Monday, December 8, 2008

can we really do anything we want?

i am constantly contemplating my future, i mean who isn't, right? even with a job i'm at such a crossroad in my life. there are so many ideas i have for what i'd like to do with my life, all involving many decisions, of course:

of course, there's grad school... my first choice was nyu but then i started contemplating the need to be in DC if i'm serious about getting involved with education policy. the thing about grad school is that it would be best for me to wait until i can hold a real schedule with continental and work weekends/attend class during the week.

i've always wanted to live in new york city, so when nyu started the program about education policy and advocacy i decided it was the perfect opportunity to further my education and fulfill a lifelong dream. i used to even say that i would sell hot dogs on the street for money if necessary. well, especially since high school, my love of france has grown to be probably even greater than my love for new york. a college friend of mine just told me she's moving to france for a year in february and for a split second i very seriously considered joining her, only now the hot dogs have become crepes. when i had that thought i realized that i would have no way of earning money.

money. it's the reason i have to stay with my job and can't just move to france on a whim. money and i have a love/hate relationship. as we are in this recession, i have to be thankful that i have a job, even if it means that i share a one bedroom apartment with three other people and serve drinks and ham or turkey sandwiches on planes for a living.

then of course there's the other idea of returning to texas. of course i miss my family, but even more than that i hate that i'm missing out on my best friends' kids growing up. even just a few weeks make such an incredible difference!

my mommy and daddy always told me i can do anything i want... but being an adult it's just not practical to pick up and move to paris, even if that's what i want to do.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

on december 1st my best friend from high school carin, and her husband cameron had their first baby, anna katherine. she was born at 7:48pm, 7lbs 8oz.

the rockefeller tree lighting ceremony was on december 3 and we spent the whole day in the city looking at the window displays on 5th avenue, dreaming big at tiffany's, revisiting our childhood at fao schwartz, walking past central park, and finally, freezing our tootsies off just to watch the lights get turned on! it was definitely worth the experience!

this past weekend i visited the asbys and last night i didn't want to leave! anna kate is perfect and tiny and such a true combination of both her parents. it was great to see carin's mom and our zeta friend whitney.


i spent one night in houston with the parrish clan. we decorated the tree, listened to christmas music, and drank hot chocolate - unfortunately keely burnt the cookies, so those were pretty much untouched, except by jason. later in the night keely and i hit the toysrus sale before finally going to see twilight - both were a success!

for some reason it was harder than usual to return to jersey this time, but as we landed at newark liberty i looked out my window and saw the beautiful snowflakes, the first of the season! holidays make me nostalgic, and it's hard to be so far from all that is familiar, but i guess for now...

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

novemeber in a nutshell

the month started off great in my opinion, with the election outcome that i'd hoped for. we spent that night watching the coverage at a local bar. when the announcement was made, the bar owner pulled out her big obama sign and paraded around, cheering and taking pictures with us.

a couple days later i celebrated my 24th birthday. my friend dustin picked me up and we got birthday pumpkin pancakes at ihop. then we ran some errands, during which scheduling called me for airport alert that night. needless to say i was not happy. luckily i didn’t get sent anywhere and that night’s festivities could commence!


that night i didn’t make it to bed. we were out late and then everyone came back to our apartment for a post-celebration. my flight for houston left so early in the morning that i left for the airport at 4:30. i spent the next couple days in houston celebrating my friend keely’s birthday, which was the day after mine. we had a barbeque saturday night and spent sunday shopping and playing with her kids.


monday i rode to dallas with krista to spend some time with the fam and emily. dad, kevin, emily, and i celebrated my birthday at chamberlains seafood grill, which is my new favorite restaurant in dallas!

back in dallas the next week, we did thanksgiving early with dad and the dusings since i knew i’d be working the day of. and instead of cooking, we went to chamberlains again! i was thankful for not having to do the dishes!

even though this wasn’t my first year away from home for thanksgiving – last year i spent it with emily and her family – it was my first time having to work. luckily i got a trip with a friend from bayonne, and we were back early enough so that i could make it for dinner at resalin’s in the city. she had friends over from her graduate program and amber combs, a high school friend, was also in town. it really was a great time and at the end of the day i was thankful to have someone with whom to spend the holiday. and to make for an even better thanksgiving, the next day i was assigned a trip to LA so i was able to see gloria and perry. they introduced me to ethiopian food and i loved it!


life up in the north has definitely been an adjustment, but i am thankful for the many friends i've made and simply for the fact that i have a job in this economic slump. i know working on christmas will be extremely difficult, but you can all bet that i’ll be looking for a layover in a city near family or friends so if you’re lucky you’ll get me as a holiday surprise this year!

october fun

fall is coming to a close and i've hardly written about the season's events...

the week after i visited chicago, my best friend emily came in town for her birthday. she experienced life in my cozy apartment and even slept on the bunk-beds! on emily’s actual birthday we had dinner with her parents, who were in town for their anniversary. we then went for drinks on our own before heading back to bayonne.

that next weekend i went to college station for a reunion with my pledge class. our goal was to act like we were 21 again… our bodies did not necessarily agree. the first night out i managed to lose my purse – cash, credit cards, id, phone, and lip gloss! luckily i got it back, but not until 24 hours later! we didn’t make it to the game but held down the tailgate fort like no other! it was so nice getting to see everyone. even three out of four of us out-of-staters were able to make it!

the next big thing was halloween, which was fun and festive with many homes and businesses going all out with decorations. apparently that's the norm up here, but it was a first for me! don’t get me wrong, we decorate in texas but definitely not to the extent of people up here. we carved pumpkins and decorated the apartment as much as we could.


our little airline community had a party here in bayonne. our new roommate tim had just moved in and maritza's sister came in town… add william to the mix (since he was at our apartment most of the weekend even though he lives across the street) and we had a full house! maritza and i dressed as ladybugs and her sister dressed as a cat.


after recovering, we spent the next afternoon in central park admiring the changing leaves and fall scents. we ate dinner near times square at a little italian place we found back in june on our first night in the city together – bella vita. they have the best garlic knots i’ve ever had and a great selection of pastas, salads, and pizza.