Ya know...a year's past...nbd

Oops. I totally forgot I had this blog. My bad. So I guess I'll write an update for everything that's gone on in the past year.


Michigan:
I left LA and went straight over to Pier Cove (worst traveling experience of my life because I was SO hungover from celebrating Eric's birthday). It was so nice to be with my all my siblings and Susi again. I had been moving constantly and this was a week of relaxation and pure enjoyment.

Papa Razzi:
Well I returned home after a wonderful month in LA and a week with the fam. For all the distress being home caused me before, it was nice to return to Concord. Needing money quite badly, I ventured back into Papa Razzi, my old restaurant stomping grounds, seeing if they had any room for me. Needless to say, I started working 2 days after.

It was fun to be back. Unlike my first stab at being a waiter, everything came more naturally to me. A new crew was in, a much younger bunch of servers, who, like me, were using this opportunity to bide time. It was a social scene. In a pleasant turn of events, a group of people from high school, some who I were acquainted with before and others who I just barely knew, joined the Razzi, making everything more enjoyable. During my time there, I thrived. I worked hard, usually filling my schedule with 70+ hours a week, making great money and always taking on more responsibility. In October 2009, I was named "RGP of the Month" and in November, I was formally asked to be a Server Trainer. By January I was asked to be the Function server point-person, working with the kitchen and management to ensure that big events went smoothly. I worked well with Management, trying to keep myself positive, although not always succeeding. But I liked it there. The people I worked with became my social circle, keeping my spirits high and well alcoholed throughout the tough times. They weren't just co-workers, they were my real friends.

By Late Spring, I was getting restless. The 1-year anniversary of my return was looming in the distance, sending fears of being stuck throughout my spine. By this time, the crew had changed again, as many of my friends and co-workers left for "real jobs" and new people came in, full of excitement and energy towards the process. I was jaded, which sounds overly dramatic seeing as though I had worked for the company for less than a year. But I was jaded all the same. I had trained over 80% of the staff working there and really gotten everything I could out of the experience without moving further into the company. So I left, but not without some amazing goodbye parties.

Trips:
While working at Papa Razzi, I had cash disposable. This meant I was able to buy things and more importantly, travel.

Sydney:
It was late-October and I was catching up with Alex Curtis, still back in Sydney. As our conversation continued, the idea of visiting Oz came up and started to take shape. Needless to say, I convinced Charle to come with me (wasn't too hard) and we headed over to Sydney on Thanksgiving, leaving our dinner early and hopping on a plane.

We arrived in the Sydney Airport on Saturday morning, missing Friday completely while in transit. It so happened that this day was our American ex-Patriots' decided Thanksgiving day. With tables set up and food being cooked, oozy punch being made and guests arriving to the gorgeous Double Bay apartment where we stayed, we enjoyed our second Thanksgiving dinner of the week.

Our trip to Sydney was amazing. I was able to reconnect with my old "roommates," while also making stronger ties with newer members of the Sydney community whom I had known before. Charle and I shopped, hiked, lay on the beach, drank, and did everything in between while we were there. It was so nice to return to that land without the stress I felt before. And Charle loved it.

LA:
Yes, I went back...but only for a week in the end of April 2010. Staying with Eric again, this time in Santa Monica, I returned in order to re-evaluate my attraction to the city. While working at the Razzi, getting more restless by the day, I was debating whether or not to move out to the West Coast again. This time I went with some friends from Concord and explored more. It was fabulous.

Grad School:
During my time at home, I explored many different options to direct my future. One option that arose was to apply to Grad School. Now I wasn't looking to return to an academic setting but I decided to check out some schools. The only programs I was debating was BU, NYU, Syracuse and USC -- the big schools in communication. Well one program that stuck out, because of the weather and classes, was the USC program. Annenberg had the reputation as the top ranked communication school in the nation, while BU and Syracuse battled it out for numbers 2 and 3. It was a natural fit. I was only applying to this one school, this one program. This meant I had to take the GREs, find writing samples, write essays and get everything in order. The work I did for my application was hard, not because of its level of difficulty, but rather my brain was used to reciting specials and not remembering vocabulary or math from 6 years earlier.

But oh ya...I got in.

LA again...and Again:
I left Concord and the Razzi at the end of June. I had money saved up and was moving to Los Angeles, not really sure of anything. Yes, this was my third time with a blind move (San Francisco and Sydney were my previous attempts) and I knew it was a risk. I didn't have a job lined up and I hadn't heard back from grad school yet. But I moved out here anyways, got myself an apartment with Eric in West Hollywood (WeHo), bought myself a little 1996 BMW convertible, joined a gym, and began to reach out to people I knew here in LA.

Here in LA I've reconnected with people from home who moved out as well as a plethora of BU people, some of which I talked to everyday in school while others were from years ago. I've also began to slowly make my own social circles, mostly thanks to Eric. It's slowly starting to feel like home.

And now I've been accepted to grad school. This is huge. For the first time in 2 years I have stability for the next year or so. I'm going to be extremely busy with everything from school, a job hopefully and even an internship maybe, but it's going to be good. I'm excited.

Till next time.

A lot's gone down

Wow. It's been quite a long time since I've blogged...I blame Twitter. Here's a VERY SHORT recap of what's gone down since my last blog.

SYDNEY:
Well, I left. It sucked (the leaving, not being there). I left Sydney because there were no jobs for me and I got the opportunity to find a job in LA during the summer. It was really sad leaving the Bay of Passion and all my friends there, but the last 2 weeks were AWESOME! I had a blast. Everyone was really accommodating and sweet and gave me the best send off I could ask for! I miss it a lot.

HOME:
Well, I came home after Sydney, which was actually really nice. I've spent some time in Boston but most of my time just chillin' around my house with the family. At my dad's we got a Wii, which is so bad ass fun that I can't get over it. I've also filled my days with hanging with old high school friends. Concord, despite lacking a little in the entertainment sectors, is nice to be in. Oh ya...and...

I GOT MY DRIVER'S LISENCE!!!

LOS ANGELES:
Well, I'm taking a break from sending out cover letters/resumes to write this. I'm back to craig's list, etc. for the LA area, which my friend Eric is helping me find jobs (he's actually my guardian angel). I go out on July 8th for like 3 weeks. It's really exciting.

So that's it in a nutshell. I'll try to update more often.

Till next time.

Could be...who knows...

Something very exciting could be happening in the next month or so...that's all I'm going to say!

Till next time.

In a Rut

Well, it's been a long time since I've updated this blog. This is for two main reasons...first, because now I'm twittering and so are many of my friends so it seems like people are more in tune with what's going on, and second, nothing really significant is going on in my life.

My day-to-day activities really haven't changed at all since I still do not have any sort of a job. About 2-3 weeks ago I did some promotions work, which was painfully horrible (think passing out fliers at the GSU for 6-8 hours a day). And that paid me some but I'm still sitting here on a Thursday afternoon updating my blog. I've also created an invite to an event, adding to the portfolio of Lucky Stone Designs, a company my cousin and I are working on. That also paid, but I still crave some sort of daily work. It's getting discouraging, seeing as though the 1 year anniversary of my college graduation is approaching.

Besides my money depleting quickly and utter boredom, I've had some fun times! There was the 80s party, celebrating my friend's birthday at a place called Retro Bar. I hadn't really gone out in a while prior to this, because I don't want to spend too much money...and also I don't know who to go out with, so it was great to have an excuse to be crazy. Just picture a group of us all dressed up at a club...where nobody else was in costume. Thank god for alcohol is all I can say. Even though we looked like total tools, and everyone stared and laughed at us, I still had a GREAT time.

I had one of my best friends, Olivia Rose Joan Vienneau, from home come visit for a week, which was amazingly fun. For the beginning of it, we flew down to Melbourne and spent some time there. It was really relaxing to walk around the city, explore St. Kilda, watch comedy shows at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and we even saw some movies (if you haven't seen 17 Again, DO IT NOW!!!) Then for the rest of the time here, I got to show her around Sydney. It's nice to have to have an excuse to go to all those touristy places that you never actually go to when you live in a place. It was great to see a familiar face!

Then there was my 23rd birthday!!! Alex organized this whole night, which included drinks at the Polo Lounge (how appropriate), dinner at a Tapas restaurant on Oxford St., and finally clubbing at some gay bars. With all my friends in Sydney, including Olivia, present, I really had a blast! The funny things is that the people I thought would have the most trouble being in a gay bar, really enjoyed themselves a lot (maybe even too much seeing as though my ass was grabbed quite a few times by my straight friend). It was a hella birthday though.

But ya, besides that I'm pretty blah right now. I need to get a job. I need to do SOMETHING! I don't want to have to go home again.

'Till next time.

Alone

Hmmmm...for the first time since I've gotten here, over a month ago, I'm really starting to feel lonely. I think it's a culmination of a lot of things. I mean, to be honest, I have people around me a lot of the time. Alex and Marcus are at the apartment everyday, and when I don't see them, I see other people who I consider my friends here in Sydney. But I still feel like I'm missing that social aspect of my life that really has been vital and in the forfront of my development.

One of the reasons I believe I feel like this is that I haven't established myself here yet. While yes, I have friends here, they haven't really reached the level of friends home, which is to be expected. And while I understand that it will take time and I need to go out there more and make more friends, it's weird not to be able or feel comfortable enough to call people to catch up or just chat. And of course, I don't have a job yet so I don't even have work friends to talk to. Having said that, it's not like Alex isn't great company. The difference in that relationship is that we're family, meaning we've known each other forever and, even thought we both went to BU, we're not used to seeing each other as much as we do; luckily we haven't disagreed on anything since I've arrived. Also, I don't want to press myself upon her life too much because I know that can add stress to a relationship, so I try to make sure she has her time away from me with Marcus or other friends.

I think another reason for my feelings of isolation is that I feel so alienated from home, which yet again is not surprising since I now live on the other side of the world. And yet, it still bothers me for a few reasons. For one, whether it be good news with my family (like my sister getting into college or my brother coming home) or bad news with my friends (when I feel really guilty that I can't be there to help support), I feel like I'm missing out on really important events that I should be apart of. Not that I can be there for everything, and I never could in the past, but I've always made the people I love priorities and it hurts to not be able to be there if I'm needed.

Secondly, when I do talk with people from home, it's all about catching up with their lives or my life. It's always nice to catch up because then I still feel like I'm part of their lives, but the relationship is changed a lot when that's all you can really do. I miss a lot of that pointless gossip or blabber or fucking around that I did with a lot of my friends a lot of the time.

Also, to put even more stress on, all three BU girls who got here in August or September, including Alex, are starting to freak out that they won't be getting sponsored because Australia is now freaking out. If they don't get sponsored, they are gone in August or September and I will know even less people. It sucks a lot.

So those are my frustrations. Yes, I'm sitting at my computer at 10:15 in an empty apartment, all my friends in the States should be sleeping still. And all I have is myself right now. I now know what it's like for my abroad friends, for Joey in SF, and for all my people who left Boston by themselves. It's weird to be on your own, having to rely on everything you learned, and still feeling as though your coming up short.

I know this has been a depressing entry, but I really am having fun here. I promise.

Till next time.

Twit twit

I found twitter. It changed my life. I'm kind of obsessed.

http://twitter.com/A_M0

Till next time.

I know this is way overdue...

What a crazy ride. I’ve been here for 3 weeks now and I don’t even know where to begin to describe what I’ve been going through. I’m sitting here in my room (yes…my very own room), watching Ocean’s 11 on my multi-channel DVD player and trying to grasp what I’ve been up to for the back 21 days.

Well, as I’ve said, I now have an apartment. Having officially moved in on the 7th of March, it’s been a chaotic time as Alex and I attempt to set up house. We have a gorgeous apartment with high ceilings, a kitchen with new appliances, including a dishwasher, hard wood floors, fully furnished with plenty of natural light. It’s located in the charming Eastern Suburb of Rose Bay, although not in the heart of the town. It is only a quick ferry or a bus ride away from the heart of the city. But it’s amazing. I feel like, unlike college, I can actually start to make a life here. That being said, I only have this place till September 3, when the owner returns from Germany. Pictures of the apartment will come soon.

On the job front, I’m finding it a little more difficult. While the country insists it’s feeling the recession, I can attest and say it is nowhere near the conditions of the States. But because they are starting to pinch their pennies, they are getting hesitant about adding people to their staff, which sucks for me. I have also been sending out resumes for smaller jobs but have yet to hear back. Grrrrrr. This is frustrating but I haven’t lost any hope!

Besides the job, I’m really content here. While not trying to make a living, I’ve spent my days just trying to stay busy. I’ve wandered the streets of Sydney, reacquainting myself with the layout and feel that these streets bring. I’ve seen old friends that I left behind here, while making new friends, both BU alums and Australians. And of course, because of weather here, I’ve beached it and tanned, because it’s another aspect of the culture here. It’s just wonderful.

That being said, of course I’m missing people. I’m missing my family and friends and as I hang up photos of people I care about in my room, I can’t help but be a little sad that I won’t see them for a while. And the weird thing is when I return to places without my Sydney crew (BIG SHOUT OUT) because I feel like they SHOULD be here. But, I can’t let that get me down. It’s still such an exciting time here and I finally feel free and grown-up (sans jobs).

All righty. That’s my life right now.

Till next time.