Florida Livin'

So I haven't written in a MINUTE. Sorry. Craziness has happened in my life...luckily that allowed for more chances to embarrass myself.

This summer I am living in Jacksonville, FL where I have an internship in Orientation at Jacksonville University. Man was I excited to get out of the rain in Seattle. The one drawback to being in Florida this summer is the lack of a car. Myself and the other interns are literally stuck on campus because there is nothing worth walking to around JU. It is also a SKETCH area. But the campus is only a 20 minute drive to the beach so on the days we can find a ride there, I like living here.

On the first weekend in Jax, my roommates and I were desperately trying to go to the beach. We exhausted all of our personal resources and settled on the boat dock to catch some rays. We were there for about an hour until it became too hot to bear. I was on the phone talking to a friend when I hear a loud splash and my roomates screaming. One was yelling "Owww I hit my head!" I was scared she hit her head on the rock and got a concussion so I ran over and offered my hand to pull her out. She pulls my arm and then I too slip into the nasty river with my cell phone in hand. The rocks were so slippery we did not know how we were going to get out. I deciede to have one girl throw us flip flops so we could walk on the rocks and pull ourselves up onto the dock. The plan worked but we had to call the on-duty staff member to come bring us first aid because we had cut our feet open. He could not believe we had gone in the river.

I am now on my 5th week here and I have never gone back to that river. I also did not have a phone for my first week of overnight orientation. Typical me.

That scared the BEJESUS outta me!!

A new one! Yes!

On my way to Oregon a few weeks ago, my friends and I decided to grab a quick bite to eat. We all could not decide what we wanted so we parked the car in the middle of about 5 fast food restaurants. I went and grabbed Chinese food at Panda Express and I met my friends at Arby's. A hysterical chain of events occurred the moment I walked into that Arby's. My friends were ordering curly fries and all of a sudden we heard someone scream "THAT SCARED THE BEJESUS OUTTA ME!" I have NEVER heard someone seriously say "bejesus." We were all hysterical laughing at the fact that someone had seriously said that word.

It was also kind of chilly that day and one of the guys we brought with us had a blanket from the car wrapped around him in Arby's. I decided I was cold also so I tried to steal the blanket from him. This was not going to work. He is a foot taller than me. I pulled with all my might and all of a sudden I was slowly falling backwards. I landed on my back still clenching onto the blanket. Everyone was stunned. The 3 of us started laughing so hard. I tried to run out the door and my friend closed the door on me at the last second causing me to trip on my way out! It was not my most graceful moment. I am also sure that the Arby's staff can now watch me fall on video as many times as they want.

Sliders. Literally.

Last year a new bar opened up by my school. Its name was Sliders. It was a smaller sports bar in the downtown district by my school. For the grand opening they were giving out free drinks for ladies. If any place is giving me free drinks I am guaranteed to be there. So I went with my usual crew. Typically, we have a drink or two before we go out but this time we weren't. We arrived and the second I stepped in Sliders I realized how slippery the floors were. I instantly went into ice skating mode and did not pick up my feet in fear of slipping in the over crowded bar. Every sorority had heard about the ladies are free night and you literally could not move in the bar. My friends and I realized we were not getting a drink upstairs and decided to proceed to the lower level in hope of a secret bar. I took two steps down the stairs and next thing I know I was flying in the air and the I landed on my butt. The stairs were slippery too! We were all hysterical laughing. It took me about 5 minutes to get up because I was laughing so hard. Sliders was such an appropriate name.

Lately.

I haven't written in a MINUTE. My life has been crazy. I feel like reflecting this morning instead of writing about my embarrassing moments. I have been really into soaking up life lately. Living it up in my twenties. Experiencing a new city and the people in it. I have been reading blogs that I can relate to. The ones that are telling me it is okay to go nuts on the weekends and have those rookie mistakes and that it is okay not to have everything together because I am only 22. They have been making me feel a lot better. They make me feel great about making a decision and running with it. Everyone who is my age should be doing it. Here are some of my favorite excerpts:

"But your twenties aren’t exactly real life yet. Your employer finds it hilarious/expects you to be hungover most days. They always lament how they, “miss those days” of care free sex and rampant horrible behavior. If you have a job at all, people tell other people that, “Drew’s doing great.” You still wear halloween costumes with reckless abandon. You’re not quite ready to let go yet. And that’s the way it should be. Live out the glory days." -Rocket-Shoes


"Be really attractive. Your acne is gone, your face has matured without having wrinkles and everything on your body is lifted naturally. Eat bagels seven days a week, binge-drink and do drugs: you’ll still look like a babe. When you turn thirty, it’ll become a different story but that’s, like, not for a really long time."

"Move into an apartment on the corner of Overpriced and Dangerous. Sleep on a bare mattress with an Ikea comforter. Your mother talks to you about buying a top sheet and a duvet cover but feel like you’re not mature enough to own something called “duvet."-Ryan O'Connell of Thought Catalogue


Have a day of randomness. It always feels good. Not everything needs to be planned out. The days that are my favorite are the ones where I do not know what I will do, but whatever it is I know I am always having an adventure.

Did You Have a Nice Trip? See You Next Fall!!

I hate that joke.

It was a good day for a jog. My friend Jamie and I decided to go for one. (Jamie is ALWAYS there when I have a moment like this. Thank goodness she is in China for the next two years because every time I am with her something happens like this). We were running around campus, only a 1.5 mile loop, nothing serious. We turned the corner onto College Ave. This is the stereotypical college street where everyone is walking or catching their bus on. We were getting towards the front of College Ave Gym which also serves as the main College Ave bus stop. There are about 7 buses which stop here to unload and reload. As we were passing this area a really crowded bus had stopped to let all of the riders off. I was not looking down and the sidewalk was a bit uneven. All of a sudden I was flying through the air and then I slammed on the ground. I fell straight to the ground and laid there for at least a minute to figure out what had happened and how it happened so fast. When I realized where I was and what had happened I realized that people had been getting off the bus to see me tripping and falling straight to the ground. I was mortified. BUSES WERE UNLOADING and I was lying there covered in gravel. Jamie was hysterical laughing at me. When I got up I realized my knee was bleeding. I was a hot mess and everyone was watching me.

Code Red.

So I had just gotten out of class at good ol' RU. It just so happened to be one of the middle of the day classes so you would have to rush to the bus stop to try to squeeze onto a bus like a sardine. You also have to strategically place yourself on the sidewalk to try to be right in front of the door when it opened. It takes a few semesters, but by junior year....you are usually an expert at getting a spot on the bus. So there I was, standing, strategically placed on the sidewalk, talking on my cell phone to a friend. I saw my bus coming in the distance. I held my ground. No one was getting in front of me. I was so close to the edge of the sidewalk that if I had taken two steps forward I may have been run over mean girls style. The bus slowed right in front of me and I heard a loud POP. About a second later I felt all wet. It was a sunny day and there was no way I could have gotten so wet so fast. There were no hoses or sprinklers around. I looked down and I was covered in a red sticky substance. What the hell? It smelled really sweet. I looked down and saw a Mountain Dew Code Red bottle right under the tire of the bus. The bus had ran over a bottle of Code Red and it had exploded ALL OVER me.

The doors to the bus suddenly opened right in front of me, just as I had planned. Standing on the other side of the door was a close friend of mine staring at me and wondering why I was covered in red. I climbed the stairs of the bus and told him what had happened and I was laughed at the whole way back. I went through the rest of the day and my 3 classes smelling sweet and feeling sticky. It was the worst.

Damn the static cling!

During a chilly Saturday in New Jersey, I was on a brisk walk to meet my old roommate. Her house was only about 3 blocks. I arrived at one of the bigger intersections in the city, a place where you could bump into anyone on campus. I saw a boy from a distance I had had a fling with a year back. I did not feel like seeing him or talking to him. I just wanted to avoid him. The coast was clear and I could jet across the street without having to say a word. I began to make my move and noticed something green by my shoe. I ignored it. I took a few more steps and I noticed it was getting bigger. I looked down and a green thong from my laundry had clung on the inside of my pants and was now coming out of my pant leg. I had to bend over in the middle of the street pick it up as smoothly as possible. Now I was holding a thong in the middle of the busy street! I threw it in my bag and did not look back.

Hey Shawty

Short and sweet. Yesterday I was getting dressed at the wee hours of 7am...way too early if you ask me. I had just gotten out of the shower and I was pulling my underwear up and rriiippp. The band ripped off the underwear. What the hell?? This has never happened to me. Yes, it was a REALLY old pair but I did not know this could happen. No one saw it or anything but I just felt the need to share. These types of instances happen way too often in my life. I continued to have a god awful day until about 9pm. Lets just say TGIF.

Pet Peeves.

So if you are reading this blog you know my name is ARIANNA. But I am constantly called ADRIANNA. I do not get it. WHERE does the D come from? THERE is not a D and there is not even a letter that LOOKS like a D. I don't know why people consistently call me Adrianna especially when they have known me for WEEKS...MONTHS even. It really ticks me off. Don't even try to call me Adrianna as a joke either. I will not laugh. I will give you a death stare and you will wish you never cracked that joke.

I am using this blog post as a rant instead of as my usually stories because it happened to me for the billionth time last night. I was in my graduate school class where there are about 25 students..shouldn't be too hard to get the names straight. Our teacher spent the first few minutes of our class passing out papers with our names on it. Mine was spelled Arianna. Correct. No problem. THEN at the end of the class she had assigned two students to start a class discussion. Adrianna and Constance. I raised my hand and said is ADRIANNA supposed to be me?!? She said oh yes sorry. Well little did she know that it really annoyed me and ruined the rest of my night. I was fuming and did not even get happy when we went out for happy hour later that night. All in all....don't call me Adrianna. I will have a hard time forgiving you.

Everyones Favorite.

September. My FAVORITE time of year. Autumn...back to school...school spirit flooding the streets at schools all over the country. What could go wrong??

It was the first week of classes. I went to school in New Jersey so it was still hot in early September. I had class in the Communications building which was at the opposite end of campus from my apartment. I wore a dress to class because of the heat. Class had finished and I was making my way back towards my home. I called a friend to catch up on our lives for my 15 minute walk back home. As I was turning onto my block a couple of older women were making a huge effort to flag me down. I thought "What could they want? Are they lost?" I acknowledged their efforts and walked over. They pointed to my butt and I realized my dress had been caught in my handbag the ENTIRE walk back from my class. I had literally walked the entire length of my campus with my rear end out and no one had told my other than this group of old ladies.

London Bound.

Two summers ago I took a backpacking trip through Europe with a few of my closest friends. It was from July-August and we were only packing one backpack small enough to be carried onto the airplane. This left us little room for wardrobe changes. Since everyone had told me Europe is blazing hot in the summer I decided to skip packing a pair of pants. I know it was not the wisest move but if you saw how small our bags were you would see how much room one pair of pants would take up. I packed a pair of leggings instead. They still cover my legs, they are light and they take up little room in my bag. Smart thinking if you ask me. I decided to wear them on the plane because I am always cold on airplanes. My two friends and I were on a HUGE plane to London from New York. We had middle seats so we had to climb over people if we wanted to get up.

About midway through the flight my friend and I decided to make the climb towards the bathroom. There was an older man, who was definitely senior citizen age at the end of our row. We said excuse us and he was not budging. The right thing for him to do would be to get up and let us out. Nope he stayed put in his seat which then required us to have to step over his legs. So annoying! My friend stepped over first and walked towards the bathroom. I stepped over next and thought all was fine. Wrong. My leggings were caught to a little screw on the old mans seat! I tugged them and a ginormous hole ripped in them going from my thigh to my knee. My only almost pair of pants were ruined. I was wearing high top converse sneakers as well so I looked really punk rock when I arrived in London. Oh and it was freezing in London as well so I ended up having to buy another pair once we got there.

Two Story Worthy Moments in One Week.

I am one of 5 interns in the University of Washington's Olympic Sports office. I work there 3 days a week and spend most of my day working at a computer and snacking/drinking hot cocoa. Since I have to be in the office at 9am I usually bring my breakfast into the office. Today I brought some instant oatmeal. We have a water cooler which dispenses hot and cold water. I put my oatmeal into a cup and held down the tab for the hot water. About halfway through it dispensing, the cup slid out of my hand and fell on the floor. The halfway wet oatmeal literally exploded out of the cup and into my hair, on my face and all over the UW Husky purple carpet. If you have ever made oatmeal you know that when it does not have enough water in it it is a very sticky consistency. I immediately tried picking it up off the carpet but it was no use. I ran into the intern office to tell my friends. They here hysterical laughing at the oatmeal that was literally stuck on my eyelids and in my nest of curly hair. I laughed so hard at myself that I could barely tell my supervisor what happened. I ended up having to run around the building looking for the custodian. Thank god it is ALMOST friday!

WHAT do you MEAN I am at the wrong gate?!?

It is 5:00am. I am about to fly back to Seattle from NYC and I am going to blame this one on not being awake enough.

I stayed at my aunts house in Manhattan. My mom was nice enough to get me a car service right from her sisters apartment to the airport since my flight was so early. I woke up at 3:45 am brushed my teeth and ran out the door. I had checked in online and found out that I was in FIRST CLASS! Whoohoo! I have no idea how I ended up there and neither does my mom who arranged my flights but whatever I'll take it! So going to the airport at 3:45am this morning was not TOO terrible because I knew I would be in a nice comfy HUGE seat on a plane passed the hell out. We swiftly arrived at the airport and the nice man took my bags out for me and waved me off. I get online for baggage drop off and patiently wait. I had my boarding pass printed out and I THOUGHT I was good to go. It was my turn to turn my bags over and the extremely grumpy man tells me that my boarding pass would not work and I would have to check in at a kiosk. I refused to lug my bags around the stretchy ropes so i squatted and tried to limbo my way under. BAD CHOICE. The nice new umbrella my mom got me for Christmas decided to get caught in the stretchy rope. So now everyone on line was staring at me trying to figure out what I was stuck on as I pulled the rope across the room.

I got to the ticket kiosk and typed in my confirmation number. "Your itinerary does not exist." Then I tried my credit card...same message. I started freaking out. Why was this not working?!? I was too tired at 4am for this to happen! I asked one of the kiosk helpers and he said "wait...you are flying UNITED?" Oh yes. I was in the WRONG GATE! I immediately grabbed my baggage and sprinted outside. I had 1 hour until my plane departed from JFK. Looked left...looked right...I had to decide how I was going to get to gate #7 from gate #3. I saw a security guard who I thought would be able to provide valuable information so I yelled "EXCUSE MEEE!!" Ignored. "EXCUUSEE MEEE!!!" Ignored again. I turned around in hope there was a taxi and all I saw was a car service. I jumped in the car and got to my destination. Although he totally jipped me for 20 bucks. Oh well. At least I got to my gate. Now I get to sit in the first class "red carpet lounge." Thanks Mom.