Back and then Forward...or just back :P

Right, so I was trying to go backwards in the last post? Goodness.

Well according to Google Calendar, which rules my life, I left off on the 17th of July. Going backwards from that, and following my quick update post...

Thur. July 15 - I think this is when the interns were told we had to do presentations about what we've done this summer. It's supposed to be 15 minutes long, we'll be presenting to everyone who wants to watch us, the dry run was on July 28th, and the real deal will be on August 4th. More on that later.

Wed. July 14 - Potluck at work. Lots of delicious food. Christi, my boss, loved the bean and corn salad. Hooray!

At some point around this point I found out the MSE department gave me another scholarship for next year. woot.

Sat. July 10 - I actually went to the Carlsbad Farmers Market, despite the rainy weather and the early hour. Why? Well, I wanted to find some fresh ingredients for the bean and corn salad for the potluck. All I found in that department were some massive green onions. However, the same guy was selling aloe vera plants, and I just couldn't resist. Now I've got a pot with 1 main aloe vera plant and 3 baby aloe vera plants sprouting up around it. It's currently sitting outside, because I figure that's where it'll get the most sun. I'm hoping to take it home with me, and then maybe my mom can help me re-pot the baby plants so they can eventually grow big enough to gift to people. I also tried something called an agua fresca, which a quick Google search told me is basically pureed fruit diluted with water and served over ice. I had cantaloupe flavor. It was absolutely delicious.

Thur. July 8 - Snowcone Thursday. Okay, I'm not sure if I've explained this before, but this is one of our weird office things. Every Thursday, at least in the summer, we have some sort of dessert. It alternates between sundaes and snowcones. On snowcone Thursdays, the interns all cram into the small kitchen and start shredding ice and packing it into cups. After about 10 cups are made, someone announces the start of "Snowcone Thursday" and people start showing up. We take turns making snowcones, drizzling flavored syrup over the shaved ice, inevitably spilling some of it on the floor and probably making the janitor lady sigh the next day when she has to mop. But it's all good fun. Delicious good sugary fun.

Wed. July 7 - Kickball with the office peeps. I think I've explained this before. Every Wednesday at 6pm several office peeps gather with their friends, family, neighbors, whoever they can round up it seems, at the field behind one of the middle schools. Somebody brings the bases and at least one kickball, and we split up into two teams and have a fun time.

Sun. July 4 - Slept through both parades. (Yes, there were 2 parades in the same small city.) Went to Cassie's aunt's house in the evening to eat food and watch fireworks with her family.
Okay, this one I will explain more. Apparently the parade planners had a disagreement and split into two groups, resulting in two parades at different times going on different routes. One parade was at like 8am, the other was at 10am. I slept until noon, having spent the previous day wandering around Roswell and dodging weird people of all sorts and getting sunburned thanks to the sun defying the weather forecast. Personally, I'm not sure I missed much, since the only reason I usually go to parades are the bands and the candy, and these days I feel too old for the candy. :( So, no Fourth of July parade for me. But that was okay. In the evening, Cassie and her younger sister picked me up at my apartment and we all went to her aunt's house. There I met her family, who were all quite friendly, and some were quite goofy, but that's fine, cuz I like people with a sense of humor. There was lots of delicious food and the fireworks were pretty exciting, especially the illegal ones going off right over our heads from nearby yards. And Cassie's grandfather kept teasing me and trying to teach me Spanish, and calling me Mexico since I was wearing my M hat ("M for Mexico, right?").

July 3 - Roswell UFO festival! Goodness. It was quite fun - for a good walkthrough of my day I recommend looking at the pictures in the "Independence Weekend Adventures" album (link in the box at the top right). I got up, got money, grabbed a chocolate shake from Sonic, and drove about an hour and then some to Roswell. Dodging into a side street just before they blocked it off for the parade, I found a parking spot away from the madness in a lot that was mostly empty for some strange reason. I wandered over to what appeared to be a Michigan family and sat down some distance away to wait for the parade. Eventually it came, about 15-30 minutes late, and with no candy, which disappointed every child there. After the parade, some guy started shouting stuff about Jesus saving people, and some fabulous people that appeared to be from San Francisco started shouting mockeries at him. Made me miss Ann Arbor... Walking quickly past the shouting Jesus guy, I began my wanderings around Roswell. After determining that the line for the UFO museum was way too crazy, I managed to find my way to the vendors, who were all camped out in the visitors center. There I spent most of my time, moving from table to table and looking at all of the stuff. I ended up buying a mini-loaf of apple walnut bread (long gone now), a little bendable cloth alien dude (named Mr. Alien Dude), a purple Roswell UFO Festival t-shirt, and a really nice amethyst crystal. I then moved out to the food vendors, bought a late lunch and some kettle corn, and headed back to my car. I drove back to Carlsbad and took a scenic route, stopping to take some pictures along the way. Later, I went to Walgreens and got some aloe goo (that aloe vera gel that makes sunburns less painful), because of course despite the forecast claiming it would be mostly cloudy all day, it had been a perfect clear day with the sun shining down on my pale unprotected skin - unprotected, because, of course, why would I bring sunblock if it was going to be cloudy? I wouldn't want to be carrying it around all day! (You see? You see what happens when I try to pack light and sensibly?)

So, there, I've gotten you caught up with what I didn't tell you before, and now all I have left is everything that's happened since then. Which is...ah yes. Separation paperwork, presentations, and the WIPP tour. And those shall be the topics of my next post.