Hooray, we made it to Friday! Here's what put the sparkle into this week of April Madness:
- VILLANOVA!!!! I was legit hyperventilating in the final minutes of that game, like omg. I've never watched an NCAA Championship game and think I saw the mic drop of games as my first! I'm still in shock that this school I actually attended is the NATIONAL champion. Crazy. Nova's run bought back such fond memories of the friends I made while I was there, and playing quizzo with them (Team Gingerlicious ftw), and hanging out back when we had no set schedule aside from class. Those were the days... siiiiigh.
In related news, it dawned on me that I was finishing up my MA thesis during the current senior b-ball players' freshmen year (fall 2012). So I could have passed these guys on campus! I could have been in the gym at the same time as them! (Yeah, I used to go to the gym--those days are long gone!) I could have been sitting next to Ryan Arcidiacono at the computers in Falvey while cursing ProQuest and their stupid margin requirements! WE COULD HAVE BEEN BFFS! (Especially if he wanted to hear about teenage outsiders as portrayed in different literary genres, which, who doesn't?!)
- My mom's birthday was Saturday, so a bunch of us got together to celebrate... wherein B and I noticed there was a COLDSTONE in the same shopping center as the place we had dinner! WHAT?! Coldstone is still around?! We let everyone else have their (lame) restaurant desserts and totally made a beeline for Coldstone after dinner!
- Continuing on the birthday train, my pal Timmi's b-day is two days after my mom's. So here's a little throwback collage in honor of the girl I've been friends with for almost 15 years (!!). (In fact, we got Coldstone together when I got my wisdom teeth out, haha!) In that time, she's gone from homeroom buddy to one of my best friends, and I so admire her creativity and spirit of adventure. Since she lives in Chicago, I couldn't celebrate with her in person, so this tribute will have to do! :)
- I realized over the weekend that I started exposure last year on April 1. (I remember being like "Starting this on April Fools' Day sounds about right LOL!") Back then, I felt like I was going to faint just driving around my neighborhood alone. Fast-forward a year, and I'm driving all over. Just this weekend, I drove to my friend Kristin's, drove HER car around the block (it's new and in my price range, so it's one I could potentially get, much like the cozy coupe!), drove to CVS and the post office, and THEN, the piece de resistance: drove on 476 and I-95 AT NIGHT. And on the way back (a route I've only driven once), I was alone! (I had taken B home, so he was with me for the first leg of the journey.) I can barely believe that the same person who was terrified of driving basically her whole life is WILLINGLY driving on HIGHWAYS and going 70 and changing lanes and kind of ENJOYING IT--like a real driver!! This totally felt impossible just a year ago and now, it's weird, but it's becoming the new normal. Change is always possible. <3
- Speaking of transportation... in addition to my many modes of Septa, I also boarded the soul train this week! I've been listening to a lot of Philly soul--maybe spurred by the Nova game? The Sound of Philadelphia, the Delfonics, and Harold Melvin and Blue Notes... so good. "Bad Luck" was probably not the best choice going into Monday's game, but it's so catchy, how could I resist?! Throw in some Staple Singers and the Main Ingredient, and it's been a very funky week around here!
I hope you guys have an equally groovy weekend (Soul Train line dance optional!)! :) xo