age never stops

So the birthday was awesome. We had a bar-b-que and pretty much just hung out the whole night. I think I talked about most of it on myspace, so if you find that this is just not enough detail for you, you know where to find it! In addition to having all of my favorite people in attendance, I happened to receive several GREAT gifts. My parents got me a used washer and dryer, which were much-needed. You never think of that as something that you really need until you no longer have one. I also got a baseball bat (for the purposes of self-defense, since I am a single young woman living in an apartment. I wanted a gun, but what can ya' do.) ;) I was also given a Peter Gabriel greatest hits cd (which is a great album-you should get it)...and I got a bunch of movies, including Cool Runnings, Top Gun, and So I Married an Axe Murderer.

Speaking of Cool Runnings, I'm going to visit the beautiful land of Jamaica in 6 days!! I can't wait. We'll be visiting several locations, including the forested town of Ocho Rios. I hear there is a waterfall we can climb; talk about Caribbean adventure.

So I'll be gone for two weeks, but I will have tons of pictures to show ya'll when I get back. Have a lovely rest-of-the-month.

permanent artwork

It's crazy how lack of internet can affect the rest of one's life. At this point in time, I can only access the internet from the university. With all that's going on, it's like the internet has fallen off the face of the planet for me (or me for it).

In today's news, I got a tattoo..it's on my left shoulder blade. I absolutely love it. There's something to be said about designing your own artwork and then putting it somewhere permanent. I must warn you non-inked citizens, though. Tattooing is extremely addictive. This is my first one and I am already yearning to have another one done. All in good time, all in good time. If you ever decide to have it done, go to Garrett. He's the best.

lessons learned

WARNING: this will be long. Have fun reading if you actually want to read it all. I'm officially jumping on the "2002 recap" bandwagon...remember kids, don't follow trends...

Now that its basically all said and done, 2002 has been one of the best years of my life...it wasn't because only great things happened to me (because, really, who has a perfect life?)...but because of the things I have learned from everything that has happened...

January was an interesting month..I went down to see my best friend and that was the realization that we were growing somewhat apart since she moved...lesson learned: change is inevitable and it seems that the things you dont want to change the most are always the first to change, so you need to accept that and make the best of it.

February marked another Valentine's Day alone...but I realized that I didnt need a "significant other" to make it a good time because I was starting to make some great friends from the college group that I started going to. I'm reaffirming my commitment not to date until I know "he's the one." lesson learned: being without a significant other is not being alone...good friends are even more important.

March was an interesting month..I transferred jobs, which, looking back, may not have been the best decision. Also in march, I met a lot of new people, two of whom I talk to every day and consider two of my closest friends. I also met justin, which was a big mistake. lesson learned: meeting new people is so important because they often become your best friends..but moving too quickly into a relationship often leads to disaster.

April, I went on the mission trip as a leader and found that I could be a role model to the high schoolers. lesson learned: that any one person can make a huge difference in someone's life, even by doing some thing considered small and insignificant. God is above all that crap we pull every day..

May was a good month..school finally ended and..that's about all that happened. Other than that it was pretty boring...lessons learned:boring can be good. We all get bored and often complain about it, but sometimes we need to just slow down, stop rushing and stressing, and just..be bored.

June/July were good.. the parents went on vacation for the whole month so I was able to just spend time alone at the house. It was a nice change. I love my family, but it's always crazy in our house. It made me realize how much I love my family but how much more I'd like them if I moved out. I also got closer with some of the before mentioned friends..and I got to go to a music festival with some friends from the collge group! lessons learned: family and friends are important, and regardless of whether you get along all the time, you need them just as much as they need you.

August/September were nothing special other than having to say goodbye again to all my friends leaving for college..and one friend who got married...and yes, then I started school again...all that jazz...lesson learned: life is basically a cycle, like it or not..

October was..school oriented..this semester was really difficult and my procrastination didn't make it too much better. Yes, everyone procrastinates but this semester was worse than usual. Other than that small drawback, the month was pretty good. I housesat for a week and had some friends come see me there. It made me realize that even though sometimes I feel like I don't have any good close friends, I am surrounded by people who care about me..and I love them so much. And, then we almost died in a car accident on the way home from Santa Clara..lessons learned: do the best you can at whatever you are doing, and you'll gain more satisfaction from it. Do not take anything for granted because it could all be gone within seconds. Just because you seem to be very close in personality to someone doesn't mean that you are meant to be with that person..and you are often MUCH more different than them than you thought you were..

November was an...interesting...month...some hard times with some friends...questioning lots of things...becoming really unoriented in so many parts of my life...some relationships will never be the same...some things that used to come so naturally are now so foreign...but I had great people sticking by me who I cant thank enough...lessons learned: once again with the change issues...it's a part of life...usually unexpected. When you're 100% convinced you're alone, you're not.

December was a pretty hectic month with getting ready for all the holidays and stuff...I wasnt really in the "Christmas spirit" as they say, until the 24th. Once it hit me, things got much better. Prior to that I had a lot of issues concerning three different really good friends of mine..but resolution comes with time and it's happening as we speak....lessons learned: family and friends really are the most important things..and that we're never done growing...and its never too late...for anything....

..and that brings me to here...standing on the verge of a new year...and I guess its all up to me what I make of it...so...I guess I'll see you all in 2003...

much ado about cars

Isn't is amazing how much we rely on our cars? I mean, we grow so attached to them that they almost seem to be a part of the family. We name them (this is Alice, by the way.) We clean them more than we clean the house or wash the dog. We get mad when someone else makes a mess in it. We are afraid to let anyone else drive it, for fear they might not handle it correctly. A car is like our safe haven. We can sing at the top of our lungs without anyone hearing. We can drive anywhere, just to be alone. We can get out of town, or have a night out on the town. We have our settings EXACTLY how WE like them. And because of this, we have a codependence with our vehicles.


It would be so nice to live in a big enough city that has reliable (and quick) public transportation. I mean, it's great to have your car, but what happens when it breaks down? You shell out 40 bucks (or more) a day to rent a car, or you just don't go to work, which loses you even more money. This doesn't even count the aggravation of having to call in or ask someone to PLEASE take you to the rental place so you can pick up your car. (And the fact that you can't rent a car unless you're 25 doesn't make matters any better for us youngin's.) This also doesn't take into consideration the hundreds to thousands of dollars it will take to repair said problems.