Life is good. Here is why.

My year began with snow and ended with snow.
It's almost a new year. A lot of people do a top ten recap of last year and then a list of new hopes for the new year. I've never invested in reminiscing the "good ol' days," but I think this was a particularly wonderful year filled with plenty ups and downs.

So many things happened in 2009. Here are the highlights:


1.) I started out with NY- a brand new slate. I was able to close loose ends and enjoy my life...finally. NY was the first time, besides Austin, that I studied away from fam. It was exhilariting, terrifying, and free. I had an amazing opportunity to work at Rockefeller for NBC Nightly, where I met tons of amazing people. Living in NY was amazing and letting go was one of the hardest things I had to do. I hate it when you get torn from your temporary reality. What I do know: I met great people, had great experiences, and built great memories.
1a) The missing tape episodes will never be forgotten.


2.) Real friends that became "real" friends. Thank you for sticking by me.
2a.) Friends that I've lost touch with. This year, I realized something about myself. You can't force friendships with me, otherwise it becomes a chore. When it crosses that line, I push people away (because I need my space to breathe and think) and in the process I'm mean to people I really care about. When I've had enough time to breathe, the damage has been done. So I work at forgiving and being forgiven. Forgiving isn't so hard for me, I'm always ready to say sorry and I rarely hold grudges. Being forgiven is the harder part. I feel bad for the bridges I've burned, but at the same time, I can't do much more than I've already done.

3.) My Summer. NY - Where my heart belongs. G-Town with friends. California 2x. The first time, I spent time with my besties. The second time it was FAP. Loved (almost) every moment of it.

4.) DC. I learned so much about myself and the people around me. My OS pointed out that, for some reason, I choose friends that easily boss me around. I don't know why that is, but I do see a pattern forming. It's kind of scary. At the same time, I do surround myself with amazing friends I've made in DC. Without them, I would be lost. On top of that, I've been in Maryland AND Virginia...two more states to cross off the list!
4a.) ABC boss. I lived through it and have grown stronger. I will not be defeated! From my experiences, I realized I'm a strong person capable of amazing things.


5.) NY & GMA. The marathon was amazing. GMA was amazing. The apex of happiness achieved.


6.) Vegas. 'Nuff said.


7.) Food. Although a lot of people think I'm delusional, I've never in my life struggled with weight until now. I'm like 20 lbs past my normal weight and I feel like a fat lard. It doesn't help that I eat, lose the weight, eat, gain the weight - in an ongoing cycle. Balance is key. Thus, I will work towards losing weight this year so that I feel healthy and capable. No more heartburn!!!!

8.) Music that got me through any situation: Joshua Radin - Simple Times album, Michael Jackson - Man in the Mirror, Feist - Inside and Out, Jason Mraz - Make it Mine and Try Try Try, Both Owl City Albums, Regina Spektor - Eet, Ingrid Michaelson - You and I, Dear Reader - Great White Bear, Craig David - Seven Days, Jay-Z & Alicia - Empire State of Mind

After getting that off my chest, I want to recap my holiday weekend! Who knew this was going to be a miserably long post.
For the first time, I was stuck in a blizzard. DC does not know how to handle natural disasters, hence the total shutdown of public transportation. My flight home was at 12:15. I woke up at 5 to get ready to haul ass to the amtrak station around 6. I had two over sized suitcases (both 70+ lbs), an over stuffed pink duffel bag, and a large carry on filled with heavy objects. On top of that, I packed a small package of snacks, just in case I'd get hungry. Lugging my crap through 2 feet of snow was the most miserable thing I've ever had to manually do. I guess that extra fat I gained helped. Every 3 steps I took, I had to rest. I think it was 10 steps before a snow plow truck stopped by to help me. Normally, it would take 12 minutes to walk to the station, but it took me 30 mins to get 10 steps. Imagine how long it would've taken me if I had to do it all by myself! So the truckers drove my friend and I to the station. When we arrived, the next available train out was 9:30, but since everything was delayed, they booked us for the 7 train...even though it was 7:30. We waited there until 12 before we boarded because of the delays and cancels. By that time, I missed my flight. Great! I didn't even have any snacks because on the way to the station, my food dropped out of my bag and when I went back to grab it, I saw homeless folk snagging all my food.

Anyways, we took the amtrak to BWI. From there, we took a bus to the airport. My friend jumped off the bus first, leaving me to figure out her plane ticket situation. I went into the US airways line (of which was a terrible mess) and started talking to people to relieve stress. I made friends with this older (55ish yo) Chinese guy (I'll call him DC) when we found a common interest in news. We quickly became friends and started helping out each other. I called a number to talk to an associate to rebook my flight out since I missed mine. The lady told me that the earliest flight out was Christmas Eve. Even though I was surrounded by a bajillion people, I stood int he line and cried. I felt utterly defeated. My poor parents were worrying endlessly at home. My mom made a million calls to all different airlines and even cried after I phoned home telling her of my sob story of possibly spending xmas alone.

I seriously didn't know what to do. I let DC talk to the lady so that he could rebook his flight to no avail. We were going the same way - to Charlotte, where he is staying, and then I jump on a plane and continue on to TX - and both missed out flight. DC devised a plan to fly stand by. After reassuring me, we stuck it out in the long line, offering smiles and exchanging stories to keep ourselves busy. He offered me a breakfast bar for comfort, I tossed a bar I had to a girl throwing a hunger fit, and 3 hours later...we finally reached the counter. HOPE!

As the lady was checking us in, I noticed she was a little grumpy, so I offered her a breakfast bar, too. After that, she warmed up to us and we became fast friends. She was super nice and didn't make me pay extra for my over size luggage! I asked her what my chances of flying stand by were and she said, pretty good. Because in a morning flight, there were 38 stand bys...and all made it on. HOPE! We checked in and made our way to the security line. The beginning of the line was at gate 12; the end was at gate 27. After 20 mins, we finally reached the security check through. For some reason, I always get singled out for random "super" security checking. After walking through the metal detectors, I jumped into this chamber that blast air at me in all directions. When that was done, we walked to out gate and waited. DC bought the only food we ate all day- thank you McD's!

Waiting so long, I was able to fly stand by to Charlotte. Dc walked me over to my transfer flight and made sure I was set before he left. My guardian angel... the Lord has been nice to me. At the gate, I met a lady that was a writer and she offered to look over my personal statement. HOW NICE! In exchange, I spread my optimism. She was flying stand by, too and thought her chances were slim. Low and behold, all the stand by-ers made it on the flight back to Dallas. I've never been so relieved in my life.

I started my day at 5 am in DC and ended it at 1 am in TX.

There was a crazy snow storm that swept through tx on christmas eve. My OS asked me if I wanted to take pictures in the snow. My reply: I think I have enough snow pictures.

Being home has been so relaxing. Despite the urge to eat, criticism about weight, grad school talks, and bf hints...it has been good. Life is good.