Ah, The Grand Home STATE!

Greetings from Cincinnati!

I was a bit reluctant to originally book my flight home to Cincinnati this weekend, since I've basically come to cherish each and every precious weekend I can have in Chicago (since I'm back to traveling during the week for work).

I just have to say that that reluctance pretty much disappeared as soon as I set foot in the good ol' Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport.

I don't know what it is... I'm in love with the Midwest in general (hence my move to Chicago to begin with) but there's something... just so darn special about the grand home state of Ohio. It's just so relaxing, so simple, so cozy, so SPACIOUS - let's just say... I'm a fan (understatement).

My dad was picking me up from the airport so after locating him in the arrivals area, we began our sojourn home... with a slight detour.

I love all (well, okay, most) libraries - I've even kept each library card I've owned from each city I've lived in! (It's all very exciting, I know.) My neighborhood public library is absolutely no exception. Going to the public library was part of my dad's and my Saturday afternoon routine when I was growing up, so needless to say, requesting this quick detour on the way home from the airport was more than welcomed by good ol' Papa A (Nicole, that one's for you ;)). To be fair, I did want to get through (a wide variety of) reading materials for this weekend!

With that glorious pit stop, I knew that the weekend could only get better and better. After getting through my day of work on Friday, I had just enough time to run a few errands, take a (quick!) nap, and then... head to Reunion #1 of the weekend.

Let's try that again...

My family's been friends with this family for over 20 years (before these kids were even born!) and to say that I adore them is an understatement. They're like a second family to me and, honestly, the happiness and excitement of each reunion never fades. This reunion was no exception... complete with a live reading of "Oh, The Places You'll Go" by the lovely new graduate on the very right of this picture (so proud! :)).

Needless to say, Reunion #1 was easily a sweet success.

Come Sunday, I was off to Reunion #2 in... COLUMBUS, OHIO!!! Hollaaaa!!!

This reunion was actually the main reason for my visit to the grand home state for the weekend, since one of my dearest friends from college, Nicole, was back in the country for a fleeting period of time (she's based in South Korea with the Air Force).

Add two other good friends from college (Meg and Lindsay) to the mix and you've got yourself one. sweet. REUNION!!!

(Please disregard that nonsense of a peace / V for victory sign.)

After meeting in the Short North of Columbus for brunch (and hugs galore, let me tell you), we began just meandering around... and, look at that, somehow ended up... well, back on Ohio State's campus.

Talk about a walk down memory lane - I haven't been back to campus since I graduated and I honestly could not stop BEAMING as we walked through campus (no matter how much it's changed!). Now, while most people would likely walk down their college memory lanes with trips to their favorite bars, the football stadium, etc... MY idea of walk down memory lane consisted of... well...

My Chemistry / Organic Chemistry building!!!

I'm not sure WHY I was so excited to see this building...  I mean, some of the memories I have from my days of Chemistry / Organic Chemistry are... less than pleasant to say the least. Maybe it's simply the fact that my love and devotion for the one and only Dr. Casey still reigns supreme... but I digress.

And of course... of COURSE, no trip on campus would be complete without a visit to my beloved... my sacred... my one and only...

Science and Engineering Library (SEL).

Sigh, we need to have a moment. Just one.

Unless you went to college with me, you will not understand the love and devotion I had for this library... hell, even people who DID go to college with me did not understand. I mean, I was definitely NOT of the Science and Engineering variety BUT this library was just my home away from home... my happy place, if you will.

(It really is amazing that I actually had friends in college, considering how much time I devoted to this sacred place.)

Unfortunately, they've since changed the name of the library from the SEL to something like the "18th Avenue Library" so I couldn't take a picture with the sign itself (it just wouldn't be the SAME!). Oh well, no matter. Might as well just head inside to get a few "action shots", right?

Good thing we didn't disturb the entire 4th floor with our ridiculous picture-taking extravaganza (well, we TRIED to suppress our exclamations... and giggles... as we walked down memory lane here).

Ah, how far we've come from circa 2003...

Okay, so maybe not ALL our time in the library was spent hard-core studying. But we needed some lighthearted moments to get us through finals week! (On a completely side note, check out that CELL PHONE! Wowza.)

Okay, enough about the SEL. Moving on to...

No trip would be complete without a big ol' hug for Brutus, right?

Ah, good times through and through.

Okay, I'm cutting off this post since it's (much) longer than I'd previously anticipated. Get ready for my next post about the grand home state... let's just say that you'll be 110% familiar with the terms Skyline, Graeters, UDF, and LaRosa's by the time you're done reading THAT one.

bucket lists, The Buried Life... and Maria ThomaslsdflkdsjfkfjslkdjflkasjdflkjLKJ!

have you guys heard of this show called The Buried Life? it's on MTV and it's all the rage right now. it's apparently about these four guys who have a show about crossing things off their bucket list (a list of things they want to do/accomplish before they die), which sounds pretty much... um, AWE-some. even better, with each episode, they also help a random person cross things off THEIR bucket list as WELL. sigh- even though i'd never heard of this show before, im such a big fan of them now, JUST because their show actually helps others too...

why in heaven's name am i even bringing this random topic up (aside from the fact that my blog is nothing BUT randomness in spirit-finger formaslkdfj?!)?

so earlier this week, i got on facebook (you know, the standard) and noticed that one of my family friends' (oh, who am i kidding? this girl is like a little sister to me) facebook walls was TOTES blowing up with posts and status updates. of course, it doesn't take much for me to be all intrigued.

enter... Maria Thomas. maria is a 19-year-old freshman at ohio state, who i have known since she was born. sigh, she just makes me so HAPPY. i like to think of us as twins-separated-by-a-decade, if you will... in the sense that we're both, well, pretty on par with one another in that whole craziness department. hahaha. but i digress.

sorry, this is the only picture i could pull at the moment... hope you two don't mind! hahaha. ANYWAY, so maria (the one on the left) is apparently more than a little obsessed with this show, The Buried Life. so obsessed that... hmm... what would be a good analogy?

okay, got it. maria's obsession with the buried life is analogous to christie's obsession with will smith ... like that one? i thought of it all on my own and everything. ANYWAY, so i guess the buried life was scheduled to come to ohio state in february but had to cancel at the last minute due to an awful snowstormy catastrophe (sigh. gotta love ohio!)... umm, i think saying that maria was devastated would be considered a complete and total understatement to the adjective. she actually told me that she went to the SEL and just watched clips of the show on her computer... and cried. HAHAHAHA. if you didnt think maria and i were twins-separated-by-a-decade before, you most certainly should NOW (if you knew me in college that is... because only then will you remotely understand the extent of my relationship with the SEL... sigh. good times. haha).

anyway, so hooray! the buried life, being the goodhearted people that they are, ended up coming to ohio state earlier this week to give a talk and do some good, old-fashioned Q&A. apparently, maria was like the first person to leap on up to an open microphone during the Q&A segment (thatta girl! i couldn't be PROUDER of the shamelessness, really) and start... well, just chit-chatting with them... about who even knows what (the poor thing didn't even remember what she was rambling on and on about... in front of a crowd of 200 students and, well, the entire buried life cast... but whatever). THEN, she told the buried life cast that one of the things on her bucket list would be to crowd surf...

easy enough, right? so easy, in fact, that the buried life cast decided to take care of crossing that one off her list right then and THERElkasjfdlkajsdlkfjdsljfKL! who does that HAPPEN TO?!?!??!?! needless to say, maria was likely on the verge of fainting and/or experiencing some serious heart palpitations. so what happens next, you ask? ummm... the cast gets a group of the ohio state people together and proceeds to CROWD SURF MARIA!

(i stole this picture off facebook, so THANK YOU to whomever took this AWESOME PHOTO!)

ummm... pride doesn't even begin to describe what i feel at this moment in time. as she was relaying the story to me, i couldn't help but get so squealworthy excitedlkajdsflkjsakdf.... and i wasnt even THERE!!!!

but i really think it's all about good karma. i mean, she's such a good person... why SHOULDN'T something so wonderful and memorable happen to her?!?!?! her literal words to me were "yeah, i really thought i could die happy after that" which... i must admit, are pretty much the exact same words that i used when recounting my not-so-chance encounter (okay, some slight stalking was involved) with the one and only will smith.

lkasjfksjdflj! i couldnt be PROUDER of my twin-separated-by-a-decade! couldn't be PROUDERlkjfalkdsjflsajfdlkjaldsjflasdkjflsj!

anyway, have you guys ever thought about a bucket list for yourself?! i decided to buckle down and start working on my own little bucket list after that ridiculous story... in no particular order, do enjoy (this is only the first five i came up with so far) and start thinking of your OWN bucket list please!lkjfdsalkjflk!:

My Bucket List

1. host a TV show (or if i can't host it, at least be a GUEST on Ellen... it's too late to get on Oprah, i guess)

2. skydiving in new zealand or switzerland

3. meet prince william and princess catherine ... potentially become FRIENDS with them?!?!?!(okay, so im kind of caught up in the hoopla at this moment)

4. change at least one person's life (in a good way! OBVI haha)

5. visit all 50 states