The Sideways Hug: California

Overall, California was an awesome trip. I didn't mind the lack of sleep or the fact that the weather was colder than it should have been. I was with great people, and that made a world of difference. We didn't get to explore near as much as we all hoped since we were held hostage in the University classes for 8-9 hours a day, but when we did go out, we had FUN!
Areas of attraction/highlights include: California State Univ. (why didn't I go there instead of Millersville?), Club Cantina HAHA, Venice Beach, Santa Monica (twice!), The Cheesecake Factory, a new tank top, awesome Mexican food, fireworks and unlimited wine in Downtown Disney, yummy sandwich shop (3 days in a row), my awesome roommates, Laurel and Josh, The HOT tub!!!, Hollywood, California Pizza Kitchen, In and Out Burger at midnight (complete with a milkshake), Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, our cute rental car, chocolate and brickle covered banana on Balboa Island, rock climbing on Laguna Beach, and a show at the West Coast theater.

I stayed later than my friends did, so I ended up going further south and staying with some family friends for a night in Lake Forest, which was also fun.

Of course, I cried when I left due to my post-event depression, and now that I am home, I was welcomed with STACKS of papers to grade, grades due for report cards at 8 AM tomorrow, a paper to write due on Easter for grad. school, and lots of laundry. Yeah, PA isn't as exciting. :) I told Corey I would like to quit working and travel the world.

Thanks, Anaheim University, for making me go to this conference. :) :) :) It was not as fun as Seoul, SK, but still a blast!

So here are just a few of the pics my friend and I took. I will just say that on this trip I discovered (or should I say, re-confirmed the fact that I am the least photogenic person EVER). Most of my pics are blurry, my eyes are shut, my hair is a mess, my smile is a wreck...so yeah, major BUMMER.

Giving a presentation during one of our sessions. Look how intense I get when I talk about researching written metalinguistic corrective feedback. Hottt.