worries and flurries

While getting my eyebrows and upper lip waxed, so I look less like a furry monster and more like a young professional that everyone wants to hire, worrying over the next two bills I have due (health insurance and gym membership) and which to pay first (health insurance, duh) and when...The cerologist, as they are called at this waxing establishment, engaged me in conversation. Asking where I was from and my backstory. I told her about the Philippines and she asked "Is their human trafficking there?" I was a bit stunned. This isn't normal waxing talk and not a conversation I have frequently with people I do or don't know. I explained the situation and told stories that I had heard. She teared up. And told me about an organization that she supports and apologized for tearing up. Seriously who makes their waxer cry? She asked if I felt like it was a lost cause. I paused for a moment. I am hopeful that the numbers of humans that are being trafficked goes down. But this has been going on for centuries, human trafficking is not new and we haven't found a cure for it yet. We seem to create new ways to enslave humans and poverty makes it easier. Heavy, no?

I walked down the stairs with a heavy heart. I opened the door and gasped. It was flurrying. Life in the outside world already seemed slower and less frantic. I breathed in and out a few times letting the flakes fall. I smiled.

filled with happy

It's rare when I wake up happy. I am the definition of not a morning person. But I woke up smiley. Checking the interwebs for emails, news, weather, gossip, facebook. And on facebook there was an onslaught of good news. Friends having success at work, friends having babies, friends with cheery facebook status messages.

Just a few things that made me happy this morning (it needs to be documented because I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON)

-I have the best bf ever
-I have the best family ever
-I have the best friends ever
-I love my new hair...yes I will shut up about this eventually
-I am positive that I will find a job that becomes a career that makes me happy and it will be amazing
-I love this house
-I love that the daisies Page got me a few weeks ago are still beautiful, bright and cheery
-I love that window, especially in the morning with sun coming through...it makes the whole kitchen a bright happy yellow
-I love this city
-I love that my friend Whitney will be back in the US in less than a week and a half
-I love my Peace Corps family
-I love chatting on the phone for hours with friends who have known me for years
-I love chatting on the phone for hours with friends who have known me for months




*refer to this post when feeling down

something good always does come about

I have 2 jobs this week! 2! Both are temporary jobs, and 1 is only a 6 hour job but still. It feels good to have 2 jobs lined up. Feeeeeels real good. :) I've also found two non-profit jobs that I'm very interested in so we'll see how that goes.
I also got my hair cut...probably over 4 inches snipped off. My curls are so full of life and bounce...I've been hopping around the house just to feel the bounce. As well as tousling it just to feel how light it feels. It's weird how cutting my hair, can make me feel so good, and so new. A weight has been lifted from my...head.
The hair stylist said she knew I was adventurous and fun and had a flair for the dramatic because I wanted such a big change and was so easy going about it. Tis true. Nothing more fun than growing your hair out long and CHOP! love it!

This week started off rough...I woke up Saturday morning with an intense sinus headache and pressure that I thought my head was going to pop off. I chugged along...barely...through a hike to Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, in a snow/wind storm. I called it quits early on which sometimes can be difficult for me to do but I knew I was about to crash. I went to the doctor on Sunday and she said that my nose was very red and inflamed and that I definitely had a sinus infection and upper respiratory infection. She prescribed antibiotics, a nasal steroid spray, water, and rest for a few days before resuming normal activities. The antibiotics are doing a number on my gut...need to eat some yogurt. But I feel somewhat better. The pressure is still there and the headache is only first thing in the morning. I'm using caffeine to get rid of it...which works for me because I don't drink caffeine on the regular. It's an excellent excuse to have chai tea. Therapeutic purposes you know...

So what started off as a poopy weekend ended with a terrific Monday...who knew?

Why I love ACC Sports

Yesterday, I wore my NC State Sweatshirt mostly for warmth and admittedly forgetting that we just beat DOOK. Page and I were at Neptune Mountaineering shopping for some hiking boots...we were talking at the register when a man approached and said as he pointed at my hoodie "Great win over Duke! I went to Wake." Insta-happiness for me. :) As he was walking out with his small son and their skis he said " Now you've got to beat Carolina while they're down!" It's great to see an ACC person out in Boulder. It's ALWAYS great for another ACC team to recognize another ACC team especially when they have a common enemy DOOK and Carolina makes me want to forgive Wake for the nut punch they delivered a few years ago.

I hope his son grows up to be a an ACC fan and go to an ACC school...it's okay with me if he goes to Wake...it'd be better if he went to State :)
Sidney Lowe agrees.

New Year, New Location, New Blog

Where to begin?

I suppose where I last left off. I finished up my Peace Corps service which was a whirlwind of emotions. I think I cried from the time I said goodbye to my Filipino family at the airport til the time I met up with other volunteers in Manila who were COSing as well. At the same time I was excited to travel and see what the world had in store for me next. Thailand and Cambodia were both amazing...in different ways. Thailand was about food, fun, and temples. Cambodia was emotional. I didn't know that much about Pol Pot's Regime or realize it's magnitude until seeing the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Museum.

Back in America now, making a life in Boulder, Colorado. Which I love more than I ever thought I would. Peace Corps made me pretty adaptable so I knew I would make this work and make it home. However, I didn't expect it to be home so soon. I love being able to walk downtown in 10minutes, I love being able to meet a friend for coffee or tea and kill an afternoon watching people, I love being in our kitchen whether its washing dishes or dicing garlic while catching up on the days events...

No job as of yet...that's the only downside. The job search is frustrating because everyone is looking and employer's are looking at mountains of resumes and you are just another name. But I have faith that something good will come about.


My non-Resolutions resolutions...
-find a job that I love
-learn Spanish
-establish an early/regular bedtime
-volunteer more
-go to the gym more
-climb harder routes with no taking and no cheating
-actually boulder without being a scaredy cat
-try to get into running...I hear its good for you
-read more
-write more postcards


I'm sure I'm leaving out something. eeeeep!


I am dedicating this first blog post to Dawn and Elise...Dawn I told you I would start up again if you did...sorry it took so long...Elise thanks for the blogging and climbing push.