Rain on my Parade

This pretty well captures how I'm feeling this morning about attending an all-day graduate student conference, and missing a party I was really excited about attending last night with Caroline and Ian and Lauren, and forfeiting an entire Saturday:

These were taken around 1:45 yesterday right before a massive t-storm hit; there was a tornado warning in effect until 4 p.m. EST, which brought back memories of the tornadoes that swept across VA last spring.

On that note, this video was taken by several of my sorority sisters just a few apartments down from mine, during said tornado:

I love storms, but this was a little close for comfort...

Back to reality. I can't complain too much -- I'm earning extra credit in all 3 of my classes for attending, I'm only giving up 7 hours of my day, Ian is traveling here to spend tonight and tomorrow with me (and to celebrate his Phi Beta Kappa induction, at Red Lobster!), and I'm learning a lot about various aspects of counseling, as well as gaining plenty of exposure. Plus, this conference is one during which participants have the luxury of choosing which seminars and poster sessions they wish to attend. And, a delicious lunch (including vegetarian options) is included in the registration cost. Lastly, Jennifer and Kristin are going, and those two never fail to keep me interested and entertained.

Speaking of these two mugs, we enjoyed dinner last night with Kristin's man Travis and his friend at a new (read: new to us) local restaurant, Big Lick's. I tried the Blackened Chicken and Mango Quesadillas (which had my mouth on fire, but definitely cleared my sinuses--I'm a baby when it comes to spiciness),

the Ocean Breeze and the Key West Lemonade (pictured),

and the Strawberry Shortcake:

Jennifer and I shared an order of fried pickles, and I sampled a few cheese fries as appetizers. A calorie-fest, indeed, but I had no complaints.

All in all, I should really suck it up, shouldn't I? A little rain on my parade doesn't hurt ;)

P.S. What's on your agenda today? Are you a busy bee or slowing things down? I'm counting down the days (T-minus 6) until Spring Break! I'm also going to stuff several servings of veggies into the rest of my weekend to make up for last night!