"if it makes you happy, it can't be that bad"-sheryl crow

my last day of work was january 24, 2012. it can best be described as intensely beautiful. so many people came up to me to tell me that they think what i am doing is wonderful, that they wish me the best. the most common statement is said with this bizarre longing 'do it now, while you can'. so many people say that. then perhaps, they rattle off a laundry list of why they can NOT do something similar to what i am doing. i know that i have the ideal scenario to explore the world (it was a major factor in the decision making process) having no real ties to one area. i don't have a mortgage and i don't have children. however, i want it to be known, spread the message far and wide, that you too can do this. anyone can. follow your heart. although it is a misnomer that it is like 'running away'. actually, it really is complicated trying to dismantle this life, but fear not, it can be done! with some organization, meticulous planning and thousands of hand-written lists, you too can make changes in your life. speaking of the lists, they are never ending. i now am making lists for my lists.....i have now succumbed to the idea: there will always be a million things to do. always.

the entire day was really intense. so much for sailing out of there? i actually had a good amount of work to do and i really didn't want to have to dump that off on to someone else. i was so impressed by the random people who contributed money. people donated instruments. said kind words. i felt like it was my birthday, i was getting so much attention. while i didn't always (or maybe ever) love my job, i realized how much i came to love the people. i came to realize that my team had become my own little family. you really spend more time with the people from work than anyone else. it was emotional saying goodbye. i know we can try to stay in touch, but it will never be like it was. either way, i am so grateful for knowing them and having the experience.

after work, it was off to celebrate with some delicious indian food at the dosa corner. we feasted. it was fantastic! we got to catch andyman's set at kobo. then to dick's with some friends. eric had bought a couple of patty cake treats, which we enjoyed late night, after the bar. and then off to the first restful sleep...

wednesday january 25- my first day off! i had a slow start. my house is in such a disarray with trying to get rid of things, i literally didn't know where to start. i would pace around my apartment, feeling overwhelmed. i finally got it together.....i got so much done. it felt so good to work hard at things that actually benefit ME directly. i worked all day. the tally for goodwill garbage bags so far: 10.


thursday january 26- OFF TO ST.LOUIS, MO!

basically, i spent all day in the car. i will feature the amazing raw vegan restaurant i ate at last night in the weekend round up, but i do have to say one thing from this day:

go out right now and get this book. i got the audio book from the library and finished the entire thing during my trip to st.louis. i didn't listen to music once, it is that good. i had no idea the level of awesomeness that is tina fey. holy shit she is good.

i will cover the rest of the trip later, but now, i want to go upstairs and cuddle a little baby...