My Summer Reading List

So obviously I’m one busy lady. I got my internship stuff going on Monday-Wednesday and I always end up having something to do or somewhere to drive on the weekends. I drive a lot more than your average 21 year old and it is honestly a pain sometimes. What makes it the hour here and there go by faster is a good audiobook. 

Here is the point where you say –MEREDITH, you are 21 years old. You are not a 49 year old women driving while listening to your old-school CD player with equally as old head phones. (yes mom, that was a stab at you) but audiobooks rock! Instead of having to worry about the next song or even making a playlist, you can just turn on your book at drive on.

Traveling from one side of Texas to the other for the past three years, I’ve listened to many books on tape. From the entire Hunger Games and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, to almost every Nicholas Sparks book written. Let’s be honest though. When you come home from your job or internship or even school, reading for pleasure is probably the last thing you want to do –unless you’re a book nerd in which case, I am not judging. Listening to books over extended miles keeps you from thinking about your crazy life and helps you plunge into a different one. Here are some that have kept me entertained on the road this summer:

 

 

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns by Mindy Kaling

I first started getting into this type of book when I listened to all of Chelsea Handler’s books. I then followed with Tina Fey, and now Mindy Kaling. First off, this girl is awesome. If you have not ever heard of The Mindy Project, I highly suggest getting on Netflix or Hulu immediately and watching every single episode that you possibly can. I knew about Mindy from The Office and I am going to be honest, I was not super stoked about her show. If you have ever seen The Office, you would know the character she plays is obnoxious. I reluctantly gave The Mindy Project a chance and cannot get enough of it! Since watching the show, I knew we were a lot alike and possibly could become best friends but after reading her book I’m thinking that it is destiny for us to actually become best friends. In the book she talks about her struggles, her childhood, The Office, her dating life and where she is now. If you are not a women, you would probably not enjoy it but she has got some major working-women girl power going on there. It sounds corny but it was nice to hear some of the struggles that us real people have. For a celeb, Mindy is one of the most real. Keep on keeping on my friend and I cannot wait until your next book and the new season of The Mindy Project. 

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

One of the things that makes this audiobook so amazing is the lady who reads..or “performs” it but regardless of that, this is an amazing book. It is not a typical girl and guy fall in love but they have cancer type book, it is more moving than that. You cannot help but fall in love with Augustus Waters just like Hazel does in the story. I still love him and he is a fictional character. I will allow myself to sob on any occasion that I feel like sobbing but I don’t think I’ve been more distraught than by the end of this book! The best part about this book is, even though it’s a sad story, there are instances of quick remarks and witty humor that you can’t help but laugh at. Any teenager with or without cancer can relate to the main character and we all were teenagers once. If you need a good cry, or you’re feeling a little down on your luck, I highly suggest you read this book. This book will change you, just don’t say I didn’t warn you. 

 

 

 

Serena by Ron Rash

This book has been different than the typical girly-sappy books that I’m accustomed to reading..or er..listening too. Serena is about a newlywed couple that owns a logging company in North Carolina in 1929. I started reading it because it is going to be a movie with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradly Cooper but what I got was an education in logging procedures in the 1930s and an instant draw to the time period. Also, Serena Pemberton (who the book is named for) is such a badass, I can’t even handle it. Granted, her tactics may have seemed a little out there, but for a girl in that time period…wow. It’s hard to say if this book would be more womanly or manly. Womanly because some of the characters require you to feel bad for them but manly because there is so much grit (and blood). Read it and decide for yourself.

 

 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

When I first heard about this book, I did not really get excited about it. My family grew up listening to mystery novels on long car-trips and it just sounded like one of those. Reluctantly though, I downloaded it to my iPod and listened to it. After finally finishing it the only words that come to mind is: I did not see that coming. I thought I had it all figured out by the middle but boy was I wrong. Just when I got comfortable, there was a gigantic plot twist. All I can say is, IT IS NOT A TYPICAL MYSTERY. The only thing I can say is that the ending kind of disappointed me. I vested so much time and miles into this novel and it came up short. To be fair, it was well worth it. This book will also become a movie soon, so you’d better get to reading.

 

 

So there ya have it folks, my summer reading list thus far. Honestly, if you’re reading this and want to discuss any of these books with me, PLEASE do. I think discussing the book with other readers is one of the greatest things about finishing a book. As for now, I’m not going to stop LISTENING as long as I have miles to go. This summer, I’ve listened to a few good ones that I’m highly recommending to you, my dear reader, because just like every book you ever read or listen to, they change you in some way. These books have changed me.  

Confessions of a Mad Men Addict

Why oh why does this day and age have to be so different from the advertising agency of Sterling and Cooper? I mean, Don sometimes gets on my nerve..well, most of the characters get on my nerve in Mad Men but that doesn’t mean I love them any less BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT.

If you’ve never heard of Mad Men (GASP) then you should really get with it. Over the course of six seasons it follows an advertising agency through the the ups and downs of relationships, major world events, a toe getting run over in the office and plenty of drunken nights. Lets talk about some of the characters shall we?

Donald Draper is a coy, sharp man who is the main character in Mad Men. Until season 3 he was the creative director of Sterling Cooper and then he moved on. As much as I really love this guy, sometimes I hate him. He has an awesome family complete with a golden retriever. Women can’t resist him and I see why but come on! He can also be a jerk and I don’t like it. Oh Don, I love you but you make me mad.

Elizabeth (Betty) Draper is the most beautiful women on the show and nothing annoys me more than beautiful, unhappy women. She (like Don) has it all. DAMN HER and her tiny waste and hott husband. I don’t see why she sucks sometimes. I mean, Don cheats on her constantly but that shouldn’t be a reason to be a diva 24/7. Betty- your life isn’t so bad, GET OVER IT.

Peggy Olson is one of the characters that I dislike the least. Her can-do in a man’s world attitude is admirable and I like her gumption, it’s refreshing. Sometimes (like during the bye, bye birdie episode) she makes me cringe with how innocent she is. Girlfran-get it together! Pete only wants you for your bod and not the chubby lovin’ version. Peggy-keep on keeping on, you’ll get there.

Is it weird that I love Pete Campbell? His is one of the more annoying characters in the TV show because of his “I deserve this” attitude but I feel sorry for the guy. His ideas aren’t better and he isn’t smarter but I just want him to do something good in his sorry life. I did not grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth but I can relate to him on some fronts. Pete, nobody really likes you besides Peggy but get it together and pull through for me.

Joan Harris is awesome. It’s obvious that she is the QB (quarterback, queen B) of the office and she takes advantage of it. She can really be mean sometimes but obviously she knows what she wants. Don’t get me wrong, Joan can piss me off on occasion also like when she is mean to any of the boys. Is it sad that I don’t care if she is mean to Peggy? She really wants a good life and she tries really hard but I don’t think it’s in the cards for you Joanie.

Roger Sterling and Bert Cooper are the backbone of Sterling Cooper, obviously. Sterling is ridiculous by his crazy affairs and marriages and Cooper sometimes shows his oldness so profoundly, I wish him and his Japanese decor would just leave.

 

We’ve already talked about Pete (the middle guy with the navy suit) but the other four gentlemen surrounding him are great. I love each and every one of them through their flaws. These men go to work, have accounts and booze ALL DAY. They are always laughing, always together and always drinking. The first one to the left, Harry Crane is my personal favorite. His glasses, bow-tie and seemingly innocent face and demeanor have won me over. Paul Kinsey, the next one over, is a sassy almost gay man who tries to compete against the rest of the boys constantly. Love him but his constant competitive and liberal streak kind of annoys me. It’s like dude…nobody thinks you aren’t working, Peggy just has good ideas sometimes. The next one that isn’t Pete is Ken Cosgrove. He is the bachelor of the group and I just constantly feel bad for him. He will snag a wife eventually, I mean..besides Don, he is one of the more attractive men at the office. The last is Sal. Sal is 100% gay and to be honest, that’s one of the reasons why I like him. He really wants to love his wife but he would rather just be the sassy gay friend, I know. Good group of fellas right there.

I realize I didn’t cover every character and haven’t even covered the entire six seasons but I’m only in the third, so deal with it. When I graduate in December I’m hoping to go to work for Sterling Cooper as a secretary and then work my way to the top just like Peggy did. When we land big accounts like Pan Am, Diet Pepsi and of course Lucky Strikes, you’ll think back to this blog post and say, “she called it”.

Sincerely,

The Intern

p.s. if you’ve been wondering where I’ve been and why I haven’t been blogging, I’ve been watching Mad Men and nothing else

8 Things You Really Miss About Summer Camp

I grew up looking forward to one thing during the summer: Camp. With slogans like “the best two weeks” and feed-back from kids saying things like “I bawled my eyes out for four days when I got home” and confirmation from the parents, “my son hasn’t stopped talking about anything else for the past three weeks”, it’s pretty apparent that I’m not the only one who enjoyed camp. There are certain feelings and experiences that you can get no other place. Whether your camp was located in the Texas hill country, the Arkansas woods, Upstate New York or even in the mountains of Colorado you undeniably miss these eight things.

1. The feeling you get when you’re arriving to your destination. It’s a weird mixture of nervous, excitement, anticipation and just plain joy. The moment you’ve been waiting for the past 364 days has arrived. Picture it, the front entrance of camp appears just around the bend. The small tingly feeling in your stomach rises to full blown monarch butterflies and you don’t know if you should throw up or start yelling with excitement.

2. It didn’t matter if it was 9 o’clock in the morning, sugar is always an option. When you were a kid you didn’t have to worry about your caloric intake or how many weight watchers points this or that was, you’d slurp down an ICEE with the best of them. You wouldn’t know it, but you’d burn those calories off right after the giant ice cream bar was consumed during a game of dodge ball or tennis. Any women older than 20 wishes they could eat anything and everything just like they did back in the day, including me.

3. REST TIME. The younger years at camp, this wasn’t always valued. When I finally was a teenager, I would be passed out by the time my my counselor said, “GET IN YOUR BUNKS GIRLS!” In the real world I would more than love to have a designated time for a nap. Can someone please get on that? Occasionally I would write letters to my mom and dad, but only if they were lucky..which was rare. The letters usually consisted of “HI MOM AND DAD I’M HAVING A GREAT TIME! My activities are water sports and redneck sports. I am having lots of fun. Please send more $ for sugar shack or a care package. Thnx luv u”

4. How it was perfectly acceptable to feel like your counselor was your mom and your best friend all at the same time. When I was a camper, I never realized that the counselors were actually like two years older than me. Looking back, I guess they didn’t know everything, but at the time, I was convinced that they were the smartest people in the entire universe. They could answer simple questions like: what are we doing this afternoon? what cabin is so-and-so in? how much time do I have before dinner? They also answered some pretty great questions about God and boys. I always looked up to these girls with the highest admiration. I just wish that I was able to stick around long enough to be one as well.

5. Your BFFS/Cabin Mates. The first thing I would always look forward to when going to camp was seeing the friends that I had made the previous summer. Although I’d only spent increments of two weeks at a time with them, I felt like nobody knew me better. From someone to go to the bathroom with, to someone who will really speak deeply with you about their revelations about God during cabin time the Camp BFF never fails to just..get you. Sure, cliques may have come about in the cabin and sometimes there was annoying drama, but at the end of the day, we stuck by each other.

6. The unity of the entire camp when they were all gathered, singing a song or cheering for a cause. When I went to camp, there was this nightly get-together called RoundUp. The entire camp would get together and have boys vs. girls competitions, awards for the best counselor of the day, a group cheer, a skit and eventually it would lead into singing and worshiping God. It was amazing! The entire camp singing at the top of their lungs about how great our God is, or even just the song Wagon Wheel. The energy in the room is like no other place in the entire world. Maybe your camp wasn’t a christian camp like mine, but at some point I’m sure everyone got together to chant, sing and cheer for something.

7. When your camp crush asks you to dance on the last song. Please tell me a better feeling when you were a 10-16 year old? Everyone has a camp crush and everyone had a vision of the boy you had your eye on, slowly walk up and ask if you want to dance. Then you proceed to two-step awkwardly until the song is over. Sure you don’t look at each other and sure you don’t have anything to talk about, but WOW was that dance amazing!

8. Being away from the world. Nowadays cell phones, TVs, computers, iPads..etc. have taken the world over. When I was at camp, I didn’t have access to any of it and that was perfectly OK. It was a relief to disappear from it all for a few weeks, or a few months. I don’t think I realized that when I was a kid going to camp, but now that I’m older and I can’t just go out into the wilderness for two weeks, I miss it.

Growing up sucks for many reasons. One of my main reasons I hate it is because I’m not able to attend summer camp anymore. There are so many other things that I’m sure different people miss about their camp experience. Now that I’m feeling nostalgic, I’ll snap back into the real world and finish my work BUT I’ll still be missing my lazy days at camp.

Sincerely,

The Intern

Things I do not miss about summer camp: No AC, riding in the back of trucks, feeling sticky all the time, not getting any letters, suddenly feeling conscious about your ridiculously hairy legs and most importantly, saying goodbye to everyone. But I’d take all of those things to get to spend another two weeks in the Canyon. (www.llyc.org <–the camp that I attended for 7 years)

GOALS THIS WEEK

Sorry I’ve been MIA for awhile, my schedule is crazy with the whole going to Austin, then coming home then traveling to my boyfriends and also doing math on the side. It’s crazy. I’m just going to make some goals here on the blog so that I can actually get stuff done this week.

1. GET BACK ON WW. I’ve only lost 3 and since I’ve been home I’ve lost like 5-6. I want my little gold star thing in the meeting. I want to be recognized for my accomplishment. I haven’t been doing bad, but next weekend we will more than likely be in the pool and in my bathing suit. So if I do well this week, I’ll feel better next weekend. 

2. Spend my money frugally. I get allowance still also I’m getting paid for the first time this summer!! WOOO! I’m going to try really hard not to blow it on expensive things that I don’t need. I’m really trying to be more adult about this. 

3. Have patience with moms. My mom bugs the shit out of me a lot of times. My boyfriend’s mom also bugs the shit out of me a lot of times. I need to just accept the fact that I can’t get away from them, no matter how hard I try. 

4. Try hard on math. There is nothing that sucks more than my online math class. I don’t half ass it, which is the annoying part. I really try and really focus on what I’m doing and how to figure the problems out. I need to find a tutor and will before my final but come on brain!

5. Look toward the future, but not too much. I’m going to try really hard not to stress about the things that I can’t take care of in the next week. Things like moving to my new apartment and if I’ll have to do it all alone, finding a job, finding a house, if I want to get engaged sooner or later. I worry a lot, I’m a women after all! I need to quit that. So that’s the goal. 

 

It’s Monday Tomorrow: 

 

Oh wait, I can do this:

 

 

 

 

 

And Remember: 

 

90s Songs You Can Never Make Me Stop Loving

There’s no denying it, I’m a 90’s kid. I grew up with things like boy bands, Catdog, Wonderballs, slap bracelets, jell pens and SLIME TIME LIVE. Last week I discovered a Pandora station that has changed my life, Backstreet Boys. I mean, come on, that’s just plain awesome. People like the Backstreet Boys, Nsync and Brit really morphed me into the person that I am today. Today, I will be throwing it back with my favorite 10 songs of the 1990s. (remember, I just really liked them. There’s no data..or professional opinion here, it’s just what I liked when I was a 10 year old kid)

10. “Every Morning”

Sugar Ray is the bomb. The group’s “whatever” attitude really made you believe you could buddy up with these dudes while they rocked out. 

 

 

9. “All I Want to Do”

My family and I used to be a member of the community pool so during the summer times, I have very vivid memories of loading up in the hot suburban and headed up there. Sheryl Crow’s song was always on the radio and the weird part was, my dad LOVED it! It is the perfect summer anthem and all we really wanted to do was have fun too. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgmBaE1cqD4

 

8. “Goodbye Earl”

Although technically it didn’t hit the charts until 2000, this song was released on the album Fly in 1999. This song is awesome. My best friend and I would sing the entire song and pretend we were Marianne and Wanda. Even though Wanda got screwed over by Earl, at least her BFF was there to save the day. It’s one of the best “don’t mess with my best friends, boys, cause we will come after you” songs in all of eternity. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw7gNf_9njs‎

 

7. “Say My Name”

Destiny’s Child had it all going on. I still to this day miss the sassy girl group and although they were a little out there, I loved it. When they were in the superbowl this year, I could have died of happiness. BEYONCE (no explanation needed). I would regularly choose this song during neighborhood karaoke and really thought I blew everyone out of the water. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQgd6MccwZc‎

 

6. “Genie in a Bottle” 

When I first purchased Christina Aguiler’s CD (or when my mom purchased it for me), I holed myself up in my room for a few hours memorizing every single word to this song. My mom had to literally come knock on my door and ask if I was OK. I took out the lyrics from the CD cover and went through the song over and over and over again. Eventually I memorized every single word and still proudly know every word today. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIDWgqDBNXA

 

5. “Spice Up Your Life”

I was ALL about the girl power back then and the Spice Girls was the epitome of it. I owed a taped recording on VHS of the movie and couldn’t get enough of this song. Neither could the rest of my elementary school though, so we played the Spice Girls game pretty often. I often got stuck with Sporty Spice because I played sports but everyone wanted to be Baby Spice, including me. One day I’ll get to be Baby Spice, one day. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wfpXI5PKlw

 

4. “Living the Vida Loca”

When I learned the news of Ricky Martin’s homosexualism, I almost died. This seductive song made it OK to shake that little tush of mine and sing about “taking my clothes off and dancing in the rain”. My next door neighbors and I would often listen to this song on my blue boom box when we were playing in the hose, so it wasn’t like we were actually being seductive. To this day, I’m still not over Ricky Martin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47fEXGabaY‎

 

3. “I Want it That Way”

One time during a karaoke session, I vividly remember tearing up while belting this song at the top of my lungs. The Backstreet Boys are my main guys. My first concert was at a Backstreet Boys concert in 2001 and it might have been the best day of my life. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fndeDfaWCg‎

 

2. “Bye Bye Bye”

I really hate admitting that I like this song better than a BB song, but I do. Nsync outdid themselves with this one. I also liked it more because it came with it’s very own dance moves. I don’t really know what it was, but I had the toy where I could put the one song in the player, thing, and I would listen to it nonstop. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo-KmOd3i7s

 

1. “…Baby One More Time”

Brittany Spears was (besides Destiny’s Child) was who I looked up to during my very formative years. She had a million amazing songs, was beautiful, and dated a guy from Backstreet Boys (even though he was the noodle headed one). I still proudly know every word to this song and when it comes on my Pandora in the car, I SHOUT the lyrics. I love it. Nobody can ever stop making me love this song. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-u5WLJ9Yk4‎

 

So those are my faves..What are your favorite 90s songs? 

Sincerely, 

The Intern

Ditch the Gym and Head Outside

Working out has never been something that I was quite into. In high school I was very athletic and never had to worry about the whole “working out” thing, because I was already doing that. I had always been…not a big girl, but never even close to the smallest one in the group. When I got to college, that’s when my weight got out of hand, so I knew then that I had to start working out.

Gyms just aren’t exciting though. The rec center with all the skinny bitches staring at you on a treadmill in their spandex like, “what are you even doing here?” The other gym that I’m a member of (because the rec center at school is too judgmental for me because I’m not a skinny bitch) is full of buff dudes who want to get yoked. I feel better there, because sometimes there are really large people walking on a treadmill and sometimes there are old people, so I fit in. I also like to people watch at the gym, it gets my mind of my burning legs. Sometimes that gets boring and the TV gets boring so I start focusing on my legs and the pain and that makes the work out excruciating. Gyms are not fun.

Yesterday I discovered my new favorite method of workout: walking through the wilderness. There is a state park attached to where I’m working and literally there’s nothing better than cranking up my “motivational playlist”, turning on Map My Run (it’s an app, you should get it) and start walking through the trails. I hiked 3.09 miles yesterday and burned over 600 calories in 50 minutes. I’m not lifting weights or running on a treadmill, but that’s a pretty awesome workout if I do say so myself.

You never realize how much you ache for the wilderness until you’re surrounded by overgrown trees and birds chirping. And for the anti-gym: Wilderness watching is a lot better than people watching. Instead of judgmental people all around you, there is an encouraging breeze, dragonflies flying ahead of you and a flutter of birds going from tree to tree. The amount of vegetation that surrounded me did not make me feel claustrophobic, but safe.

So I encourage you. Ditch the gym every once in a while and get outside. You may sweat your ass off but that only means you’re doing it right.

For a complete list of the Texas state parks check out this link:

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/

For a complete list of the National parks check out this link:

http://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/find-park

 

Sincerely,

The Intern

 

The Monday Blues

As you may know, Thursday through Sunday is the weekend for me. I get to roam around without any (major) responsibilities, not go to work, party all night if I wanted to and so on and so fourth, but that makes my Monday at least ten times more difficult than the typical Monday. 

Workaholics is one of my favorite TV shows. I feel like Ders, Adam and Blake really understand what I’m going through with the whole “job” thing. So who better than to help me illustrate my monday: 

Let’s start with Sunday, shall we?

Sunday night my team played The Heat and DOMINATED. Green was on fire so I was all psyched up about that.

 

My alarm went off at 8:20 

 

REALLY didn’t want to get out of bed.

 

Got dressed.

 

Drank some coffee. 

 

Went outside. 

 

Hoped that today wasn’t going to be as bad as I thought. 

 

Got to work. 

 

LUNCH TIME!

 

 

Worked on a really frustrating, time consuming project.

 

 

Went to work out at the gym. 

 

WENT HOME

 

When I wake up and it’s Tuesday

 

So that was Monday. Hopefully everyone has a better Tuesday.

 

Sincerely, 

The Intern

 

Intern Guide to: How to Spot a Hipster

So after I started my internship, I quickly realized that my hour commute wasn’t going to fly. I began thinking about where I could stay in Austin. Last summer I stayed with a family friend, and as fun as that was, it was still an hour commute. So I put my real thinking cap on and found a place to stay.

Austin was hard to deal with but as I started to look up from the road as I drove around, it’s kinda cool. The little eateries, people leisurely walking everywhere, it was not something that I was used to. The saying, “don’t knock it until you try it” came to mind as I became more comfortable with the idea of taking up residence in Austin for the summer. I just don’t want to turn into a Hipster.

If you don’t know what a Hipster is, this blog post is for you.

How to spot a Hipster:

1. They are usually wandering around or sitting in coffee shops.
These people are in no rush, they just want to sit around and discuss philosophy and tell people that they knew about the brand, music, movie, political scandal, charity before everyone else did. They also use large words that seem borderline made up and have a dry, not really witty, since of humor relatable to British comedies. Keep in mind that the coffee shops that you’re probably thinking are too “mainstream” (they use this phrase a lot) so they’ll be at a more local one where they only serve organic or vegan choices.

2. Their since of style is not what a 25-year-old adult in the real world should be wearing.
Hipsters will always be wearing some type of skin tight clothing. The boys will wear some color of skinny jean while the girls will wear tights, leggings, jeggings…you get it. The crop top is a must, and if it’s not a crop top, it better be a tank top. Also, they’ll be cut up graphic T’s more than anything. For not wanting to be in society’s limelight, they sure do put themselves out there. Often times they’re wearing large, wireframe glasses and it doesn’t matter if they actually need them. Floral patterned rompers and high wasted jean shorts are a must also. Above all –Don’t forget the ‘vintage’ doc martins with the high socks.

Who wears that in real life?

3. They smell.
Between the constant discussing of life, asking for the ‘vegan’ option at a wedding and avoiding blind consumerism, there’s really no time to shower. These people will stink like herbal tea and sweat from riding their bike everywhere in town. Also, some even have dreads and that explains a lot. Sometimes you give the men the benefit of the doubt: maybe they just came from the gym, boys just naturally stink but before you do that, make sure to confirm the gender of the alleged hipster. They often times like to blur gender lines.

Gross.

4. They are either dancing or uploading pictures to Instagram.
The filters on Instagram just make the picture vibe so much better. Pictures of sunsets, selfies, in forests, open fields, the ocean, meaningless objects all qualify as hipster pics. With the right filter and hashtag, it could be hipster gold.

Read this Urban Dictionary about Hipster Dancing: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hipster%20dancing

5. They have a liberal arts degree from a liberal arts college and live with their parents.
They are too busy to look for a job but they also wouldn’t know where to start. They don’t want to get caught up doing things like doing-something-the-entire-world-is-doing, which is having a job. They wouldn’t compromise with their employers to take their piercings off either. Nobody can control them, especially not The Man. That’s why they avoid labels and exist in self-denial.

Here are a few things to illustrate why being a hipster is ridiculous:

Avoid that hipster stuff and keep it classy.

Sincerely,

The Intern

Sunday Night Dinner: Ranch Appetizer and Ceviche

Hellloooo everyone,

After todays rant I think we would take it a little lighter. Today for dinner my parents stepped out, so my boyfriend and I cooked dinner and watched the (unfortunate) Spurs game. If you don’t know what ceviche is, it’a basically like pico de gallo plus some sort of fish, shrimp or any other sea food. I’ve actually had octopus with my ceviche in Mexico! I like to eat it with some kind of chips or crackers. It’s SO good! The recipe that I used is not concrete my any means so if you don’t like something, feel free to change it! Also, just to warn you, we made enough for at least 4 people to have ceviche for dinner.

These are most of the ingredients:

6 jalapeños

2 cartons of cherry tomatoes

1/2 onion

2 avocados

12 limes

1/2lb Snapper

Cilantro

Louisiana Hot Sauce

Lemon juice

I’m missing the fish in this picture!

Cut all the fish up into bite size pieces, put it into a bowl of some sort and squeeze about 10 limes worth of lime juice. Put it in the fridge and let it marinade for about an hour.

While you’re cutting stuff up, I suggest you make an appetizer. Mix the whole pack of Ranch and plain Greek yogurt. That’s it and YUUUMMMMMYYY. I used carrot sticks but we also ate it with Pita chips and Triscuits.

Back to the ceviche- cut everything up

We “de-boned” 3 jalapeños and kept the seeds in the other three.

Cut up all the cherry tomatoes.

You can add more or less onion if you want. I just used 1/2 of a yellow onion.

Mix everything you have so far together. Isn’t that pretty?! Add a little lime juice and you have pico.

Add some avocados. I almost would have wanted to add more than just one.

Add all that together. I just like taking pictures of everything because ceviche is so pretty to make!

I did add this in the beginning picture, but we used this too.

After the hour, take out the fish and cut it into even smaller pieces.

Put it all together and what do ya get- ceviche!

I’m eating mine with a Pita chip! (tortilla chips are the regular, but Pita is slightly better for you, I guess…)

Make the ceviche you’re own and enjoy!

Sincerely,

The Intern

So You’re Going to Steal from Me?

Saturday morning, my family woke up to have a last breakfast all together. If there is one thing my dad gets into (besides softball) it’s cooking breakfast, mainly pancakes. He always makes three different kinds: blueberry, pecan and chocolate chip. He then has at least four different kinds of syrup. My dad loves breakfast.

Anyways, my sister walks outside and realizes that her car has a window broken out of it and my rental car does too. Nothing had been stolen from her car, but my phone was missing. Needless to say, I was not happy. My sister was suppose to be leaving for camp at that very moment, and now we had to deal with this! I mean, we live on a cul-de-sac in the middle of a good neighborhood. I also didn’t get home until 2 AM. My boyfriend and I had to go get my car about 30 minutes away so that my sister could take my car to camp. We then had to take the rental car back up there because we hadn’t taken it the first time so the police could look at it. It’s a confusing story, I know.

Point is: Phone stolen, car windows broken, sister leaving for the summer.

Then, my mother calls me on the way back from the dealership part two and tells me that my sister never sent in the “I accept” form to Gateway (the A&M summer school program). This blows my mind. I know that my sister hasn’t been a team player in that she hasn’t done much to get ready for college. Granted she took the SAT, filled out her Apply Texas…and…attended graduation parties? My mom filled out the form that was due on the June 6th on June 8th, so hopefully they’ll be lenient about it. My sister can’t do much now though, she went to camp.

After trying to wrap my head around everything, I still wanted to attend my younger sister’s softball game. So we caught lunch and headed out to the fields. Then I realized I left my purse at lunch.

It was very much a day for the OCD, we did everything twice. Sent my sister off to camp twice, went out to the dealership twice, went to the lunch spot twice, went to the softball fields twice.

So, after reading everything and having you understand the backstory, I want to go back to the fact that I’m LIVID about getting my phone stolen. If you have ever been stolen from, you’ll know that it’s just upsetting. I work for my stuff, I value my stuff. It just takes some punk ass kids to knock a window in and take what you’ve earned. How fair is this? This takes my brain to a whole new level. First I think about how mad I am, then I think about how I can get these people back, then I think “when I catch you, what will I do or say”, then I think about all the nasty things I could say. Then I realize, this is unrealistic..but only after the fact. If I can’t tell them directly how I feel, I figure that I can just do it on my blog. So here it is:

Dear Punk Ass Kids,

What gives you the right to steal other people’s stuff? Are you really that tight on money that you have to go stealing a slow, shitty iPhone 4? Why don’t you get a real job? The oilfield right now is booming in south Texas, so go there you POS and please don’t come back.

Sincerely,

The Intern

(note: There is a lot more I’d like to say to them but seeing as how I don’t want to cuss like a sailor here, I won’t. Just know that I’m still PISSED)