October: Scary Movie Month!

I'm a little behind, but here's my list of movies I want to watch this October to keep up with everyone else in the world:

1) Poltergeist
2) The Exorcist (I actually think I watched this last year, but I barely remember it)
3) The Skeleton Key (Ryan's request)
4) Nightmare on Elm Street
5) Friday the 13th
6) Sleepy Hollow
7) It
8) Interview with a Vampire
9) Rear Window
10) Dawn of the Dead


I don't know what I'm forgetting, but I'm very open to suggestions!

Some Pictures from Vegas

Our very fancy hotel

This was actually in the Bilagio- it was supposed to be directed like the ocean, but instead it was decorated just like fall in PA!

The start of our booth. This was day two of 4 for set up.  

It wouldn't be a trip without some food pictures.

More set up pictures; this was all accomplished in triple-degree weather.

So when I got home, I was all about room service and fancy smoothies

This is a view of our hotel from the mall across the street

I only saved up for one big adventure on the trip, and so I took myself on a helicopter ride! I managed to get quite a few things off the bucket list all in one event.

I also got to sit next to the pilot, which was pretty cool.

We saw the hoover dam, and Celine Dione's house, and a lot of desert

We also went through the grand canyon, which I took a lot more pictures of but none of them really do it justice. If you want to know what it looks like from a helicopter, you should try it firsthand. 

We also went over the strip, so I was able to see all sorts of buildings from a pretty amazing view. I wanted to jump off the stratosphere, but mom told me I wasn't allowed. I guess I'll have to wait until the next show.

My pictures outside the helicopter.

Finally, after 11 days in a city that could not be more at odds against my personality, we were on our way home! We got back around 2am and I spent the whole weekend recovering. 

All in all, the trip was VERY succesful and every bit worth the exhaustion. Everyone was so helpful, our sales team was on fire, and we made the trip very worth it. And now that I know I can do it, Atlanta next April should be a breeze!

Some things from my Business Trip

1) I can do hard things. More importantly, I am actually pretty good at problem solving. While I might fret about what could go wrong, I actually really love a good crisis. Basically I'm the Olivia Pope of selling packaging equipment.

2) Hydration is key- this is true of travel at any time, but I worked especially hard on it while in Vegas. We spent hours setting up our booth in 103 degree weather. I took vitamins and drank water and ate smoothies, and I managed to make it through the show without getting sick.

3) If Vegas were a person, it would be my arch nemesis- loud, tacky, expensive, and self-involved. Every city has it's own personality, and while I think I'm probably a Seattle or a Portland, I would date Boston and be best friends with Cleveland or Nashville. But Vegas? Vegas is everything I cannot stand in a person

4) Rob Thomas wrote my life- Rob Thomas (creator of Veronica Mars and iZombie) is the understated Joss Whedon. Please, do not write off iZombie like I initially did. Rob Thomas has this gift for creating fierce, sassy women who get shit done and are the perfect balance of a tough softie. iZombie is essentially just Veronica Mars with the added zombie story-line. It's on Netflix next week, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It made for excellent hotel entertainment.

5) Recovering afterwards- I got home Friday around 2am. I'm still unable to get out of bed before noon, so I've missed the first two days of Applefest, but I finally made it to hermitage where there is a Leonardo's pizza and Daffin's chocolate waiting for me. Cross your fingers that tomorrow I can get back into my normal rhythm (doubtful though, since tonight is the first SNL episode of the season).

True American

"So, it's 50% drinking game, 50% life-size Candy Land."
"Well, it's more like 75% drinking, 20% Candy Land, and by the way the floor is molten lava."
"It's actually 90% drinking and then it's got a loose Candy Land-like structure to it."

It's important to know that even when attempting to play a drinking game, my friends are all responsible and nerdy and do things like quote historical figures and use practical knowledge of physics. 

So while my grammy may be reading this and thinking "What is my granddaughter doing?" Just know that the night ended with us getting tired of drinking before the game was over and watching Netflix. Kimmy Schmidt > Alcohol.

For a while, I was the American Harry Potter supporting gay rights. That might not be obvious. 

Tights and a skirt is actually not great for jumping around on pillows, so I traded my outfit for an Arrow costume.

The oppression of women, circa pre-suffrage movement.

Swiper no swiping? 

This was actually Alex's birthday cake, but I forget why it became wedding-esque.

 At some point we did divert from the American theme, since I'm pretty sure they were on the trail of tears at this point, but that got a little depressing. It seems like the memorable parts of American history were mostly the negative ones, which eventually became a bummer. 

I did end up learning my lesson about using a bow without an arm guard, but otherwise I had a perfect night with my best friends who are the greatest distraction from work-related anxiety. These people are everything.

Inspiring Ambition

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

                                                                              - Helen Keller

My Promise to Rebecca S Greene:

Becky Greene wins mother of the year again, for this whole past weekend. I feel like this perfectly sums up my mother: we didn't get to go to the fair, so she bought me polka dot socks. I read too much Harry Potter, so she made me lie on the floor and got me ice packs for my headache. I was anxious and sick, so she turned on How i Met your Mother (this actually made me cry, in the way that you do when you are tired of feeling sick and someone so perfectly understands what you need). She brought me applesauce and held my hand in the dark when I was queasy with a migraine. She laughed about elephants that knock over tourists (no one got hurt).

So, instead of waiting until mother's day to say something nice about her, or to get something nice for her, I would like to make the following 5 promises to my mummy:

1) I promise to stop saying "hate" when I mean "extremely dislike."
2) I promise to do 10 minutes of yoga every morning and every night, and to always drink enough water.
3) I promise not to read for longer than an hour without getting up to stretch.
4) I promise to make time every month to dye her hair.
5) I promise to save her place in my coloring book and not let anyone color her page.

Love you Becky Greene!

Ennui

1) Labor Day- Labor Day is "a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers." That's right, a holiday to celebrate working people. That being said, you can keep your pious facebook posts to yourself. Yes, it is important to think of our soldiers, but photos of caskets with captions like "it's not just a three day holiday" are missing the mark. Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, yes. Labor Day, no.

2) Taveling- I have done none of it the past few months, and that makes me angry. I should have planned a trip this weekend. My family doesn't like it when I go places by myself, but sometimes that's the only option. Instead I am grumpy in Austintown with a list of chores.

3) Demo Derby - Is tonight, so I'm doing that. It is so out of character for me, and I know it, but a perfect example of why you should always try anything once. That being said, I also have a cucumber-kale-spinach-broccoli juice in the fridge waiting for me for breakfast.

4) The Weather- I am so ready for it to be fall. Give me 60 degrees with all my beautiful Pennsylvania leaves. I have been so patient.