There's No Place Like Home.

Well, guys, I'm happy to say that I made it! I made it to Arkansas, made it through EDC and Vegas and am really enjoying my new life!

I will begin by admitting something...Arkansas isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I spent the past few months anxiously awaiting the time when I would see what Arkansas was really all about. I imagined this:

But so far, it's nothing like that!

I have been seriously surprised at the experiences I've had over the past 5 days. People are ridiculously friendly...I'm even going to say that they're nicer then Canadians! We did know a couple from Connecticut that moved down here about a year and a half ago and they've realy been awesome about introducing us to other young professionals, as well as showing us some sweet spots. 

Last night, Jake and I ventured into Fayetteville for the first time. Fayetteville is where we will be moving into when our apartment opens up on July 15th. I am so in love with the bar scene. It's a lot of college centered bars with cheap, good drinks and great atmospheres. There seems to be a bar for all types of people and most of them have really good patios. Our apartment is a 10-15 minute walk from the bar strip and I'm really looking forward to that. 

So I can say that I'm going to be really happy here. It seems that it's getting easier and easier to settle in, make friends and feel comfortable. I love and will miss Toronto and all the people that I spent my time with up there, but I'm really looking forward to Arkansas.

Welcome home, I guess!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my Dad!

No matter where I move, how far I go, how early or late it is, he'll always be there for me.

I love and miss you dad!

Still Counting Down.

If you knew anything about me, you'd know I love a good countdown.

6 days

15 hours

45 minutes

until...

6 days

22 hours

45 minutes

until...

11 days

23 hours

13 minutes

until...

And just for fun...

Countdown.

I'm legitimately down to counting hours right now. Next Thursday, Jake and I will board a plane to Las Vegas for the Electronic Daisy Carnival for 5 days. From Vegas, we'll jump on a plane and, after bouncing to around, will land in Joplin, MI and continue our journey by car to Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Working on a tutu for EDC!

I'm actually getting really excited. Last week it was a little rough, I was finishing work, had to say good bye to the kids and kind of come to terms with leaving. See, for someone who moves a lot, I am so horrible at good byes. I rather like high five you and say "see ya!" then give you a meaningful hug and tear up. When I left Oregon and my entire family (okay entire family of 4 but still!) I refused to cry. I remember walking away, down the ramp to my terminal, counting my steps, my breath, anything to think about the people who were watching my back. They all wrote me letters before I left. Those letters sat in my purse, staring up at me during the flight. I didn't cry, but I also didn't read those letter till about a week later when I was alone at my new apartment, in a new city, living with a guy I had never lived with before. Then I let myself cry.

But now the sad is over. We have exactly 9 days until we move. So 8 days until we pack (or I guess I should say a company packs us...I just get to sit around and direct people...and yes, it's as amazing as it sounds!), and 7 days till my absolute last day of work at Annex Dance Academy. 

Jake and I found out last night that we got our first pick for houses for Fayetteville. We'll be living in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom with an additional loft dwelling. It's 1,600 square feet with a balcony and washer/dryer unit. It's a little older, as in appliances and such, but I love the space and the lay out. I'm excited to have a spare room, that means NO EXCUSES for visits! It's supposedly really close to downtown, which I've seen pictures of and it's adorable. It's going to be cheaper to live there, which is another thing I'm looking forward to.

So for the next 9 days, I'm applying for jobs, working on my EDC costumes, organizing our apartment into piles, checking things off lists and day dreaming about Fayetteville. 

Oh and another bonus, we know some people there! What could be better?!

Trying on the snorkel I got Jake for one of his EDC costumes!

But for now, I'm going to listen to the entire discography of The Postal Service to get ready for their concert tonight!

Reality.

The past couple weeks have been a complete whirlwind. I just realized it's June 3rd and I have 16 days to get my life in order before it's turned upside down again. It's a little stressful.

We had our recital at my studio over the weekend. It was such a strange day for me. I have always loved watching those girls perform, they are all so good and so much fun to watch. But I was so irrationally emotional that day. I didn't cry, even though I wanted to, honestly. It's been a long time since I've been home, been somewhere where I know people, know where I am and have felt completely stable. So the fact that I did get comfortable here, that I like it here and feel like I have a nice support system was really hard to handle. I mean it still is.

So today begins the transfer. After cleaning my poor apartment and doing the ginormous pile of laundry that's gathered at the foot of our bed, I'll be sorting our belongings into piles to be packed up into boxes by a moving company and shipped exactly 1,799 km. Luckily, 90% of what I own has been in storage since July 10, 2012 so it'll be like Christmas, getting all my things back. I'm looking forward to our couch and knowing what was in the box I randomly had to pick and throw into storage because we went over our shipping weight last summer. That and my standing KitchenAid mixer.

Driving back from the movies last night, I had some ridiculous flash backs to when we first arrived in Toronto. I think for as long as I live, there will be no experience more bizarre then the day you leave one home and arrive in another. It's the weirdest feeling. While liberating on one hand, it's really disorientating on the other. I think I'm having a hard time processing all of this. I think if I just focus on packing and organizing and cleaning, I'll be okay, those things usually distract me...

There are some things that I'm excited for int he next 16 days, however. This weekend, Jake's flying to Arkansas to get us a place to live, June 11th we're going to see the Postal Service, or the band that got me through high school, I get a last bash with my friends AND we have EDC to look forward to!

I think I need to remember that I'm lucky to get to see all the places that I do. That I'm lucky that I get to travel and meet all these amazing people. While I'm not around for a long period of time, I do hope the people that I will always remember and the people that make a difference in my life will remember me too.