Pictures to show you how crazy the year was.*

*The links have more juicy details.

New Year's Eve 2008.


The room situation in 2008.


Boogying.


Valentines 2008 at the Slackers concert.


Spring Break Two Thousand Great: London.


At Archangel in London. Yes. My tights tore while I was out.


With Chrissy Poo, our host, at Imperial.


...and then we had a pillow fight.


On the London Eye. I told her to stay away from the window.


Spring Break London.


Some crazy fool in London.


Birthday dance with Zachary.


Birthday dinner. Happy 21st to me!


On a roof for Marathon Monday.


Semi-Annual End Of Semester binge.


Last day at COM Student Services.


Stanley Cup.


Ann Arbor. New friends, new experiences.


The Infamous Wednesday.


Nichole was such a slave driver. Look how she's forcing me to hold the monkey.

Emily's birthday. This was before she started rapping.


Going Away Luau.


The Semi-Annual Back To School Binge.


Many action shots were taken this year.


Parents Weekend and a visit from the family.


The hottest costume this Halloween.


Sometimes these things happen.


Being attacked.


Attacking Brian with my weapon. (I was the girl from Kill Bill, obviously.)


Christina H at An Tua Nua!


The typical scene at An Tua Nua.


Senior Hard Hat Party.


Dancing and singing at Com Prom.


Noelle's famous Pirate Eye.


Our first Thanksgiving feast.


Chi Phi formal: Reunion with Meaghan, our old roommate.


Thanksgiving with the cousins.


Chrissy Poo and the end of 20 Wads.


Secret Santa and holiday dinner.


Ice skating with cousin Anna.


Dancing our way into 2009.


New Year's Eve 2009: Ann Arbor.


It's going to be a good one. I can feel it.

Wrapping up the summer. Part Two.

Like usual, I'm wide awake less than 30 minutes before scheduled wake-up time. Dad and I are driving to Massachusetts in exactly 1 hour and 23 minutes. I am all packed, which is extremely rare given the unfortunate fact that my attention span never developed to that of a normal, full-functioning adult.

This summer. FLEW. by. I can't even believe it.

Life was not even close to the trauma I feared a couple months ago. Obviously. My stupid mind always expects the worst.

This summer was pretty awesome. I had a couple epiphanies and several reassurances and reminders such as:

• I love people. New people. Different people. All people. (.. ok most people.)
• I love new places.
  
• I love coffee. Medium. A little Half and Half. Two sugars. Small is too small. Large is just too large. Free trade coffee tastes like flowers.
• My humor sometimes takes adjusting to. I don't really have an arm disease or arm problem or tragic childhood story about my arm as some people may still believe...
  
• I'm glad I listened to my mother and didn't pursue photojournalism as a career. PR is the right place for me. Funny how the old folks knew first.
• I'm glad I listened to my dad's career and living-independently advice. It works flawlessly.
• Not all companies make interns do dumb things. I'm thankful everyone was eager to teach and show and my bosses were super.
  
• I'm thankful for all the advice and guidance I received over the past months.
• I'm thankful my roommates were awesome. You guys better come to Boston. I'm serious.
  
• I wish I had another month of summer.
• Nichole and Damian are the best coffee buddies ever and I owe both of them more than I could fit in a bullet point.
• I suck at goodbyes and would rather just duck out without a word because it's easier.

I'm not even going to talk about how I'm facing my senior, AKA final, year at BU. I'll save the angsty, end-of-the-world musings for late at night with the Boston roommates. MUAHAH. Just kidding guys.

Anyways there's no need for that because my family goodbye dinner at P.F. Changs yielded more than just an inflated stomach.

(Let's pretend half the restaurant didn't get this one as well.)

Let the fortune cookie speak for itself.

Bide your time, for success is near.

Wrapping up the summer. Part One.

This summer was the first time I'd been to Ann Arbor. It was a lot of firsts for me. This summer was my first:

• ...time living on another campus. University of Michigan is sooo different than BU. I didn't even see it during the school year, which makes me want to come back for a football game. Apparently it's all the rage here. I wouldn't know. We don't have a football team. I've never tailgated. Moving on.
• Gerald.
• ... time drinking outdoors without fearing jail time.
• internship.
  
• Happy Hour. Woooo!
• 9-5.
• ... time playing Cornhole. AKA throwing bags of beans (or something) at wooden boards with little holes.
• ... time playing toss-the-frisbee-at-a-tiki-torch-and-knock-off-the-bottle. Basically instead of a wick, the top of the torch is duct taped and an empty beer bottle is placed on top. The goal is to hit the torch with the frisbee and knock the bottle off so fast the other team can't catch it. Instead, I played try-not-to-take-out-an-elderly-stranger (aka the hosts father.) It's dangerous.
• ... time I've had to cook for myself or starve. It turned out pretty well. The good news is I'm not sick of spaghetti even though I ate it almost every night.
• being addicted to coffee.
• actually liking a dog. And having a dog like me.
  

Let's pretend I posted this stuff days ago...

Things have been a little crazy in these parts. Let's recap.

To celebrate my new internship in Boston during the school year, I made a delicious steak and the new best meal I've ever made.




The Olympics are still on? I guess that's why Beijing ordered so many condoms for the athletes.

Meanwhile, back in Michigan...

I went to the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise with Lish and Laurie and later with my brother. Some old man from Utah told Lish and I he was looking for some "relatively attractive" girls to help promote his business. He offered to pay us $12 an hour to wear his shirt and give out his card. Lish laughed in his face and walloped him upside the head, screaming "you could have at least said cute!"

Later that week, I savored my last couple days in Ann Arbor by swinging on hammocks, sleeping in public parks and creating a gang with the following motto: "We ride low riders and eat spaghetti every day." Here are some pictures from the Dream Cruise of what we drive.



Stay tuned for Luau madness, family shenanigans and ....

My mom's yelling at me I can't finish this thought.

Things I'll Miss in Ann Arbor, Issue 1

Damian's weekly Web Ops meetings. (Stop making fun of me Nichole.)

If I recall correctly, it was Nichole who first dragged me into this Monday meeting. Since the first, I've sat (more or less) awkwardly watching people doodle-off while Damian gave the run down. Much to my surprise (and it wasn't as painful as anticipated) I was the subject of Josh and Jason's doodles today. Now I have something that captures my Web Ops awkwardness to put on my wall in Boston! Yay!


Jason's rendition:





Josh's rendition:







(Damian also put up some pics that might be clearer...)

I may have laughed too much this weekend. My stomach definitely doesn't hurt from push ups.

This was a very eventful weekend for me. Nichole declared Friday "bring your intern home from work" day. Saturday was the infamous neighborhood block party.

It all started bright and early Friday morning on the bus ride to work.

Nichole: Pack your little Hello Kitty bag and tell Michael to get you in Novi tomorrow.
Maria: Mother of pearl this is the biggest bag ever.
Nichole: Do hoochie shorts and tube tops take up that much room?

Later at work:

Nichole: Did you remember to pack your fake ID?

In the car on the way to Novi:

Nichole: I hate when little kids are on Facebook.
Maria: Why are you friends with little kids on Facebook?

Driving to happy hour:

Andy: Do you even know who Michael Keaton is? Were you even alive for the first Batman?
Maria: I think so. Anything after '87.
Andy: She's as old as Top Gun!

Later, at the bar:

Maria: Seriously that guy just pushed a drink over to your area. Don't drink it.
Nichole: You guys! Drink this!

The next day, after having left Nichole's:

Nichole: I am going to make sure you didn't steal something and hide it in your carpet bag. Tell Vicki to turn it up!

Later that night, my family and I attended the neighborhood block party. Or should I say, dad attended the block party while mom and I watched fifteen people huddle under one tent as torrential downpours throttled them. When the weather broke, I joined the party. The only people who wanted to talk to me were 85 and completely oblivious to the words leaving my mouth. I went inside for a sweatshirt but fell asleep instead.

Some time later, in the basement:

Mom: Wake up and make yourself look pretty. The jello shots are out.

Approaching the crowd:

Matt: Everyone! Stop what you're doing! Maria has joined us!
Dave: Hah! Sleep lines.

Some time later:

Matt: Stop pretending you don't know how to open a beer. Your dad knows you drink.
Maria: I'm going to punch you.
Matt: Why aren't we MySpace friends.
Maria: Because I'm not 13 and you're creepy?
Dad: Tell him about Twitter!

Playing flip cup with older people is sometimes challenging. I was off my game but that was nothing compared to Matt's aunt.

Maria: Kick her in the legs when it's her turn and take the cup for her.
Rebecca: Let's knock out her knees Kerrigan style!

Sitting by the camp fire at 1 AM:

Dad: I think I'm going to sneak to bed.
Maria: I'll come with you.
Dad: NO! Then they'll notice me leaving! You stay here for as long as you want.

I hope you're as proud of me as my parents are.

Feast your eyes on this, ladies and gentlemen. Perhaps the best meal I've ever made. EVER!





I added the lemons to the picture because I was afraid it might look like I fried some chicken, peed in a plate and tried to pass it off as a delicacy. To prove otherwise, I will also provide evidence of the recipe I worked from:



I scribbled down directions my mom gave me the second I got in the door from a 25 minute walk home. Give me a break.

Mom's Lemon Chicken That Maria Made Successfully So You Can Make It Too:

chicken
olive oil
butter
lemon
white wine

Fry the chicken in olive oil until it turns a little brown on both sides. Then put one tablespoon of butter into the pan. Let melt. Add 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1/3 cup white wine and a lot of love. Let sit until you can no longer resist the delicious smell.* Share the rest of the wine with the roommates. Indulge.







*Keep in mind these portions are small so make more if you plan on serving more than just yourself in front of the TV.