My life, in more than a nutshell.

I've been lax about posting on here. REALLY lax! By the time you finish reading this, you'll know why.

Since my last entry, I've been to the east coast twice. I have spent time in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, and also Chicago.

I’ve started my first semester of my long journey called college, and I am loving every second of it.

I’ve gone through health problems with both my mother and my grandmother, both requiring hospital stays at the same time.

I’ve gotten to meet, for the first time in real life, one of my best friends, Stu.
I was the official photographer of the benefit concert for the domestic violence shelter at which I am employed.

I couldn’t even begin to think of everything I have done since May….it’s been a lot!

Now, to go into more detail. We’ll start with the first of the two trips to the east coast.

I rang in birthday number 25 in Philadelphia with two of the greatest men alive. Joe and Sky made me feel like royalty the entire week, and REALLY amped it up on my actual birthday. The week started out in Baltimore (on a Thursday)…I flew in, and Sky took the train down, and the two of us explored Baltimore a tad bit while waiting for Joe to come home from work that evening. Friday, again, Joe had to work….but this time, Sky and I tagged along to DC with him, and explored that city, instead. :P We went on a quest for Nutella and baguette, and found places to hide from the heat every chance we got. The weekend was spent in Philly, and my birthday was on Saturday. I was thoroughly spoiled! The guys took me to Morimoto for buri bop and sushi….best meal anyone has ever bought me! It was DELICIOUS as always. Morimoto never disappoints! And on top of that, Joe and Sky spoiled me with great gifts, too!
Aaanway, on late Sunday night it was back to Baltimore….Monday we spent more time in DC while Joe was working, and Tuesday Sky and I kinda rested up and were just generally lazy until we both had to leave for our respective states. I had a hard time saying goodbye to both Joe and Sky, but that was nothing new.

Fast forward a tad bit…in early August I took my little cousin Nicole for a day of exploration and shopping in Chicago. We had a blast at Shedd Aquarium, laughed our asses off at the wait staff at Ed Debevic’s, and wore holes in our shoes. It was a GREAT time, and we WILL be doing it again sometime!

August 20th. That day changed my life. Why, you ask? Because it was my first day as a student at Illinois Valley Community College. Very few decisions in my life have impacted me as much as this one has. This sounds a bit corny, but I feel like a butterfly opening her wings for the first time, and flying out into the world. I have been imprisoned behind these giant stone walls I have unconsciously created for the past 25 years. I felt there was no hope of climbing over those walls….so instead I obliterated them. I am standing up and taking control of my life.
I now have a goal of graduating from IVCC with honors. I plan to pay for all of my schooling, starting with next year, through scholarships that I will earn with those fantastic grades. I am going to learn an instrument, and dive into my newly re-sparked interest in music. I am currently searching for a piano that I can afford, because that is what I want to learn first. (yes, I said first…I will learn more than one instrument before I die). I am going to go to a good university in a city…either Chicago or the east coast…when I finish IVCC….and I will remain in college until I, at the very least, get my Master’s degree.

I dreamed about all of these things before, but I have never said “I AM doing this!”

That is by far the biggest thing that has happened since my last entry…I suppose I should have left that for last, but I’m attempting to go chronologically here. :P

Leeet’s move on. I was back on the east coast again for a weekend over Labor Day, to see Joe. We had a really great time, and pretty much just hung around Baltimore having fun. It was a bit of a ‘food’ meetup…we satiated my newfound adventurousness for FOOD. I had Indian food for the first time, and fell in love! It wasn’t at all what I expected, and I am still craving it over a month later. The next night we had Afghan food….not quite as good as Indian, but not far off! We found time in there somewhere for some really great sushi at a new place Joe had never tried….oh, and crab cakes! I’d never had crabcakes before! On top of all that, we fit in a trip to Vacarro’s for some DEEELICIOUS Italian dessert! I STILL don’t know how we fit all of that into 3 days, but we did….I believe Ethiopian food is on the agenda for next time!
….almost done here, I swear.

Two weeks ago, I was in Chicago again….this time to meet up with Stu for the first time ever. He came all the way from Toronto JUST TO SEE ME! Ok, that’s not true…he came for a Bears game….but humor me here!

Unfortunately, our time together was much too short, and I’ve missed him a lot ever since…..but we did make the most of the time we did get to hang out….we checked out the museum campus…Millenium Park…Navy Pier….The Museum of Contemporary Photography (or something like that)…oh, and Ed Debevic’s, of course. :P I am REALLY looking forward to going to Canadia someday (soon, hopefully) and seeing him again!

….and, we’re going to skip over the rest, because, 1) I don’t feel like going into detail on the negative things, 2) I already hit pretty much all of the big events, and 3) I’M TIRED, DAMMIT! LET ME GO TO BED ALREADY!

So…there you have it. I’m posting for the first time since May….it’s one big ramble, but, whatever! :P