Blog Post! "The Last 1.5 Years" Part I

My friend Erica recently told me to post on my blog "even if it's just photos of your new married life, but especially if it's funny stories about skinny dipping or something like that."

The truth is, I've been trying to write some new posts for a while. The last year and a half of my life has been full of excellent blogging material. First of all... I got married. I found a boy who liked me enough to hang out with me forever. So that was cool. Also, for most of 2012 I worked as a singer in a bar. This was so very out-of-character for me I don't even know how to start explaining it.

So maybe I should just start at the beginning. Or rather... at the end of my time in Utah. That was really where my life took some unexpected detours.


It was September 2011. I was living in Provo. The important things about my life at this time are as follows:
- I was working television which, considering that I majored in media production, was essentially my dream employment situation.
- I was in love with someone who was not in love with me (and I had a daily emotional roller coaster about it).
- I weighed 168 pounds, which isn't huge, but in the land of Provo Barbie dolls, I felt enormous.

It was a very strange time in my life and I couldn't help but feel like I wasn't really progressing. I felt like I was on a launching pad, waiting for lift off. Waiting...

...and waiting....

Then one day... I got laid off.  I suddenly didn't have a job anymore. My contract with the TV company I was working for was not renewed. I called my mom from a gas station, probably cyring. She told me I could move home, if I wanted to.

I thought about it. I could probably get another TV job in Utah if I stayed. The industry out there is surprisingly happenin' and I was fairly well connected. And what would happen if I moved back in with my mom? That was probably pretty lame... But I kept thinking about that "launching pad" feeling...

Then I went home to my apartment and sat on the stairs, thinking about life. Something about losing my job felt right. Something about moving away felt freeing. Utah had been good to me, but had I drained the well? As I was sitting on my stairs, the boy I was pining after came by to borrow zip ties. He was building a go cart. Noticing my pensive, slightly depressed demeanor, he invited me to come test drive it with him. I, of course, accepted.

It was probably the most bittersweet go cart ride in history. As I sat, snuggled next to the boy I would never have, thinking about where I would end up, who I would be in a year, feeling the wind against my face, I said a quiet goodbye to Utah. Goodbye to my unhealthy relationship (or lack thereof...) with "go cart boy". Goodbye to job security and cold winters.

Then I went to Africa.

[Sidebar: I've been to many cool countries, mostly by inviting myself on other people's trips. A few months prior to my lack of employment, my grandpa told me he was going to Africa to visit some of my cousins. I promptly invited myself to go with him. He was a little suprised, but accepted my offer. We bought our tickets and made the arrangements. Then, a week before the trip, my grandpa called to tell me that grandma was too frail for the trip so they weren't going anymore. I now had a ticket to Africa and was going alone.]