I'm sorry for screaming.

You might want to turn down your volume on this one. I'm a screamer apparently. 

After we test drove almost every BMW made in Spartanburg, SC we were taken for a drive by a professional BMW School of Driving instructor, Allison Bormann, who you can follow @allison_bormann. On twitter Allison describes herself as, "Professional Driver, Driving Instructor. In a former life I was Allison Duncan, up & coming race car driver. Now I'm loving living stress-free life." Allison is incredibly humble and one of the finest drivers I have ever been privileged to be in a car with. If you can't tell from the video we are going really fast/reckless and Allison is as cool as a cucumber.

After our adventures on the race track, Guillermo Rojas, Madison Kennedy, Mark Gangloff, Nick Brunelli and I had a fantastic lunch at the BMW performance center followed by a tour of the factory where US BMW's are made. They had an entire factory (really huge - wish I could remember the square footage) dedicated to producing X5's. Each one is custom made to order and meticulously inspected by the "associates" in the factory. After the tour Madi and I made the hour drive to the Charlotte airport and boarded our respective planes.

I have been SO tired since both of my trips. First it was Fort Lauderdale, then home for a day, then Charlotte. I can barely get out of bed in the morning. I am taking a "comp" day tomorrow to catch up on sleep, get my apartment in order, and make my way to Denver.

Should be a eventful weekend. I am seeing U2 on Saturday!!! A friend from work offered me a ticket which I couldn't refuse. I've heard they are amazing in concert! Saturday morning I am planning to check out a brunch place a friend told me about - if I could only remember the name of it. Damn you memory.

Ummmmmm, have you seen Bridesmaids?! Soooooo good! It made me laugh out loud, want to get engaged, sing along to songs with my friend, not get engaged, plan a wedding, have a boyfriend, etc.

Ahhhhhhh, my mom just called me and the first thing she said is, "I miss your smile, your smell, your hair." It's so nice to hear her voice and she gave me some very encouraging words, "Stay true to who you are and be Emily. Do the best you can and be yourself and be happy you have a wonderful job. You're surrounded by successful healthy people." She's such a rock star. I love her so much and truly look up to her. She has always been such an optimistic person, even with the struggles she had in her life. I am blown away by the woman she is today, and aspire to look at life through her eyes.

One of our family friends John Pettit (one of my parents best friends) was recently diagnosed with colon cancer, stage 4. It has been extremely hard for my parents. I remember getting an email from my dad the morning he found out what stage it was in, I called him and could hear the emotion in his voice. I can't imagine what his daughters are going through right now, and his wife Barb. It's a situation that can't really be explained or reasoned with. This past weekend they (my parents, Barb and John, and two other families) went to Tumble Creek where the Pettit's have a cabin to spend some quality time together and go for long bike rides. From what my mom told me they had a great time riding, eating, enjoying each others company. I know that my dad likes to cook, he's really good at it and enjoys it a lot, but I've never really heard my mom say how much she likes it until tonight: "Bob Silver, if he can't do anything else he can cook". Melt my heart :)

Have a great weekend! I am seeing U2 on Saturday!

- Em

Best. Day. Ever.

Just got into the Springs, so tired from a long day of traveling. I have so much to tell you about the BMW Test Drive I did today in Spartanburg, SC at the Performance Center.

Will be posting a video tomorrow and promise to tell you all about it. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I love my job <3

Beyond The Blocks: Charlotte Ultra Swim week/weekend!

Beyond The Blocks: Charlotte Ultra Swim week/weekend!

Charlotte Ultra Swim week/weekend!

Oooofda. It's been a long week/weekend. I have been here in Charlotte, NC since Tuesday night!

Flew in a few days before meet for the America's Swim Team Photo shoot which I helped out at. I was the "Behind the Scenes" photographer for the day/videographer. You can see the pictures I took from the shoot here:

It was a pretty fun day - got to hang out on the pool deck with Jess Hardy, Ricky Berens, Ryan Lochte, Rebecca Soni, and Chloe Sutton. All swimmers I was on National Teams with. It's been so fun for me to catch up with all these guys who I haven't seen for so long. I really love it!! We ended up being at the pool for about 9 hours, I was pretty tired so I came back to the hotel and decided to relax for the rest of the day/evening, order room service, and watch the tube.

Thursday morning I drove Nick Thoman out to Greenville, SC for the Team Greenville pool opening that was taking place that day. The Greenville County Recreation District just built an absolutely beautiful aquatics facility, 6.1 million dollars in the making which has taken the past four years to complete. From what I heard the pool they had before was just a disaster, one of the moms I spoke with told me she started crying when she walked into the new pool because she was so overcome with joy. Felt great to help organize Nick's appearance there. Everyone was so appreciative of him being there and USA Swimming for making it possible. I love giving back! We met with Scott Bonine the Head Coach of Team Greenville, who happens to know my dad. More and more I realize just how small the swimming community is.

Did you watch the swim-off between Josh and Cullen on Thursday night?! I did!! I was sandwiched between Madison Kennedy and Dana Vollmer in the stands right on the pool deck. We had a great view. It was so nerve-wracking watching as they prepared for the race. It's been 9 months coming. Talking with Josh earlier that day he was telling me that it's just been such a long wait and he was looking forward to finally getting to swim it. They both did such a good job, and it was extremely close. If you missed it go to the USA Swimming fan page on facebook, we posted it! So Cullen won the race which means he'll be heading to Shanghai this summer for the World Championships July 24-31. Josh gets to swim at the World University Games - I told him that the WUG's in 2007 was one of my best meets I ever had and to enjoy the experience!

It's so different to be at meet and not compete. I actually got to enjoy the swimming on a whole new level. When I was competing I was such a head case most of the time worrying about myself. This weekend I was able to fully enjoy myself and watch the competition without butterfly’s in my stomach. Although it did make me really miss it, I was so happy to be there. I have also really enjoyed getting to see my old swimming buddies. Sat with Hardy in the stands tonight and will be heading to dinner with Nat (Coughlin) in a little bit.

Tomorrow I'll be heading to Spartanburg, NC to visit the BMW Performance Center and test drive some of the nicest cars in the world on their driving track! Will be accompanied by Madison, Cullen Jones, Nick Brunelli, and Mark Gangloff - How fast should we go?!

I'll try to be better and posting more frequently - although I think Camilla is the only one who actually reads this thing. Oh yes, and my dad :)

Have a great week!

- Em

Did you know?

10 Things You Might not know about me:

1. I love to sign Karaoke.

2. I am left handed and left footed (when I kick a soccer ball), but I throw with my right hand.

3. I have been a vegetarian for 2.5 years.

4. I am the youngest of four.

5. I love photography and find it to be a very attractive quality is someone else.

6. I studied Swahili in college as my foreign language requirement.

7. I had my tongue pierced for 2 weeks when I was 18.

8. I am going to write a book someday.

9. I hate having dry skin.

10. I have broken my hand three times from finishing to the wall. Once in practice, twice in competitions.

Fran Crippen SafeSwim Race Day!

Here I am in Fort Lauderdale. Woke up at 6am this morning for a run along the beach. It's a beautiful day here in Florida, the sun is out, the air is warm, and swimmers are getting ready for either the 1 mile race or the 10K to help raise money and awareness around the Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation.

I feel so proud to be here today and a part of something so special.

Last night was inspiring! I attended the International Hall of Fame induction dinner. There were about 10 people that were inducted including an old teammate of mine, Lenny Krayzelburg. Congrats Lenny!! With each person they showed a movie of their career highlights starting from when they were just children. To think that each one started their career with a goal in mind from a very young age and continued on until they reached that dream.

As one inducted said, it's not always about the final result, but the journey getting there. Coming from a girl who broke her hand the day after making the Olympic team and coming back to swim in the games a month later - that inductee was speaking to my heart.

Take a minute today to count your blessings. Fran died doing something he loved. If he was here today, he would probably be in this race.

Alright - off to the beach...

Decision to Keep the Blog Going

I have decided to keep my blog going! Like I said in the description above, I made this blog as a tool in my interview with USA Swimming for the position of Athlete Relations Manager.

A few weeks after my interview Matt Farrell called me up and offered me the position. I moved to Colorado Springs a month later and started my first official day in the office on March 21, 2011!!

I love what I am doing, and feel so blessed to have been presented this opportunity. Colorado Springs is a small town, but there are so many things to do outside which I love! So far, I have hiked up the Barr Trail and ran down, explored the many trails at Garden of the Gods, swam in the Olympic Training Center pool (where I work), made a few trips to Denver, and have started to make many wonderful friends.

People in Colorado are SO friendly. The day I hiked the Barr trail I think every single person I passed said hello with a big smile on their face. Maybe it's something about hiking and the people you see along the way - when I'm out there I feel proud to be on the mountain, like I'm doing something right and good for the world :)

My coworkers are the best, I will probably be very close with a handful of them for the rest of my life.

There is so much to talk about, but I need to head to bed. I am flying to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning for the Fran Crippen SafeSwim event where various National Team members will be working with the community at an Open Water Clinic. I will be filming them and taking lots of pictures!

Stay tuned!

- Emily