Sports in the City

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend some sporting events in my new city! 

First, I finally made it out to The Diamond to see the Richmond Flying Squirrels play. I attended the game with the Richmond chapter of the JMU Alumni Association. As much as I love baseball players, I had never been stepped foot in The Diamond. Luckily I now live really close to there so hopefully I will take in some more games! The best part is that general admission is only $7.00 (+ $3.00 to park). You can't beat that.

Tori & I

Anyway, I was decked out in my purple since it was a JMU event. The Flying Squirrels were playing the Portland Sea Dogs. I may or may not have but definitely did bring and wear my Portland, Maine hoodie, since I had been in Maine the week before. I am such a bad Richmond fan. I own nothing that says Richmond on it. (Wouldn't want anyone to think I meant U of R. Eek.)

Attempting to stay dry in my over-sized Portland, Maine hoodie

The game was super fun. Except after a couple of innings it starting raining and since there was a bit of a breeze, the rain was kinda coming at us sideways. And even my over-sized Portland hoodie couldn't make me dry and warm enough to stick it out through the weather.

My next Richmond sporting event came the Friday after the Flying Squirrels. I got off work at 3 p.m. on a Friday and headed out to meet my mom, her boyfriend, and my youngest sister at the Redskins Training Camp. In case you haven't heard (and that could only be possible if you live under a rock), the Washington Redskins are holding their training camp here in Richmond. They had about two and a half weeks of open practices that the public could attend for free (well, plus the $5.00 to park and the $2.00 trolley ride to the camp).

 

Redskins Quarterbacks

It was super crowded the day we went and none of the well-known players came over to see us. It was still pretty cool to see them practice though. I tried to get RGIII to wave at me as we stuck way after practice hoping he would realize he was in love with me or my sister come over. But no luck. Maybe next year!

What sporting events does your city boast? Do you attend any?

Back in the 'Burg

Hello all,

So in my last post, I talked about finally taking a day off. I refused to take a day off until I had actual plans because sitting around my house, trying not to check my work email wasn't going to do it for me. So where did I end up, you ask?

Harrisonburg, of course. (You can take the girl out of JMU, but you can't take the JMU out of the girl).

On Friday after the Fourth of July, I packed my bags and headed up to the 'burg. Because Jeremy had to work until late afternoon, I decided to burn sometime at the Book Fair. 

Never been to the Book Fair? You are missing out. The Green Valley Book Fair comes to down for three weeks at a time about 6 times a year. I've been visiting the book fair since my sophomore year of college back in 2007. They sell books of all subjects for 60 to 90 percent off retail prices. I could seriously spend hours there. I left there with a novel, a cookbook, and two books for my niece. 

Another major highlight of the weekend was helping Jeremy with a website for Packsaddle Ridge Golf Club by playing photographer. It was so great to have a reason to get back behind my camera. I got some awesome photos and tons of compliments. I'll post the link the website once it is finished.

iPhone shot

The other highlight was the feast we prepared on Saturday after being at the golf course all day. Jeremy and I came home and got to cooking! We had shrimp and chicken kabobs with green and red peppers, rice, pasta salad, and fried squash. A couple of friends joined us and we ate until we were stuffed and then we sat around the nice, warm bonfire, listening to some 90's music.

Dinner by the citronella light!

All in all, it was an amazing weekend! But hey, that was only the start to my travels this summer. Keep up!

neVer forgeT 4.16.07

Six years ago on April 16, 2007, there were thirty two people who went to campus. Two hours away, I did the exact same thing. Those thirty two people never returned.

I will never forget April 16, 2007. I was a freshman at James Madison University. My freshman year was coming to a close and I was finally getting used to being so far away from home. It was a Monday, which meant I had my Spanish class at 9:05 and my literature class at 10:10. My 11:15 writing class was cancelled because we were having individual conferences with my professor about our final papers.

After my literature class, I went back to my dorm and signed on AIM. I instant messaged my RA upstairs and asked what he was doing. He wrote back, "I'm watching the news. Someone got shot at Tech." I replied back, "I have friends at Tech." He said, "Everyone does."

I tell my roommate Rachael that there was a shooting at Virginia Tech and she asks where that is. She was from Pennsylvania. I tell her that it is just two short hours down the highway. 

I head towards the dining hall to meet my friend Jessica for lunch. I meet her somewhere between the dining halls and I tell her there was a shooting at Tech and that one person has died. We get in line, grab some foods, and sit down to watch the televisions in Top Dog.

Jessica looks at the TV and looks at me and asks me what I said about it just being one person who had passed away because the headline on the television said 10. I told no, it was just 1. She said "No, it says 10 casualties. Doesn't that mean ten people dead?"

I look at the TV and see the increased count. I think, "What in the world is going on here?" I noticed that the dining hall was way too quiet for a Monday lunch hour. Usually people would be shouting to friends and talking about what they had done that past weekend.

I look behind me and notice that almost no one is in line for food. People are just standing around behind those seated at the tables; their eyes were glued to the televisions. This image is burned in my mind.

I called my mother because I talked to her every day of my freshman year and I was surprised she had not called me. Dinwiddie schools were on Spring Break so she had actually just woken up. When she answered the phone, I asked why she had not called me. She was confused. "Mom, there was a shooting at Virginia Tech."

Jessica begins attempting to call our high school friend, Sarah to no avail. I comfort her by telling her that I am sure everyone is trying to get in touch with everyone so phone calls probably were not going through. 

I remember going to work that day at the library and not doing any work at all. I sat on my computer refreshing the news pages of various websites, watching horrified as the number of those who passed away kept rising. I stayed on Facebook, watching as all my Virginia Tech friends changed their profile pictures to the remembrance ribbon. If they changed their profile pictures, I knew they were okay. 

On April 16, 2007, though I was two hours away from the place where that tragedy took place, my way of life was threatened. The world was not a safe place. Those people all went to campus that day, not knowing it would be their last. A handful of the 32 that lost their lives that day were freshman at Virginia Tech. They were just like me, starting out their education, careers and what was supposed to be the best four years of their lives.

Six years ago and I still remember so much from that day. Six years ago and I am still shocked for this tragedy took place. Six years ago today and my heart still hurts for the Hokies.

4.16.07 neVer forgeT 

Hands Up For the Dukes!

I am not a basketball fan. I love me some football and baseball pants. Basketball is just so squeaky.

But I am a JMU fan. A big JMU fan. I learned via my Facebook newsfeed that JMU had won its first two games in the CAA tournament and was advancing to the CAA Championship.

Best of all, the game was taking place in Richmond! So on Sunday night, I got the idea in my head that maybe I should attend the game. After consulting with a couple of fellow JMU fans, I learned that tickets to the Championship were as cheap as $10.

I had to take advantage of that. So Monday, I spent some time coordinating a couple of friends to go to the game with me. I ended up getting in touch with one of my favorite Dinwiddie/JMU girls, Michelle and my cousin, Travis to attend with me. I also found out that Matt and Amanda would be in attendance too.



Hands up for the DUKES!

After work, I headed over to the Coliseum where the game was taking place and bought mine and Travis's tickets. We were playing Northeastern, a team out of Boston, MA, so JMU was obviously well represented in the Coliseum. Also no one was checking tickets at all so we got to sit much closer than the seats our tickets were for.

 

Our team had such great momentum in the first half and our fan had so much energy. Northeastern gained a little momentum in the second half but they couldn't keep up. JMU won the game 70-57 to become win the CAA title and to start their road to the NCAA tournament!

 

 

It was amazing to be there and watch it all happen. I love being a JMU Duke and being a part of JMU Nation.

Game 4: JMU vs. W&M

Game 4 versus William & Mary took place on October 13, 2012. I, as usual, worked late on Friday afternoon, so I opted to drive up to Harrisonburg on Saturday morning. Since Patti would not be attending the game due to her boyfriend's ill-placed birthday weekend (How dare he have his birthday the Monday after a game day weekend?!), I would be making the trek to the 'Burg alone.

I started my Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and I was exhausted, having gone to dinner late with two girls from work. So my goal was to get ready, make it out of the house early and make a stop at the Green Valley Book Fair on the way to the game. Don't you worry, I accomplished all those goals! :)

The Outfit

Tank top, Old Navy, < $6
 Scarf, Old Navy, $10.99
Shirt, Gap Outlet, $10
Jeans, Levi's, Marshalls, $19.99
Boots, not pictured, Target $34.99

The Tailgate

After I finally made it to JMU, after going to the book fair and the Outpost (to get my game day button), I finally parked and headed to campus. Actually, more like rushed to campus. Until I found out that Patti's family was not at JMU yet. (Yes, I hang out with my best friend's family when she is not there because they love me.) So I headed to P-Lot for a good time with the P-Lot crew. 

Then when Patti's family got there, I headed to the other end of P-Lot. This weekend was extra special because Patti's cousin, Stephanie was attending the game. Stephanie goes to the enemy school Appalachian State so I don't see her nearly enough! I also finally got to her boyfriend, Ben. (Seriously must find me a Ben - both Patti and Steph have one.)

Steph&Tiff

Anyway, we were way into our tailgating so we actually missed the first quarter of the game. Good thing too, because it was the worst quarter of the game and the game only got better from there.

When I finally got to the game, I was greeted by my game watching company: Tyler, Steve, Matt and Tony! I hadn't seen Tony since Homecoming last year so of course pictures were in order. 

Me & Tony

The Game

So because of my prolonged tailgating, I missed Justin Thorpe's interception. At one point, we were down 14-0. But then began the most exciting game ever! With seconds left in the fourth quarter, the game was tied 17-17 and W&M had the opportunity to seize the game. Half of the student starts to leave and I am saying to Matt, "Where are they going? This is going into overtime!" 

The student section started chanting something that I could not understand and then JMU called a timeout to ice the kicker. It was after that timeout that I deciphered what the student section was chanting.

Billy Cundiff. Billy Cundiff. He missed that field goal and as I predicted, this game was going into overtime.

So in case you don't know the rules of college football overtime. Each team gets the ball on the 25 and gets a chance to score. We won the coin toss and elected to defer. Our defense worked hard and only allowed William & Mary to score three points. Then we got the ball on the same 25 yard line and we only could get a field goal. 

With the game tied again at 20-20, it was time for double overtime. We went down to the 25 on the side of the field. This time we had the ball first and we scored a touchdown! Then W&M got the ball and they also score, though a illegal touching penalty was called and we all thought hoped that their touchdown wouldn't count; however it did. 

Then they decided that they were going to go for a two point conversion to win the game...and they didn't get it. It took me a minute to realize that we won the game but after I did, there was lots of jumping and screaming!

Another game that kept my heart racing! JMU plays Richmond @ Richmond and I'm hoping for another win!

Game 3: JMU vs Towson/Roomie Reunion

Game 3 took place on Saturday, October 6. Because the game was taking place two days after Patti's birthday, I headed up to Caroline after work on Friday. Patti and I then drove to Fredericksburg to meet Ben and his little brother, Jake as were taking Jake to his first Division 1 College Football. We met the boys at Target and then headed over to Cheeseburger in Paradise for lunch! 

Because it was Family Weekend, it was going to be an early game - 1 p.m. So we headed to bed not long after we got home from Fredericksburg because I had my alarm set 6:15 a.m.

The Outfit

Shirt, Forever 21, ~$8, Scarf, Old Navy, $10.99,
Jeggings, Target, on clearance for <$15,
Boots, Target, $34.99

                                            

My favorite outfit of the season so far. I don't think I will outdo this one easily!

The Tailgate

Since it was an early game, we had breakfast for our tailgate! Patti's family always makes the best food! We had pancakes, potatoes, bacon, and sausage!

Then for what I had been waiting for! This game was the first game that all 4 of the 13-I (my senior year apartment) girls would be attending since Fall 2009. We hadn't all been together since May 2010. Let me introduce you to my roomies!

Tyler, me, Natasha, & Patti

I could gush on and on about how much I love these ladies but I won't! I see Patti fairly often (if you're a reader you know this) and Tyler and her boyfriend have season tickets with me so I've seen them a lot recently. However, I had not seen Natasha since Homecoming last year so I definitely may have squealed when I saw her! 

The Game

Because the first two home games were on the boring side, this one just had to be exciting! It came down to the last two minutes but JMU walked away with the victory, 13-10! It was also Coach Mickey Matthews' 100th win!

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

Happy Autumnal Equinox, everyone! Saturday was officially the first day of Autumn. Now everyone knows that I am totally a Spring and Summer girl but even I am excited about Autumn this year. Why, might you ask? Let me list the reasons! :)

Football - NFL Football, College Football. What else are fall Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays for?

Source

Fantasy Football - As you know, a couple of weekends ago I drafted this fantasy football team. Also, I Patti drafted a fantasy football team for my office. I look forward to defending my title and for making a name for myself in my office league.

Fall Fashions - I spent the last two days shopping. There will be a whole blog post on the fashions of fall that I am excited about! Don't you worry!

Road trips - I didn't do that much traveling this summer due to my getting adjusted to my new job. But don't you worry, I am all set to make up for it this fall. With my season tickets to JMU football, I am set for at least 4 more trips to Harrisonburg. Also I have a couple more trips up my sleeve. Stay posted!

Thanksgiving - I love food! I love my family! Enough said.

Cooler temperatures - So remember how I do not have AC in my car? With the onset of cooler temperatures, I don't have to worry about nearly dying during my 40 minute afternoon commute home from work!

What are you looking forward to this fall?

Game 1: JMU vs. St Francis

The Outfit
This year I decided to go hard or go home, spirit-wise. First off, remember when I talked about the cheerleader bows that the VCU cheerleaders wore in their hair during that basketball game I went to?

Well a friend bet me that I wouldn't wear a big JMU-colored bow to the first home football game. Does he even know me?

I bought some JMU-colored ribbon and my coworker who is a former college cheerleader made me an awesome bow to wear to the football game! 

Here's my first football game outfit!

Outfit: Shorts (Mossimo, Target $15). Tank (Forever 21, $3.80), Shirt (Rue21, ~$12), Shoes (Converse, Journey ~$44), Shoelaces (Journey, I can't remember the price. <less $10.)

The Tailgate
After fantasy football draft, Patti, Ben and I met her family in P-Lot for some tailgating. I love tailgating with Patti's family because they love me and because they always have awesome food! They come prepared! Patti and I helped assemble chicken and shrimp kabobs in between taking tons of pictures!

I also headed down P-Lot to tailgate with some of my favorites.

The Game
I purchased season tickets with my old roommate, Tyler and her boyfriend Steve. Our tickets are on the student side. At first, we were a little disappointed but then we considered how much excitement there would be sitting near the students.

At least that's what we thought. Our seats were in the middle of a bunch of people that don't stand up. Seriously. JMU scored their first touchdown and Tyler and I jumped up on our feet to sing the fight song loudly. No one else stood up. I was sure that people behind me had to be on their feel. I turned around. No one else was standing up. 

Thank goodness, Matt and Danielle came and rescued us and took us to the student section with them! Which was awesome to be where people actually stood up and to be in the midst of purple and yellow streamers flying. It was the first time I'd been in the student section since 2009 (gosh, I'm so old).

Anyway, according to Tyler, this team, St. Francis, had not won an away game in 37 years. I thought she was exaggerating but after watching them play I think she may have been right. At halftime, it was like 41-0. We all ended leaving early (which broke my heart a little) because the game got really boring. The final score was 55-7.

All in all, it was an amazing opening weekend to JMU Football. I can't wait to see how the rest of the season pans out. 

Ways You Can Tell I Am Obsessed With My Alma Mater...

First, I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Before I get down to the nitty-gritty of this post, I want to mention something. Did anyone else remember that Thursday (August 23rd) was the one year anniversary of the Virginia earthquake?! Now onward to the subject of this post!

***

It is no secret that I love all things JMU. Seriously it was the best four years of my life and I cannot imagine (nor do I want to) where I would be without all of the people I met there, the experience I had, and the life lessons I learned. 

There are a couple of sure signs that let you know that I am obsessed with JMU. Use these to judge others that you think are obsessed with JMU too!

-My toenails will be painted JMU colors the entirety of JMU football season.

-Also, I will wear purple, gold/yellow, or JMU attire every Saturday that JMU has a football game.
-I have started to only buy purple and yellow clothing items.
-I own more purple nail polishes than any girl should.
-I have purple Converse All Stars, that are super sweet.

 

-I get super excited when I see anything JMU flavored colored and when I see JMU items.
-I can find JMU things anywhere!

Patti and the JMU license plate we found in PORTLAND, MAINE.

-Everyone who knows me knows I attended JMU and that I love love love it.
-I have a cat named James. He had a sister; her name was Madison. 

-I own a JMU class ring and I've worn it every day since I got it back in October 2008.
-I have the JMU Sports app on my iPhone. I also have The Breeze (our school newspaper) mobile app. 
-I once had the JMU fight song as a ringtone on my phone.

-I love my school's marching band! 
-I once had a JMU theme on my BlackBerry.

-I went to a "Would you be my friend if..." party dressed as the Over Spirited JMU fan and I consider wearing that outfit again sometimes.

-I will argue that JMU is the best university in Virginia and not accept no for an answer.

-I have a strong need to be friends with people when I find out they went to JMU.
-I have JMU season football tickets and I am so excited!

How do you show love for your alma mater?

Weekend in the Outer Banks

The weekend before last I spent some time down in the Outer Banks with my family. They has been there all week; however, due to my big girl job I had to settle for a shorter stay.

I've been going to the Outer Banks since I was one year old and have vacationed down there on nine separate occasions, if my counting is correct.

Though I've been there so frequently, this past weekend I had some new Outer Banks experiences. My family rented a place in Corolla, which is on the north end of the OBX. I'm used to staying much further south around Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Heas, etc.

Our house was a mile from the Currituck Lighthouse which was one of the lighthouses in the OBX that I'd never had the opportunity to visit. So they saved their visit to the lighthouse until Saturday so I could go too! In my reading about the tourist attraction , I learned we could climb the lighthouse for $7 each.

Guess who convinced her whole family that this was a good idea. Hint: It was the same girl who is afraid of heights, gets dizzy easily, and has a slight fear of stairs. Note to self, if you go 214 stairs up, you have to go down 214 stairs. It was an amazing, heart-racing experience.

Corolla is also home to a long stretch of beaches only accessible by 4x4 vehicles. Also, I found out that just over 100 wild horses live on these beaches.

Anyway, on our way down to where you can actually sit on the beach, guess what we saw on the beach! A DEAD SHARK! Terrifying, right?

On another note we did see some of the wild horses. It was amazing! You have to stay at least 50 feet from them but I got some nice photos!

On Sunday we did some souvenir shopping. JMU was well represented at the Outer Banks and I bought it all up! I also got my annual Brew Thru T-shirt which is a must-have every time I go to the Outer Banks!

All in all, it was an awesome weekend and a good break from my big girl life.

What's your favorite beach to go to? What are your favorite things to do at the beach?

Top 11 of 2011

I would say that it seemed like it was just yesterday that we were ringing in 2011, but in reality it seems like it was a long time ago!


I decided to make a couple of lists to commemorate 2011.

Top 11 Books I Read During 2011 (in no particular order)

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Read it now if you haven't already.
2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
3. Mockingjay by Suzanna Collins
4. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - One of the best classic novels I've ever read
5. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
6. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
7. Something Blue by Emily Giffin
8. Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee by Hoda Kotb
9. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
10. Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow
11. P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

Top 11 Roadtrips of 2011 (in no particular order)

1. Maine (July) - By far this was the best roadtrip ever! I am so grateful to Patti and her family for taking me. I got to spend a week with one of my most favorite families that treat me as if I am their own!
2. Harrisonburg (April) - I had the opportunity to meet one of my tumblr friends and tour the new performing arts center. I gotto attend two of Beau's baseball games and hang out with some of my absolute favorite JMU/Harrisonburg loves.
3. Charlotte (April/May) - Though I was down there for a job interview, I got to spend time with my old roomie, my birthday twin, and my boys! And I actually got to stay in the city this time and see more of Charlotte.
4. Arlington (January) - I brought in the new year with my roomies and got to go to Tyson's, which reminds me - I need to go back there.
5. Harrisonburg (August) - I always love going to Harrisonburg for fantasy football weekend. On this particular weekend, I got to catch up with one of my MCCs, go to the book fair, and go dance like a crazy fool at The Blue Nile, which was the absolute highlight of my weekend!
6. Norfolk (May) - I traveled down to Old Dominion University, a place I always feel at home, to celebrate my little cousin's graduation! A good time as always!
7. Arlington (August) - It was my first time in Northern Virginia during the warm months in years! I had a blast walking around D.C. in the heat and visiting museums and monuments!
8. Arlington (September) - I went to D.C. for some job interviews and it was the first time I rode the metro by myself and I did it correctly!
9. Harrisonburg (October) - Homecoming 2011 was amazing! I got to surprise my favorites! And watching the game with Jim in the brand new stadium was AMAZING!
10. Arlington (February) - This trip happened so long ago that I can't remember what I did. But I do remember not having to spend Valentine's weekend alone and I got to see my Bea! I think I also went to Potomac Mills and IKEA for the first time ever!
11. Blacksburg (August) - Moving my sister into college was fun because it brought back memories of my 4 wonderful years at JMU! And I got to spend time with my Little Duke turned Hokie, Tori. 

Top 11 Moments of 2011 (In no particular order)

1. My little sister being crowned Miss DHS in March.
2. My little sister graduating as valedictorian of her high school class.
3. My cousin graduating from Old Dominion University.
4. Watching my JMU Dukes beat those Richmond Spiders as my first game in new stadium for Homecoming 2011.
5. Watching the Dinwiddie Girls Cross Country team become regular season district champs and win the district championship. And I was there every step of the way!
6. The birth of my niece, Raina...but maybe not the part where I was actually in the room for it.
7. Being invited to vacation in Maine with Patti and her family! I swear the whole week before I went I was so excited, I'd just say Maine and smile like a goober because I could not wait!
8. The Earthquake of 2011
9. Seeing Wicked at the Landmark Theater
10. Having two articles and photos published in The Progress-Index
11. That moment when they announced that there was actually was going to be football this year, which led to me drafting not one, but two fantasy football teams!

I'm coming home, I'm coming home...tell the world that I'm coming home

So due to my poorness, I was planning on doing an extremely unbearable thing a couple of weekends ago.  I was going to miss JMU Homecoming for the first time since my freshman year of college. Anyonewho knows me (and some that don't) know that I love JMU and JMU Football almost more than anything in the world.


So Monday, the 26 (of September), my uncle offered to buy me a JMU Homecoming ticket. So we get online on JMUsports.com and low and behold they are all sold out. I saw a couple of overpriced ones on Stubhub and Craig's List, but not being crazy about sitting by myself, I decided that I would simply live JMU Homecoming vicariously through all of my friends.


Fast forward to Wednesday. I'm eating pizza at Giuseppe's after the cross country meet when I get a text from Jim, who asks me if I'll be attending homecoming. I tell him about how I tried to buy a ticket but to no avail. However, Jim had found some homecoming tix and needed some to sit with! I quickly agreed and that was it; I was going to homecoming!


Except I decided to keep it on the down low because I wanted to surprise everyone (a decision that would later come back to kinda bite me in the butt). So Friday after I get off work, I start my trip to Harrisonburg. I talked to Matt Rummel on the way up there and he talked about how sad he was that I wasn't going to be able to make it up to homecoming. In my head, I'm thinking, "Yesssss this is going to work out so well!" 


I get to JMU say about 7:30 and I start texting one of my baby Dukes, Erica, while I am still texting Matt, trying to stealthily figure out where I can park on campus. As I am texting both of them, my phone cuts off. I walk from the baseball lot all the way to Showker, where I plug in my phone that I've been trying to restart for the entire walk over and nothing is working.


Here I am, very close to my baby Dukes' dorm (in the treehouses) and I have no way to get in touch with her.  What am I to do? I turn around and walk back to my car and head to the Verizon store. Which they moved! It totally was not where it was, the last time I went to it. And strange enough, as soon as I walk into Verizon, I run into people from Dinwiddie. They were up there because their son goes to Bridgewater. 


I wait for awhile in Verizon while I am silently freaking out on the inside. You see, no one knows I'm coming to Harrisonburg except Beau and Josh because I was planning on staying at their place. The problem is, I don't have either of their numbers and I don't know what time Beau gets off work. 


Finally a lady comes and asks me what's going on with my phone. She looks at me, frowns, and says, "This is the third time I've seen this problem with this phone in the last two days." Umm yeah, that's exactly what I want to hear.  She takes it into the back to see if she can get it to power on. 


Guess what...it doesn't turn back on. And I'm telling her that I am 3 hours from home, going to a football game the next day and I don't have my ticket or the number of the guy who has my ticket. So she's like, let me set you up with a sales associate if you want to get a new phone tonight. And I am trying not to cry. 


So the sales guy comes over and I start explaining to him how I need a phone ASAP. He gives me two options: I can use the upgrade on our account (which is my dad's) and pay $130 for the phone I already have (with a $50 mail-in rebate) or pay $99 and file an insurance claim on my phone and get a replacement mailed to where I am staying in Harrisonburg by 11 AM the next day.


Obviously the smarter decision of the two is to file the insurance claim, so after talking to my mom, my dad, and Jeremy (he was the only person in Harrisonburg whose number I had memorized), I called the insurance people. The first time I called (yes, I said first time), the person would not let me continue because I didn't know the billing address on our account  (um, my dad lives in a different state than I do so no, I do not have his address memorized). 


So I had to call back with my dad's address and then the insurance lady informed me that A) my phone was still under warranty because it had been less than a year since I got it and B) that there was no way that they could have mailed me a phone by the next day (the Verizon guy said she was lying).


Here I am, stuck again. The Verizon guy (his name was Mike by the way) goes into the back and comes back out with a phone. He tells me that it is his backup phone and tells me to use it this weekend and then ship it back to him. He tells me to come in the next day to file an extended warranty thing to get a new phone the next week. 


He programs my number into his phone. Then I finally leave the Verizon (btw it was technically already closed when I left). Luckily, when I turned this phone on, Josh had texted me so I had his number. Jeremy texted me Beau's number so I was semi-connected again.


Then by pure coincidence I had an address book in my car that I bought for Stephanie because she is always losing her phone and losing all her numbers (is this not ironic or what?). Well since Jim is her brother, I had his number. So I called him and filled him in on the situation. I told him that he had jinxed me because I had made fun of him hours earlier about not having a smart phone and here I was in the same boat. 


I finally get dinner, get to Beau's, and then Jessica, Josh, Beau, and I head downtown to meet Jeremy for a little while. The next morning, I get up and get all JMU-ed out and head to the store to do some last minute Homecoming shopping. All the while I am texting Patti (her number was in Steph's address book as well - it's convenient when all your friends are related), telling her that I am going to have to live vicariously through you. She was sad because Aunt Patti had mentioned that she thought I was coming to Homecoming. 


Then I stalked out P-Lot waiting for Patti and her family to arrive, which I thought they were never going to! But then they finally did and I kinda jumped out and surprised them. Kinda. Patti will tell you that she thought something was up. 

Patti and I
Photo credit: Ben

And then began the task of trying to see everyone (which is difficult when you have no one's phone numbers). I was really happy though because Natasha, Tony, and Matt Rummel were truly surprised to see me and that made my day!! 
 

                                               

                                                               Tony and I




Matt and I



Matt, me, and Natasha



3/4 of 13 I-know-you-want-to-be-us

 After a couple of hours of tailgating, we headed to the stadium, which was very exciting since neither Jim nor I had been to a game in the new stadium! Our seats were way up there but they were awesome. We could see the entire field and the scoreboard. It was like having that view you get to see when you watch NFL on tv! 

Jim and I ready to watch JMU beat the Richmond Spiders!

The game was awesome! JMU won, of course! It started raining about halfway through the 3rd quarter so Jim and I snuck a couple of rows up so we could be under the awning and stay mostly dry. We stayed for the post game show and went down to the field with the MRDs afterwards to watch the trumpets do their thing.

Our view of the game.

View of where Jim and I sat from the student section.
 MRDs taking the field for postgame show.

The Jumbo Jumbotron!

Then we headed back to the car, in the rain. Needless to say, we were pretty cold and wet at this point. We grabbed dinner at Sheetz and headed to Matt Rummel's to hang out with him, Natasha, and Tony for a bit. Then we headed to SouthView.

Sunday, I got up and headed to campus where I saw 3 of my baby Dukes (Erica, Josh, and Tricia). I had D-Hall breakfast! Yum! Then I went to Jeremy's where I watched some football and had some taco salad...which was always the highlight of my football seasons in Harrisonburg. 

Then I went to Richmond to watch some football with Jim. We ended up going to Buffalo Wild Wings (yes, I was really well fed on this particular Sunday), where we couldn't decided what flavors of wings we wanted to try (there were two new flavors) so we got 24 wings between the two of us! Then we hang out for a bit before I finally headed back to Dinwiddie.