A Long Distance Friendship

Today is an important day. It's my best friend in the entire world, A's, birthday. And I get to see her!

This isn't the first time I've tried to surprise A on her birthday. Two years ago, everything was planned perfectly. I was to take a long weekend, skipping my few Monday classes and thankful to have Friday off already. My parents had booked a hotel room at Disney World and planned a fun evening safari at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

But I can't tell you how that went, because the trip only happened in some alternate universe. Here, the weather Gods were having none of it and they sent a mean blizzard to upstate New York instead. The storm moved in fast and then stalled, dropping a ton of snow. The winds picked up and you couldn't see across campus from the highest dorm. I was trapped. I told her about the fallen through plan, and that was the end of that.

But, when I was out in Arizona, A surprised me! My mom planned a visit with a few of her friends. Someone had extra points towards a vacation rental, and so mom told me to take a couple days off. I needed the break from work, so I didn't hesitate too much. However, I didn't know that she had been planning a surprise visit with A! We finally got our long weekend, though with cocktails and a private hot tub instead of a safari.

This year, I didn't go with the surprise visit. I was thinking of it originally, but considering how well it went the last time I tried, I decided not to tempt the weather again! So, while A is spending the morning on a Scuba diving trip, we'll all get together tonight to celebrate her birthday. I think the last birthday either of us celebrated together was A's 18th, so it's definitely been awhile. We're both 26 now!

So, Happy Birthday A - to many more!

Back to the Right Coast

I hated living in Arizona.

I try to downplay it at family gatherings or job interviews, when people ask why I left. It seems that leaving a job because you hate the location isn't a good enough reason. They look at me with pity, "oh how unfortunate for you."

Stop that. I turned it around. I saved up the money. I packed up. And I got outta dodge.

Anyone who knows me well -- my boyfriend, my mother, my former boss -- will tell you that I was unhappy living out the desert. I just wasn't fully functioning without weather and the color green. So I moved somewhere that has those things, and more.

So welcome to A OhKait - Washington DC/Northern VA mode.

Here, I am living with my boyfriend, instead of being in a long distance relationship. I'm close enough to hop on a single plane and see my family within half a day. I have rain, snow, clouds, and wind -- so much of it. I have friends that I already know, making it even easier to find new ones. And, I have access to some of the country's greatest cities, just by riding on a train.

I'm glad I went out there. I tried it. I adopted the perfect dog. I learned all about a different type of culture and style of living, that was more laid back with less urgency. I learned what I could live with and what I couldn't live without.

I'm an East Coast girl, and 2000 miles can't take that away from me.

Now, I make no promises that I'm going to write a ton more out here than I did there, but I do have a few drafts written already, so maybe you'll see a spike. 

On Writing

Writing about writing feels so meta, that it's nearly impossible to do without sounding pedantic, but I'll try my hardest to make reading this enjoyable. After all, isn't that a writer's job - to entertain an audience? Sure I can say all day that "I write for myself," but how true can that possibly be when my outlet is on the internet?

Holy 2014, Batman!

I've never been big on resolutions. Why should January first be the day for me to reinvent myself? There's a natural progression in which I'm reinvented on a fairly regular basis. Anyone who has known me for more than a few months understands that.

Color Scheme Inspiration: Bedroom

In decorating my new apartment, I was completely starting from scratch in that I owned no furniture or really anything other than the type of items that are generally stored away in a closet (ie, plenty of clothes!) However, when choosing colors, I had to think about what the place already looked like.

Because the whole house has white walls and a dark chocolate brown carpets (with the exception of the kitchen which has gorgeous yellow walls, but we'll get there another time) I had to consider those colors are my starting point.

Friday Five Things: 10/04/13

Welcome back to Friday Five Things, and my first edition brought to you from the great state of Arizona. You already know a lot about me moving across the country, so I'll try not to talk too much about the actual moving process or decorating, since there will be plenty of posts dedicated to those topics.

Before Pictures

I have been living in my apartment for just over a week now, but before I moved in, I had a completely blank slate. Looking around me now, it's hard to believe that just weeks ago this place was totally empty, and a month ago it wasn't even mine.

Cute little cactus garden out in front of the complex

Moving Is Rough

I've been in a lull lately, haven't I? What with moving, starting a brand new job, setting up an apartment from scratch and trying to spend as much time as possible out and about (aka at the bar...) I just haven't had the time to blog like I want to.

My First Week in Arizona

My updates have been nonexistent lately.

I know, I'm sorry (says every blogger ever, usually followed by "I promise to post more" which then ends up being the last post ever made in said blog). That's not my intention here, don't worry.