dog days of summer

Summer seems like it's slipping away from me, and I start school in 10 days! Though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't productive with my summer. I managed to drive to or visit 7 states, attend a professional conference, perform two shows, and take two vacations to visit best friends from high school. Not too bad, eh?

I've had so many opportunities to meet famous people too. Apparently I was at a bar in Mason City during the ICDA Summer Symposium where Gov Bill Richardson was sitting with his staffers. (I just thought they were a bunch of businessmen.) I also had the chance, but had to pass, to meet Obama at Palmers for a gathering. And finally, I had to turn it down too, had the chance to volunteer for ABC News during the Democratic Debates at Drake. I couldn't justify the 60 hours of volunteer time when I was scheduled to work both Thursday and Friday at Crave (and us poor college kids need money). If I had gotten more than a t-shirt and some food, I would have. Is it really too much to ask to get paid minimum wage? It's ABC News for crying out loud, not some money-strapped non-profit agency. Sometimes I think they expect too much out of college students.

So the Iowa State Fair is going on this week. It's too bad that I wasn't able to get out there to see it. Though I've decided that it costs an awful lot of money for anyone to go to the fair. You're looking at $10 to get in, at least $10 to eat something, and another $10 (at least) to ride the attractions. I went last year, and was like my fair back home, except bigger. And the weather wasn't spectactular, so call me cranky, but I didn't go. HA! My roommate is helping conduct the kernel poll for WHO-TV, so I hear the latest news from the fair everyday.

Enough of my cranky tangents. Everyone will be back in town soon! And I'm going home for a few days (Mon and Tues) to see the fam before school starts. And I'm having lunch with one of my HS choir directors. So it will be a nice little solstice before school starts.

Place of the Post - Campbell's Nutrition. It's like a local Whole Foods. They sell organic produce and products. It's good, though expensive for a college student.