What's 5 years between friends?

Here I am again - thinking an online journal is a good idea!

My life has taken MANY unexpected turns and now here I am in Portland, Oregon. Living with my boyfriend of one year - Matt. I have a Master's in archaeology and I'm working as a server/bartender at Outback steakhouse.

And that's me. All 26 years and 176 lbs of me.

I feel many feels, but I have to say that while I miss undergraduate, my life is much happier than I think I have ever been before. I miss my family, but I love it here and I know that I can really make a life here - and adult life with all the trappings.

I've been working on myself - working to lose weight, working to better my resume, and working to just do more with my time. Without the regiment of graduate school, I find myself forgetting that I can do ANYTHING I want before or after work... It's freeing and kind of scary. Scary that I can do anything and I might be missing it. Missing out. Wasting time.

It's good to know that while I am happy, I'm still looking for more.

Livejournal?

I got a Livejournal at the request of one Heather Allen. I'm not doing anything with it, but it made me think about how everyone is putting themselves out there. I don't know about the entirety of a person, but the idea that someone you just met and "friend requested" a la Facebook, can see your past and the person you present yourself as. After a minutes consideration, I realized that I do NOT want my first impression of a person through their electronic representation. I want to know them from my face-to-face interactions.

I think we as a society are losing something. The more we have access to, the less we know/understand about ourselves. Book by its cover and all that jazz.

Now What?

"What happens to the pretty people? The pretty neurotic people? Those who are blunt because they don't see the point in beating around a figurative low lying shrub?"

The pretty ones find themselves in a situation where looks cannot save them. The pretty neurotic people wind up worrying and wishing their lives away. The blunt ones scare off the majority of the populace due to the irregularity of the act.

I need to be more subtle. Less upfront I suppose because I start sounding like I'm mentally imbalanced. Then again, maybe it's not just a matter of SOUNDING imbalanced O_o. I kid, I kid.

I want to find something to rail against. Someone to be upset at but that doesn't particularly work when delving into introspective thought. The only person to rail against is Self.

Oh boy. Tomorrow will be better :)

Jeeeeezus!

I will write in my blog more frequently. I will write in my blog more frequently. I will write in my blog more frequently.

So many things have happened since my last post that I don't really feel I need to describe it all in detail. So I shall summarize~

August: Got dumped
September: Took 20 credits and decided I was certifiably insane
October:Dropped one of my classes, got laid off from one of my jobs
November: Discovered our Landlady had us housing illegally in a zoning issue
December: Turned 21
January: Went to Ohayocon in Columbus Ohio and befriended a Viking
February: Spent Valentine's Day alone and was totally okay with that
March: Signed a year lease beginning June1st. Went out on a school night (St. Patrick's Day). Met a great guy. Went to a hockey game.

This passed academic year has been a tumultuous one and probably the most noteworthy in regards to blogging. C'est la vie. I may do some flashback posts if I feel so inclined BUT I haven't had a chance to cook a lot of delicious things or read any good books so I hope to start doing more of that. THAT will be newsworthy information indeed.

Kitchen!

Okay, so I made the Greek Tilapia. The seasonings were great and perfect for dipping fresh crusty bread in. An incredibly simple recipe. I don't generally use measurements any more unless I'm baking because I have not yet baked enough to be THAT confident.

I used a glass 13 x 9 glass pan, coated the bottom with olive oil (just until the bottom was covered). Then I placed the Tilapia fillets in the pan so that they were not overlapping. I spooned some prepared pesto from the Wegman's olive bar onto the fillets and made sure they were covered with the green yumminess. Then surround the fillets with 1 inch cubed roma tomatoes. Covered all of that with Feta cheese and then poured olive oil over all of it until the fish was almost completely covered by oil. Baked uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

It took about 15 minutes to put together, and that was with me digging for the glass pan in my kitchen upheaval. It was quick and delicious.

My family is renovating our kitchen given that we have lived with a 1960's kitchen for a over a year now in our "new" house. Today begins the process which shall culminate with me having an electric convection wall oven and gas cooking range!

This week it's easy foods that don't make dishes or a big mess. I'm currently relegated to the half finished basement where we have a sink and our old gas stove. GAS STOVE oh how I have missed thee! No more waiting 45 minutes for water to boil and then to have my noodles, sauce, pudding, pork tenderloins, grilled tuna melts be scorched and blackened by the perverse heat of 40 year old electric coils!

*cue hallelujah chorus ( I feel it warranted)*

This joyful celebration is met with the severe annoyance of having to run upstairs every 2 seconds to dig through the numerous kitchen boxes that we have stashed in our dining room and livingroom until we get the kitchen done because "oh crud, I forgot a spoon/pan/strainer/salt/ tongs"

BUT IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT! I'm going to hijack my mom's new camera and take pictures of the new kitchen to post as well as the christening meal! Now to figure out the first meal menu...