23 Going On 13

Sooo, about this crush I referenced a couple of posts ago (10 Things That Make For A fabulous Week)... I still have it! Definitely. :-) I've gotten so many phone calls about this "crush" that I figured no one really cared about the nine other great thing, huh? I had to do the mandatory Googling of him and you know, he writes... and it was pretty entertaining. Dangerous, I tell you! The irony is for the longest I thought this guy was totally void of a personality and rigid, but every now and then he shows glimpses of this thing that's really cute. Other than that, the attraction is nothing tangible... really quite random


The only issue is I feel utterly 13 around him (so not like me) and although we have a good rapport, there's just no way of really knowing. He gives me butterflies and I always have to do the 5 minute hair/make up check before I might run into him - pretty silly and completely out of character but very amusing all the same!

Of course this has the foremost component of a really great crush - it will never happen, for lots and lots and lots of reasons including, I'll never tell! :-) The harmless, impenetrable nature of it makes it all the more fun!

Enough.

I' m really looking forward to this weekend! I have a bachelorette party on Saturday and my favoritest Mary is coming to town for a catch up day! I just love sitting and talking with her because I feel like she's one of the few people in this world that truly understands me. She's one of those people that I can talk to and get truly objective answers. For me, the hallmark of a good friend is that you can have absolutely no plans and yet have a fun and fabulous time.

Well kiddies, I have an appointment with "Confessions of Video Vixen"... I know, not-so-smart reading but hey, I cancelled my subscription to US Weekly! How else will I get my fill of celebrity trash and gossip?

Veni Vidi Vici

Someone once said, "Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death." While I'm sure he was referencing states of mind and being, I get this feeling about staying in the same geographical state and sooooo... I'm moving.

Over the years, my friends have give me the monikers of nomad, wanderer and a vagabond, but I really enjoy going from place to place and undertaking new challenges. For me change is synonymous with growth and progress. When I start to feel too comfortable, I feel stagnate. When I came to DC, I had three goals: to become completely self-sufficient in a foreign place, professional growth and to place myself competitively in the job market and to go to graduate school. Folks, I'm am pleased to say... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

For a while now, I've been feeling the itch to set sail on my next adventure. After much praying and soul searching, I have made the decision to return to Atlanta. It was actually a hard decision because I didn't want to feel like I was retreating home and returning to the familar. But after I committed myself to following my heart, God had His way of letting me know that was indeed the right decision.

My company gave me a full transfer... with the same salary! That's amazing considering the vast difference in cost of living from Washington DC to Atlanta. Too, I'm just ready to slow down a bit. Although I'll be working for the same company, the work culture in Atlanta is very different from that in DC. I feel confident about the fact that 60-hour work weeks will not be norm. The cost of living here is so high that I often don't feel like I'm enjoying my time and money -- I just feel like a cat chasing her tail and I'm ready to take a much needed "strategic pause."

At 23 years old, I've got several years of working ahead of me and I feel like I'm getting burned out already. Too, it's important for me to spend less time working and more time working with children, volunteering and being with my family. Not to mention that this gives me a chance to explore a new Baha'i community and I've heard the Baha'i community in Atlanta is just dynamic!

Will I be in Atlanta forever? Of course not! But for right now, this is the best decision for me and I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to breathe, play and grow. If I've learned one thing here, it's that success is not measured in terms of material possession, wealth or professional accomplishments but in quality of life, love, purposefulness and happiness.

Eight is Enough

Did my Mom miss the boat by not having seven other children? I ask because I just spent the weekend in Pennsylvania with one of my closest friends from college and her wonderfully enormous family. Amanda lives in Lebanon, PA, which is in interesting place in and of itself. There is a huge Amish and Mininite presence there which means there's horse and buggy parking at Wal-Mart! Quite the dichotomy! More than that, all the families there are just HUGE. I went with Amanda to the doctors and there was a lady there with five children, with the eldest child being 5-years-old. Families of that size seemed to be the exception rather than the norm in Lebanon.

Amanda's upbringing is a huge contrast to mine. Although I am one of three children, we're all far apart in age with my sister being 8 years older and my brother 8 years younger. This age gap made for a lot of loneliness and self-entertaining growing up. Too, between living alone and spending most of my time working, I've gotten pretty used to rolling solo. As to not make this a sob story, I enjoy and to a great extent, need my alone time -- probably more than most. I just never realized at how much I missed on by not having a large, close-knit immediate family. While with Amanda's family, there was always something comedic going on; someone telling a joke, someone singing an old-school song or some serious debate going on.... all of this a major detour from my work-oriented DC life. I was in PA from Wednesday to Sunday and I didn't check my email once!... anyone who knows me know that that is BIG BIG BIG! Obviously I'm completely aware that work and the pursuit of professional excellence dominates my life, but I don't think I realized all the good stuff that I miss out on in that pursuit...

At the close of the weekend, I think the Davis' made me an honorary member of their family and I definitely have a sincere love for them. But, I must say, I'm a bit more tired today than I was when I left for Pennsylvania last Wednesday! As much as I enjoyed their boisterous company, it's good to return to the peace and quiet of home. And while I would never have eight children (or five or four for that matter) it does seem like a good idea to have two or three children close together so they can have the comfort and fun of each other.