the turnaround...

I don't believe in shooting stars, but I believe in shoes and cars.

FINALLY, after weeks of walking up rusted spiral stairs, sleeping in a shed, being "the little sister they never had", and sharing the living quarters with 9 to 11 dirty boys (all of whom I love dearly), I found a home! Maddie and I moved into our new apartment on Monday and I seriously love it! We live with three other girls that are dope and two itty bitty baby kittens, Fez and KiKi. It is so nice to be able to walk around and shower in-home instead of at the gym and pool. We're a little farther away from the beach, but it's still just a five minute drive. Perfect!

(Relief Society Shoutout): Good news moment #2: I HAVE A JOB!! I sleep with Maddie, eat with Maddie, hang out with Maddie, and now we work together. Bomb. So, I'm an administrative assistant at a property tax firm in Costa Mesa. I listen to Ryan Seacrest in the morning during the commute, get to work and cook some oatmeal, file papers, organize documents, type, copy, go on breakfast runs. Perk: they provide all the snacks a girl could ever dream of and a refrigerator stocked with my D.C... It's not in my field, but it's work, and as Lil' Wayne says, "I love to work."

So. Guess where I went last night? The Fray concert!!! It was so so much fun-- we had awesome seats on the grass at the Verizon Amphitheatre in Irvine and it was probably the best time I've had since I got here! I went with my new BFF Garrett, my ex-roommate Larry, his lover Tiffani, her brother Troy and his cute girlfriend Jen, who sat in the orchestra which was far away from my co-worker Tanner and his cute girlfriend Daile, who is the sister of my roommate Maddie. All in the family, all in the family. If you ever get the chance to see The Fray live, do it. People gladly share their marijuana with you, and the man's voice is flawless. (Mom and Dad: you know I don't smoke marijuana, right? Right... Okay... Just checkin.)

Overall, the stress of the unknown is starting to go away, things are totally starting to settle, and I consider this week a major turnaround!!

Here are some pictures from the night. I'm saving my ticket.

His name is Larry-- I call him Lawrence (because I feel like Larry should be short for something) or Fairy (because I love rhymes)

Gare Bear--this dude is a stunner. TheForestLab.com

From L to R: Me, Jen (future hairdresser to the stars), and Tiff (#1 nanny).

Spirit Ring

"And then, for Hannakuh, my parents got this pair of really expensive white gold hoops and I had to pretend like I didn't even like them and... it was so sad!" -Gretchen Weiners.

Okay, so not totally related, but the quote popped into my mind, so... whatever that's worth...

Our family has this awesome Christmas tradition-- the 12 days of Christmas. We get a gift and a poem outside our door every day for the 12 days prior to Christmas. It started like 9 years ago when we were flying to Arkansas on Christmas day. My clever parents thought it would be kind to still let Santa do Christmas, so they spread it out over 12 days. It was awesome. And it still is.

So this last Christmas I had to stay up in Logan to work at the elementary school, so my mom and dad packed me up a box of gifts that sat outside my door, and each morning I got to open one!! I just love them... One of my favorite gifts was this amazing turquoise and silver ring that my mother and I deemed my "spirit ring". Ya know. Indians. Turquoise. Spirit. I've received more compliments on that ring than any other accessory I've ever owned, and I like to tell people it was a gift from my parents. It holds a pretty significant amount of sentimental value. Well, I wear that ring almost every single day. I love it. So naturally, I wore it yesterday. dun dun dun.

Off to the beach, I go. Travis, Larry and I are just swimming around, playing like little kids in the waves... Then right as Larry and I go to dive under a wave, he accidentally strips my finger of my Spirit Ring. My most precious has returned back home to the depths of the sea. Back to its mother (Mrs. Nature), on the wildest journey. After my initial fury, I decided to make peace with the fact that my Spirit ring was where it wanted to be. One with the ocean.

I have looked down at my right hand through teary eyes multiple times since I lost my baby. A small piece of my heart disappeared yesterday and will be lost forever...

(A picture of me and my spirit...)
I know what I'm asking for this Christmas....

Youth, Books, Rooftop Yoga, Zumba, and Dessert...

Caution-- I apparantly have A.D.D. today. If you can't jump from topic to topic quickly, don't bother reading this one...

Everyday as I'm heading out to the beach, Kui says, "Just livin' the dream". I'm gonna be honest; I get kinda defensive when I hear that. Yes, I am going to spend the afternoon relaxing and enjoying palm trees and sand, BUT I feel like the rest of the day I do a pretty good job at filling my time searching and applying for jobs, looking for housing, reading, planning, blah blah blah...

I came across a quote the other day:

"Young people are in a condition like permanent intoxication, because youth is sweet and they are growing."--Aristotle

I've gotta say, even though I like to think that I'm all grown up and taking on responsibility, I am stuck in a state of permanent intoxication. I love being young. I love knowing that I have time to enjoy myself, learn, take afternoons off to spend at the beach. I'm reading The Alchemist right now. It's all about fulfilling your life dreams, taking each day in stride, paving your own path, and recognizing that each experience is a building block. The more I think about my life, the luckier I feel, and I know it's partly because this "youth is sweet"!!!

I did yoga on my rooftop tonight... I can tell that I haven't moved my body in two weeks, but it felt good! I've got all these positive vibes flowin. In all actuality, it probably isn't the yoga-- I'm guessing it's the whole "legalized marijuana" thing. You never know what's in the air you're breathing...

Shakira, shakira, I registered for my Zumba workshop. Come August 24, I expect to see everyone outside my door ready for an hour of body rolling and shaking, well, everything... Hopefully I'll be able to find somewhere out here to teach and make some extra cash flow.

Today I ate Del Taco and a Reese's FastBreak... It's been my best day so far...

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Yes, I'll be yours.

Maddie and I went on a little cleaning spree of the house and thought it would be nice to extend our reign of the upper deck to the outside area, in addition to our 5x13 box. (Don't get me wrong; I love this box--it's just that sometimes it's hard to squeeze two tall girls in here for anything other than sleeping/reading purposes.) So on this little speed clean we swept and rearranged the hammock, table, bench, firepit, and umbrella. We like to think of it as our outdoor family room...

So that's where I am. Outside, listening to the ocean in the background, sitting at the table under the umbrella and it is a BEAUTIFUL day.

That was a long intro. Now for the topic of the day: my hair.

Uh, somebody call 911 or any other emergency service, my mane is out of control. Every day I wake up and it's a mystery as to what my hair is going to do. Some days it decides to lay all nicely and not tangle, but then it will start creating some wacked out part down the side of my head. What the. And then other days it's like a gnarly mess, but even though I can't run my fingers through it, it looks fine. The problem I have is that my hair has a mind of its own. It's unpredictable. I don't like unpredictable-- with anything. I like knowing what's going on. You can sense the anxiety this gives me...... Does anyone else ever consider drastically changing their hair on a daily basis? I always want to go dark again, even though the upkeep is nothing less than misery. I always want to cut it, but that thought usually goes away when I picture the afro that I would be stuck with for the next 6 years of my life until it grew out. I need a change, I just don't know what to do. Oh-- and I'm so over straightening my hair. Everytime I do, I feel like I lose a little bit of my soul and most of my personality. So... Suggestions?

Even if you don't totally care, just make Hi-mee happy for a little while and pretend like you do...

Life in CA...

So it's been about a week since I initially embarked on my new life journey and it has seriously been GREAT!! Every once in a while I get a few feelings of frustration because I still haven't found a job or a home... But progress is being made on a house, and the job hunt isn't looking as bleak as it has the past few months. Patience is a virtue. Yeah, about that....

But this week has been filled with LOTS of laughs, a trip to the HB library, visits to the beach (seriously like 200 feet from the house), boating at Lake Elsinore, running in the heat and wanting to pass out, laying in bed and watching past bachelorette episodes online, good music, walks along the beach and some great new friends!!

We're planning on going to Las Vegas this weekend for my roommate Maddie's boyfriend's concert. Tongue twister. It's all tentative, nothing set in stone yet, but wouldn't that be FUN?!

Even with all of the amazing things out here in California, there are still a lot of things I'm going to miss in Utah!! My family, breakfast in bed, sunday dinners, route 44s from Sonic with Cassidy, wedding showers, day club, rubbing my sister's belly, a gym membership, my hilarious friends in Logan, showering...

I'm fully convinced that in the few places I've been able to live, I have been blessed with knowing and associating with the most AMAZING people. Everywhere I go, I feel like I've found the best people, the best friends. I love you, and if I'm not near you, I miss you!!!

did you know?....

Things you might not know about me...

1. I brush my teeth with hot water.
2. Dolly Parton, "Here you come again." is my guilty pleasure.
3. I don't have any credit cards because I haven't developed that kind of self control yet.
4. I like drinking warm diet coke-- out of a can, not a bottle.
5. I laugh out loud when I drive by myself if I get excited about my destination.
6. Reese's fastbreak, diet coke, cheez-its. Nuff said.
7. I have this dream about ringing the stock market bell. (I know ZERO about the stock market.)
8. If I had a super power, I would love to hear what people are listening to on their iPods. For instance, I listen to Jay Z, "Big Pimpin" with a sly little grin because it's my little secret. No one knows...
9. I have a club thumb and was born with extra fingers and toes.
10. I honestly believe Lil' Wayne and I would be friends.
11. I look forward to wearing maxi dresses while I'm pregnant.
12. I get mad when my friends with curly hair do it straight, and similarly, I get mad at myself.
13. The idea of outer space is a hard one for me to grasp.
14. I have a very bad memory-- sometimes I have long conversations with people and then the next day forget their name and their face.
15. My little unborn nephew, Perry, is the thing I'm currently most excited for in life.
16. I get a little less than furious when people can't spell "D-I-T-T-O."
17. I got hit by a semi-truck and my miracle car drove away.
18. My mom put me in an aerobics class when I was 8 years old. Step-n-Jive.
19. When I was 5 I took my dad's cordless drill (no bit, plastic cap on) and stuck it up to my hair because I thought it would tickle my head... Result: bald spot.
20. I have no space bubble. Mom and Dad, thanks for holding me so much as a baby.

spare time...

SO. Here I am, sitting at the HB library, overlooking ponds and fountains and my scholarly peers, and I'm thinking--"Jaim. You need to start fighting for your place in cool adult society." So I've started to weigh my options: buy organic hemp/bamboo clothes, be a celebrity nanny, learn a cool magic trick, drink monavie, START A BLOG...

I've been a little hesitant to do this [blog] earlier because I don't have a business or a spouse, but I may be in this current state of life for quite some time, so here goes!!

July 7th: Loaded up my car with everything I own and drove to Las Vegas! My best friend Jordan is living there for the summer and so it was the perfect pit stop. We went bowling, hung out at the pool, had a "perfect pushup" contest, dressed up in Turkish bathrobes and took pictures with martini glasses full of Minute Maid... It was a goooooood time.

July 8th: Continued down the 1-15 for another 4 and 1/2 hours until I reached my new home! Huntington Beach, CA. Land of the free, home of the brave. I'm sleeping in an amazing shed on a rooftop with my bestie, Madelyne. I don't have a job, but I do have a blog now, so it's all good.