The new and the familiar

I moved. Not just a few hundred miles away from the small town we lived in... but I moved more than 1,000 miles and 8 states away. It was unplanned, sudden, and very much welcomed.

I have wanted to move on from my job in the country since the Fall semester. I wasn't unhappy by any means. Well, maybe just a tad. Then May 1st came, my self-appointed and boss-appointed deadline to make the decision. No job offers or even job prospects. I submitted applications and searched for jobs every day. Nada. It was heartbreaking.

I knew that I was leaving on June 1 for summer break and I wanted to make a decision before I left. So, with nothing on the horizon, I decided to stick it out for another year. I spent the entire summer swallowing my pride, asking God's for guidance, and accepting the idea that I would be back for another year. I set things in place to make sure I continued to live a balanced life and to make sure I stayed sane.

Then, on July 11 I received a phone call. It from was from an employer who wanted to interview me. I had submitted my application the month before and didn't hear anything. He interviewed me that day, offered me the job less than 24-hours later, and I accepted on Friday the 13th. Oh, and I quit my current job that same day. I flew out to Virginia to train on the 16th. A complete and utter whirlwind.

It's funny how my friends and family were not at all surprised by the suddenness of the decision and the move. It's how I've always lived my adult life: move somewhere you've never been and face a challenge head on.

What I didn't expect was how I would react to the changes. It has only been 3 weeks and so much has already happened. I wouldn't trade this homelessness, realization-that-I-don't-know-anything-at-all, and anxiety for all the comfort in the world. It's new and it's exciting.

BUT...there's always that little part of me that yearns for something familiar. That's normal, I'm sure. I don't seek normal. As a matter of fact, I usually run from it. Every once in a while, I do welcome it unknowingly. Only later do I realize how much I needed that.

There were two 'familiars' that appeared in my life this weekend: Church and Starbucks.

Church is home. It's been a constant in this world for 2000+ years and it's been a constant in my life. No matter where I go in this world, I know that I can always count on the constancy and beauty of the Catholic church. The liturgy, the prayers, the hymns, and the wonderful smell of incense. It's the very home that Jesus Christ established on this earthly world.
Then, having absolutely no desire to go back to where I'm currently staying and not having any friends yet, I decided to go to Starbucks late Saturday afternoon...to blog, which I never did. But Starbucks is a very familiar part of my life. So many great conversations and so many great memories happened at Starbucks. I also know that wherever I am in the country or the world (I've been to a couple in the Philippines), I always know that the cup of latte that I have in my hand is good. If it isn't, I can ask them to remake it for me.

I was surprised by how much I welcomed the familiarity these places brought to me. Maybe I needed it after such a hectic three weeks. I know that in time, this town and all it's quirks will become familiar to me...in the meantime, I always have the Eucharist...and Starbucks.

Heat Waves and Moving Days

The temps are exceeding the 100s and the air conditioners are working hard, summer is in full swing. While the dog days of July sends most people to the pool worshiping the sun god and enjoying some free time, my summer has been a whirlwind of transitions I've been desperately trying to keep up with. 

For starters I’ve begun school again. That’s right just two short months after my farewell to Sallie Mae fate would have it that I would continue my education and my on-again off-again relationship with Sallie is back on. This time in pursuit of a graduate degree in education, complete with certification in English. While teaching English has never been the dream “the man” insists that if I want to impart theological wisdom into the minds of youngsters I must be certified or working toward certification, so graduate school it is.

If the pursuit of a career in education weren’t enough to get used to, God has continued His flood of blessings upon me with a new job. Starting this fall I will be teaching seventh and eighth grade religion. Yay! I can’t even begin to describe the building nerves, anxiety and simulataneous excitement about this.

But wait that’s not all….since I don’t plan on communting everyday from tiny town Kansas, this new job required has required a new residence. So about a week ago I packed it all up and moved back Kansas City. Not only am I thrilled to be in an actual city again with all its amenities and conveniences (small town life just wasn’t for me), I am also closer to my boyfriend which is a plus.

We have gone from doing the long distance thing; living an hour away and seeing each other on the weekends to dwelling mere blocks from each other. Yes, I said blocks. While this has been an exciting time for us, it has taken some adjustment on both our parts…more on that in a future post.

All in all, it’s been a busy summer for me. While I am excited about all the wonderful things happening, it’s been a lot to keep up with. Still I suppose it’s all just part of the journey. Life is full of transitions and just when you start to get comfortable with one thing or another; it throws you a curve ball. I’m convinced this is God’s form of personal entertainment, His beautiful way of keeping things exciting and all of us a little more humble. I am so blessed.
                                      
                                                                                                                           -Nicole

Summer Bucket List

The sun is shining and the AC is running…summer is here. Anyone who works in education, like myself, knows that this is the most wonderful and anticipated time of the year. Three months of freedom, yet it passes ohh so quickly. So, the question naturally arises, how can I make the most of my summer? Since I live near Kansas City I’ve come up with KC bucket list for the summer. So here goes….

1.       Go to new Aquarium

2.       Visit Lego Land

3.       Liberty Memorial Museum

4.       Picnic in Loose Park

5.       Nelson – Atkins Art Museum

6.       Titanic Exhibit at Union Station

7.       Hone in on my country dancing skills…if you’ve seen me dance you know

8.       Power and Light Free Summer Concerts

9.       Jazz Museum

10.   Go Skydiving

11.   O’Malley’s Pub night…not in KC, but Weston is close enough

12.   Tour Hallmark

13.   Royals game

14.   KC Sporting game

15.   See a drive-in movie

16.   Worlds / Oceans of Fun

17.   First Fridays

18.   Visit KC Zoo

19.   Miniature Toy Museum

20.   Road trip to somewhere

21.   Science City

22.   Buy some furniture at Good JuJu

23.   Go to top of Power and Light building

24.   Volunteer somewhere

25.   Schlitterbahn

There it is. They may not all get done this summer, but it’s something to shoot for. I’ll keep you posted on my adventures. I am so blessed.

                                                                                                                                - Nicole

Better After

I am in charge of 5 student workers. They all share an office, which is a pretty popular hang out spot. The storage room for my building is on a floor below the office so, as much as I hate it, we inevitably have to store some stuff in the office. Thankfully, we have these deep window sills where we can keep stuff.

We decided to keep the games there so my girls can have an easier access to them. I would, after all, prefer that they be used. And while I like having quick access to the games, I can't stand the way it looks when they're all just shoved there. It looks cluttered, and I hate clutter. My solution was to get baskets. I spent about two hours looking for the right baskets at two different craft stores.

They're not perfect, but I do like them. I got all three baskets on clearance at Michael's, which helped my indecisiveness. I also added the 'pray' sign just to add more visual interest to the space and to convey a not-so-subtle message. I think I might take the angel picture down and put something else there. We'll see. The office will always be a work in progress for as long as I'm working here.

PS, the yellow sign above the couch says, "Warning: This couch is where motivation comes to die." It's true.

Boulevard Nights

Living in a small town presents many challenges. One of the biggest is socializing. Huge challenge. I personally have found it extremely difficult to make friends outside of our very small group. Don't get me wrong, I have found a great group of friends. They are a true blessing in my life. But, I do like having a big community of people my age. I just can't find that here. So, multiple times a month, Nicole and I will drive the 1+ hour it takes to make it to the nearby city's young adults group. It's so fun and so worth the drive.

I love people's reactions when they find out that we drive an hour to get there. It's worth it to us and it's really not that bad. Since we live and work in the same place, we have no commute whereas most people have the average of 20 minute commute to and from work. An hour really isn't that bad to go hang out with a bunch of cool people.

One of our favorite events happens every other month. We all go to Mass as a group and then head over to a local brewery to socialize. Ten bucks gets you unlimited beer and some pizza. It's so fun and a very welcomed change to the everyday.

Jesus + Friends + Beer + Pizza + killer view of the city= a good life.

Small town life: waiting for the train

The small town where we live is in the heart of America. The town itself is industrial, but it's surrounded by farm lands. A friend who likes small towns, loves this town. Nicole and I on the other hand are not the town's biggest fans (except when they ask us to judge the Christmas parade). It's location is apparently prime for railroad action. It tried at one point long ago to be one of the major railroad hubs. It, unfortunately, failed. We still get plenty of train traffic that come through town every day (well, plenty for this Floridian). While there are ways around the train tracks, sometimes it's just inevitable for one to sit and wait for the train to go by. It's all part of our small town life. We may not love it, but we've accepted it.

To debt free and back again

Every post college student understands the pain and turmoil that suddenly hits you about a month after graduating when that first bill from SallieMae shows up in your mailbox and from that moment on you (if you’re anything like me) dream about the day when you’ll be able to stick it to the man and pay off that last bill. 

Okay, so maybe the rest of the world isn’t as consumed with paying off debt in the same obsessive way that I am. Experts advise us to pay off our debt as quickly as we can, little do they know the type of food I’ve been trying to live off of the last four years.

Either way, for the past several months I’ve been anticipating the glorious day when I would pull up my balance online and see a big goose egg staring back at me. I planned to celebrate big time, gathering with all my friends for a beer or two at my favorite Irish pub. It was coming soon too. At the rate I was paying out, I was expecting to be finished in June.

You can imagine my disappointment about a month ago I was rear ended on I-35 and while thankfully no one was hurt my poor little Accord had seen her last road trip, and there on the interstate amid rush hour traffic my dream of being debt free died. 

So the rearranging of finances began and so did the search for a car. After paying off my loans early, lots of stress, giving up my Easter break with family and what seemed like an endless few weeks without a car I am quite relieved to say that I purchased a new car. So here's to being debt free for three whole days only to go back into debt once again. Life has a funny way of keeping you humble. I am so blessed.  

                                                                                                              - Nicole