Monday (Jan 9)
I hurried through all of my classes and left for the airport with the pedal to the metal the whole time so I didn't miss my flight. I arrived in Baltimore close to midnight, where my driver (yeah, Black and Decker got me a driver!) started texting me so he knew where to find me. Kind of awesome to have your driver text you right? So he pulls up in this beautiful black Lincoln town car with leather seats. I felt like royalty! My driver's name was McKell, and he was this awesome black guy with dredlocks. We had a great time talking about intense driving stories on the way to the hotel.
Once I make my way up to the hotel, I just about died. I had this executive suite!!! There were two bedrooms (like two SEPARATE bedrooms, not just beds!) a full sized kitchen, a washer/dryer, and a living room and a nook area. Talk about POSH! So I had to take advantage of all the amenities, right? Well, my internal clock was really off, and then next thing I know it's 2 in the morning. Luckily the events didn't start until 11 the next day!
Tuesday
I spent an enormous part of the day getting ready and giving myself a pep talk. Tuesday was the information day, where Black and Decker told us all about the company, our potential position, the training they would give us, and even the benefits we would get. Then they took us out for a night of bowling! It was really funny, because some people found out I wasn't 21 yet, and I kept getting told that "they weren't carding at the open bar, Chantel!" Yaaaaaayyyy, thanks? And then we talked about BYU being the number 1 stone cold sober school, and they didn't tell me about the open bar again. Hahaha
Wednesday
The interview day. We had to be ready with our bags packed and eating breakfast by 7 AM. That's 5 AM on my mountain standard time. I wanted to be a coffee drinker in the worst way that morning, and believe me, I was offered coffee several times! But I didn't.
I felt like interviews went well. The first one I know went well because my interviewer gave me a lot of feedback during the interview, like a conversation. The next two interviews didn't give me as much feedback, so I don't know how I did on those. I still gave my best answers and I never stuttered for an answer, but they asked some really tricky questions!
And then there was the presentation. We had to give a 5 minute presentation on a DeWALT Hammer Drill. I had been researching that baby for a solid week because I had to learn what I hammer drill did! I was the last to present to the panel in my group of 5. Everyone before me had been asked a lot of questions afterwards. When I went in, I offered to share my powerpoint, but they didn't really have a set up for that. But I gave my prepared presentation, only stumbled over one fact, and was even complimented on some of the points I made. When I asked if there were any questions, they said "That was a solid overview, VERY well done, that was an excellent presentation!" I could hardly believe my ears! They liked it!!!!! I was so relieved and excited and shocked all at the same time!
After that, we were shuttled to the airport so that we could fly home. Well, I didn't fly home. I flew to Columbia, to meet up with one of my best friends from high school, Caroline! I was so excited to see her. We stayed up late talking and catching up on life, and then her two kitties fell asleep on my bed with me. I loved it. :)
Thursday
Caroline could not believe that I slept in until 11 oclock! In my defense, that's 9 my time, and I really didn't sleep in Baltimore! But she woke me up in the best way possible: "Do you want crepes?" The answer to that question is always a resounding YES. After breakfast we went to the mall and hit up some great sales at Belk (a southern version of Kohl's), Express and Forever 21.
Then Caroline took me on a tour of her school, Columbia College. It's an all girls school with about 3,000 students. And she is the ONLY organ performance major! And she's in student government and is very close to the top of her class on a full scholarship. And did I mention she has 3 part time jobs and a very happy husband? Seriously, she is superwoman.
Then we went home to wait for Garrison (Caroline's husband) to come home from work so we could go shagging! Shagging is the state dance of South Carolina, and we went to a club with a bunch of Garrison's friends. His friends weren't very good at the shag, but by far my favorite dance was the Wobbler. It's a line dance where half the time you shake your booty!!! I went home and bought the song so I can Wobble whenever I feel like :)
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| Ready to Shag! |
Friday
Was my BIRTHDAY!!! I'm officially 21! Caroline took me out to lunch at this cute cafe that was a refurbished plantation style home. We ate the most delicious panini sandwiches and chocolate bread pudding. We even picked flowers on our way out to put in a bowl on Caroline's table.
I'm a huge fan of history, so we went downtown to visit the State House (I totally forgot that Columbia was the capital of South Carolina). It was the coolest building with lots of great stained glass windows and pieces of history from the American Revolution and the Civil War. It was so much fun!
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| This is a statue of a palm tree. It looked so real! |
When we got home, Caroline and I made this amazing chocolate pound cake with chocolate fudge buttercream frosting. SO. GOOD. They sang Happy Birthday and I blew out all the candles on the first shot! Then we played Rock Band the rest of the night. Honestly, it was my favorite birthday so far.
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| All 21 candles lit! |
Side note: I've spent my last four birthdays in different states. 18th: Idaho. 19th: Utah. 20th: Texas. And 21st: South Carolina. I also spent one birthday (my 9th) in California and another (my 6th) in Florida. I just have been everywhere!
Saturday
Caroline had me try grits. She had made them for another one of our friends and she didn't like them. I LOVE THEM. I just bought myself a can today so I can make them! They have the texture of couscous to me.
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| Her kitty Oliver was sleeping on the couch like this, so we asked him if he wanted his nails done. Haha! |
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| Both kitties on my lap. At the same time. It was cute! But annoying because I'm pretty sure I had to pee. |
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| When Mom and Dad got me at Caroline's house! |
Sunday
We decided to go to church in Hilton Head. The church building was on a street just full of different churches, so we had a hard time finding the right one. The ward was very small, but they had a return missionary speak. He served in Africa, but he spoke like a Baptist preacher talking about hellfire! He was very passionate, and had a good message, but it just was weird to listen to.
When we got home we decided to check out the rest of the island. We drove down to this Harbour town called Sea Pines and I found lots of cool seashells on the beach. We went down to the marina and there was a dolphin in the marina! He kept coming up for air, and I saw him 4 times before my parents finally saw him.
Then we walked around the marina to this golf course because there were a couple of inviting lawn chairs calling our names. Then we felt like we were intruding so we left.
South Carolina and Georgia have so many trees! Everywhere you go there always seems to be a forest around you. I think it's amazing that the South was famous for cotton because they would have to clear so much land to have a field!
Then we went down to the beach by our hotel. The sand was so compact, and the ocean was so calm. The waves were never over 2 inches tall. We were there at sunset and it was so beautiful.
Monday
I wanted to go to Savannah in the worst way. The first place we went to was River Street so I could go to the Del Sol and meet the new interns there. They had only been there a week! It was nice to talk to them because you could tell they weren't sure about how they felt about the internship. But they seemed really great and I think they will have a great time.
Then we started walking around, and went straight to Paula Deen's restaurant to see if we had a chance at getting a table for lunch. We got in! We had this AMAZING crab stew that you could only eat with your eyes closed. So good, but I'm pretty sure it was half cream and the other half butter.
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| With Miss Paula Deen! Haha |
Then we started exploring the "squares". Savannah was laid out to have parks in the middle of every other block or so. Most of the squares have monuments to different people in them. Chipewa Square had a monument to James Oglethorpe (the founder of Georgia) and he seriously looked like a pirate on his statue. Come to find out thats the square where Forrest Gump was filmed at, so we actually went back and found the bench and took pictures later.
Mom and I were obsessed with the old houses, and Dad got really sick of taking our picture with every other house we walked past. Savannah is a gorgeous city, and it seemed really peaceful. Maybe it was because it was MLK day and no one was at work. But I could definitely see myself living in the South someday.
Then Mom and Dad wanted to take me to a seafood place for my birthday, and I got to try Shrimp and Grits and Mom and Dad each got a pound of crab legs. Everything tasted so good, but I was so full from Paula Deen still! Then we got me a pint of BlueBell ice cream (y'all know how much I LOVE BlueBell) and let me tell you, my tummy was THROBBING because of all the good food I ate in one day. I think I gained 10 pounds in one fell swoop. But it was totally worth it!
Tuesday
We left the hotel at 9 to drive me to Charleston (3 hour drive) to catch my plane. I had 2 layovers, one in Charlotte and one in Phoenix. Both flights landed late and I only had half hour layovers scheduled, so I got to run through Charlotte International to a completely different terminal and get to my gate right when they announced my zone. NOT FUN. Then my next plane in Phoenix got held because we were late, but luckily that plane was in the gate opposite from the gate we landed in so that wasn't an awful distance. Then we got delayed for a half hour.
Christine and Bri picked me up from the airport. We talked each other's ears off, and I was so glad that we all love each other enough to miss each other when we're gone. Then when I got home I had a surprise party! I was really disoriented because I had just traveled for 12 hours straight, but I was so surprised.
Wednesday
Well, this was my first day back in Provo and back in school, but I got a job as a TA for my favorite professor! I'm going to start as soon as I fill out my I-9 form. I can hardly wait to grade papers, get to know my favorite professor on a personal level, and gain lots of experience. I would do it all for free, but hey, I get paid pretty decent too! More money for boots! (Not really... 12 pairs is enough) :)
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