Friday, July 30, 2010

STL DNC 2012

Earlier this week I had read something about a free concert that Chuck Berry was putting on. I didn't really know what it was for, but I went ahead and got tickets from my friend Ethan and I for something to do. That was the best decision I could have made. It turned out to be an amazing night. The concert was put on to show that St. Louis has a lot of support behind it. The reason for this is because St. Louis is trying to become the host city for the 2012 Democratic national convention. Chuck Berry was absolutely awesome and then our tickets said there would be a special guest. The special guest turned out to be Nelly! It was so fun getting to see Nelly. After the concert we came back home and then decided that we both needed to try out the casino. So we went to the casino and then called it a night. More pictures, videos, and posts to come from my weekend.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

City Buses

This week I worked at my internship Monday and today. I always take the same route everyday and see a lot of the same cars everyday. Also, I see a lot of the same city buses. The buses can be very annoying. They are very large and know they can do what they want. They simply stick their nose out in the road right in front of you. I get more annoyed by city buses than I do other drivers.

Tomorrow my friend Ethan is coming to town. It is going to be a lot of fun seeing him. I met Ethan last summer working on the grounds crew at Northwest and it turns out he is also an accounting major and we had a lot of classes together last year. We worked on a lot of projects together in classes and hung out out together outside of school. He is now one of my very good friends. Tomorrow night, we plan on attending a concert that Chuck Berry is putting on downtown to support St. Louis becoming the host city of the 2012 Democratic National convention. We also plan on playing golf and attending a Cardinals game. We are going to the Cards game on Saturday and they are retiring Whitey Herzog's number that night to celebrate his recent induction into the Hall of Fame. I am very excited for the weekend and getting to see one of my good friends.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

FOUR!!!

Today I worked twelve hours at the golf course. I worked the long hours because my boss came to me yesterday and told me if I would like extra hours I could start plugging a green that is mostly dead. When you take a plug you take grass from a healthy green, that is not in use, and replace the grass that is dead on the dead green. I spent five hours working on one green and sixty plugs later I didn't even feel like I had made a dent. While sitting on the green replacing the plugs I had many golf balls hit my way. Most were not aimed my way, some people just didn't have great control of their shots. One man did seem to aim right at me though. He was an older man and the ball plopped down about two feet from me. I was very angry, but I simply walked away and did something else for a few moments. So for all of you golfers out there please use good etiquette and always yell FOUR!! if there is any chance you might hit someone. Now for my funny story of the afternoon. There was a dad and son playing and the son was probably five years old. He was an adorable kid and a pretty good golfer as well. His dad had his back turned and the kid went ahead and tried to hit his ball. The boy muffed the shot and it only went about three feet. He then proceed to run after the ball and stand there as if nothing had happened just as his father turned around. Next, the boy hit the ball and chipped in from probably ten yards off the green without his father ever knowing he had messed up. It was definitely a great thing to watch. I am getting excited for the week to start because one of my very close friend Ethan is coming to St. Louis Thursday for the weekend. He is transferring from Northwest to Mizzou so it well be great to spend some time with him.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Wonderful Day!

Today I woke up and ran some errands around St. Louis. Then I met Mom and Dad in Forest Park by the Missouri History Museum. We then proceed to walk around Forest Park until the History museum opened up. We then ventured into the museum and walked through Vatican Splendors. It was a very neat exhibit and I am glad we went. There was a lot more art work in it then I thought there would be, but some of it was very interesting. At the end we walked through the gift shops and Dad got a little out of hand and made me put on a pirates hat.
After the History museum we met our good family friend Roro in Kirkwood at a very good Mexican restaurant called Amigas Cantina. It was great food and it was wonderful to sit down and talk to Roro. I then took Mom and Dad to St. Louis Bread Co. and showed them how to use wireless internet. They are excited to learn how to use it. I then went and walked 18 holes at a golf course called Riverside. It was a decent course, but I did shoot my low score of the year so far. I shot an 89. This is a great score for me at this time in my golf game. The course was not very long and that really plays into my game. I had a wonderful Friday and loved getting to spend time with my parents. I'm off to work at the golf course the next two days.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Happy Birthday Mom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! Today is my mom's birthday! I hope she had a great day today. I get to spend the day with her tomorrow and I am looking forward to it. We are going to go to the Missouri History museum in forest park. There is an exhibit at the museum called Vatican Splendors that we wanted to see. We will also do whatever else mom wants to do in St. Louis. I have a hunch that she will want to do some walking in forest park.
My internship this week was very busy. I had to do some analysis, which I love doing, of different expenses the company has. I also have become a master in the fields of filing and shredding. I cannot believe the I only have three weeks left at my internship. This summer has flown by.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Work and Play

Today I was off work from my two jobs. I did however help out a family friend named Victor. Victor is my mom's friend Karen's father.  A little confusing. I helped him do some odd jobs around his house and then he took me to lunch on The Hill. Victor is a very interesting person. He grew up on The Hill and knows all of the best restaurants. He also grew up very close to Yogi Berra and Joe Garagiola. Also, Jack Buck owned a house on the same street when he first started his family in St. Louis. It is great to listen to all of the stories he has to tell.
After helping Victor, I went and played golf. It was a successful day on the golf course. I had my clubs regripped and was itching to get out and play. It was a great day off and I love getting to play golf!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Rainy Day

This morning I got up to go to work and there were some fierce looking clouds outside. I went ahead and cut all of the greens. As I was finishing my last green we started getting major winds and lightning. The clouds  then opened up and started dumping rain on the course after sitting around for thirty minutes they let me leave. I had told my cousin Brian that I would be willing to help him with his house after work so I went to his house after I left the golf course. We spent the afternoon blowing insulation into his attic. If you have yet to experience  this task don't do it. Pay a professional to do it!  After much sweat and some funny moments with Brian and Uncle Chris we got it done. At the end of the day it saved him a lot of money having us do it. When we got home we had a great meal with barbecued chicken, cheesy potatoes, and corn on the cob! It was wonderful. Tomorrow I am off to work at my internship!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Another Saturday

Today I worked at the golf course. I had to be there by 6 a.m. It was extremely hot already at that time. I mowed all the greens when I first got to work and then immediately had to start cooling greens because of the heat. To cool a green you simply take an extremely large hose and quickly water it down. We do this to keep the greens from burning up and dying. After work I took a quick nap and then went to church at St. Dominic which is where Aunt Claudia's kids went to grade school. It was overall a great day even though it was so hot at work.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Forest Park

Tonight, I had a great dinner with my Aunt Carol, Uncle Chris, and Brian. We had a lot of laughs and got to visit. After that I went and rode bikes with my Aunt Claudia in Forest Park. I really enjoy seeing all the huge homes around Forest Park and also being outdoors. It was a pleasant ride and it was great to chat with Aunt Claudia. Tomorrow morning I have to be at the golf course by 6 a.m. It is supposed to be very hot so I'm sure I will be busy cooling greens all day.

Family Time

Last night I got to go to the Cardinals game with my mom, dad and Cindy. It was a wonderful game and we got to see the Cardinals win! It was very humid out, but we had a nice breeze at our seats. We had seats in the Casino Queen area of the park and also in the Redbird club. Both seats were great and some of the best seats I have sat in at the new Busch Stadium. Then we went and stayed at the Marriott at Union Station. We were in a great room. This morning Cindy, Dad and I went and played golf at Sunset Lakes golf course. I did not play well the front nine, but bounced back and was the low person on the back nine. I really had a great time playing with them today. It was a pretty nice course. After golf, I took Mom, Dad, and Cindy to eat at a place called five guys burgers and fries. My friend Angela took me their in D.C. and I fell in love with it. They really enjoyed it and we had a great time. I love spending my day off with family and friends. I am loving my time here in St. Louis

Monday, July 12, 2010

Home sweet home

Tonight I came home after work because I have an eye doctor appointment tomorrow morning. It is great to get home for a short time. Tonight I had a great meal prepared by my father. We had roast beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Today I had great day at work. It was very busy so that made the day go by quickly. Also, I had my first evaluation for my internship and my boss said very nice things and he gave me a great review. The reason I had this evaluation is because I am taking my internship for college credit through Northwest and that is part of my grade in the class. To earn credit I also fill out a weekly report explaining all the jobs I had given to me that week. My internship is going great. I have really been enjoying the work as well as the people I work with.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

My weekend

This weekend was a great weekend. I worked Saturday and Sunday at the golf course and things went well. My cousin Brian had a BBQ Saturday evening with all of his friends. My cousin Sam came down from Kansas City and I got to hang out with the two of them and that was a blast. After work tonight I went to my first company picnic. It was wonderful and I had a great time. Most of the accounting staff from my internship came with their spouses. They had a bean bag toss game and we had a tournament. My teammate and I took second place. We got demolished by the boss and another accountant. It was great to see my boss in a different atmosphere and see the competitiveness come out in him. On Friday I got to meet up with Dad and Cindy and play a round of golf. It was great to see them and to also play some golf. Although, I started out playing well my golf game dissappeared after three holes. I had a great weekend and am looking forward to the week. I only have five weeks left in St. Louis....which makes me sad and also very happy!


Thursday, July 8, 2010

Day Off

Tomorrow I get a day off! I am very excited because I get to pick my mom up from the airport. She has been on vacation in Alaska the past ten days. It will be great getting to see her and to hear her stories of her trip. Tomorrow I will also get to spend time with Dad and Cindy. We are playing golf at Sun Valley in Elsberry. I love getting to spend time with all of my family and am excited for tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

ASB

I know this is a little late, but I am going to write about the spring break trip I went on this last year. Twenty two students and one faculty member from Northwest traveled to the Dominican Republic over spring break to take part in a program called Orphanage Outreach. Orphanage Outreach has a couple orphanages in the Dominican Republic and they help the orphans to become great young people. Our job while staying in Jaibon, Dominican Republic was to go into a school near the orphanage and to teach simple English words to the students there. I taught first and sixth grade. Some of the sixth graders were closer to my age than a sixth grader, but they were still eager to learn. Most of the students paid attention and wanted to learn more than anything. One of the counselors, who has been there for three years, said they want to learn English because it is the children's way out of the small towns and they can get a good paying job in a touristy city. Alternative Spring Break was a life changing experience for me and everyone who went on the trip. It made me appreciate all the little things that I have because everyone in the DR is very poor. People build their homes out of things we would throw away. I can't wait to go on Alternative Spring Break again this year. I got to know a lot of new people and got to know people I already knew even better. My friend Angela made an amazing video the summarizes our trip. Just click the link below to watch it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taOoe36OMPQ&feature=related

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Back to work...

Today I headed back to work at my internship. The day seemed to drag on and on after such a fun weekend. I didn't want to do any work because all I could think about was my trip. Hopefully tomorrow goes by a little quicker.

Also today, I realized that I have six short weeks left in St. Louis. I can't believe that it is almost over. Living in St. Louis has been a lot of fun, but I am excited to head back to the Northwest part of the state.

Monday, July 5, 2010

My Trip!

I will start off telling you about Mary Poppins! Mary Poppins was simply amazing! Angela and I went early to get our tickets from will call and to also check out the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center was huge. It was a great place to see a play. Saturday we got up and went to eastern market. It was fun to walk through all of the street vendors and check out all of the things they had to offer. Before we walked around we grabbed brunch at a bar close to the market. It was neat because the World Cup was on and a lot of people were in the bar watching the games. I had a farmer's omelet which was a bacon omelet with mashed potatoes in it. I also got a side order of corned beef hash which was amazing.
After walking around eastern market we went to the Basilica-The National Shire on the campus of Catholic University. It was gorgeous. We got to go to mass there Saturday evening. After mass we met Angela's roommates at Union Station for dinner. After dinner we went and watched the rehearsal for the fourth of July celebration on the Capitol lawn. We got to see people such as David Archuleta, JimmySpence, and Reba.

Sunday we got up early and went down to Constitution Ave. to watch the parade. We left Angela's house at 9:00 a.m. for the parade so that we could get a good spot. We ended up getting a great spot and we had a great time at the parade.

After the parade we went and ate at a restaurant called Old Ebbit. We ate with all of Angela's roommates. It is very close to the White House and it was delicious. Angela and I then went to the Old Post Office and got a little desert at a cookie place there. Next we met up with some of Angela's other friends to get a spot to watch the fireworks from. We watched the fireworks from the Iwo Jima memorial along with thousands of other people.
 
Today we got up and walked around the Bethesda area of D.C. and just hung out until I had to head to the airport. Angela was such a good host. She took me to the airport today and we said goodbye at security. It made both of us miss all of our Maryville friends. It was great getting to see one of my close friends for an extended period of time. We had a blast walking and using the metro all over D.C. It was a phenomenal trip!


Friday, July 2, 2010

DC cont.

This morning Angela and I got up and went to Arlington. It is so massive and a little overwhelming thinking about how many people are buried there. We got to see JFK's grave site as well as Ted Kennedy's. My favorite part of Arlington was the tomb of the unknown solider and also the changing of the guard ceremony. Here is a picture from the changing of the guard.  We then went and met Angela's friend Jordan in Rosslyn. The three of us then went and ate at a restaurant called 5 guys burgers and it was amazing. The Obama family loves the restaurant. After that we spent the afternoon walking around Georgetown. It would be amazing to go to school there, but also very expensive! After walking around all afternoon we stopped and got a cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake. There was a huge line but it moved very quickly. They were delicious! The icing was something I have never tasted before I would love to bring some home, but I would have them eaten before I left the airport. Tonight Angela and I are going to see Mary Poppins at the Kennedy Theatre!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

D.C.

I made it to D.C. safe and sound today! Everything worked out getting to the airport, long term parking, and my flight was on time. Angela was going to meet me at the airport, but when I landed we sat on the runway for a good 17 minutes. Angela was supposed to give a night tour of D.C. to a group and couldn't wait any longer so she had to leave. Luckily, she had brought along a friend to the airport that was able to wait for me and take me to Angela. It was such a bonus getting to see her in action giving a tour of the monuments. Also, I got to see them myself which was very neat. Tomorrow we are planning on going to Arlington in the morning and then to Georgetown in the afternoon for lunch and to walk around. Tomorrow night we are going to see Mary Poppins at the Kennedy theatre.

Work was very interesting this week since it was the end of the month and also the quarter. It was neat seeing the process of how all of the accountant's work came together at the end of the month.  This internship has been great and I am really enjoying it.