Guest Post: Summer Lovin' by Amy Pospiech the Great!

Here's a guest post by Amy, from 20SB. It's the first time I've ever done a blog swap, but I have to say I'm a fan. We're on opposite sides of the world, it seems, but she's an amazing writer livin' the dream! Hit up her blog for the post I wrote today, as part of the blog swap! 

Hello to the readers of Jaycie's blog: I am taking over for the day! This kind of reminds me of the book that my favorite comedienne Chelsea Handler had her friends write because she was too lazy to write another one. Of course, that one was called "Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me" and this guest post will be all 100% truth. And I am making Jaycie write a post on my blog because, well, you get kind of sick of hearing your own voice all the time. So it's not really laziness as much as a curiosity about what other people would do with your audience *evil grin*

In honor of the 20-something bloggers summer blog swap, I wanted to talk about one spectacular thing that I did, bought, or experienced this summer. It's so hard to narrow down because really, it's not one spectacular thing this summer. It's not even any spectacular thing, really. it's the fact that, all of this - being 20-something, in the summer - is spectacular.
As 20-something bloggers, I bet most of us are still finding out who we are in the world. We don't necessarily have "industry" expertise, we are still learning about ourselves, finding out own special niche. We're in that middle ground between the crazy teenage years and the settled-down "30s." Yeesh.
Back to the topic at hand. I am a summer baby. Gosh, I turned 24 this summer. My sister turned… 21, no 22!! Which is not really like 21, it's kind of just "the-year-after-i-turned-21" or as my friend Ted put it once, "the anniversary of my 21st birthday." Ho hum. But it's anything but. She's just graduated with a double-major in match and teaching, and this week began her placement at Teach for America in Hartford, Connecticut. I am so proud of her for doing what she's always wanted to do - I remember her as a kid, gathering up all of our stuffed animals as her pupils, and teaching them arithmetic on a little drawing easel in our basement. She had those shimmery metallic star stickers for good work, the colored pens for grading worksheets. After visiting her in her new apartment in Connecticut this past weekend, I see that she has a whole cabinet full of these school supplies! We were walking downtown and stopped in a Barnes & Noble, and she almost couldn't resist buying some SAT prep books. I've never seen someone so excited by the SATs in my life. Well, that's my sister.
The point is, I just wanted to take this moment to sit down and think about this summer and kind of, where I'm at in life. I can't say I've always had as clear a direction as my younger sister. After spending 5 years in college, changing majors many times, working various part-time gigs as well as professional internships, and then going directly to a year of full-time employment, I'm now running my own web design business, establishing a great partner network, and working sort of where I want, when I want. I'm "working" many more hours than I did at my corporate job on a daily and weekly basis, but I'm enjoying life right now and I finally feel like I'm where I'm meant to be.
Thinking about when I was say, 10 years old, how I always wanted to be older… maybe 13, and be a teenager. By the time I got there, I wanted to be Sweet Sixteen, to have my learner's permit albeit the Cinderella laws in New Jersey, and be able to get working papers - imagine that! When I turned 18, I could waitress or become a bartender instead of just being a hostess, went off to college, then of course 19 - well, that's not such a big deal - but then 20 you enter that, "Wow I'm not a teen anymore" and 21, of course, the big drinking age in the US.
So, you know, I was always looking forward to all of these things, and it's kind of interesting because now that there aren't too many "milestones" to rush into the future for, I'm giving myself a chance to kick back and do some fun things in the present. I've been going to tons of concerts and festivals this summer; i learned the name for "fuzzy leg warmers" and where to buy them; I'm living in Philadelphia with two of my girl friends; I'm learning more about photography and yoga; I'm volunteering some Photoshop skills for a documentary about my favorite pinup model of the 1950s, Bettie Page; I've been laying out on the lawn while watching webinars from Google -- I've actually only gone to the beach once this summer.

So now that I'm doing all these things I only dreamed of when I was younger, I wish there was some kind of pause button. I've always looked forward to these years and I know it's bittersweet because it has to end eventually and I'll be looking back on them one day, but for now it's so nice to finally be here. I wish I could bottle this feeling up and keep it with me forever.

In a nutshell, this summer to me has definitely been one of self-discovery and enjoying everything it is to be 20-something in this crazy, chaotic world we live in. Jaycie, thank you for letting me immortalize this feeling on your blog today. I hope it has inspired one of your readers to reflect and bottle up their own sense of euphoria for future use, whatever age they may be :-)

allergies and other stuff.

for one thing, i hate 'em. i just wish i could breathe.
so if you think of a place in the world that doesn't have allergies, hook a sista up!
my eyes, ears, nose, and throat will thank you.

i attended a family reunion today.
for once no one asked me when i'm getting married.
HALLELUJAH!

also, next wednesday i'm participating in a blog swap.
Amy from Philadelphia, PA will be dropping in for a guest post.
we're pretty stoked, since she's really great. very cultured and whatnot.
everyone hop over there and meet her! go, now!

in other news, i've got plane tickets. concert tickets.
deadmaus in t minus 16 days...i am soooo excited.
Denver, here i come.

also, i have a pretty serious addiction.
in just the past two weeks i've acquired six pairs of jeggings.
jeans + leggings = jeggings.
i can't even explain the love. they're so stretchy. i could even do yoga in them.
they're smokin' hot. they're comfy. it's a match made in heaven.

also, i found the love of my life at coldstone today.
super cute little 9-year-old boy who thought i was the shiz.
because i am. i made him a custom ice cream. took some pics with the fam. it's meant to be.

side note: it's always weird to be in pictures with strangers.
i realize i made your night by creating the best ice cream of your life, but maybe we should leave it at that.
i don't necessarily need to be included in your family picture.

now, it's three in the morning. that both explains the rambling and also the savage post.
nighto lighto!

it's a yellow polyester lanyard kind of day.

i miss my lanyard job at snugz.
seriously, i hate my current job compared to snugz.
it was soooo easy compared to this comcast mess.
and calls weren't ever that long.
they didn't do quality checks.
and you became a pro in a few weeks.

i feel like i suck at my job all the time.
because the issues people have are ridiculous.
so i'm missing my old, cute, repeat customers i had at snugz who called me all the time.
i'm missing the voice. and talks about sunscreen sticks and dye-sublimated shoelaces.

you don't know what you got 'til it's gone...

the reason i haven't been blogging. a list.

i know i'm new to the bike scene, as i just purchased mine a week ago, though i don't think you need to be a super experienced rider to grasp the important factors of riding a bike. aside from wearing a helmet, because that's just a common sense requirement.

top ten things i learned this week, while riding:

1. you are 97% of the time the windshield, not the bug. they'll hit and splatter on you.

for this reason, you must always wear eye protection. getting bugs and other debris in your eyes is by far the most miserable experience while on a bike.

2. good shorts are a must. yeah, you look a little ridiculous and feel like you're all but wearing a diaper, but after 30 or 40 miles, your sit bones and other parts will surely thank you for the extra protection. the saddle's pretty small compared to my butt, that's all i'm sayin'.

3. people will think it's funny to drive too close to you. if you're smart and can hear them coming, you can move as far to the right as possible. it's better though just to stay as far to the right as possible anyways. drivers aren't courteous to bikers, and you're definitely the smaller of the two. in a fight, i'm putting money on the car.

4. utilize the water bottle cages. you're exerting yourself physically, so drink the water you're losing by sweating. yeah, the wind you create does wonders to keep you dry, but if you don't drink enough water, you'll be in a world of pain the next day when your muscles dry out and seize up.

5. as you drive through neighborhoods or whatever, people are going to stare. just give 'em a silly grin and a wave. they probably won't return it, but it always makes me smile a little bigger.

6. relax your grip on the handlebars. you aren't going to fall off just because you loosen your death grip. if you move your hands a lot, you'll be way less prone to get tendonitis in those brave, little hands. not to mention relaxing your hands makes you relax your shoulders a little.

7. take a spin class from Tammie. she'll teach you all sorts of little stretches you can do on a bike to loosen up your shoulders. i was stretching my quads mid-ride today as i passed a runner. i'm 70% sure he thought i was going to crash at any second because my balance was off, but if you know your yoga, you got it goin' on.

8. your bike playlist needs to have plenty of fast, pump-you-up songs, but a few relaxed songs. i've found i naturally perform to the beat of whatever song is playing, so i've got a blend of fast and slow songs so i don't work too hard or on the contrary, not hard enough. 

my current playlist includes, but is not limited to:

burn it down. awolnation.

(if you're wonder if i want you to) i want you to. weezer.

girlfriend feat. lil' mama. avril lavigne. 

i'm gone, i'm going. lesley roy.

mamma mia. a*teens.

monkey wrench. foo fighters.

rehab feat. jay-z. amy winehouse.

take me out. franz ferdinand.

thunderstruck. ACDC.

sofi needs a ladder. deadmau5/sofi.

bleeding love. leona lewis.

let it go. cavo.

end of the road. boyz II men.

blow AND tik tok. ke$ha. 

kiss it all better. he is we.

never say never feat. jaden smith. justin beiber.

someone like you. safety suit.

9. buy a pedometer. it doesn't seem like a big deal, but i ALWAYS want to know just how far and long i've been riding. it's oddly satisifying to discover you just rocked out 20 miles in an hour. 

10. have fun. ride hard. ride in the rain. ride in the sun. ride when it's hot. and ride when it's not. dark. light. it doesn't matter. there's just something about connecting with the world while you ride that's truly incredible. i'll be honest. i'm 104% sure i'll never stop riding. if it's a disease, i've got the bug...and it's not going away!

yes, those are fivefingers...barefoot bike riding. i may be a little bit insane.

it's nice, you know...

having someone to talk to, that is.

he thinks i'm cute, whether he admits it or not.
he's not grossed out by the fact that i'm a monster when i have pms.
and that's important.
he offers cuddle time, which is my favorite thing.
and he's sweet.

it's probably about time for some change in my life.
i can kind of hear it in the wind, whispering, "Get ready, Miss Jaycie. Change is coming your way."
i guess we'll see, won't we?