Well, it has been too long. The past week or so has been super busy and I have not really had much time or energy to spare. February is half over and I've gotta say I have no idea where the hell it went. I realized I never posted my latest intern blog, so here's the link before I forget...
http://www.tomsshoesblog.com/http:/www.tomsshoesblog.com/family-time-2

Work is still great. In fact, it has been getting better and better with every day. Last time I posted I was experiencing a little "first job frustration," but I have finally begun to hit more of a stride and am able to knock work out more quickly and efficiently. We have so much exciting stuff coming up at TOMS too... our brand new website which the whole online department has been busting their asses on is going to launch very soon, the new Spring collection is going to be released in March, we have One Day Without Shoes on April 8 (MARK YOUR CALENDARS!), and then we have TOMS 4th Birthday on May 5!! The interns have been charged with helping to plan and coordinate what we will do for the birthday celebrations and we have already had a couple of meetings to start fleshing out our ideas. I can't say just what we have up our sleeves, but I can say that it is gonna be BIG and EXCITING so get ready :)

Also, for those of you who don't know what "One Day Without Shoes" is, it is just that: a day where we challenge people to go a minute, an hour, a day, or whatever they can without shoes in order to raise awareness for the millions of children around the world who go every day shoeless. This day is near and dear to my heart because it is how my TOMS story began. Last spring when people weren't wearing shoes in class, I asked someone what was going on with all the barefoot people. They told me about the TOMS movement and right then the course of my life was changed. I immediately went home (barefoot) and looked them up on the internet, and that was history. So here I am today, interning for this incredible company and hopefully making a difference in the world, all because of a few barefoot people in Athens, GA. Our event website will be launching soon so I will be sure to post a link. I even make a cameo in the video :)

Tonight we went to happy hour with a lot of other employees at work. It was so fun to just kind of chill, have a beer, and get to know some people I haven't even met yet. We went to Busby's, the bar we went to after the intern potluck, so it was cool going back. I felt a little more like I live here saying "Oh yeah I've been there!" It has a big bar area and then an arcade in the back and I definitely dominated in some skee-ball. I also shot hoops with Eric, another fellow UGA grad, and was not as bad as I thought I'd be.

So without being too chatty and boring, things are going well. Better than well, they are GREAT! I've been pretty uneasy about next Monday (2/22) though. It will mark the second anniversary of Jared's death. In some ways it feels like another lifetime... in other ways it feels like it was yesterday. I am going to go visit my Grandma in Palm Springs and have a little low key family time. I think that will be best... I had thought about just staying home and being by myself but I think it will be better to have some good ole Granny lovin :) And I took off on Monday so that I could relax by the pool and have some nice quiet time instead of going to work and being totally upset and inefficient. It will be a good time to just reflect and remember. Ms. Carolyn brought me back some Cincinatti Chili mix from her last trip up to Ohio, so I'm gonna make a big batch of chili for dinner that night. It will be tough being away from all of them. The McLean/Inscho clan as become a second family to me. I love them so much and am forever grateful to them for taking me under their wing. The spirit of Jared lives on in all of us and it is so nice to have people who will always be there to remember.

Well that is all the rambling I'm goign to do for tonight. I'll update on here as soon as the new TOMS site is up as well as the One Day event page. Hope everyone is doing well... send me some updates!!!!!
Until later-
S