Saturday, April 26, 2008

What's next...

In the meantime, I’m going to have to ease up on the travel to get ready for a bigger change. I had wanted to make a trip back to Michigan in the next month or so, but I just won’t be able to do it quite yet. But don’t worry; if I decide to flee the country, I’ll be sure to visit first. J I do miss everyone a lot. There’s tons of good stuff that has come to me in my move, but it has been strange starting from scratch creating a support system. I always know I’m a phone call away, though. The very best thing about Carlsbad has been the weather!!!! There have been (few) times where the weather is the same here and MI, but that only lasts a short time. There was one day in particular that gave me a taste of home. It was mid morning, about 50 degrees with the light smell of moisture in the air and the birds were singing away. It felt exactly like an early May day. Ahhh. Our low extreme tends to be MI’s high extreme. As spring progresses, the differences stretch. I’ve gotten used to it to a degree. Last week we had 3 90 degree days. I knew that was great, but was put back to reality of how great when I talked to friends back home and heard they got 5 inches of snow. Yikes. People here start complaining about being chilly and I just smile and remember. I’m sure they are sick of hearing about what I would be dealing with if I was “where I came from”. It’s hard to hold back when I’m in such constant awe of the warmth.

The job front is currently tolerable. I am serving at Chili’s still. I don’t care for the job itself. (I’ve had to hold back from quitting a couple of times.) But, it allows me to be flexible in my schedule and it offers a social aspect that is good for me. I’ve also started to do some office work for my neighbor. He runs a firefighter training center that is about to have a grand opening. They need the extra help and I have the extra time right now. The balance is good. Plus its kinda nice being able to help an organization that is dedicated to firefighters when I’m a firefighter’s kid. It all comes full circle, doesn’t it.

Well, that’s the update. I’m figuring out my next step, work is tolerable, making friends, and home life is good. As strange as it could be living with my mom again, it is going really well. And Cairo LOVES having both of us because we are on different schedules. There are few hours in the day when he doesn’t have someone awake to give him some lovin.

I hope all is well for everyone. Take care and I’ll try not to be such a stranger.

Love,
Haley

Las Vegas, baby

And if that wasn’t enough to ease the travel bug that bit me, just when I got back, some people from work decided to go to Las Vegas for a bachelor/bachelorette party. So, early March marked the start of another trip. (How’s a girl to refuse?!) There were 13+ of us when all was said and done. It was a crazy time, as Vegas should be. We didn’t see any shows or anything, as our time was limited, but we didn’t sleep a whole lot, either. At least not when it was dark. It was a great feeling to be included in the festivities by my new friends. I was even hoping they would be able to meet a friend of mine from back home, but it didn’t work out with his work schedule. (We’ll still find a way to meet up on this side of the country Fozzy!) It would have been nice for the new crew to meet someone who really knows me and gets me, but it’ll happen yet. I’ll be here in Carlsbad for a little more time. I’m working on my next step, but I have some decisions to make before I figure it out. If that sounds cryptic, there’s a reason…I don’t want to jinx it! I have one opportunity in Spain that I would really, really like to work out, but I won’t know for another month or so. If that doesn’t work out, then I’ll go to plan B. For now I stay put. As soon as I get more information, I’ll let y’all know. Until then, I could use all of the good thoughts, white light, prayers, etc. that I can get.

Chicago/Milwaukee

I left El Paso and landed in none other than Chicago. The plan was to go to Milwaukee to help Erica (my cousin) out for a few days watching her son. To my delight, Melissa (a friend from Grand Rapids) said she’d love to meet me in Chicago for the night before I went north. Yipee! She brought a friend of hers and we all went to Second City, a comedy show, and laughed before, during, and after!! It was fantastic spending time with Mel and Sam. I wanted it to last a lot longer, but I also wanted to get to Milwaukee to see Erica, Chris, and my little man Braden. I was looking forward to some one-on-one Auntie Haley/Braden time for sure. I had only seen him once on my drive out to NM since he was born. He was a joy to take care of and we were finally figuring each other out when it was time for me to leave. Of course! *

Still Kickin

Hey Everyone! I know it has been a long while since you’ve heard from me. Life got me a little side tracked. I’m going to start back with an entry I began to write a while ago and never finished/posted. Then I’ll make a real effort to bring you up to speed from there. Love ya, Haley


*I can’t believe it’s been this long since I last updated. A lot has been going on. I’ve done some traveling as I had hoped. January brought me to Santa Fe and Taos in northern New Mexico to see a friend. It was great to have someone living there show me around. And it’s beautiful! Mountains in every direction. Santa Fe has a strong Spanish feel to it and it felt great to be surrounded by that vibe again. It is also an art community with artwork EVERYWHERE and of every style and media you can think of. There is one street in particular that is lined with galleries carrying pieces of art in the $10,000 (some more) range where the sidewalk is packed down dirt. Talk about a contradiction! There are so many parts making up the whole of this city with a small town feel. We took a drive up into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to Taos (skiing destination extraordinaire). By accident, we took the twisty turny route through the towns nestled in the mountain side. I’m so glad we did. The vista (view) was spectacular. It’s amazing to see the peaks in the distance and then an hour later realize you can’t see them as well because you’re in them!! And have you ever wondered what in the world they were singing about in the song Amazing Grace when they refer to ‘Purple mountains majesty’? They did not have a case of overactive imagination, it’s for real. One the drive out, the closer we got to sunset, the more the colors on the peaks changed and I swear they were a very majestic PURPLE. :-)

I was surprised at how cold it was while I was there. Though it was no comparison to what I would experience the next week….

The trip was wonderful all around. I was happy to connect with a friend, see the things I saw, and even eat at The Shed (a restaurant in Santa Fe where New Mexican cuisine is at its finest. Yumm.) Can’t wait til I can go back.

When I left there, I returned to Carlsbad to work for a whole 3 days, then got back on a plane….