august is awesome

to keep with my alliterative ways, i had to title this entry, "august is awesome." because it has been an amazing month. highlights include:

- saw glen hansard and marketa irglova LIVE at brattle square theatre (after waiting for four hours!);
- interviewed with AND hired in the mit alumni relations office (start date: september 4!);
- traveled with buda's girls ycc team (blue crush) to blaine, mn; the team finished 3rd AND won the spirit award;
- traveled with brute to ecc in burlington, wa and finished 3rd (with lots of great memories and highlights)

things to come:

- moving to jamaica plain sometime next week with x, simon, and spoony (hooray for early move-in!);
- traveling with brute to labor day in santa cruz, ca during labor day weekend;
- starting my new job (hooray!);
- traveling to philly to watch miki play soccer

lots of things for which to be grateful, not to mention the progress with my knee and pt. it's been a great summer so far, and i'm really pumped for the things to come. i am finally starting to see that light at the end of this really long tunnel. word.

so, where to start....not much to say about the swell season show except that it was totally worth the wait. four hours on an august evening were well spent. and, if you haven't seen 'once' yet, i recommend that you do as soon as possible, or at least rent the dvd when it comes out. not to worry, though, i will have it in my dvd collection. : ) so, you're more than welcome to borrow it.

next, new job. very excited. quick story about this: after waiting for four hours to see the swell season, then seeing the AMAZING show, i went home with a huge smile on my face and went to bed. the next morning, i got to work and received not one, but TWO phone calls for job interviews....and that was the beginning of the good things to come this month. : ) all the waiting is beginning to pay off.

okay, back to the details: my official title will be administrative assistant of student programs. basically, i'm going to be the liaison between mit student clubs/groups and their alumni. i'm really excited (i don't think i will use the word enough in this post) to return to a student-driven environment, and actually work towards my career goal. never thought that would happen. : ) among those main responsibilities, i will be the go-to person for the administrative work in the office. it'll be great to get all of these experiences in one job! yay! the museum has been a great place to me, but it is time to move on. my last day at the museum is august 29, and then i'll take a couple days to finish packing and moving before i'm off to california for the weekend. then back to start my new job!

in between the job interview and waiting to hear from the alumni relations office, i traveled with and coached the buda's girls ycc team. blaine, mn, hosted, yet again, the ycc (youth club championships), and it was a very positive experience for the girls and for me. it made me realize how AWESOME ultimate is, and how much i'd like to be involved at the youth level. the girls are an impressive bunch, and i only wish i had more time this summer to better prepare them for the tournament. oh well, maybe next year? : ) anywho, 3rd place was GREAT, but winning the spirit award was amazing. not that i didn't doubt that these girls played spirited ultimate all weekend, but the girls did have the goal to win the spirit award, and they demonstrated it both on the field and off the field. i am VERY proud of them. : )

and on to this past weekend....brute squad competed in its first pre-season tournament in burlington, wa. it was a fabulous weekend for the team. hooray! : )

we played against fury, viva, zeitgeist, and backhoe on saturday; and rounded up the weekend by playing gb, traffic, riot, and traffic (yes, again, for redemption) on sunday. we went 5-3 on the weekend with losses to fury, riot, and traffic (the first game), and learned a lot about us and our potential in each game. very exciting. the trip was worthwhile, and it's a great way to compare ourselves to the west coast competition. now, we have two weeks to prepare for labor day, and bring our level of play up even more!

besides the competition, i got to see a few friends i haven't seen since....nationals in october. i love pre-season elite tournaments, and friends who play on these elite teams. seeing and talking with them keeps me motivated to continue pushing through with pt so i can play ultimate again. next year. for sure. my personal deadline for this. i can't stand on the sidelines anymore. but, yes, i do remember that being patient and diligent for this long has paid off. but it's time to really get going. i am going to play ultimate again. and that day is going to come sooner than i know it. and i am excited. : )

i guess i should get back to work. wrapping up things here at the museum. and packing up stuff at the apartment. lots of new beginnings to come in september. and i couldn't be more grateful for all the wonderful things to come my way, and for the fantastic friends who have been supportive through every endeavor. thank you. i couldn't have done it without you.

new beginnings are exciting.

-me : )