end of an era

i am done with my internship.  i can't believe it. when it started, i thought it would never end. and i wanted it to. until the last 2 months. that's when i started opening up and started loving the people there. i will miss that place. really.  but it still feels like i will be going back in a few days. unfortunately after this vaca, i will be going back to provo instead. 

the last week i was in stl i had to get a rental car because i sold the parentals car.  unfortunately enterprise gave me a pt loser. but it sure came in handy when parking is so expensive and free street spots are hard to come by for the cardinals game.  i saw a tiny spot that i would have passed up in the taurus, but was able to comfortably squeeze into in the cruiser.

i am going to MISS busch stadium.  but i got out at just the right time. the cardinals haven't won a game since i have left. maybe they NEED me. :)  i need them too. the last night i was in st louis i went to the cardinals game.  a lot of people from the station got free tickets from mcdonalds, and i stole some from frank who was on furlough anyway.  so i sat up in big mac land. except i only was there for the last 3 innings, because i had to go to the doctor and finish cleaning my room so that i could hang out with my friends after the game.  

we went to mcgurks with a few people from the station. it was fun, but sad at the same time. once again, i am going to miss these peeps. kayla and i were planning on staying up all night since i had to be at the airport at 5 am anyway, but we were pretty tired and i wanted to get a nap. but we did go to steak n shake one last time.  we were the only ones there at 2 am. go figure. one thing i love about steak n shake is that it is open 24 hours AND the dining area is open 24 hours.  every fast food place needs to have their dining area open all the time. 

i almost missed my flight to vegas. haha. i guess part of me just didn't want to leave. i spent the day in vegas with morty and adrianne and aaron. nate was working. since i had been up for 7 hours already, i wanted to go to in n out when i landed. but it as only 9 am in vegas.  so we went right when it opened. and then we went to serendipity 3 on the strip. it wasn't good! 

 i will always like the serendipity in new york the best!  then morty and i took off for fresno! first stop. DOGHOUSE!  tri-tip sandwich=devoured...  loved it.

and now i am in fresno. having fun with everyone. baby jj's shower was super cute. retro cowboy theme.  SOOO cute. 

and it was fun to have aubrey and shawn here. i love greg. and was happy to finally see bryson!

we've just been hanging out at the house. i helped stan and reshea add a lovely addition to their living room media center. i have been pulling weeds, mowing the lawn. paying for my rent!  :)

life from busch stadium

I went over to the stadium again today!  Man i wish this could have started weeks ago instead of it happening the last week of my internship. oh well. this is way fun.  

so today we didn't have much time to get stuff from the players. we only were there for an hour.  and once again i don't have access to the clubhouse so i sat out in the dugout. but this time i had someone to talk to.  

jose oquendo. the man sitting on the top level in this picture. he's an assistant coach for the cards.  the 3rd base coach that everybody but albert uses to know when to keep running the bases or when to stop.  he sat down next to me and started a conversation. we talked about everything from his new granddaughter to where i go to school and what i want to be.  he was really nice and talked to me for about 10/15 minutes. 

skip shumaker came out of the clubhouse a while later looking for oquendo.  and he asked me where he went.  yep. that's right.  skip talked to me directly.  haha. 

it was a fun experience this time again.  we were only there for an hour. but it was one amazing hour!  i am really going to miss busch stadium.  or like one of the girls at work said, busch stadium is going to miss me.

oh p.s. i am currently on an airplane. i am on one of the test planes for wifi above 10,000 feet. sweet huh? i was wondering when airlines would get on that.  

Pinch Me Now To Make Sure...

ok i have been neglecting this blog.  and i really don't feel like posting right now, but i need to write about my amazing day before i forget anything cool.

so... today was the day the new interns arrived at channel 5.  which means we were training all day.  well we had a bit of a break and so i went into the sports department and was talking with katie (the reporter) and we were brainstorming ideas for stories that she could do this week.  well one thing led to another and i found myself walking up to the credential window at busch and getting the pass that gets me inside...  we went into the stadium and i had to go wait on the field while rene and katie talked with some of the guys in the clubhouse. (interns aren't allowed in the clubhouse.)   

i walk out on the field and immediately MELTED.  1. because this was what i came to st louis to do! and 2. because it was 92 degrees outside and like 500% humidity.  of course i pick the hottest day of the year to go to the ballpark.

well immediately i see shade in the dugout so i go and sit there. (right about where yadi is sitting)

and i sit there and sit there and think to myself are the players ever going to come out??  and then...

chris carpenter walks out from the clubhouse and up the stairs to the field and i MELT again.  is this really happening?? am i really here?!

and then one by one they all come out.

Lohse, Barden, Thurston (who then proceeded to walk by me and lay his stuff down on the bench a few feet away so that he could insert the cup. awkward) Yadi, Shumaker, Ryan, Franklin, Perez, Motte, Rasmus, Duncan... and so on.  and then.... PUJOLS.  yes. i was in the dugout when pujols was there.  he's the greatest hitter in baseball.  HEAVEN!

they are all pretty funny people. motte was cracking jokes on his way out to right field.  carp is pulling a plastic bag out of his back pocket with 2 Bubble Gum gumballs. one blue.  one dark pink.  barden is drinking some kind of energy boost/red bull thing.  

one of the producers from FSN is asking barden if they will let him be mic'd up during bp tomorrow. and he says they'll have to catch him when he's in a good mood so he'll talk alot.  and then the producer says to have a few drinks first. barden says he doesn't think he can come to the stadium drunk... then the fsn producer says miles was the best mic'd up so far so barden has a lot to prove, and i am thinking, brendan ryan would be the best. and then barden says, you mean brendan ryan wasn't the best. and then i may have not been invited but i join the conversation saying that i would have guessed that too... and just like that. i am in with brian barden. haha. jk.  one thing i love about myself is that i feel comfortable talking to most people. 

so now i venture up to the field and watch batting practice and warmups with katie and rene.  after 20 or so minutes my body temperature reaches 500 degrees so i decide to sit by the stairs down to the clubhouse where there is air conditioning. after a few minutes of this, i see pujols walking toward the dugout and i look at katie and she's getting all excited for me. and all of a sudden he is walking down the steps only inches from me.  and i MELT.  

the rest of the pregame proceeded like this. we talked with brendan ryan, who does a good impression of Robert Dinero.  and we talked with Hal McRae, and Cal Eldred and Nick Stavinoha and Tony Larussa.

and then at 6:30 we left the stadium and i walked back to channel 5 and could not stop smiling.  and i still can't stop smiling. :)

time of arrival- 3:30

items on the agenda: pure bliss

time of departure- 6:30

Do What You Gotta Do

WOW.

a lot has happened in the last week... so i was asked to leave my apartment by roommate. i had a week to find a new place. and luckily i have some really great extended family members that offered me a place to stay until i leave the Lou. they are great people! live in a nice neighborhood in webster groves. now i don't have to be as scared for my life at night. now i can post those nelly lyrics talking about U City.

Courtesy of Country Grammar
which i was listening to (edited version of course) and thought i heard him say u-city. so i looked the lyrics up.

See me, mon, cheifin rollin deeper than any mon
through Jennings mon, through U-City back up to Kingsland
With nice n*, sheist n* who snatch yo life n*
Trife n*, who produce and sell the same beat twice, n*

mom. you don't have to be scared of people taking my life in u-city anymore. haha.

anyway. i am really excited to move in with them! and packing isn't that hard. although i am getting rid of a bunch of clothes that i really don't need anymore. and i have NO idea why i brought them out here. but how does one donate to Goodwill? do i just leave bags somewhere? there is no DI out here, and that's all i am used to. man do i love the drive through drop off at the Provo DI. makes things so easy. i did take a bunch of stuff to Plato's Closet and got some good money out of that! (it's all going to paying for my speeding ticket/traffic school.)

Despite what others may think, the past few days have really some of the best out here.

Thursday: I have fallen in like with basketball. i haven't really been a big fan of the sport. but last week and especially saturday i was glued to the tv watching mizzou do some amazing things. Thuesdays games though were by far the best! Mizzou scores 102 against Memphis in the Elite 8! Denman swished one from three-quarters court at the halftime buzzer! Then moments after the game was over i switched to TNT to see RUDY get 5 points in 3 seconds to give the blazers 100 points in the 3rd against Nash and the suns. Chalupas in the 3rd quarter! love what oregonlive had to say.

here's a little highlight from the game. sorry for the poor quality.

Friday night: ALAN JACKSON! he played all my favorites. little bitty. livin' on love. who's cheating who. good time. chattahoochee. summertime blues. country boy. oh man. i was in country heaven. alan jackson has been my favorite for soooooo long. i still remember getting his everything i love cd for christmas from shawn. i even remember that he wrapped it in toilet paper and duct tape.

Saturday morning before i went into work i visited the local bakery to pick up some mizzou cookies for the sports department. Mizzou had a chance to go to the Final Four for the first time. unfortunately they fell short (barely) to UConn. But at least the cookies were a hit!

Yesterday: getting the offer by brent and patty to live with them.

then today:

DAVID FREESE IS THE NEW CARDINALS THIRD BASEMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i cannot wait for Monday! also today i walked through busch stadium. out onto the field. touched the grass. threw a few baseballs. watched a bit of bp. SLU and Mizzou are playing on the field tonight so we went for a few interviews. it was nice practice for next week. boy did it sure feel like HOME. i belong here.

like shania twain says in Up! i was listening to it while getting ready today. complete coincidence it will only go up from here!