Saturday, Jenn made the vegetarian chili. It was amazing. We had the chili on top of chips with a dollop of guacamole and sour cream. It was quite filling and it really hit the spot! I tried to help make it but Jennie sent me away cause she wanted to do it herself. Okay, so I'll just sit here....
Still no luck on the job front. I applied at UPS online a week ago and haven't heard anything back yet. I tried to find the number online and couldn't, so I went home and looked in 2 phone books and still nothing. I finally just called a UPS Store and they couldn't even give me a number to the particular location where I had applied. He did give me a 1-800 number so I called that and was put on hold for a little bit. Finally talked to someone who was not helpful at all. "Sorry, we don't have any employment information." Great. Since the place is only 2.78 miles away from my house, I decided just to drive down there to see what the hell was going on, only to find that it was closed between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Ooookkkaaaay. This is so frustrating. Just give me some work, somebody! I'm a hard worker and very loyal, what's the problem, huh?
Well, the dreaded day is fastly approaching. I mean my birthday. My 25th birthday, it's on Friday. How did this happen? We've got a whole day planned out though. Coffee sometime in the a.m. with Daleen and Jenn, lunch with Daleen, Jenn and Megan, dinner and cake with my Granny. Daleen and Jennie pretty much made all of the plans. When Jenn told me what we were doing I had almost already forgotten that our birthday was coming up. Oops. Big deal. Birthdays are stupid after the age of, like, 18.
I've been thinking also, since I'm 25 on Friday, why I haven't really changed in the past 5 years. I mean, emotionally I have and all that, blah blah blah, but I haven't really done anything to contribute to society. I haven't really made the best out of my time. I feel like I haven't really done anything constuctive. The only big goals I've ever had was to travel some and I'm proud that I've accomplished that, even though there is still some traveling I'd like to do, but when it comes to having a career or my own place to live, I've failed. And I know I shouldn't compare myself to others and where they are in their lives, or I shouldn't listen to where society thinks you should be in your life by this age or that age, but it's hard. It's my life. I make the decisions and learn from mistakes. Maybe what's holding me back is the fact that I can't really handle the responsibilities of being an adult, which I'm trying to change everyday. I'm a lot better at handling things now than before I went to Australia but I still struggle. Why is this such an issue?
Then I start thinking about how different my generation is from my grandpa's. I mean, when he was 25, he was already a pro at farming (coming from a farming family, I guess that's a given), he had already served in the army, gotten married and started a family. I'm not saying, by any means, that I want to have a family so young. It's just the fact that he knew what hard work was and did it without complaining. He did something worthy of his time. Steve, my grandpa's nephew and probably the last real farmer in the family, usually comes every year and ploughs and plants corn and other veggies on my grandpa's land. I was watching him from the kitchen window as he was doing his work and was really wishing I knew how to do all of that. I mean, I get if you put a seed in the ground, it will grow (hopefully). But I guess I mean, I wish I knew when the best time to plant certain veggies is, when the soil is best, ect. off the top of my head. I feel like if I knew that, then I could carry on our family job, maybe make my grandpa proud, do something worthy and respectable, get my hands dirty, and feel good because I just did a hard day's work. Something organic and real.
Then this thinking brings me to think about the world if we had adapted Native American ways. The way they treated each other: repectfully, without greed. The things they cared about was family before anything. The way they repected the earth. Our climate, resources and future generations wouldn't be in so much trouble if we just lived simply, without so much complicated technology. I'm convinced that this technology is going to end us. Does this make any sense?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
I think I have issues...with food.
I'm craving vegetarian chili like nobody knows! When I was staying with Mel in Wollongong (or as Jennie has dubbed it Boringong) she made the most amazing vegetarian chili I have ever had. She used Moby's (yeah, the musician) recipe but has altered it to her liking. These past few days I've been going to different Barnes and Noble bookstores to see if they carry the cookbook that Moby and someone else published (I can't remember her name...sorry!). I found the book at the Mall of America yesterday and wrote the recipe down only to find out today that Jennie finally got her to give up her recipe over Facebook! I think we're going to try it out this weekend, hopefully. We also asked for Mel's curry recipe, which is also to die for, but she wouldn't give it up because it's her secret recipe. Sad face.
I've been trying to make better decisions on what I eat since I've come back from OZ, where I lost nearly 20lbs. I think I've gained much of it back. I'm facing the fact that I might possibly have an eating addiction because I find myself thinking about what I want to eat next an half an hour after I have already eaten. I eat when I'm not hungry. I eat when I'm bored. I don't eat when I'm truly sad, so I guess my eating is a good sign that I'm not severely depressed. Har, har. I've tried to start exercising more. I started to run a little bit, but I'm not consistent enough for it to actually benefit from it. Do I just not care enough about my body to get serious about my health? I like being curvy, but I need to develop healthy eating habits and exercise! I'm so adamant about my skin care, and my hair care, and even other's health before mine? What's going on?
I'm starting to eat less crap in my main meals, though. My lovely grandmother has stocked me up on meatless burgers, soy chicken patties (which are really tasty, don't judge!), and such. I love my Gran. It's really meant a lot that she's done that but sometimes she still doesn't grasp the fact that I'm not eating meat. Or poultry. Or seafood. One day she asked me if I wanted Tator-tot hot dish. "There's no chicken in it, just ground beef," she says. Uhm, no, thank you Granny. One other time she asked me if I wanted to have some turkey. That would also be no. And not only because I'm a full-on vegetarian now, but because we have 5 or 6 wild turkeys that live in our neighborhood that I have grown to love!
More on this later.
I've been trying to make better decisions on what I eat since I've come back from OZ, where I lost nearly 20lbs. I think I've gained much of it back. I'm facing the fact that I might possibly have an eating addiction because I find myself thinking about what I want to eat next an half an hour after I have already eaten. I eat when I'm not hungry. I eat when I'm bored. I don't eat when I'm truly sad, so I guess my eating is a good sign that I'm not severely depressed. Har, har. I've tried to start exercising more. I started to run a little bit, but I'm not consistent enough for it to actually benefit from it. Do I just not care enough about my body to get serious about my health? I like being curvy, but I need to develop healthy eating habits and exercise! I'm so adamant about my skin care, and my hair care, and even other's health before mine? What's going on?
I'm starting to eat less crap in my main meals, though. My lovely grandmother has stocked me up on meatless burgers, soy chicken patties (which are really tasty, don't judge!), and such. I love my Gran. It's really meant a lot that she's done that but sometimes she still doesn't grasp the fact that I'm not eating meat. Or poultry. Or seafood. One day she asked me if I wanted Tator-tot hot dish. "There's no chicken in it, just ground beef," she says. Uhm, no, thank you Granny. One other time she asked me if I wanted to have some turkey. That would also be no. And not only because I'm a full-on vegetarian now, but because we have 5 or 6 wild turkeys that live in our neighborhood that I have grown to love!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Back Home
Finally got home on the 16th of March (two months ago already!) and it feels so great. I'm not going to fall back into that routine which usually leads to feeling like I was stuck in a rut. I work at it everyday and everyday it's struggle. But I have a plan for the next phase of my life, and that's a first.
The flight from Sydney to L.A. went by quickly. I took a handful of Dramamine before I got on the plane and watched about 5 movies while we were flying. I would recommend flying Virgin and if I can, I'm probably going to try to fly with Virgin on future trips. They were so friendly, polite, clean, and..well, pretty. Jenn and I prepared ourselves for our 7 1/2 hour layover at LAX and bought an all day pass for the wireless were we tried to catch up on all the LOST we missed, but by the 3rd episode, we really couldn't stay focused.
The time came when we were supposed to board our Delta flight back to Minnesota. I hate flying domestic, especially with Delta. It was so chaotic. Our flight didn't take off until 3:30 in the morning, 6 hours after our original flight time. The plane's wing had a broken part on it so they told us they were trying to find out if there was a new part to replace it, locally. Of course there wasn't. They then directed us to another gate to get onto a new, unbroken plane that was about 40 seats smaller than the first. It took another hour or so of the Delta people asking if there was anyone who could delay going home tonight. They put those people up in hotels for two nights and gave them food vouchers. If Jenn and I hadn't just spent 15 hours on a plane, 13 hours in an airport and actually had had some sleep, we probably would have taken them up on the offer! I'd always wanted to see L.A. but at that point I just wanted to get home. We were so close!
After figuring out who would stay behind, they had to redistribute new tickets. That was hell. No one knew what they were doing, including the Delta employees. Jenn and I finally got our new tickets and got on the plane. We had to wait for another hour for the flight attendants to get on the same page and for the rest of the passengers to sit down. FINALLY, we took off at about 3:30! I was so cold on the flight because I was sitting by the window. That was the first time on all of my flights that I have gotten a seat by the window and it wasn't that bad. I thought for sure I'd get sick as usual, but I was fine.
Off the plane in Minnesota, Jenn and I thought that our mom, who was the lucky one to pick us up, would have bombarded us. But surprisingly: nothing. We got our baggage and headed out the door and there was our mom, sitting in her truck. She didn't see us come out so I went and pounded on her window and scared the crap out of her. It was great fun.
After 24 hours + of no sleep, I surprisingly got my 2nd wind and agreed to drive to Wisconsin with my mom to surprise my older sister, who was visiting with my nephews, for her birthday. We told her we weren't coming back home for another month. We first saw our 3 year old nephew and as soon as he saw us he said "Oh my gosh!" That was the longest, and tightest hug I've gotten from him! After quietly kissing and hugging our nephews, my sister was called upstairs. We screamed Happy Birthday as soon as we saw her and gave her huge hugs. It's funny when you can literally see someone try to register something on their face, and that's exactly what Kassie was doing as soon as she saw us. Jenn and I had a bet going on. I bet that she would get her red blotches and cry and Jennie bet that she would just be like "whatever." She was really happy to see us but to my disappointment, no tears! Blast!
Like I said before, we've been home for 2 months and all the while I've been trying to find a job! I'm so poor, I could cry, and have! I even reapplied to Cub. Yeah.. that desperate. I'm so exhausted at applying, interviewing and not getting anything. Well, I did get a job at Stride Rite but I had to leave.... That's a different story that maybe I'll talk about later. Please hire me somebody! And unfortunately I've had to ask my dad (of all the stinkin' people) to help me out with bills. I have always been so proud of the fact that I've never had to borrow money of others, that I was always the one helping people out. It's really hard to ask. I hate this position I'm in right now but I am trying to find a new job. Tomorrow I think I'm going to call about newspaper deliveries. Not the ideal work, but it's good money. And I don't really mind having to get up that early as long as I can go back to bed!
Later, amigos.
The flight from Sydney to L.A. went by quickly. I took a handful of Dramamine before I got on the plane and watched about 5 movies while we were flying. I would recommend flying Virgin and if I can, I'm probably going to try to fly with Virgin on future trips. They were so friendly, polite, clean, and..well, pretty. Jenn and I prepared ourselves for our 7 1/2 hour layover at LAX and bought an all day pass for the wireless were we tried to catch up on all the LOST we missed, but by the 3rd episode, we really couldn't stay focused.
The time came when we were supposed to board our Delta flight back to Minnesota. I hate flying domestic, especially with Delta. It was so chaotic. Our flight didn't take off until 3:30 in the morning, 6 hours after our original flight time. The plane's wing had a broken part on it so they told us they were trying to find out if there was a new part to replace it, locally. Of course there wasn't. They then directed us to another gate to get onto a new, unbroken plane that was about 40 seats smaller than the first. It took another hour or so of the Delta people asking if there was anyone who could delay going home tonight. They put those people up in hotels for two nights and gave them food vouchers. If Jenn and I hadn't just spent 15 hours on a plane, 13 hours in an airport and actually had had some sleep, we probably would have taken them up on the offer! I'd always wanted to see L.A. but at that point I just wanted to get home. We were so close!
After figuring out who would stay behind, they had to redistribute new tickets. That was hell. No one knew what they were doing, including the Delta employees. Jenn and I finally got our new tickets and got on the plane. We had to wait for another hour for the flight attendants to get on the same page and for the rest of the passengers to sit down. FINALLY, we took off at about 3:30! I was so cold on the flight because I was sitting by the window. That was the first time on all of my flights that I have gotten a seat by the window and it wasn't that bad. I thought for sure I'd get sick as usual, but I was fine.
Off the plane in Minnesota, Jenn and I thought that our mom, who was the lucky one to pick us up, would have bombarded us. But surprisingly: nothing. We got our baggage and headed out the door and there was our mom, sitting in her truck. She didn't see us come out so I went and pounded on her window and scared the crap out of her. It was great fun.
After 24 hours + of no sleep, I surprisingly got my 2nd wind and agreed to drive to Wisconsin with my mom to surprise my older sister, who was visiting with my nephews, for her birthday. We told her we weren't coming back home for another month. We first saw our 3 year old nephew and as soon as he saw us he said "Oh my gosh!" That was the longest, and tightest hug I've gotten from him! After quietly kissing and hugging our nephews, my sister was called upstairs. We screamed Happy Birthday as soon as we saw her and gave her huge hugs. It's funny when you can literally see someone try to register something on their face, and that's exactly what Kassie was doing as soon as she saw us. Jenn and I had a bet going on. I bet that she would get her red blotches and cry and Jennie bet that she would just be like "whatever." She was really happy to see us but to my disappointment, no tears! Blast!
Like I said before, we've been home for 2 months and all the while I've been trying to find a job! I'm so poor, I could cry, and have! I even reapplied to Cub. Yeah.. that desperate. I'm so exhausted at applying, interviewing and not getting anything. Well, I did get a job at Stride Rite but I had to leave.... That's a different story that maybe I'll talk about later. Please hire me somebody! And unfortunately I've had to ask my dad (of all the stinkin' people) to help me out with bills. I have always been so proud of the fact that I've never had to borrow money of others, that I was always the one helping people out. It's really hard to ask. I hate this position I'm in right now but I am trying to find a new job. Tomorrow I think I'm going to call about newspaper deliveries. Not the ideal work, but it's good money. And I don't really mind having to get up that early as long as I can go back to bed!
Later, amigos.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Uhhh
Jenn and I are sitting on a stinky couch in Wollongong, Australia, watching a movie in our hostel lobby. There is another young man watching, whom, apparently, thinks it's okay to put his hand down his pants and have a feel. Excuse me, I don't want to see that.
So it has been a while since I've updated. I don't think I'll go into detail right now, but we have seen a lot. We've worked our way up from Wollongong to Agnes Water along the east coast here in Australia. Even though I'm quite sick of hostel life, we have met some really great people from all over the world. And have some pretty funny stories to tell from our experiences.
We made it all the way up to Agnes Water- Town of 1770 and then had to come back down to Wollongong to stay with Mel, with a stop in Brisbane, which I think is my favourite city so far, until we got our tax refunds. Our plan now is to go back up to Cairns, which is way, way up there, and dive in the Great Barrier Reef. And then come home. With a little bit of money. Jenn and I have been talking about finding our own place to live since we got to Australia, which is a little odd. My plan when I get home is to go back to school for my esthitician license, and find a nice, comfy spa job.
Mel has been really great. She has made it really easy and has helped us out so much. I'm so gratefull. I can't wait until she and Tom come to the U.S. and gets to stay with us (hopefully in our own place!).
That's all for now. I think when I finally get home I can go into detail about our trip here. It's hard finding wi-fi and when you do, it costs a lot of money.
Oh, yeah... Amanda should be having her Noah any day now and I'm so excited for her!! I'm going to find something real Australian to send to the baby!
Later
So it has been a while since I've updated. I don't think I'll go into detail right now, but we have seen a lot. We've worked our way up from Wollongong to Agnes Water along the east coast here in Australia. Even though I'm quite sick of hostel life, we have met some really great people from all over the world. And have some pretty funny stories to tell from our experiences.
We made it all the way up to Agnes Water- Town of 1770 and then had to come back down to Wollongong to stay with Mel, with a stop in Brisbane, which I think is my favourite city so far, until we got our tax refunds. Our plan now is to go back up to Cairns, which is way, way up there, and dive in the Great Barrier Reef. And then come home. With a little bit of money. Jenn and I have been talking about finding our own place to live since we got to Australia, which is a little odd. My plan when I get home is to go back to school for my esthitician license, and find a nice, comfy spa job.
Mel has been really great. She has made it really easy and has helped us out so much. I'm so gratefull. I can't wait until she and Tom come to the U.S. and gets to stay with us (hopefully in our own place!).
That's all for now. I think when I finally get home I can go into detail about our trip here. It's hard finding wi-fi and when you do, it costs a lot of money.
Oh, yeah... Amanda should be having her Noah any day now and I'm so excited for her!! I'm going to find something real Australian to send to the baby!
Later
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Lazy
Just wanted to write and apologize to those who read my blog, the two of you. I've been so lazy about blogging lately. I'm either out walking all over Australia all day and too tired to update it when I get home or I think I have absolutely nothing interesting to say to anyone ever. I'm not too clever and my sense of humour really doesn't come off in a blog. But I'll update it soon. I promise!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Australia so far...
I really need to update this blog. I haven't in awhile so I have a lot to say but I don't think I'll get to that today.
I've been in Australia for a week already and I really fucking miss my dad. It's so strange. When I was in Europe for a month and someone asked me if I missed anyone, I could've honestly said "hell, no!" But here I feel so homesick. And I know it's because I've never been this far away from my friends and family. Australia is fantastic and I know I'm lucky to be able to travel but I feel like it's not meshing as well as I thought it would. Don't get me wrong, I love this country so far, it's beautiful and the people are so nice but it doesn't feel quite right.
I'm probably jumping the gun being the homebody and worrier that I am. I'm going to give this experience a chance. I just really miss my dad.
I've been in Australia for a week already and I really fucking miss my dad. It's so strange. When I was in Europe for a month and someone asked me if I missed anyone, I could've honestly said "hell, no!" But here I feel so homesick. And I know it's because I've never been this far away from my friends and family. Australia is fantastic and I know I'm lucky to be able to travel but I feel like it's not meshing as well as I thought it would. Don't get me wrong, I love this country so far, it's beautiful and the people are so nice but it doesn't feel quite right.
I'm probably jumping the gun being the homebody and worrier that I am. I'm going to give this experience a chance. I just really miss my dad.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
An era has ended
Today was my last day of work. I did good until I was leaving and saying goodbye to people. And then I started to bawl. I cried on my way to my sister's house too. I absolutely hated that job but I'll miss so many people. I also got a beautiful bouquet of long-stem roses and a box of chocolates from Vera. I wonder what it says on the box because it's all in Russian. I also got lilies from Margie, a card from Ted and the gang in the bakery and a "We'll Miss You Balloon." And tons of hugs. I still have the urge to cry my eyeballs out. I've never quit a job before so it's all new to me. Especially since I've worked there with the same people for as long as I have.
An era has ended. Time for something new.
An era has ended. Time for something new.
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