"When You're Here, You're Family."

Title of this post sound familiar? It should, if you're a chain-restaurant loving red-blooded American like myself. Friday night I was whisked away to the Cedar Rapids Olive Garden by Lisa's (and now my) good friend Julie Johnston. Julie grew up in Iowa, and met Lisa through an internship they both did at Notre Dame. A small business owner, marathoner, and generally entertaining person, I was so excited that Julie wanted to meet up and go on a lady-date off campus. Thanks go out to her for showing an out-of-towner some love. I found our 45 minutes lost in the backwoods of Iowa to be a highlight of the evening, and at the O.G. I truly did feel like family getting to bond with her over shrimp scampi. Here we are with our server Jared.


Saturday morning Maple 4 headed out to the Cedar Valley Humane Society where we spent an hour playing with doggies. My team laughed while I made funny noises and said weird things to the animals like, "You're so great! You have fur! You are a dog and I am a human!" I know this is the third time I have mentioned dogs in a blog post, but I am really starting to think that after NCCC I need to acquire one. This gal's name is Spaggie May.

I got pretty depressed when I had to leave her behind in a cage. It was weird, but I felt like I actually knew this dog in a past life. The good news is that the Humane Society adoption turnaround times are pretty speedy apparently.


To wrap up, I would like to give a shout-out to some bro-hams out there with recent birthdays. I apologize for the lateness of my b-day cards. Maybe this post will make up for my failure as a friend. lol A big foot five from Iowa to Nick, who is like a big brother to me and has demanded for years that he one day walk me down the isle when I marry Mr. Right. From trips to the gun range, to skydiving, to our bowling league and more, I have so many badass memories with you!


Then of course there is Tyler, who I've known since my librarian assistant days at BU's Mugar Library. I have seen you blossom into a mature adult, my friend... and you have witnessed my slow downturn into degeneracy. HA! I miss you, Georgie the cat, and your mad cooking skillz.


Yasir. Dude. What can I even say? Life without you would be an epic fail. That is just a fact. What other friendships do I have that are based in motorcycle rides, cheeseburgers, off-color jokes, and Brittney Spears? You are a true gem, sir.


And last but not least, Ted! (Otherwise known as his AIM screen name, Teddy2NY, from the good old days when we met as freshmen in college.) Ted is the bees knees. From the oldies radio show we DJ'ed to watching Alfred Hitchcock in the dorm, to sporadic dance parties, you are a blast. I'm glad that even though we've lived apart for the last 5 years, our friendship is still going strong. You're a #1 reporter, and a #1 friend. One day I'll visit you on-set at The Today Show.