Adios September

Today is the last day of September. I am still job hunting but more than that I am just ready for Thanksgiving. I just want to go home and stay there for a little while. I know that running away is not the answer but some times you just need a little change and a little breather. But I will have to wait a little while until I can go home. Otherwise I think things are going well. This weekend I have several things going on. Tomorrow I am going to an alumni reception at the Harvard Club in New York for the Appalachian State University alumni association and I am excited about that. Then Saturday is my dad's birthday and also an event for our church's 24th anniversary. So that will be a full day with dinner at Lumani Seafood in Westfield which I have heard is really delicious. Then on Sunday we have special services in the morning and evening at church. So a really full and really busy weekend. Also in addition to Saturday being my dad and my uncle's birthdays I am also sort of celebrating/reflecting on being in New Jersey for one year. I can't believe that I have been here a year almost or already. The time has flown by and it has not gone exactly as I planned at all but I know now that nothing in life is certain and that we make plans but it is really up to God what he wants to do with you especially if you tell him to do with you what he wants to. But I am not giving up hope that before the year ends that things will turn around in my favor. I have been focusing on several verses about hope and they have done just that given me the hope to keep believing that I will reach a better place than where I have been and where I am now.So so long September. I am ready for October and the last two months of the year that fly past unrealistically.

Hello Blog

Once again I have fallen off the blog wagon. Unfortunately I had nothing really to blog about. I applied for some jobs but I haven't heard anything back yet. So in the past few weeks I haven't really been anywhere or done anything. Dad and I tried to go to church last Sunday but there was a horrible fire at the apartment buildings next to the church in Orange, NJ and they had shut down all the streets around it so we couldn't go in even though the church building itself was not harmed. My dad was extremely curious and circled the neighborhood multiple times until he found a random neighbors driveway where he could see what was going on. It wasn't until then that we realized that the fire was still blazing and not smoldering as it appeared to be from far away. It was really scary and amazing to see two ladder trucks with two firemen in each actively fighting the blazes. It was frightening to see the orange blazes climbing up towards the sky in pillowy clouds of black smoke. Fortunately no one was hurt and eventually the fire went out but people's homes were lost for good which is very sad and tragic to wake up one day and several hours later be homeless. But I think that they will be able to get support from the community and hopefully replace the things that were lost.

Labor Day Weekend

Mom came to town on Friday and we officially kicked off our Labor Day weekend. That night we went out to eat at Red Lobster. I was really hungry so I got the fried flounder and a lobster tail. The fish was cooked really well and I enjoyed it more than other times I've been to Red Lobster. We came back home and talked about things to do on Saturday. Dad was tired on Saturday so Ma and I went out and went to Target and then went to get some lunch at Panera Bread. Later, we went out on a coffee run and came back and ate some of the gluten free brownies that I made from a mix I picked up at Trader Joe's. We drank our coffee and ate our brownies and talked about what we might do that evening. We ended up just staying in and ordering some Chinese food, from Cheng's Cafe in Edison. It was delicious as always. We just watched some tv and then the evening was over. This morning we went to church where we had a guest speaker named Dr. Jim Finn. He gave a really inspiring and powerful message. I also got asked to help out with the book table for a ladies' conference that is going to be taking place in October in Parsippany. I hope that I get to attend but I have to pray about it because I don't have the money on my own. But I believe if it is for me to go then I will have what I need to get there. After church we came home and then headed to New York. We didn't have that much time but we went to Katz's Delicatessen and then just stopped by to look at the Lower Eastside Tenement Museum. Then we tried to go get some cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery in Midtown but we didn't know that the Brazil Festival was happening there. So we couldn't turn down 6th ave. I wish I had remembered that I had the address for the one in the West Village but I forgot and it was too late to turn back at that point. My parents had a reservation at The Chart House for their 31st wedding anniversary so we had to head back. That's where they are now. A word of caution if you should go to Katz's the roast beef is served cold and rare. And when they say rare they mean rarer than rare. Learned that the hard way! Next time I'm sticking to what I know. Maybe some matzoh ball soup! I wish mom could stay longer. I like having her here a lot!

Happy September

New month, new possibilities! I am really excited that it is September. I am really believing that this month will be better than the rest of the months of this year have been for me. I am really ready for change and for new experiences and endeavors. So I am looking forward to what September brings with it. First up there is going to be a visit from my mom this weekend which I am really excited about. I have to look up all the things that are going on this weekend so that we have something to do. But I am really looking forward to seeing her and hope that my family will be able to enjoy some things this weekend that we haven't done before in the New York area. So that is exciting. Then there will be another EMP event in the next few weeks and I am looking forward to going to that because this time around I will have my business cards on me and I can pass them out to people who may be able to pass my name along to their colleagues and co-workers. I am really happy that EMPs has been revived and I am really happy that there will be more networking opportunities coming my way. I was really hoping that there would be some news already from the museums that I had applied to for jobs but I haven't heard anything yet. However, I am really excited about the possibility of hearing something and also applying for more jobs in my field.

Plus the end of summer is this weekend and then my favorite time of year will be coming up soon: Fall. I love the fall of the year and I cannot wait for the leaves to change and the air to get cooler. I am so looking forward to it. So there are many things to be thankful for and I know that I will be able to get to where I want to be as well if I keep being persistant.

August Is Over

Well my goal of blogging more during August did not exactly pan out as I had hoped, but I will finish off the month with this post. Where did August go? I'm not sure but it has been a good month. I applied for some museum positions this month and I hope to hear from them soon. I also attended a fantastic event last Wednesday for the group Emerging Museum Professionals NYC. The event was held at the Museum of Arts and Design in Columbus Circle in NY. There was a reception after a short presentation in an event space at the museum that looked over Columbus Circle and looked over a corner of Central Park. After the event I went to a friend's house for dinner in Queens. It was a lovely evening and I am sure that I overstayed my welcome at my friend's because I seriously did not want the night to end. I didn't want to come back to Jersey. I wanted my museum job and I wanted my New York apartment and my new life. I am so ready to get out of Jersey and so ready to have my own life. I'm ready to have a purpose again and not just occupy space in this apartment. I want to create and to live. I am so bored! And for reasons I will not get into the last two weeks have just amplified that boredom and the need to have more to do than attend my church and occasionally go to the grocery store. I was so envious of the other young museum people that I met and my friend as well who has a really great job and life. I really want that so badly and two and a half years ago I thought that that was where I was heading until I was majorly set back and saw my dreams crumble. And the most frustrating part is that I have continuously pursued getting back on top and have not been able to get there yet. I've almost been without a job for a full year. I've done the consulting work and I am not complaining but I would really like to work a full time job and I would like to have health insurance and a retirement plan and vacation days that I can actually use because I have the money to go on a vacation. Not to mention that I have a ton of bills that need to be paid. I know I just need to keep being persistent and keep moving forward and I will get to where I need to be but I guess I'm reflective because I'm coming up on being in New Jersey for a year. I intend to be employed before I turn 29. My pastor this weekend declared that this next seven days would be the best days of 2010. I really want that and I am believing that for myself. I need a change and a turnaround in my circumstances. The last year has really been filled with some of the lowest moments of my life and I am ready to get out of this stage and phase and get to a good place financially, mentally, physically, and emotionally. And I realize that I can't let circumstances define how I feel or what I believe about myself or the future but I want more for my life than what I have been experiencing and I am NOT going to give up on myself.

TRADER JOE'S

Yesterday I returned to Trader Joe's. Why is this a big deal you ask? I have not shopped for groceries at Trader Joe's in almost a year and TJ's is my most favorite grocery store on the planet. I was also really excited because after months of talking about how I needed to get my diet back on track I was able to get all of my favorite vegan foods that I love. And that makes me feel good because I know that by sticking to my vegan diet that it will help more than just my weight. It is good for your skin and your bodily functions like increasing metabolism. I was so excited to get my favorites like Soy Creamy ice cream, Tofurkey, Asian Vegetables with Beijing Soy Sauce, and Black Cherry gelatin free gel cups. Yummmmmm! I was so happy to be back in the Trader Joe's and so happy that I was once again getting on the vegan train where I have needed to be for a long time. So I feel like things are getting better and I believe they will get better in every area but it's starting with my food choices!

Just Keep Swimming - Finding Nemo

Another week done! Where are they all going? I still feel like I am missing something. It feels as if life is flying by but I am standing still. I am working on being patient and being still and knowing that everything will be alright yet it is so difficult when I need so much and I want so much to be doing anything but what I am doing: sitting around like a bump on a log. This week did bring some highs with it. Last Friday I applied for a museum job and then to my surprise there were three more museum jobs that I was able to apply for this week. Oh Happy Day! So once again I am in the waiting game, will they call or won't they. But whatever happens I will just resolve to be happy nonetheless. Also I finally got the news that there will be a meeting for the AAM NYC Emerging Museum Professionals in two weeks at the Museum of Arts and Design. I am looking forward to meeting other emerging museumers and also some veterans. So I think it will be a great time to connect and to finally feel like I am back in the industry and hopefully connect with some other museum professionals and get some contacts. I am really looking forward to it and I have some really high expectations for what is going to happen. So I need to look ahead to the positive things happening and just do my best to get through each day. Each day has enough trouble of it's own so why not just worry about the present rather than what you can't change (the past) and what you can't predict (the future). I will wait patiently, but I do hope things turn around soon! I can't lie, I really do!