Starkville, I'll be seeing you soon!

fun fact 2: I came to Philadelphia without knowing anyone. On Friday I ran into someone I know from work while out on the town. It was such a small thing, but it was really awesome to have met enough people this summer that I can run into one on the street.

fun fact 3: Philadelphia's cannoli beat Boston's cannoli hands down.

I finished my internship on Friday and decided to commemorate the experience by going to First Friday with a fellow intern. Philadelphia's First Friday is an event on 2nd and 3rd St between Market and Arch (roughly). All of the art galleries and shops are open for the public to enjoy after hours. There are also street musicians and local artists and craftspeople selling their work on the sidewalk. It's a really interesting mix of people (ranging from serious art collectors and student artists to activists and random hippie group who is obviously on something to young people looking for free wine and cheese) and work (ranging from thousands of dollars oil paintings in the galleries to sketchbook drawings and handmade jewelry and screenprinted textiles on the sidewalk).

The second half of the night was spent at a real Italian BYO. The room was small and the kitchen was noisy, but the food was amazing and the experience was priceless! They have four guys serving and every one of them waited on us. The guy that told us about the specials put on quite a show. Think Emeril Lagasse without the BAHMM!

I'm halfway through my last weekend in Philly. I'm trying to decide how to spend tomorrow. Monday will be spent packing and repacking until everything fits nicely in the corolla. I can't believe I'll be back in Mississippi in a matter of days.

Beginnings Are Scary and Endings Are Sad

lesson 50: Here it is the big 5-0: Most of the people I have met over the past two months have told me that, not only have they never been to Mississippi, they have never met anyone from Mississippi. So, there it is. There's a small group of people in Philadelphia whose only tie to Mississippi is meeting me. Hmmm, wait a minute...

I only have two days left of my internship. I can't believe how fast it has gone by. I'm finishing up my big design project and hope to have a finished product by the end of the day on Friday. All in all, it has been an amazing experience! I'm still not sure what my plans are for getting home, but I'll be glad to see everyone when I get there.

lesson 47: Despite the lightning flashing and the thunder crashing, people still have to get their pictures running up the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Note to self: should watch Rocky to see what all of the fuss is about. I wasn't pausing for the photo-op.

lesson 48: Lincoln Dr. closes when the water rises. Also, huge pot holes appear in random places, including I-76.

lesson 49: Getting your car (which is parked nose down a hill) out of a parallel parking spot when the back tire is in a pothole and the front end is six inches from the Volvo in front of you is pretty close to impossible.

lesson 49.5: (not important enough for the big 5-0) Getting an 18 oz tub of Trader Joe's Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies to sit next to my computer probably wasn't the best idea.