Wilco, a wedding, and beer

I have developed a bit of a reputation for being a busy girl.  It seems I don't know how to sit still or have a lazy day.  Well, I do know how ... I just don't do it very often.  I'm on the go a lot, and this last weekend was no exception.

Friday night, I had dinner with one of my best friends, Ashley.  We try to get together monthly to catch up.  June was busy, so we weren't able to squeeze this in, but we always pick right up where we left off.

After she headed home, I went downtown for my volunteer shift at the 80/35 Music Festival. This was my third year giving my time to the event, which has grown considerably.  And for giving just a little of my time, I earned free entry into the festival. I was a little early for my shift, so I got to walk around and check out some of the bands.  I even caught about 20 minutes of Wilco's set. They were Friday night's headliner.

I've heard Wilco's music, but this was the first time I caught them live. Their lights were a bit crazy, but they sounded great, and everyone was having a blast.

My shift went from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.  I helped check-in bands and sign out volunteers.  It's a fun way to talk to a lot of different people.  And there were some characters, that's for sure. For my service, I earned a free ticket to the festival on Saturday. Due to other obligations, I couldn't use it, so I bestowed it upon a friend of my brother. I hope he enjoyed seeing Weezer!

Saturday morning, I met up with my friend, Courtney, for coffee.  We both have crazy loaded schedules, so it's always nice to catch up. Especially when coffee is involved.

Then I ran some errands before heading to the brewery for my afternoon shift.  With the music festival going on downtown and another local town hosting their annual celebration, I didn't know how busy we'd be.  But it was pretty steady.  The brewery where I work is right along a popular bike trail, and even though it was the hottest day of the summer so far, the bikers came streaming in looking for cold refreshment.  My shift was supposed to go until 7, but I have awesome co-workers who knew I was due at a wedding that started at 5.  One came in a bit early so I could jet out and catch some of the celebration.  I quickly changed in the brewery bathroom and headed out.

The best part of the wedding (besides the cake and then general merriment) was seeing two of my college roommates.  They're both flight attendants based out of Charlotte and Houston, so I don't get to see them as often as I would like.  We spent Saturday night catching up, dancing, and just plain enjoying a summer night.

Sunday, I met up with one of my brewery friends to plan a baseball road trip. Once he learned that I was an avid fan, this idea started formulating.  His wife and other friends don't enjoy baseball nearly as much as he does, so he has no one who will go to games with him.  So when he proposed driving to Minnesota next month to watch the Rangers and Twins, obviously, my arm didn't need much twisting.  I'm looking forward to seeing my baseball boys again soon.  Hopefully they can give me a win.

In the afternoon, I poured beers for my brewery at a local summer festival.  It was hot. Dangerously hot. Apparently we were under a heat advisory, and while I was sweating, my bigger concern was all the bugs. I must have gotten 30 bites on my legs.  Ugh.  But the beer-pouring part was fun.  I met some cool people, including the brewer of my all-time favorite beer -- Smoked Red by West O.  It was awesome!

That evening, Savannah and I went to Jazz in July -- an outdoor concert series held in various local parks each Sunday during the month.  I had been wanting to check this out for a while, so when the library where I work proposed this as a staff social outing, I had a good excuse.

The heat was still pretty oppressive, so I didn't last long out there.  After about two hours, I was ready for a shower and some air conditioning.

Whew.  No wonder I'm so tired this week after all of that weekend activity.  I wish I could say next weekend will be less busy, but ... it won't be.  Like I said, I don't seem to like slowing down lately.

How was your weekend?