Cryptic

I LOVE my job, I'm just going to put it out there right now. I work at Victoria's Secret and it's absolutely amazing. All the girls I work with are super nice, I get great discounts, and it's in a good location. I worked my first day yesterday out on the floor and I was being trained behind the counter for the cash register. Mel said I did pretty well, I just kept forgetting to take off the sensors... but I think we caught them all before the customers left because the alarms kept going off, haha.

I have come across a very bad habit being around all of the malls and stores here that we don't have in Eugene, I LOVE to shop. Too bad I don't make millions a year like all the people who live here. Oh well, I have a pretty good life, I'm not going to complain! School has been fun to go to. I really like my art classes. I've learned a lot in only a couple days of drawing, I really like working with the clay in ceramics, and in photo we developed our first roll of 120 film. It's bigger squares that you have to develop with a "Holga" camera. The camera is kind of cool because you can't adjust anything on it. Yes, it's kind of a pain because you can pretty much only shoot on bright days, but it's cool because it takes you back to the very basics where there aren't all of these fancy settings, it's just 1/60 of a second, you, and the button to make an image on the film.

Since I joined the gym and have been to yoga almost everyday, it's one of my new passions. It just makes you feel good. Who wouldn't like that? Anyway, it starts in fifteen minutes, so I'm off!

Eucalyptus

Welcome to Texas.

I really don't know how I could've forgotten to include this earlier, anyway...

I wasn't even in Texas for an HOUR and I got pulled over. What kind of crummy luck is that? I was going 10 over because it switched from 80 to 70 because we were getting close to town. I saw the cop on the other side of the highway and decided to slow down. I watched in my rearview mirror as he turned around, in one of those "official emergency whatever vehicle only turnaround" places, and felt my stomach drop onto my seat as he sped up behind me and the lights came flashing on. That was definitely more of a welcome than I needed. I did, however, luck out in the fact that the cop was nice and didn't write me up for anything except a warning. I did feel dumb though when I had an insurance card that was five months expired. Oops.

     I am now a member of Lifetime Fitness and it's the COOLEST place ever (besides the car wash). It's huge. I couldn't tell you square feet because I don't know the first thing about that, but it's huge. They have every machine you could ever think of, every class you could ever think of, a rock climbing wall, a salon, a massage place, a cafe, an indoor pool with a water slide, an outdoor pool, and sweet locker rooms. In the women's locker room (I don't know about the men's) there is a steam room that is scented with eucalyptus. That sounds wierd, but it clears you right up after being in there for a couple minutes. It's one of the most relaxing things I've ever done. It's open 24 hours, so that is definitely going to be a plus when I'm freezing at night and would just like to go warm up in the steam room... :)

     Two days ago it was eighty degrees, yesterday it was seventy, and today it was 30 with 20 mile an hour winds. Really, the weather here needs to make up it's mind. You never know what kind of clothes to put on for the day. I guess it's not so bad though, because I'm inside for often than not now with school.

     I'm a little nervous. I go to my first meeting for work tomorrow. I really hope I don't make a bumbling idiot out of myself. I've figured out that I'm a nervous-talker (when I don't have anything to say, I babble on about nothing, and usually it's nothings that shouldn't be said because they just make it more confusing for everyone) and I really don't want to have confusing nothings popping out tomorrow. I really hope everything goes well. But I do have yoga after, so I can look forward to that if the meeting does in fact go horribly. Wish me luck!

AfterWords

Officially official for my life:

My room is never clean now that I have no roommate to make me think about cleaning it.

I experimented with dying hair on my grandmother (and was pretty successful if I do say so myself).

I love my aunt and uncle and their kids!

I am employed. 

I miss having someone close to me that I can talk to.

I have learned the full range of my scanner's capabilities.

I have started school.

I am going to see Dave Matthews on May 2nd.

I am a pro at getting lost and asking a billion people how to get back to where I came from.

My photography teacher is an exact replica of my U.S. History teacher's personality.

Flights to mexico from Dallas are only $89.

Highway 26 really does have everything you need.

Art classes are freaking expensive.

I miss my roommates.

My car has the absolute worst gas mileage in the entire world.

     

     Now that we've gotten that all straightened out... That's really all there is to say. I guess I can expound a little on my notes. I've started school and really like my classes. I'm taking 3 art classes, which are super fun, and I know I'm going to learn a lot. There is a guy in my business computer class who reminds me of Phil, but I really don't know why. But he's nice, so I guess that's all that matters. I only go to school two days a week, basically. I have classes all day Monday and Wednesday. Then I have one class on Tuesday and Thursday from 8-9:20 in the morning, then I'm done for the day. No class on Friday! Woo!

     I went to Fort Worth today to pick up art supplies. It is one cool city. I didn't get to explore much, but I liked what I saw. Abran and I ate a place called Corner Bakery and it was yummy! I'm going to try and go back there tomorrow and take some more pictures. University of North Texas, I think, is around there. Who knows, maybe I'll end up there?

     I made Ali's Chicken Over Rice (ACOR?) last night. It wasn't as good as hers, but it was edible, and that's all that matters to me at this point, for I am learning to cook! I got some cookbooks the other day hoping that they'll give me some inspiration... I want to learn how to make a good, full-course meal before I die. That's a good goal to have, right? (and I would like to go skydiving, but that's for another time.)

"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you've decided to look beyond the imperfections."

--Unknown

Winter Break then back to... Texas?

     Well, these three pictures pretty much some up my winter break, and my move to Texas. I wish I would've taken a picture of my dirty, sick, gross, practically camouflage car. Driving 1200 miles would've given a better idea of what the move was like than a box, but that's what I got folks! Let me tell you my story...

     So excited for winter break, couldn't wait! I had half my dorm room sent home with my in boxes and bags and whatever else I could fit for my trip home. I worked at IB to make some Christmas shopping money for presents, ate lots of Cafe Yumm, attempted to run a 10k race on New Years Eve, and spent a lot of time with friends and family! Christmas was a little wierd this year, I didn't feel quite as in the spirit as I usually do (I think because I was away from home for so long) but it was still fun getting to see family and eat way too much food. Christmas decorations and lights are always cheerful :)

     Over break I had time to think, and new it was time for a change. Utah State is a great school, but I wanted to try something else! Where could I go that would give me a good change, but would still allow me to attend school? Texas! Of course? My aunt Calli and uncle Joel were in town and that's what gave me the brilliant idea of asking to possibly live with them while I got settled; they told me yes without even a pause. Family is wonderful, and I absolutely love them to death for it. Then came the hard part, telling my roommate that I'd be leaving her...

     The minute I walked in and told her we had to talk I knew what she was thinking... "What a frump..." She eventually accepted that I would be moving out of our room and down to Texas. We had grown really close over the last couple months and it was going to be really hard to leave her. I didn't realize that a wierdo like me could have made such an impression her!

Anyway, she helped me pack, move boxes out to my car, move my 
boxes out to her car, take them to the post office with me, and helped me write the billion and a half labels the mailing guy made me fill out. Such a good helper!

     Now, the driving arrangements for getting down to Texas were a little difficult to figure out. My dad wanted me to drive so I would have my car, but didn't want me driving alone because it was over a 20 hour drive. Friends and family had both volunteered to fly out and drive with me, but in the end my Aunt Calli's younger brother Scott flew up from Texas and drove back down with me. Wow, wouldn't that be exciting, flying two hours only to drive back 20 hours right where you came from. The drive down to the Salt Lake Airport was a little scary, I slid a few times going 65 miles and hour (and, let me tell you, those were the scariest couple seconds of my life up 'til then) but I still made it to the airport in my good 1 and 1/2 hour time! I picked up a somewhat enthusiastic Scott and off we went through snow, rain, desert, prairie... anything you can name we went through it (including 3 birds that flew right in front of the car and got themselves hit by my bumper). We also almost went through the biggest elk known to mankind, because it just stopped right in the MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY with us going 75 miles and hour but someone must've been watching out for us because somehow we ended up slamming on the brakes and swerving around it. Cross my heart and hope to die it was bigger than my car (which happens to be an SUV). Other than stopping for gas and not really having much to look at for most of the drive nothing else too exciting happened. But we made it safe and sound, so I guess that's pretty exciting in and of itself.

     Now for Texas... the first thing I did was take my car to a carwash! Now, let me tell you, they have the COOLEST car-washes here, haha. I felt like a small-town girl when I pulled up and they had to explain to me that "around here you don't stay in the car while it goes through the car wash." Anyway, I got out and they put the cars through the car wash, with no one in them! It was very odd to see your car moving along by itself getting all nice and clean. They had me go through this little shop where I paid and saw my car going through. A nice old man there explained the whole process to me. They send your car through the carwash while you wait inside, then when it comes out of the carwash they drive it out around front. I hadn't cleaned out my car yet from the drive so I was a little embarrassed having someone else get in the car with all of my junk in it. I watched them for a couple minutes and then they waved me over to inspect it. They had dried off the car, wiped down the whole inside, and thrown away all of my trash! Oh boy, how much better can it get?

     Well, much better! But that's for another time. I'll say all the wonderful things about Texas in my next blog. 

Sneak peak:

-job applications

-family

-highway 26

-school

-dying hair

-rearranging

-malls! malls! everywhere you look!