I'M MOVING TO.....ANCHORAGE!!! (Well, Eagle River to start)

Yes, I am moving to Alaska.  It's been a long road getting here.  An unexpected path, but now that I am on it the excitement is beginning to bubble over.  I have spent months trying to decide on exactly what course of action to take and here I am.

It all began with my research on rural America.  I am studying to become a teacher and want my focus to be rural education.  Alaska was on the list by default, but it wasn't on my list.  Initially, despite the low pay, I had planned on moving to Montana after graduation.  I guess Heavenly Father had different plans in mind.  I researched, I questioned, I prayed, and I pondered.  I started feeling the draw of Alaska, and somehow it landed on my list too.  This was all supposed to in the future, but the revelations and kept pushing the move up.  So here I am.  It's six in the morning and I've got my flight confirmation, and one phone call in to Alaska Air (I somehow clicked on the wrong flight, so I had to fix it), and hopes and dreams in my front pocket.

Am I scared?  A bit.  But not afraid of the move.  No, that doesn't scare me.  Will I miss my friends?  Sure, but they'll always be there.  Isn't that what Facebook is for? =)  I'm scared, but for reasons I cannot share here.  It's deep within me stirring.  I'm not a very emotional being, as far as the shedding of tears is concerned.  I have a very limited number of "soft spots" in my heart.  This move affects one.  That is all I am gonna say about that.

I'm leaving my job behind, with hopes to find a new one in Anchorage.  I've had the same job for over ten years.  I've been happy there.  I love the people I work with.  They have inspired me both in and out of the workplace.  A company that I have been loyal to.  I will miss the people there.  I will have to un-memorize all the numbers I have come to store in my noggin over the years.  The rapport I have with some of the "people in my life" that I only know over the phone, is something I am going to miss.

I will be staying in Eagle River to start, which is just outside of Anchorage.  My cousin and her husband live there, so it will be nice to be with family.  I will go more into detail as things move forward.  I fly out on February 5th.  I am so excited but I have a lot to get done by then!  I am spending two weeks in San Diego in the beginning of January, so that doesn't leave a lot of time.

I feel so blessed to be able to take this step!

ej

Following up on June 29th Post "Taking a Risk"

I know it has been some months now, but the time has finally come to shed some light on that somewhat cryptic post.  It started with some research.  It started with just an idea.  All I wanted to do was see what the options would be after graduation.  Now it's come to this...

The official news and announcement to follow very, very, very, very soon...

ej

NyQuil Gone Bad #0328

I had been feeling under the weather for about four days.  I had friends bring me nyquil gel tabs two evenings in a row to help me feel better.  I slept soundly for two straight nights and was thinking I was on the mend.  I tried to pretend I was going to go on a run on a Monday, but I just couldn't do it.  On a Tuesday, a dear friend of mine purchased for "Christmas" a bottle of green NyQuil (I like Green) and I was elated!  Another night of splendid sleep!

I came home from my meeting at church and prepared for bed by taking a dose of nyquil.  Oh, the warm, burning sensation as I feel the liquid go down through my body.  Reminds me of a nice tumbler of Johnnie Walker Black, but any hoo...back to the story.  I sat down in my recliner and put on a movie to wait for the effects to kick in and chatted with some peeps on Facebook and Gchat.  I knew it was working when I couldn't type coherently any more and said my goodbyes...sorta.

I woke up around 11pm to say goodbye to a person I had apparently been saying goodbye to since two hours prior, so I hit the "enter" key.  The next thing I remember I am roused awake by a loud "THUNK!!!"  as I watched in slow motion my laptop finish it's fall with a second "thunk" onto the ground at my feet.

"HOLY COW!" I shriek!  "MY LAPTOP!!!!"  I quickly pick up "my baby" and make sure he's still in good working order and notice I am still "talking" to someone on Gchat, still logged in to Facebook, and apparently I was in the middle of typing something in excel (though I am not sure why I had excel open in the first place).  The movie I was watching was happily looping the song on the start menu, and that is when I finally look at the time.  It's 2 a.m. I'm still in my clothes, so I feel like Marty McFly, and I am still groggy from the effects of the NyQuil.  I debate climbing into bed or just sleeping the rest of the night in the recliner.  This is a real pickle for me, because, in case you don't know, I have a loft bed and I really do have to climb into bed.  I quickly assess how "drunk" I still am from the NyQuil and finally decide to climb into bed under my nice and warm blankets, but not before I give a little "Sana sana colita de rana si no sanas hoy sanaras mañana" to my baby....errrr....my laptop.

Of course, this didn't happen to me.  This is just what I heard. =)

25 Random and Not So Random (FB post repeat)

in no particular order fyi

1. i greatly dislike a cold toilet seat
2. i recently decided i enjoy a properly prepared pound cake
3. i am not afraid to try something new, especially if it involves something physical (ie. hunting like katniss everdeen, ballet, wood chopping, etc.)
4. blueberries are my favorite fruit
5. i own three costume wigs (Afro wig, bad hair plugs wig, Roy Orbison wig) and i wear them whenever i feel like it, usually in public while skating or riding a trail
6. i spent four months trying out demo racquets before choosing to buy my Wilson K.Six.One.95 and have never regretted it since
7. i have a strong belief system based upon my life experiences, gospel principles, and look to God for guidance daily
8. i have a fear of fireworks as they can make me cry (i rarely cry)
9. i always name my primary use basketball
10. i name my printers (my home printers:  manchesca and horus, work: pawandeep)
11. i'm not afraid to go against the grain, but i don't make a forced effort to be different i just go with what feels right.
12. sometimes i have to sleep with the light on, because i am afraid of the dark
13. i am ambidextrous in most things, but tend to be more left than right in sports (i am an ambi turner though)
14. i hate shaving my legs, so i use an epilator (side note:  spell check options for epilator - mutilator LOL)
15. i want to believe in Santa Claus
16. one of my biggest fears is leaving this world and not having made a difference in helping others believe in and do good by serving them
17. i write poetry, but i think it's sappy and lame so i rarely share it with others, but things just go onto a page so I save it just in case i choose to share someday
18. wilbur smith is my favorite writer and i have read and own nearly all of his books
19. i love New Kids on the Block and Justin Bieber and I don't care what anyone thinks!
20. i am terrible at remembering birthdays, but not because i don't care about people, but because i like to let my birthday pass quietly and without a lot of fuss, so i forget that most people want to be called or messaged about their "special" day (it is a work in progress)
21. i liked Garth Brooks before he got Trisha Yearwood-ed
22. i still bump Tommy Page, PC Quest, Perfect Gentlemen, and The Boys in the summertime
23. i can remember things from when i was four years old, and some of those things scare me, some do not
24. i love that i have a good jump shot, in fact, it is on my dating resume LOL
25. i know how to cook now!!!

Happy Holidays!