THE Decision

Eh hem. Excuse me. I have an announcement to make. I have made a very important decision.

New England.


Yup, that's my decision. I'm moving back east. No job yet but I have a few good prospects. All I know and care about is that I'm heading back east and I can hardly wait. It's kind of surreal.

But can I tell you something? I'm scared. I have no idea what's next. Hence my new theme song, "Uncharted" by Sara Barielles. [Secretly I'm anxiously awaiting the day when it's "Boston" by Augustana. Patience young one, patience. Yah, riiiiiight...!] I'm heading home to rejuvenate and study for my RD exam and then get a real job! I'm pretty excited. I think I'm in need of some serious rejuvenation. I'm prescribing myself several beach days (vitamin D!), kayaking, bike rides on my beach cruiser, swinging on my swing, visits to Boston, hiking adventures, books, and days just lying in the grass enjoying the beauty of home and New England. And studying but that's not entirely rejuvenating so let's not burst my bubble here ok? Great, thanks.


But seriously, I have tons to do before I leave, i.e. FINISH my internship (I'm so done...I've checked out mentally weeks ago...), pack (ugh and figure out how to get ALL my stuff back home...there will be some purging), and then get there. I'm not entirely excited about the drive BUT Heath will be with me and so it's bound to be fun! T-minus 1 month and 4 days until departure.

T-T-T-Tuesday

Terrific Tuesday! Let's talk about the terrific things about today....

1. Tax return en route...woot!

2. I had to go to the library to day to return some books. There are tons of libraries in the Tucson area but the one I prefer is the main one downtown. Now, there are often some sketchy folk that hang outside the library so I'm always walking with a poker face looking at the ground as I scurry into the library. Today I was hurrying by two men sitting on a bench when one said, "'Scuse me miss. Miss! You dropped your smile on the ground." I looked at the ground just as it clicked what he said and then I smiled. Fell for it! AND a book I had requested back in December finally came in. Ready for this: Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage. Freckles the Nerd at it again! This book is big and thick, 975 pages thick with 11 appendices. I'm pumped!!!!

3. Started my community rotation (LAST ROTATION) and my schedule is SWEET. As in today we technically only had to be at work from 1pm-3pm. Don't worry I came in early since I had a lot of projects to do but 6 hour days are beautiful.

4. Job hunting for real and I'll probably start applying after this week once my resume and cover letter are perfected (and after I remember to breathe deeply at the thought of having a. real. job. finally. I've found several jobs in Boston and several the NYC area. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. Saw "The Green Lantern" and it was hilarious.

Happy Tuesday!

Le Weekend

Fun things from this weekend:

#1. GENERAL CONFERENCE. Since I'm no longer enjoying the luxury of BYUtv or cable, my roommates and I streamed it online. No worries, I was still able to enjoy the luxury of waking up about 10 minutes before it began. Loved it. LOVED IT. Good talks and I'm feeling inspired and ready to rock for another 6 months.

#2. Yesterday I finally got my hair trimmed. My hair has been toasted living in AZ and not having in properly trimmed in....a few months or so. It feels and looks much better. Also I brought back my side swept bangs. And no, I did not take a picture because I forgot. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe.

#3. Two of my roommates and I got all dolled up yesterday and went out to eat. Good news, my skinny jeans still fit. I was worried that since I spend most of my life right now in a hospital, both vitamin D deficient from ZERO sunlight and no time to exercise (hey, YOU find time to exercise when you're working for free from 7:30am to 6:30pm and you still have research to do, articles to read and assess and understand (ha!), presentations to prepare, studying to do, and whatever else they decide to give us to do!). I'm signing up for my wicked cheap gym membership tomorrow though. I neeeeeed to exercise!!!! I can't go running because I don't want to get kidnapped and by time I get home it's too dark and don't worry that it's still 100 degrees here. Yuck. Gym it is.

#4. My mom is wicked wise. No really, she is. And she always gives me good advice. For example, I'm seriously considering moving to, wait for it, NYC after I'm done. I am just dying to live in a city. DYING to do it!!! I'm young, I'm single, I've got too much energy and I'm a born explorer and I love to walk (thank you mom), so I'm just dying to try out the city life. And since I adore reading Hither and Thither, An Apple a Day, and Reagan's Blob, all who live in NYC and who have the most wonderful, grand, and exciting adventures, I'm just dying to give it a try! So pray that it happens because then I'll stop pining and whining for the east (cue choirs of angels singing "Hallelujah" and choir of thankful sighs from all who endure my constant, CONSTANT pining for the east). PleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseOHPLEEEEASE let it happen!

Here?
Or here?
Where do you think I should go?



#5. It's October. I love October. Happy Fall!

The time has come...

'The time has come,' the Walrus said,
 'To talk of many things:
Of shoes -- and ships -- and sealing wax --
 Of cabbages -- and kings --
And why the sea is boiling hot --
 And whether pigs have wings.'
-Lewis Carroll

Did you ever watch the movie "Harriet the Spy"? It's a Nickelodeon film with Rosie O'Donnell. Anyway, I did and this line from the movie (originally from "Alice in Wonderland") is one of the few things I remember about that movie.

The time has come....to move to Tucson!!!!!

So this is Gabe signing off from Nevada. Next time--I'll be in Arizona!!!

P.S. I HATE packing. I cannot wait for the day when I don't have half of my stuff boxed and left here or there praying that what I have will fit in my car or on the plane. I cannot wait. On the other hand, I have become significantly less pack rat-y and I learn to pack well. Still, I hate it.

Spring Cleaning

You know it's a problem when you are so stressed out that you make yourself physically ill. Yup, that would be the genius redhead right here. No pneumonia. No bronchitis. Just good 'ole stress wreaking havoc on my poor body.

Good grief I am ridiculous sometimes.

But the good news is, I've rid my life of the horrible situation that was causing me physical anguish. ABOUT time. As a result, all of the sudden I feel back in control and that makes me feel

incredible.

CONFIDENT.

H ! A ! P ! P ! Y !

.....elated.....

P u M p E d

!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EXCITED !!!!!!!!!!!!!

And lately I've been thinking about the future and what I really want to do. It's RATHER exciting!!!!!! I mean, I really can do anything.
{I know, I know....I've discussed this before but things change, epiphanies happen, and you don't really have to keep reading if you don't want to! I'm just sayin.... }

So I called my mom today, for about the 4th time in 2 days. I just needed to run a few ideas by her and seeing that she has successfully raised 3 children by herself, is insanely talented, and therefore veeeeery wise (among a plethora of other things), I was seeking her advice and thoughts about my plans. Let's break it down for you.

April 5th: The day I find out if I have got or have not gotten an internship (I know, I lied. I talked about internships but only the date! Come on!). Also the day I can finally press the "PLAY" button for my life. {Pause} really is quite annoying after awhile.

April twenty-something: I graduate. ABOUT TIME. I am SO ready to be done! Hence why I don't even know the date; I just know that I'm almost doneeeeeee!!!!

Plans for the summer: Not go home. Scary, but exciting. I told my mom that I think it's time for me to move out and move on and she was COOL with that! I know, I know, you think she'd want me out of the house or something like 10 years ago! WOO! This is exciting. Spending the summer with a TON of friends. I foresee work (.....) and LOTS of fun! WAHOOOO!!!!!

June something: I fly home to see my brother, one of my best friends in the whole entire world, who I have not seen in 2 years. Am I excited? Like no amount of words will EVER describe! I am BEAMING thinking about it! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!

Future:

?

Goals:
1. Become an RD. If I don't get an internship this year, no big deal. I've got other plans (keep reading...). But I refuse to turn 25 without at least being in the middle of my internship, which means I will (never underestimate my determination) be an RD by the time I'm 26.

2. Go to culinary school. I'm actually very serious about this. So I started looking at schools in Boston, San Diego, Seattle, basically wherever tickles my fancy because I can do whatever I want. I don't really want to make it a career, just want to know and use it to supplement my dietetics degree and knowledge. I'm thinking patisserie and baking because that's my love. Cooking....fun. Baking....LOVE it. Runs in my blood. Plus my family (and me and my sweet teeth) will be pleasantly satisfied with all the sweet (pun intended) things I'll be able to whip up. THINK of the cool birthday cakes my kids are going to have. You have no idea. PLUS someday if my mom decides to open up her bakery (DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!), I can help out. DUDE! WICKED COOL.
All I ask is that you keep the fondant to a minimum. I know, I know, it's great to decorate and stuff with but really? It's just sugar. Bring on the buttah!!!! And chocolate. Oooooh buttercream frosting. Delish.


3. Take some classes on photography. This is more of a hobby. Yeah I know, me and about 498,000 people. Whatever. I don't care. I love it. I may even get a degree in it. I told you I loved learning...

Yes I took this...at night. Cool huh? I love flowers.

4. Get a MS in Journalism. I think this may be the hardest for me because I don't have a Bachelors or even a minor in English or Journalism but it's also my passion. I love to write. Can't stop me.

4.5 If I don't get an MS in Journalism, I at least want to take some legit classes on it and....

5. Write a children's book.

So those are my goals for now. And somewhere in there is marriage and kids but while I'm single, baby you better believe I'm L I V I N it up!

Now pardon me while I come down from my ecstatic floating to get back to studying....drats.

P.S. I am currently in love with John Mayer (Heartbreak Warfare) and Nick Jonas (Who I Am). I direct you to my playlist to tune in. Love it. Chills. Smiles. Happiness. Ok, Ok I'll go study (ha! Or watch the Olympics. I'm supporting my country! I should get an A just for that).

Inspiration

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. I took this one summer morning as I was eating breakfast outside before work. I remember glancing to my left as I was swinging on our porch swing and freezing to take it all in. Then I ran inside to grab my camera and took some shots. I LOVE this.
I am both a night owl and a early bird. I enjoy the time to myself. This morning I got up at 6:30am to play basketball and I loved driving to the courts because it was so still and peaceful and the sun hadn't even peaked over the mountains yet. There was a full moon out sitting low on the horizon amidst a light blue sky. Beautiful. I couldn't help by smile. I also like staying up after my roommates have gone to bed because I have a few moments to myself to relax and then go to bed. Know what I mean? I treasure these small moments of my day.

The point of my title today came from a quote I heard yesterday. Funny story how I heard it....
I ordered the movie Stomp the Yard and have been anxiously checking my mail for days! Finally I got it yesterday, ripped it open, popped it in and settled in to watch some while eating some lunch. Well, I couldn't find the dang DVD remote, which actually turned out to be a good thing because otherwise I would have skipped over the previews and then missed this quote:

"If you want something you've never had before, you have to do

something you've never done before."

Cool huh? Read it one more time. Wow. Powerful don't you think?

And it's rather applicable now, as I suppose it will be for the rest of my life. You see, my friends in my dietetics program just found out who got accepted into the dietetics internship at our university and of course, because these girls have become some of my closest friends I feel emotionally involved. That being said, I'm indescribably excited and proud of the girls who got in. I also feel for the girls who were not accepted. In fact, it hurts because everyone that applied was completely qualified, but I guess that's reality. Still, it hurts. This led me to think of what's going to happen to me in April. What if I don't get an internship. Terrifying. Scary. What will I do? People keep telling me I will, but what if I don't? I have to be honest here: I might not get one. I might not. I might, but I might not. I know that whatever happens happens for a reason and I'm going to accept that, but not without feeling a little bit dismayed, scared, and sad, but that's expected right? I've worked hard, dang hard for 5 years and would be a bit discouraged if I don't get one.

But, I suppose that would be where I would have to do something I haven't ever done and completely diverge from my original plans and go from there. Whew. Deep breaths. Gosh, can April please come. I just want to know.

But on a more positive note, I broke my camera (I know, that's not exactly positive but....) and now I just have to get a new one. Darn! (sarcasm). I'm SO excited!!! My camera was wonderful. I loved it, but I was ready for a new one, something a bit more high-tech and modern and I'm stoked to get a new one. I do love these new gadgets. Hooray! Maybe if I don't get into my internship I'll go back to school for photography. Or maybe I'll go to culinary school and open up my own bakery. Hmmmm.....any name ideas for my bakery?

Boston

Alright. Let's get serious for sec. I love Boston. I mean if you read my blog or know me at all, you know I have this insane obsession with Europe and Paris and how I dream about going there and so on. Boston is right up there but on a different level. A whole different level.

Been there. Loved it. Love it. IN love with it. Why?
-FENWAY
-Mike's Cannolis
-Reginas
-The North End in general (I swear I should marry an Italian)
-The Harbor
-THE HISTORY
-It's a city. Shopping...obviously.
-The gardens.
-The food.
-The variety.
-The posh, class, and yet homey feel of Boston.


And since I like being around people, I love Boston. It's a city so it's bustling with activity and always so much to do!

So here's the situation. My dream is to live in Boston. I don't mean in some ritzy pent house or fancy-smancy condo or brownstone (but I wouldn't complain if I did!). I would be happy in some teeny, tiny, itty-bitty apartment. I'd make it my own and make it so cozy and awesome. I yearn to live in Boston. Explore the city, get to know all the short cuts and all that. Alright so I'm graduating from college in April and from there I must apply to and complete an internship. My internship for dietetics is more like grad school meets residency. It prepares me from the exam I must take to become a registered dietitian to practice legally. So what's the issue? I don't know where to apply.
My dream? Boston!
My top choices: Brigham and Womens Hospital and then Mass General.

The other thing...well....for reasons I'm not going into right now, maybe I should stay out west. So maybe Arizona? Utah? California even?

It's all so confusing! Do I follow my dreams or take a completely unplanned path!?!?! Gah! This is so confusing yet so exciting at the same time.

Alas....I have some time.

Thoughts?