4.7.13 April Showers

4.7.13

April Showers

April is here! Well, last Sunday (Easter) mom called me and we had quite the conversation. She voiced her stand on that one’s view on a controversial subject like gay rights should be kept only to the person. She said that the public is not accepting of it and so I shouldn’t be posting my support for it on any public forum. I was at first taken aback and then frustrated/angry/hurt all at the same time. So I became silent and the phone call ended not too long after. We didn’t talk until yesterday when she called to apologize for being offending my beliefs. I ended up writing a long letter to her over the next few days and put lots of hours and tears into about my coming out and how it’s like to live as a gay person. How hard it is and how I constantly struggle with it. It’s not something I accepted overnight and have no shame in. That night we had that disagreement, I cried in frustration and hurt. It stayed on my mind for a few days and it really helped to write it out. I haven’t been able to send her the letter because I don’t have internet here yet. I did go to rent-a-center after work on Friday to rent a couch set, TV and TV stand. It’ll be delivered on Thursday afternoon. I still have to call Comcast for internet and cable. Well, lately I was trying to eat healthier and incorporate a more vegetarian diet and these past few days I have fallen off the wagon. I did get my period on Friday, but still! I wanted to cut down on my meat intake, dairy intake, pasta/rice intake, and processed sweets. I wanted to increase my veggie and fruits, whole grains, and fish intake into my diet. And of course do cardio and strengthening activities. I need to do a whole month or at least a couple weeks straight of eating clean so I can see if it make a difference in my mood, skin, and energy levels. MOTIVATION is what I need. I can’t believe I’ll be 28 on Friday. I really don’t feel that age. More like 24 or 25. Right now I’m listening to One Republic’s new album ‘Native’ on repeat and repeat. Love it!

El is flying into Sacramento on Thursday night and so she’ll be here to celebrate my birthday weekend and I worked today so I could get the weekend off. Not exactly sure what our agenda is this weekend, but to enjoy, relax, and have fun. I don’t want to be running around like how we spent her birthday weekend in the Bay. Although, it was a blast! We just did a whole lot. I really wanted to go to a pro-women’s soccer game, but the closest team is in Portland. Still debating if I should go. I still have to book my flight to Vegas in early May for Cyn’s graduation. And I’m supposed to be saving money! I keep losing focus and spend money on things I want at the moment.

I’m making friends with a few co-workers like Nataly and Lisa. Nataly is a COTA and is a traveler like me. She travels with her husband and dogs. I saw her yorkie puppy and she is soooo cute. Nataly is young, only 23. Lisa is a OTR from Iowa and we went out to lunch one day. Very friendly and opinionated. So far, I’m the closest to them and Laura, a PTA traveler. A bunch of them leave in 4 weeks though and then more travelers will probably take their place. I need to get out of my funk and go explore this town and push myself to put myself out there to make friends. I feel introverted at times and rather be alone and do nothing. And then at times, that so isn’t me. I confuse myself sometimes…ha.

Peace out. 

3.30.13 Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday

3/30/13

“Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday”

Hey there. It’s been a while since I’ve written, busy life with busy thoughts. So by now, I have left Fallon. Drove back to Vegas and spent a week there. And now I am in Chico, California. I just finished my first week at LifeHouse in Paradise, Cali. I just re-read the last post and saw that I didn’t even get this job yet when I wrote it. And it was 4 weeks ago. A LOT has happened in those four weeks.

I finished my contract in Fallon. Cleaned up my apartment and turned the keys in on Friday, 3/15. I worked overtime the whole week so I could leave at noon on Friday to drive back to Vegas that day. Eric bought pizza for my farewell lunch and Justina bought Starbucks as usual. I hit the road about 1:30pm and made it to Vegas before 7 pm, about 380 miles. I only stopped off once in Tonopah to fill up gas. I knew by then that I had accepted this job so I had a week to do all my errands and re-pack my stuff. Too bad I couldn’t just keep the same clothing, since Fallon winters are much colder than Chico’s spring/summer. I did keep my “kitchen” things without having to unpack that bag. The next morning I went to the DMV to change over my license to Nevada. Made an appointment at Walgreen’s for a physical exam. And then that night Cyn and I went to a Maroon 5, Owl City, and Neon Trees concert at Mandalay Bay. The parking lot was crazy to find and to find parking. We got lucky though…thanks Wanda! The concert was pretty awesome!! The next day was St. Patrick’s day and Cyn/Staci’s friend, Jess from LA, was in town and so we went to eat dim sum and do some shopping. They were going to a club party that night on the strip. That week I got my eyes checked out at Lenscrafters and bought new glasses, took a drug test, watch Danni win the Biggest Loser, car wash, car serviced at sin city auto, got my yearly physical, helped Cynthia make Easter pinata cookies and lemon meringue by scratch, wrote an essay type resume for the VA, took my fingerprints at the VA, last dinner in vegas with staci at ramen sora, and packed up all my belongings. Headed out from Vegas to Chico early Saturday morning, about 4:30am. It took over 9 ½ hours, about 650 miles. Such a looooong drive. I love my apartment complex though, its pretty brand new. The gym is nice, the apt is spacious, and close to the freeway. It takes about ½ hour to get to work in Paradise, but the traffic is not bad. I haven’t had a full schedule yet, and they weren’t even expecting me on Monday. There are a lot of travelers there and I guess the caseload is a bit slow as well. I have been trying to be better at exploring the town and love, love, love the greenery here. Especially in Paradise. My heart just feels more “at home” and comforted by being here in California. Vegas is just so desolate looking with desert and dirt. It rains here, and the scenery is so lush. 7 hour drive to Portland. A few hours to Tahoe or Bay area. I even saw that they have an Amtrak train that goes from LA to Seattle. It takes 36 hours though. I just wish that the airport were closer since Sac airport is about an hour and a half away.

Continuing from yesterday…Happy Easter. I was planning on seeing the wildflowers at Tabletop Mountain but the weather was quite gloomy earlier. I went grocery shopping at Winco, picked up wine from Trader Joe’s and then got take-out at Happy Garden Chinese Restaurant. Since I’ve been drinking, I don’t think I’ll drive anywhere. Maybe just head over to the gym later and do laundry. Got only a couple of things on my “to-do” list which feels good to not have a million tasks on my list. These past couple of days, I was trying to see if I can up my veggie intake and lower my meat intake. So I bought a bunch of veggies and no meat. I’ll only meat if I go out to eat, if that. We’ll see how that goes. My mind is a bit scattered… so I’ll write more later when I can focus more!

Easter blessings.

3.2.13 March Madness

3.2.13

March Madness

Heya, well its officially march. Its been a while since I last wrote. I guess I have been getting settled in and into the swing of things. Instead of march 6^th being my last day, we agreed to extend my contract until the 15^th. I will drive back to vegas the next early morning so Cyn and I are able to go to the Maroon 5 concert that night. I didn’t tell her yet, but I bought the tickets last year in October. It’s going to be her early birthday present. Last weekend I drove to Reno and finally got to go to a mall. It was nice to be back in diversity and “a city life.” Walked around the mall and then bought sweat pants from JC Penny. Hung out at Barnes and Noble, bought an awesome book A Thousand Splendid Suns and had some Starbucks. Went to Best Buy for a portable Verizon wifi/mifi connector thingy. I bought $60 worth of wifi and within a day, I apparently already used up over 75%!! So thought I could use the internet more, but for that much money…nope. Work had been alright, happy to have a job and the patients and staff have been nice. I asked mom if they wanted to fly up to Vegas for my birthday since Cyn will be flying back home for the majority of April. She said they’ll think about it. Mom said she was thinking about a family Disneyland trip in the early summer. So we’ll see what pans out. I just interviewed yesterday after work with a facility in Paradise, California which is in Nor Cal. It would only give me a week in Vegas to get everything done. Part of me wishes that I could take a couple weeks break to breathe and hang out in Vegas doing per diem jobs. Another part of me is scared to not have another position lined up because I don’t ever want to be unemployed and broke again. I need to focus on saving and paying off my debts. Trying to keep in mind that I will probably move back home sometime. My dream would be to live in Hawaii part of the year and here in the mainland. That would be an ideal life. Spend holidays with family and friends, but also have the opportunities and experiences that are only here. And then you can always switch it up by spending the holidays up here somewhere new. It just gets hard traveling all over with finding an apartment, unpack and settle in, and then have to pack up and deal with the inspections after only a few months. It would be a nice change to have a stable and permanent place to come home to everyday. I feel like as of now that Vegas is my home. But if I choose to do another travel assignment then I’m back to packing things up again. I don’t even know what Cyn’s plans are from here on out. She’s finished with her externship at the end of the month. Her graduation is in early May and then her plans are unknown. All I really have is my bed. Not sure how I would move it since my car is so small and that’s really all I would want to bring. Since it was pretty cheap, I would probably just leave it there or let Cyn give it away. I sometimes think of my apartment studio in Makiki. I had not much, but it was my own home. It was comfy and enough for me. Lanai, parking spot, pool, secured building, only a couple neighbors, and a short walk to work. Family was only a 15-minute drive away. I do miss that. Can’t believe its been almost a year since I moved to Vegas. My whole life from being stable now has become nothing short of adventurous. Vegas, San Jose, Sacramento, Modesto, Sonoma, Monterey and Carmel, Boston, Cape Cod, San Francisco, Torrance, Tahoe, Fallon, and Reno. Places I’ve visited or stayed in. Of course, Hawaii as well. I wonder if it would be possible to live a life in Hawaii and a life here in the mainland. Not the easiest or simple. Living in the mainland would probably tend to be cheaper. I could buy a condo or small home to stay in when I’m here. Keep a cheap car in the garage to get around. Buying a place in Hawaii would be more costly. Would have to be an apartment or a home that was on the West side of Oahu. If I were wealthy and had money to spend, I would buy a place in Hawaii and on the mainland. It might be nice to live outside of town, but that drive would be horrendous. Def not because of the distance, but the crazy traffic. Like my patient, Charlie, would say, “where there’s a will, there’s a way!” That would be a lot of hard work, but how would it work with my job. It’s not like I can just pack up and say that I’ll be back in a couple months. If I were a writer I could do it because then I could write wherever. I can spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family. And then maybe New Years in Hawaii or on the West Coast. I still haven’t been to Oregon or Washington and I think I would like it there. It does get cold though. Maybe San Diego is a nice compromise of weather: sun, cold, beaches, and food. I always thought that I’d enjoy the cold weather and I do, just not for long periods of time. Maybe if we kept our apartment warmer it wouldn’t be such a drag to go out in the cold.

So anyways, I have 10 more days of work and 14 days left in Fallon. If I didn’t extend, it would only be 3 more days of work. Crazy fast. I do think it was really worth it to stay an extra week and a half for $1500 more in my bank account. I paid $400 for rent for March 1 to 16. Not bad. I have $700 for my deposit, they need to take out my utilities for the 5 weeks and the cleaning costs. So I’m expecting about $400 to $500 to be returned. I still need to return a grand that el let me borrow and I owe Cyn $300 for the July concert tickets and for my portion of the utilities in Vegas. And I need to pay rent for March and April. Gosh, I feel like I have so many bills. I really need to cut down my payments for my car insurance. And then I pay for my medical. And my school loan. Life as an adult…why the heck did I want to grow up when I had it so good as a child?! Haha. I do think that even though its hard, I prefer life as an adult. =)