runaway

The picture was taken randomly one night while I was relaxing in my room. I put it up because the card is from Chris whom I miss terribly. I haven't taken a whole lot of pictures lately due to my crazy schedule, but I will get around to them soon.

So ... I'm here. The first few days were pretty rough. The stupid Liat airline lost all my luggage and I didn't get them back until 6 days later. I had to rely on other people's altruism, which luckily everyone seemed to have a hefty supply of.

By the way, as I write this, I am on hold with Travelocity, which has really been trying my patience during this past month. No one knows anything. They've just sent me an email saying my return flight has been changed, and somehow I've spent the last half hour on the phone repeating my name 5 times and listening to the guy read me the email that was sent. I know this - I got the email hence the call.

So anyway, I've been meeting great people and am overall having a good time despite the underlying stress. My living situations are funny though; it's like being on the Real World where everyone's chummy for the first 2 weeks before the neuroses and palpable tension emerge.
I miss home though and being away is turning out to be much harder than I expected. It's strange to think that getting away was precisely what I wanted for a while because now I spend my days wondering why. I miss my parents, my bed, my room, my car, my friends. For now I'm trying to focus and enjoy what's in my lap, but life just isn't as sweet when you've left your heart in California.

farewell to the fairground

Santa Monica Pier, 2009.

Hello world. It feels a lot longer than it's actually been since I last wrote here. I leave in less than a week, and still, the reality hasn't quite hit me yet so I didn't know what else to do but write.

I've been reflecting on the year and what a rocky start 2009 was, but in the end, it all worked out. I've decided on some plans, my research finally paid off, I got out of a bad relationship with a good guy, and I've met some wonderful people along the way.

I finally talked to Lina the other night, and she reminded me of how normal it is to freak out when you're young and hitting rock bottom for the first time. It's what you make of your mess that counts. If you know me at all, you know I'm the eternal planner. Everything has a timeline, a set date, but as it turns out, almost nothing has gone according to plan. And yet, I feel things are exactly the way they should be.