluded the night.

Today I went to a shooting range with some guy friends. It was a carefree afternoon wearing headphones, goggles,  and rifles. I didn't think I'd do well but I was determine not to let the guys intimidate me. I so needed a distraction and I am so grateful for this unique opportunity. Hey, its not everyday that I can get in a car drive down the road for 45mins and spend a few hours shooting guns back in Jersey. I have truly come to appreciate the culture here in NC and I can say without a doubt that when I graduate in May (knock on wood) I will have had a true college experience.

Mini Vacation from Vacation

Destination stops: Philadelphia & Washington D.C.

First stop is Philly

 New science building at Drexel

 Local artist in Old Town

 Keith cooked us balsamic chicken for dinner the first night :)

The trip to see two of my favorite people - Keith and Kristi - was quite a busy time at that. I was glad to finally stay over in Philly for more than a night and browse Keith's neighborhood. He lives in Old Town - where every now and then there's a street made of cobblestone and the decor would remind you of when our four fathers were around - getting the lay of the land. I was so delighted that he wanted to investigate the Philadelphia Folk Festival in Schwenksville (basically out in rural PA). We were very lucky to last the entire day (Friday) without a drop of rain. Unfortunately the weather report did say we were in the mist of a vicious storm heading our way by 7pm - WOW sounds like Falcon Ridge - but lo' and behold it held out until 8. So we saw Brother Sun and a few other bands before it poured during the Comas set. Below are some pictures courtesy of Keith Hobin:

The Comas - during the day

Kala Jojo

One of my favorites Groovemama

The newest member who really can sing!!!

The rest of the weekend in Philly was pretty packed with things to do and see. We walked a lot and my blister on my foot proves how much we pushed ourselves. Saturday morning, after a quick bite at Wawa we took SEPTA to center city and walked to the Parkway heading to the Barnes Museum. Apparently this guy who went to school for engineering I think, became a huge over the top art snob and collected over 4,000 pieces throughout his lifetime. What makes the museum controversial is that Barnes didn't want the pieces to be previewed in a museum in Philly. In fact for the longest time he had a museum out in the country for that very reason. 

I must say I've never seen that many Raphels or the G artist in my life. Even going to the Louvre in Paris! Later we visited the oldest penitentiary in the world, Eastern State Penitentiary. It was cool to see all the inner workings of such a big "prison". I loved learning about its history especially when we went into the old operating room that up until this year was closed due to ingrown trees and debris from the twenty years nothing was being done to protect this fascinating place. 

The operating room -- lamp still in tacked 

We also went to World Live Cafe for dinner and a show with this very eclectic group Bushwalla. The two musicians before the headliner were awesome! However, I was getting a real kick out of the ladies sitting next to our table. It turns out they were celebrating one of their birthdays and as a result Bushwalla took the chance to put her on the spot and sing, dance, caress and whatever...you had to have been there.

The ladies who partied hard that night...

Sunday was travel day to DC. I took Megabus to Union and hung out a bit in the city, visited TWC apartments to see Alan (concierge of the complex), until Kristi was ready for me. She lives in Columbia Heights which is a really nice area. Her complex is "one of the biggest" in DC or so she said. It was though, I was pretty impressed. Studio apts, laundry, a restaurant, a convenient shop, postal boxes, dry cleaning, security, a POOL!!! so jealous. Kristi had just returned from her trip to Miami. Sounds like the humidity down there is unbearable but she seemed to have a good time with friends. 

Since she works during the day I decided to venture out. Monday I went to the American Indian museum and Pentagon City to browse the mall. After a few hours browsing the museum I decided to check out the cafeteria that Keith mentioned was authentic. I "chickened" out and got an Indian Taco. I thought it would be more adventurous than it turned out to be. Oh well...

 Spearheads...they look like fish

 Looking down at the atrium of the museum.

 Looking up from the same place.

 The museum had a lovely exhibit on horses and how they were used throughout history 

for various Indian tribes across the country. This is a pic of a tipi with 

horse art. 

 The building's exterior

Shopping just isn't my thing but I wanted to say I had been to Pentagon City (since most of the interns during the spring had gone and it sounded like a place I "had to go see"). A mall is a mall. It was nice to sit down on a bench awhile and people watch. Thanks for the idea Alan!

Monday night we ate and drank at one of her favorite places the Xchange near the White House. It was good and I was surprised I drank three Bud Lights (Happy Hour special $2 each). I didn't think I would like it but it was ok. Kristi was so cute being concerned about her weakened tolerance since I last hung out with her in DC. We ended up walking back to her place taking about an hour and twenty mins - three mile walk to Columbia Heights. 

Tuesday was a relaxed day until I realized that Congress wasn't in session and that my idea to bring Kristi a free lunch - thanks to CNP's free lunch discussions - I didn't realize how much work it would be. Since the location was changed to a room in Russell instead of near Union Station then changed again (moved to another Senate building) I was rushed getting there so I got a crappy seat and of course this would be the day they only had boxed lunches for which I assumed there were only enough for those who said they'd be coming. CSPAN was there...ugh it was a hot mess. I looked awful, felt worse and ended up drinking a Coke for lunch. No biggie though I did keep my promise Kristi and she was very humbled. It was okay in the end since I walked to FroYo to get a snack :)

Scrambled eggs, flat bread and The Day After Tomorrow was our night. I was happy to spend some time with Kristi and I hope she had a good time too. It was nice to get away for awhile but thinking about coming home in Union Station Wednesday around lunchtime I started to do my usual worrying. As my friend Jay said, "you're a worrier." She's right and I'm trying everyday to be less so but its a habit I'll need to slowly adjust overtime.