Life Update

Yes, I realize I haven't posted anything in almost two months but a lot's been going on. Quick updates on life:

1. Been driving to work for two months and as predicted it is not fun anymore. Yesterday it took two hours to get from Kapolei to downtown because of the horrid rain. This morning I decided to leave a half hour early since I ended up being a half hour late to work yesterday. Today it only took an hour to get to work so now I'm an hour early. *sigh*

2. Found out that bonuses are not being distributed till the end of February. This throws a wrench in my plans as I had hoped to quit work at that time. Now I must debate whether to give two weeks and quit mid-month or stick it out the entire month of March. This will mean trying to wrap things up in April and leaving in May.

3. Started planning my trip using low-cost carriers with an estimated timeline of an April departure. Interestingly enough, I can get to Europe cheaper this way with more cities to visit on the way. However, with the bonus situation thrown in, I'll have to revise my itinerary. Instead of doing three months in Europe before heading to New Zealand, I may go straight to NZ and hit Europe after my year there.

4. I've been contemplating whether or not to do a separate blog for my travels while maintaining this personal blog. In reality, I don't think I'll have time to update both (case in point the length between this post and the last). And once I hit the road, traveling will literally take over my life and it will become personal. Thus, I could theoretically just continue on with this one. However, after all the stuff I've written here, I think I'd prefer to keep this away from any co-workers that may want to follow my travels. Decisions, decisions. On top of that, I've been researching how to do a proper blog with a custom domain name and host. It all seems so complicated to set up though. And what about when updates are needed?

5. I have been refraining from making any clothing and shoe purchases, which was a bit difficult during all the holiday sales. I did, however, buy some clothes to be used on the trip for super cheap. I've also received some things for the trip through my Secret Santa gift exchange. No one knows I'm going but apparently it was meant to be since I got a sporty water-resistent watch and an entire first aid kit. My uncle also sent me a small faux-Swiss Army knife and an NZ guidebook. Scored a free water bottle from my sister-in-law.

6. One of the biggest hurdles for traveling is deciding what kinds of electronics to bring. My sister gave me a Sony Bloggie point-and-shoot/video camera that I've been trying out. But I may have her return it and put that money toward an iPod Touch. I think they have the same basic functions except the iPod Touch can get a wifi connection so I can check email or book hostels with it. That should be convenient.

7. This weekend I'm headed to the Big Island for a girls-only weekend with my best friend. We haven't been there for several years so it should be fun just to kick back and relax. Unfortunately, the weather has been very crappy these past few days so I hope it gets better. We wanted to hike down to see the lava, see the waterfalls on the east side, drive up to Mauna Kea and see the stars (and snow, which I hear is falling) and hike down Pololu lookout to check out the little beach there. I'm not sure if the Mauna Kea trip is allowed with rental cars though.

8. There have been some major changes at work. And no, I don't mean that the light bulb finally went on and the new girl is actually a functioning person. What I do mean is that we had a big blow out and now our boss isn't our boss any more. We report directly to the VP (as does he) and he isn't involved as much in our daily activity. The VP and president were supposed to talk to him a couple weeks ago but several people go sick and it's been postponed a number of times. Overall, I think this is a good change but, as mentioned above, the new girl still isn't pulling her weight. It's going to take work to have this department functioning as a "team," which is the main goal. Either way though, I'm so over it. I'm over her. I'm over the departmental issues with our (ex)boss. I'm over the politics. I'm over the favortism. I'm over it all.

Just A Quickie

Not much going on lately, but I just wanted to check in to make sure y'all knew I wasn't dead.

I'm looking forward to catching Dear John this weekend with my friend JC because she and I both love us some Channing Tatum. Planning to ball my eyes out though as I'm thinking it might be a little bittersweet? It's based on a Nicholas Sparks book and isn't there always something to cry about in his books/movies? Maybe I should go with waterproof mascara for this little outing of ours?

Other than that . . . well, I've been in new employee training class at work. No, I didn't get a new job. But, I'm sitting in on these new hire classes to get some ideas for newsletter articles. I'm running low on topics and my brain is too tired to think creatively. I'm hoping a quick review on everything will rejuvenate me. Also, it's just one way to get away from my desk and be with other people.

I'm still contemplating this and any other job. I mean, it'd be nice to quit and travel until the money dries up but that takes some guts. If I don't have the balls to do that, then I guess I could just take an extended vacation (one to two months maybe?) to travel around Europe or something. Or, I can save that money and pack up for San Francisco, hope I can get a job there and use the cash as reserves until I can find a job. Tough decisions.

Waiting Game

I've been so busy this week that I forgot to check whether or not my JET application made it to D.C. Finally got around to checking tonight and it arrived safely on Monday afternoon. Priority Mail was apparently enough to get it there in time. I was not going to pay a minimum of $17.50 to go Express Mail. If that were the case, I could've done FedEx or UPS. Crazy!

Anyway, I guess at this point there's nothing more to do but wait. I am hoping the time between now and the interviews will go fairly quickly. I am really getting fed up with work and am looking forward to a vacation soon. I dream of leaving for some European jaunt and never coming back. I may just need to settle for a quick trip to Vegas with my sis. I waiting to hear whether or not my BFF can go with us.