The Preakness Stakes

What do you get when you add a music festival + day drinking + horses + Baltimore + total and complete debauchery? The Preakness Stakes, my friend.

I've now been to Preakness 3 times, and it has never disappointed. In fact, after every time I go, I think to myself, I'm doing this every year for the rest of my life. *High standards.* I've been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and this event is honestly second on the list for complete and utter craziness.

The Preakness is a big horse race in Baltimore which is one of three races in the Triple Crown. (The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes, and The Belmont Stakes). If the same horse wins all 3, it wins the triple crown, which hasn't happened in more than 30 years.

The secret to Preakness is being in the InField. Which is, obvy, the huge field inside the race tracks. The classy people are in the stands and in boxes. But the InField resembles a large frat/college/springbreak party. Years ago it was BYOB, but things literally got too out of control. So now, you can buy a wristband to get alcohol all day or buy it there - only 2 dollars a beer!

Since the event managers knew people would freak out with it not being BYOB anymore, they began to add music venues to keep people coming. So starting at 10 am and all throughout the day, bands play on different stands.

This year Florida Georgia Line, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and Pitbull were the big ones. Last year it was Zac Brown Band, Maroon Five, and Wiz Kalifa. Not too shabby... And from *what I remember* they were all amazing.

At Preakness you see people literally passed out all over the grass, and it's so accepted, no one even notices - you just step over them. The other thing I love is seeing random people you know, because everyone who lives in MD, VA, or DC goes. Everyone knows drunk run-ins are the best thing ever. I wish I had more stories from this year's Preakness, but I blacked out I can't think of them right now.

Here are pictures from the last three I've attended:

2010:

2012:

2013:

Preakness in a Nut Shell:

Advice to the newest round of college grads

Saturday was the 2013 graduation at my alma mater... meaning I've officially been a post college graduated human for a year now! What the f$ck So crazy. I know it's cliche, but it truly is hard to wrap my head around how fast time is flying by. So much has changed in just one year. When I think back on last year's graduation, I feel like I'm looking back on five years ago, not one!

It kind of reminds me of your freshman year of college, in that you change or "grow" the most in that first initial year, since it's such an adjustment from high school, living at home, etc. Well, your "freshman" year in the working world is a very similar experience. And for me especially, it came full circle because I had to re-adjust to being back in my parents house and not on my own. (Oh and re-adjusting to waking up every day before 6:00 am wasn't a breeze either.)

Right after I graduated last May, I helped my parents move from Annapolis to Virginia. Things I know I never want to become: a mover. But all-in-all I had a wonderful summer, getting settled in VA and helping my parents, running my ass off training for a half marathon, watching the 2012 Olympics, hanging out with friends, and traveling throughout the East Coast... yea, post grad life was pretty rough...

THEN (gulp)

...I got a job.

I'm being melo-dramatic. Even though my post-grad summer was indeed the bomb.com, I did have the constant anxiety of not knowing what the hell I was doing with my future, and where I was going to end up working. I hated more than anything, the unknown, and having to tell friends and family I still didn't have a job or know what I'd end up doing. So, getting my first full-time job at the end of August really was a blessing and I'm so thankful it worked out and that it's such a great fit for me.

At one of my conferences for work, interviewing a member company.

Soooo In the spirit of a new round of students joining the post-grad world, I thought I'd give a list of some of the things I've learned / random advice from my past 9 months working the 9-5 corporate grind:

1. Plan fun weekend events ahead of time (think concerts, trips, nights out, girls weekends, happy hours or even dinner) -- it gives you things to look forward to and makes the work-week go by faster!
2. Get a routine for your morning - I watch / listen to Fox & Friends while I get ready, and when I get in my car, I have my breakfast, a thermos of coffee, and a water bottle -- and I found a solid radio station. When Monday rolls around, having a set routine puts you back in the work mindset pretty easily.
3. Stay in touch with your friends via group texts, FB, calls, etc. Unfortunately, it can be easy to lose touch with friends when you're both busy and barely have any free-time, so you definitely have to put in a little effort, but it's worth it... since they're the ones who keep you sane... and entertained at work half the time. *think snapchat*
4. Don't go out to lunch / get starbucks -- this saves SO much money. I let myself go on a Starbucks run once during the work week, but other than that I bring it in my car in the morning and have a Keurig at work if I want another cup. A 4$ latte adds up big time if you're going 3-4 days a week! And lunch is like that times 10. Plus, bringing lunch definitely saves calories! Again, sometimes I'll go out with a co-worker or grab something, but usually only once every two weeks... maybe even less! Definitely use the 90/10 rule on that one. Bring lunch 90% of the time.
5. Save a certain amount of your paycheck - depending on your rent / living situation (I live with my parentals) it's good to come up with a consistent amount of money you transfer right to savings when it comes in on payday. I transfer it before I even have the chance to give a second-thought of how I could spend it instead. Since I'm living at home right now, I'm putting about 65% of each paycheck into savings for as long as I can. But even if it's 10% -- every little bit ads up!
6. Go to bed early if you can - there's no getting around it, you simply can't go to bed at the same time you did in college and expect to not be a zombie for the first 4 hours of every morning. I haven't gotten this down myself... since I tend to get a second wind when I (finally) get home around 8:30, but on the nights I do go to bed around 10, I really do feel better the next day at work! Still working on this one and trying to take my own advice...
7. Pack your gym bag, lunch, and determine outfits the night before - no matter how pooped you are at night, it is SO worth biting the bullet and packing your gym bag, lunch, and laying out your outfit for the next day. Believe it or not, tired you at night, is a lot more alert and less annoyed than tired you in the morning. On days I've packed things in the morning I've forgotten stuff!
8. Don't compare your income, work culture, company, to others -- first of all, what seems glamorous on Facebook and Instagram doesn't necessarily mean the truth. Or hearing that someone in the financial field, or fill in the blank, is making 3 times as much as you really is an arbitrary statement. For all you know, they could be working 3 times the hours. Any first job out of college is a great experience for the sole reason that's it's just that... experience! At the end of the day, that's what employers want to see on a resume - that you have experience in the working world. 
9. Answer e-mails right away - It is so easy to accidentally forget to respond to an e-mail if you don't respond right away. Especially if it's one that might be somewhat of a nuisance, for lack of a better word, to respond to, just open it right then and respond. Or, at least hit reply so an open e-mail response is on your desktop until you send. There are so many times I've told myself I'll answer in 10 minutes, but then something else pops up and I completely forget to, and then realize a day later, or, when it's too late! That is so embarrassing. 
10. Don't be afraid to be friendly with co-workers. No matter where you work, it's always nice to be able to talk about the last episode of The Voice when you're in the kitchen with someone. Making connections with co-workers will make your work relationship better and will keep you sane when you're comfortable letting loose and telling a funny story when the day is dragging on or you're stressed and just want a quick gossip-sesh! Sometimes I get so in-the-zone I avoid talking to people, but when I do go out of my way to chat with someone for a little, I always feel better about my day and my work culture / interactions in general.
11. Have a couple TV shows / series you watch - I'm starting to feel grandma status with this list... but seriously, having TV shows that you're pretty religious about watching is also something that makes the week go by faster! Especially if the shows are on different days. Ugh FML, tomorrow is Monday, but it's Sunday so Revenge is on tonight, yay! How is it only Wednesday, but at least that means Nashville comes on tonight! I really stopped watching anything on TV in college besides reality TV, so getting into network shows has been fun!
12. Join a gym - the main reason I joined a gym near work was to avoid traffic, since I live so far away from work. I go to the gym after work, so that by the time I leave the gym and head home, it isn't rush hour any more and traffic is legit 20 times better. Plus, working out after a long day of sitting at a deskjob is a great feeling, I feel sooo much better about my day - whether I had a good one, bad one, or average one, after I leave the gym. Plus it gives me energy for my commute home. On days where I haven't worked out, I've felt so lethargic and tired on the ride home. I mean it's the gym. It's always a win-win. Do it!

I didn't intend for this list to get so detailed, but hopefully it's helpful for anyone joining the working world this May!

2 More Friends Officially in the Post-Grad World

This past weekend I went to down to my college alma mater, love saying that lolz, to celebrate the graduation of two of my best friends (one spent an extra year there for Nursing and one is a year younger). Since grad weekend will be way too hectic with family and logistics for the two of them, I went one weekend early and it ended up being the perfect last weekend that the 3 of us will probably experience there for a lonnng time!

I made both of them scrapbooks, which ended up being a really fun project. I haven't scrapbooked in years - I told myself I'd make a scrapbook after every year of school, but that obvy didn't happen. The hardest part is gathering the pics, getting them printed, and figuring out how you want the pages organized. But from there, I loved looking back at all the memories and creating the pages with different designs and themes. Not to mention I watched a lot of Scandal episodes in the making. They both loved the scrapbooks. And now I'm semi-confident they won't forget who I am. =D

We went hiking in the Shenandoah National Park, which includes Skyline Drive, which is something I always wanted to do down at school. Besides a rough beginning including a very disturbing porter potty and a sign that actually read: "Enjoy Watching The Bears" it was great and truly gorgeous! We were feeling adventurous and one of my friend's ventured onto a log... right when I said it didn't look very sturdy, the mossy top of the log broke off and she slipped into the babbling brook! It was too funny. (She was fine). My other friend was the epitome of the fiancé from Parent Trap with Lindsay Lohan on the way back up. Somebody hand me my Evian. At one point she was using a walking stick and asking for breaks. Also, side note: you know you've officially mastered Self-Timer Pictures on your camera when you can set it up on a tree.

Perfect day for a hike - sunny but brisk

After her fall! hehe

Parent Trap fiancé brought a purse.. enough said.

my leading ladies <3

#SorryMotherNature

Had to leave our mark ;)

The diva herself

Besides being actual productive human beings with our hike (a lot more than I can say of us for a normal weekend) we drank a lot, ate a lot, laughed a lot, acted like freaks-of-nature a lot, and just pretty much loved each other a lot. :)

For the past year, they've been at school so I've still felt connected to it in a way. So I get a little sappy thinking that this chapter of our lives is officially over, but I also know the post-grad world has been pretty great to me, and our friendships and lives will only get better from here! Ending here so I don't go into full sap-status mode. 

you can dress us up but you can't take us out.

freaks-of-nature #1

freaks-of-nature #2

great weekend with my girls. <3

Cherry Blossoms

I live about 30 miles west of Washington, DC and work less than 4 miles from the actual district line. (yea... that's a fun commute). With that said, I rarely go in to our nation's capital. I can count on one hand how many times I've been in DC (not counting for work) in the last 6 months, and most of those occasions involve alcohol - DC has some great night life.

I started thinking about this the other day and realized I really need to take better advantage of being so close to such a dynamic, historical and significant city, district, 51st state, or whatever you want to call it. I mean our nation is literally run here! From the White House, Congress, and Supreme Court to agencies like the USDA, EPA, CIA, Department of Transportation, etc, decisions that affect every single American are all made here. (Ok and maybe the show Scandal has gotten me more interested).

One of my best friends, Kelly, lives in New York City and has a bucket list dedicated to places she wants to see and things she wants to do in NYC. I want to do something similar with DC. It's a little more difficult since I don't live in the city, but I have friends all around the city - in Arlington, Alexandria, Vienna, etc and I'm going to really start encouraging us to go into the city. First thing on my list will be the DC zoo!

It was one of our friend's birthdays this past weekend, so we did venture in to the city see the Cherry Blossoms, along with 100,000 (probably more) other people. It was a little hard to maneuver so we didn't do too much exploring but it was still a lot of fun! We saw the blossoms, the Washington Monument, the White House, and saw some of the Cherry Blossom festivities. We also stopped on the street to watch break-dancers who had quite the personalities. We then met my friend's sister for a drink in a hotel with 3 different bars... I guess Congressmen and lobbyists need a constant supply. ;)

I'm excited to do some research and create my DC bucket list! I'll keep you all updated. I don't plan to live in DC on the long-term so I need to get hoppin'!

 Birthday festivities in Alrington

Short Hair Do Care

The line "long hair don't care" became infamous last year after the song No Hands came out. It was my friends fav drunk statement and our go-to Insta caption.

This is the story about my friend and I who, with much sadness, are no longer qualified to slur that statement on a dance floor or caption it on a FB post.

I've had long hair my entire life. The shortest it's been was been I was birthed and I grew it out ever since.

Now that I'm a post-grad working lady, I knew my hair was getting a little long. I went to my hair dresser with a couple pics and asked for about 4-5 inches off - a big change from my usual "just a trim please."

Instead, he cut 11 inches off. ELEVEN.

Here's my hair before:

The picture I showed my hair-dresser:

How I left the salon (an hour later):

THAT IS NOT THE PICTURE OR 4-5 INCHES.

My friend Hannah had long hair her entire life as well, but a year ago got it cut to her shoulders and it looked fab so she's kept it that length for a while.

She went to her hair-dresser and showed some pictures as well and wanted a couple inches off, and instead got a BOB. The lady kept the two pieces in the front longer, but legitimately gave her a bob in the back with some layers two inches long at the top of her head.

Her hair before:

The picture she showed her hair-dresser:

How she left the salon (a day later):

Obviously you can't see in this picture, but the back is a bob - the only long pieces are in the angled ones in the front. Let's just say she sobbed AT the salon.

Moral of the Story: There is nothing more traumizing than going to a hair-dresser with an idea, picture, and thought in your head of what you want, and leaving with something completely different.

I liked the change for about 3 days, and then decided I'd grow my hair out for the next five years. My friend Hannah looks great with shorter hair, so she's waiting until all the layers grow out to her shoulders again.

Many tears were shed and we were reminded how much power hair-dressers have. It sounds so silly to get this upset over hair, but whether people admit it or not, it is a BIG part of who you are and effects how you feel about yourself.

We're semi-over it now, but will definitely be more cautious and assertive with our hair-dressers.

Ayear ago when when we were Long Hair Don't Care betches:

Trying to own our new haircuts:

nyc

This past weekend, I spent another 3-day weekend in nyc - my second in 2013. (pretty good seein' as it's only the beginning of March). It was so much fun even though I'm paying for coming home every night at 4 a.m this week at work ;)

Every time I go to new york I am reminded of how amazing it is and how vital it is for me to live there within the next couple of years. Being a military brat, I have been to and lived in a shit-ton of cities, and none have struck me like new york has. My family got the chance to live in Brooklyn for one year in 7th grade, and since then I have been back periodically to visit different friends and every time I come home with the best memories and funniest stories.

This past weekend, my friend Hannah went up with me to visit our really good friend Kelly who lives in the Upper East Side. The weekend is a honestly a blur of alcohol, laughing, dancing, changing outfits a million times, playing games, walking, music, cabbing, red bull, talking, and of course, eating.

From the night we got there, we went straight out. We went to a place that actually mimicked a scene from a Fun. music-video. SO cliche to say, but it really was "so new york." Taxidermy animals everywhere and 50s-60sish music. And lots of shaggy hair and nose-rings. You couldn't find a place like that around DC if your life depended on it. So fun!

The next night we went to probably my favorite bar in nyc so far, called Pianos. They had a huge bar, multiple rooms with a live band and then an awesome DJ with the best music. I was in a very "dancey" mood as I like to call it (unfortunate enough for everyone around me) so I decided it was appropriate to get up on the empty stage and dance - luckily other people followed suit - and eventually the DJ told me to stop talking to him because he needed to concentrate. Talk about knowing when you should go home... woops !

The next morning we did Sunday brunch (with endless cocktails) which is apparently huge in the city everywhere. We played "Drink If You Have" at the table with about 7 of us for at least an hour and it was honestly a hoot.  You definitely learn a lot about people after just a couple of rounds. My girlfriends and I have no clue what time we got home that day / night. Whether it was 7 pm or 3 am. None of us have any texts / pictures / phone calls to ever know. Another indicator of a good night...

I have a list of hilarious stories, but unfortunately most are way too inappropriate to ever go down in writing.

I do have a couple that are PG: My friend was talking to a guy from Australia, trying to be casual and cool, and I pranced up to them and said, "Have you heard of Chris Hemsworth?" in a wanna-be Australia accent, followed-up by "Have you seen the movie Thorrrrr?" Let's just say I'm not the best at accents and my friend wanted to kill me. The guys was like "Um, yea I have... it's a good movie."

Secondly, I was taking a picture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and backed up into a picture on the wall with my head (ouchies). I don't want to even guess how much the picture costs... Or if they have a "You Break it, You Buy it" policy. You can dress me up, but ya can't take me out!

Some pictures from the amazing weekend!

first night out - obsessed with kel's red lipstick!

love this lady 

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Speaking of Year of the Snake...

Pinkies Up

Face of guilt after nearly causing a picture to fall.

love it 

Snowing out? No problem 

xoxo 

new nyc friends ;)

The Penny Farthing

Bestie from High School who lives in Brooklyn met up!

At the Pianos bar

After deciding to be the Dancing Queen...

 

Guessing this is shortly before the DJ gave me the boot

Endless Brunch

Much-needed recovery green tea

New plan is to be an nyc dog-walker