Stoplights

It hasn't taken long for me to turn into a somewhat LAish driver. Whenever I see a yellow light I speed up. I just can't help it! At least I haven't gotten in an accident, yet. and no parking tickets either! Yay! I'm not totally an LA driver though, because I still drive like I'm older than 16.

Yeah...cool.

I survived

my first week in my first "real" job! Yay!

Now it's weekend time :)

More strange things...

I forgot to include these other strange happenings in my last post...

1. I think I already wrote about the car-ped accident I saw on my first day.
2. A couple weeks ago, I left the apt building for a walk. I saw some guys gathered around an older man who was lying on the sidewalk just outside the front door. The man's nose was dripping blood all over the sidewalk, and he just lied there - like he was in shock or something. I asked the guys who were talked to him what had happened. I guess the man just fell and hit his face on the sidewalk. I asked if I could call an ambulance for him, but the man didn't want that. I don't know what ended up happening, because I left after I found out the guys were taking care of him. I didn't want to stand around a create a scene, because it would have made the man uncomfortable and you're not supposed to crowd someone with an injury.

Anyway, I don't really know what's going on with all this stuff happening. Maybe it's because I'm walking around during the day A LOT now that I don't have a job or anywhere else to be. It's been nice, but I need to find things to do besides free yoga and walking to the coffee shop!

Why'd you have to go and let it die?

I haven't been acting like myself for basically the past two months and really weird things are happening to me. During my last month in Boston I lost things that are usually not good things to lose. Like my raincoat (during the month of May!) and my flash drive. Retracing my steps didn't even work! I (basically) never lose things! What the heck? And I've been seeing a lot of dead animals lately. This sounds really creepy, but it's true! I lost count of how many dead birds I saw, and I've seen a dead rat and mouse. The worst was when I saw a dead baby bird that was probably only a few days old. So sad! I don't know what this all means, and maybe it just means nothing. It's just strange and I don't like it. Another weird thing is me being super late to important things like doctor's appointments and interviews. The LA rhythm just hasn't sunk into my bones, yet. I'm still getting used to things out here.

I really hope I start getting better at this. I NEED to get better at this!

Whoo hoo

Two really good things happened! 1. Jake and I found an Ikea dresser (yes, it was by the dumpster). It was pretty clean, just missing a leg. Found the leg and went to Home Depot to buy a washer - to re-attach the leg. Luckily my HD navigation skills led us to the best washer in the store! Jake got it all fixed up! Now we have some more room in the Apt. 2. I bought a car! It's a black 2001 Nissan Sentra in really good shape. Hopefully it will last me for awhile. The parking garage down the street has monthly parking, so I'm good to go! I'll post pictures later...

HolleR! Now if only I could find a job...

I think I'll stop counting after 10

Today is day 8. Feeling much more relaxed and enjoying my time as a CA bum. Found out Runyon Canyon has free yoga in the park 3 times a day! I went this morning and it was so amazing!

Got a call about a potential car, so Jake and I will check it out tomorrow.

Whoo hooooo

Day 5 in LA

Still no job, car or apt. I need to learn how to be more patient!

At least I have Jake and Murph dog.

LA Day 3

I stepped in dog crap and got rejected from my first job interview. What a wonderful day!

"The worst part is over. Now get back on that horse and ride!"

Day 1 in LA

I arrived in LA yesterday at 10am PST. Perfect weather already! Love it! Jake set up an apt. viewing meeting, and the place was awesome! It's in a building that was built in the 1920s. Hard wood floors, tall ceilings and a cool, tiled bathroom. Not sure if I will really want to live in Hollywood, but at least it's a start. After Jake and I got home from that then left for the grocery store, we definitely saw a pedestrian get hit by a car! We went over to see if he needed any help, but he was just cussing out the driver - she looked really scared and felt terrible. He was holding his knee, but was able to walk. This is not a good sign for the city I'm living in. Too much driving! I don't think I'm going to like having to drive everywhere, but I guess I will get used to it. Maybe I can live and work in Santa Monica so I can just walk everywhere. We'll see....

Yay! Things are off to an exciting start. I have a second interview at 4pm today. I'm really hoping it goes well!

Oh no don't talk about it. Please don't think about it.

I'm re-discovering Foo Fighters. Heck yeah!

Everything is going on right now and I can't focus on studying for my last final of grad school! Holy crap!

Hopefully I will be able to find a job the day after I arrive in LA. I can celebrate by buying a car and moving into a new apt. Then Jake and I can take a weekend road trip up the coast. That's the number one best scenario. AH! I'm trying not to freak out, but I'm just so darn anxious. I want my good nights of sleep back!

I realized that all the different "stages" in my life have been in different locations. Growing up in Eldora, IA, high school in MPLS, MN, college and grad school in Boston, MA and now professional life in LA, CA. What the crap? I'm going to want to move again in four to five years and not understand why. Lol.

Ok that's all.

Oh and I do not love making my friends cry. This is going to be INTENSE!

Love is so much deeper when you let the fever burn

I'm so proud of Jake for recording and mixing such a cool song! Good job, Jake!

Brunch this morning was a blast with all of my girlfriends then some frisbee time :)

Estoy :)

Three weeks from today and I'll be graduating (again).

Take to the streets, chant like an army and doctor up this disease

I'm like a doctor but for the entire population! Less than two months to go. I can't wait to get to LA, but I can't believe I only have seven weeks left in Boston. I guess I'm excited, but it's weird not knowing when I will be back. Hopefully I will end up finding a job that is exciting, and I will get to work with fun people. It's so hard to tie up loose ends while also trying to get things started in LA. These career fairs better have some good stuff!

Hanging out with new and old friends is good stuff! I played frisbee with some friends yesterday and it was a fabulous time. I'm definitely not regretting taking the time away from school/other work to go play :)

I did pretty well on two papers and an exam that were due/turned in/taken within the past few weeks. That is also good stuff!

My mom and both brothers are coming for graduation! HolleR. I can't wait to see them!

That's about it. I can't think of any really interesting or funny stories. I've been watching too much TV! This must stop.

99.5 just won't do

I've got to have 100 percent.

The vacay from facebook actually went really well! It wasn't that hard, and I was slightly more productive. I don't go on nearly as often, and I don't get the annoying e-mails anymore. So that was cool.

It's hard to believe but Spring break starts in less than 24 hours! I'm so excited to go to Los Angeles. It will be warm and sunny and of course so great to see Jake :) I just have to try to get a lot of paper writing done tomorrow after my midterm. I have two papers and another mid-term the week I get back, which also happens to be Dominique's birthday week AND St. Patty's day! Holy crap.

That's about it.

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

'Cause I’d be lost forever if you slipped away

Blue eyes you’re the reason for my change.

I'm changing into a person who gets tired of facebook. Seriously. It's kind of driving me nuts right now. No, I don't really want to throw fake snowballs at you but thanks for asking a million times. You got me good! I guess I can't get you back because I don't have that application. Oh darn. You win the virtual snowball fight. Since when does throwing fake snowballs count as having fun with your friends? Some applications are ok with me. Like Bumper stickers. That's like sending a funny picture, but instead of e-mail you use fb. Ok.

Ah, I guess I just feel like I have so many other things to focus on. I'd also rather get a phone call or even a text than a wall post. During this break (hopefully) I will be calling and texting my friends more. I love phone calls! In a way it feels like phone calls are turning into stamped mail. Rare, but exciting to receive! Maybe I'm just saying this because I don't get that many phone calls - I told you I'm clearly very popular.

Anyway, I've just decided to take a little vaca from my virtual social network. We'll see how it works out.

And I need your heart

because you're always in the right places.

Today was the start of the 5th week of classes. I can't believe it! About 3 more months until graduation. Whoo hoo! My internship has been up and down. I just need to work on asking my boss for more projects to work on. Today I printed out a budget status report for a PI (Principal Investigator - big researcher). HolleR. He was even asked me to explain things to him. That was pretty cool. Classes are going along like normal. None are completely horrible. Strategic Management of HC Organizations is actually really cool. It's with one of the same professors I had last semester -- the one who saw me making a funny face after his exam. This class is much better than the one last semester. I'm lucky that I have some great people working in my group :)

Ever since winter break I've been staying in touch with my family much more often than normal and I'm liking it a lot! My brothers are so cool! I've also had some good converstations with my dad. And of course, my mom is still awesome. Too bad I can't talk with KeemDog on the phone. I love that little dog!

I'm still missing Jake like crazy. I've been thinking about him even more now that I'm going to NYC for the weekend - not because it's Valentine's Day, but because the last time I was there was when we met :) Almost two years have gone by. What the heck? Time is moving so quickly.

That's about it. Life is all good. This winter hasn't been depressing like normal - probably because I'm so excited to be moving to L.A. Whoo hoo!

Loves and Kisses

Please know that I'm yours to keep

So, I've already told this story to many friends, but I need to write it down.

I had the strangest day last Thrusday. I got to sleep in a little bit - which was good because I was kinda sick all week. I still had to wake up a littler earlier than I wanted so I would have time to go pick up a package at the Post Office. I got out of bed all groggy and stuffy and basically slid and fell my way to the Post Office (it was snowing and raining the whole day on Wednesday). Of course, like good Bostonians, no body had shoveled their sidewalks. The roads were perfectly clear though. Once I got to the post office the lady at the counter yelled at me because I showed her my package slip and it said UPS not USPS. Duh, I knew there was a difference between the two, she didn't need to yell at me. Then I walked home all angry and tired. I was walking behind an older man and was about to pass him on the sidewalk when I noticed that he dropped something. I said,"Excuse me, sir, you dropped something right back there."

He said,"No, that was my cigar carton. I didn't drop it, I put it there."

"What? You can't just put your garbage on the sidewalk. You have to throw it away. There's a garbage can right there (10 feet in front of us)." I replied angrily.

"Well where I come from..." he started to explain.

"It doesn't matter where you come from you have to pick up your trash! Go pick it up." I yelled at him. I think he was in shock because he just stared at me, and I was kinda getting up in his face.The I called him a bad name and stomped back, found his cigar carton, stormed past him and threw it in the garbage can. Then I realized that I just yelled at an old man. I got really emotional and started crying when I got home. My roommate made me feel better though!

The rest of the day, I actually saw people smiling at me as they walked past. A man even told me,"Thanks friend. Have a wonderful day" as I held the door open for him at CVS. The universe was telling me that I was still a good person.

I'm glad I didn't skip class and miss the craziness :)

Look into your heart and you will find love love love love

I love this line. Look into your own heart. No body else's.

Anyway, it's the start of my last semester of school ever! Well, maybe not ever. I have a feeling I'll go for my phd sometime, but that CAN wait.

Everything is going well! I started an internship at a non-profit, C-SNAP (Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program), that basically is run through Boston Medical Center. I'm the Grant and Financial Management/Operations Intern. I've worked 16 hours so far. I like that I'm getting right into the work and I even like that I sit at a desk that has literally been around since WWII (it's kinda comfortable and definitely a fire hazard). BMC is great because the patients are so diverse (another way of saying most of them are poor), resources are tight, but they still give care to everyone! The work that C-SNAP does seems very important and basically is aimed at gather importatant data for public policy makers. I'm not exactly sure how the info is disseminated to them, but I'm hopeful that it works out somehow. My prof in my policy class would say that just because Doctors are experts, not everyone listens to them and does what they ask. Which is disappointing, but somewhat understandable. Doctors aren't always sensible, but at least they usually just want the best for their patients. TANGENT! But anyway, I'm finally doing public health work and I'm really excited! Definitely a great learning opportunity, esp during my last four months of school.

And last four months of Boston. Holy Crap! That went quickly. L.A. will be fun! It will also be strange, making new friends, buying a car, getting a job, etc. Lots of changes. I'll be ready for them. Luckly I have Jake to show me around! He knows of the best BBQ places around :) Yummy!

Ok, that's my positive note for the start of the semester. I'm hoping the energy and positive attitute will last through May.

Yay!




I should never have caffiene.