A Happy Birthday

I have had to work on my birthday every year since 2004.  It is a hazard of having your birthday 2 days after a national holiday and usually one of the busiest days for major tourist attractions.  This year I was off for the 4th, but by some strange coincidence I ended up driving into work today, my 28th birthday!

But this was not the usual grind, it was my first day as an intern at Del Mar!

First, I totally underestimated the morning rush hour traffic. The same route that took 20 mins last weekend took nearly an hour to traverse today! It was also really messy/dreary/drizzly this morning, too.  What happened to California sun? But I made it just in time!

The track was still overrun with midway rides and food carts from the county fair. I made my way through to the executive offices to start my Del Mar adventure.

I totally geeked out over all the magnificent paintings in the hallways, of such stars as Lava Man, General Challenge and Skimming.  Best Pal’s portrait is in one office, Candy Ride’s in another. It was an impressive collection of sporting art that this blogger totally envies.

The other interns are from a variety of places and have different interests: Amy, who worked last year, is our leader; Andrew from Pasadena just graduated from college; Meganne spent 4 years in Italy and came from Louisville.  I can’t wait to get to know them better.

I met so many people today that I don’t remember everyone’s names.  I also got to creep around the grandstand and sneak up to the press box.  I will get to the barns and backstretch before the end of the week, but today was just too messy to do anything outside.  I got my credentials and parking pass (so glad I dressed up today) and started in with some filing and labeling work. Tomorrow is envelope stuffing. Who knew that all those years of Sir Speedy collating would still be useful today?

Here’s a head’s up though: Del Mar media guides are hitting the post office this week. Along with the gorgeous photos of Zenyatta, there is a half-page list of Summer Interns on page 58. Check out the *only* one from Tennessee.

I didn’t even bother to take pics today since the weather was sooo nasty.  You’ll see pics here at the first hint of sunshine.

So even though I had to work today, it was a Very Happy Birthday 🙂