marco, the cat.

i have successfully transferred marco, the cat to bloomington. getting him here wasn't as scary as i thought. of course, he cried his god awful screeching noise for awhile, but it didn't last too long. although any time i would turn up the music, he would cry louder. he was trying to aggravate me.

about 50 miles into the drive, i stopped because a bird hit my car. yes, i am quite serious. i wanted to to check to make sure there wasn't a dead bird on the top of my car. when i stopped, i decided to let marco out of his carrier. i am a softy, i guess. since he was being so good, i let him stay out. he just crawled up on the passenger seat next to me and fell asleep. when i got to bloomington and opened the carrier again, he got right in too. crazy, kitty!

being in the apartment has been an interesting journey for him. he stayed under the couch all day when we got back, 2PM and onwards. he wouldn't eat. for awhile, he was even growling and hissing like he does to sissy or shaun. i left him alone. then this morning, i went to pet him and he actually let me touch him! success!! he has since started to eat, and he will come out from the couch ever once in awhile. he was in the bathtub rolling around like a maniac at one point.

he's getting there. i actually feel like we get along better right now than ever before. crazy, i know!

life after graduation...

well here's what i have learned in my few weeks of being a "college graduate". are you ready? what i am about to say is awe-inspiring.

1. life goes on.
2. moving into your first big girl apartment all by yourself is more difficult than you would think. ask for help.
3. do not ask for help building furniture, however. women can do ANYTHING that men can do. i pride myself in the fact that i built all of my own furniture.
4. you never realize how many little things you take for granted when you are living with your parents. some examples include ice cube trays, a can opener, trash bags, etc.
5. even though you don't see your best friends every day, if you put a little effort into the friendship, you will succeed.

i think i had more awe-inspiring things to say, but words are failing me now. maybe next time.

SMILE, WORLD. :)
(i'm trying to rub my ridiculously fabulous mood off on other people today. let me know if it worked!)

I Graduated... Now What?

On Sunday, May 1, 2011, I graduated. Or should I say "graduated"? Although I told someone last week that I won't be in college next semester, I will be in Kindergarten and it is totally different.

I cannot believe graduation is such an anti-climatic day. I was sitting through the ceremony wondering if it was all a dream and before I knew it I was walking across the stage and getting my "diploma". All I can think is... where did these four years go?

I cannot pinpoint my feelings on graduation. On one hand, I am so happy to be done. Even if I'm not completely done. On the other, I am going to miss so many wonderful people in my life. But strangely, I am not as sad as I thought I would be. Maybe it is because I have gotten so used to people coming and going in life that it is just second nature these days.

But now that the day has come and gone, I keep saying asking myself: Now what? Well, here is my agenda: Get my keys to my apartment and move in! Work the summer away while spending time with as many people as possible. Then, spending my whole fall semester in Kindergarten.

What comes after that, time will only tell.

Last Week of College

Today marked the beginning of our last full week of classes.
Next Tuesday, classes end.
EPIC.
Graduation is so close!
Excited or scared to death?
You choose.

That is all.

Not Witty Enough for a Title

It has been awhile since I have updated the Internets about my life. What can I say?

Our trip to Seattle came and went, quite quickly I might add. I loved every minute of that trip. Seattle is definitely a city that I see myself living in. I could handle the rain because I love the size of the city, the atmosphere, the people, EVERYTHING. The minute I stepped outside, I felt at home. That means something. It means I must (and WILL) move there. My latest life plan: Move to Seattle after December, work at City Hostel while attempting to find another job. Oh, and maybe go to culinary school? You may think I'm nuts, but I like options.

Ever since I have been back to school, I have been struggling though. Vacations do that to me. It takes me an extremely long time to get back into the mindset that this is my life right now. I wish I was better at just accepting what is happening at the moment instead of longing for the future. But I'm not. I long for the future. Things are changing around here very rapidly. Every day someone close to me gets a job, job interview, or accepted into grad school. And meanwhile, I am stuck in place. I think that's what is difficult for me. I "graduate" but not really. I will still be here in crappy Bloomington-Normal. I don't know where I am living yet. I don't know if I have a summer job at the moment. And I hate that. I want to tell people exciting news. I want to say I have a job interview or I got accepted to graduate school or I am engaged. (Okay, not really the last one.) But instead all I can say is... Well, that's it. I haven't figured out what to say yet.

And one more thing, I miss my Dad. Boy, do I miss him. The closer and closer it gets to Graduation Day, the harder it is for me to accept the fact that he will not be there. It will be just be Mom, Sissy, and Naz. There will forever be a hole in my graduation pictures. It's just not fair. I want him there. And yes, you can give me the bull crap about how he will be watching over me, but truth is I don't know if I believe in all of that. I don't know what I believe in when it comes to heaven, religion, God, etc. And it doesn't change the fact that I still want him there.

Life, As Of Now

Life is a series of moments with the people we love. Happy moments. Sad moments. Life-changing moments. But we ultimately have the power to choose our own moments.

Are you happy with the moments that you are choosing?

I am.

If you aren't, maybe you should do something to change your moments. A moment lasts for a second, and then it is time to make a new one. Next time, do something that will make you happy.

Just a Year Ago..

Just a year ago, I was landing in Australia for the adventure of a lifetime. Where did the time go?

This week has been difficult. One, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off the whole week. Too busy! Two, Friday marked my anniversary of leaving. Majorly depressing.

Life was completely different a year ago. I'm not saying I want to go back to the way things were, but I miss it. I miss Sydney. I miss adventures. I miss independence. I miss my friends that I met there- Australian, international, and American.

I definitely feel that I have grown up in the last year. In some ways, I was forced to. While abroad, I started to learn more about myself and started to see what I wanted out of life.

I want to travel. I want to experience new things. More and more, I am wanting to just be free and roam around the states doing useless jobs to earn money. (I know, it is not completely realistic.) But I don't want to settle down. I used to want to get married young and have kids. I am even doubting if I want to get married right now. (Ha- that is one thing that hasn't changed... the complexities of my love life!) There is just so much to life and the world. I hate sitting idly.

If I want something to happen, I have to MAKE it happen. And this is my philosophy for the next few years. At this point, I don't know what is to come after student teaching in December, but I have lots of goals and options.

I like options.

--------

Now, why can't I find decent options in regards to MEN? Different post entirely...

Blo-No Bored Blues

I came up with this awesome description today. Feel free to steal it, but I am copy-writing it.

So what does Blo-No Bored Blues mean?

It means that I am hitting that part of the semester where nothing makes me happy. This semester has been full of fun, bars, my sisters, etc. Don't get me wrong, I have loved every minute of this month of school. But now, I am bored. This happens a lot. And by a lot I mean every two months. Yeah, we're going to go with that.

It does not help that my one year anniversary of leaving for Sydney is coming up in 6 days. Yes, it is an unhealthy obsession. But seriously, ONE YEAR AGO? How is that even possible? So add that to the massive amounts of snow that make me unhappy, and we've got Blo-No Bored Blues.

I need ADVENTURE. Bloomington does not offer me with a lot of adventures. I also work in strange ways. Instead of going out and finding adventure, I become a hermit. I stay in my room and watch unhealthy amounts of TV shows. (Okay, three seasons of Veronica Mars was because I was sick!)

I am counting down to the days that I can get out of this state (or at least city). Only one problem: I have no idea when that will be! It's a little difficult to have a countdown to something that does not exist yet. Shucks.

For now, I will have to be happy and look forward to March 12, SEATTLE! At least that is one adventure in my upcoming future. I better start planning the next one for after that... maybe someplace to visit one of my study abroad friends?

Off to look at more Australia pictures and reread old blogs. Not really. (Maybe.)

Remembrance By Celebration

Today could have been a very terrible day. January 23. My dad's birthday. I realized about three days ago that his birthday was approaching. It is difficult to think about someone's birthday. My dad died at 55. He never reached 56. He never will. Am I the only one that thinks this is a crazy concept?

I don't get it. Not sure if I ever will.

But anyways, I woke up this morning with a feeling in my gut. Thanks to my lovely sisters, though, the day was not lost. I could have spent all day being a hermit in my bedroom, but instead I enjoyed watching the Blackhawks' and Bears' games on TV.

We yelled. We ranted. We shouted OBSCENITIES. We made fun of each other. We had a blast.

I just want to say thank you to those who made me forget what today really was. I'm not saying I forgot about my dad, but I celebrated instead. He would have wanted it that way.

So Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Traditional New Year Post

I found this image on Flickr at the start of the new year. It has been my little motto for 2011. This is definitely a long overdo new year post. Honestly, I don't even know what I wanted to say in this anymore.

2010 was a roller coaster of a ride. I started the year head over heels for a boy, waiting to leave for Australia, being away from my school friends, and dying from boredom at home. Then in February, I left for Sydney and spent some of the best moments of my life down under. In June (and July), tragedy hit the family. Anyone who knew me last semester knows that I had a really hard time coming to grips with the new reality that was my life. Being back at IWU was challenging. Dealing with a long distance friendship/relationship with someone that I care deeply about was breaking me down. Trying to adjust to a life without my dad and not always getting to spend the time I wanted with some of my best friends made things increasingly more difficult. Oh, let's not mention the extreme stress of school and my education classes and struggling with the idea that maybe I didn't want to be a teacher.

And then, winter break hit. I spent only a few days at home, but loved them all. Then my mom and I made our way to SF for the holidays. I had an absolute joyous time, and those 10 days in SF were just what I needed. I was ready to head back to IWU for my last semester.

This semester hasn't been nearly as challenging yet, but give it a few weeks. I have been trying to enjoy my free time as much as possible. And boy, have I had some great stories! I made some traditional resolutions that I have been doing a decent job at keeping. Let's see how long that lasts!

All in all, 2011 is looking up. 2011 is MY YEAR. That's what I keep telling myself. I am optimistic about the future. (Are you freaking out about graduation? Then, come talk to me! I can help calm you down.) I finally feel like I am growing into the person that I want to be in the future.

As I said in SF, "the world is about to get real." And I am okay with that. Now, if I could just find a darn apartment for next year!