A little NC road trip

We woke up on an early Fri morning. I was still recovering mentally from a huge paper I wrote the night before. A road trip to a new city was just what the Dr. ordered.

One of those college moments occurred last weekend as I took part in a memorable road trip to Charlotte, NC. One of my JOLT-mates Andy told me about a sports job fair at the NBA team Charlotte Bobcats (who's GM is his truly Michael Jordan). For me, the job fair was secondary to a great opportunity to have a road trip with my friends. I'm all about hitting rubber to road and exploring a new city. (In photo is me, Holly, Shannon, Andy, and Ross).


As for the city itself, it has a real spunk to it. It has a new feel to it. The streets are clean. The people have that signature southern hospitality. From what I heard, in case your thinking about living in the city. It is a great place for young professionals as well. When we ate pizza at a local joint (see photo), we heard about a whole new bar and club scene that was just built (if your into that). According to the Charlotte Business Journal, Charlotte ranks seven in the nation for young professionals (age 18-34). Apparently the schools are not too great and it has a high crime rate...who knew?

But back to the road trip, the ride down was a blast. It was a random assortment of JMU InterVaristy friends. We don't normal all hang out together, but it worked out like a charm. It's funny how group dynamics work. Jamming tunes like "Listen to your Heart" by DHT make it a constant party. My JOLTmate Andy actually thought Charlotte was 10 min from the boarder of Georgia. It turns out it was 4+ hours. Nice try Andy.

The job fair itself was not too impressive. Not too many big companies, especially for communication/web/PR/journalism jobs that I am looking for. Although, I did talk to one Bobcats executive who said that communication jobs for NBA teams like the Bobcats take decades of climbing up the cooperate latter.

We also ended up going to the Bobcats vs. Magic game that night. The Magic dominated. JJ Reddick was bood every time he touched the ball, and Dwight Howard is a flat out FREAK. There was way too much marketing going on throughout the game. From the over-zelous announcer, to music at all times, to ads everywhere. Never the less, it was an experience. I even got a free basketball and Bobcats cheerleader poster (shhhh don't tell anyone...).

College is about the journey we take. It is about the personal journey inside our soul, character, and way of looking at life. College is also about these type of trips with friends. The experience itself builds another layer to those individual relationships. Really that is what a friend is at the core, someone who you have a shared experiences or bond with. Someone that you can say "Hey, I'm just like you" or "Hey, do you remember when..."

One of my goals for the next 2.5 semester I have a JMU, have more road tips like these.