Continuation of the road trip...
I spent the night of the 6th at my sister's and woke up on the 7th to go to Lollapalooza. I walked past the line of paying-concert-goers stretching to the art museum and beyond and searched for the volunteer station. I signed in, got my green "staff" bracelet and yellow volunteer t-shirt. I was on program distribution, which is self explanatory. At 10:30 we began moving program boxes from the tents to each side of the fountain so, as the audience walked from the entrance to the stages of their favorite bands we could hand them programs with maps, band information, the schedule and a card for 30 free i-tunes songs. Needless to say we were popular people. As I was moving a box I was picked to be one of four people to start handing programs to people in the front of the line. I had the chance to talk to a lot of the people and hear some stories about pass Lollas. Right before the Star Wars theme began and the gates were opened we moved to our stations. The people began entering and we began offering programs. From that moment until 1:30 when my shift was over I was busy. I talked with lots of people and studied the map so when people asked me questions I knew the answers- so, I was, in a way, deserving of my green staff label.
At 1:30 my shift was over and after getting out late and going to pick up some stuff from the Volunteers' HQ I met up with Emily, Miller, Anthony and Alexis. Despite umbrellas [I hate umbrellas at concerts. Yes, we have all been rained on for the past 5 hours. Put the umbrella down when the band is playing] I had the chance to see Ben Folds, Andrew Bird, Kevin Devine and The Kings of Leon [as well as a few others I heard bits of]. The five of us left a bit early because of hunger, the rain chill, and lack of excitement towards the end. After eating, my four friends headed back to their hotel and I returned to my sister's. Jeff, Tine and Anna Jo were just about to leave to go to a bar down the street to meet up with two more friends. I quickly changed into dry clothes and joined them. After a PBR and plenty of salty popcorn, I left a little early so I could get back, shower and fall asleep; the alarm was set early for the next morning.
After five[ish] hours of sleep I ate, dressed and got in my car. With the assitance of pretzels and a sugar-free-rockstar I drove for five hours on the same road and eventually ended up in small-town-with-great-hills, Indiana where I went out to lunch with my friend, Trevor. There I had the most delicious sugar-free, fat-free raspberry frozen yogurt ever. We hung out for a bit and then I sat back in my trustworthy Del Sol for another few hundred miles to Charleston, WV. This section of the trip was interesting because I ended up driving on a stretch of highway that I drove all last summer when I lived in Louisville. By the time I arrived in Charleston all I needed was a bit of food, a sugar free Red Bull, and a shower before it was time to go out!
My cousin Chris and his partner, Josh have lived in Charleston for a few years now, but I have never made it down. School and other commitments never seemed to fit around the drive. However, when I was planning birthday excitement, my sister, who had visited them last summer, suggested I go down. It was the best suggestion she could have given. The first night we went to a drag show and then Chris and I stayed up and talked until 5 a.m. Needless to say, by the time I hit the bed I passed out in my driving clothes.
The next morning we spent most of the day on the boat. While I was not that short on sleep, I was terribly tired. Drinking, which I don't do terribly often, and not eating mixed with limited sleep so many days in a row took a toll on me while out in 90-degree weather on a boat. Let's be honest, it doesn't sound like a recipe for a happy body. However, once I ate and napped just a bit [on the boat] I was happy again. Chris, Josh and their friends were so much fun to be around. It makes me feel good to know that my cousin is in good company. While Chris is older than me [there are only 5 cousins on the Gosses side. I am the youngest and Chris is the oldest] you still always worry and hope your family is in good hands in whatever community they are in. And when their group of friends and "regional family" embraces you, it just makes you feel good. Of course, it was funny that they kept apologizing for any joke that you wouldn't say around your little sister, but that's alright; It's all part of the fun. We got off the boat around dinner time and Chris and I picked up dinner. After we ate I went to my room [the beautiful room that Chris and Josh let me stay in for the weekend... their house is lovely] and I didn't mean to lay down, but before I knew it I was waking up a couple of hours later. Chris had texted me an hour before saying to come outside and join the campfire if I woke up, but don't worry about it if I needed to keep sleeping. A bunch of Chris and Josh's friends were over and having a campfire in the front yard on the river. Slightly embarrassed I walked out front and sat for a bit. I was still groggy, but woke up enough to rehydrate and carry on a bit of conversation. I still fell asleep without a problem a few hours later when everyone had gone home.
The next morning Chris and I had lunch with Justin, another one of my cousin's awesome friends. He had just returned from a trip to Puerto Rico with some of friends from undergrad, but since he had hung out with my sister the year previous, he made time to hang out with me before I left. Like I said, he's pretttty cool. We ate at this delicious sandwich place [with delicious pickles on the side]. Despite sleeping I was still a little tired, but it was still lovely socialization. Chris and I went back to the house and I left a short while after that.
I then drove up to Columbus. While it was almost an extra hour, I hadn't realized it when I was originally planning and it was worth it to go for a run with Tealla. I arrived somewhat later than originally planned, but it was fine because nothing was ever set in stone. Tealla and I went for a 40 minute run and then met up with Megan to go lifting. It was kind of exciting lifting in OSU's facilities. They were really nice and since it was the summer they were not too crowded. Then Tealla cooked a delicious meal of wheat pasta, toast and salad [mmmmm]. We talked for a bit and then slept. We woke up the next morning, ran and showered again. Then I started on my trek home and Tealla went to class. I stopped part way home and took a 20-minute nap because I was too sleepy for 250. I dozed just for a bit and then felt good for the rest of the trip home.
Overall the adventures were much needed. it had been along time since I felt truly tired. Strangely, I missed that feeling. I really spent some quality time with many people that I love and don't get to see enough. The only problem was coming back home and acknowledging that I didn't need to be here. I have become slightly unmotivated and need a change of pace for a slightly longer amount of time. There is lots to do until September though so I don't intend to waste the time. Speaking of which...
<3
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