Change.

The change is permanent!

You can find me here:

lpeg.wordpress.com

Changing It Up.

So I've been playing around with Wordpress for the past couple of days, and Kristin told me you could import your entire previous blog into there, so I'm going to give it a go. I'm not sure I'm too fond of Wordpress, as I can't seem to customize my blog or have any other widgets show up without erasing my blog roll and archives.

So, for the next couple of weeks, you can find me here.

I may be back. I'll let you know when it's permanent!

Zing.

Do you ever feel you become the worst version of yourself? That a Pandora's Box of all the secret hateful parts -- your arrogance, your spite, your condescension -- has sprung open. Someone provokes you, and instead of just smiling and moving on, you zing them. Hello, it's Mr. Nasty. I'm sure you have no idea what I'm talking about...                                               Tom Hanks, You've Got Mail

I heard from The Ex yesterday. In email form. Just a quick hello, I suppose, wondering if I'd still respond to him. I would. In the form of some snarky comment. I know, it's childish, but as I was watching You've Got Mail last night on television, all I wanted to do was zing him. And since I never am good at the quick zings in person, I got to think about what I wanted to say, and, damnit, I said it.

It felt good, too.

Dreams.

I haven't been sleeping well lately. I find myself waking, in the early hours, to some horrible nightmare. A few weeks ago, in the wake of the Athens riots, I woke in the middle of the night to hail on my window. In my dream, it was gunfire. 

Last week, the day before Christmas, a building in town pretty much burned to the ground. That night, I relived the night my college apartment burned down.

Two nights ago, I dreamt my boss fired my coworker. Last night, I dreamt about work again.

If I ever dreamt before, I scarcely remembered it. A nightmare would plague my sleep every so often, but not like lately. I have dreams or nightmares 3-4 times a week, which leave me exhausted when I wake.

So what does it all mean?

Lazy.

I was in my pajamas before 6pm tonight.

I donned some jeans and a sweatshirt, and headed out to the library to pick up some books on Niagara Falls for my job interview presentation [which they didn't have], and ended up with a movie selection for my extremely exciting night in with the dogs tomorrow. The line-up, of course, was not complete without Roman Holiday. I've also got Pride and Prejudice [The BBC version with Colin Firth], Casablanca, My Fair Lady, An Affair to Remember and Gone With The Wind. Some Chinese take-out, a blanket, and a snuggle with the dogs, and I should be good till midnight. Who knows if I'll even watch the ball drop.

As I was out driving tonight, slowly composing this blog post in my head, I ended up being completely absorbed with counting any friends I had left in the area, that I ended up driving right by the video store and realized, a mile down the road, that I had gone too far.

And then I counted. Jess: gone. Josh: girlfriend. JW: gone. Nate: gone. Chris: long story - shouldn't hang out with him [I'll fill you in later]. Georgiana: Chicago for New Years. Ashton: Vermont for New Years. David: gone.

I can't think of anymore people that I knew up here who I was friends with. They are all gone from here for good, or else they have gone home for the holidays.

As I sit here, watching Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, I realize that I have become very lazy lately. I have no social life. I come home, put on my pajamas, cook dinner, and put on the tv. Sometimes I read, sometimes I surf the web, but it's been consistently like this since my second job ended at the end of October. It's been two months, and I don't have anything to do. And I've got plenty to do. I need to log my hours for my IDP [architecture internship stuff]. I could clean my apartment. I could get rid of stuff. I could go to the movies. I could do SOMETHING. But I don't. And I have no motivation for it because I have no one to do it with.

At times like these, I miss living at home. I had a built-in person to do things with: my mom. And it was fun, and we definitely enjoyed each other's company. And it felt like we could go off and do our own thing in the house and it was no big deal. I guess I'm just missing that. And missing having something to do. At least when I was working two jobs,  I didn't have time to realize how bored and lonely I was. Now, for this week, I've got Jet [a Great Dane puppy] and Cara [a retriever of sorts] to hang out with. But next week it's back to being all alone, again.

I need a change.

Bumper Sticker.

Lil Sis sent me a bumper sticker on Facebook the other day.

Straight No Chaser

Lil Sis introduced me to the men's a capella group, Straight No Chaser, on Christmas Eve, after she purchased their holiday soundtrack.

Today, I've been scrolling through their YouTube videos, looking for something to listen to, and I just had to share a few.

These guys are fantastic!








Enjoy!

Resolutions

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope you all had a good day!

As for me, my holiday was amazing, and just being home and with my immediate family, opening gifts till 4 in the morning - it was perfect [especially when Lil Sis and I made mom bawl after she watched our gift]!

This morning, I checked my mail, and in it was an email from Match.com [which I do not pay for, but keep getting the emails] and, in trying to get me to subscribe, noted in the header "Make Him Your New Year's Resolution!" Right.

Sorry Match.com - but I'm a bit more independent than that. I can make myself happy without centering my life around a man.

Top Ten on T.

When you don't feel like blogging, there are always memes to do! Following in Hope's footsteps, here's the newest one.

The rules:

You leave a comment on this post, and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on.

***

1. Twilight - Yes, the books by Stephenie Meyer, and yes, I know some of you do not like it, but I immensely enjoyed the series. I really liked this woman's article about it, too.

2. Twist, Peppermint Mocha - from Starbucks. Have you tried it? It is DELISH.

3. Txxxxx - Ok, I'm cheating, but my last name starts with T. Plus, we don't have any boys in the family, so I'm seriously considering keeping my last name. Someone has to carry on the family name!

4. Traveling - I cannot live without it. Seriously, it's like a heroin addiction. Favorite places include Switzerland, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, France, England, Austria, and Aruba.

5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - was my favorite cartoon as a kid, along with Fraggle Rock. Aside from the correlation of my last name and the word turtle, I have a fascination with turtles. I even collected them as a kid. Stuffed animals, glass, porcelain, wooden bobbleheads - you name it, I had it.

6. Theatre - especially Broadway musicals. Wicked, Rent, Phantom, Movin' Out, The Lion King, Miss Saigon, The Producers - I LOVE them all. If I lived in New York, I'd splurge just to see a show once a week!

7. Ted Mosby - and the entire cast of How I Met Your Mother. Seriously, fantastic show. If you haven't seen it, Monday nights on CBS.

8. Television - I don't know what I would do without TV. Fall prime-time lineup is the best time of year! I think I have 2 shows that record each night of the week. Sad, but true.

9. Time Off - I love my 'me-time'. I love lazy Sundays in bed, with a good book, my laptop, and a chick flick on the TV.

10. Times Square and Rockefeller Center - Lil Sis and I ended up in NYC this weekend, since we were already in CT, and I just love NYC at Christmastime, aside from the masses of people, it's just such a great place. Walk down 5th Ave just after dark, and tell me there isn't something special about it!

Booked.

I did it.

I just booked my non-refundable tickets to Los Angeles.

Oh, wait. I haven't updated you all :)

When I mentioned I had a phone interview with the tour company in this post, I forgot to tell you all that I was asked to come out to California for a two-day interview process. January 20 & 21, Tuesday and Wednesday, I will be flying out for this interview. If I do well, I will be asked back to do the month-long training session in March. If they like me, then they offer me a job with the company starting in June [which, once you've gone through training, they hire pretty much everyone].

On a side note, the training is one-month long, and it starts out in California. We then hit the road for a 18-day tour, in which we learn on-the-road training [also researching the cities we're visiting, and all the things we need to know in each city to help the clients out - metro, doctors, museums, etc, etc].

Funny thing is, with working for The Workshops this summer, I did alot of this. And the woman I spoke with is trying to get me to be a driver too. She said it would give me more flexibility, give me more tours [and more money], and she said the female drivers they've had in the past have been a hit. Who knows? I'll think about it, for sure. I like driving!

Yay! I am totally going to be asked to go to the training program. I know I will :)

Ahh, the power of positive thinking.

So ten minutes ago, I pulled out my credit card, and I booked my flight to LA. *sigh*

It took me the past two hours to click on the 'book now' button. I freaked out for a minute. I know the only thing I've been saying over the past year is how much I want to get out of here. And I do. Really. But when the opportunity presents itself, it's a bit scary.

My friend Ashton popped into the coffee shop about an hour ago, and he told me that 'nerves are good, right? If you're comfortable, then you're not learning. And you're not living.'

I smiled at him, and went to finish booking my flight. He gave me a high five, and went back to work.

So I've done it. January 19 I am flying out, late, from Manchester. And I will be arriving in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning. I will have my interview, I will present my assigned ten-minute topic on 'Niagara Falls', and I will have a sit down interview. I will rock it, and they will offer me a position in the training program.

But I'm scared. In a good way, but still scared. This could be it. This could be my ticket out of here. I just have to make it happen. And not be too scared to let it happen.

Just keeping my fingers crossed.