Life is a rollercoaster

So birthday weekend had highs and lows.

Friday I left work early so I would have time to visit Took, but obviously zoned out for 12 exits & was headed for VT by the time I realized this, which added an hour to my trip, therefore not having enough time to see Took. Yup, I would go into autopilot mode for 12 exits. So when I arrived in Oneonta myself, the Ultimates, and Cleary had a lovely dinner at the Phoenix Cafe. I had a tri-grilled cheese sandwich on pumperknickel bread w/ mustard & eggplant fries. Amanda brought silly party hats to wear just in case our waitress didn't think we were crazy enough. It was glorious. Afterwards Cleary and I had a much needed crazy spontaneous dance party, then the Ultimates arrived with ice cream & we spent the rest of the night laughing & telling silly stories. During this, my mom being the complete weirdo that she is left me a creepy voicemail wishing me a happy birthday eve and that I need to hang underpants from the mantel (in place of stockings, b/c this would be my birthday suit) but I mustn't forget to sow up the legholes or else my presents would fall out.
Yup..... true story. So obviously Amanda & Dan got right on this, went to Walmart, & crafted me a high class satin pink granny panty present holder to adorn my mantel with. Here's a pic of me sporting the panties with great enthusiasm:



When the Ultimates left Cleary and I were at a loss for how to entertain ourselves since no one else was really around. Here is us thinking really hard:



So we eventually decided to turn watching Scrubs & Sex & the City into drinking games (i.e. Drinking everytime JD fantasized, or every time Carrie said "and later that day I got to thinking" etc). Being the 23 year old lady that I am I passed out on my faithful companion, but was awoken with my first actual bday phonecall by Joe surprisingly. I totally planned on him forgetting it was my bday which I would have been okay with since I am his reminder person for everyone elses birthdays but he came through! Then Tooker called, and I eventually was able to fall back asleep by like 4am.

Saturday I woke up and headed to Cobleskill to spend the day with Mary at her new job. Obviously I would get a speeding ticket on 88 when I could literally see the offramp for her exit, & the cop had no compassion that it was my bday and nailed me with radar speed of 86 in a 65. Marvelous. I sucked it up, which was easier to do since as I got pulled over I got a picture message of my adorable niece Kayla which helped me from falling apart. When I got to Cobleskill the only main road to head into campus was apparently closed off b/c the students were having a cross country race on the road (Only in Cobleskill) but after some sweet talking with the cop (too bad he wasn't my speeding ticket cop) he let me slowly drive along to get to Mary. She was cat sitting which made the day even more glorious. Here's a pic:



My fav quote of the day was when Mary randomly stated "I've been trying to drink more wine because I feel like I need to be classier". haha oh Neubs! She took me to Mung's Cafe where I experienced mozzarella sticks with raspberry sauce (it's a Capital Region thing, I judged too but it's surprisingly yummy!), and I also ordered a yummy eggplant veggie panini and sweet potato fries. It was orgasmic. Here's a pic:



Afterwards we went to an adorable country store where I refrained from buying everything in sight & just bought a pumpkin candle & topper & a brown sugar preserver for Rita Pita. Here's a pic of me with the pumpkin I am obsessed with but didn't buy:



When I got back I went to Amanda's to view wedding stuff galore which was super exciting. A bunch of my friends and I went to the obligatory Mama Nina's dinner (one of my fav Italian restaurants), then went back to Cleary's to drink & have under 21 fun (poor Cleary and Dean... SOON.... SOOOO SOOON). Here's a pic of some of my fav faces that were there:



I obviously fell asleep before midnight since I'm old and also had consumed an entire bottle of Pineapple Parrot Bay in a very short period of time, so being old and drunk led to a very sleepy Noonie. Because of this I barely got to spend any time with Taryn or Dean which made me sad but I'll see them in a few weeks when I go back for Dean's 21st & Halloween!

Sunday I drove to Cortland to visit Sean! I got to see Mook for a few too which was nice. We went mini golfing despite the unseasonably hot weather. Here's a pic of us at Shipwreck Mini Golf:



Then we went to lunch at a mexican restaurant that was super tasty and cheap, and we ordered a banana margarita (oh yeaaa, like pina colada and margarita had sex and birthed this tasty delight). Then I made the ridiculously long drive from Cortland to Albany, had dinner at Ichiban with Tooker, Hannah, Becky, and Josh then eventually head back to CT VERY late. Here's pics of some of my fav pets of Took and Hannah, Kobi the fatty catty, and Finn the destroyer:






So the lows are the ticket, receiving an email that another UConn student was sexually assaulted on Friday (that's twice in 7 days) and this time the 21 year old student broke into her apt. to do it, and that my professor, major advisor, club advisor, and wonderful man I did an independent study with, Dr. Peter DiNardo committed suicide yesterday. He was the most energetic, passionate, friendly, happy man you could ever meet who was so encouraging and truly cared about his students. Apparently he was on medicine that made him suicidal (much like they say was the cause of Heath Ledgers death). I'm completely shocked and at a loss. He was a wonderful man, father, husband, and friend who will be truly missed. RIP



Okay I need to go to class now blah. What a day.