I've honestly been meaning to document the awesomeness that is my dog for at least 6 months now and tonight just seemed like a good night to actually sit down and at least start it. The only documentation I have of her currently is a video of us together from the day she came into my life, a few photos and a kick ass massive blanket from Parental Unit 2 that I got for Christmas last year (2011) (Hands down, one of the best gifts ever! I think it might have actually passed the game-worn, autographed to me, Mark Merila jersey...damn! They're REALLY good at giving gifts!). For a pet that has been so amazingly special and important in my life, I figured it was about dang time I sat down and wrote out some of our adventures together...please forgive me in advance if I start to ramble.
When I was 12, we took a family vacation to visit some family up in Montana. The trip was absolutely amazing! We went parasailing, jumped off bridges into lakes, I actually started to become okay at pool, had my first break up, went innertubing, boating, saw Glacier National Park, named the dark green Chevy Astro van we'd been driving for a while (Queenie), listened to Chicago and Edwin McCain non-stop (I was the DJ whenever I had the chance and when I listen to those albums, memories of that summer come flooding back) and went out on the family's boat what seemed like everyday to me. One day we had to get gas for the boat. When we pulled up to the gas dock (station? I don't know), there was the most beautiful, sweet, fun loving, soft, cuddly puppy I had ever seen in my life. I fell in love almost instantly. Turns out, he was a golden retriever. Fast forward to our drive back to California. I kicked my mom out of the passenger seat and proceeded to talk my step-dad's ear off the entire way home. Yes, the entire way home. I didn't just talk his ear off though, I was trying to convince him that I wanted, no, needed a golden retriever. (Mind you, I had spent years picking up after my little brother's black lab trying to convince Parental Unit 1 that I was ready for the responsibility of a cocker spaniel. Ha!)
A month or 2 later, it's the week before we go back to school I think, and I'm at a pool party for Ellen Dooley's birthday. I had finally worked up the nerve to jump off the high dive at the Victoria Country Club in Riverside. Yep, I was able to put my fear of heights out the window for a few moments that summer, it was awesomely terrifying! So, Parental Unit 1 shows up to take me home, but being the 12-year-old I was, I didn't want to go home and was trying to convince them they needed to hang out with all of the parents for a while, so I could continue hanging out with my friends. They yell at me, from the top of the country club, "Celia Michelle" (oh, shit! The middle name...), "you get your butt up here now!" I don't remember exactly how it happened, but I think Ellen was the one who convinced me to go up and meet my parents. I begrudgingly walk up the stairs to the van and open the sliding door to hop in the back. There, shaking with fear and curled up under the middle seat of the van, was my golden retriever puppy! Oh my gosh, the rest of the day was a blur, but in a great way!
Her Name:
At the time, I was all about being a princess and all of those graphic T-shirts said "Princess" on them, so the first name that came to mind was "Princess." It fit her for a while, too. She was so skittish and scared of almost everything, that it seemed like she was being a bit prissy, so it seemed to work. After a week, it dawned on me that maybe her breeder was right in naming her Kaley. According to the breeder, in Indian culture, it means peaceful. According to the internet, she was most definitely wrong, or I'm wrong in the way I'm spelling it. Oh well, she's a pretty dang peaceful dog, so I'll stick with the breeder's name meaning. I had to go back to less than a week after I got her and when I'd come home from school, she'd be so asleep, along with the black lab, Buck, that I'd have to either watch her to see if I could see her breathing or knock on the window so she'd wake up. And I panicked almost every time. Thus, her name was changed back to Kaley and we gave her the full kennel name of Kaley Princess of Bedelia (yes, that makes me Queen Celia Bedelia ;) ). And, yes, she most definitely lives up to it, especially now. Speaking of, her majesty is currently sprawled out on her bed breathing as if she's frustrated with me. I think she's in need of some attention... :)
I know that's a lot for now, and I haven't even actually started writing about our adventures, but I think it's time I give you a break. More to come again soon! I promise.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
We Shall Scrimp & Save
(from "When I'm 64" by Lennon/McCartney)
Please excuse me if this rambles...I didn't really proofread, just wanted to get this all out there into the universe as it's my way of figuring all of this stuff out. Hope you enjoy it at least!
I think it's interesting how people measure success. If you talk to most people, it's probably along the lines of "I own a house, I own this car, I make this much money," blah blah blah. If you talk to others, it might be, "I've raised this many kids, and now have this many grandkids." And I think there might just be a handful of people out there who might say something along the lines of "I've lived life to the fullest and know that when the time comes, I'll have no regrets." And while there is no "wrong" answer, I strive to fall into the latter 2 categories. In order to do that, I think I need to take this trip either now, or wait until I'm retired or my possible future kids are in college. Those are really the only time frames I think would work. I'm all ears if there are any other suggestions, but I absolutely hate the idea of packing up my possible future family and moving them. I love my family to death and know they had to do what they had to do for jobs and whatnot, but I still feel like we moved too much when I was growing up. I'd like to do what the boy's parents did, buy a house and really settle down. The fact that when he goes home to see his family, he gets to see all of his friends from HS as well, is something I long to give to my possible future kids. So, better get this whole I-want-to-live-everywhere thing out of my system now, don't you think?
I've been told by a few people that $10k probably won't be enough for my little adventure. I'm not sure if it will be yet either, but what I do know, is that it's a good goal. If I can put away $10k, and still have a little bit of money in my checking account and my credit cards all paid off, then I think I'm on my way to making this whole thing a reality! I'm also not expecting to pack up and go without having to work wherever I end up. While the economy may be crap right now, I do have experience waiting tables. And, while it may not be glamorous or very exciting, I could see me doing that anywhere to make ends meet. Oh yeah, and I have janitorial experience too, so worst case scenario there's always that! ;) Minus all of the poo cleanup, I actually LOVED that job! Weird, I know.
Basically, I know I have thousands of dollars worth of student loans in my name, not to mention what Parental Unit 1 took out for me, and I know I'll probably be paying them off longer than I've already been on this earth, but I firmly believe that I can make things work. Maybe it's the dreamer in me, or maybe it's the fact that I've been kind of making it work for the past 3 years, not without some help here and there, but I really do believe that if you want to do something and make something happen, you can. I also know that education is very important in this day and age. Now, whether that's a college degree on your wall, several college degrees on your wall, or just, I don't know, experiencing life and what it throws at you, is debatable and the answers vary depending on who you talk to. I've had some of the most amazing conversations with and learned a ton from some of my very closest friends, who have either graduated law school or tried the whole college thing and found out that college isn't for everyone. Although USC gave me a great education and valuable experiences, including the ones below, I think I've learned the most just living life and not necessarily in that stuffy old classroom. When I studied abroad in London, I learned how to live on very little until my financial aid finally kicked in 2-3 weeks later. I lived off of matzo crackers and terrible strawberry yogurt from Sainsbury's, but I still went and experienced everything I wanted to. That's how I made it work. The summer after my freshman year of college, I got my first legit apartment...in the ghettoish area...with a major ant, spider, cockroach problem. Even though I had to borrow money to get the apartment in the first place (which I tried to pay back, even if they wouldn't let me, coughParentalUnit2cough), I was so proud of that little dump! I did whatever I had to that summer to make it work. I didn't have cable, rented VHS tapes from the library, shopped at farmers markets and pretty much lived off of good old PB&J. I'm not writing this part out of self-pity or trying to toot my own horn, but instead to remind myself, and whoever might read this, that although $10k might not seem like enough, I know I'll find a way to make things work and I know that taking this amazing journey will be absolutely, positively worth it. How do I know? I don't know exactly. But how can you tell me it's not worth it or that it's going to be a bad experience? You have to do things in life. You can't just sit around and wonder "what if?" That's not what it's about. If everyone did that and didn't actually do anything, human beings, and life in general, would be insanely boring in my opinion.
I may not have it all figured out just yet, and I'm most definitely still in the very beginning stages of planning everything, but I think I can see that first duck peeking around the door jam. I think he might just be working up the courage to ask me if he can be the first duck to join me in the same room...
Quote that hit me on the drive home today:
"Trying to make ends meet/You're a slave to money/Then you die..." - from "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve
^So, why not try and do something you enjoy, either work or for you personally?
My all-time favorite quotes that have helped me through a lot: I have no idea who said either, that's why I didn't credit anyone...
"Those who are different, change the world. Those who are the same, keep it that way."
"Everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright, then it's not the end."
I suddenly have a craving for PB&J and matzo crackers & yogurt...oh the sweet taste of success! ;)
Please excuse me if this rambles...I didn't really proofread, just wanted to get this all out there into the universe as it's my way of figuring all of this stuff out. Hope you enjoy it at least!
I think it's interesting how people measure success. If you talk to most people, it's probably along the lines of "I own a house, I own this car, I make this much money," blah blah blah. If you talk to others, it might be, "I've raised this many kids, and now have this many grandkids." And I think there might just be a handful of people out there who might say something along the lines of "I've lived life to the fullest and know that when the time comes, I'll have no regrets." And while there is no "wrong" answer, I strive to fall into the latter 2 categories. In order to do that, I think I need to take this trip either now, or wait until I'm retired or my possible future kids are in college. Those are really the only time frames I think would work. I'm all ears if there are any other suggestions, but I absolutely hate the idea of packing up my possible future family and moving them. I love my family to death and know they had to do what they had to do for jobs and whatnot, but I still feel like we moved too much when I was growing up. I'd like to do what the boy's parents did, buy a house and really settle down. The fact that when he goes home to see his family, he gets to see all of his friends from HS as well, is something I long to give to my possible future kids. So, better get this whole I-want-to-live-everywhere thing out of my system now, don't you think?
I've been told by a few people that $10k probably won't be enough for my little adventure. I'm not sure if it will be yet either, but what I do know, is that it's a good goal. If I can put away $10k, and still have a little bit of money in my checking account and my credit cards all paid off, then I think I'm on my way to making this whole thing a reality! I'm also not expecting to pack up and go without having to work wherever I end up. While the economy may be crap right now, I do have experience waiting tables. And, while it may not be glamorous or very exciting, I could see me doing that anywhere to make ends meet. Oh yeah, and I have janitorial experience too, so worst case scenario there's always that! ;) Minus all of the poo cleanup, I actually LOVED that job! Weird, I know.
Basically, I know I have thousands of dollars worth of student loans in my name, not to mention what Parental Unit 1 took out for me, and I know I'll probably be paying them off longer than I've already been on this earth, but I firmly believe that I can make things work. Maybe it's the dreamer in me, or maybe it's the fact that I've been kind of making it work for the past 3 years, not without some help here and there, but I really do believe that if you want to do something and make something happen, you can. I also know that education is very important in this day and age. Now, whether that's a college degree on your wall, several college degrees on your wall, or just, I don't know, experiencing life and what it throws at you, is debatable and the answers vary depending on who you talk to. I've had some of the most amazing conversations with and learned a ton from some of my very closest friends, who have either graduated law school or tried the whole college thing and found out that college isn't for everyone. Although USC gave me a great education and valuable experiences, including the ones below, I think I've learned the most just living life and not necessarily in that stuffy old classroom. When I studied abroad in London, I learned how to live on very little until my financial aid finally kicked in 2-3 weeks later. I lived off of matzo crackers and terrible strawberry yogurt from Sainsbury's, but I still went and experienced everything I wanted to. That's how I made it work. The summer after my freshman year of college, I got my first legit apartment...in the ghettoish area...with a major ant, spider, cockroach problem. Even though I had to borrow money to get the apartment in the first place (which I tried to pay back, even if they wouldn't let me, coughParentalUnit2cough), I was so proud of that little dump! I did whatever I had to that summer to make it work. I didn't have cable, rented VHS tapes from the library, shopped at farmers markets and pretty much lived off of good old PB&J. I'm not writing this part out of self-pity or trying to toot my own horn, but instead to remind myself, and whoever might read this, that although $10k might not seem like enough, I know I'll find a way to make things work and I know that taking this amazing journey will be absolutely, positively worth it. How do I know? I don't know exactly. But how can you tell me it's not worth it or that it's going to be a bad experience? You have to do things in life. You can't just sit around and wonder "what if?" That's not what it's about. If everyone did that and didn't actually do anything, human beings, and life in general, would be insanely boring in my opinion.
I may not have it all figured out just yet, and I'm most definitely still in the very beginning stages of planning everything, but I think I can see that first duck peeking around the door jam. I think he might just be working up the courage to ask me if he can be the first duck to join me in the same room...
Quote that hit me on the drive home today:
"Trying to make ends meet/You're a slave to money/Then you die..." - from "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve
^So, why not try and do something you enjoy, either work or for you personally?
My all-time favorite quotes that have helped me through a lot: I have no idea who said either, that's why I didn't credit anyone...
"Those who are different, change the world. Those who are the same, keep it that way."
"Everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright, then it's not the end."
I suddenly have a craving for PB&J and matzo crackers & yogurt...oh the sweet taste of success! ;)
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Dying to Take You Away....
(from "Magical Mystery Tour" by Lennon/McCartney)
This whole idea started when I was visiting my brother up in Seattle. I was hanging out with one of my parental units (I have 2) waiting for my brother and his girlfriend to join us, when I randomly mentioned the fact that I thought it would be awesome to throw my dog in the car with me, pack all of my crap up and just...go. Surprisingly, both parents thought it was a phenomenal idea and here's why: I'm not married (I'm currently in an absolutely amazing relationship with the best boyfriend ever and have been for almost 4 years, which is longer than some people have been married.), I don't have any children (Okay, I have my dog, but she's 12 and at the point where she's incredibly low maintenance and awesome at listening.) and I don't have a house. The only things really keeping me from doing this whole trip at the moment is the boyfriend I mentioned, money, my awesome job and family. But, family will definitely come and visit, Brendan and I can make it through the long distance thing if I can't get him on board (he did live in Japan for 6 months right after we started dating), and the job part...well that's one of the things I'm still trying to figure out. And as far as the money thing goes, my goal is to save up $10k (currently, I'm less than $2k away from that goal...eek!). As soon as I reach that goal, then this whole thing might actually become a reality, which is both awesome and completely terrifying.
Since having that initial conversation with parental unit 1 (I don't think I've told parental unit 2 yet...damn Carter communication!), I've been hashing it out with anyone who will listen and have been met with tons of encouragement, but I've also run into my own anxieties, which isn't that great and is a huge factor in why not everyone knows about this whole thing, including parental unit 2. But, like one of my aunts told me, I'll just know when the timing is good for me. There may never be a "right" time, like there's never really a "right" time to get married or have a baby. Life is always happening, always changing your plans and sometimes throwing roadblocks in your way, but I know I'll know when the time is good for me.
So, in sticking with at least one of resolutions for this year, I'm not going to let this whole thing stress me out. I'm going to actually enjoy the process of planning this thing, of trying to corral all of those stupid ducks that aren't even in the same room as me at the moment, of trying to convince the boy that this is a great idea to do now, when we don't have as many responsibilities as some of our friends do.
And, to distinguish which posts are regarding my "Magical Mystery Tour," I'm going to attempt to title them all with Beatles lyrics. If you know me at all, you'll find that very fitting. ;)
Top 10 Dream Cities/States/Countries to live in (in order of preference, not feasibility):
1. Bora Bora
2. NYC
3. London (again)
4. Australia or New Zealand
5. Paris (after I learn French and despite the fact that 2 French dudes stole my camera at the top of the Eiffel Tower)
6. Chicago
7. Kauai
8. San Francisco
9. Seattle (but I won't interfere with the younger bro's life...)
10. New Orleans
This whole idea started when I was visiting my brother up in Seattle. I was hanging out with one of my parental units (I have 2) waiting for my brother and his girlfriend to join us, when I randomly mentioned the fact that I thought it would be awesome to throw my dog in the car with me, pack all of my crap up and just...go. Surprisingly, both parents thought it was a phenomenal idea and here's why: I'm not married (I'm currently in an absolutely amazing relationship with the best boyfriend ever and have been for almost 4 years, which is longer than some people have been married.), I don't have any children (Okay, I have my dog, but she's 12 and at the point where she's incredibly low maintenance and awesome at listening.) and I don't have a house. The only things really keeping me from doing this whole trip at the moment is the boyfriend I mentioned, money, my awesome job and family. But, family will definitely come and visit, Brendan and I can make it through the long distance thing if I can't get him on board (he did live in Japan for 6 months right after we started dating), and the job part...well that's one of the things I'm still trying to figure out. And as far as the money thing goes, my goal is to save up $10k (currently, I'm less than $2k away from that goal...eek!). As soon as I reach that goal, then this whole thing might actually become a reality, which is both awesome and completely terrifying.
Since having that initial conversation with parental unit 1 (I don't think I've told parental unit 2 yet...damn Carter communication!), I've been hashing it out with anyone who will listen and have been met with tons of encouragement, but I've also run into my own anxieties, which isn't that great and is a huge factor in why not everyone knows about this whole thing, including parental unit 2. But, like one of my aunts told me, I'll just know when the timing is good for me. There may never be a "right" time, like there's never really a "right" time to get married or have a baby. Life is always happening, always changing your plans and sometimes throwing roadblocks in your way, but I know I'll know when the time is good for me.
So, in sticking with at least one of resolutions for this year, I'm not going to let this whole thing stress me out. I'm going to actually enjoy the process of planning this thing, of trying to corral all of those stupid ducks that aren't even in the same room as me at the moment, of trying to convince the boy that this is a great idea to do now, when we don't have as many responsibilities as some of our friends do.
And, to distinguish which posts are regarding my "Magical Mystery Tour," I'm going to attempt to title them all with Beatles lyrics. If you know me at all, you'll find that very fitting. ;)
Top 10 Dream Cities/States/Countries to live in (in order of preference, not feasibility):
1. Bora Bora
2. NYC
3. London (again)
4. Australia or New Zealand
5. Paris (after I learn French and despite the fact that 2 French dudes stole my camera at the top of the Eiffel Tower)
6. Chicago
7. Kauai
8. San Francisco
9. Seattle (but I won't interfere with the younger bro's life...)
10. New Orleans
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