Happy 4th of July (sort of)

It's not really the Fourth anymore, but oh well. It didn't really seem like it. Megan and I went to the beach this afternoon - PB, to be exact. Holy f. Apparently that's where everyone goes to hang out on July 4th. It took us forever to find somewhere to park (pssst, don't tell Von's that we weren't actually customers), and then we had a 20-minute walk to the sand. And once we got to the shore, again, holy f. It was like Palmerfest times 100 - on the beach. Tents everywhere with people playing beer pong, blasting stereos, dancing, throwing frisbees, going down slip 'n' slides, you name it. There was just this mass of drunken humanity on the beach. And if it wasn't enough like a street party at OU, there were....wait for it....horse cops. I took a picture of them, I was so excited.

But anyway, we didn't stay too long. I couldn't drink because I had to go to work (well and drive) so I felt sort of out of place, plus it was super crowded. So we high-tailed it out of there and got some Chipotle. I mean, who needs barbeque? I'll take burritos any day. Like I said, later on I had to work, which definitely didn't help the day feel like a holiday. We did take a break and go up to the fifth-floor balcony (which is huge and awesome, I'll get some pictures from it up here) to watch some fireworks. It was kind of cloudy, and the fireworks were all far away, so we couldn't see them that well. It was pretty surreal being up there - like peeking in on everyone else's celebration and not really having one of your own. Standing up there, it felt less like the 4th of July than two years ago when I was in Germany. Can't really explain why, and I wasn't necessarily bummed, but just strange.

In other news, I'm feeling good that I've started to connect with some of the folks at work. Last week I got taken out for drinks by the younger set, so that was really nice. Today, even though I packed my dinner like usual, I accepted an invite to grab dinner at In-N-Out, mainly because I'd never been there, but also because I want to take every opportunity I get to hang out with people outside the newsroom. I also brought in cookies tonight (I swear I'm not a suck-up), which I think people appreciated. And next Sunday is one of my coworker's birthday party, and it was really nice to get an invitation (technically an e-vite). Sometimes I just want to stay in my own little comfort zone, but it's also beneficial to branch out and embrace social opportunities. Makes me feel less alone.