Officially Migrated

Well, after a very successful run, it's time to move on to bigger and better things.  I am keeping my blog going but am transferring it to another platform.  This blogger site has been great for me and helped to keep me connected in my time abroad, but for a couple of reasons I've decided to move.  The new URL is posted below and I have managed to transfer all my posts over so nothing will be lost.  Of course this site will stay up and running but will no longer be updated.

Blogger, you've been good to me and I'm sad to go.  However, it's time to grow into something new.

Carter's Tumblr Blog

Summer Sloshball

Today was the first time I had the pleasure of playing the wonderful game of sloshball.  It's basically set up like baseball, but you kick the ball instead and you have the added difficulty of carrying a cup full of your beverage of choice around the entire set of bases.  At second base you have to stop no matter what and chug your drink before refilling and moving on.  Not only does this complicate things but it also causes a lot of spillage and the right side of my shirt and shorts were pretty instantly soaked.  Our team came up extremely short from the very beginning, but rallied and came within one run by the end of the game.  It was exciting and surprisingly athletic and we were all tired and full of liquid by the end.  We were also in the process of digesting all the food we consumed from the barbecue immediately prior to the game so it was an interesting combination for some people's stomachs.

In the end, dirty feet and sticky skin aside, it was a very nice way to spend a somewhat overcast afternoon on campus and an awesome addition to my birthday weekend  :)

Princess Party

What a way to start off this birthday week!  Yesterday I went into work for an hour to give a private lesson, got myself a massage, and then came home to relax.  Megan and I had decided to do a pizza/movie night before she heads back out for 10 days, so I was getting excited for that when Annie texted me and said she was going to join us.  I thought that was great and she told me that she was going to leave and needed me to come to the store with her when she got to our place.  Little did I know this was the beginning of a scheme between her and Megan to just get me out of the house.  All she got when we arrived at Safeway was a bottle of wine...I ended up with more than she did, walking out with all the ingredients I needed for the butterscotch cupcakes that are currently in the oven (mmm!!).  Earlier in the day Megan had gone out with her boyfriend Jeff and I thought they were just running errands but in fact she was headed every which way trying to find Disney princess party goods.  As we pulled up at the house Annie started to get all giddy and when I walked up Megan was sitting on the couch with a party hat on.  She came to the door and greeted me with a princess crown which I wore for the rest of the evening.  She had also put up some amazing decorations and it was like a princess explosion in our living room!  She bought cups and plates that we used for our pizza and wine...dining in style while watching The Little Mermaid.  It was such a nice surprise and I feel very loved.  She'll be gone when my actual birthday comes around but it was great to spend some time with her, Annie, and Jeff.

After the first movie we ran out for ice cream, came back and put in Aladdin.  The Disney movies of our childhood are just so great and I'm happy to know that kids today still watch them.  Truly timeless classics and I love re-living them, even though I'm almost 25, ha!  :)

Graduation 2013

As I've already told him, Alex is now one step closer to being as cool as me ;)

All jokes aside, this weekend was really fantastic.  I helped pick up the Buscaglia clan from Oakland on Friday morning and immediately it was all family, all the time.  We hung out together until I had to leave for work and then later we took Michelle out to San Jose to hang out with our bartending teacher.  She thought it was a great scene and we enjoyed chatting while waiting for the last family member to arrive on her delayed flight into San Jose.  I was exhausted and passed out on the way home but apparently we dropped Michelle off at her hotel and then I made it back to my house.

We got up early on Saturday morning and made a trek out to Livermore for some wine-tasting.  It turned out to be a very easy drive and we had an early tasting at the first place we stopped at.  There were some crisp white wines I liked but I was not a fan of the reds.  Since I was driving I opted out of the second tasting and before I knew it we were enjoying lunch at a very nice restaurant.  The tapas-style food was delicious and was the true beginning of my weekend full of great food.  After lunch we drove back to the house to help set-up for the party Tricia and Warren were throwing in honor of the graduate.  It really didn't take long but soon people started to arrive and then all of a sudden a whole bunch of family and friends were around.  It made for a very joyous occasion and for me it was even better because I had the added joy of seeing my parents!  They made the trek down from Sacramento to help celebrate and they looked great.  They made friends with some of the members of Alex's family and it was nice to see them having a good time.  The party itself was a big hit and a nice way to get people together before the ceremony actually occurred.  Alex really does have a lot to be proud of and it was nice to see that many people know that and were there to support him.

I said good-bye to my parents and went to bed, only to wake-up early once again and get dressed up for graduation.  We met at Alex's house, drove the cars a couple of blocks, and then got out and walked the rest of the way.  This proved to be a great idea given the fact that there was so much traffic on the roads leading into the school.  We made it into the stadium with plenty of time to spare and it was fun to watch Wacky Walk before the formalities began.  The president of the university had a very nice little blurb before Mayor Bloomberg assumed the stage for his speech.  I thought it was very tasteful and contained some important messages that the graduates can take with them as they leave Stanford and embark on their own journey.  Alex sat with all of us because he had already done the walk back in 2011, but when we walked to Maples he ran off ahead to get in line with everyone else ready to receive a diploma.  We got to see him walk across the stage and everyone was elated that he finally had his degree.  After all the hard work and dedication it was so nice to see the smile and satisfaction on his face...it made me so happy because I remember being in his shoes three years ago :)

After the ceremony and a picture taking session on campus I went home and changed before dinner at Nola's with the family.  As the night came to an end we said good-bye to some family members and then hung out at the house for a couple of hours.  I think we were all trying to hang on to the great emotions the day evoked for as long as possible but finally it was time for everyone to begin packing and for me to go home.

Today Alex and Cale left for a much deserved and highly anticipated vacation to Cabo while the rest of the family had to head back to Chicago.  After breakfast at Joanie's we spent the morning playing in the park with Annaliese, hoping to make her tired enough to sleep on the plane.

I really hope that throughout the course of the weekend I was able to get across how proud I am of my engineering partner-in-crime.  I wouldn't have gotten through school without him and it was so fulfilling to see him earn that piece of paper and nice to know that it will now be his forever...no one can take that away.  I have to remind myself of that sometimes, as well as the fact that Stanford taught me so many things and continues to inspire me every day.  I know I can speak for many Stanford graduates when I say that I am truly thankful for all my experiences there, even the really hard times when we were tired, frustrated, and ready to quit.  Every single moment was worth it and I think Alex came to that realization this weekend.  Congrats, Stanford grad...you deserve everything you've earned :)

Compulsory Masters Workshop

This weekend the Twisters team staff had the pleasure of making the trek up to Reno to attend congress, where the national staff unveiled and taught the new compulsory routines.  Our journey started on Thursday morning when we met at the gym, packed up the Twisters van, and made our way to Rocklin; Ericka's parents live there and they were taking care of the kids for the weekend.  Not only was it a nice stopping point but my mom was also able to make her way over so I was able to spend a little bit of the afternoon with her!  We went to lunch with everyone then to the mall before heading back and continuing on our way.  Once we finally made it across the border and into the city, we found our hotel and checked-in.  We registered for the event and had our first of many large meals before heading up to bed; Annie and I got to room together so we had a good time staying up and talking for a little bit.

The venue was one I am very familiar with due to the fact that I competed there for more years than I can remember and it was interesting to walk in as a member of the "other side" (aka coach vs gymnast).  Morning #1 was all about the level 5 floor routine.  At first we watched someone perform it and then we were up and dancing around ourselves, attempting to pick up on all the new dance.  It took about three hours but we got it down...Cat and Ericka got it quite easily and will be the ones in the gym that everyone should look to, but the rest of us held our own.  Level 5 beam took up most of the afternoon, along with vault and bar conditioning clinics.  By the end of the day we were exhausted and almost fell asleep over our food at dinner, but somehow managed to rally and ended up staying out with some of the other coaches we ran into.  Annie and I even made a late-night milkshake run...we gave up on trying to eat well early on so figured we might as well.

Morning #2 came too soon and with coffee in hand, we were back in the hall ready to face the level 4 routines.  It was just like the day before, though luckily a little bit easier because each routine builds off the other so we had an idea of what we were doing.  In addition to paying attention to everything going on around us, we had our own in-house stuff to attend to so we also held a meeting in Allan's room to discuss certain upcoming deadlines.  All these new responsibilities I've assumed are a bit overwhelming but it's a fun learning process.  I like playing a larger role in the development of the program and look forward to all that will be thrown my way.

Tired and ready for bed, we still had to go through some more lectures before dinner and sleep.  This morning we had the opportunity to hit the snooze button a time or two and then after a couple of hours discussing levels 1-3 we decided as a group to head out early, woohoo!!  The workshop wasn't scheduled to end until 4pm but we were drained and needed to get away so we left around 10:45am and arrived in Rocklin for lunch.  It was nice to see the light of day after spending so many continuous hours indoors and we enjoyed the ride, listening to music and trying to unwind.  We picked up the kids and continued on our way home, arriving around 4:45pm.  Walking into the door of my apartment never felt so good and now I'm planning on heading to bed early before getting back at it tomorrow morning!  As of right now there are so many poses and musical notes floating through my head that I can't keep them all straight, but seeing the girls do these routines all summer will act as a constant reminder of what they're supposed to look like.  It'll be interesting to see how this season unfolds for gyms around the country...September here we come!

May Days

Looks like I've been in serious slacker mode!  But in reality there has just been so much going on that I don't feel like I even have a spare minute.  That will continue through the beginning part of the summer, but maybe after that things will calm down a little bit.

The first thing that was taking up so much of my time was bartending school!  Alex and I didn't have a clue about what were getting into when we started, but it was really a ton of fun.  We were up making flashcards and memorizing recipes, playing mind games along the way to help us remember.  We went to class for about four hours per day over the last couple of weeks to see the drinks being made and to practice pouring for ourselves.  Finally, Thursday morning we took our exams and we passed with flying colors!  It's funny to look at it now because when I picked him up that day you could tell that we were both really nervous.  He tried quizzing me on liquor classifications and I was failing miserably and we were quite quiet as we ate our breakfast.  However when we arrived we got through the written exam and each received a 99.5%!  Halfway to becoming certified bartenders and the only thing that stood in our way was the pour-test.  We had practiced for many hours and were both feeling good about our abilities, and this showed as we each set a new record time delivering our recipes.  We walked out with diplomas and new titles...certified mixologists!  I never thought I'd say that, but this whole experience has opened my eyes to fun things that are available to me if I just decide to try them out.

Yesterday we were still on a high from our achievements but even more importantly it was Alex's birthday (the golden one, nonetheless)!  Cale and I had talked and sort of planned out the day and it was nice to see everything come together.  We all got up and met for brunch in the morning before going to the mall to get Alex a shirt for the fancy dinner he thought he and Cale would be sharing later. After a brief hiatus we met up again for tennis and then I went to work while the boys went off for some pampering.  Cale convinced Alex that they were having dinner together but little did he know that more of us would be there to surprise him.  We ate at Evvia and when he walked in his face was priceless; the food was amazing and we had a good time just sitting around the table and talking.  Alex also ordered one of the drinks we learned to make in class, the golden dream, and we felt so classy, haha!  After a long meal we got up and ready to dance at the bar/club next door.  We lasted there for about an hour and then were tired and decided to call it a night.  I gave my gifts (bartending kit, messenger bag, and photo cube) to him and we said goodnight, happy that the day had gone so well.

While there are no more birthdays for me to think about or classes to attend this month, next week is going to be just as crazy!  Annie is finally moving down here and will begin coaching with me on Monday, woohoo!  And then...James comes in on Tuesday for an entire week.  We've got a few things planned but for the most part it's going to be nice to just have time to see each other for once after being apart for so long.  It's my first connection back to Australia and I'm super excited!  After that we're holding the optional banquet, then the coaches are off to the compulsory clinic in Reno, Alex graduates (finally) from Stanford, and around the corner is my birthday!  :)

Birthdays, Bartending, and Bootcamp

What a week.  Being out of season is great but I figured things would slow down, not speed up!  I guess it's my own doing though, with all the activities I recently put on my plate.  Thanks to Amazon Local I am now in bartending school and bootcamp training four days per week.  The bartending deal was something Alex, Cale, and I all jumped on and looked at as something fun we could do together.  We originally purchased it awhile back and never acted on it, waiting for schedules to clear up, etc.  Finally Alex and I decided to just go for it and Cale's going to take the online course when he's finally out of school for the summer.  We have class Monday through Thursday for four hours and each day we learn about a different type of drink:  so far it's been mixes, sours, martinis, and shooters.  Next week they'll pile on more I'm sure and at the end there is a written and a pour test.  It's scary to think about but we're on top of it with our flashcards and we have a study session set-up for tomorrow (just like the good old days back at Stanford).  If we pass our exams we'll be able to get a job at a local bar if we want...woohoo!  In addition to these classes, a great bootcamp workout deal came along and I had to jump on it; for $23 I have five weeks of classes in Redwood City.  It starts at 7am which means I have to actually get up early but also that I'm done by 8am and have the entire rest of the day in front of me!  I feel so accomplished by noon and am loving the fact that the class is really hard and is essentially kicking my butt.  The guy running it is great and highly motivating so there's a chance that I'll continue with them after the deal is over but I'm going to have to see just how much it'll cost me.

It seems like May is the month for birthdays and with the number of gifts that have been delivered to my door you'd think it's Christmas!  I love getting stuff for people though and the wrapping and surprise element of it all makes me so happy.  Allan and Ericka had a birthday party at the gym for Remi and Tula so the team staff attended that and enjoyed the princess (girls)/pirate (boys) theme as well as the homemade tamales (it was on May 5th and Ericka is Mexican so it was legit!).  We almost had more fun than the kids did wearing the fairy wings and playing with the toy swords.  Ahhh, to be young again  :)

Cale's birthday was yesterday so I was able to take a couple gifts off the pile and deliver them to him.  He, Alex, and I spent the evening playing games and talking and then today those two went on a wine tour together.  From the pictures it looked amazing and seemed like a great way to celebrate a 21st birthday!  Tomorrow is my dad's birthday, followed by Mother's Day on Sunday, Blair's birthday on the 15th, and Alex's on the 24th.  I have Mom and Dad's gifts ready to go and Blair's was sent off awhile ago so I think I'm right on schedule.  I'm planning on disrupting the weekend my parents have planned so that we can have breakfast on Sunday morning before they head off to see the Terra Cotta Warriors in SF, so that should be a good time.  And then once May is over, it's all about me and my birthday month!  Kidding.  Sort of  ;)