I’m pretty sure I blinked and February was over. I know it’s the shortest month and everything, but it was quick and packed full of events. Here’s a quickish updates and some photos to recap!

Girls in Politics

After a relatively dreary week, I opened my email up one day to a surprise opportunity–Girl in Politics. I was invited to serve as lead instructor for a San Diego event teaching young girls everything about politics. It was an all day event, but the girls were so behaved and truly engaged with the topics.

It warmed my heart to hear that they would definitely be voters when they’re of age and how important the ability to vote is to them. I was especially happy that they strongly believed in equal pay between gender, education improvement, and that a woman is completely capable of being president. It filled me with hope thinking about the positive impact they can and will make on our country in the future.

Back to Ithaca

I made a trip back to Ithaca for the weekend to celebrate the birth of the sweetest little baby Tula. I was happy to be a apart of the baby shower and welcome this bundle of joy into the family.

Trips home are always short and bittersweet. While I do miss my family, friends, and food in the area, I know I wouldn’t last a week there, especially in the winter. It was great seeing my friends again, hitting up Asia Cuisine, Collegetown Bagels, and of course the local bars.

3 Day Weekend

As soon as I got back from Ithaca, it was basically already President’s Day weekend. On Saturday, we went to my friend Natalie’s “Divas in Denim” birthday bar crawl. As you can see we were all sporting our finest Canadian tuxedos and the orange tree backdrop was the hit of the party.

Even after all the bars and unwanted tequila, Jack and I somehow managed to make it to the Panic! At the Disco concert that night. Overall, the show was fantastic. Brendon Urie has an incredible voice and it paired perfectly with the supporting instruments. Between the stage effects, audience participation, and Brendon playing piano on a platform moving over the crowd, they exceeded my performance expectations. I was slightly disappointed that they didn’t play more of their old music that got them started.  I was a huge fan back in their emo–lyingisthemostfunagirlcanhavewithouttakingofherpants–days when I sported dyed bangs, bows, and lots of black eyeliner. But I guess that was over 10 years ago, so it makes sense that they have some new stuff.

Sunday was well spent with breakfast at Clayton’s in Coronado and a morning walk around the island. Thankfully, the rain held off long enough to explore Cabrillo–one of my favorite views in San Diego–and the tide pools. I’d never been to the tide pools before and we came at low tide, which was perfect for observing the little crabs, starfish, and other sea critters in their natural habitat.

We finished the day off and had a post Valentine’s Day celebration at Ironside in Little Italy. The wine, oysters, and most importantly the company made it the end to a perfect weekend.

Esperanza’s birthday weekend

My best friend Es came to visit me and San Diego for the first time this past weekend.  Though it was slightly chilly, the sun finally decided to peek out for her. We celebrated her birthday/life/the good weather with a good ol’ fashion San Diego day drink. It had clearly been awhile since any of us had done one and it definitely took its toll.

Once the potential for a hangover cleared, we made a trip to the San Diego Zoo–thanks to Es’ awesome parents. Even though I’ve lived here for a year, it was my first time going. I’m not quite sure how I feel about zoos, but I was happy to know that this one in particular is known for their conservation work.

I was pumped to see the elephants though they ended up mostly out of our view. The polar bears were definitely my favorite. The zoo is massive and it’s crazy how long it takes to get through the whole thing. I definitely would like to go back and see more of it.

We made a pit stop in Coronado for a quick rollerblading sessions and then an even faster stop at Sunset Cliffs for the…you guessed it…sunset! It was another quick, but fun weekend and I’m hoping that maybe Es will consider moving here now…hint hint.

This weekend marks the end of February/beginning of March and I’m excited to see where this next month will take me!