8 boxes

Well, we are almost done packing. the entire apartment, both of our lives, into 8 boxes, 4 suitcases, 1 dresser and 1 bed side table. its all there, sitting in the living room, waiting patiently to be picked up and start the trek up to to NYC. Its funny, last time I went up there, I only packed for a little bit of time, leaving memory things at my parents house, but this time, its all coming. My yearbooks, memory boxes, small stuffed animals  (that of course all have names), diplomas, all of it, has been packed.

More to follow.... but its all happening in 13 days... the round 2 journey that I am sure to bring a little more than round one. I am one year smarter, one year older and one year deeper into trying to find what makes me happy and still no farther to finding my place in the world. One thing I did pick up this year is someone who I love and loves me back, which makes the journey 2x more fun.

peace, love and packaging tape,
b

We Got One!

This past weekend, T and I went apartment hunting. Seeing as he hasn't started work yet, he went up to the city a week before me to get all the heavy looking finished. His goal was to look at as many apartments as possible in 5 days, pick out 4 that were his favorite and he knew I would love and would fit all of the requirements.

My requirements for an apartment weren't too much to ask: Doorman, Gym, Dishwasher and full refrigerator. Well, these requests didn't sound too difficult in my southern mentality. The building we live in now has a pool gated parking, full gym and 2 showers in my bathroom alone..and of course a dishwasher.. Well... As we all know, New York is a different animal- and a different ball game all together. And apparently dishwashers are not a staple for every apartment in New York.

Well, there is one thing about T that I love, his determination. If it were just up to me, I would have sucked it up, hired a broker and take the easy way out- had someone else do the heavy lifting- but not him. No way jose, he was going to find our apartment all on his own, with no help. He didn't want help for 3 reasons: 1) He likes to do things on his own and 2) he didn't want to pay 2 months rent to a broker- why pay someone else for something he thought he could do all on his own 3) he is stubborn- stubborn as a bull.

He had his work cut out for him. He went back and fourth- uptown to downtown, east side to west side, and even across the river to Brooklyn.  All he knew was my flight landed Thursday night and he wanted to have apartments to show me by Friday, so he worked towards that deadline. I got phone calls from him at work that would sound something like this, "Well, I just saw an apartment with half a refrigerator" or, "How do you feel about not having a stove" or my personal favorite, "How important is a dishwasher to you?" To every one of these phone calls all I said was, "Its not the one, keep on trucking, when you find it, you'll know."

And, I learned something about him that I love- when you give him a task, no matter what it is- he will do it, and do it in its entirety. He is one determined man.  Not only did he find us an AMAZING apartment, with all of my requirements, but it is below our budget, in an amazing area, and is just the right size for the both of us- compared to the apartment we are in now, yes its smaller, but were in New York, everything is smaller there. And he found it on Tuesday- only 1 and a half days into his search. All the stars aligned, and it was perfect.

He showed it to me on Friday, for about  5 minutes during my lunch break (I was working out of the New York office for the day) and we signed the one year lease that afternoon.

So its official, in about 4 weeks, T and I will be moving into out apartment- finally our own apartment together. Now were on the next task... how to ship all our furniture up... The next few weeks should be interesting to say the least.

Stay tuned... I can guarantee you it will be nothing short of a comedy show.

Peace, Love and never stop moving,
B

Happiest Place on Earth

What they say in the commercials that Disney World is the happiest place on earth, they don't lie. I remember going to Disney as a kid and loving it, but that was a kid. I never though as a semi adult I would love it even more.

T and I went on  a Disney extravaganza after our cruise and before driving back to Atlanta- we did 3 parks in 17 hours. Yes, you read that right, 3 parks in one day- we went non stop from 10am to 1am- riding every ride we wanted and soaking in the goodness of Disney. We went to MGM, Animal Kingdom and of course the classic Magic Kingdom.

Either T and I got very lucky with our timing or it was a fluke, but we literally walked on to every single ride for the most part. The longest line we waited in was for about 10 minutes for the Tower of Terror- and even so, not bad compared to the hour long lines I remember waiting in as a kid.

There was one thing we both noticed- every single employee was happy to be there. Every person with a smile on their face, happy to see us. It was incredible, if everyone was that happy in my office all the time, someone would think we were all on drugs. But for some reason, it was genuine, everyone is just happy to work there and be apart of the Disney 'magic' as they say. And it dawned on me, I want to find a job at some point in my career that I am excited and beaming to go into work every day. Don't get me wrong, my job now is great- great people, very interesting work and an interesting client- but there is some piece missing, a piece of excitement- thrill and genuine love for what I am doing. This is something that comes with time, I believe, and comes with the search of learning about myself. But now I know I have something to strive to. I am striving to be as happy as the employees (or cast members as they like to call themselves) at Disney.

I have said it before, and I say it again, I just want to do something to make a difference and be happy- just the journey to get there has been interesting.

Peace, love and The place where dreams come true,
B

You get what you pay for- another lesson

Last week, my boyfriend (who will for now on be called T) and I went on our first real vacation. We drove down to Orlando to see my grandparents, go on a cruise and have a quick stop at Disney. Just us two.

We had everything set up- 5 day cruise, one day at Disney and the only real thing to figure out was parking. Where we going to leave our car for 5 days? Carnival has on site parking at the port, for $15 a day- not a chance. We're both still on the not so 'well off' side at the moment- so $70 to park our car for 5 days was outrageous. I would have rather parked my car in a back lot somewhere near the boat and hoped for the best....But because I am not crazy, I talked myself out of that idea. 

T, being the planner he is, thought the best way to find cheap parking at the port was just to google it, so thats what I was tasked with doing. I found the cheapest parking I could (which happened to be one of those sponsored at the top of the search page). There were a few options, all within the same price range. But I figured, if we are going for cheap parking, we might as well go for the cheapest. How bad could it be? The website looked professional enough. There were pictures of the paved lot and charter shuttle to and from the port. So- we booked it and our trip was all set. 

The day of our cruise finally arrived- I barely slept (I always have trouble sleeping before exciting events) and we woke up fairly early so we could get on the boat early and explore. We drove from my grandparents in Orlando to Port Canaveral, or at least a few miles outside of because that is where our parking service was located. 

We finally find out 'parking service'- which might as well been called an open field with a small fence and a beat up, 1970's pimp limo as a shuttle. We pulled up, and I freaked out. No way this piece of crap could have been the great parking lot I saw on line. How was I going to leave my car here for 5 days, it would be safer in an abandoned lot- and at least the abandoned lot would be free to get my car stolen instead of pay $4.50 a day!! Long story short- we put the good faith into the crappy lot, and called it a day. All we wanted was to get on our vacation- turn our phones off  and go- so thats exactly what we did.

The cruise was AMAZING- and forgot about the car the second we finally made it onto the ship. 5 day's of no cell phones, no where else to be and everything at our finger tips. Our first vacation was completely perfect- well on the boat at least.

5 days later- we returned, got off the boat early at 9am and went outside for the 'shuttle' back to our car. We called the company, the said 10 minutes, which turned into 20, which turned into 40 and so on (you get the picture) 2 HOURS LATER- we were still in the empty parking lot... waiting for the 'shuttle' and finally, our carriage (the beat up 1970's limo) arrived. T and I fought our way to get on the first ride, there was no way we were waiting in that parking lot any longer.

When we got back to the empty lot- the car was there, ready to be saved. Granted, everything turned out alright- the sum of this little car adventure is- you really do get what you pay for. If you get it for cheap, be prepared for an all around cheap experience.

Peace, love and living on a little cash,
B 

Round 2- why not?

There are a lot of changes about to happen in my life- to my surprise, I am going back to New York, and not to visit. I am going up there to live. Again. Yes, I am still a peach, but I need another big bite out of the Big Apple that tried to spit me out. 

The whole idea started a few months ago when my boyfriend got an amazing job offer up in New York right out of grad school. The job he was offered was everything he was working for, and as much as I wanted him to find a job in Atlanta it just wasn't happening. 

At first I cried, not just cried, wailed. I was devastated. How was he going to go up to New York and me stay in Atlanta, what were we going to do? All I had been looking forward to for months was us finally actually being able to live together and not have to worry about traveling to see each other, and in one swoop- those dreams were crushed. He was going to be there, and I was going to be here. There was no way I was going back up to the city that I didn't survive in. I wanted to be in Atlanta, I wanted to be home where my family was and where it was warm. That is what I had wanted for months, what I cried for in New York the first time. How could I leave when I just got back? 

After some thinking- and long talks with my mom- I decided, why not go with him? I love him, and want to be with him, and if he was willing to move to Atlanta to be with me, why wouldn't I follow him? I am only 23 years old- there is so much to explore, things to see, cities to live in and adventures to be had- and as long as we are together, life seems to be better and happier. And that made my decision- I am going back up to go on this adventure with him, we are starting our big adventure- in a big city. 

 So once the decision to move was made, I started working on getting transferred with my current job. It was never a sure thing, but I worked on it for about 2 months. I pushed and found a niche within my current company that I felt like I could excel in, and that area also happened to be based out of New York. All of the stars aligned at once, the rain clouds parted, and a ray of sunshine came in- my transfer got approved 2 weeks ago!! 

So- its all happening, In April, I am giving the big apple a second try- and this time the adventure is not alone. 

Peace, love and You only live Once, 

B 

Mentors and drinking more

After graduation, I was determined to find a mentor . Someone a few years older than me who could give me advice. Someone that I could go to, no matter what, and really be listened to and then in return, be given wisdom and knowledge from past experiences. This person would be able to relate to me on some level, and be someone who I strive to be. I was looking for someone to model myself after- to have a path and know that everything was going to be alright.

I have been trying so hard the past 19 months to find this person- and the mentor I have finally found has taught me that I cannot find someone to follow, rather, find someone to help me lead. Model myself after actions, not after a person. Because in this life- there is no one like me. I am the only one, so no reason to waste my life trying to be like someone else. Take tidbits instead from people who came before me and then use those lessons to succeed.

I searched in New York to find my mentor, only to come up with great friends, but no true mentor. I moved back to Atlanta, trying to cling onto people who had helped me with advice in the past to only realize I was being looked at as I once was- as the college girl ready to party, with no real expierance in life nor a worry in the world. Thats the issue I have found whit returning to my past, I am still looked at as the person I was before graduation- 19 months ago, as the new girl who was still learning. But now, 19 months after, I am a real girl now, ready to take on the world. With a slightly different view, but the same attitude.

Who I needed is someone who did not know my before. Someone fresh in my life, with no pre conceived notions, who only knows how hard I try now, and sees the potential that I have in me now. I have been lucky enough to find someone to confide in. And even though I am sure some of the advice and words given to me have been told to me before, but when they come this mentor, they sound differently and are backed with trust and confidence.

Words from this mentor recently has shaped my thinking in a way that I did not know possible. I have been pushed to do more, be greater and strive to run to the top.

I am sure that I will have many mentors in my life, no matter where I go or what I do- But I have now learned something very important:

A mentor will come into my life when I need them most, even if its not to dispense advice, a mentor is there for support and belief. And everyone needs someone to believe in them.

Also something very important I learned this week- work less, drink more. Apparently, I have been working too hard and taking things too seriously- so its time to loosen back up.

Peace, love and drinking with my mentor,

B

Global Warming...

A year ago this weekend was the huge ice storm that paralyzed the South.... people were stuck at home for a week straight with no way of driving because the roads were iced over. Today... a year later, I just got back from a walk in shorts and a sweat shirt, and was a little on the toasty side. The question, which is normal for the middle of January in Atlanta. Growing up, I expected it to be chilly with a high in the 40's or low 50's, but nothing like this, and clearly nothing like what it was last year.

What if the world is trying to tell us something, we need to take better care of her, or she is just going to keep playing tricks on us. Because of my boyfriend, I have started recycling and being more conservative about using plastics and products that are not good for the environment. But what else can be done? Public transportation needs to get better, and maybe, we all need to get outside more and enjoy everything the earth has to offer.... because according to the Mayans, the world is ending in less than a year. So gotta enjoy the year while it lasts.

Peace, love and going back outside,

b