I'm happy!

Haha, I have to laugh.  I have reached a paradox of life.  Now, at rock bottom, I have found contentment?? 

My job with Crocs is now entirely in the past.  A distant nightmare, a bad memory of an unfamiliar life. 

Perhaps my lack of connection of my time at Crocs serves as further confirmation in my decision to quit.  And THAT gives me great satisfaction.   True, no longer am I making a comfortable, steady income.  However, I am also stripped of all responsibility in reporting to a place, a person, a lifestyle that is so opposite me.  And this is an amazing feeling!

My mentor has stated that I should pursue a year of fun.  It has been said that I often strive for the expectations of others.  I went from high school to college, college to full-time career; always focusing on the aspirations of everyone other than myself.  The result of which very likely spawned my restlessness.  So, October 2011 marks the start of a year devoted to me.  One month down and I am in awe of the change in my attitude.

In my one month, I have somehow freed myself of all pressures and stress.  My most difficult discovery- to trust myself.  Through this, the act of accepting the change I am voluntarily pursuing somehow brings serenity.  My closest parallel is in skydiving.  This is a sport where panic and fear will do nothing for you.  Trust in the equipment and yourself are the tools for a safe enjoyable experience.

That said, I will not fail!  In the past month I have started as a waitress at one of the more popular restaurants in Boulder.  It is a French-themed restaurant, called Brasserie Ten Ten.  Serving food is nothing new.  But I am looking forward to learning, understanding, developing a taste for good food and wine!  In addition, I've also been offered a job as a ski instructor at the local resort, which I think I will accept and work one day a week.  Andy and I have also bought our ski pass to the big-name mountains; Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and A-Basin.  I hope to make these my home over the next couple months.

And of course, trips are in the works.  Andy and I will be traveling home during the second week of December to celebrate an early Christmas with the family.  I'm looking forward to this for two big reasons.  My good friend from Germany will be in the U.S. at this time, so we are hoping to spend a day touring in Philadelphia together.  But more than this, I get to see my family after being separated from them for almost a year!  Yes, they are mean, judgmental people who do not approve of my thoughts, opinions, lifestyle, but they are my family!  Yes, they made and continue to make me feel like a horrible person for pursuing my dreams and not theirs, but I love them!  So, yes, I am excited to be going home.

Next trip will be our SCUBA diving trip in the Roatan for two weeks during the month of January, which I am both nervous and excited about.  Followed by, of course, lots of skiing.  Then I'm hoping to some volunteer work in either Africa or Europe in the Spring.  Aaaand possibly go for my skydiving license upon my return.

I pray that all goes smoothly over my next year and a favorable return to the work force when I am ready. 

I want to be successful and happy today and always!

OMG- I was watching this last night!!!  And it made it to Fark...

Oh the surprise...oh the delight...oh the amusment:

http://www.9news.com/news/article/203567/339/Inflation-means-you-will-pay-more-this-summer-

I guess the media is now tailoring their headlines for the simple minded :-)...haha, should I be ok with this?

Aaaaand whew, what three months will do to you!  Someone (perhaps from a past life) had told me, in quitting my perfectly good job, moving away from my parents for the first time, basically surviving on my own-- that I'd mature.  Well I don't know about that one ;-).  But I have concluded a true need for balance.  And, dear Watson, this has become my most difficult goal to date.

In three months I have worked to overcome the most severe, all-encompassing illness I have ever encountered-- depression.  Dear god, I understand I am stating the obvious, but what a freaking horrible disease!!!  I mean really...helplessness?  Hopelessness?  Moi?

And with that I've come to realize that my greatest fault was called out in a horoscope Andy had read...I care so much about other people to the point where it makes me sad.  In that, I would do ANYTHING for ANYONE.  You ask me for a favor, hell yeah, I put myself on the backburner.  But, I think I get confused and disappointed when others aren't willing to make the same sacrifices for me?  Or rather, I perceive it as such...

And herein (hee, fun word) lies my conclusion, the need for balance.  Everyone has their idiosyncrasies.  And if I'm true to myself, it is those quirks that make the world beautiful and create the world I love.  Faults should be rewarded as equally as strengths-- that is the balance.  For we are way better than perfection.

Haha, and with my profound, arguably "mature" conclusion I've also realized that, in the past few months, I had been forced to "grow up."  The audacity!  Fuck that shit...

Bring on the water guns, the Disney movies, the cookies, the laughs...I don't want to grow up, I want to fly! 

Haha, no really, I want to fly...wind tunnel league here I come!!!

Going backpacking with Erin tonight- in a thunderstorm.  I might die :-)

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to watch Lost.

Welp, Andy and I found a place.  Right at the base of the Rockie Mountains.  If you are at all unfamiliar with the state of Colorado then you probably don't know that the majority of the state is technically part of the "Great" Plains.  Yes, folks, Denver is still flat as a pancake.  Pretty far from the mountains actually (about a good hour).  Boulder, though, is right on the foothills.  And our place, on 3rd street in Boulder, is literally at the BASE of the Rockie Mountains.  This means it's about an 8 minute bike ride into town and about 20 on the way back...for now :-).

The place itself is actually very quaint.  It's a two bedroom, with a wood burning stove in the living room, old rustic kitchen with ceder-wood paneling, unique bathroom with a bowl sink, and a big-freaking-yard.  With a rose bush.  I love it.  I love being able to go outside and read in the blue skies (did I mention that Boulder gets more sun than San Diego?).  And, with us being so close to the mountains, we've had the opportunity to make some new friends.  The other day we had 7 deer in our yard.  And a coyote passing through.  And we've been promised bear and mountain lions as well.  Oh, I love meeting new friends :-). 

I have to admit, I was skeptical about the place though.  The landlord is, well, a bit of a flake.  Her mother being the previous tenant.  And, unfortunately she FILLED the place with JUNK.  No seriously, you could not enter the spare bedroom.  And there was cat puke on the carpeting.  I was disgusted, totally was the opposite of what I wanted...and then "we'll take it!" said Andy.  Ugh, at the time, I could have murdered him.  But once the woman's stuff was out of the house it became quite charming.  And once we scrubbed, vacuumed, and cleaned the place it felt more like home.  It's still a work in progress, but it's coming together.  Once we have all the furniture I'll post pictures.

Other than that, I've just been loving life.  We got a couple GREAT days of skiing in- 12 inches of fresh, fluffy P-O-W-D-E-R!  Only last week!  It was TV worthy.  Andy and I hit up the backcountry.  You know, the trails where they post the skull and cross bones...yeah, that's where they hide the good snow.  So we skied through trees and over cliffs.  All the while, the powder going up to my knees at the very least.

That's been the highlight of my time here, but I have been going the climbing gym a couple times a week to shoot up the wall as well as do some yoga.  And I've been using my bike instead of my car to get around anywhere.  Even to do errands.  Which is laughable considering that my little TDI gets 45 miles to the gallon.  But biking is just so much better, on the environment and my health. 

I purchased a couple of really awesome bracelets yesterday.  All to support third-world countries and sending kids to school.  The bracelets are part of a charity called beads for life.  They're made by women in Uganda, the beads made out of nothing but rolled up paper.  The effect is really awesome, and the idea behind them is priceless.

And...that's all.  Will keep you all posted!

 And thus begins my first entry in the new chapter of my life- Heather in Boulder, CO.

I have to say, I had forgotten the feeling of being in a new environment with surrounded by unfamiliar people.  And yes, I am met with insecurities.  At the moment, it is this that is the largest battle/challenge.

My first week in Colorado was more than I could have hoped for.  Andy and I arrived Wednesday night of last week, making it just in time for St. Patty's day the following day.  We skied at Eldora, then split mid afternoon to take part in the festivities.  Unfortunately Andy had to work.  However, him working as a bar-tender has its benefits for me.  I ended up chilling at the bar for the better part of the evening, sipping Belgian beer and discussing past, present, and future adventures with the owner of the bar.  Our time at Rueban's concluded with car boms and shots of Jameson with our friends Chris, Nate, and Erin, followed by a night at the strip club (which, I have to note, the talent there is largely undervalued).

The weekend was surpassed all expectation.  Andy, again, had to work.  Thus, I felt the need to find other ways to occupy my time- and what better way than to ski.  I gave a quick call to Chris, then got the plans in motion.  Chris called his boss, acquiring access to his boss's condo.  With a hot tub.  At Vail.  For free.

Sooo, Friday night we stayed at Vail, got up bright and early the next day to ski aaaaat...Beaver Creek.  Hahaha!  As we drove, Chris made the comment "we are probably the only people that stay at Vail and drive to ski elsewhere."  However, we did ski at Vail the following day and I have to say, I think I prefer the Beav.  It's smaller, which actually becomes it's advantage.  Vail has one too many cat-walks to achieve a level of annoyance.  For sure, the back bowls are great because it's all blacks and double blacks, but to get there is a long journey.  Yes, I think I prefer Beaver Creek.

As for now, I am left with the arguably exciting challenge of creating a life out here.  Outlining my needs are clear.  I want to make friends with interesting people and obtain a job on par with IKEA.  I pray that this will happen.

*Recites in a soft, melodious voice*  Christmas is about the spirit of giving.  Haha, the reactions I got after turning this message into action: "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WEREN'T MURDERED!"

Well, I guess if you aren't being criticized, you aren't doing very much.

Christmas 2010, was normal enough.  Well, if you consider that I am no longer living at my parents house and that they have little appreciation for my lifestyle because they are no longer in control of it.  But my attempts at Christmas tradition were normal enough.  I came home Thursday night to go to Christmas Eve service with Mom, Dad, and Cousin Diana.  We sang, listened to the age-old Christmas sermon about the spirit of giving during the holiday season.  At midnight, my family and I exchanged our serene Christmas greetings as we extinguished the soft lights and prepared for the last hymn of the night/morning "Joy to the World." 

Tradition is meaningful.  Until logic sets in.  Christmas seemed devoid of it's magic this year. 

I did not ask for anything this Christmas.  Nor did I expect anything but love.  And I got it!  My family and I joked and laughed.  We even gathered around the kitchen table to play a game of Rummikube Christmas morning!  Haha, all was good Christmas day.  Of course when my parents learned that I was driving to Harrisburg at noon to dine with Andy's family, only to drive back for dinner with mine, they made their judgments known.  But, I wouldn't have expected anything less.

And good thing I did, because my life-daring stunt gave two people a warm Christmas meal.  Haha, IIIIIII kinda picked up two hitch-hikers.  What can I say, they needed a ride :-).

Yep, I could have died.  Trust me I heard it all.  Turns out, though, they were both students of LSU.  The girl, Lauren, was a pre-med major.  The boy, Joe, was from Scotland majoring in mechanical engineering.  Both were just out to hitch-hike from New Orleans to New York and back for winter break.  Kind of crazy this day in age, but makes for a good story. 

It is amazing how thoughtless people are though.  Andy's immediate family were thrilled with the idea of me bringing hitch-hikers to the dinner table, who ordinarily would have been left out in the cold for Christmas.  However, Andy's cousins did nothing but voice their disapproval.  No offense to them, but his cousins have Valley Girl traits to them.  On the flip side though, once their mom got wind of the story and the fact that these two had no where to go for Christmas, my hitch-hikers were treated like royalty.

Certainly makes for a good social experiment.  But there you have it.

I didn't tell my parents later that evening.  Andy's mom acted as my parent in this regard, giving me the disapproving lecture because I'm a girl, but in the end was happy I was ok.  My parents would have down-right questioned my sanity.  Nope, somethings are better left unsaid.

That being the case, Christmas dinner went wonderfully.  My family quizzed Andy on his experience student-teaching.  My aunt made references to the Medical Marijuana facilities in Colorado, which put Andy at ease.  A little unnerving that she turned to my mom about it.  I'm pretty sure my mom doesn't smoke, oy.

Later that night we took turns peeking at the Cardinal my parents had rescued that day.  Apparently it flew into  the sliding glass door, knocking it unconcious.  My parents called up my cousin's wife, a veterinarian, who suggested putting it in a shoe box in the warm house while it recuperated.  And there it was, under the Christmas tree.

I rediscovered the magic of Christmas that day...

Happy Labor Day folks!  And what a beautiful labor day it was--complete with hot dogs.  Haha, hot dogs made last minute in the oven, but that's besides the point.

I had one of the more fantastic weekends with my STL peeps.  Nope, no skydiving.  For no one.  Unfortunately with Hurricane Earl the winds caused for a weather hold all day Saturday--or the afternoon at least.  Haha, the funny thing was Teresa and Jeff were CLEARLY trying to get as many tandems up on a load as possible in the early morning hours, when the winds were at a doable level.  But 10:00 hit and everyone was grounded.  So what did we do???

Make "Aw Shucks" corn on the cob of course.  ONE-HUNDRED-AND-TWENTY ears of "Aw Shucks" corn that is.  All for about TWENTY people.  It was complete with an assembly line.  A few people husking.  A few people boiling.  A few people spreading the butter.  And a few people sprinkling the spices.  Only to shove it on used, greasy pizza boxes to eat.  Yes, life at a drop zone.

And right about when I was all corn on the cobbed out, James showed up!  With a proposition to go to the Pocono Garlic Festival.  Love him!  So we paid our dues, and went in for the stinky festivities.  We munched, we dipped, we jammed, and Andy and I danced to some good ol' country music with the promise of beer in our future ("Wagon Wheel"--Old Crow Medicine Show).  Good times, matched only by the boogie held at the drop zone.  With more dancing, more drinking, and more fun!  Tony's girlfriend stole the show, but I have to say, I was able to get many unthinkables out dancing--among them Mr. Jeff, Dr. John, and Andy and James :-).  Good times.

Yesterday was business as usual.  And then I drove up to our family cabin in the Pocono's at the end of the evening.  Made an early night out of it, going to sleep at 9 and not getting up this morning until 8:30 or 9.

And today mom and I went for a 20 mile bike ride down the rail road grade.  Obviously not an excruciating ride.  Unfortunately, I've been doing mostly short rides this summer.  Very disappointed.  Regardless, it was a good trip.  My mom expressed to me that my brother is now uneasy about me having moved out, that he feels that he should follow suit.  And also, that they thought it was Andy's influence that we move overseas. Kind of a relief that she said that for I quickly put the record straight.  And later that day, my dad, brother, mom, and I went out to play frisbee golf.  Me sucking as always, but it was the company and the time spent that made for a great time.

Labor day with hot dogs :-)

Howdy ho, my faithful readers.  Haha, my entries have been lax as of late.  I blame it on life and all the wonderful things it has to offer.

So what have I been up do?  Well, a quick recap siiiinncccee December?

Went to San Francisco with some incredible people in February (and yes the trip was strategically planned that month to dodge winter).  Toured the city, drank good beer, almost got run over by a trolley--couldn't have asked for a better time :-).  No seriously, we almost got run over...by...a...TROLLEY!  It was our last night in San Francisco, and around 6 or 7 at night we find out our flight was cancelled.  With nothing to do but wait, my co-workers and I decided to go out and have a good time in the city.  Walk around, eat good food (at an all garlic restaurant, in fact), drink beer at, what I would call, the most "chill" bar in town.  Being as we had no place to go the next day, Sheila and I drank a few beers, and Pat and Luke drank a lot of beers PLUS shots (Pat being our driver).  Well, low and behold, around midnight we get hold of travel services only to find out that our flight was NOT cancelled, just moved to a later flight because of capacity restrictions.  So at close to 1:00 in the morning, we leave the city to head back to the hotel to sleep for an hour before heading to the airport.  Yet, with Pat being smashed, Sheila was forced to drive.  And she drove...through one red light.  Then another.  And finally, she flies through another red light, forcing the trolley coming straight at us, to slam on the breaks.  No lie, I think scene caused the trolley to break down; apparently those early 19th century cable cars weren't meant for the likes of Sheila.  The ironic thing is, no more than 2 seconds before, I pleaded that Sheila avoided doing just that.  Oh my!

In March, Andy, Tim, and I went on a ski trip up to Vermont, staying with my cousin Frank and meeting up with the ski bums, Josh and Jen.  I've since learned that steep I can do, moguls I need some work.  But overall, I did awesome.

And of course, late that month was the orchid show.  Got a pretty orchid named Cynthia.  Andy says if I can manage to keep her alive we can get a puppy.  Well damn him for knowingly giving me the task of maintaining one of the more difficult and temperamental flowers.  *Shakes fist violently*

In April, I went to Sweden on a business trip, all with the intent of following it with a trip to visit Nick and Marco in Rome.  Well, Iceland had some things to say about that one.  Apparently it wished me to go to Amsterdam instead, hahaha.  With the volcano cancelling all flights out of Copenhagen, I then set out to get out of Scandinavia...it was juuust a matter of convincing my co-workers.  The conversations were somewhat like this:

Shannon: Hmm, we could go to Oslo, Stockholm, Malmo...
Me: I need to get out of Scandinavia...LET'S GO TO AMSTERDAM!!!
Shannon, Sara, Marty: I don't knoooowww...
Me: Sara, you can smoke pot there...like legally.  So how bout it.
Sara:  I want to smoke pooottt!
Me: Shannon, they have the tulip gardens at this time of year.  What say you?
Shannon: Oh, that will be pretty!  Ok!
Me: So Marty, what's it going to be?
Marty: Far be it for me to break up with band wagon!

So, we rented a car.  Left Copenhagen early Saturday morning on a 10 hour car ride, got to Amsterdam late at night to grab a few particularly divine Belgian beers.  Got up early the next morning to walk around, grab a canal tour, visit the Anne Frank House, slug a few Holland beers, and of course, pick up a joint.  The best part was, because we were stranded, the company paid ENTIRELY for this trip!  Yes, the company funded the marijuana encounter.

But, all good things must come to an end.  And in this case a very long, drawn out end.  Monday morning we made the 10 hour car ride back to Copenhagen for our Tuesday flight.  Only thing was, our Tuesday flight out of Copenhagen was moved to Oslo due to the volcanic cloud.  So, we literally checked into the hotel and checked out an hour later because Scandinavian Airlines was to ship us up to Norway.  Thus, after the 10 hour car ride, we got on a 9 hour bus ride to then pile onto a 9 hour plane ride back to the states (btw, it was snowing in Oslo...Heather packed for nice, warm Rome...fyi, sandals don't mix well with snow).  To top it all off, Andy then needed to go to Virginia the next day.  So what did I do after a 10 hour car ride, 9 hour bus ride, 9 hour plane ride, I hopped into a car for another 7 hours of course!  Wahoo! 

Shannon's husband, who owns the Manyunk Tavern, dedicated a drink to us-- "The Icelandic Volcano!"

And then I brought in the month of May with a trip to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky--apparently the best rock climbing in the U.S.  So we climbed, and climbed, and climbed.  Mind you, I'm not that great at climbing; my level being only around a 5.8, but it was still fun.  Repelling on the other hand--extremely inexperienced.  As in, I had never done it before.  So my first time I, of course, had to do it with make-shift equipment.  Over a 130ft cliff.  In the dark.  Yeahhh, I almost died.  Before the repel, Anthony drilled into me "whatever you do, don't take your right hand off the rope!"  Well, let me tell you something, it's a little HARD to do when your mind is preoccupied by the fact that you no longer have SOLID GROUND UNDERNEATH YOU!  But yes, it was still fun.  I'm sure my boyfriend will be quite pleased to hear me say this.  Grr!

Other than that, I've just basically hanging out at the drop zone every weekend; the sport of sky diving beckoning me.  Wifey is to hopefully come up next weekend to be my partner in crime.  And with Andy having just received his tandem rating, the two of us are conveniently set up to do some cheap jumps.  As in 50 bucks.  Haha, love it.  Or I will if i actually go through with it :-/.

I WANT WHALE VOMIT: http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/ambergris.htm.

I truly love the place I work.  I love the work environment.  I'm grateful for the flexibility of hours and the ability to work from home.  The benefits are amazing (I mean who would complain about traveling all the time).  And I truly enjoy the people I've come to call my mentors and friends.

I just had a development talk with my manager, Dave, yesterday.  Fortunately, the consensus of this was that I would greatly benefit from another year spent in my department.  He said that there is so much to understand and grow from in this department that any one who works here for under 2 years would be completely selling themselves short.  For the future however, it was strongly suggested that I spend my time elsewhere--Europe.  Dave said that this is the only place in the company where he could see me and that it would open up a lot of doors.

This has been my dream.  A prospect I've been looking forward to.  I have so many friends in Europe already, who have been hoping and wishing that I were in closer proximity.  Always begging and pleading that I move nearer to them.

I have a year to decide.  If it feels right, I will move to Europe.

Last night I closed the day with friends.  I think I have now recruited Tom, Devon, and Kerry for my hopeful ski trip to Vermont in March.  It can be a ski bungalow.  Fun! 

The majority of our group showed up to Devon's around 8 and we played a very loud and intense game of drunken taboo, with Jackie interjecting with perverted comments throughout. In fact, as the evening progressed and as we got drunker and drunker , the more twisted and perverted the game got.  For instance, one of the words we had to guess was "spit," so Mike's clue was "Jackie doesn't swallow, she..."  Yeah, you get the idea.  Lots of laughter and good times. 

What fantastic people I have in my life.

Hold on, let me wipe the tears off my face...

Man, I just watched the saddest movie I have ever seen; "My sister's keeper."  Don't get me wrong, the movie was well done.  The acting was of course phenomenal, and the organization and character development was beautifully done, but I've realized that that kind of movie doesn't really have a place in my happy, cheery life.  

Or maybe it's due to my new-found impatience at being glued to the TV instead of being active and productive.  One or the other.

Anyway, back to happy thoughts.

I'm realizing that I need a challenge in my life.  A project, tailored to my own personal development.  Something that would make a difference and help me to grow as an individual.

I've been looking into doing habitat for humanities as a weekend gig.  I figure this would allow me to learn the tasks in building houses as well as striking a sense of fulfillment in the knowledge of who's benefiting from my efforts.  However, I cannot lie.  I'm extremely hesitant to do this for fear of the people I'd meet.  It's a well known fact that this type of volunteer organization tends to attract the quintessential "flower child" or hippie, so to speak.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm proud to say that over the past year, my mindset has broadened and I am far more accepting of differing view points, opinions, and lifestyles to which I have my wonderful friends in Europe to thank for that.  Regardless, I am also well aware that my viewpoints still have a pretty realistic outlook on the world; yay sensibility!  Thus, what I am most worried about is spending time with individuals who's thought processes are so far focused on the good of the people that they fail to realize that their delusional way of thinking is nothing but a puff of smoke.  Words that can never be.  Utopia.

I hate to say this, but I get impatient conversing with dumb people, haha.  At least on an intellectual level.

We'll see, maybe it'll be a good thing for me.

Another thing I am hoping to do and will look into this this weekend is finally start training to be a professional cyclist...or, well, race, haha.  Enough people continue to pressure me, and it might be fun.

Interestingly enough, while talking with Shannon and Kerry yesterday, I've realized that I like a challenge.  I enjoy competing with myself and seeing where the limits lie.  Let's see what life has in store for me.

Did I mention Andy provides a me with a new level of excitement?

Haha, the long lost boy finally came home late on Sunday and then made the trek to my house Monday evening to give me my final Christmas present.  Let it be known, Andy fits into my life perfectly and knows my interests all too well.  That being said, his first gift to me was absolutely incredible.  Andy's really into photography, and during his time in New Zealand, had taken a picture of this really unusual flower.  The flower itself could very well be a weed, however, it clearly blossomed with an unparalelled beauty and intensity of any flower I've seen.  It has several buds, and the buds are so smooth and so perfectly contoured that they almost resemble little pearls.  And did I mention the flower is purple???  My favorite color.  And to futher draw the onlooker to the the boyancy of the flower, he greyed out the background.  He said it took him several hours to do.  The result-- a work of art that seemingly was meant for no one but me; titled "Sanguinity."

His final gift is a limited edition of what has become one of my new favorite novels, "The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide."  It is hard back, with gilded pages.  The print number: 876543.  I'm truly speachless.

Then last night Andy and I went out with his brother, Tim, to see Avatar at the IMAX theater in King of Prussia.  Good movie, very visually appealing.  Definitely a glorified Disney film though.  In fact, there are several mocking comparisons to Disney's Pocahontas already posted on the internet.  However, what I have not yet seen is anyone allude the movie to Fern Gully, which, in my opinion IS Avatar.  So much so, that when I finally got home I was almost ready to pop that movie in and sit down to do a compare and contrast analysis of the two (which would be hilarious given the lack of contrasts).  But, alas, I was whiped.  Once the movie ended, Andy, Tim, and I sat down at Bahama Breeze in our own private room (wierdest thing ever) listening to live rega music and talking over wine and beer.  I didn't get home until 10, and given the lack of sleep the night before, it was time for bed.

So that is my news.  I'm about to head out with Nicole in a wee little bit for girls night out.  The intension was to dress up as well for the evening, buuut, given the cold, I think I'll skip on that!

Ciao loves!

Did I mention I despise winter?  Every year I am met with the freezing, arctic, bone chilling temperatures.  Time and time again, the same lack of sunlight.  And always, the same question of how to occupy myself next.

I was under the impression that this winter mirrored those that preceded it, but my good friend from Italy helped me to realize that that is not the case.

I haven't talked to Nicolas in a few weeks, but was THRILLED to receive a "holiday greetings" email from him, at which point he of course updated me on his life in Italy and of course insisted on hearing from me.  And who am I to deny the plea of a tall, dark, and handsome Italian man!  From which email the winter can be summed up as such.

November was a month of morbid humor.  I attended my wonderful, amazing friend, Chrissa's wedding during the first week.  It was fantastic.  The wedding itself was a little too churchy for my tastes (yes, even me), but everything else was great.  Andy and I went for a walk through the graveyard (I have the really strange fascination with cemeteries for some odd reason), ran across a random pumpkin and rescued it, and caused a frenzy amonst the horses standing by the cemetery boarder (I have a way with animals...wink wink).  And the reception was of course wonderful, with fantastic music and a ton of dancing, which has become a new obsession of mine--can't have a wedding without dancing!  The ride home however, not so good.  With Andy behind the wheel of my car, what do ya know would take a kamakazi leap across 3 lanes of highway but a 9 point buck.  I freaked out, Andy swerved us to safety as the deer took a barrel role 10 feet in the air, and my wonderful beautiful car took it's final breath :-(.  I have to say though, the most humerous part of the evening occured 5 minutes after the accident when my neighbor stopped by to see if Andy and I were ok and then immediately asked "so what are you going to do with the deer."  Yep, that's correct, him and his friends then piled it into his big pick up truck to skin it and take the meat.  And I am proud to say that I now have a professionally mounted antler rack for the wall!

Thus, the rest of November was spent car shopping.  The result, a diesel Jetta.  45 miles to the gallon and the diesel fuel is infinitely better for the car.  I feel my purchase was a wise one indeed!

Thanksgiving weekend I went caving!  In a cave just outside of State College.  Oh what fun.  We had to climb up a 50 ft cliff face (scary), crawl through a metal pipe (fun fun), and explore room after room with deep precipices and tiny spaces.  Fantastic time.  I want to go again!

December was more adventures.  I spent one weekend helping Andy at the sky diving center that he works at.  And by helping, I mean looking pretty and apparently making all the boys jealous.  The following weekend was spent touring Kutztown University campus to which Andy has just been accepted (I somehow convinced him to go back to school for his teaching certificate--I've now won the hearts of his parents).  And the weekend after that I went out with Andy and is friends to explore an old mansion in the middle of the night.  Technically it was breaking and entering, but Andy's friends know and rent from the owner, who apparently wouldn't care if we were in the house.  What fun!  I wanted to do a siance--Andy's friends were a little too spooked though :-(.  And Chrismas Eve of course Andy and I went ice skating along with his two brothers, his brother's boyfriend and his brother's friend.  What a delightfult time.  After which point, I met ALL the family.  And it's sad because I don't think I've ever fit in more.

My guard is up though.  I will need to distance myself from him.  I refuse to get hurt.  Least of all by a professional bum who has zero money and whose sole driving force to him going back to school has been me.  I will not lose myself to this.  However, I firmly believe that together we balance each other beautifully.  Yin and yang.

I will try to fight back tears as I write this.

I return to the U.S. tomorrow and once again could not be more unwilling to do so.  I have been in Europe now for two weeks.  A week spent in Switzerland and a week spent in Sweden.  Both of which have been filled with beautiful landscapes, intriguing architecture, and an array of amazing people.

I must confess that, after having ruled my Switzerland trip as being cancelled, I had become extremely hesitant to go there.  Why?  I'm not entirely sure.  Perhaps it was planning, preparing, and packing completely last minute.  However, the end result was phenomenal.  I was able to get to know my boss a little better, who, with his Philadelphia mannerisms has been quite the challenge for me to fully relate.  And we did, in fact, end up walking to France.  Both of us were extremely disappointed however to learn that border patrol is not enforced at all.  We plotted ways to look really suspicious so as to force the Swiss/French border patrol to stop us, but the fact of the matter was there was quite literally no one there.  Thus, we concluded that if we are ever on the run from the law, Basel, Switzerland would be our destination from which we'd then jump the border :-)

In addition, I finally got to meet my Swedish/ Swiss/ Chinese counterparts (as well as other individuals across the globe that I deal with more based on need)!  It is so much better to put a face with the name.  The majority of the week was strictly business, so getting to know them on a more personal level was difficult.  However, we played miniture golf one night in Switzerland (I totally got paid to do so as well, lol), and went out to eat on the final night. 

Yet me, my need planner in Sweden (Gloria) and the BA specialist from China (Stella) stayed an additional day, during which time we took the train to Luzern, Switzerland.  I must say, I think Luzern is my new favorite city.  It has such a unique mixture of Modern city, old culture, and breathtaking nature that I couldn't help but fall in love with the place.  Gloria, Stella, and I walked around all day, eating lunch on the water (with a view of the snow capped mountains), walking on the bridges, window shopping at the watch stores, and staring in awe at the magnificent scene around us.  Aaand then Gloria decided to pester me about buying a watch, which I bought (saying goodbye to the $200 I would have made from this trip), but I in turn then convinced her...and in the end we convinced Stella as well.  The funny part is, none of us had any intention of buying a watch by any means and we had to buy the most expensive.  But, when in Switzerland...watches, chocolate, and cheese fondue have now all been checked.

And then came the trip to Sweden, starting with a midsummer party with the gang on Visingo island.  So much fun!  Games, dancing, music, and lots of love and laughter.  Oh, did I mention drinking.  Oy.  In fact, we got so drunk that myself and three of my friends decided it was a good idea to go four-wheeling...on one four-wheeler.  So we're cruising around the island completely trashed, and at top speed no less.  Lol, very dangerous, but so much fun!  And the island itself was gorgeous!  As we nursed hangovers the next day (mine was not bad at all) we took a horse ride through the scenery.  Truly amazing time.  And again, I'm getting paid for that weekend!

The week then was equally as fun.  Lots of lectures and lots of business, but additionally, lots of fun.  And to be honest, the lectures were relatively interesting (one in particular discussed communication and the use of body language, which I will now have to practice).  Then after the day was over, we'd all go back to the hotel for a beer and soft chatter.  Except Wednesday night (our last night together).  The HR managers from the program planned a scavenger hunt for us.  And I'm not talking quick and simple, find-tokens and your done.  This was an intense and well thought-out game.  Lots of riddles and mind-numbing questions.  In fact, the guy who wrote it does it for lots of various companies, and in particular writes some particularly challenging questions for people with high IQ's to challenge them.  We were at the intermediate level.  And it was themed with the Da Vinci code.  Each stop gave the answer to a co-ordinate where the "Holy Grail" was kept.  And the final question even contained a cryptex!  So cool.  My team and I ran around like maniacs with Nicolas screaming "we're gonna win, we're gonna win" and Julia shouting "we're getting paid to do this!"  Too funny!  And we won!  Wahoo! 

And now, I sit and wait for one final meeting with my Swedish colleagues and then take the train to home.  This has been such a fantastic week that the past few hours since the majority of my group have left I have been close to tears. 

Now a small portion of us have agreed to meet via WebEx once a month and even give a call if ever in Europe.  And all participants have agreed to attempt to meet up in a given location once a year (even if we have to fund the trips ourselves), but that still does not help the here and now.  Waaaahhhhhh! 

Oy, just when I think IKEA will no longer throw me a curve ball, here it comes.

And so for the news, just kidding about my European trip...I am no longer not going to Switzerland.  The Swine Flu pandemic has passed and our travel services managed to get a hold of really cheap flights (seriously, they are amazing...they are like God).  My flights are crazy (see below)--but I am going...and with a Sweden trip the following week.

Unfortunately, I had already ruled this trip out, which means I now have to prepare for this thing in about a week (presentations and all).  Wow, what a mess.

And more enjoyable news with regards to my pay.  As it turns out, my significant increase in Obama love was just IKEA's way of making up for the week they missed.  Apparently when the stimulus package started, IKEA was a little slow on the uptake and missed a week.  Slight bummer!  But, this still means shopping for me tonight (I am in need of shoes...the sole is litterally falling off).

My presentation today went well (or, I thought so, my collegues didn't...mainly because they dislike power point).  We left the audience speechless.  Even my manager, who was present, didn't have anything to add.  This is EXTREMELY unusual as he typically stops at nothing to try to insert some comment.

And for something completely different, I've now officially bought the Twilight book...well, the audio book.  I know, I know, this defeats the purpose of a good book.  It's a pet peeve of mine actually.  However, my coworker lent me first of the Twilight series and I have been far too busy to even start the first page and unfortunately I've had the book for a good month now (another pet peeve of mine).  Sooo, I've bought the book on audio with which I will now be able to listen to on my drive to and from work :-).  Honestly, if I had any great desire to truly get into the series I would have made time to read it.  But, being as I do not, this is the perfect alternative!

Shopping tonight...see ya :-)

Oy, when it rains it pours.  What an incredibly busy week.

I received Obama's love Monday afternoon.  Yes, yes, the guy is a sorry excuse for a responsible spender, however, I will not say no to free cash headed my way.  Heehee, ironically my "stimulus package" went swiftly to the bank.   And I'll have you know, this amount landed me with my yearly financial goal two months ahead of time.  Though, I suppose I'm ruining the whole point of a stimulus package.  Oh well! 

I'm become very pleased with myself.  I've finally started to make sense of banking jibberish.  And thus, yesterday I left work at 3:30 to shift around my funds from my Money Market and Checking to a yearly CD :-).  So exciting.  In addition, this Monday I will be working from home, which allows me to hit up all those banker-hour businesses-- among them, the stock traders!  Yes, yes, I am planning to invest a good chunk of money in the stock market!  I'm very intrigued by this, don't ask.  Now...I just neet to set up my 401K (haha, which apparently I've been missing out on an enormous opportunity; IKEA matches 6% of my salary invested...I guess that's a good thing, or so I've been lectured, lol).

Brett and I have pretty much booked our Disney trip!  We're staying at the Port Orleans, which according to my boss is the best place he's stayed at yet.  We actually booked it through AAA, which saved us a bundle!

Brett and I had visited AAA this past Saturday.  Our consultant was very nice (I'm just amazed that we didn't have to pay for this service...who knew?)  Then, during one of the lulls of the booking process, I spoke up asking her if she got to travel quite a bit in her line of work.  Her response "Well, I kinda like to travel to off the wall places," my ears perk up, "last year we traveled to Kenya and Tanzania," my eyes become wide, "we're actually planning a tour again next summer."  Yes, I nearly lept off the chair.  Brett was laughing. 

Needless to say, I'm going to the information session next Tuesday.  Unfortunately, the going rate for these tours is about $5,000 and AAA's tour is just over that, not including airfair.  However, the information session should answer any questions I might have as well as stiffle any uncertainties. 

My mom's cousin actually found a cheaper tour that has a lot of potential.  Plus this tour includes a hot air balloon ride...I can then cross two things off my bucket list!  Yep, Diana and I are Africa bound this time next year :-) 

Sadly, Brett has opted not to partake on this adventure as it exceeds his price budget.  Haha, then there's me, who's going to spend my United States stimulus package in Africa! 

Welp, must work on my presentation for tomorrow...My program will soon be ending (happy or sad, I'm not sure). 

Sweden in June...Yeppie!

Can I ask when it will stop raining?  Seriously, I left State College for a reason!

News...I am officially no longer going on my business trip to Switzerland. :-(  Saddness.  The darn Mexicans can't keep their darn piggies to themselves.  Yes, it is because of the Swine Flu that all travel through IKEA has been suspended indefinitely.  Which means, my trip to Sweden is up in the air as well.  Aaaand consequently I have decided to cancel my European vacation :-(...instead, Brett and I will do DISNEY WORLD! 

I don't know whether to be happy or sad about this.  Europe on one hand, is very much my home.   It's the one place that I've always felt I belonged.  But, I mean, Disney World...sigh, I have always wanted to go...might as well scratch it off my bucket list!

Now, one of the main causes for disappointment about the trip to Switzerland was the fact that I won't get to scope it out.  It is my hope/dream to move there at some point, and I was hoping to make use of this opportunity.  I've unfortunately come to the realization that the United States isn't what it used to be.  The people here don't have any sense of pride for this country.  It's all about lying, cheating, and crime to put oneself ahead.  And unfortunately, we have a president who's too niave to see this.  Unfortunately, we have a president who caters to this very persona, thowing out money we don't have left and right.  And, shocker, records are finally showing the beginnings of a massive inflation...who called it?  Who? 

Whops, I suppose the weather's making me grumpy...Come out Mr. Sun!

Oh my...my, my, my, my, my!

I leave for my two week trip to Houston and yander on Sunday and I couldn't feel more uneasy.  Of course I'm excited to see parts unknown and take part in all the extraordinary opportunities this trip presents (and I FINALLY get to see the wife), but this is the most inopportune time with regards to my new position.  Last week everything seemed to fit into place; we do this report for this, that action to accomplish that.  But this week I can't make sense of which program does what action, and what request needs to be completed in which file...and God only knows what determines which distribution center an article is found in.  OY!

Point being, Houston...now?!?!

You ever get that feeling where life just seems to be moving so fast that you can't seem to get a grip on it?  Yeah, that's what I'm feeling now.

Thank God tomorrow's Thursday.  That means there is only one final day separating me from the weekend.  And the weekend means sleeping in.

Brett and I aren't planning too much special for Valentine's Day.  Then again, I'm not overly thrilled about the holiday itself.  The idea behind Valentine's Day is kinda superficial.  Actually, if I didn't love holidays so much, I'd totally protest it.  In any case, Brett and I have come to an agreement not to dote upon each other too much.  However, we are going to the movies together (via gift certificates) and I'm totally contemplating striking up a romantic dinner at McDonald's.  We'll see how it pans out.

Boy, my live journal entries have gotten pretty serious all of a sudden...I shall be on the search for something funny soon.

Apparently, I am addicted to the internet again.  I guess a high speed connection will do that to you.  Though it bothers me quite a bit.  I don't like being so dependent upon electronics.  TV, computers, phones...it's all a distraction from the beautiful world God created for us.

Then again, winter isn't so beautiful, lol. 

But because of this, I am looking forward to GARDENING and PLANTING flowers this upcoming spring!  Oh how exciting!

Anywho, so work was interesting today.  Being in a new position is actually very challenging for me (in a good way).  I came from a position where I was the go-to person.  I was the one who saw inefficiencies and knew how to solve them.  People came to me for knowledge to better their working routines/ lives in some way.  And now...well, I'm asking questions every two seconds.  It's not a bad thing.  In fact it is necessary with every career change.  But it's very difficult for me as it's out of my comfort zone.  *Sigh*  But I'm very grateful because it is a learning experience. 

But, some exciting news came out of my day.  I opened up an email today from my demand planner in Sweden, letting me know that my trip in May not only includes a trip to his country but to Switzerland as well!  Yay, I love Switzerland.  I'll be sure to pack along my best Yodeling outfit!

Sheila and I started our store rotation today. 

We started off the day with first meeting with the store's Customer Service Manager, named Basil.  Our meeting with him was interesting, but was also very pointless.  The reason being is simply that whole point of the store rotation, as laid out by the program, is to concentrate on the logistics involvement of the store.  It is the overall intent of all the rotations to give us perspective of all facets of the supply chain, store included.  Customer Service does not exactly meet the criteria.  No offense to any Customer Service jobs, but I hate dealing with people.  Like I told Basil, he must have an enormous amount of patience to put up with all the crazies.

Speaking of crazies...during the afternoon Sheila and I were stationed in the "returns" department and who do I run into while I'm doing the job with the least relevance to my presence, but the idiot that screwed me over with the apartment my sophomore year; Vanessa.

Lol, the funny thing about the whole incident was that the first thing I noticed as Nessa approached the return associate Sheila and I had been shadowing was the Penn State hoodie she was wearing.  The reason being was because Nessa has the biggest boobs of anyone I've ever met, and significantly disproportionate to her body, that her chest is the first thing anyone notices.  That being said, the first thing I saw was Penn State.  And me being me, I was going to strike up a conversation with her; "Oh did you go to Penn State...I did too..."  Then I looked up, and dashed to the back away from sight.  Haha, and Sheila follows me to the back thinking we'd been called.  Lol, it was hilarious.  Then I explained the whole thing to her (well, I had already told her the store prior to this day, so I just had to remind her).  And what does Sheila do.  "I wanna see what she looks like."  So she goes out, pretends to be productive and comes back in and was like "Lol, if it makes you feel any better, she's not very pretty...kind weird looking actually.  And the guy she's with looks really shady."    

The whole incident bothered me all day.  It was the focus of my conversation with Brett and Gillian on my home.  But, through all my rants and thoughts, I've gotten to the point to realize that I am enormously grateful of the life that I lead and the fact that she is not a factor in it.  I have a wonderful family and boyfriend.  I have a tremendous network of friends and fantastic co-workers.  I've been very successful with my career to this point and get to travel to wonderful parts of the globe.  My life does not concern her, and in fact, she does not know me.

Now my only concern is figuring out my Europe trip :-).

Brett and I went into Philly yesterday for our much anticipated concert...METALLICA!!!!!!!!!!!

Rolling Stone Magazine ranks this concert tour as one of the top 10 of the year...oh how accurate they are.  The band started off with a laser light show spectacular, then the show continued with floating coffins, and pockets of fire (occasionally colorful fire!), and black Metallica beach balls released from the ceiling!  Awesome, awesome, awesome.  And to top all that off, the band struck a touching note when the main singer, James Hetfield, brought out his 7 year old daughter to get all of the Philladelphia fans to sing her Happy Birthday (and there were some pretty rough looking characters chiming in, I might add).  This was definitely one of the best concerts I've ever attended.  Definitely well worth it!

In other news, I just finished up my Management Rotation for my program at work.  My last "interview" was with Keith Keller, head of Distribution North America.  Funny that the meeting itself was less nerve racking than the drive back home.  My GPS took me through downtown Camden, NJ, then over the Ben Franklin Bridge to down town Philly.  Now I do get reimbursed for my travels, but I wonder if that includes hazard pay, lol.

Aaanyway, tomorrow I start my store rotation for two weeks in Conshy, and then start my new job the first week of February!  So exciting, so nervous, aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!