February 7, 2011 – My alarm is set for 4:00am, I’m already packed but I need to be at the airport by 5:30 and I’m always paranoid I’ll forget things before I travel. I however can’t sleep so I wake up at 3:00am which gives me plenty of time to read, get ready and have a bite to eat. I decide I might as well head to the airport a little early in hopes to beat the lines. I had already printed my boarding pass but I needed to check my bag and go through security. I was super happy I got there early because the security line took me about an hour…. Which sucked already, then I realized that I could have gone through the express line because of my priority ticket, which made it super suck!!! Anyhow I was the first person to board the plane so I got my window seat up front. Off to my first stop… Vegas baby! I had a short layover so I decided to play the slots and lost a whole $2… Then I decided to stop… off to N.C.
I arrived about 5:30 in the evening and headed to my hotel, it was a 2 mile drive however I got lost so it turned out to be about a 10 mile drive…. I checked into my room took a quick shower and realized I was starving. Just as I was putting my hair up my phone rings. It was an old friend Derek Bailey who now lives in N.C. he was hungry as well and was only 10 minutes away from my hotel… Crap!!! I have to look cute in 10 minutes?! I hadn’t seen him in over a year and we have a big history together so I didn’t want to look like I just jumped out of the shower. Luckily I hadn’t washed my hair and it was still curly enough that I was able to pull off looking decent… not cute just decent. He picked me up and it was so good to see him. We went to a local chicken wings place and decided to get a wing sampler. We had to pick 5 different flavors, so we picked 4 that sounded good and of course we had to try the spiciest one on the menu…. The Bravehart… Let me tell ya, it was HOT!!!! At first taste it was sweet and we were both confused, then the heat started to kick in, our eyes were watering, faces red and noses were running… It was like WHOA!!! After dinner we went for ice cream. It was a good and fun reunion. I was spent so I then went to bed.
The following morning I was on my way to the office when I drove past a swamp! Holy cow they have swamps?! I really wanted a picture but I thought there could easily be alligators and snakes so I didn’t dare.. The office was beautiful and my co-workers Kari, Si, Cheryl and Slava were fantastic. I felt so welcomed and happy to be there. In that first day I learned so much from each of them. We had a nice Italian lunch and then more training.
That evening Derek was taking me to meet some of his friends. So I went to his place where I met Trevor, originally from Georgia and he was hilarious. Together we drove to an area called Chapel Hill, it reminded me of Main Street Park City simply because of the old yet hip and chic shops and restaurants. Such a cute area I loved it. We went to a sushi place where we met 2 more friends Ryan and Chad, these guys train with Derek for Iron Man races. Ryan is currently a nurse but is also pre-med and Chad is an eye doctor. Good food and good company. After dinner Derek and Trevor took me on a city tour. We went into Downtown Raleigh and to an area called North Hill (I think) we were going to catch a flick but the latest movies had already started. Then we decided to go bowling, but I didn’t have socks…. So we went and saw the Strivectin offices instead. Up top it was a great view of the city. I was please to learn that there were no alligators in N.C. and that any snakes would be hibernating!
On my way to work the next morning I got my picture of a swamp! So exciting!!! I learned that one of the ladies at the office believes that her late husband is trying to contact her through aliens… interesting. I learned a lot of great things for work but they are boring so I won’t get into any details there. They really wanted to take me to try Carolina BBQ which is vinegar based so that’s what we did for lunch. I ate my whole meal the local way chopped bbq sandwich, fries with vinegar on top and sweet tea. All in all it was good except for the tea…
I was sent home from work early so I decided to visit Duke University, or at least Duke Chapel. I was so beautiful and peaceful. The campus was full of life since there was a big basketball game against N.C. that night. I wish I could have spent more time there.
That night I picked Derek up for dinner and he was so excited to take me to his favorite place… He couldn’t wait for me to try Carolina BBQ…… I didn’t have the heart to tell him I had already tried it. So I prepared myself to try it all again for the second, first time. He took me to a place called the Pit which was super ghetto on the outside but very nice and trendy inside. He ordered us fried green tomatoes, 3 types of meat to try the BBQ sauce on, cheese grits, mac & cheese, sweet potato fries, coleslaw and hush puppies… Oh my word it was soooo much food! All of which was amazing. We both felt guilty and sad that we couldn’t finish it. Not only did we try the Carolina BBQ but we also were able to try Memphis BBQ which is molasses and tomato based. I have to say the Carolina BBQ wins! After dinner we went to see Shimmer Wall it was so neat. It’s a giant wall that is silver and has a black design of trees and stuff on it, they project different colors of lights and when the wind blows it causes it to “shimmer” I can’t really explain it but it was super rad. We also witnesses a lady stuck in a parking garage trying to lift the bar so she could drive out, comedy… pure comedy! Then we just went to his place and played games for a while.
Thursday I went to the office did the last of my training with the girls, then headed to the airport to pick up one of colleagues who was flying in from Memphis to meet me and show me some things. On the way to the airport I got lost and ended up at the National Guard base were they searched me and my car before letting me get on my way. Holly and I went to lunch she’s fantastic! This woman is brilliant! She has 3 degrees, a PhD in medical technology, a masters in both architecture and microbiology. She’s lived all over the world and reminds me of someone that should be on a safari. Spending the afternoon with here was great, I learned so much and it was awesome to build a friendship with her. That night Derek and I went to dinner then to see a documentary, Hood to Coast. Was a great film, so inspiring, I had to hold tears back several times. This film got every emotion out of me. We then went back to his place to have a re-match with our games before we said goodbye.
It was a great week for so many reasons: beautiful state, wonderful people, words that needed to be said were said, uncontrolled laughing, the ability to learn… I was amazing! Back to real life!!!
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