What a great year! Since I decided to try out this blogging thing, I might as well start by reflecting back on the year 2008. I'll start by saying that I can remember sitting in my room, not so many years ago, worrying that I would be stuck living at home forever, working a minimum wage job until I was 40.
I guess I was wrong.
I, being someone who doesn't tend to worry about things too often, knew that wouldn't be true but it sucked at the time. That aside, I'd like to summarize, more for myself than anyone reading this, some of the things I've experienced this year.
January.. What the hell am I doing? I'm leaving for L.A. in a week. Do I really wanna do this? "California is so overrated, I couldn't care less if I ever stepped foot there." Those were my exact words not so many months before. I ended up going and can't imagine what my year would have been like if I hadn't.
My mom, sister, and I headed west, stopping to see my uncle Jeff in Dillion, Colorado on the way. We stayed for some spaghetti and decided we should get going to make it over the passes before the snow got too bad. I remember Jeff wished we would stay longer. We headed to my aunt's in Rifle, where my sister lived at the time. After a few days, my mom and I headed out in my dad's Grand Prix. We drove the majority of the way in heavy fog, winding through the emptiness of Utah blindly. When I got to L.A. I wondered how in the world I was going to ever be able to relax in such chaos. I dropped my mom off at the airport and as I headed toward the Park LaBrea Apartments, I got lost for about an hour wondering, again, why exactly I was there.
Long story short, I had an unforgettable time out there. I met so many great people and experienced a lot of new things. My roommates were great. We had so many funny moments. I had a great time with my crew when we made an 8-minute short film. So much procrastination, so many late nights of laughing with Christy Kelly about immature things, taking unnecessary breaks from work, yet somehow ending up with a decent finished product. Our neighbors were always playing obnoxiously loud jazz music. Parking usually sucked, the usual paranoia of getting towed or ticketed. I had to walk everywhere. Our apartment had bugs.
My internship was awesome. I worked at Fox (Fuel TV) for a show called The Weekly Update. I did some miniscule things like researching athletes, fact checking, making sure the graphics didn't have errors, making runs to the FOX lot. But it was a lot of fun too. I got to sit in the control room with the producers while they taped the show. I sat in during script readings and was responsible for the feed to Houston. I even got my name in the credits on national tv as "production assistant." My parents were so proud. Haha.
I didn't think I would miss it when I left. I knew I would miss all the great friends I'd made, but not so much the place. I think I was excited about the idea of "going home." In fact, as I was driving home and as the traffic started to disperse and I was welcomed into open spaces, I felt a sense of happiness. But even after being gone for only a week, I felt an emptiness. I missed walking to my apartment after having to park a mile away. I missed the drives through Beverly Hills with friends. I missed the sand on my bedroom floor, leftover from trips to the beach. I missed the need to "flip a bitch and pull a tag," as my supervisor described needing to do a U-turn and grab a parking ticket. I missed checking into FOX every day to get a temporary badge. I missed the random trips to In-and-Out Burger at midnight. I missed my friends, their laughter, cheap chinese food, and the culture of L.A.
My year was also filled with some grief. While I was in L.A., I got a call. I was walking back to my apartment after class and got my cell phone out to check for any missed calls. There were two. One from my mom and one from my sister. This couldn't be good. I learned shortly after that Jeff had passed away. This was hard, as I was pretty close to him. When I was growing up, he was like my second dad. Road trips to Colorado, him jokingly scaring me all the time when I was young, his 2am seafood burritos, getting free slurpees when I visisted him at 7-11, building snowmen, wheelchair races. I wasn't able to make it back for his funeral but our family had a memorial service for him when I got back to Iowa in May. My grandpa, grandma, cousins, aunts/uncles, mom, and sister all drove out to an old farm where they grew up and we each took turns spreading his ashes in the countryside. I sometimes cry when I think about it, mainly because I can't fathom losing a son or a brother. I feel the most for my grandparents and my mom. But he lives on in our hearts and he's still very much alive in our family, with memories of him shared at every family gathering.
I won't lie, this summer brought some major boredom at times. After about a week back home in Iowa, I left to go back to Minneapolis because I couldn't bare hickville much longer. It was nice to be home, but I will admit, I was a little depressed for a bit. My roommate of 2 years, Nicole, was in Minneapolis this summer, although I didn't see her very often, as she worked full-time. I sat around for another couple weeks in our Fountain Apartment (Off-campus housing). Joanna, my other friend, kept me sane. We took a lot of trips to the lakes: Lake Johanna, Lake Valentine, Long Lake. We went on some bike rides and ate a lot of meals with rice at her familys' house. Shortly after getting back, I got a job at ShopNBC. Training lasted about a month. I worked full-time and made some good money and hated it. Call center, don't do it.
Since last year, Nicole, Joanna, Megan, and I decided we didn't want to live on campus and were going to get an apartment together. We spent some time looking for a good deal. We landed an apartment in Fridley, which is about 15 minutes away from Bethel, depending on traffic and weather. Not bad. Three bedroom, full-sized kitchen and living room. Indoor, outdoor pool and workout room.
I, not being one to worry, quit my ShopNBC job before school started, knowing I'd find something else. I just bought a new car, had rent to pay, and several other bills on top of that. What's the worry? I think I'm too carefree sometimes. It worked out okay. A couple weeks later, I got a job at ACR Homes, which stands for Acceptance, Communication, and Respect. I work at a home in Roseville, MN with people who have mental and/or physical disabilities. Again, something I never expected I would be capable of doing. So far, I LOVE it! The pay is great and the people are wonderful. I can't say a whole lot, but a lot of the things I do for healthcare, I didn't think I'd be able to do. Combatting seizures and poking people with needles is just 'every day' life now. I worked on Christmas and as I was getting ready to leave, one of the residents stood by the door for about 20 minutes, waiting for me to leave to say goodbye, to thank me for her gifts, and to give me a heartfelt hug. I felt an overwhelming sense of fulfillment that day. Braiding hair, watching Disney movies, chatting about Santa, and saying "Boo yah!" are just some of the things that make my job great. Each resident that I work is so different from the others and when one of them is gone, it feels weird. I appreciate each one of them and am glad I got the opportunity to be part of their lives, if only for a little while. I'll probably cry when I'm done working there.
The fall semester went by really fast. I usually work about 40 hours a week and go to school on top of that. Somewhere along the way, apparently I finished the semester. I didn't always go to class faithfully. Why bother if you're gonna get the same grade either way. Again, great attitude.
I've had a lot of fun nights with my 3 roommates... can't forget my 4th roommate either! That would be David, Joanna's boyfriend, who is here more than some of us. We put up roommate pictures the other day and figured we should include him too.
As for 2009, I have only a couple big plans. So far, God seems to be tugging at me to go back to L.A. so that's probably where I will end up this coming summer. Saving has already begun... And, as a graduation gift to ourselves, my roommates and I are planning to go backpacking in Europe at the end of May, which means I need to get my passport. I'll probably go do that soon. Can't wait to see what God has in store for me in 2009!
Wow, long blog.
Until next year...
I guess I was wrong.
I, being someone who doesn't tend to worry about things too often, knew that wouldn't be true but it sucked at the time. That aside, I'd like to summarize, more for myself than anyone reading this, some of the things I've experienced this year.
January.. What the hell am I doing? I'm leaving for L.A. in a week. Do I really wanna do this? "California is so overrated, I couldn't care less if I ever stepped foot there." Those were my exact words not so many months before. I ended up going and can't imagine what my year would have been like if I hadn't.
My mom, sister, and I headed west, stopping to see my uncle Jeff in Dillion, Colorado on the way. We stayed for some spaghetti and decided we should get going to make it over the passes before the snow got too bad. I remember Jeff wished we would stay longer. We headed to my aunt's in Rifle, where my sister lived at the time. After a few days, my mom and I headed out in my dad's Grand Prix. We drove the majority of the way in heavy fog, winding through the emptiness of Utah blindly. When I got to L.A. I wondered how in the world I was going to ever be able to relax in such chaos. I dropped my mom off at the airport and as I headed toward the Park LaBrea Apartments, I got lost for about an hour wondering, again, why exactly I was there.
Long story short, I had an unforgettable time out there. I met so many great people and experienced a lot of new things. My roommates were great. We had so many funny moments. I had a great time with my crew when we made an 8-minute short film. So much procrastination, so many late nights of laughing with Christy Kelly about immature things, taking unnecessary breaks from work, yet somehow ending up with a decent finished product. Our neighbors were always playing obnoxiously loud jazz music. Parking usually sucked, the usual paranoia of getting towed or ticketed. I had to walk everywhere. Our apartment had bugs.
My internship was awesome. I worked at Fox (Fuel TV) for a show called The Weekly Update. I did some miniscule things like researching athletes, fact checking, making sure the graphics didn't have errors, making runs to the FOX lot. But it was a lot of fun too. I got to sit in the control room with the producers while they taped the show. I sat in during script readings and was responsible for the feed to Houston. I even got my name in the credits on national tv as "production assistant." My parents were so proud. Haha.
I didn't think I would miss it when I left. I knew I would miss all the great friends I'd made, but not so much the place. I think I was excited about the idea of "going home." In fact, as I was driving home and as the traffic started to disperse and I was welcomed into open spaces, I felt a sense of happiness. But even after being gone for only a week, I felt an emptiness. I missed walking to my apartment after having to park a mile away. I missed the drives through Beverly Hills with friends. I missed the sand on my bedroom floor, leftover from trips to the beach. I missed the need to "flip a bitch and pull a tag," as my supervisor described needing to do a U-turn and grab a parking ticket. I missed checking into FOX every day to get a temporary badge. I missed the random trips to In-and-Out Burger at midnight. I missed my friends, their laughter, cheap chinese food, and the culture of L.A.
My year was also filled with some grief. While I was in L.A., I got a call. I was walking back to my apartment after class and got my cell phone out to check for any missed calls. There were two. One from my mom and one from my sister. This couldn't be good. I learned shortly after that Jeff had passed away. This was hard, as I was pretty close to him. When I was growing up, he was like my second dad. Road trips to Colorado, him jokingly scaring me all the time when I was young, his 2am seafood burritos, getting free slurpees when I visisted him at 7-11, building snowmen, wheelchair races. I wasn't able to make it back for his funeral but our family had a memorial service for him when I got back to Iowa in May. My grandpa, grandma, cousins, aunts/uncles, mom, and sister all drove out to an old farm where they grew up and we each took turns spreading his ashes in the countryside. I sometimes cry when I think about it, mainly because I can't fathom losing a son or a brother. I feel the most for my grandparents and my mom. But he lives on in our hearts and he's still very much alive in our family, with memories of him shared at every family gathering.
I won't lie, this summer brought some major boredom at times. After about a week back home in Iowa, I left to go back to Minneapolis because I couldn't bare hickville much longer. It was nice to be home, but I will admit, I was a little depressed for a bit. My roommate of 2 years, Nicole, was in Minneapolis this summer, although I didn't see her very often, as she worked full-time. I sat around for another couple weeks in our Fountain Apartment (Off-campus housing). Joanna, my other friend, kept me sane. We took a lot of trips to the lakes: Lake Johanna, Lake Valentine, Long Lake. We went on some bike rides and ate a lot of meals with rice at her familys' house. Shortly after getting back, I got a job at ShopNBC. Training lasted about a month. I worked full-time and made some good money and hated it. Call center, don't do it.
Since last year, Nicole, Joanna, Megan, and I decided we didn't want to live on campus and were going to get an apartment together. We spent some time looking for a good deal. We landed an apartment in Fridley, which is about 15 minutes away from Bethel, depending on traffic and weather. Not bad. Three bedroom, full-sized kitchen and living room. Indoor, outdoor pool and workout room.
I, not being one to worry, quit my ShopNBC job before school started, knowing I'd find something else. I just bought a new car, had rent to pay, and several other bills on top of that. What's the worry? I think I'm too carefree sometimes. It worked out okay. A couple weeks later, I got a job at ACR Homes, which stands for Acceptance, Communication, and Respect. I work at a home in Roseville, MN with people who have mental and/or physical disabilities. Again, something I never expected I would be capable of doing. So far, I LOVE it! The pay is great and the people are wonderful. I can't say a whole lot, but a lot of the things I do for healthcare, I didn't think I'd be able to do. Combatting seizures and poking people with needles is just 'every day' life now. I worked on Christmas and as I was getting ready to leave, one of the residents stood by the door for about 20 minutes, waiting for me to leave to say goodbye, to thank me for her gifts, and to give me a heartfelt hug. I felt an overwhelming sense of fulfillment that day. Braiding hair, watching Disney movies, chatting about Santa, and saying "Boo yah!" are just some of the things that make my job great. Each resident that I work is so different from the others and when one of them is gone, it feels weird. I appreciate each one of them and am glad I got the opportunity to be part of their lives, if only for a little while. I'll probably cry when I'm done working there.
The fall semester went by really fast. I usually work about 40 hours a week and go to school on top of that. Somewhere along the way, apparently I finished the semester. I didn't always go to class faithfully. Why bother if you're gonna get the same grade either way. Again, great attitude.
I've had a lot of fun nights with my 3 roommates... can't forget my 4th roommate either! That would be David, Joanna's boyfriend, who is here more than some of us. We put up roommate pictures the other day and figured we should include him too.
As for 2009, I have only a couple big plans. So far, God seems to be tugging at me to go back to L.A. so that's probably where I will end up this coming summer. Saving has already begun... And, as a graduation gift to ourselves, my roommates and I are planning to go backpacking in Europe at the end of May, which means I need to get my passport. I'll probably go do that soon. Can't wait to see what God has in store for me in 2009!
Wow, long blog.
Until next year...
are you really only gonna blog once a year? I want to read more...
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