More New Places

This is a huge shout out to some pretty awesome people for helping me move yesterday: THANK YOU Meredith, Adam, Mike, Aaron, and Billy (yes, even though you weren't in town, Dixie thanks you -_^)!! We were power movers yesterday...out of one apartment and into another in four hours. Sweet. And it was all done in lovely Florida weather. Seriously guys, thanks.

I am very glad to be out of the ridiculousness that is Blairstone. The new place is pretty cute. I am literally up the street from Meredith and Kinsley...and James and Jill. The neighborhood is nice, and the neighbors are pretty cool so far, too. It is one of four apartments in the building and is two beds, one bath. The second room will likely be a combination of an office and Dixie's room. Thankfully, it is also on the first floor. Plus I finally have recycling again! Maybe I will get some pictures up soon. The goal now is that I will not move again until I am leaving Tallahassee. Moving my stuff every year gets pretty old.

Now the fun part is unpacking so I can get to the real fun part of decorating. I guess blogging and staring at the boxes is not getting me very far...

Depp + Burton = Magic

As most people know, my celebrity crush is without a doubt Johnny Depp. Delicious. As an actor who tended to shy away from the more normal and popular roles (until the Pirates series, in which he is still pretty odd), he is always so intriguing to watch. Even in interviews, he has this down-to-earth sense about him that is really endearing. Of course, I am excited about his newest movie, "Public Enemies," coming out July 1.

However, I learned this morning that he is partnering with Tim Burton yet again to bring a twisted twist to another classic: "Alice in Wonderland." I saw the article from USA Today posted this morning by a friend on facebook, and I was immediately excited. Depp will play the Mad Hatter, and he will be partnering again with Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen of Hearts and Christopher Lee as the Jabberwock. The movie will also bring in Anne Hathoway as the White Queen, and a new star, Mia Wasikowska as Alice. Burton, somewhat like he did with "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" will put a new spin on the story by showing a tale of Alice returning to Wonderland 10 years after her first visit.

Along with "Peter Pan," "Alice in Wonderland" is one of my favorite stories. I love the idea of a world where nothing makes sense, but it is still somewhere you would love to visit. An escape from all things real with a girl who refuses to be tied down by the natural world. Magical and sometimes scary...and who does not love the Cheshire Cat? I cannot wait until March 2010 to see how cool and off the wall this film will be.

30 Day Challenges - Check!

First, I finished the blog challenge (yea, we still never came up with a 'winner'). Now, I have completed the 30 Day Challenge on EA Active. Woot! I actually finished it in less than 30 days because it is really 20 days worth of workouts with some built in rest days every couple of days, but you can choose to workout instead of rest. I am proud of myself for finishing, and it has actually been pretty fun despite the fact that it often kicks my butt. I still have not really lost any weight, but it feels good to be doing something.

Once I finally decide on a place to live, I hope to get even more active by riding my bike much more than I do now. (Which should not be a hard goal since I have really only ridden it a handful of times since I bought it...ha.) I am still trying to make better decisions in what I eat and drink, although this week has been hard since my GA ,Chris, and another GA, Abbie, had their last days in the office yesterday. This has meant lunches, and yesterday a delicious cake.

So now I just have to keep this up! I think for the next week, I am just going to do some preset workouts, and when I finally move, I will start a new 30 Challenge. Here's to health!

Size Matters (for TV Ratings)??

I have already gone on one rant about body image on television, but they just keep giving me fuel to burn. Tonight, while watching the "So You Think You Can Dance" results for the week, I saw a commercial for a new show on Fox: "More to Love." Teaming up with the executive-producer of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," Fox is bringing a new reality dating show to air "to prove that love comes in all shapes and sizes" (according to Fox's website description). It will be hosted by the famous full-sized model, Emme, and begins airing next month.

So is it empowering or exploitative? I see where they are going, but should you focus on body size to sell a show? I think all bachelor-type shows are ridiculous in the first place, but if they are going to happen, shouldn't it just be people? In theory, if you are ridiculous enough to put yourself on one of these shows, your size should not matter. Then again, if this were true, they would not only put "pretty" people on the original versions of this debacle. Maybe it is a step in the right direction, or maybe it is just even more degrading. I just do not know how I feel about this. We all know Fox tends to take things too far, but really, Fox? Really?

Sidenote: I am still upset that my DVR did not record SYTYCD last night, and you cannot fine full episodes online. Boo. Suze, I feel your pain in missing it.

Tuesdays Are Better in Tampa

Conferences are a staple in the world of Student Affairs. Our profession moves on the ability to collaborate and exchange ideas. So, yesterday, my office (plus one) went to Tampa to attend the NACA Drive-In. held at USF, 75 Florida student activities professionals, along with some of our Greek Life colleagues, gathered for a day of conferencing. And even though the conference was only a day, so much happened...

Since Tampa is about four hours from Tallahassee, our director, Joe, decided we should drive down on Tuesday instead of exhausting ourselves to be there by 8 am. Well, why go a day early and not take advantage of it? So we left campus around 8 am on Tuesday to begin what will always be remembered as "Teambuilding Tuesday." Joe rented a van for us all to ride together. Six adults in a van for four hours...you quickly revert to childhood. Especially when we were able to watch "Spaceballs" while I was able to play "LEGO Star Wars" on my DSi. Yea, that is a little odd to do at the same time...ha. I also remember lots of quoting "The Hangover."

After a slight traffic snag, we made it to Tampa. We started at the Tampa aquarium after grabbing some lunch. The aquarium was awesome. The otters may have been my favorite. Cute little things that could kick your ass...animals after my own heart. I was unfortunately too short to see the penguin show, but luckily they brought one around. One of the coolest things we saw was the leafy sea dragon. It was wild looking. They also had lots of giant fish, and we were able to pet some sea creatures.

The feeding of the otters

The leafy sea dragons

Me and Reg in one of a few crazy pics

After the aquarium, we drove through Ybor, which is a kitchy little place in town. I would love to go back and walk around when all the little shops and bars are open. This also lead to an impromptu tour of Tampa as we tried to find our way to our hotel. However, once we arrived at the hotel, it was amazing. We took a short break and then took advantage of the free happy hour in the lobby. From there, we went to dinner. We found a tapas place called "Ceviche," which had a Tuesday special of $4 tapas selections and $4 sangrias. The food was absolutely delicious. I do not even think I can count the number of different plates we ordered and shared, and the desserts we the perfect ending. After dinner, we took a quick trip to the Hard Rock Casino where some of us were luckier than others.

Just a small sample of the food

Wednesday dawned the conference, which was even better than I thought it would be. I really enjoyed getting to meet others who are going through what I am in my position. (I think I may actually be getting better at this mingling thing...ha.) On top of the networking, I was actually able to take a lot from the sessions. I have lots of ideas for the fall now. We were also able to act like students for a while sampling lots of free novelties put on by a local company. At the end, we were able to tour USF's new union, the Marshal Center. It is out of this world. The modern technology alone is great, but it is also designed with their students in mind. They even have a built in "serenity room" where students can sit in quiet that includes a foot wash room for Muslim students who use the room for prayer. Best part? They have a Moe's in the food court!

On the way home, we were all pretty exhausted. The craziest part was stopping at the Green Shutters restaurant in Williston where we reaffirmed Billy's obsession with shrimp, and Adam and I ordered a watermelon cake. What is that? It is a creation that involves grinding watermelon into the cake batter and the icing. It pretty much tasted like a watermelon Air Head. I do not think I will order it again...as was pointed out, I am not much of a "sweetie."

The watermelon cake

All in all, it was a pretty great!

Quotes:

Joe to me: "I think you have enough tattoos for everyone in the van."
Joe in response to not wanting directions: "I like feeling like Daniel Boone in a minivan."
Side of a church: "Everybody can't be right!"
Regina as we passed nice cars in a not so nice neighborhood: "Speaking of supporting meth habits..."
Adam as Regina is giving him a piggyback ride: "I'm made of bricks."
Me to Billy at Ceviche: "I've got the tapas sweats."
Everyone: "Where's Lori?"

I will probably put up more pictures later on Facebook. ^_^