The First Post About Writing

And it's going to be a short one for reasons I shall now disclose. Writing has always been a compulsion for me, more than an actual choice. It's been the way I make sense of the world as well as my outlet. I have no idea when this whole thing started but I find stories tracing back to kindergarten. So it's obviously a long-term thing. It's also a resilient addiction. Back when I tried to get my first book published and I hit rejection after rejection, I told myself 'Clearly, this is not where your strengths lie. Let's find something else to do.' I tried to quit cold turkey but came crawling back not 24 hours later.

Writing is my desire but it also has a gravitational pull for me. It is an intrinsic part of who I am. More specifically, I love to hand-write things. Yes, I hand-wrote my entire first book. And now, I think I may have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Actually, judging from the piercing numbness that has held my hand captive for the past few days, I'm pretty sure I've fallen victim to it. And you know what I want to do? Hand-write my book. But I know for my health and comfort, I should probably try typing things for a little while since it causes me less pain. And who said authors don't suffer for their art?

If anyone has ever suffered from Carpal Tunnel, how do you deal with it?

LDR

So as I mentioned at the very beginning of the blog, I'm in a long distance relationship for one more week with my wonderful boyfriend of 13 months, J. The plan was that he would come next Tuesday but the date has been pushed back to Wednesday and I could not be more impatient and excited!

This is our second time doing long distance. We met last May and because we lived four hours apart when we weren't at school, we decided we were just going to talk and be friends and see where we went from there. Not too long after, we become exclusive and we become "official" when we got back to school. This summer, we were separated at the beginning of May and finally, FINALLY, he's almost back! And we're almost to London!

For those of you going through a long distance relationship of any type, here are a few things I learned. My advice on advice? Take it all with a grain of salt.

1) Trust is hard. But it's important. He's never given me a reason not to trust him and yet there were some nights where I would worry, very randomly. I'd always call him and we'd talk things through. Trust is important though. If you're not going to have it, why even try in a relationship?

2) Communicate. Appreciate :)

3) Everyone loves getting mail!

4) Don't waste in-person time arguing about silly things.

5) Brownies are always a nice gesture.

6) Some days will go by fast and some days will go by unbearingly slow but, rest assured, they will all go by. time will pass and eventually, your separation will be over.

7) Stay entertained! Don't sit at home, filing your nails all day.

8) Celebrate the little milestones.

9) Live and let live

10) When things get rough: remember, it'll all be worth it in the end.

Again, I'm no professional. This is purely anecdotal. And I'd love to hear your stories about long distance relationships! How long were you separated and how  did you get through it?

Maybe They'll Like Me Over There

Alright, don't let the title fool you. I love it here. I have some of the best friends anyone could ask for and I've known them since middle and high school. The problem isn't in where I come from but where I go. I attend a very conservative, religiously affiliated university. I am not conservative. I have no idea why I chose to go there but at first it wasn't so bad. It just so happened that the longer I was there, the more it become apparent that I was very much a 'me' and everyone else was very much a 'them'. It wasn't a self-imposed segregation. Everyone else took care of that for me and in one fell swoop, I realized I didn't belong there.

I wasn't like them and I didn't want to be. I had no idea why my actions that would be considered normal by the overwhelming majority of the outside world were treated with such shock and dismay. I had no idea why people got engaged their sophomore year and married before they graduated. I just knew that most of the world didn't run this way. 

But, as fate would have it, it's too late to transfer. I'll have to finish up my last 3 semesters there and 1 will, thankfully, be spent across the pond. I really hope they'll like me over there. I know London is probably not like Small Town, Texas in a lot of ways. Thank. Goodness. It just makes me sad, though, to think that I haven't made many new friendships in college. Oh well. What can you do?

Where'd the Time Go?

Somewhere between making the most of my last days as a Shoe Store employee and buying as many shoes as my little heart desired for 40% off (on top of 50% discounts!!!!) and trying to see as many people as I could (which is no small feat when everyone you know is dispersed across the great state of Texas), I lost track of the time. And now I have 11 days until I leave for London.

Let me give you a good idea of what I HAVEN'T done.

1) Bought enough long-sleeved shirts. I live in Texas. I have not had need for them until this point.

 

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2) Buy the toiletries I'm low on. I know, I know. They sell concealer and eyeshadow EVERYWHERE but I'm incredibly picky.

 

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 This is NARS concelear in the 'ginger' color. I'd highly recommend this to everyone. It goes on flawlessly, can be used on specific points, and lasts all day.

3) Gotten some currency exchanged. Because, if you didn't know, airports will give you the WORST exchange rate possible. I was a victim of this when I went to Peru. Luckily, my bank has agreed to give me prettily colored British currency for my boring green.

 

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4) Actually packed. :S

 

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But now that I'm unemployed, I'll have time to tackle these things. Tomorrow, I plan on moving my winter clothes out of the closet and into the game room, and storing my summer clothes away. And doing laundry. Very essential.

Now, on an unrelated note! This is my new obsession:

 It's an iced chai tea latte. The first few times I drank it, it made me feel kind of sick but I've grown to love it.

So, does anyone have any last minute advice for me? I'm in desperate need :)

22 Days and Counting

So at some point, 49 days turned into 22 days and now, 3 weeks doesn't seem like a very long time. Especially since I have made NO progress since the last time I blogged. In fact. I'm pretty sure things have only gotten more convoluted. While all my medical adventures making sure I'm fit to leave the country are out of the way (minus getting cavities filled :|), and I've given my work my 2 weeks noticed (I finish Labor Day!), some of the classes I wanted to register for are full, leaving me with a mess to clean up to make sure I'm a full-time student. And yes, there is still an abnormal amount of shopping and packing to do.

On the bright side, I have discovered a previously non-existent talent in baking! I've only made the box-mix stuff but I figure you have to start somewhere. Jane Austen pretty novels became Wuthering Heights, no coat was found and I got about 5 more pages into my anniversary present. :|

Goodness gracious, time to actually go start doing things!

Mini-Vacations!

So, while I'm excited about receiving a British education (for however short a while), what I might be just a teensy bit MORE excited about are my mini-vacations I've planned out! Now I'm investing in a lovely Eurail pass that will give me 10 days worth of train time spanned over 3 months. Unfortunately, Eurail doesn't cover Great Britain so any trips I make on the island will be going out of King's Cross (which is actually pretty cheap. I'd look into it if I were you).

#1: Will be a trip to Ediburgh, Scotland. It's more like a pilgrimage to visit the birthplace of the Harry Potter series and JK Rowling's inspiration. Only another nerd like me would understand I think but yes.

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Isn't it lovely? Some quick facts: Pricewise, this is my cheapest trip. A) Because it's in Great Britain. B) No Chunnel pass required. C) Hotels/B&Bs are generally cheaper. So yay for birthday trips!

#2: Venice, Italy. Total tourist trap. Expensive accommodations. Use of $50 each way Chunnel pass to get to the Continent and Eurail travel days. But I want to go to a city with canals so I've decided to stick with it.

 

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So yes, my advice (because I'm such an expert) if you love a place, stick with it :) You might only get this chance once.

#3: Volterra, Italy. I decided pretty early on I wanted to go to Tuscany but places like Chianti came with warnings such as: expensive, crowded, no real chance to admire things. Which discouraged a leisurely traveler such as myself. LO AND BEHOLD, there was a link to a site called 'Off the Beaten Path: Hidden Treasures of Tuscany' or something like that. My memory's a bit fuzzy. But I clicked it and somewhere on the middle of the list was Volterra! After research to corroborate this, I decided it was definitely going on the list. I can always swing by Rome later.

 

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Classic Tuscany :)

#4: Paris, France. I know, I know. And I say I wanted to avoid tourist traps but by golly, I've always wanted to visit Paris and I don't know when the next time I'll be armed with a Eurail pass and four-day weekends will be. It's my most expensive vacation, topping Barcelona by a hair and Venice by a mile or two. Poor Volterra and Edinburgh aren't even in the same race. But I figure no other explanation is necessary so let's just enjoy the pretty picture.

 

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Word of advice though! If you're going to Paris or entertaining the notion, what I decided to do (and the most cost-efficient course) is to stay in a small hostel/B&B/hotel just a few miles outside of paris (12-15ish) and you'll see the price drop at least $100. Sure it doesn't have a view of the Eiffel Tower but the trains are just a few dollars and there's always walking to really take it all in. Besides, how else are you supposed to find the cute bakery with the best croissants?

#5: Barcelona, Spain. My motherland. Winners of the World Cup. Obligatory. I chose Barcelona however because I wanted to be close to a beach at some point. That's really it. And it wasn't like it was any more expensive than Madrid.

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So that wraps up my five mini-vacations and whatever advice I have to dispense for the day. I apologize for the alignment going on there. I really don't know why it decided to stop centering :| Ah well, c'est la vie. 

In the Meanwhile

In all my excitement about going abroad, it didn't dawn on me at first that forty-one days is still a really, really long time. Especially when you already have your passport, your housing, your school all lined up, your mini-trips planned out and budgeted and everything scheduled down pact. And so, I realized, I need a few hobbies. I like to write, so that's a given but there's only so much a person can write a day before they suffer from a creative burn-out. And since my best friends and boyfriend are all located too far away, I've decided to take up some hobbies. These include but aren't limited to:

1. Baking. I'm miserable at any sort of cooking (including straight from the box with step-by-step instructions) so this is going to be a feat. I'll let you know if I end up burning anything down, which is a distinct possibility.

2. Finishing the boyfriend (hereby after referred to as 'J')'s anniversary present which is a journal-doodley book type thing.

3. Reading my complete collection of Jane Austen books. They're so prettily bound with their gold-leafed pages, they deserve their recognition.

4. Finding a not completely repulsive/expensive winter coat. This one's just for giggles. I don't think it can actually be done.

Advice on any of the above would be graciously appreciated.

-Ally