Not the Place

Radio... er, internet silence for a couple months. My bad. But also, I don't feel bad because everyone has their own intricate life webs with which to deal. My personal life web has been just going to work. As it has been for a while. Although I did go to New York in August, except Dustin wasn't able to come and I ended up flying home early because I couldn't deal with the situation of the vacation anymore. And no, it wasn't because my husband wasn't there.

Dustin did get a new job though! That was actually the reason he wasn't able to go to New York with me. The blessings of the job, however, were more than worth it to miss the trip. Full time, benefits, higher pay, and a regular schedule has made it so I actually see Dustin more than an hour or two each day. More time spent together is definitely great.

We've had four appliances break in the past couple of weeks. Our t.v., microwave, rice cooker, and our electric skillet. We replaced the t.v. first, which I guess says something about our priorities? But to be fair, the t.v. happened first. The obnoxious thing is that none of them should've broken. But alas, an oven and stove top work just fine.


The other night I was a little frustrated and sad. About which I don't feel like telling you, only because in writing it will sound super pathetic. Just trust me when I say Dustin let me cry on him for a bit. And as I cried out my frustration, the thought was spoken that sometimes I feel like Utah is not the right place for me. Well, let me clarify-- I never truly felt like Utah was the right place for me, but sometimes I feel that much more strongly. Sure, it's a great place with many beautiful places, but I've never felt like it was my true home. The only reason Dustin ended up in Utah was for his meat cutting school, and before we met his plan was to move away after he was finished. Obviously that changed.

I'm okay living here now. I absolutely love my job, and the thing that keeps me from upping and leaving is definitely all my friends. When I think about the long run, though, I long to be elsewhere. Not to run away, but to find the place that is truly my home. Dustin and I have talked about moving to a number of places: Alaska, Washington, Canada, Iceland... all places we would both love (coincidentally, all coldish places). Personally, I'd love Canada only because I'd love to be the American version of a Canadian-- wearing knit sweaters with giant maple leaves on them and leggings with hockey sticks, and I would celebrate Canada Day with too far too much enthusiasm. Dustin would wear a Bruins shirt and meet some of his Canadian metal bands. And Iceland? It's freaking Iceland. I'm obsessed with that place.

Interstellar was filmed in Iceland. Gorgeous!

Iceland again.

And again.

Sometimes when I think about moving it frightens me because it would be venturing into the unknown. But it would be Dustin and I, moving together to a new adventure. And we both love adventures!

I don't hate Utah, in fact I quite love many things about it. I've just never felt truly at home here.

I'm Going to Hogwarts!

Yesterday morning I woke up to a "happy birthday!" from my husband. Then he said, "Did you hear me get up this morning?" My just-awakened brain tried to recall if I had woken up in the night to Dustin getting up at all. 

Dustin: "So I woke up at like 6:30 am to this tapping noise. It freaked me out at first, but then I figured out what it was."
Me: "What was it?"

Dustin: "An owl!"

Me: "An... owl?? For reals?"

Dustin: "Yeah! It was tapping on our bedroom window and had something in its beak. Look!" He proceeded to hand me a letter wrapped in twine. 

Oh ho! What is this?

They know where I sleep?!

What's this? A Hogwarts seal??

Hmm, there are some letters inside.

I GOT ACCEPTED INTO HOGWARTS??!??!!?!

... AND IT'S SIGNED BY McGONAGALL??!

But wait... there's another letter. It's a personal letter from the Albus Dumbledore explaining why I didn't get my acceptance letter years and years ago. Those Weasley twins...

 I'm pretty sure it's written in magical purple ink.

BUT WAIT!

My... my... my ticket to Platform 9 3/4!!!

Dustin keeps telling me that we really need to find an owlery to respond by July 31st. I totally agree-- we've already worked out some details of how to go about being at Hogwarts as a 24-year-old married woman (Dustin's solution: youth potion).

Happy birthday to me!

Ah yisssss I'm going to Hogwarts!

It's Starting to Feel Like Summer

Dustin and I have opposite schedules a lot of the time, so with my four day weekend and his shorter shifts, we took advantage and went out and did stuff. Now it's starting to feel like summer!


Last weekend our wonderful friends Shane and Shelly came into town to hang out. We decided to play Dungeons & Dragons, which Shelly and I had never played before and it was Shane's first time being a Dungeon Master. Dustin, being Dustin, has played D&D for quite some time. We spent a good part of the game heckling the Dungeon Master, but when we got serious about it things got really fun. I don't even care if you make fun of me. It was great. Dustin and I both have D&D withdrawals now.


Monday my boss and coworkers wanted to go on a hike up Crimson Trail. I have been dying to hike there but for some reason have never been able to find the trail head. Dustin and I stocked up on apples, granola bars, and plenty of water, and we all headed up to the trail.

We started hiking. It was 100 degrees. ONE HUNDRED DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. I've been on much more physically challenging trails, but this hike took the most mental power of them all. I thought I was going to puke almost the whole way up, and I could only go about 20 feet at a time without stopping. I'm not that out of shape, but the heat made me want to just fling myself off the trail and roll down the mountain toward the river. To make it even worse, it was humid. However, with everyone encouraging everyone else, we made it. Dustin had long since gotten ahead of the rest of us, so he doesn't count in the encouraging group (hehe... oh). Once we got to the top, it was a beautiful and fun hike. I'm definitely going again, just never in the heat.

Thursday neither of us had to work in the morning so we went to Herm's for breakfast. If you forgot, Herm's is where we had our wedding dinner, so it was neat to go back (we hadn't been since our wedding). Then we just lounged about and relaxed, which was nice for a change.


Friday we went to the little zoo in Logan. The first time I went there I was super impressed (because I thought it was going to be much smaller), so I wanted to return with Dustin. Both of us really like owls, so we oogled at the Great Horned Owl for a while. Although Dustin kept shooting the peacocks side glares while saying, "I hate peacocks..." haha.


And of course on the Fourth of July Dustin had to work. But in the evening we went up to Lewiston and laid out near the rodeo grounds reading our books while waiting for fireworks. There was a bunch of people there, but surprisingly it wasn't too hard to manage getting in and out.


Now it feels like summer! I've got a couple more hikes planned, and I'm super hoping to go to a baseball game and swimming at one point, because those will just complete everything.

One Big Machine (What 'Hugo' Taught Me)

Hugo: "Everything has a purpose. Even machines. Clocks tell the time, and trains take you places. They do what they're meant to do. Maybe that's why broken machines make me so sad. They can't do what they're meant to do. Maybe it's the same with people-- if you lose your purpose, it's like you're broken."

Isabelle: "I wonder what my purpose is."

Hugo: "I don't know."
...
Hugo: "After my father died, I'd come up here a lot. I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured if the entire world was one big machine... I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too."

(from the movie Hugo, 2011)

One Year's Time

I got home from my mission one year ago from June 10th. It's absolutely ridiculous how fast times slips by and how much changes.  

The beginning of my mission:

The middle:

The end:

And some of the good stuff in between:

Unless you've been, you don't understand.

My mom, sister, and grandpa came and picked me up. We traveled around the East Coast a bit:

Then I came home and was released. The first thing I did was stay in my room (alone, for that matter) and went through all my clothes. I threw nearly all my clothes away (minus all my best graphic tees). I tried getting my old job back, but they were overstaffed and couldn't take me. It took me about five weeks, but I ended up getting a job at Chrysalis which has been probably one of the greatest things to happen to me.
I didn't go back to school. I got depression, but I had a coworker and friend, Cadence, who was a great support and a big help.

My friends were just as great-- nay, even better than when I left. Even all my friends who I didn't get to hang out with a lot absolutely helped with all my challenges. I could never have asked for better friends ever.

Then on Halloween I went up to Logan. I met a certain bearded man while I was dressed like this:

We started dating. I quickly formed plans to move back to Logan. The end of the year rolled around and I was out of my parents' house.

I started working in the day program at Chrysalis in Logan. I legally can't show you any photos of how awesome my clients are and how much fun we have, but trust me: I love it. 

Dustin and I got engaged on Valentine's day...

... and got married soon afterwards.

Now here I am! A year later from coming home from my mission. I know it's not the biggest event ever, but it's sure humbling to think of all the changes that have happened over the course of a year. At times I hated where my life was going, but hindsight is much clearer. I am definitely okay with where things have taken me.

Of course I think about my mission a lot, but new chapters are always something I look forward to. Serving a mission helped me learn principles for all aspects of life, and I've definitely seen them apply directly to life, especially at work. I do miss Jersey and PA a lot. Except for the hot humid days.

I still can't believe it's been a year.

Education

So, there was this awkward moment when I realized that for some reason I had accidentally disabled commenting on my blog. Obviously it wasn't a big deal since it's probably been a year or so since I noticed. Anyway, now you can comment if you want. Or don't. I'm just glad if you're still with me reading this!

I went to my little sister Mary's high school graduation last week. It's been six years since I graduated, so of course being at the ceremony brought back many memories. Some of the good memories were brought up as I was watching the orchestra play, especially the Lord of the Rings Symphony, which I remember loving to play that song. So yeah! Memories.



But I also had other feelings, too. Being jaded and bitter, for a start.


I went to Utah State University for three years. I was a chemistry major for two years then switched to art (hoping to pursue photography). Then I went on a mission. I came home from my mission last year and registered to go back to school in the fall. I was excited, albeit nervous since it had been three years from the last time I was in school.

Then it didn't work out. I worked and lived at home. It sucked at first, but it ended up leading me to Dustin, who I married. I definitely don't have any complaints about that.

And then this February I had to think about school yet again. I had accidentally been dropped as a student by USU, so I had to reapply. There were all sorts of weird issues with my application, mainly due to the fact that I applied to be an art major without submitting a portfolio (something I didn't think about at the time of filling out an admission form). I had to call a bunch of people and explain my story to every single one of them, and finally one of the guys actually helped me.

I went to register for classes and it didn't work out yet again. This time, however, I didn't really fight it. I had been debating for a while whether I actually wanted to go back to school, and when registration didn't work for me, I kind of didn't care anymore. It felt like everything was once again conspiring against me, so I didn't try to fight it. Maybe I should have.



So here I am: not going back to school for the fourth year in a row. USU doesn't do Associate's degrees (or at least they didn't when I started), so I have nothing to show for my three years as a student, except what's in my head. Don't get me wrong-- the experiences and friends I made (many of them lifelong friends) were all worth it. But I'm starting to think my education wasn't.

Dustin has had a similar experience with trying college and it not working out. He ended up getting a technical certificate to be a butcher, and it's something he really enjoys.



I have no idea what I want to do. I kind of let go of the idea of being a professional photographer a couple months ago. It's not something completely off the table, but in all honesty, I am probably not going to do it. That decision was a shitty one to make, even when done with the Spirit. Feeling like your only talent was a was of time and effort isn't exactly a pleasant experience.

I've had to think a lot about what I'm supposed to do as a career. I don't want to go back to college because the only thing I have to show for it is debt (besides the experiences and friends). I always held education in a high regard: both my parents are college graduates and I grew up expecting to do the same. The Prophet has counseled us to get a higher education. But sometimes it's not right for everyone. I used to think that getting a degree was the right thing for me. But now...



There's a great bright side to all of this: I absolutely love my job. I have yet to have a day where I feel like I'm going to work. My coworkers (in both the Provo and Logan locations) are my friends, and I feel incredibly fulfilled each day. Working with disabled individuals is so. freaking. fun. It's fantastic!



Really the only reason I think about school is because if we ever move and a job like mine isn't an option, I really don't have another route. I've looked into technical colleges, but nothing has caught my eye. And way down the road if we ever have kids, I want them to know that getting an education is a good thing-- something I would like to be a personal example of.

Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it to get a degree. Many people who graduate don't go into their fields at all.  I could go on about this for a while, but I recommend listening to a segment from NPR instead. It may be depressing at first, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole show: Millenials in Today's Work Force. (Seriously-- listen to it. IT APPLIES TO YOU.)


I am quite grateful for all the education I've received. I've seen people who never had a chance to go to school, and I recognize that it does make a big difference. So don't get me wrong, I am very grateful. I am trying to follow the guidance of the Spirit and do what Heavenly Father wants me to do. I just don't know how to feel about education anymore. Is there a school where I can just learn about cats all day??

Honeymoon: Santa Cruz

Dustin and I went to California for our honeymoon. I had never really been to California, because Disneyland simply doesn't count. His aunt owns a resort outside Santa Cruz, so we were able to stay there. Hidden up a winding road in a forested mountain area, our little lodge came complete with a kitchen and fire pit. And it was beautiful! There was a little pathway that led up to a garden dining area, and at night the area was lit up with hanging bulbs.

 Dustin and I didn't have any set plans, which let us decide each day where we wanted to go. One day we went on a seaside cliff walk and saw a whole bunch of seals down below. We even found a hidden alcove of beach and got to wander around a bit. Dustin and I are both big lovers of the sea (although he's 1000 x more intense about it than I am), so it was calming for both of us.

 

Since I've never been swimming on the west coast beach, we found a beach near Santa Cruz and went there. Since it was April, there were hardly any people there. On the dock we saw some people fishing, but at the end of the dock there was a massive decrepit ship in the water. It looked as if it were mad out of cement. When we actually did go swimming, it was most entertaining. Some of the waves were strong, so either I'd have to run away from them or Dustin would just hold on to me. Except one time he thought it would be funny to let a wave push me over while my back was turned. Haha, oh yes.

So fun story: as we got to the beach, we both joked that it would be so hilarious if a seagull stole one of our wedding rings. I remarked that better his than mine, since mine was my grandma's. Well, later on in the day, we moved our stuff because flies were swarming us (turns out there was a dead bird carcass we both didn't see right by our towels). Dustin realized then that his ring was gone. We looked and looked. He had taken it off to go swimming (I know because I saw him) and put it in his hat. His hat was empty. We rifled through everything. Everything. I even dumped out our bag of Dorito's and sifted through them.

The more we couldn't find the ring, the more we were certain that a seagull actually took it. I'm dead serious. Every time a bird came near us we would glare and swear at it. 

We never did find Dustin's ring. But we found a plastic elk toy in the sand.

I'm bad at beach selfies.

 Because Dustin had excitedly told me a while ago how much he loved the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we ended up going there. It was a gorgeous, warm day, and the aquarium was awesome. I stared at a massive tank filled with a hammerhead sharks, giant tunas, and other fish for probably 25 minutes. We even watched a special presentation on Great White sharks. Those things are bad ass. 

This vacation was the most relaxed one I've ever had. Plus, I navigated while Dustin drove, and we never got lost! *High fives self* Vacationing with my favorite person was definitely a great idea. I highly recommend it.

The Dinner

I don't know how to say this without sounding mean, but I don't like typical LDS weddings. Sorry, I just don't. As I was planning for our wedding, I found it hard to care about things that didn't make sense to me, like wedding cakes, receptions, decorations, and the such. So if we didn't want it, we didn't do it! And that's why I loved my wedding so much. Because it was awesomely simple.

After the ceremony and pictures, we had a lovely dinner at Herm's Inn in Logan. If you've never been there, let me just tell you that it is quaint, simple, and just the right amount of classy. Also, the food is delicious! (Also, the catering manager at Herm's reminded Dustin of the Dean from Community, which was quite the compliment!)

When everyone was done with dinner, Dustin and I had some time to walk around and chat with people. That was probably one of my favorite parts, because I had the time to talk to some of the people I love the most! Then my beautifully amazing Petey started up a round of toasts, of which some made me almost cry.

It was a beautiful day, and I am glad everything went the way it did. Because at the end of the day, I was quite happy.

*Happy sigh*

Ah, Shane's toast.