Tennessee!

Current Location: New York, NY

Hello world! I am back in NYC and doing work, but I wanted to catch everyone up on my weekend in Tennessee and other news. I had a great weekend chilling out in Tennessee with Nick! It's really nice to have a trip that I have absolutely NOTHING that I am required to do. When I was in Chicago, I had a visit to U of I, when I was home I had a wedding to attend, and other weekend have including having to see family in town, get scuba certified, and volunteer at an event. Even though I wasn't in town, this weekend included lots of loafing around, watching movies, and playing with the kitty. Yes, Nick has the cutest little black kitten ever!!! I don't have a pet, either at home or at school, so it's so much fun to get to play with one. She's a bit of a spazz, but when she calmed down and curled up, I died a little bit. I tried to smuggle her back to NYC, but for some unknown reason, Nick objected. Go figure.

So while in Tennessee, we did a few fun things, other than watching movies, playing with Kitty (which has a name by the way, I just can't remember how to spell it. I just call her Kitty), and loafing/sleeping. First, we went and saw the movie RED, which I highly recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it. Helen Mirren with a machine gun - totally worth price of admission! It has a great cast - John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, and Bruce Willis. It was really funny, so I enjoyed it immensely. The second thing we did was see my aunt and uncle. Funny story - so 2 weeks before I went to Chicago, and saw my Uncle Phil and Aunt Paula. So we were talking and I mentioned I was heading to Tennessee. Well we realized the weekend I was going to see Nick was the same weekend they were coming to see my cousin Chris, who also goes to Tennessee! We all met up for dinner one night which was great - I probably haven't seen Chris in over 5 years! Dinner had a few issues - the place we went to we discovered the Chef had walked out 2 days before, so they were out of tons of stuff. We managed to find enough they had for a good meal, and it was great to see them. I then flew back at the ungodly time of 6 AM, and spent Sunday catching up on some work.

So other news? Well, I am not traveling again until JANUARY for Chile - thats 1.5 months of no travel. As much as I love traveling, I am a bit behind and it's going to be nice to be relaxed and not worrying about flights and everything. Though it's going to be getting cold! In a week and a half, Thanksgiving comes around. I'm excited - Laura, Lucy and I are going to have a vegetarian thanksgiving feast! Since none of us eat meat, we won't have to worry about a turkey and instead will make all sorts of delicious things! Plus 4 days off of classes? It's gonna be great!

Then after Thanksgiving, I have my Peace Corps interview! I'm so excited for it! I'm nervous, but I can't wait to hear more about what possibilities there are for me. It's a scary thought, leaving for 2 years, but it's something I feel so passionate about and would be so excited for! I will certainly keep everyone updated on what happens. I am also looking at some other options in case this doesn't work out, but it is definitely my first choice. Fingers crossed! Then we have Christmas, New Years, and then Chile! I will definitely keep everyone updated as things progress. XOXOXO

A crazy month

Current Location: New York, NY

Things have again been so crazy, that it's been a few weeks since I updated! Lot's of exciting things have happened.

First, my parents came to town, and Homecoming 2010 happened! It was a great trip! Lots of delicious food and time to see my parents. I really rarely get to see them, considering I barely ever go home, and they can only come up here a few times a year for a week at a time. We had a few great dinners, went to a jazz club one night, and went to a comedy club another. It's nice to get out in the city without paying. It was also homecoming 2010! My senior year homecoming! We sadly lost, but I had a great time. Senior tailgate (with free beer!), free scarf for being an engineer, an awesome giant foam pawprint, and pictures with Roaree! All in all, a great weekend. It was also a great celebration weekend for my GRE being done! I did really well on it, I nailed the math, and did better on the verbal than I thought!

Next was my big trip to Chicago! I went there for three reasons - first to see Illinois Urbana Champaign for one weekend. Second, to have a fun weekend out of the city. Third, to spend some quality time with my mom and my aunt, uncle and cousin who live in Chicago. It was a really great weekend. I love NYC, but sometimes it's nice to get out for a bit. I flew in Thursday night, and proceeded to head straight to a bar to meet my mom, my Uncle Phil, and my Aunt Paula. It was a place known for good food as well, so we got delicious dinner! It's great when your uncle knows all the best food places in the city! They dropped me and my mom off at their apartment in the city. The next morning, my mom and I did a walking tour of Chicago. It is such a pretty city, and the weather was really nice! We saw Navy Pier and Millennium Park as the highlights. After that, we went to the Art Institute to get some yummy lunch. That night, we headed out for dinner again, and went to an italian place that was great! That night we went back to my Aunt and Uncles house instead of the apartment, because Halloween festivities were getting ready to begin. They have the most epic Halloween party I have ever been to! It is the 31st annual party, and I think there were close to 100 guest there. I pulled together a last minute costume of Amy Winehouse, complete with my hair in a beehive and a bottle of Jack Daniels! It was pretty funny, though washing my hair in the morning was a nightmare. It was a great night. On Monday, I headed to Urbana Champaign to see the U of I campus. I met with some professors and the campus is beautiful. It's pretty far away from everything - don't know if I would like living in that small of a city. Who knows though, it could happen.

This past weekend I stayed in NYC, but I had the fun event of Kids for Kids to work! K4K is a fundraiser of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the foundation that we raise money for at Columbia's Dance Marathon. Kids for Kids is their big NYC wide fundraiser where there are fun, games, activities, and celebrities for kids to meet. I volunteered there last year and worked again this year. Got to see some cool celebs, like Tiki Barber, Sheri Shepherd, Mariska Hargitay, among others. It's an amazing event where so much money is donated to an amazing cause, and it was great to be a part of it.

So you might think, Jenni, your life is slowing down soon, right? No, not quite... This upcoming weekend, I am heading to Knoxville, Tennessee to visit Nick for the weekend. Then we have Thanksgiving coming up, where I will be in the city, spending time with Dana and Nate. Then finals come around, and Christmas in NYC will happen! My mom, dad, and Mama Doris are all coming up to the city for Christmas, rather than me, Dana, and Nate coming home. Then on January 1st, I fly to Chile for 2 weeks! I got into the program, and I am so excited for this trip. I will be living in a home stay for two weeks and will spend my time learning hydrologic field methods. It should be an amazing time. In other news, my Peace Corps application is continuing to move forward. I have to get fingerprinted for my background check, and then I am off to the first interview process. Wish me luck!

Until, next time.