3 days + 10 states + 12 pack diet coke = 1 journey to Utah

... and yet again, I made the epic adventure out to the blessed west where everything is dusty, brown, and mormon. The trip was just that.. an adventure... Virginia and West Virginia were mostly traveled in the dark and rain... but once the sunrise came, it was beautiful as usual. Kentucky was fun just because of all the bridges and tunnels. Then there was Indiana. Which was just fine until there was that incident with the cop. and a work zone. and 2 semis. and well, lets just say that was an adventure in itself. In my defense, i was only speeding to safe myself from getting mauled by the 2 semis before my lane ended UNexpectedly. and then the cop just appeared out of thin air. and then he was a big jerk and looked like Smokey the Bear.. also, he had a lisp. Then i couldnt find my license.. or my registration. and then i started shaking because i was just getting more and more mad. but i guess someone must love me upstairs because well.. while speeding over 20 mph in a work zone.. I, Julie Bennett, got off with a WARNING. yep folks, you can start clapping and cheering right about now because that is EXACTLY what me and steph did when we drove away (going the speed limit, mind you). well after the Indiana incident, i was ready for Illinois, but Illinois was not ready for us because they were tearing up roads and filling up potholes every 15 miles practically. and Iowa was just a brief 15 minutes of my life, so I could care less about if it was pretty or not... Missouri was fun.. I love seeing all the sites.. the arch, the Chiefs stadium, the millions of pro-life billboards. OH but then my least favorite part of the trip.. the dreaded Nebraska... was on the 2nd leg of the trip... in normal fashion it had too many cows that stank, too many corn fields, too much rain, and way too much road work...as crazy as it sounds, i was so ready for Wyoming. we stopped in Cheyenne for the night.. and also at Outback Steakhouse for some dinner! and the 3rd leg was the shortest where i was the most antsy the whole trip to get out of my car. i hate driving in Utah with all the utahard drivers and billion college students.... BUT we arrived at my aunts house safely and a little late after an hour in traffic. bleh. but i got to hang out with my cousins i havent seen in 4 years all night! and we danced and ate dinner and relaxed. :)

oh, and now we are in Provo, getting Steph situated in her cute little apartment. and me getting lost in and around BYU campus and the city of Orem. and eating at yummy restaurants like Cafe Rio. nothing out of the ordinary, i suppose.... and now only 1 week and 3 days before my classes start!

Jessica, Hanes, Sand, School, Bros, Puppies

So as usual, time has flown by... and the past couple weeks since my internship ended is no exception...




First, there was Jessica who came and visited while I was at my moms...








And, lets say it was just like old times...









Then there was my "Goodbye Julie" cookout at my manager, Donald's, house. It was great to see everyone that I had missed that week... I swear I worked with the funniest people that exist in the whole HbI world... I didn't stop laughing the whole time. Well, except for when I was eating. And I did that a LOT. I never stopped learning this summer... and the cookout was no exception. For example, I learned my stripper/porn name is Ginger 26th Street and that Chad's is Fifi. I also learned that Bob has spicy nuts that are surprisingly very tasty. I also learned that Donald has keener eyes than any of us because he saw Michael Phelps almost not touch the wall first. I think its those glasses he has give him spidy vision. Either way, the whole night was amazing. I am so blessed to have gotten to know everyone I worked with and to have those amazing people care about me.



Then there was sand...










and moving Billy into school...














Then there was my talking session with my extended family, Jordy and Jonny..



















And last but not least having puppy mask adventures with Meg...

Thomas, James and Percy

No, these are not the names of my new boyfriends, though most of you might think so, they are the names of my new best friends.. and they are all trains. Trains with a TV show, mind you... and I am on a first name basis with all three. Please, don't be jealous. Maybe one day when you have a 2 year old nephew then you too will be able to make such fabulous friends. Recently I was able to spend a little time with the cutest little boy on earth, my nephew Joshua, and play a little "choo choo" with my new found friends...

Also, I have learned why I am so horrible at bowling... it is because I am way better at setting the pins UP than knocking them DOWN...

An end to my corporate life... for now.

1. CHECK. Donald, my manager, made it his personal duty to throw away all evidence of my hard work at HbI.

2. CHECK. I had a lot of them, and they were all delicately placed in bags to bring safely home.

3. I realized after he left that day I never got it to him, so here it is, my Top 3 Memories from HbI

1) Cracking up over the hilarious Thai women from Tisco. (N is for Norway, Y is for Yellow)
2) Walking into the wrong conference room, BY MYSELF, and almost sitting down before noticing the 10 people in the room that were in the middle of a meeting that i did NOT recognize.
3) When Bob Gormely brought in Hanes underwear and confessed he was going to wear them over his suit for a presentation... and then only I thought it was funny. It was definitely funny.

4. ALMOST CHECK. I did say my goodbyes to those I won't see next week at MY cookout (yes, my own goodbye cookout!) but I did cry...

Alas... my internship at Hanesbrands Inc. is OVER! On Thursday I called it quits on 10 hour days, 30 minute (:cough: 1 hour) lunches, having conversations with total strangers on the elevator, scrounging for 75 cents for a diet coke, taking walks to the old building 3rd floor to slack off with the other interns, forgetting my badge and having to be a "visitor" all day, telling Donald to "shutup", forgetting to put attachments on pretty much every e-mail I ever sent, and bringing back my leftovers from lunch for my dad.

It has been a great summer... for those of you who don't know what I actually did at HbI this summer... I'll give ya a quick synopsis... I worked together with my manager, Donald, who turned out to just be a friend disguised in Director of Pension and Benefits Finance attire.. I "helped" him in the transition of the U.S. Pension assets from one portfolio to another... along with a lot of other projects relating to 401(k)'s and pensions! I loved Treasury and oH! I also got to work with Credit and HR, so that was fun! :) I never knew I could learn so much and have so much fun at the same time! I loved going to work every day (though not at 7:30 AM) and there was never a day that went by that I didnt laugh! I am very fortunate to have had this opportunity and also to have gotten to know the people I worked with every day, I couldnt have asked for a better internship or a better team!

To try and show how thankful I was to each of those I worked with throughout the summer, I made thank you cards and wrote how much I loved them!

This is Cash Management and I before they left on their "lets not work, and also not invite Julie" festivity day.

You can just call us the 3 Musketeers, thats what I called us! Here are my lunch buddies, my partners in crime, and the guys that kept me grounded... to put it lightly. They made a good summer great! (Sean, Me and Brendan)

So now that its all over, you're probably wondering what I am doing with my life... wellllll..... at 6 AM the next morning I flew to Kansas City to visit my mom, and thats where I am right now! Well actually, I am at the LAKE right now, so I am in heaven (though not as heavenly as the beach) and I am enjoying my summer finally...

A very pertinent question....

So, I was just thinking the other day... if all of these yummy restaurants around the U.S. all use potatoes from good ol Idaho, then why in the name of all that is holy does Idaho not have all these restaurants actually HOUSED in the blessed state!!?

Because... as I was enjoying my first visit to the infamous 5 Guys (burgers and fries) restaurant after we got back from the beach..

... and while standing in line I noticed something very interesting...




Now, why deprive Idaho of the deliciousness of 5 Guys when 1/2 of the menu is coming directly from Idaho soil anyways?! I mean, you give us Taco Hell, Jack in the Box, KFC, Pizza Hut, ew ew ew... but no Chicfila, no Bojangles, no 5 guys?? This is very perplexing to me.

Needless to say, I enjoyed myself thoroughly there.. with the great food, FREE PEANUTS, orange soda, and did I mention staff that hits on my sister? Yep, 5 Guys has now become part of the Stephanie Bennett fan club.