wow im awful at updating

i can even begin to relay the last couple weeks with any real detailed accuracy...

so, last you heard from me i had done a weekend stayover in florida.

thanksgiving was nice. i technically had 3 thanksgiving dinners thanks to justin's mom, my mom and nikki's mom. can't get enough of that stuff.

this week i did a conference. conferences last 2 days instead of one and i travel with 4 instructors instead of 2. i also partnered with another lovely program manager. all the ladies were pretty fabulous in their own ways, so despite some high maintenance issues and large numbers, it was a good week.

i got to celebrate my mom and aunt's birthday with them. the first 2 days of the conference week were in anaheim so i went there ahead of time last friday. my aunt lives near anaheim and my mom flew down. that was the only california date i have through march, so it is serendipitous that it fell right on their birthday weekend. the last 2 days we conferenced in seattle and today i'm in portland.

ill be spending the weekend here, so that should be good times.
today my instructor is a crazy canadian woman. i worked with her for the conferences and she is just a hoot. she is loud and has a very distinct canadian accent. she also adores her "wonderful, loving husband Leon" who still makes her face light up after 35 years of marriage. she dotes on the man so much its almost nauseating. haha. but cute.

florida and thanksgiving photos!

and the beat goes on

hello friends and family

i write you from a hilton in chicago. a pretty swanky hilton. at least my room is.

last week was pretty awesome. i started the week in savannah, ga and ended in orlando, fl. georgia and florida are pretty fabulous.

i had the best instructor by far last week. she was too hilarious. by the end of the week i found i had adopted her oklahomian accent and tendency to randomly shout things. if i do this gig again next year i will def request her.

she did inform me that i look like a puppet/ cartoon though. she said i shouldn't take it negatively, but i don't know how to take it positively either. haha.

justin flew out to meet me in olando on thursday! i planned a stayover there and it worked out so that he could come, too. soooo exciting.

we spent the whole day at Epcot on Saturday, which was pretty neat. justin took better photos than i so i won't post any right now. we acquired free tickets to Epcot by attending a time share presentation. a rather painful experience. we were told it would only last 90 minutes total, but they stole about 2.5 hours of our lives. i got so agitated that i snapped (in a composed manner) at the old man who refused to let us be on our way. i wish i could have recorded what i said because it was pretty fabulous. every day my balls get a little bigger.

despite that painful experience, it did save us $150, so i can't complain toooooo much.

this is a short week since thanksgiving is coming up, so im excited about that! i miss you all!

im cool

hello from des moines, iowa

much has happened in the last week or so. ill try to fill you in.

Wed, Oct. 31
Halloween. While everyone else was out having fun I was sulking in my San Antonio hotel room. Torn between continuing to sit there or sucking it up and going to a bar. My hotel was right on the river walk! The day of our seminar I visited the Alamo on my lunch break.






Thursday, Nov. 1
Upon my arrival at my hotel room I was greeted by a care package from Miss Jill. Yay for Jill! She is officially the best friend ever. Haha. It was filled with all kinds of goodies. And, since I was mildly intoxicated from the 2 free drinks the Radisson gave me, I excitedly opened things and took photos. Here I am with a mud mask on:




Weekend:
Justin gave me a pretty, pretty ring. Its a sapphire. Me likes it alot. Lots of laundry and hanging out. More wine consumption.

Sunday, Nov. 4 (Day of Infamy)
So, on my way to the airport my front tire blew out. Yay! It was fixed quickly, but I still missed my morning flight to Sioux Falls. I couldn't get another until 3:20 p.m. So, I sat around the Seattle airport for 4+ hours. You can really live in an equipped airport. Definitely. Of course I don't want to. I arrived in Sioux Falls (in the great state of South Dakota) at approximately 10 p.m.

My luggage did not arrive with me. It didn't come in until the next afternoon (after talking to incomprehensible people in New Delhi several times). So, I attended to my duties wearing warm-up pants, flip flops, and a t-shirt. So sexy...and professional.
Sioux Falls sucks!!

Last night and today I was in Nebraska. I hung out with Justin's Braski friend Abe in Omaha last night. Yay for play dates! More wine consumption. People from Nebraska obviously eat alot of fried mayonnaise balls.

The drives between south dakota, nebraska and iowa are about the most boring drives ever. Snooze. However, one franchise brightens the horizon. I'm sure most of you northwesterners haven't heard of it. I hadn't...



Haha worst/ best name ever

updaaaaate

i write you from a convention center in Arlington, TX.

this weekend i did a stayover in Providence, RI. despite my apprehension about doing touristy things on my own, I had quite a bit of fun.

I planned on going to the open market downtown, see WaterFire and go on a ghost tour at night. excessive rain canceled the open market and I was sure would cancel Waterfire, but it didn't! I ended up trekking all around Providence and seeing much of what the city has to offer. I went to the RISD museum (Rhode Island School of Design). They have real Monet, Degas and Manet art! Crazy. I love Monet. I walked around and picked out houses I want to live in and toured Brown Univeristy. My feet hurt afterward!!

I've decided it is a good idea to buy shirts from law and medical schools of the most prestigious ivy league schools. I should try to look smarter and richer than I actually am...right?

The ghost tour was mildly lame, but still interesting at times. After my long day I returned to my hotel and ended up watching the world series with several hotel staffers close to my age. Haha ...I welcome any and all human interaction.

I'm in Texas all of this week. I fly all week, which I didn't look forward to until I met my instructor for the week. He is a very jumpy, vey talkative elderly man who I grew tird of within 5 minutes. So, no driving means less time I have to spend with him. He had such a cool name, too. I was sure he would be awesome. At lest he keeps his underpants on.

Last night and tonight I am graced by the presence of other program managers, which is always a good thing. I think another gal and myself are going to try and hit up some Halloween fun tonight. Except I have an awful costume I do not want to wear in public.

weird...again

this blog thing is mildly addicting when you have anything mildly amusing to say.

so, i write you from providence, ri. specifically, i write you from the johnson and wales inn. if you would like to picture where i am, think back on "The Shining" (lets hope nothing like the featured photo happens)

yes, im in an old, slightly creepy hotel. quaint, though. my instructor and i ate in their restaurant. i told him the boy who seated us was dreamy. he was dreamy. in a "the olsen twins meet ken doll" kinda way. to my relief his more shrewish, bespectacled, olive-complected counterpart became our waiter. i didn't want to be distracted by the other guys good looks anyway. i do like a little eye candy, though. being around teachers who are all around 35+ years old grows tiresome.

justin, you can skip the previous paragraph

i should clarify that my instructor also did not take down his pants entirely, yesterday. he tends to fidget with them and often forgets to zip his fly. when i caught him, however, he had the belt completely undone. i dunno bout that fella.

this weekend i am doing a stayover here in providence. im pretty excited, but it will be weird. it is my only solo stayover i have scheduled. hmmmmm.

so, yesterday miss jill cox messaged me on the facebook and asked if there is anyway to mail me stuff on the road (like mail it ahead of time to a hotel i will be staying). my own mother has not even thought to do that. i didn't even think to do that. whether or not jill actually every sends me anything doesn't really matter. she asked and that is neat.

p.s. i did about wet myself over the idea of getting to a hotel and having personal mail waiting for me, though. ya know...if you have stuff...lying around...that you'd like...wanna send me...ever. hint hint.

good week

so, it's wednesday of week 2.

this has been a good week. started monday in Rochester, NY, yesterday in Boston and today in Portland, Maine. Right now I'm in Bedford, NH.

this week is good because I get to drive the whole time and not sit on a plane. driving is a million times better than flying! new england is so beautiful at this time of year. gorgeous green, gold and red trees line the roads. like literally every road. you see trees on either side and not ugly buildings. love it!

i cant think of anything to write so ill answer questions people asked.

- i saw Eric, the annoying Jewish one from BB. i was told that's his name.
- i am all alone now. but last week if i referred to "we" i meant the 1 to 4 other program managers i was with during the first few days of on the road training. if i say "we" in the future that is due to a) me suffering from schizophrenia b) me speaking of an instructor i am with or c) me speaking of another program manager i've met up with on the road.
- during the day at my job i do many things. these things include setting up audio visual equipment, registering participants, coordinating lunch options, doing stacks of paperwork and making sue we get to the next destination efficiently and safely. i dont wish to go into further detail at this time.


P.S. My instructor is a wonderful former biology teacher. He is funny. However, he attempted to take his pants off in front of me today and when I said, "Are you depantsing in front of me?" he said< "I didn't think you'd notice."

week 2

So, i write to you from my hotel room in Rochester, NY. The view from my window looks out onto a grassy courtyard. It is square shaped with white benches on every side facing one another. For some reason it creeps me the hell out. I've included a photo.
The first photo you get and isn't it the most exciting thing ever???

I was in an airport or on a plane from approx. 8 am to 8 pm today. Counting time changes and all. Soooo much fun! I did see the annoying jewish guy from Big Brother, tho. No one cares about that except Justin's mom and sister I'm assuming. haha. I really hope that isn't the only "famous" person I see with this job.

Tomorrow I fly to Boston, but then I get to drive the rest of the week. I'm excited about that!!! Yay for driving.

Bed time. Radissons = sleep number beds = awesome

Ouch

Here is part 2 of my first week on the job.
So, you heard about New Orleans...

Houston was uneventful
Austin was uneventful. BUT We got to drive from Austin to Houston so it was cool to see the state a bit. We also went out for Thai food and had the most awkward waiter...ever.

Last night and today I was in Phoenix. I actually got to hang out with people! Justin's good pals, Steph and Will, took me to a Mexican restaurant. It was so great to meet them. I don't think I've ever had to try so little to impress someone, though. Justin must have made me sound remarkable. Haha. I look forward to seeing them again!

Oh, I should also mention that I locked my keys in my rental car whilst in Austin. But really if you know me you are probably thinking, "Haha. When isn't Liz doing stuff like that?" It's true...I'm incurably scatter-brained.

Speaking of which...today I left my phone in an Arizona cab. As I turned about in helpless circles in the airport upon realization, I figured I'd never see my shiny red phone again. I decided to call my phone just to see if anyone would pick up. John, the best cab driver in the entire world, answered. He agreed to ship my phone overnight!! I <3 him.

Now, I write this from a hotel in El Paso. I attempted to walk around historic downtown b/c it is beautiful (not hot) evening. Alas, a homeless man who yelled I was "wicked" and other shady characters eventually made me venture back to my hotel.

I'm so close to the Mexican border!! I just want a take a flying leap across!

Leave comments!

It begins

So, I flew into New Orleans yesterday. We went out and walked down Bourbon Street.

Things I learned:

- Only old white people go to New Orleans
- There are a lot of cops
- I hate being weak and wish luggage could disappear and reappear
- Men are creepy
- Jazz music is cool
- This job will kill me
- Watching a white girl do the worm and learn to booty dance from a black girl is the best thing ever
- Watch out for horse shit

Now I'm waiting for my flight from New Orleans to Houston. Yay!