Moving on Down the Road

As I've already stated, moving sucks but it's made much easier by two strong men who show up to move your boxes and furniture for you... I've never seen a truck get loaded so fast. In less than an hour, I was ready to hit the road. So nice.


Unfortunately, the road has been not so nice. Between the potholes, big trucks, and the weather... the drive has been very stressful. It'll be ok and I hate to complain but I'm so tense as I drive my Penske truck. The truck itself is nice and a comfortable ride so I'd recommend their vehicles to anyone.


I have learned a lesson in all my moves across the U.S. - changing the scenery doesn't change your problems. I'm needing to address those and focus on being the person, a better person than I am - someone who I want to be.


So I found this on the internet and I think it's applicable to my situation. If nothing else, it made me giggle:

Moving Sucks

There is nothing I hate more than packing and moving... unless it's moving and unpacking. And this is how I'm choosing to spend the rest of my week. I can't believe it. Ugh. My apartment is knee-deep in boxes and packing supplies and tape. Lots of tape...

It's been a busy day, I went to my volunteer position to do a little work and say goodbye. I worked until 1PM and then cried when I went to say goodbye. I hate crying in public. I hate showing my emotions that way. And while the goodbye was sad, it was great to have the support and positive feedback I received. They were all supportive and encouraging for me to move on in my life, it was just sad too.

I remember a friend one time saying that she wished she could create her world with the people she loves the best all in the same place... anyone who has brought different areas of their life together for whatever reason knows that doesn't always work out best. But it's a great idea in theory... There are definitely some people at my last position who I'd love to take along with me.

Then I went and picked up my moving truck which is an adventure... driving myself home in that vehicle after not being an active driver for 8 months will be interesting. I've moved myself cross country several times and each time offers a different challenge. I need a safe journey home because I didn't buy the insurance for an additional $104.00 - it seemed like a rip-off to me. So cross your fingers for me!

Some friends showed up this afternoon to help me pack and say goodbye... these are girls who are firmly in my life and will be forever so although it was sad to say I was leaving, I know I'll be back and see them again. I appreciated their help packing because my brain just doesn't work well at making the most fit into a box.

You'd think after 8 cross country moves, I'd be better at this but nope, I suck. My philosophy is to cram as much as possible in there and then throw the rest of it away. It's worked so far but I own more stuff now so I needed a better plan.

So it's almost 10 o'clock and I'm tired, I've been going non-stop since 7AM and I'm ready for bed. And of course, I've already packed my external hard drive so no cruise story today because I can't get to my pictures. I'll get there, I promise.


On a side note:
In the past month, I've been told by several different people that I hide myself and it would take work to "chip away" at the layers that are in place. I was meaning to ask my BFF if she thinks it's true. I find it suprising because I see myself as an open book... I generally don't have a filter and I say what's on my mind the majority of my time. But maybe I've just been fooling myself this who time... maybe that's what I need to adjust in my life... maybe that's what's holding me back.

"There's no getting over it, you have to come through it." - I just heard this on the tv show I'm watching... interesting because the girl was trying to work through her emotions. Struck a vibe with me because I know there are things I have to work through.

Here's to not standing still!!!

Bon Voyage!!!

After seven days of blissful weather and family togetherness, I'm back from celebrating my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary in the Carribbean. I took over 200 pictures on this vacation so be prepared. I'm making a photo book from Snapfish for my grandparents as a present so I was really into documenting the vacation. It was fun and I got a lot of great pictures. So it was worth being a little annoying to everyone else.








But first the obligatory cute picture of my nephew... he discovered his tongue this week and was constantly sticking it out and making faces with it much to our delight.







And now, my grandparents. We suprised them with a cake and a song from the crew one night at dinner. Aren't they cute? So fun. And the rest of the dining room joined in the celebration. There was a lot of love going around the boat, 3 different couples were married while on board and we witnessed an engagement one night. Instead of the "Triumph", it should have been called the "Love Boat" (cue theme song here).

Our boat made four stops:

1. Moon Cay, Bahamas
2. St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
3. San Juan, Puerto Rico
4. Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

I'll have a post for each destination and include pictures but please be patient with me. I've decided to uproot my life and move it back to Georgia now so between packing, moving, saying goodbyes, and driving south, I may be a little busy.

I see the moon...

And the moon sees me.

I hope you were able to see the moon that I saw last night. I walked into my bedroom in the early evening, around 7PM or so. And into this beautiful sight...

Definitely was one of those moments when I wished I knew how to use a camera because I did not do the image justice. I was hoping someone was around with a better camera and more skill than I because the moon was dramatic over Lake Michigan, lighting up the sky and water. Lakeshore Drive traffic is seen in my picture. I'm not doing it justice. I was battling distance, flashes, windows and lack of skill. But it was amazing.

It was breathtaking - it's rare when I'm speechless and the beauty of the moon last night was amazing. I stood at my window for about 30 minutes, trying to capture the image and reveling in it's prescence.

"Life is filled with so many exciting twists and turns. Hop off the straight and narrow whenever you can and take the winding paths. Experience the exhilaration of the view from the edge. Because the moments spent there, that take your breath away, are what make you feel truly alive." - Stacey Charter

Oh! 48 hours and counting until I hit the open sea!!!

So Many Men...

I know I went into "Definitely, Maybe" with a crush on Ryan Reynolds... which is still firmly intact and was definitely enhanced by his performance. I really enjoyed the movie. Yes, it is a chick-flick but the guy in front of me seemed to really enjoy it. Maybe he just really related to all the stupid things the lead character did... who knows.

It was, however, Kevin Kline who was the sleeper star in this movie. I very much enjoyed his supporting role as I always do whenever his eclectic talent is brought into play on the big screen. His best movie for me will probably always be, "Life as a House" which was just touching. And of course, he's in my family's favorite movie, "The Big Chill". In "Definitely, Maybe", he plays the lover/professor, Hampton Roth of one of the female roles in the movie and he's fabulous. I adore him - he has such a presence on the screen.

So go see it, you'll love it. (Well, at least the girls will.)

Ok, it's gotten to me. I have had enough of the brutal cold weather. I would love to be able to go outside without my mental checklist of outerwear... gloves, hat, scarf, and jacket. I never really wore coats before... it really wasn't necessary in Georgia but also just out of laziness, I'd run out of the house without worrying about it. Or at the most, grab my fleece. Here that is not an option, this morning it was 7 degrees at 9AM. A little chilly. And dangerous to expose your skin for a length of time.

So it's a good thing for me to be leaving in THREE DAYS to go on a cruise to the US Virgin Islands. It's the perfect time to be taking a break. I'm excited for it. Although my sister and mom have already started packing, they both have husbands to pack for as well as themselves. (Yes, it is 2008 and my sister will be packing for her husband... I know many will think this is 1950s housewife crap but I think it's more of a control thing. Leah wants to know exactly what Will has in his suitcase and she wants to make sure he has what she wants him to wear.) My older sister also has a baby to plan for and my mom has to worry about her parents. I only have myself so therefore, I will be packing on Friday afternoon. Any time before that will be too soon. But I am SOOOOOOO excited to go!!!

Alright, that's enough for now. It's time to go ice my cupcakes. Yes, I'm about to go spend a week in a bathing suit and I've made cupcakes. Life is good. Mmmmmmm

Score!

I finally found my battery charger for my digital camera! And not a moment too soon, as we all know, I'm going on vacation this Saturday and I need to be able to take pictures on our cruise. Plus I love taking pictures of everything going on in every day life.

I had been looking for days, checking all my normal storage spots. I mean, I live in an apartment and I don't take things out of my bedroom so I didn't think I could have put it anywhere other than in my room. But it wasn't anywhere! It's like when you misplace your keys, you feel as though you are losing your mind because you know you have them...

I had been putting stuff away and I guess I stuffed it into a purse with some other random items which I then put into my closet. So I was pulling everything out. I had already gone through my desk, the dresser, the nightstands, this random box with computer stuff in it, under the bed, my bathroom cabinets, and I was starting on the closet. Fortunately for me, the purse was on the top of the pile so I hadn't pulled too many things out yet. It's funny, but for me, cleaning usually means tearing everything out and putting it back together. Sometimes I don't make it to the putting back together. My closet is hard because I have very limited space in Chicago. I've always heard about big city living and small closet space - thought people were exagerating. But now I'm living it and I totally get it. It's a little challenging.

Alright, now I'm off to the movies. Yes, I live a life of leisure and I believe it will be ending soon so I'm taking the afternoon to go to the movies. So many good ones are out right now and this afternoon I'm going to indulge in a chick-flick "Definitely, Maybe". It had Ryan Reynolds who I adore, of all the men in Hollywood, he's one that I could develop a serious crush on. I've liked him since his TV show about the pizza place, "Two guys and a something" I've forgotten but I find him VERY attractive. Even if he did date Alanis Morisette... we can forgive that one. Everybody makes mistakes. Anyways, I'll let you know what I think!

PS. 4 Days until I set sail to the Carribbean!!!

No Pressure

So I go to my volunteer job today and get an email from the HR dude: "Congratulations, you've been invited to the second/final round of interviews"

Great.

They've received over 250 resumes, interviewed about 25 people, and it's now between me and this other chick. I am meeting with multiple people this Friday, including board members and volunteers. I have to impress all of them, show that I can handle interacting with different types of people, raise money, handle details, and do it while smiling and looking chic. I'm excited and I really want the job because it's the first work environment I've been excited about in a long time. I've been posturing myself for a job with this organization for about 3 months now and I want it but I'm also afraid of it. This always happens when I want something and I feel as though I have no control over it. This happened last November with a different job - it came down to what her father did, no joke. Finding a job and going through this process is very challenging. It affects my self esteem and my motivation. It's hard to keep going. And now I have to put myself up for rejection again and do it with grace and a smile.

No Pressure.

So we'll see what happens... I'll keep you posted.

PS. 5 days until I'm lying out in the sun!