I'm deleting the text box on my Myspace and I don't want to lose these
------------------------------------------------ 2/12/08
I fly home this Sunday to visit till the 28th. I've been counting down to this trip for some time now. I miss the familiar faces of home!
Valentine's Day is two days away. Most of my single friends are gritting their teeth and most of my taken friends are getting all gay about it. I plan on keeping things low key like last year. I'm gonna buy some scallops and shrimp and such and make a nice seafood dinner. We kinda already exchanged gifts this weekend. We bought each other gym memberships. :)
We were supposed to go have a session with a trainer tonight but Ralph is stuck at work. He was transporting a Penske truck from one shop to another but it rained today and what with the freezing weather the rain turned to ice and the roads became impossible to drive on. Numerous accidents have happened today, all within 4 or 5 miles of each other so traffic is at a standstill. He is stuck at the moment in a broken down truck waiting for someone to make it through the not-moving traffic to get him and then they have to try to get the truck back to the shop (in the not-moving traffic) and THEN he can try to make it home (in the not-moving traffic). Looks like I'll be watching Idol alone tonight and I'll see him around 10 or so rather than 5:30 as per usual. I had a snack so that we can still have dinner together.
------------------------------------------------ 1/31/08
So - one month down, one more to go before I start work. The absolute best news as of late is that Ralph got hired by Penske and starts work on Monday! It's a leasing/rental position where he will finally get to relax in the AC at a nice desk for a whopping $18/hr! Plus the job has full benefits, lots of available overtime, MAJOR room for promotions, and tuition reimbursement so he can go back to school like he's been dreaming about. We've already checked out George Mason (GMU) and Northern Virginia (NOVA) Community College. The only roadblock is that we'd be paying out-of-state tuition until we've been here for a year and qualify for in-state. So yea... I don't think I'm down for paying three times as much money for no good reason!
Anyway, 17 days left till I venture home for about a week and a half. Excited would be an understatement. Don't get me wrong- VA is great. But it's only so enjoyable when you have a limited amount of income! Once I start working and the dinero is coming in I'm sure I will find it much more enjoyable than it already is. I AM long overdue for some warm weather though! I can't wait to pack my cute shorts and tops I'm tired of dressing in layers! lol And I can't wait to run a muck with my homies!!!!! I miss everybody so much! I have alot of bottled up partying to do!
And lastly, let me just say that I have made myself so proud this past week! I have been eating right and exercising and damn it feels good! I can't believe that I am actually NOT indulging myself in the foods I really want to eat and instead opting for healthier options! For example... pizza for breakfast. Normally this sounds fantastic. Now I think 'pizza' and all that comes to mind are way too many calories and a fat gut and instead I reach for a nice bowl of cheerios! I never thought this day would come! lololol And I know that this will last for awhile because it doesn't pain me to do it. For once I see all my old favorite indulgences in an icky light and they no longer look appealing as meal options! Yesssssss.
Life is good. :)
------------------------------------------------ 1/15/08
We had our first snow day today!!! It came out of nowhere! We stopped at a gas station to fill up and all of a sudden these white flurries started landing on the windshield. I got a few stares when I jumped up and down and twirled around a few times (much like a 5 year old... lol) before I managed to pull it together.
I finally got to take my drug test today. Which means that soon I will get to pick my start date. Any start date options are all 6 weeks from now... that's just how they roll.
Ralphie and I also stopped by George Mason University today to see about enrolling. He wants to pursue a degree and I need to complete my masters. The campus was really nice and lucky for me there are AOIIs there!
It's getting colder every day! We've been trying to stay as busy as possible so that we don't find ourselves bored. Every day seems to bring it's own tiny "to do" list and the days really are flying by.
Ralph will almost certainly be starting work before me. And since we have only one car until I buy one up here that means I am going to be stuck in the house alllll alone. I know I'll be going absolutely stir crazy so I've planned a trip home (by my self). So far I've decided that Feb. 17-22nd sounds pretty ideal. So clear your schedules, kids!
------------------------------------------------ 1/07/08
Well, the 19-hour drive was LONG to say the least. I did as much sleeping as possible! We left Friday night around 9 and arrived Saturday afternoon around 4. Somehow we still had enough energy to haul all of our stuff into the apartment! Traveling in our caravan was Ralph, myself, Ralph's father (Rafael), brother (Robert), sister (Janerys), nephew (Gordo), and our friend Frank.
Two hours of unloading later we headed out to eat and wound up dining at a local Taco Bell. Janerys, Gordo, and I made a trip to Wal-Mart afterwards to grab the necessities (like a shower curtain so that everyone could take a shower!) My Garmin GPS "Karen" (coincidentally named after my favorite character from my favorite show!) has been guiding us everywhere we need to go!
Yesterday (Sunday) we ate and then headed over to D.C. to show the family around. Afterwards we made our first grocery shopping trip and I "chef"ed up some shrimp scampi for everyone. This morning Ralph cooked breakfast and we took the family to "Tyson's Corner." It's pretty much like the Aventura up here... 3 story amazing mall, high fashion outlets surrounding the area, lots of restaurants and shops to visit, etc. From there we took them to the airport to head home and that's all she wrote! We came home to a quiet townhouse and relaxxxxxed for a few hours before continuing to unpack and get settled in.
The townhouse is just amazing. It's fully decorated - I love my kitchen, my living room/dining area is fantastic - the bedrooms are fully furnished... I'll try my best to get pics up ASAP!!!
It hasn't entirely sunk in yet that I LIVE here and this is not some silly vacation. For now things feel great - though I am highly nostalgic about home! When Wednesday passes and I'm not at Iguana's it'll probably be my first reminder that I'm "not in Kansas anymore"... lol.
Tomorrow we are driving 2.5 hours to Greenville to visit my mom, brother, and abuelita.... That's all for now! xoxox
------------------------------------------------ 1/03/08
I think I've taken a deep breath and a good look around me more times than I can count today. It's my last full day in South Florida before we leave tomorrow on our 18 hour drive to VA... to what I will from here on out know as "home." Well- I don't know about that. I'll naturally feel pretty estranged for awhile and I'm not sure how long it will take for me to feel like my new residence in VA has earned the position of "home" in my heart.
Everything is packed... for the most part. There are still a few loose ends over at Ralph's house. Right now he is at home loading up our stuff and then he's on his way to my house to load up the last of things.
It's interesting, you know, the things people go through in life and the different ranges of emotion you experience in the process. Days when you are scared, nervous, anxious, sad, or even just a little down about something really make you feel just as alive as the days you are on top of the world and everything is going your way. These feelings are just consuming and, rational-minded person that I am I try to think my way through and around them... to practically no avail of course. I've accepted that everything I have been feeling these past few weeks is perfectly natural.
--- I feel like I'm writing alot of nonsense but I've got alot flying around in my head right now. Thanks for bearing with me. :) Next time you hear from me I'll be in VA! xoxo
------------------------------------------------ 12/28/07
By this time next week I'll be a hot mess of emotions. I'll probably be fine-toothed combing my room to make sure I haven't forgotten anything and spending my last few hours with my parents since I won't be seeing them for months. These past few days I've been weighing the consequences of my decision and I am well aware that there's not really anything about south Florida itself that I'm going to miss. It's just all the friends that I'm leaving behind. No more club nights with my sisters, no more Iguana's with my Jersey girls and Pines 5-0, no more random dinners with Emil, Travis, X, Frank, Kevin, etc., no more QT with my ladyface... its THOSE thoughts that damper the excitement of starting fresh in a new place with an amazing career. I wasn't happy being stuck in South Florida prior to this job falling into my lap and I remind myself of that again and again when I start to get down about leaving. This is what I wanted. I'm the type of person who gets bored when things get stagnant. I need change every so often.
New Years Eve Ralph's family is throwing their annual massive fiesta. However this year it is also doubling as our going away party. If anyone can pass by that would be fantastic. Let me know and I'll give you the address.
I don't know what else to say, really. I won't be starting work until the end of February so if anyone is itching for a vacation in the next two months please come see me! I'm serious. Otherwise I'll be at home playing Susy Homemaker - honing my baking and culinary skills with all the new kitchen stuff I got for Christmas!
------------------------------------------------ 12/12/07
Not only is it "hump day" but I am smack in the middle of finals and with Ralph having been gone the past 4 days and my hardest final still ahead of me, I'm truly finding myself in a slump. I'm lonely and feeling slightly overwhelmed but I take comfort in knowing that I only have to feel like this for one more day. I'll be scooping Ralphasaurus up from the airport today around midnight and by 8:00 tomorrow I'll have wrapped up the last final of my college career!
On to more important news (drumroll please...) I have a Virginia address!
3254 Gallows Road, Fairfax, VA 22031
I can't believe it! That is the address to the townhouse we'll be living in. I just signed the lease and faxed it over today. Ralph has really been getting things done the past few days he's been up there. He's gotten himself a VA driver's license, signed our lease, inspected the actual place, and hooked up our electricity, phone, cable, and internet. Oh yea- I have a house phone number too! lol I just can't remember it though... I'll get back to you about that. It really is crazy and I'm kind of getting scared but at the end of the day I'm excited for all of this to happen.
Here is the floorplan to the townhouse! (Click to enlarge)
I can't wait to see it. But with each day that passes it is starting to sink in that I'll be leaving everything I've ever known behind. I don't know how I feel about it. Sometimes I am happy and feel like I'm embarking on an adventure. Other times I get kind of down wondering what I'm going to do up there without any familiar faces. But goodbye for now does not have to mean goodbye forever so no matter what happens I take comfort in knowing that I can always come home. (Jersey's will always have room for one more waitress... lololol)
------------------------------------------------ 11/23/07
We've been up here in Virginia since Monday. We came up to spend Thanksgiving with the Pumo family as well as get Ralph started with the application process at the Police Department. We also needed to find ourselves an apartment! Thankfully we have accomplished all of the above. We fly home on Sunday - we should arrive back in Miami around 11am. We don't have too many pictures because we mostly video taped everything.
It's been so much fun. It's also helped ease the tension about making such a big move. We found our dream apartment and the city is just as booming as Miami. It's just like being at home, only prettier and with much nicer weather.
After everything that has happened this week, we realized that we will be moving much sooner than expected. The police academy begins around the middle of January, so we are looking to move the first week of the month- right after New Years. That means that the Giralt Family New Year's Extravaganza will pretty much be our going away party! So show up!!!!!!!