I am very happy to report that I have been able to keep my usual summertime tradition of going on a few trips. Granted my entire summer could potentially be classified as a trip, it is still nice to have a vacation from the everyday no matter where you are located.
Being in Omaha for nearly 8 weeks before I traveled outside the city, I was getting a small bout of cabin fever. Thankfully, I was able to make it back to AZ in early July so I could attend the family trip to Rocky Point, Mexico. Next month is my Grandpa Jim's 75th birthday, and as a surprise, we were able to get nearly the whole family down for a stay on the beach.
The trip ended up being one of the most eventful Mexico trips I have had, but despite the traveling delays, flooded house, power outage, and jellyfish sting, we had a wonderful time. He was so surprised to see all of us standing there when he finally arrived and it was really great to spend some quality time with my family.
Less than 40 hours after I arrived back in Omaha from Mexico, I left for Virginia. I spent that next weekend in Reston for an extremely busy weekend of meetings at the American Academy of Audiology Headquarters. As a member of the 2010-2011 Student Academy of Audiology (SAA) Board of Directors, this meeting was basically the kick-off to our year of office. The other Board members are so motivating and it was very exciting to collaborate with each other to set a game-plan for the progress we'll be making in the next year. SAA is a very new organization, and our board has a lot of work ahead of us - but judging by the productivity of the weekend, it's safe to say we're all perfectly fit for the job!
As my time here in middle-America is rapidly coming to a close, these last few weekends are being stuffed with activities that we have been pushing aside. This past weekend, two of my roommates and I drove to Kansas City, MO. The 3-hour drive wasn't too bad, but we hit a HUGE storm and were slowed to about 30mph and 50ft visibility for 45 minutes.
That evening we went to the OAR concert and, as we were attempting to duck out early to beat the crowd, we happened upon some backstage passes for the after-party with the band! The thrill of actually getting the passes exceeded the event by quite a bit, but it was really awesome to meet the band and take pics with them! Lindsay Tippett drove up from Lawrence to meet us at Oceans of Fun on Saturday. This water park was so cool, and it turned out to be a really great day to be in the water because it was so hot out! Later that night, a friend of mine who I haven't seen in about 7 years was able to come meet up with us. It was so great to catch up! The rest of the trip was basically filled with dead car batteries and waiting on AAA - discovering first hand the slow-pace of middle America!
I have a few more weeks here in Omaha before I make my way back to the Southwest and I'm hoping that I will be able to break away from wrapping up my project long enough to check a few more things off my Omaha To-Do List!
Being in Omaha for nearly 8 weeks before I traveled outside the city, I was getting a small bout of cabin fever. Thankfully, I was able to make it back to AZ in early July so I could attend the family trip to Rocky Point, Mexico. Next month is my Grandpa Jim's 75th birthday, and as a surprise, we were able to get nearly the whole family down for a stay on the beach. 
The trip ended up being one of the most eventful Mexico trips I have had, but despite the traveling delays, flooded house, power outage, and jellyfish sting, we had a wonderful time. He was so surprised to see all of us standing there when he finally arrived and it was really great to spend some quality time with my family.
Less than 40 hours after I arrived back in Omaha from Mexico, I left for Virginia. I spent that next weekend in Reston for an extremely busy weekend of meetings at the American Academy of Audiology Headquarters. As a member of the 2010-2011 Student Academy of Audiology (SAA) Board of Directors, this meeting was basically the kick-off to our year of office. The other Board members are so motivating and it was very exciting to collaborate with each other to set a game-plan for the progress we'll be making in the next year. SAA is a very new organization, and our board has a lot of work ahead of us - but judging by the productivity of the weekend, it's safe to say we're all perfectly fit for the job! As my time here in middle-America is rapidly coming to a close, these last few weekends are being stuffed with activities that we have been pushing aside. This past weekend, two of my roommates and I drove to Kansas City, MO. The 3-hour drive wasn't too bad, but we hit a HUGE storm and were slowed to about 30mph and 50ft visibility for 45 minutes.
That evening we went to the OAR concert and, as we were attempting to duck out early to beat the crowd, we happened upon some backstage passes for the after-party with the band! The thrill of actually getting the passes exceeded the event by quite a bit, but it was really awesome to meet the band and take pics with them! Lindsay Tippett drove up from Lawrence to meet us at Oceans of Fun on Saturday. This water park was so cool, and it turned out to be a really great day to be in the water because it was so hot out! Later that night, a friend of mine who I haven't seen in about 7 years was able to come meet up with us. It was so great to catch up! The rest of the trip was basically filled with dead car batteries and waiting on AAA - discovering first hand the slow-pace of middle America! 
