This weekend held a lot of firsts for me so I decided to make this post a little more of a "list" than a journal entry.  But to preface it all, I'd like to announce that my best friend came to visit my family and I to celebrate my "21.5" birthday.  No matter what we were planning on doing, we were definitely set up for a good time.   

• Get a manicure AND pedicure at my favorite salon?  CHECK!

• Do a bar crawl downtown Grayslake?  CHECK!

• Have a real afternoon tea with my Grandmother?  CHECK!  (This was how we know we are officially "adults"- Thanks Grandma!)  :)

• Stay at a fancy hotel off Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago? CHECK!

• Go out on Rush Street? CHECK! 

• Try a Gyro? CHECK!

As you can see, we kept ourselves very busy but we had a great time doing all of it.  However, the point of this post is that it has been a while since I felt this excited about so many small accomplishments in any period of time.  I hope everyone can have the same feeling and I definitely wish every weekend was this productive for my "To Done" list! 

Remember that video game you had on one of those "ancient" systems that you were OBSESSED with and felt compelled to beat back in the good old 90's?  Well, I had a lot of those, especially because I have an older brother who introduced me to all of the systems as they came out.  However, there was one game that I had never been able to complete and thought I never would.... but this weekend, I FINALLY BEAT IT!!!! Yes, I am officially a master at the old Playstation2 game, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy.  :)

My roommate and I spent a total of 15 hours on this game this semester (I know this because the game feels the need to tell you exactly how much time you wasted when you finish it) and now we can finally go back to our normal lives.  I can't tell you how accomplished I feel though, because this was always a favorite game growing up but I apparently lacked the small motor skills and ability to figure my way through all of its winding levels back in the day.  When she brought it to our house at school from her parent's house, I just knew we were going to finally finish it.  I'm (pathetically) very proud of our gamer skills!

Conquer the Evil Skorn in Gauntlet: Dark Legacy for PS2?   CHECK!!!

As a graduating senior at Bradley, I have found that the closer to my final day in school I get, the more terrified I am of it.  Lately, when it comes to talking about leaving friends behind, making final arrangements in my apartment, or simply realizing that I need to start bringing things home to make the final move-out easier, I am becoming quite the procrastinator.  However, more and more people are asking me what I will be doing when I leave and that is where the true anxiety has begun to set in...  

Over the weekend I decided to sit down and begin applying for jobs.  I updated my resume and even put together a few writing samples and projects into a digital portfolio to send in.  When I finished that, I went ahead and applied for a REAL "big girl" job! I am so nervous to hear back and I know that I will have to apply to 100 more by the end of this semester in order to have some direction when I leave school, but I feel so grown up already! :)

Its an intimidating world and with jobs being scarce, I have been trying to get creative on what I should apply to and how I should go about doing it.  But overall, I am satisfied with my progress thus far and am very optimistic about where my life could take me! Sooo....

Apply for my first real (career-oriented) job?  CHECK!!!

Since everyone seems to be posting about the Super Bowl this year, I feel it is only appropriate to add something about it on here.  So, that being said, I would like to announce that I managed to sit through an entire super bowl game this year!  While it doesn't constitute a need for a Guinness World Record, it is at least note worthy on my list because this year, I was able to constructively contribute to all discussions on the commercials that aired, the whole half time show, and even say a little about the game itself. :)  Football is not usually my thing, but I'm glad I was able to at least say I tried!

Also, as an advertising major, I feel like it is only appropriate to rank my top 10 favorite commercials.  Feel free to let me know what yours were and/or if you agree:

1. Half Time in America - Chrysler

2. Speed Dating - E-Trade

3. Sexy and I Know It - M&M

4. 2012 - Chevy Silverado

5. Reinvented - Toyota camry

6. Happy Grad - Chevy

7. Battle of the Coaches - NBC's The Voice

8. Performance Football - Bridgestone

9. Dog Strikes Back - Volkswagen 

10. Here We Go - Bud Light

Watch an entire Super Bowl game? CHECK!