Lack Luster

And post lacking. Lately I have just been muddling through summer, working 5 days a week and desperately trying to entertain myself. I have moved into my new place (which is absolutely amazing and already feels like home) and with my best friend too! Unfortunately we have completely opposite schedules so we are lucky if we get to see each other for a few hours a week. Other than that, the only other people I see are my coworkers. I am fortunate enough to work with people I really like so that makes it a bit easier.

I have taken up reading for fun again! Currently embarking on Water for Elephants which I bought over a year ago at the local thrift store and am just now opening. I really want to explore more but I recently have encountered some health issues that have left me on my back on my days off. Really the only thing I need to do is work, so as long as I can manage that and still heal up I'll be ok.

In a few days I shall be off to summer camp once more and with all my friends from far away places! I have a lot to look forward to this summer, but I just need these things to happen sooner rather than later, I feel like I'm just going through the motions but I am working on changing that.

As you can tell I haven't written in quite some time but be patient with me, I intend on having things to post more often. I promise I am exciting, just give it time..

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Stress is what you make it..

The cloud of work and school is still dawning over me as I finish up the last bit of the quarter. In exactly a month I will be moving into a new place and be officially finished with school for the summer. I am a bit nervous to be taking on two jobs for the summer, one being full time, and am ready to move and get settled into a new step of things.

I feel like I am just hanging on for this quarter and will be doing so until the end. Which is fine and I am pretty used to it. I miss doing things that I love and I miss my family. It has been nice for the past few weekends I have gotten to skype with mom, dad, and brothers.

Other than that I have been doing the same old same old, just listening to music, doing homework, and getting older (20 now woo!).

I promise this summer will be more post worthy, everything is just going through motions at the moment, and sometimes that is just what life throws at you and ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

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Nursing School

As you may have noticed, I have not been posting as often as usual. That is because I have officially started my nursing classes! Which, though I am very excited for, has kept me very busy. I now have five classes instead of three but the classes are nowhere near as difficult as last quarter. So more busy but not impossible. Another factor is the extra hours I have picked up at work. I love being able to work and pay my own bills and practice being independent, though sometimes it can be tiring and take up time that I could spend socializing with people but it is just for now and I don't mind it. It has been really cool getting to know my coworkers and managers better too.

Despite the excitement of finally starting my nursing courses, I am so ready for summer. This summer, is going to be my official first taste of freedom. I will be moved into my new place with my best friend and no longer in the school dorms, I will be working full time and possibly even more than full time (depending on if I decide to take on another job), I will no longer be eating at a cafeteria for every meal and will be cooking for myself. My future roommate and I have plans to start an indoor herb garden and she has also been thinking about trying to get some community garden space opened up on the roof of our building. I am just super excited to start taking on these responsibilities and working on new projects.

Also, since everyone has gotten back from spring break, it seems like everyone is refreshed. I don't know what it is, maybe just all of us getting to know each other more but all of my friends seem to be a lot happier. I love to see my friends happy and that makes me happy, it makes me really excited for summer and such because most of us are staying in Seattle for the summer and even though we aren't going to be living close to each other, I think it is going to be ok.

One thing I have been exploring a bit more is music, I have been on a Lana Del Rey rampage as well as Brand New and The Neighbourhood. I should probably make a playlist to post to 8tracks, just give it a few days, but lately music has been super good to me. I usually turn to music when I am stressed or homesick but lately, I have been listening to it to just enjoy. Below are some of my favorites at the mo:

Lana Del Rey- Chelsea Hotel No 2

The Neighbourhood- Lurk

Brand New- Deja Entendu (Full Album)

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Canada and Friends

This past weekend I was so blessed to be able to drive up to Canada to visit with some friends. It worked out perfectly, I didn't have work, my friend Tasha was up from California, and our friends had a day to hang out. We spent the day playing mini golf with our small friends and joined more friends for a hockey game.

It was so nice being able to catch up with people who I don't get to see very often and I hope I am able to make it up there more often and also it feels nice to get away from the city every once in awhile. The noise is overwhelming and I don't really notice till I am out in the country and finally able to hear. Here are a few pictures from the adventure.

Hope everyone's spring has started out beautiful, enjoying the sun in Seattle :)

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Camping

So I wrote a post regarding this last week and some how managed to delete it and procrastinated reposting it out of frustration but here it is! Again!

Over spring break, a few of my friends and I ventured up north to go camping at Deception Pass. Though it wasn't sunny, the rain was kept to a minimum and being by the water was incredible. We spent half a day just walking up and down the water front. Though we couldn't quite get the fire started the first night with the wood we bought in the city, the next morning we went out and bought some from the campsite and had some delicious camping food. Over all it was a lot of fun to be in a beautiful place with a few of my favorite people especially after being in the city and in stressful classes for the past 3 months. It was everything we all needed to unwind from the quarter. Below are some pictures from the trip.

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I am so happy to be in the pacific northwest and surrounded by all of these beautiful places and friends that I really love a lot.

End of the Quarter

Is just about here and this last quarter has felt like twice as long as it actually was. The last three months has been a blur of studying for midterms, working, and staying up too late writing papers. Luckily, as the quarter comes to an end, I feel confident in my time spent in class and really feel like I have learned quite a bit that will help me in my major and after I graduate. Even though it is extremely frustrating to be drowning in readings and studying, it is kind of worth it when you start to understand how everything fits together, especially with anatomy and microbiology.

Lately I have been exploring music a bit more because it is something I can do and enjoy while studying. I either put one The Secret Life of Walter Mitty or turn on the Jose Gonzalez pandora station. The calming melodies and whispered tracks by Iron and Wine and Jose are so mesmerizing and help me to de-stress and focus. Of course I shall link to a few of my favorites below.

As this quarter is coming to a close, I feel relieved, like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I know I will be successful in my major and job after. I was talking with my lab aide last night and he was reassuring that the next quarter would be a joke to this one and that is really what I need right now, I won't have to worry about work stressing me out, or not having enough time or any time at all to myself. I will be able to go to the gym on regular basis too. It feels like I have been in these classes for years and it is surprising to think that I still have another quarter before summer.

Luckily I have spring break in 10 days and have a camping trip planned with some friends. I am so excited to get away from the city and explore a new place, our site is right next to the water. I can't wait to get out of this metal jungle and into the trees and smell the salty breeze and even the drive up will be so beautiful and so much fun. I am stocking up on cameras to bring up.

On that note, here is some music for your ears (the last one is my favorite):

Step Outside by Jose Gonzalez

Jezebel by Iron and Wine

Your Hand in Mine by Explosions in the Sky

I hope you are all doing really well, 

I know the going gets tough but please 

take a moment

to take a breath

and remind yourself of what you love

and hold onto that

hold onto the feeling you feel

when you think your heart might be full

of life and love

~~~

Step outside
Time to step outside
House on fire leave it all behind you
Darkest night let the lightning guide you

An Abandoned Cabin

This weekend has been lovely in the most possible way. Despite the fact that I have a pile of homework (still) and have spent more time reading my biology textbook than sleeping, I made the best of it. I was able to hang out with my family quite a bit, go out to dinner with a close family friend, and even hit the gym a few times. What has been the best though, is the southern California atmosphere that I have missed so much. I literally just sat at the dining room table and did homework for three hours strait without so much as getting up, something completely unheard of for me back in Seattle. The quiet makes a difference, and also having a fully stocked kitchen two feet away helps a bit too.

And to top it all off I got to enjoy the classic Southern Californian dish of In-N-Out with one of my friends from high school. It was a perfect last-day-home meal and visiting with him was a ton of fun. Afterwards he showed me this abandoned cabin that he and his friends stumbled across a few years ago. Below are a few pictures from the adventure. 

It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip home, the nearly eighty degree weather was nice but also a bit much and I cannot wait to get back to rainy Seattle and back into the step of things. I am also ecstatic for this quarter to be coming to a close so that I can stop reading so much biology. Spring break is just around the corner, let's see how long I can hold my breath.

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