I Think About Snags in the Summertime...

Back in the summer of 2008, great things were happening. But here's what was more noteworthy:

1. I met Jess

2. New Kids On the Block got back together and had a hit single.

Jess and I lived together while I was doing Notre Dame's Summer Service Learning Program. For some reason, the site I worked at, the Don Miller Homes (which is also what got me interested in public health and HIV/AIDS, but I digress) went though Loyola College of MD, and I wound up living on that campus. This. Was. Awesome. Most SSLPers end up living with a host family or on site. I lived with Jess. And another girl named Jess. We hit it off, and had a blast that summer, doing our service projects by day, and getting dolla' dolla' beers at MaGerks by night, when that was the special. I see these are now 2 dolla's.

George knows what's up

One night, we were bonding over the cinematic genius of The Land Before Time. We were having a pretty serious discussion about the dinosaur names simply being a description of the dinosaur. 

Sharptooth the Sharptooth, Ducky and Swimmer, Spike the Spiketail, Petrie the FlYer, Little Foot the Long Neck, and Cera the Three-Horn

We decided we needed nicknames that simply described us, similar to the dinosaur species in TLBT. She became "Snaggletooth" or "Snags" for short. I became "Butt munch" or "B-Munch." For the record, Snags doesn't have a snaggletooth, and I have never munched a butt in my life. Nor do I intend to. But we insisted on calling each other by our new names. We were so into our new names that one time she couldn't find me on facebook because she typed "butt munch" into the search bar. 

Getting back to the important even of summer 2008, the reunion of NKOTB, and the release of one of the greatest songs ever sung:

That's right. "Summertime." And you know what, Snags, I think about you in the summertime. 

So today, I ran two miles for Snags. And I listened to "Summertime" and a CD that she made me at the end of our time together, which is amazing. I made her one too, but that was like 2 laptops and an iPod ago, so I'm not sure what was on it. Anyway, here are some highlights from hers:

"We Fit Together" by O-Town

"Touch My Body" by Mariah Carey

"Hey Juliet" by LMNT

"Missing You" by David Wilcox

"Livin' in a Box" by Livin' in a Box

I actually laughed out loud running when some of these came on.

Honestly, I could write all night about all of the weird/awesome stuff Snags and I bonded over, and that sounds a lot better than my paper. But responsibility calls. And unlike the seminar we took together at Loyola, I'm actually getting credit for the work I'm doing now...

But I will leave you with this.

YAY SHARK WEEK

In closing, Snags, I ain't missing you at all. Ok, I've been lying to myself... You can expect a visit from me when I'm back from Africa. 

B-Munch