May is always a busy month for me. My students’ AP exams are during the month of May, so teaching-wise I am frantically trying to wrap up any loose ends, end up holding numerous after school review sessions, and generally feel stressed far more so than usual. It also is the last full month of the school year, so its a lot of random wrap-up stuff before final exams the first week of June. Its also when summer is just on the horizon, and motivation begins waning BIIIIIG time at work.

Additionally, my birthday is in May, as well as Mothers Day and my mom’s birthday, so there are lots of fun events going on.

Some of the fun stuff that’s been going on:

May 4th: Chaperone at Universal Studios Grad Bash

A few months back, I signed up to chaperone for Grad Bash at Universal Studios. This is an event where the park is set up especially for high school seniors, and get the park to themselves until 2 am, with special music areas, performers, and all the rides open for business. As a chaperone, we didn’t have to stay with the kids, just had to be there for emergencies, which meant a free ticket to Universal hanging out with my gang of work friends. In short- AWESOME!

Some of my favorite parts:

1. The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit: this roller coaster lets you pick your own music, and takes up upward at a 90 degree angle, before wooshing you off onto a traditional steel coaster. It was awesome at night, and I like the element of choice.

2. Front of the Line Passes: Chaperones were given front of the line passes, so the longest we waited for anything was about 10 minutes. This was amazing because we got to do everything we wanted to do and more, and didn’t have to wait in close contact with all the teenagers.

3. Midnight Breakfast: Chaperones were served free breakfast. While it wasn’t a breakfast to write home about, it was still nice to have food provided, and breakfast is ALWAYS good.

Overall, it was awesome to not spend a dime and have so much fun. It didn’t come without some ehh parts, such as not getting home til after 4 am, and getting hella motion sick on a few rides, but all in all, total win.

May 6th: My 23rd Birthday

I can’t believe my utter lack of pictures from my birthday, but I think this speaks to how fun and relaxing it was. Ryan bought me a bike for my birthday, which is definitely one of the best birthday presents I have gotten in years. We rode our bikes along the waterfront and went to Taste of Pinellas, which my mom gave us tickets to. This was just ehh, as it was overpriced tiny samples of stuff, super duper hot outside, and not enough covered seating. But we grabbed a spot on the seawall, and got to look at this awesome view.

The view of the pier and bay on my birthday.

After we rode our bikes back, a friend of mine came over and we had margaritas by the pool and ordered pizza for dinner. A lovely, laid back birthday was just what I was wanting.

Ryan and I on my Bday:

May Movies in the Park on Thursdays

A coworker of Ryan told us that they show movies in the park at Straub Park next to the Vinoy hotel on Thursdays in May. The movies are put on by a local organization St Pete Preservation, who seek to “Preserve the ‘Burg” and maintain many of our historical districts and increase a sense of community. We have gone 2 weeks in a row, and plan to go the next 2. May 10th we watched Dirty Dancing, and May 17th, we saw one of my personal favorites, Hitchcock’s “Rear Window“. Both movies have been awesome. Something about getting outside, under the stars in the beautiful weather with my toes in the grass really does it for me. I’m finding I’m becoming way more of a hippie as I get older.

There’s been more fun stuff like discovering a new bar hangout, biking along the beach and we’re going to Disney tomorrow, but I’ll save those for the next post.

Have any of you ever seen movies outdoors? Do you dig them, or prefer coziness on your couch?