I went to San Francisco! The end. But really, I'm having writer's block with the added distraction of a new trip to plan. Before I get into those juicy details, I'll do my best with the tales from my latest trip. The morning after the Superbowl, still buzzing from the high of a glorious win, Christy and I packed up Fireball (our new name for her little red Honda Fit) and ventured north to San Francisco. We stopped for gas and food and pictures in front of Andersen's Pea Soup, but otherwise the drive was smooth and uneventful. Our host for the week was none other than Brian**, the "stranger" I met on my flight back to San Diego from my visit home. Thus, we found ourselves couchsurfing in a three-bedroom, two-bath, apartment smack in the ... read more

Last time I wrote about my second trip to the Grand Canyon. Since then I haven't had the opportunity to go on any trips, at least not outside of my county. I have, however, had a very eventful month! Back in August I made several big changes to my life in California. Not all of these turned out to be good choices, but I have learned some important lessons. For starters, I learned that a job in the scuba department of a retail store, is still a job in a retail store. The hours are long, the work is boring, the customers are grumpy, and management treats you like a faceless number. After a few short weeks I felt like I had grasped the bulk of available knowledge and that my growth was at its peak. ... read more

Happy September! The past month has been an absolute whirlwind. Some of the highlights include: Visiting my father at his conference in Pasadena, getting free VIP tickets to the Jay-Z/Beyonce On The Run tour, taking a spontaneous camping trip to Joshua Tree National Park, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, finding a second job in the scuba department at a sporting goods store, going diving, studying for my advanced certification, and finding an affordable and adorable new apartment. I won't bore you with all the stories behind the events, so if you want more details check out my new blog here: http://leaveandexplore.wordpress.com/ or send me a private message (especially if you need my new address!) Now for the good stuff- the infamous spontaneous camping trip aka "SCT". My co-worker Christy and I de... read more

I wish I actually got around to writing my blogs at the exact time I thought about writing my blogs! But of course, my last blog was behind schedule, and thus this one is long beyond overdue, so you'll just have to imagine this is a current event.... it still feels like yesterday to me! On a Monday afternoon at the end of May, my co-worker and fellow New Englander, Christy, and I set out on an epic adventure. We hopped in Christy's fuel efficient vehicle and cruised our way east. We danced to each other's music, shared stories, and enjoyed the vast, empty space of the wild west. Eight hours after our departure, we arrived at our intended destination: Tusayan, Arizona. This little town is best known for its proximity to one of the seven ... read more

As always, it has been too long. Which in this case is a good thing, as it means I've been busy! It has now been exactly three months since I arrived in California, so let me catch you up to speed... I moved in, furnished my room, had a job interview at SEA LIFE, joined a gym, landed a seasonal job at SEA LIFE, decided to learn Spanish, started working, started working out, started to hang out with people from work outside of work, got bumped up to a part-time (read: permanent) position at SEA LIFE, started running again, continued practicing my Spanish, planned lots of social gatherings with co-workers, and most recently, applied for and landed an educator position at SEA LIFE. Basically my days are spent alternating between work, exercise, beer, and sleep- and ... read more