Hello all,
I'm going to be using this much more frequently because I have rather big news. As of September 17th, 2012, I will be residing in the charming area of Kennington, London, approximately a 30 minute walk from Parliament and Big Ben. That means that I will be trying (really, this time) to keep updates at regular intervals. It may start just once a week, I'm not sure what my schedule is going to be like or how crazy I am going to go with the traveling, but I intend to use this as a way to keep my friends and family updated on where I am and what I'm doing. Let's face it, I'm pretty terrible at keeping in touch.
That being said, I'm actually really excited about going out and doing things with my life. It feels amazing to be into a conservation program and I'm looking forward to being on the learning end of things again. I miss it, to be honest. Even during the crappiest classes that I had to take for Delaware, I almost always learned something. It may have been something as pointless as the fact that horses would have gone extinct if humans hadn't trained them to be used for labor (or was it cows?) but I still feel like I walked away with a random nugget of information.
That little nugget (although apparently tarnished with time and a little bit blurry around the edges) is what I live for. I like coming home and saying "did you know___" or "guess what I found out today." I'm a walking collection of random facts and I personally enjoy it. Other people most likely find it incredibly annoying, but you know what? Tough cookies. I'm a nerd and I'm proud. Or is it more of a geek?
Either way, that is my major source of excitement and stress over the past few months. I got the acceptance letter in the mail and promptly accepted, only to then stress over how on earth I would pay for the damn thing. This was then followed by "YES I GOT THE LOAN" and "OH NO I HAVE 1 DAY TO SUBMIT MY VISA APPLICATION." That was superseded by the visa approval only to find out that something went wrong and the date that they have my visa expiring is approximately 7 months too soon. SO glad I dropped $400 on that.
I keep looking at the calendar and marking off the days until I leave. It seems extremely surreal that I'll actually be moving on with my career. I have 2 weeks of work left at my current job, we had my going away happy hour this past Friday. It was so great to see how many people came out to say goodbye and to wish me luck. I felt very loved. It's been a long couple of years with a lot of turmoil in between. There have been a lot of lows to fight through but I believe that they all helped me get to where I am right now. It may be cocky to say it, but I think that things are finally turning up the way I want them to (minus the snafu with the visa. That will be fixed. I just needed to rock back and forth in a corner sobbing hysterically to get to that point but I'M FINE REALLY. This is what happens when I run on little to no sleep for several days on end. My body is bound to hate me.)
Anyway, here is my schedule breakdown:
9 more days of work, one Toby Keith concert, one visit from a friend that I probably won't see again until next summer, 10 days in Bethany (with a potential trip up to New York to fix the stupidity that is my visa), 2 weeks back home packing my life up and buying the last odds and ends, one engagement party, one going away party and then I'm on a plane. I already have a place to live, I trust that my flatmates won't try to murder me in my sleep (fingers crossed, ladies and gents), and it's for less than I originally thought it would cost. It's about a 20 minute commute from my school, and it's within walking distance of so many great things. I can't wait to get over there and be a part of it.
Love to you all,
L
