"A blog is like a diary, but you want everyone to read it. Like if you get bad service at a restaurant, you blog it and then you get a free meal at that restaurant. But then you wonder, did they just lure me back here so they could spit in my food? So you blog that and then they take you to court." - The great Busy Philipps as Laurie on Cougar Town

Hot like Mexico, Rejoice!

Ladies and Gents, I am a survivor. A spring break abroad survivor. I will give you a brief synopsis of my venture to Meh-he-co...

I was asked by 2 of my sorority sisters to accompany them to Florida for Spring Break, nothing too wild, just a getaway to warmer temperatures and some drinks by the yard. Sounded harmless enough. Before I knew it, we had gotten another one of our sisters on board and now we were headed for Mexico instead. Not sure how that happened, but it was ok. I had somehow convinced my parents to pay for it as an early graduation gift. They didn't know it was going to be a year and a half early.

So off we were, passports in hand. It was amazing. We went to fun clubs, danced on stages, competed in stupid spring break contests, and wore shirts as dresses. Each of us had "our night" where we were a disaster. Each of us found a guy to entertain us, and tried all sorts of frozen drinks. We danced on a huge stage and saw spiderman fly through the air. I almost won a hottest legs contest and another one of us had to paddle a guy's bare ass. We met Canadians, we met guys from England, and we hung out with some kids in sperry's from Yale. It was such a fun experience, I don't think that if I returned, Cancun would ever be as I remembered.

So my advice to the co-eds out there planning on going on a Spring Break trip:

1. DON'T buy new clothes - you're going to get sand in places you'd rather not, so just choose some picture appropriate attire and an outfit for both day and night. Remember, you're going to be lounging around, and you probably won't ever see those people again.


2. DO tan before - if you plan on coming back tan and not red, you need to get a good base tan so you're skin is ready for that much exposure (ahem, northerners...)


3. DO save up for your trip - Even if you're staying at an all-inclusive resort, expect to pay for: tips, drinks, cover, souvenirs, any activities that you will want to do (ie. party bus, club tours, swimming with dolphins) ALSO: know the exchange rate!! you might get ripped off if not. and it costs extra to run a credit card.


4. DON'T go with a large group - it's too hard to coordinate where everyone is going to be and whether or not everyone will want to do the same thing. I suggest going with a few close friends and maybe meeting up with other groups, but doing your own things.


5. DON'T try to out drink everyone - that's a little selfish. You're friends want to enjoy their vacation too not pick you up off the floor, and what's worse than dealing with foreign police? remember Americans aren't their favorite.


6. DO try something new - step out of your comfort zone, you're on vacation! Go para sailing, swim with dolphins, eat octopus (not my favorite). It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, take lots of pictures and don't' explain anything!

Ain't no rest for the wicked

Bri's first 10 Bucket List:

1. become fluent in a second language
2. visit Italy
3. fly first class
4. put my feet in the pacific ocean
5. learn all the words to Bare Naked Ladies' One Week
6. Drive a stick... i sort of know how, although have never driven outside of a parking lot.
7. do stand up
8. sing in front of an audience
9. attempt to be on a reality show
10. Get another tattoo

Nobody likes you when you're 23.

I would rather go back to 23 right now than settle for what I've got at 25.

I recently purchased a book from the 'self-help' aisle of Barnes and Noble. This felt straight out of that Sex and the City episode where Charlotte purchases starting over, yet again. The people in the aisle looked like they had been crying for months. There were titles like "it's OK, you can do this", or "grab life by the balls damn it!".


I was originally in this section looking for a book about the phenomena of the Quarter-life crisis. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I believe i am going through a crisis.


Wikipedia says this: "A crisis is any event that is, or expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community or whole society. Crises are deemed to be negative changes in the security, economic, political, societal or environmental affairs, especially when they occur abruptly, with little or no warning. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or an 'emergency event'."


Also on the Quarter life crisis; "In the context of the quarter-life crisis, however, they occur shortly after a young person – usually an educated professional, in this context – enters the "real world". After entering adult life and coming to terms with its responsibilities, some individuals find themselves experiencing career stagnation or extreme insecurity. The individual often realizes the real world is tougher, more competitive and less forgiving than she/he imagined."*


Yep. Sounds about right. We spend 4 years (5 in my case) in school working our butts off to get great grades and learn all that we can about our chosen career path. We have created countless powerpoint presentations, seen times of the day that we didn't know existed, typed 30 page papers, and 10 page bibliographies, learned about subjects that we'll never use again, spent tens of thousands of dollars that we don't have! All of this for a piece of paper, that doesn't even seem to be worth much anymore.


That is a hard pill to swallow. I am going to be in debt for the next 10 years at least, and not much to show for it. I was bright eyed and bushy tailed thinking that a starting salary would be somewhere around $40k. Could I be more wrong? (in the best chandler voice I could have).


I digress.


Your 20's were what you looked forward to as a teenager. These are the ages that everyone says they would want to go back to. Adults in their 30's and 40's envy us. So why are we so unhappy, unsatisfied, and wondering what's wrong? We were supposed to get all of our angst out in our teenage years by listening to angry music. Maybe it has something to do with the break up of *NSYNC or the demise of Britney Spears? If they can't keep it together after 21, then who really can?

So my crisis manual is saying that we (20-somethings) need to accept the fact that we aren't going to automatically have the ideal anything just yet. So, how long is it going to take then? I've got things to do in the meantime! We have to pay your dues in order to get where we want and be patient. I thought those dues were tuition?

It's good to know that I'm not the only one freaking out about where my life is right now, and where it doesn't seem to be going.

Expect more on this topic, for now, I say we blame it on all the Disney Stars that went wrong. deal?

I'm bigger than my body gives me credit for...

I grew up in a small town. I went to a high school that was next to an ice cream stand, and a corn field. Most likely, you're parents went to the same high school, if not one nearby. After graduation, most of my classmates jumped onto a well beaten career path. I chose the path to go to a 4-year college. From my graduating class of 63, about 20-some of us went to college the following fall. Half went to the local community college, our valedictorian went Ivy League, and the other half went on to well known Universities.


That was just the next step. With the influence of family and friends, you chose a path. The path we chose depended on who our parents were, and what our friends were doing also. So for me, that was the logical next step in my life. After graduation, the next step for me, was to move to the city. I so longed for more hustle and bustle in my life. I also moved for more opportunities.


Now, after being in Pittsburgh for almost 2 years, I find myself wanting even more. I blame all of this on my trip to visit a sorority sister in NYC this past October.


Once all of those places (30 Rock, Trump Tower, The Plaza, etc.) became real, tangible, and in front of my face, I felt so ambitious and driven to become a part of this little area of the world. The weekend I spent there was so much more than meeting up with old friends and having a good time. My eyes were opened and I realized that the world had so much more to offer. Most importantly, I realized that I want it.



So as I'm contemplating my next move, I realize that I don't want to fall in line with the rest of us 20-somethings who are trying to get promoted at their current job, or working for tips or commission while trying to obtain a higher paying job. I'm not exactly sure where this step is leading me, but I know this is the one i should be taking.