State Fair sights and unsightliness

So I went to the Iowa State Fair yesterday. As predicted, I had a great time people-watching "Iowa's finest." A few headlines of my 6-hour excursion:

1) A little girl who looked around 5 years old sat at the table across from me at the Dinner Bell (it's a sit-down tent for food at the fair), and she was peppering her fries! If anyone knows me, they know I pepper nearly every food that isn't sweet with a mound of pepper, to the point that people make fun of me. Not only did she pepper those potatoes once or even twice, but three times, to the point where her mother took the shaker from her. Ha! Also, I basically love condiments and spices, so she also had a pile of ketchup next to the fries. She's basically my hero.

2) On the walk back to the car, I witnessed the most horrendous outfit I saw at the fair. Forget the beer-bellied men in "wife beaters", the mu-mus and tights, mock turtlenecks (on a super hot and humid day, old ladies!) or the excessive amount of people with bad teeth, a woman was fairly overweight was wearing a stretchy green tube top tunic that had three strips of fabric on the back that tied in the middle at whatever vertebrae it hit on her back. Obviously, there was no fitting a bra in that number, and women need to wear those; they just do. I forget her bottoms since I was too occupied being disgusted and shocked by her shirt, but I fear it was leggings or a mini skirt or both. *Shudder*

3) The fair has more than 50 different foods on a stick, ranging from foot-long cornbrats to deep-fried Twinkies. At an army/national guard tent, a man in camo was passing out pencils with the Army National Guard info/logo on them. To entice people to come take them, he called them erasers on a stick. I was pretty much in stitches for a few minutes. Pencil = eraser on a stick. Clever.

4) No fair trip is complete without a trip to Bauder's ice cream stand. Best ice cream in Des Moines - the only two ice cream things that top it are Four Queens Dairy in Cedar Falls or gelato. I had a single dip of fresh peach ice cream and was in heaven. Fresh peaches in the cone, and all the ice cream is made locally in Bauder Pharmacy's basement. Yum!

5) I went on the Ye Olde Mill Ride. The only thing about this ride is you get in this log thing, and a fake-blue river takes you along this tunnel that goes in darkness until you get to a couple places in the tunnel that are lit and display old fair posters. For some reason, I freaked out (really embarrassing), and I have no idea why. I usually am okay with rides, especially ones that are so tame, but for some reason those were the scariest five minutes of the fair. Yes you can laugh, I get paranoid and it's totally laughable.

6) Animals are rampant at the fair. I saw the big bull, a 3,404 pound beast with a ring in its nose. That bull meant business. I also saw a lot of different kinds of chickens, including one that's feathers looked like fur - cutest chicken ever! Another one had just laid a pink egg - better call the Cadbury bunny! At the exotic petting zoo, I got to see a zedonk (1/2 zebra, 1/2 donkey) and I petted a watusi, which looks like a wildebeest/cow creature. They also had a live snake exhibit that wasn't super exciting, but I got to reminisce about the days when I was a National Geographic nerd and knew the names of a lot of these creatures in like 4th grade. One last mention are the ponies - I want a shetland sooo bad when I'm older. They are honestly the cutest creatures that aren't little fluffy dogs.

... and 7) While leaving, I saw a stand for chocolate-covered bacon! I may be going back next week, and if so, I am buying some! I didn't yesterday because I was stuffed with a chicken sandwich and an immaculate ice cream cone. I figure that if I'm going to BaconFest next year, I should start preparing for the craziness :)

Big deal and s'no big deal

Wow, only one week of full-time work at my internship before senior year starts. Hard to believe this summer is over. I think the idiom is true: the older you get, the faster time flies. Granted, I'm not 80-years-old, but 21 is a well-rounded number. I'd say I'm pretty mature for those 21 years. These long weeks are starting to drain me, as pointed out by my literally 100-ounces of diet soda daily habit - that's a lot of caffeine!

Now it's time to ready myself for law school applications ... oy vey! Taking another practice LSAT at the library tomorrow at 9 a.m. and hoping for a decent score. I'm also brainstorming on themes for my personal statement. Right now, I'm thinking of a determined theme, a healthcare theme and a couple other random things that fly in my head. I'm so scared about the uncertainty of the LSAT score and the law applications, but I suppose that's something I need to have faith in, trusting that all I can do is my best and hope for the best outcome.

On another note, the shoe of the day serves as a salute to one of my guilty pleasures, the show Trailer Park Boys. I missed July 1 for Canada Day, so these shoes will have to suffice. I was discussing Rickyisms last night (kind of like Bushisms but based on the main character of the show). Some of my favorites: "nay-saw, you know, space people, maybe you've heard of 'em"; "samsquatch"; "it doesn't take rocket appliances..."; "he passed with flying f*ing carpets"; "radies"; and "the flames were golfing". If you haven't checked this show out, you should. Some people don't like it, but I think it's fabulous. If you like it, great; if not, as Ricky says, "s'no big deal".

My two cents and five cent bottle deposit

I shared this with a fellow PR colleague, who then sent it onto someone who is blogging about the beer summit. Thought I’d put in my two cents:

I think the whole scene was not about diffusing racial profiling opinions. True, there was discussion on the subject, but ultimately, Americans and the press were more concerned with the types of beer the men drank and the silver bowls that held the beer pretzels. This leads me to think that the beer summit was more of a PR stunt than anything (and I hate using the word “stunt”). With Pew Research showing a drop in Obama’s job approval rating by 7 percent (according to the Times), Obama’s public relations gurus knew they needed to do something to instill more into the citizen image of the man who is to give the nation “hope”. (These are not completely telling statistics in my view, since the AP also said Obama’s approval rating jumped up 11 percent among minorities just prior to the summit). I voted for Obama, but I think that this type of summit may not have been the most prudent use of press time. Any old day, a handful of men can sit around brews and discuss an issue, but it’s best to actually make sure the issue’s message rings out clear, not the fact that Obama chose Bud Light and Biden had a non-alcoholic brew. I think more reactions came from the national beer brewers than any other group, wishing more of the chosen beer had been American-made. But if Crowley wanted Blue Moon, why should he choose anything else? If I am at an event and I would like a glass of Moscato that is made in Italy and not from the local Iowa wineries, why should I choose otherwise? It's too much celebrity concern and not enough about the issues. But props to Obama for trying something and at least getting out there.

Scrambled brains and bands

I woke up, on my own, far too early, considering my alarm clock was already set for an unreasonably premature waking hour. I’m thinking this needs to desist; it’s not very good for my 9-hour work day. My current iPod playlist likely doesn’t help, switching from Fall Out Boy’s “Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying” to Mozart’s Piano Sonata #15 in C. It feels my neuroticism, too. Haha.

Anyway, I am excited for the concert on Sunday, called River Riot, in Council Bluffs that my roommate, Erin, and I are going to. Featured bands are Blink 182, Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco, all of whom I love. I am also going to the Iowa State Fair on Saturday after I take my practice LSAT. Should be a fun experience and great people-watching, if nothing else. Today is the opening day of the fair, and it’s sure to be sweltering as most opening days seem to be without avail. As always, the fair is bound to “bring out the best” of Iowa, with mullets on both sexes, too-tight tube tops, unnecessary skin revealing … I think you get my point. So many fried foods on a stick, too, including Twinkies, Snickers bars, and pineapple. There’s a reason that Smash, a Des Moines shirt company, introduced a new tee last year that said: “I went to the Iowa State Fair and all I got was type 2 diabetes. It’s not the place to go if you’re concerned with your caloric intake, but they did introduce a “salad-on-a-stick” at the fair last year; I doubt that went over well.

Hot days and birthdays

At work today, I went to the Iowa State Fair before it began to deliver hymn songbooks to the First Church for the annual Hymn Sing my internship company, GuideOne Insurance, sponsors. I am sooooo excited for the fair to begin, especially for the people-watching.

Tonight is also my friend, Pat's, 22nd birthday party. I expect a good time. My roommate, Erin's, friend, Libby, came into town, and we're all getting dressed up to have fun. Anyway, best get going to have fun :) I have to go pick up another friend, Randi, from work so that we can start the festivities :)

Testing (and) the waters

This morning, I got up semi-early for a Saturday and walked to the library to take a practice LSAT test. While this was not the most fun experience ever, I managed to increase my previous practice scores by about 5 points :) I hope I continue to see an improvement for the next six weeks until I actually take the exam on September 26. That's when one 4-hour test will determine my law school future.

Last night, I went on a walk with a good friend, Randi, twice around Gray's Lake. It's always great to get out in the fresh air and talk to another person about things that are on your mind, especially when they can relate to you and your weird "girliness". I am also going back to Gray's later on today (when it's not so flipping hot outside) to paddleboat. This is one of the few times this summer I have actually gone out and enjoyed the summer this year, so I am grateful for the weather and comraderie.

I am also considering possibilities for vacations in the next year or so. With law school approaching next year, I have realized that if I don't travel in the next 9 months or so, I likely won't for a long time unless I study abroad the summer after my 1L year. Thus, I applied for my passport on Tuesday and cannot wait to book a ticket for an adventure! I am not impulsive and rarely have made it out of the Midwest (in fact, I have never been out of the country), and I thought in the past that traveling was an expense I could afford not to partake in. I now have realized that I do not want to be bitter that I have not gone anywhere 20 or 30 years from now, so my upcoming, yet-to-be-determined travel plans I am now considering investments in myself. And I am excited!!!

On that note, I will go back to watching "Trailer Park Boys", a crude "guilty pleasure" Canadian TV show that I was introduced to a few months back.

Out of focus

This morning, I woke up and got ready for work, not really concentrating on anything in particular. Get to work, and I’m instantly drained, despite the constant intake of Diet Dew and coffee. Want proof? Already this morning, I have spilled yogurt on myself, forgot my car keys/umbrella/work badge and made three separate trips in the rain from my garage back to my apartment.

After my emotional roller coaster from my boyfriend leaving the states for a year to LSAT pressure to work and my upcoming senior year, my life is not easily set in focus. Wouldn’t it be nice if your mind worked like a well-tuned camera, going macro to micro and zoom at the simple twist of a lens or press of a button? Not to mention the cameras with auto-focus. Hell, I want to be a camera. Things are made so much clearer and simpler, and you see reality from whatever angle you choose.

In lieu of this idea, I need to focus more on the things I need to accomplish right now instead of worrying about things in a year or a month or even three weeks. I need to stop worrying about things I have no control over, and start taking over the parts of my life I can control. This started with me standing up to my mother and applying for my passport on Tuesday. I am going to live my life and be happy with it. Derrick once told me that he lives his life so that at the end of each day, he can say that if he died that day, he would be happy with his life and his day. I need to make an effort to do the same.

Here’s to focus, to clarity and to the proper development of me as a person.