Being back

Well, I've been home for a month now and if I haven't said it enough before... I LOVE IT! It was truly the right decision at the right time.

I've been making the most of it, too! As most of you know, I recently lost a bunch of weight. And now I know why! In Vegas, especially the last year or so, after work and on weekends I didn't do much besides go to the gym or go shopping. I didn't really have anyone around to go out to eat or anything... let me just tell you, I don't have that problem here! I thank God and Weight Watchers that I've taught my metabolism to work overtime because there's ALWAYS someone to eat with! Whether it's lunches with my mom, dinners with Arion or Amanda or her family or (now that my dad is back) MY family, there's constantly meals to be had! I indulged for about the first two or three weeks and now, I just can't. My willpower has, thankfully, kicked back in and so has my gym routine.

Then there's my new job - the reason that my move was even possible. For those that don't know, I work for the City of Rancho Cucamonga at the Victoria Gardens Cultural Center as a Supervisor in charge of Marketing, Fund Development, Box Office, and the Front of House. Tomorrow will be the start of my fourth week, and I'm loving it. My team is great! I work with smart people who seem to love what they do, which is more than I could ask for. Everyone has been so warm and welcoming and it has made the whole move that much better. It's a very busy workweek and most days are pretty much scheduled from beginning to end, but it makes the day fly by! And the drive isn't bad since I'm going against traffic both ways. At the end of the summer, Jessie (Amanda's sister) and I will be looking for places to rent probably somewhere off of the 210 between Covina and Rancho.

As I could have predicted, I'm running into many familiar faces around here. It seems like very few people have left the area, and if they did, they came back! All I really have to do is go to the gym to have a another high school reunion! The city has changed so much, though... what is with that big mall opening in two weeks? Craziness. Growing up here, there were farms and cows and we had to drive at least 10 miles in either direction for any shopping!

I went to Vegas a couple of weekends ago (no one get mad - I was only there for 7 hours!) to pick up some things I had left at the house. I miss my house, definitely! I wish I could move that thing to California brick-by-brick! But at least it's there for my family and friends and I to use for the next year or so. Most of all, I miss my friends. But I will see you all very soon when I come visit for longer than a day! I'm hoping to come up this month or next.

It's funny - in some ways it feels like I've been given my old life back - I'm in my old room (again, just for the summer!), Amanda's been across the street from me, I even have the same CA driver's license number and when I signed up for my new insurance, I got my old card number. They just re-issued me those! And yet it STILL doesn't feel real. I feel like I'm on an extended vacation and at any moment I'm going to have to leave. Maybe it will finally set in when I move into my own place, who knows?

Either way, life is good. :)

Packing

The first box... and my makeshift dresser for the next 4 months or so...

Casey knows something's up. She does the same thing with suitcases.

Moving home!

I can't believe how long it's been! But I've been away from this with good reason. So much has happened in the last few months. On a whim, I applied for a job with the city of Rancho Cucamonga, and I got it. Really, it was as simple as that! I was SHOCKED. I had planned on LOOKING for jobs to MAYBE move home but instead, fate found me. I've very happy, obviously, but a little sad at the same time. It's bittersweet to leave the place where I've become an adult, really. I've spent all of my twenties here, I've made some great friends, and I've had a lot of fun times. But, the time has come for me to go home. My going-away party is on March 29th so I will be sure to post some pictures here!

Top 5 things I will miss most about Vegas:

1. My Bellagio people - you know who you are and you're why I didn't move home 4 years ago. Nuff said.

2. Cherry Hill - I've been going to see them for almost 6 years.

3. My job. I LOVE my job. Even more specifically, I love my team. If I was staying Vegas, I would never leave.

4. My house... probably my biggest (literally!) sacrifice. There will be no 3 bedroom house in California. I will be lucky to get a 3 bedroom condo with 2 roommates!

4. My very short (10 min) commute to work.

5. Traffic updates - there are (3) freeways in Vegas and after they are done with them, they start listing SIDE STREET accidents. In California, I'm lucky if they even mention the freeway that I'm on.


Things I will NOT miss:

1. The incessant WIND.

2. The construction - as I write this, they are tearing up the street outside my window and their light is shining directly toward my house. It's 11:51 p.m.


And when they are done at 5 a.m., the construction on the shopping center behind my house begins. Good times. Thank God for my iPod. P.S. SCREW YOU Momeni & Associates!!! Whew, had to get that out.

3. My electric bill in July.

4. My gas bill in December.

5. The long drive to California!