The Island Life: Lilacs and Ladies

30 years from now we will all discuss our youth.

We will tell of our failures, triumphs, friends, memories, and the ideas we had. We will also probably talk about our summer jobs. Some people hated theirs, some didn't care much, but I would tell of how much I loved mine.

My summer job is not important or exciting in any real way. I work at a cute little gift shoppe called Benjamin of Mackinac (or to us islanders "Benjamin Kodak") and I even got a part time job at Maeve's Art Gallery. Both jobs are located on a beautiful island in the state of Michigan called Mackinac Island. If you haven't heard of it before, you NEED to check it out. If you haven't been, you need to come and visit.... jus' sayin'... The jobs pay well and provide great housing, but its not what I would remember most about this gorgeous island.

What I remember most are the porter jams, the booze cruises, late night pizza, boardwalk walks, biking 8 miles around the island, photo adventures, photo shoots, Mexican vs. Jamaican soccer matches, good food, live music, big red parties, boys, girls, and ladies night lock-ins. All of which I will eventually go into depth about in future blog posts, but for now I want to talk about Ladies Night Lock-Ins and Lilac Festivals.

The Lilac Festival is an annual event every year where the Lilacs are full in bloom and people from all over the U.S. come to witness and smell the growing, budding, and fully blossomed lilacs. And on the last day of the festival is the parade. It is full of horses, floats, carriages, princesses, old people, and bag pipes. And every year our shoppe allows us to close the doors and sit to watch the parade for an hour, all while still being paid. Can anyone say LEGIT?! Here are some of my favourite pics from the parade:

The descendents of Chief Mackinac!

One of the many Scottish bagpipes and dancers!


Horses!!! So pretty!


Of course the Americans!


And the hobo band! Love them! They're my fav part!

Ladies Night Lock-Ins are very frequent and fun instances where our apartment (Laura, Rachael, and I) stay the night in while getting pissed and have the hilarious opportunity to get to know each other with no hold backs. (That is what happens when you drink right? You don't hold ANYTHING in!) Recently we held the first of many to come of this awesome event. During which I have only come to love my roomies even more. I learned that Rachael not only is a tank, but she has a kick ass playlist, she loves to use Brittish slang on Laura and I to confuse the hell out of us, she hates pretzels, never has had a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (we're soon gonna change that), and she is embarrassed of the way Laura and I dance even in private. ;) And LAURA,.. too funny! She would not shut up about how great of a roomie I have been for the past 2 years! All cause I'm "CHIIIIILLLLLLLL",.... as she put it! She taught Rachael the slutty baby dance move, told me of a few other drunken moments she has had, and a few other things I learned (and laughed) about that is best not repeated aloud. ;)

This is all three of us girls!! Rachael is on the left and Laura on the right!


Rachael and I! Isn't she a doll?!


Laura and I talking in secret! <3

Over all, I LURVE this island. Everything about it screams awesome, chill, relaxing, exciting, and so much more! I don't think I will ever get over how awesome being here is! I am so blessed each and every day that I am here!

Long time... Its island time!

Sorry! I know..... I've been slacking! BUT! On the plus side just be happy that I am on a beautiful island with beautiful people (quite literally beautiful) doing some pretty awesome things!!!!

Lately it has been dull weather. Rainy, foggy, cold, and wet. Only this week did it start to sun shine with awesome thunderstorms and hot weather! Nevertheless, I did get some pretty awesome pics while out on an adventure with my roomie Laura (pictured above)!!! Here below is one of the awesome photos that I got!



We did get our new roomie who works in the store next to us! Her name is Rachael and is is from the UK. We LOVE her! We all went out to a party last night and had a couple cups of 190 proof pink panty droppers and just let loose. It was so much fun as we made fun of a couple of select individuals in the room. Soon after we headed out for pizza with some other friends and we have never laughed so hard together before. It was really awesome to be able to get to know the girlies like that!

Well, I shall bid you all adieu for now. Its time for sex and the city watching during tonight's man bashing event with the girls!!!!

Summer is here!!!

Yay! Finals are done, papers are turned in, apartment is empty, and I am now sitting at home with my puppy sitting by my feet chewing on her bone.

However, I could not leave school with one last shindig and goodbye to my friends. So, on friday night I held one at my apt and had a cook out, games, drinks, and hookah. It was so much fun and I'm so happy that so many people showed up! Here are some awesome pics from that night:

Ash and Brice starting off the event in good humor!

Of course Dan cant get off his phone even with a goofy hat and food in hand!

Ash and Brice taking their food to the play place!

Here comes the princess: Esperanza!!!!

Charlie came out to play too! Congrats on graduating by the way!!

Trysty also came along! And boy did we have him running around!

Ash does share!!!!

Thats right Yuriy... Rock it out.... :D

Chau and Ash on the teeter-totter with the princess in the middle!

The Queen!!! Angie!!! I love her!

Angie and Steve decided to start their own band!

The princess wouldn't stop pestering so Trysty got her to shove her mouth full of cheeto's and claimed it was a competition.. ;)

The princess is teaching Alex how to play in the sand!

Hookah time!!!

Heath! You're blowing bubbles!

Dan is helping me light the lantern to adios the school year and say hello to summer!

Our drinks of the night: Skittles Vodka and...

Absinthe!! And YES, it does have worm wood in it!

It was such a fun night and I am so glad I got to hang out and say good bye to so many new and old amazing friends. I hope you all have a fantastic summer and I cannot wait for next year!

Attitude

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.

My Awesome Future Job!

So... if you don't know, .... you will learn!!!!

I am currently working my way through school to be an Archaeologist in the Mediterranean. But for now I am doing this internship with the Hiawatha National Forest Service, and let me say... LEGIT! I love it so much!

Every week I head down to Escanaba to go to the Forest Service and learn about different aspects and ideologies behind Archaeology/Anthropology. My mentor is named Eric and he is by far the most legit dude ever. I mean who else just can throw a paper ball and miss a standing 6+ foot tall dude and hit the small 5 foot chick sitting down next to him when you are literally 2 feet away??? Eric does. But its all good,... we never let him live it down... EVER! It is awesome. Every week we sit down and just talk about anything we want (as long as it is related) and we learn so much that words cant even begin to express.....

Well, this week we went out into the field and did some exploring. Here is some pics that I took:

This is Eric and John,.... My mentor and peer. (I'm in the pit!)

(The Pit)

John and I in the pit!!!!

My new friend... I shall call him ROBOSPIDEY!

A watering hole for an old logging camp. This sucker is 8 feet deep!

John and I being silly on an old fallen tree! MIGHT I SAY HUGE!!!!!!

See? I told you.. HUGE!

Well folks, that is it for now! I'll def keep you updated!!!!

Much love and LUST! <3 XOXO

Labels: Friends

My friends are what get me through the day, week, month, year and so on. They understand me as I understand them. We succeed and fall down together.

These friends here are my rock. They are supportive, awesome, and not afraid to tell me how it is. I love you Tommy, Ashley, and Chelsea.




I do love all of my friends like my family. Don't take me the wrong way if you were not in this post, it is not because you're no friend. These 3 people have been through the worst with me and we have gone through so much together. Everyone has those few friends whom they bear their whole being into, for me these 3 are my piggy bank. I give them my all and they do the same.




Although, if I had a wish about friends is that I wish everyone came with a label. Like: "This one is going to be there through the toughest times", "This one you wont talk to much but you click so well together", "This one you will only hang out when you're drunk, you wont have as much fun sober", most importantly: "This one considers themselves as your friend but will never have your back"........ But I guess that is the joy of life, the unexpected.


I will take all that I have because it is more than I could have ever imagined. I am so blessed to have all of you as friends.

My Brother, Alex, USMC

My brother Alex is serving in the Marines and is stationed out in Okinawa. He gets to come home in June to California, then maybe back out to Afghanistan in the fall. He is one of the bravest yet dorkiest people I know. And what a little shit too! My mom used to tell me that when I was learning how to walk he would come up behind me and shove me down. She would get so mad at him but would never punish him. Its okay mum, I understand. If my kid learned how to be a little brat like that,.... I'd be sooooo proud!



Anyway Al, thanks for being my big bro and for risking everything so that I can continue to live here in America and enjoy being a bigger badass than you.. ;)

A moment of silence.

Hey all!

I know its been such a long time since I've posted. I have been thinking lately what it means to live. Often, I find myself daydreaming about my future and what it could have in store for me. The daydreams will often involve jumping from an airplane, or walking on the beach at sunset, or looking forward to those little moments when I am content and happy, or love. Its not rare that I am told that I need to settle down, in fact it is too often. But why do I need to settle down?

About two years ago on April 22nd my good friend and house (foster) brother was killed in a car accident. He was driving in his car while texting his girlfriend telling her how much he missed her and couldn't wait to see her again. He ran a red light and was T-boned by an SUV. He died two days later from brain injuries. I wasn't able to make it home. I didn't get the call from any of my parents or the home that I lived in. A friend had called me and told me the news. I was in Wisconsin, at the wheel, driving back from visiting some family. My heart just sank and eventually I had to pull over and have someone else take over. I was so scared to drive for a couple of weeks after that because of the thoughts of him. Every April from then on I cannot help but to think of him and to miss his most annoying and aggravating antics. To miss the way he always looked at me when I was stressed out and say "Listen, LADY, CALM DOWN!" and then say something really stupid like "I cant find my pencil...." I miss that so much. Soon after, I had learned that before the accident, he had just applied and been accepted to a Culinary School. He had always been a great cook and interested in trying new things, it was only natural for him.

Ever since, I try not to worry too much about what the future holds in store for me. I try not to plan my life more than a year in advance. But, at the same time I cannot help myself. I want to go to Grad School, then Doctorate School, then sit on the beach somewhere and have the towel boy always refer to me as "Docta". Catching myself in the act is always a punch in the face. I remember him and other friends or family whose life was ended too soon and I remember the good times and what it means to live.



I don't know about the day that I'm going to die. I know it will come, but I can only hope that it will hold off until I'm 214 years old. And when I do, I want to close my eyes and have my life replay before me. When that happens, I want it to take forever to replay because there has been so much joy, happiness, sadness, and adventure there. In fact, I would love to be able to laugh when it happens, because I don't want my life to be dull or "normal". To laugh much and live often is a good goal for anyone to have, period.

I am forever and always an adventurer at heart. And I will always stand up, not just stand by.

R.I.P. Paul- I miss you lots bro....

Life is to LIVE.

So, for those that were not kept in the loop Wednesday was a very scary day for those of us here at Northern Michigan University and the community of Marquette. The majority of us woke up to text messages from the school alerting us of a serious threat made against the school and to stay in our rooms and lock the doors.

The call came from an anonymous caller in California saying that he had read from a blog someone had posted that said he was going to "Shoot up the campus of NMU worse than the one at Virgina Tech." As soon as the tip was received, the authorities took a look at the blog and immediately took no chances. They immediately shut down the campus, evacuated everyone in the area, and sent out alerts to everyone warning them not to go near or on campus. From there the rumors on Facebook began to emerge, from an actual shooter on campus to a hostage situation. No one really knew what was happening and the school was not giving us much information. Within a couple of hours we received word that the local public schools were being evacuated and the hospital was on lock down. The rumors only got worse and worse. Soon, however, we were notified that the authorities let us know that they had the situation under control but still urged us not to come onto campus. And from there it was all an easy downhill ride.

By 3 the threat was no longer pending and the students were allowed to leave their rooms to go eat. By 6pm the local media covered talks from President Dr. Wong and the Police Chief where they let us know as much as they could about the situation without incriminating anyone or letting out too much. At 8 we learned that school would be open the next day and everything will resume as it would, the threat was no longer active.

All of us took a sigh of relief. Although some were still scared to come to school today, which is completely understandable. Our lives were threatened, our school, friends, families, lives were put on the line by some careless blogger making hurtful threats toward innocent people.

It was definitely a learning point here at NMU. We learned how to stay calm even though our brains are racing miles a second, we had each others backs and were ready to take stand, the community and NMU students came together and showed compassion and loyalty. Overall, it was scary and horrible to go through, but in the end, it was worth while to learn all that we did.



Live my friends, Live. Don't look back at what you could have done, but rather to what you want to do from now on. Live, live, live. That's all the advice I have, is to live.

Love, Lust, and LIVE always.

A Big THANK YOU!

I would personally like to say thank you to an anonymous person from California, Northern Michigan University, and NMU Public Safety for taking no chances today. Also, to the Marquette Police, State Police, and the FBI for coming together to sort out this whole mess. You all saved so many peoples lives today and we are all so thankful and indebted.

For those who are not informed about what is going on right now, I will post later everything that I know. For now just know that we are safe and sound and the authorities have everything under control!

Much love and thanks to all!