I miss Tanzania

As my final semester in college comes to an end, I am trying to decide what is next for me. I want to do PR for non-profits, I want to join the Peace Corps, I want to continue to personal train, I want to travel, I want to teach English in Korea, I want to do A MILLION THINGS!! The issue here is: I don't know what to do first.

I am trying to be as open as possible because, not only is the job market scary right now, but any work experience will be valuable to me at this point in time. Whether I end up in sales, actually getting to do something in PR, or even just working as a receptionist, I would be gaining and improving upon skills that will help me in the future and it would also be nice just to have ONE schedule for once in my life! I have had a job since I was 13! I'm not kidding. I worked every weekend at a cheerleading gym from ages 13-15 and then worked at Loco's Deli and Pub, Mellow Mushroom, Real Estate International, Red Bull, and now, Ladies Workout Express. Balancing a job and school and even, for a while, an internship on top of that, has been exhausting and I would love to go to work, come home and be done! No homework or leaving from one job to the next!

But all of this planning for the future makes me wonder when I am going to get to go back to Africa. I miss Tanzania so much! I miss the friendships I made there, I miss the culture, and the beautiful untouched scenery. If I could have it my way, I would be teaching AIDS education in Tanzania right now, but I do not feel ready to sign up for the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps is a 2 year and 3 month commitment and I just can't leave my friends and family for that long right now.

Hmm. SO much to think about, but I know I will find my way. I always have : )

But, I have to point out that the little girl right next to me in that picture above, Aleluna, is brilliant. When I met her last summer, she was reading and writing and tried to learn as much English as she could but she could not afford to go to school. That is just not right, and, all I know, is ultimately, I want to make it my life's work to make sure more girls like her, are never denied the opportunity to learn. And I will make it happen, I just hope I can start on that journey sooner rather than later!

HalloVEEN! Muah ahahahahahah!

I LOVE Halloween. I love dressing up, scary movies, haunted houses, and eating obscene amounts of candy, and nothing is better than getting into holidays like we did when you we were kids. Last night Darius, Diana, Brian, Kari, and I went to Creepers Haunted House and it was AWESOME! It was SO scary!! We had to go through swamps, graveyards, cross over rickety bridges, and walk through pitch black hallways while people came behind us and whispered or growled into our ears! And, one thing is for sure, those people can smell fear, because I was picked on the entire time!!!

I love being scared, which is great, because it is an incredibly easy emotion for me to achieve. I could barely sit through "I am Legend"!! I had a coat over my head almost the entire time and watched most of the movie from in between the buttons of my coat... and it wasn't even THAT scary! I think I embarrassed Darius with how easily I jumped up and gasped throughout the movie- haha! Well, last night was no exception. I walked through the entire haunted house with my head tucked in like a turtle, shuffling my feet at a grandma's pace, and keeping my arms pulled in tightly ready to tuck and roll at any given moment. The staff kept telling us not to run, but it was impossible not to! When people are chasing you with chainsaws and sniffing your neck in a dark room, it is hard to walk slowly and keep calm!

Admission was $20 but it was totally worth it! It got all of us into the Halloween spirit and we are all DEFINITELY scared! Actually, before we went, Darius and I were talking about how awkward it would be if we weren't scared. Would we fake it because we didn't want the employees to feel bad? I had no idea, but, luckily, our screams were 100% authentic. So, if you are looking to get into a Halloweeny mood, check out Creepers! http://www.creepershauntedhouse.com/

But let me tell you what I do not like about Halloween: Pointless "sexy" costumes. Like, costumes that should NOT be sexy... like these.

A sexy... bee? Um, ok...





This looks nothing like an actual ladybug...





At least this one gets points for creativity.





But there is just no excuse for THIS- What the hell IS this??






So basically, that's how I feel about "sexy" costumes for Halloween. 99% of them are dumb. The end.

Happy Almost Halloween!

Procrastination at its Finest

Last night I had to make a study guide, read three chapters, clean my room, and do laundry... Instead, Diana and I spent 3 hours watching John and Kate Plus Eight and taking ridiculous pictures in our Halloween wigs. Wow. What is wrong with us? Ha ha! Well, I'll take any opportunity to avoid homework... obiviously!

It's a Dawg Eat Dawg World...

Well, I just arrived back home from Athens a few minutes ago and, I don't care what anyone says, Downtown Athens at night is MUCH scarier than Downtown Atlanta! I've never been around so many drunk, angry people! Luckily it was just about as much hilarious as it was scary! At one point, I heard two people, only seconds apart in completely separate groups say "I heard your were talking shit!" in their drunken voices. I also saw a girl wearing the remains of what was once a very cute dress, run into a wall while saying, "Oh my God! This is the best night ever!".

Actually, it is just really fun, in any city, to only catch small parts of people's conversations. On Friday night, Diana and I went to go rent a movie from Videodrome and I overheard this guy say, "I mean, I went to Montreal, and it's not THAT French." Haha. So, just in case you enjoy eavesdropping into random conversations as much as I do, you can check out www.overheardinathens.com. No matter how crazy the quote is, it is still probably real!

But, let me tell you, it is so good to be home in the safe, comfort that is the EAV!

Relaxation

I love rainy days. It always seems like the world slows down and you can feel good about sleeping late and spending the day watching TV, listening to music, and just doing a lot of nothing. I never feel pressured to do anything on rainy days. I really needed a day like this today. So far I have spent the day sleeping, running errands, catching up on the news, and spending time with my dog... and I do not anticipate doing much more than that until tomorrow.

As graduation approaches, my life is flashing before my eyes, and I am becoming more and more conscious of how fast life can pass us by. Any moment I can have were I can stop, breathe, and relax is appreciated : )

"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
Gandhi

Hmmm...

OK, so the world is really F'd up. No, this is not the first time I've noticed, but it wasn't until Darius and I had a random conversation relating the government to the TV show "Survivor" that I realized that the world is not only F'd up, it annoyingly shitty and selfish. Haha- great description, I know.

As we were talking about relationships between countries and the concept of "Allies", I started to think how similarly cut-throat "Survivor" and the political relationships of the world are. They are similar in that, no countries really care about the success of other counties for unselfish reasons. It is all in an effort not to "lose". I also thought it was weird that, just like in the show, groups of allies aim to destroy or conquer other groups of allies. And while they primarily hope to defeat their enemies, they also hope to achieve superiority over their own allies in time and eventually "win" or increase their power.

Just a silly observation, but I did find it interesting and depressing that the world's politics are not all that different from a crappy reality TV show.

In other news, I am not currently a fan of school right now either. Not that I am ever really crazy about school, but I am one of those "front-row" people who participates and actually really enjoys learning. What separates this semester from the rest is, not only is it my last and I am generally feeling burnt out, but because I am a Journalism major, I have a required minor that adds an extra semester to my degree. It is killing me to know I could be done right now if I belonged to almost any other major! I am spending hours upon hours writing papers and doing projects about hotel management, hospitality quality, and hospitality law... none of which have anything to do with my future aspirations... Well, I guess it is better than facing the depressing job market right now...

On an exciting note, I have to promote the idea and practice of the "relationship vacation" that Darius and I invented! As two fiercely independent people in a three and a half year relationship, we were both beginning to miss our days of abundant "alone time" and decided to take a week apart without phone calls. We just wanted to spend that time with our friends and just doing whatever we wanted. Ever since we took that small time apart, everything feels like it did the first few months we were together! We realized that we were putting too much emphasis on togetherness for our young ages, and needed to take a step back and enjoy each other as something special and separate from ourselves and our individual lives.

This discovery of separate togetherness has completely changed the way I look at relationships... they no longer seem scary or unrealistic, they just become a positive addition to my life. Not something that defines me, just something that makes me happy and inspires me to be better. It is so cool to be with someone who thinks "out-of-the-box" when it comes to relationships. I feel really lucky. Talking through this and coming up with a plan that actually worked had made us both smarter and appreciate each other so much more. I hope that any of you in relationships reading this will remember that, no matter how much you love someone, you should never lose all of yourself in your significant other. In fact, the more of you you keep, the stronger the relationship will probably be : )

M.I.A. is Preggers!

Do they make neon baby clothes?




Check out this video if you wanna see her performing with her belly! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4867x08MNbY