Welcome to the Country-Kansas

I flew out to Kansas with sweaty palms knowing that here it is I am going to be reunited once again with my Italian fling who isn't Italian he is Norwegian and from Minnesota. As I sat in the Airport I turned on my laptop and my skype came on. A couple minutes later I received the horrible news that my classmate at CIMBA Danielle Sloan had passed away. It broke my heart. I remained calm and puzzled as I boarded the flight out to Kansas. I couldn't believe it? Why does God take away good people from earth? I know that Danielle is in a better place now and I can understand why she decided to take her own life. I just wish I could have talked to her one more time before she passed and I could have given her the Switzerland video.

When I arrived in Kansas I was so happy to see my best friend Amanda and her husband Cheynne (my adopted best friend). The first thing we did was hit the bars. We celebrated with $6.00 pitchers of Sangria at Coco Bolos. The night turned to a crazy twist when we went to Tubbys and started taking shots. Half drunk I ended up picking up a conversation with some random guy who was cute but not exactly my type. He had a couple flaws. Being a little dare devil that I am I later danced on the bar in front of a group of people at Rustys. It was pretty crazy but a girl should always have some fun in her life.
I spent the remainder of the week hanging out in her classroom, visiting the local stores, and watching Sex and the City.
On Friday I left for Lawrence to attend the Funeral of Danielle Sloan. I decided to carpool with Tara because I thought she knew where she was going. Boy was I wrong! We ended up having the wrong directions and showed up at the funeral as people were walking out because it was over. We went to the Plaza in Kansas City and I talked to Danielle's Dad, Aunt, and boyfriend Henry. Henry was totally distraught. I felt so bad for him and he wouldn't stop blaming himself. I did my best to comfort him but that boy is going to be scared for the rest of his life by this experience. To make matters only worst- Danielle was his first girlfriend.
After a couple days in Manhattan I headed over to Lawrence to reunite with some CIMBAs. It was quite the experience since I haven't seen them since Italy. I first met up at Colleen's place and she wanted to go on a 40 minute run so I decided to join her. We met up at Free State and then headed over to Quintons. I was reunited with my Italian fling and it was very awkward at first because I wasn't sure how to behave except myself. We ended up spending a lot of time together and it felt like we were back in Italy together all over again. The next day I drove around looking at the local sites and spending some time in the pool relaxing. The following evening I joined the Italians and MBAs to cook dinner together. Ethem made his Turkish meat balls. Eva made a peach snapps and garden salad while Mr. Botten helped with the rice and Alberto cooked the meat balls. It felt like we were back in Asolo all participating in household chores. We then went out and had a blast on Mass Street again at Quintons. My final day in Lawrence was spent at Buffalo Wild Wings with a couple MBAs watching the euro cup soccer game. I was secretly shooting for Germany but I couldn't disappoint my Turkish soccer fans. It was an amazing soccer game. Botten and I left in the middle to finish watching at his place and I couldn't believe I missed two goals. The final goal was so impressive because it came in the last couple minutes and was an easy two touch pass.
Leaving wasn't as bad as leaving Italy because I was ready to get back to Cali. I also found out the Italians were going to Vegas the following weekend and I had already planned on going too. So looks like we will be reunited again. Amanda and her hubby are moving back to Cali and should be back in a week so it's not a bad goodbye since I will be able to see them all again real soon

Life Lessons...

I was sent an email with this list included. I read it and then re-read it over and is something we should read everyday before we go to bed because it has a lot of merit

For over 7 years, Regina Brett was a columnist at The Beacon Journal in Akron Ohio. During that time, she was diagnosed & successfully treated for breast cancer. Regina is now a columnist for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland Ohio . Her column runs on Sunday, Wednesday & Friday.

Lessons in Life By Regina Brett:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6 You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear fancy lingerie. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24 The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone, everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36 Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield..

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

'May the Lord's face radiate with joy because of you'
Numbers 6:2

June 11th, 2008

OMG did I have a crazy weekend. I unleashed a bottle of vodka to celebrate my graduation with one of my best friends. We played some drinking games I learned from my CIMBA family. Lets just say I spent the night and half the day next to the toilet. It was not one of my finest moments to say the least. During the day we rode beach cruisers up and down the beach and sang songs. I love my friend Aubree she always reminds me not to take life so serious and to have fun in the moment. We rode down the boardwalk yelling, "Hi Mike" every couple feet trying to see what kind of response we would get. It was soooo much fun!
Yesterday, I underwent a minor surgery to remove a lump that formed on my lower lip. My dentist sent me to an oral surgeon to fully remove the lump to check if it might be cancerous. The procedure went smoothly and now I have three stitches in my lower lip. I am going to be given the results to the biopsy in 10 days. I am a little nervous but I am hoping for nothing but the best. They think it is just a secretion gland that was bitten and is producing under the skin. I am hoping for the same.
I have become very restless with all my extra time. I ordered three new books to read on called "A New Earth" which is on Oprah's Book Club list. I signed up for a Turbo Kick boxing class Tuesday and Thursday evenings to keep me a little fitness oriented.
Next Tuesday I am going to be flying out to Kansas to visit my best friend Amanda Pugh now Sanderson and her husband Cheynne. I am pretty excited about the opportunity to get out, travel, and visit with my long time friend. While I am in Kansas I will be meeting up with my Italian CIMBA family. I am hoping to spend a couple days towards the end with them. It is going to be a little weird because I am going to be reunited again with my Italian fling. Who knows what will happen and where it will go. I am going into the situation thinking of us as just good friends.
Coming back from Kansas I will be going to a wedding rehearsal on Friday for Ashley and Justin's wedding Sunday evening. Saturday I have an extended Colombian family get together, dance rehearsal, and Byron Duff and Marie's wedding. I am going to try to make each of the events even if it is only for a little bit. So much to do in such little time.
Till then I have another party and graduation this week. I have had a party at my parent's house every week since I have been home. Its been a lot of fun. I also have a job interview next Monday in Carlsbad and I am hoping for the best. Wish me luck!

June 3rd, 2008

Heeellllllooooo everyone! Since the last time I wrote on here I helped to put on a full scale production for the bilingual second grade program, I graduated, had a graduation party, and I have been sick.
Since I have a lot of free time on my hands I like to give back to my local community and volunteer. So I helped out with the "World Of Music" second grade annual performance at the Maxine Theater. Hanging out with the little ones reminds me how much I don't want to become a teacher with younger kids. They are soooo hyper yet adorable at the same time.
My graduation took place on May 24th, 2008 at San Diego State University Cox Arena. I graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in Communication and minor in Marketing. It was a really nice event and I enjoyed visiting old college friends. It was a little weird for me because I hadn't talk or seen a lot of them in over seven months so I couldn't remember some names. I was also able to see some of my old teachers like Patricia Geist Martin who gave a phenomenal speech about life being a story and we are the ones who create it. She even asked me to do Graduate School with her and submit my paper to conference. I don't know how ready I am for either of those things.
I know Communication is a great start for me but not something I want to further. I am a Business minded person and I would benefit more from studying Business in the future. That is not to discredit the field of Communication which is very important.
I had my graduation party on May 31st and believe it or not I never took out my camera to take any pictures. I was so busy playing hostess chatting with various people, collecting plates, serving food that I honestly didn't think to take it out. The party lasted from 11am to 11pm with various people coming in and out for various times. I was exhausted by the end of the whole day and drank a lot of Margaritas since every person who came wanted to sit and drink one with me. It felt great to feel all the love and support from so many different people. I was truly honored by some who went out of their way to attend.
So now what? I have been applying for jobs still and now I am going to start calling and bugging people about jobs. I am considering applying for a part time job but I still want to hold out a little bit.
I changed my flight to Kansas to be June 17th-26th so I can see my best friend Amanda before she moves back and briefly see my friends from Italy.
I am also signing up for a Kick Boxing Class Tuesday and Thursday evenings to keep me in shape and give me something to look forward to during the week.
I finished my European scrapbook and I am just adding a couple captions here and there for memory.
I am volunteering at the High School to be panelist who will be interviewing graduating seniors. I am really excited to be able to ask them some hard questions I have been asked when I went through job interviews. It will also be nice to see what they are up to at the high school.
I have a bit of the flu right now which is not very fun. I also have an appointment with a oral surgeon to do a biopsy on a lump I developed on the inside of my lip. We are hoping it won't end up being cancer.