Lesson #12 - Heartburn

I have been having some insane heartburn lately. It’s extremely uncomfortable.

I made it to Austin last night and have been weirded out since my mom picked me up from the airport. Even she says it seems surreal that I am here. She also said she is trying to not get too excited in case I actually don’t move here. I wonder what other proof she needs that I am here?

It was sad flying out of Portland yesterday. The sky was clear so I was able to see the many mountains the northwest boasts. I even got to see my Seattle mountain, Mount Rainier, which was refreshing and so appropriate.

On the plane I passed the hours playing the addicting game of Bejeweled and listening to a little City and Colour. Which might not have been the best musical selection because it might have started bringing tears to my eyes. It gave me an I-am-sad-I-am-leaving-the-Northwest-and-I-don’t-want-to-start-crying lump. Although that could have been the heartburn. It’s hard to say.

Well I am here in Texas. A little shell-shocked, a little culture-shocked, and a little curious about what is going to happen next.

Lesson #11 - Rollercoaster

It’s official. I am moving back to Austin.

I am excited and nervous and happy and sad and ready and scared. All at once.

My family couldn’t be anymore ecstatic, my boyfriend couldn’t be anymore cautious. And I am somewhere in the middle. Maybe a little more on the cautious side mixed with lots of anxiousness and uncertainty as to what to expect.

I haven’t lived in Texas in over 3 years and haven’t been to visit in over 1 year. I know in those 3 years I have attempted to share my love of Texas with my fellow northwesterners but I know I have changed. I am probably a little more liberal, a little more into recycling, and a lot more into hot drinks. Will I get annoyed with the intense conservatism? What will I do with all my composting and plastic bottles? And will I still want to drink hot drinks when it’s breaking 100 degrees outside? These are very pressing questions, people!

In all my crazy anxiousness driving home last night from my boyfriend’s house, a sense of security fell over me. And not security that I would be moving home to the familiar, because in all reality it is far from familiar. The security that Jesus has me strapped in.

You know how everyone always compares life to a rollercoaster and all its ups and downs? And we think it’s going to be okay, because we know rollercoasters are fun. But they are only fun because we trust and have security that the seatbelts we are wearing are going to keep us safe on those ups and downs and sharp turns. If those seatbelts weren’t there, we wouldn’t have fun because fear that we could not hang on would play a huge role. And the fact is we probably couldn’t hang on.

But I am strapped in. And ready to have fun.

Lesson #10 – New Year’s Resolution, Part 2

Okay, so I have thought about it and realize there is nothing I feel would be beneficial to me if I tried to do something everyday. So I decided to make a list of things I really do want to accomplish over the course of this year. I figured if I write them down and post them on the web for everyone to see, that I would feel accountable to them and possibly reach those goals. Or at least start them.

Goals for 2010:

1. Lose 15 pounds (cliché, yes)
2. Find a job that is in my ‘career path’
3. Complete writing a screenplay
4. Get followers on a blog (more than just my boyfriend)
5. Dance more
6. Study my family history
7. Pay off all my debt

I think I need to have some sort of thing that will happen to me if I don’t give a good attempt at completing these goals. (Hmm, thinking, thinking, thinking…)

Got it! Shopping. If I don’t complete/give a serious effort in finishing these goals, then my 2011 resolution has to be no shopping for myself.

Now that is motivation.

Here is a toast to the start of this new decade!

Lesson #9 - New Year's Resolution

2010.

The start of a new year. The start of a new decade.

I am ready for a new year, I am ready for a new decade. And I am really hoping that the year does not feel like I have so far these past few hours of this day.

I do not recall sleeping last night. The sofa bed at the hotel where the night before they offered free booze just didn’t quite cut it. Neither did the all night yelling. Not that I am complaining, just still a little grumpy. So yes, let’s try and forget these first few hours of this year. Well, as soon as I catch up on my sleep…

Truly I am hoping that in 364 days from now I will be able to look upon 2010 and think how much I have accomplished this year. I will remember where I was today and all the flubs of 2009 and think, “wow a lot has changed and I couldn’t be more happy/relieved.”

My boyfriend has decided that his New Year’s resolution is going to be designing something everyday. That is a big feat, but I am sure he can do it and do it well. (It is his job anyway.) As for me, I can’t decide. I have thought about losing 20 pounds, writing a screenplay, paying off my debt, getting a new job, you know the usual. In reality I hope all of those happen. I like the discipline factor though that comes with doing something everyday. So I am still thinking exactly what that will be. My New Year’s resolution might just start a few days later. I will keep you posted.

As for now, over and out and I hope you have a very blessed new year.