"there's no place like home"

"Toto, I've a feeling that we're not in Kansas anymore."

On Friday night at Northpark mall, I kept having cute, little old people ask me, "Can you click your heels and get home?" See, my big mistake for the day was to wear my red high heels to work (I had to wear them from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.). Unfortunately, I also happen to have the lowest pain tolerance of almost anyone that you have ever met. The good news is that I gave all of the old people something

to talk about. So here is a little recap of the past couple of days. 

Day 4: Friday morning I woke up with extreme excitement. Today was my very first, very official client lunch. I got to the office only to be sent out to go get the mail (oh good, round two with the whole parking scenario).  I think that I was just so excited about my 11:45 lunch appointment that I forgot how to get to the post office. Not only did I get all of the directions confused, I also turned the wrong way onto a one way street, toured about half of highland park, and spent a good hour "getting the mail." I am glad to say that I made it back just in the nick of time. When I arrived at the lunch with my boss, the valet opened the car door and my mouth might have dropped open on accident. There on the patio sat two clients...two clients that could have been in a movie. For a second I thought I was dreaming. Actually, for the entire meal I felt like I dreaming.  These women were the type that upon greeting each other, would kiss each other on the cheek (on slightly hugging each other of course) and say "why helloooo darrrllliinnngg ( it is all quite drawn out and dramatic). -I must interject that before this meeting, I was told that this would probably be a good time to listen. Maybe pay close attention to how the boss handles clients. At first I thought this seemed a bit over the top, but I became rather thankful for that tid bit of information as the lunch went on. Anyway, so we all sat down and I sat right in the crack between the two patio umbrellas, so I got a little tan... and sweaty in the lovely noonday sun (perfect first impression of the intern). We went over the details for the clients party. We talked about the band and the dj, the full course dinner, the custom cake, the acoustics of the room, the layout of the tables, the menu, the bar, the alcohol (if extra alcohol could be brought in or not), the parking, and the occasional price of different things throughout the lunch. One of the clients kept her sunglasses on and sat pretty quietly for the whole meal and the other one did not stop talking. It was like the most real reality tv show you have ever seen. It was so cool to see every aspect of the party being thought out though. 

   You would think that this would surely be enough for one day, but oh no, not for this working girl. 

The next task at hand was to set up for the grand opening of a store in Northpark mall. I honestly did not really have an assigned job, seeing that this was my first event (so many firsts in one day!), so I just helped with random jobs like putting up the ribbon across the store doors. I also got to check people in for the parade... the VIP customers and the employees.  I guess the old people were charmed when I asked them if they wanted a balloon for the parade, because that is when they brought out the ruby slipper jokes. By the way, the store that was opening was actually just changing locations from one side of the mall to the other, but this grand opening was special. Like I mentioned, there was a parade ( which I had to be the caboose for), but there were also models, a band, an employee dinner, and a ribbon cutting ceremony. The funny thing about having a job where they haven't known you for very long, is that they sometimes give you tasks that do not quite suit you. They somehow decided to place me at the entrance to the employee only dinner party in the middle of the mall. I was supposed to be guarding the entrance with the mall cop. If you can picture me in my red heels and sundress next to this rather large mall cop, you might be surprised to know that I was actually stricter than he with the whole guarding business. The event went very well, and I survived with only a couple of blisters. 

The Weekend: I will make this brief, but I just had to share this one adventure. I went to one of the greatest people watching places on the entire earth. I guess you would consider it a flea market, I am not sure, but this place called Canton has it all. I went with my grandmother, my aunt, and my cousin (what a good sport). If you ever see an idea on Pinterest, this place will satisfy your every need. After scouring the entire flea market and getting the most hilarious looking sunburn ever, I found my treasure ( a treasure is anything you find at Canton that you absolutely have to have). 

This is it -->

I know, so cool, huh?

So although the little old people in the mall may have been a bit cheesy, they did make me think. I started thinking about what home really meant for me. I feel like a bit of a nomad nowadays, but I realized that being home does not mean that I have to be at my house. Being home is when I am walking with the Lord in His guidance and love. I have always loved being at my house, but it is really the people in it that make it my home. Without the Lord taking my hand and guiding me, who knows where I would go. 

"When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by the right hand. You guide me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73: 21- 26

oh, how he loves us!

p.s. My internship really is great, I promise that these ridiculous stories are making me laugh all of the time. What would life be without funny things anyway?