Hit the ground running

Yesterday was our first real break since arriving in Atlanta, so I finally had the chance to throw in my headphones, turn up my Bowling For Soup Pandora playlist (try it - it's my jam), and hit the pavement.

Getting out of the house (aka Alpha Delta Pi Memorial Headquarters. Still not used to the fact that I'm living here) by myself for the first time was refreshing. I explored the historic Druid Hills neighborhood which is absolutely beautiful - exactly how I imaged Georgia would be with big screen porches, columns, and sprawling lawns. I realized while I was running that this will be something I should get used to doing - popping in my headphones and spending some quality time with my Nike's is going to be a necessity while on the road.

       

                                         Alpha Delta Pi Memorial Headquarters, aka home.

                                     

I've seriously hit the ground running here metaphorically as well, in terms of training. I'm locked and loaded with my LC swag (typing this post from my PiPad ask we speak) and It's been a whirlwind of ADPi policy and procedure. I've learned tons about the greater organization as well as my role in it - I won't bore you non-sistas with the details but know that this is a pretty cool organization and I'm dang proud to be apart of it. As if I didn't make that apparent enough, right? We also got a full tour of EO, and as all my Alpha Theta sisters know I was absolutely in awe of all of the artifacts in memory of Maxine Blake, fellow Alpha Theta and UW alumna and Grand President Emeritus of Alpha Delta Pi. Go Dawgs.

         

My PiPad, PiPhone, LC guard, official name tag, padfolio, and office supplies for the road. Not pictured - business cards and my very own ritual book. Nerd alert.

                           

                                          Just a few of the items in EO honoring Miss Blake.

Thankfully the LCs have had also had some (limited thus far) time to get out of the house as well. Rollin' in the Swaggin' Wagon and the Stow-'n-Go as we've affectionately named our two rental minivans, we've made a trip the ATL fast-food staple The Varsity, the local Publix (shopping for a family of 10 is no easy feat), Yeah! Burger and a few other fun spots.

         

Tomorrow we head to Macon, Georgia to take in even more ADPi history. I've also received my first visit schedule - come August 12 I'm headed to the Zeta Eta chapter at University of North Alabama! As a West Coast girl who's only connection to the Yellowhammer State is that Sweet Home Alabama is my favorite movie, you can bet I'm pretty excited. Hitting the ground running, one step at a time!

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

I'm leaving on a jet plane! Fun fact - Leaving On a Jet Plane was #2 on my list of songs sure to make me cry at closing campfire during my summers at Camp Namanu. Yeah, I was that camper. My bags are packed, my work presentation is complete, and my Farewell Tour has come to an end. 6:30am (woooooo) tomorrow, I'll be wheels up for Hotlanta.

 

Thus is why apologize for the delay, but I am finally posting my update on my Seattle/ Portland Farewell Tour 2013. Since that 4 o'clock wake-up is calling my name, I thought I'd keep this short and sweet and simply highlight the good stuff. I'm sure you don't care to know that I started and have completed nearly half of New Girl Season 1 on Netflix... but if you do, I have.

 

I arrived in Seattle on Sunday evening after a glorious 5 hour drive (I ♥ traffic). After settling in at the Sunny Studio with Jessica we talked game plan for the week. Here's the play-by-play:

 

1. Monday morning quality time with my favorite nanny gals! American Girls, trampoline - what could be better. I'm really going to miss watching them grow, but it sounds like they're great as ever and I am excited to stay updated on what this next year holds for them.

2. Monday happy hour with my Year Up Puget Sound ladies - got filled in on the latest office happenings and recruited to help fill my previous internship position. Speaking of - any undergrads looking for an internship next year in Seattle, hit me up!

3. Post happy hour ice cream date at Full Tilt with my little Diamond and then a long chat at the apartment. Jessica also surprised me with one of the most thoughtful gifts I have received:



A monogrammed, personalized pillowcase. I may not be in the same bed, or even the same state, every night but this way I will always have something familiar while I travel!

4. Tuesday lunch with my Panhellenic Advisor Krista in Ballard. I had my second hamburger post-vegetarianism, and took in some much appreciated career advice in the field of Student Affairs. Which led me to go home and research grad schools for an hour - I feel so old.



Lil' Woody's burger in Ballard - delish.

 

5. Tuesday evening impromptu gathering of a good 25% of Alpha Class '09. I was so excited to see Lauren and Megan's new apartment in Queen Anne, as well as Jenna, Catherine, Hannah, Dolly and Katie - who had just gotten home from Africa! We all exchanged job updates, year plans and commuting horror stories. Again - so. old. We then walked down the hill to grab dinner, and ended up at this little taco bar with a beautiful sunset view.

 

6. Wednesday afternoon Jessica and I dedicated to accomplishing something on my Seattle take-off list. We decided on the Fremont Troll - somehow in our entire 4 years in Seattle, neither of us had ever been!

 

7. Wednesday night we rallied the troops for a last run on The Ave in all its glory.  

 

This was definitely the grand finale of the Farewell Tour. I was overwhelmed by the effort my friends made to see me off, and it made me realize what quality people I was lucky enough to surround myself with during my college career. I feel comfortable leaving knowing that I made relationships that are built to last, I sincerely hope they do. Ya'll know who you are - thank you. From the bottom of my heart thank you, for making me feel so loved and for being there to cheer me on. Keep in touch.

Come Thursday I said some of my last (and hardest) goodbyes, packed up, and hit the road back to Portland. Since I've been home it's been a whirlwind of shopping, packing, and Prezi-making (and so it begins). I spent a great afternoon with my family, and enjoyed the warm summer evening with O, L, and S. S brought me VooDoo doughnuts - another check on my take-off list, and included a note and a picture inside. Something she wrote I really loved, and I want to share it with you:

 

"I've been thinking recently about how much post grad life is in similarity to our kayaking adventure. Some will fail immediately. Others will cruise along, some will get stuck on rocks for a little (or a long) while, and no matter how good things are, you will hit a tree. It is inevitable. What is also inevitable is that we'll all get to the end and be a little smarter than before."

 

Oh Shannon. You wise owl you.

 

So here I go on my next (metaphorical) kayaking adventure. Thank you to everyone who has both prepared me and seen me off as I go - this one's for you. I'm now going to try to get my roughly... 3 hours of sleep. Such is the life!

 

Guest Blogging: inside The Sunny Studio!

As you all know I spent the last week in Seattle, but I wanted to take a moment to highlight the exact place in which I stayed: THE Sunny Studio, of www.thesunnystudioblog.com! The Sunny Studio just so happens to be the beautiful studio apartment of my dear friend and sorority sister Emily, and it is truly a haven of DIY coziness, Parisian flair, teas of every type and flavor and all around healthy living. Basically the epicenter of all things I someday aspire to be. If you haven't already, (I linked the heck out of this post for your convenience) I would highly recommend checking out The Sunny Studio Blog. I can assure you that you will leave feeling inspired to create, cook, and appreciate the quieter side of life. After a week in this humble abode, I know I did!

 

Me inside The Sunny Studio wearing my new glasses, holla.

 

And Em - thanks for letting me kick it in your apartment for the week! Love you :)

Take-off list update: line dancing, Ruby's, and my first real hamburger (again)

It's been a pretty good week. Long - (amazing how slowly time passes when the most exciting thing you did all day was go to Kohl's with your mom, #PGP) but I'm soaking up the freedom while I still have it. I've been chipping away at that take-off list of mine, and I thought I'd update you all on my progress this week!

First - we did it. Friday night L, S, O and I finally graced 148th and Division with our presence at Duke's Country Bar and Grill. For those of you not from SEP (South East Portland) as we like to refer to it, Duke's is a country bar smack-dab in the neighborhood that many a Gresham cowboy and David Douglasian like to frequent. I've driven past the place my whole life, always talking about how when I was 21 I'd check it out. Got to stay true to your roots, right?

I won't give you a full recount because maybe you'll go and check it out for yourself sometime, but I will say that the highlight was the nice cowboys who took the time to teach my friends and I how to country dance! I suppose they didn't really so much teach us as provide a really great lead, which makes all the difference in the world. We were spinning and twirling around the dance floor like the best of 'em, and one guy even picked me up and flipped me upside-down. No big thing. It just flowed!

I'm working on getting a video from O to prove our credentials... stay tuned.

Yesterday after a full day of sun bathing and recovering by L's pool, we determined we were starving and in the mood for burgers. If you've known me for awhile, you know that I've been a pescetarian for the last 6 years but just recently came back to the dark side of meat eating. L and her sister took us to one of their favorite childhood restaurants, Stanich's, and I had my first real hamburger in over 6 years. It was quite the moment.

Last, but certainly not least, we headed out to one of my all-time favorite Portland places, McMenamin's Edgefield. If you've never been to a McMenamin's I would highly encourage you to go, they're typically restored sites filled with history and a whimsical touch on hospitality. Very Portland, and very hip. Edgefield is 70+ acres of farmland in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, and we were lucky enough to be there last night for the celebration of their 102nd birthday! The sun was just starting to go down over the property, there was a live folky band playing outside, and people were wandering all over the grounds. As we sat on the lawn enjoying the home-brewed beer (my favorite is the Ruby - a grapefruit-infused brew) and listening to the band, I couldn't imagine anywhere else I would rather be.

 

 

 This afternoon, I'm taking off for a week in my other home - Seattle! It was a great week in Portland, and I feel so blessed with the quality time I've been spending with my good friends here. Only a few things left to check-off on my list... You better believe I'm getting a Dbros before I hit the road.

 

My take-off list

Photo cred

After all of the support I received after my blog post first debuting my Seattle bucket list, I decided I should provide an update on my progress post-graduation. With some prolonged thought on the subject, I have also hence decided that since I'm not planning on kicking the bucket any time soon, I will instead refer to this as my 'take-off list' - a list of things I'd like to do before my plane takes off for Hotlanta on the 22nd. (Those would be my official marching orders, for those of you I have not yet updated). I would also like to unveil a second portion of this list - the Portland edition! I've shared that I am a Portland native but definitely an adopted Seattleite, so it seemed only fitting that I create a dual list of must-dos. I've got two weeks, split between both locations, to check these off. And if you know me at all, you know what joy I get out of checking off lists...

SEA-TOWN:
- go to Dick's Drive-In for a vanilla milkshake
- run to Gas Works on a sunny day
- paddle board on Lake Union
- visit the Fremont Troll
- canoe at the WAC, possibly jump off the arboretum... DON'T QUOTE ME ON THIS
- go Pike Place Market and walk through the WHOLE thing
- try a new flavor of Molly Moon's *Full Tilt
- see a sunrise at Alki beach (and don't sprain my foot this time) *sunset.
- go to at least one more M's game. Pray that they win.
- drink my weight in coffee before I have to ship off to places where Starbucks isn't native tongue
- ride the ferry
- visit the UW columns by myself ...so it wasn't by myself, but check out my senior pictures - it was well worth the company!
- see a really great concert

P-TOWN:
- Get my burn on at Kah-nee-ta
- Visit the Portland Saturday Market. Get a henna or some other hippie-inspired purchase
- Line-dance at Duke's (with all of Douglas' 21+ finest.. ooh boy)
- Eat a Voodoo Doughnut Salt & Straw is the new Voodoo. The hipsters told me so.
- Be painfully hip on Hawthorne
- Dbros. Lots and lots of Dbros.
- say good-bye to both of my favorite states at once from the top of Rocky Butte
- have a Ruby at Edgefield... or 5.

Two weeks, two cities, two lists to be taken care of. Care to join me?



Deep in the Heart: Grand Convention 2013



View from the 38th floor of the Sheraton Dallas hotel!



"Deep in my heart, I love my ADPi"

 

Coming from a less vocally gifted chapter, as we'll call them (still love ya Alpha Theta girls, don't worry 'bout it!), this was an oft-sung ADPi chant that I was not familiar with this past week. But oh, was it appropriate! First of course it fit the theme for ADPi's 162nd Anniversary Grand Convention, and second I must say that after my six days spent deep in the heart of Texas in Dallas, Alpha Delta Pi snuck its way even deeper into my heart. As if anyone thought that could be possible.

 

I was definitely a bit nervous as I de-boarded my plane at DFW airport, ready to meet my consultant sisters who I had only thoroughly creeped upon on Facebook - yeahhhh we all did it, it's ok. Luckily it ended up that the lovely Miss Logan Sparks was also on my shuttle, so we were able to brake the ice on the ride to the hotel. Once there we ran into 3 other sisters - Morgan, Caroline, and Grace. After finding our rooms and dropping off our things all the 2013-2014 Leadership Consultants were finally united and I was able to meet Lauren, Haley, Katherine, Courtney (though we already knew one another :)), and the next day Katie, but I'll include her here now for simplicity's sake.

 

Our very first LC hug train! (A sorority girl staple).
From left to right: Caroline, Morgan, Katie, Lauren, Katherine, yours truly, Haley, Logan, Grace, and Courtney.

 

The convention itself was a whirlwind of introductions, songs, long-standing traditions, awards, important sorority business and a whole lot of ADPi lovin'. The Grand Council for the next biennium was selected, and they are as follows:

 International President – Tammie S. Pinkston

International VP of Collegiate Membership – Stacy DeMartini Bruton

International VP of Collegiate Membership – Jan Maisch

International VP of Alumnae Membership – Renee Bailey Iacona

International VP of Communications – Jennifer Siler

International VP of Finance – Emily Erkel

International VP of Organizational Relations – Sandy McDonald Davis

 

 

Highlights of the week for me personally were Friday morning's 'Get Fit with the Foundation' Zumba session, breakin' it down doing the Wobble with hundreds of sisters and specifically Grand President Tammie Pinkston at the Texas Dance Party that night (do you sense a theme? I looove to move), and finally the panel discussion on Higher Education and Greek Life on Saturday afternoon. I loved hearing the perspective of qualified Greek Life professionals across the country, some sisters and others exciting guests such as Jean Mrasek, incoming NPC Conference Chairman. I'm hoping to explore the world of Higher Education throughout my travels in the coming year, so I'll certainly be keeping you all posted on my journey through that.

 

Now that I'm back on the Best Coast after a long but exciting week, I'm ready for some time to de-brief, as well as plan and pack for the amazing year ahead. The final and perhaps most meaningful part of the week was that I got my Violet sister - much like Diamond sisters but specifically a past consultant mentor. I was blessed to be matched with the amazing Brittany Walker, who graced Alpha Theta with her presence this past Spring right before my final interview and has been supporting me ever since.

 

Lovin' my new Vi - and so excited to join the Vinasty!

 

 

Only three short weeks until I'm jet-settin' to Atlanta and reunited with my sisters and new friends. Until then, I will enjoy the summer that has finally reached the PNW. Sunshine and summer time!