I'm back!

"Knowing is better than wondering, waking is better than sleeping. Even the biggest failure, even the most intractable mistake, beats the hell out of never trying."

Is it lame that I totally stole that quote from Grey's Anatomy? I was looking through some old papers and things from my trip to Thailand and found that scrawled on one of the papers, I must have written it down a while back. But, whether it's from some TV drama or not, it's so true. Being outside of our comfort zones and trying new things is always intimidating and sometimes it's easier to stay in our "happy little bubbles". I have to remind myself all the time "what's the worst that can happen" and then take a deep breath and keep moving forward.

I have had several people hound me about updating my blog, since the last time I wrote we were in Krabi and apparently never even made it home... ;) While going through things from my trip I came across a list of things in Thailand that I would miss:

The people
-Sweet smiles
-Kindness
-Broken English
-Humility
The amazing landscape
White sand and turquoise blue water
Fruit shakes-- Fresh fruit EVERYWHERE
Longtail boats
Crazy scooter drivers
Hearing things like, "taxi boat, taxi boat.." "Where you go?" " Masssssaaage"
On that note, $7 massages
Sawgthaews
Markets
Street Vendors
Bargaining
Cheap EVERYTHING
Cute guesthouses, and their sweet owners
Monkeys/Elephants
Backpackers
Pancakes
Strange desserts
Giant Buddhas
Spirit Houses
Thai pop music/Thai sitcoms & soaps
Temples
-Seimsee
-Blessings
-Monks
Rice for EVERY meal
Chili Sauce
Endless Rivers
Tea
Looming green mountains
THAI TIME ;)
Tuk Tuks
Cold showers that actually feel good
Squat toilets (ok, that one should probably go under things I *don't* miss...)

Just a small sampling. It was an amazing, amazing trip and hopefully I'll have the chance to go back someday!

Moving on, I have been home now for over 6 months... and a crazy 6 months it has been!

After graduating in December I had been planning on moving to Hawaii with my Mom. Plane ticket bought, bags packed, all ready to fly out on January 19th. However, things didn't go quite as planned... My little brother was also moving with me to live with my Mom and due to some complications with her new job she decided it would be best if he not come right away. So, two days before my scheduled departure the move was indefinitely postponed. I was lucky enough to find a job at a hotel near home, so I decided to stay and live with my Dad for a bit to try and help out with things at home. After retuning from Thailand the idea of moving to Hawaii came up again and, basically on a whim, I decided to just move. I bought my plane ticket and flew out 2 weeks later.... and here I am! Making decisions on the fly has always been much easier for me than having too much time to think about it!

I have been living here on Oahu with my Mom for just about 6 months now. I was lucky enough to be able to find a job shortly after arriving, granted, not the job that I necessarily wanted... but I needed to pay the bills somehow! I am working for Bank of Hawaii in customer service and if nothing else I have been able to make some AWESOME friends working there! But... I keep realizing more and more everyday that I am not where I want to be. Then again, I really don't know WHERE I want to be... That changes by the day! I have to remind myself often that I don't need to have everything figured out. I am not trying to find some "ultimate goal" and spend everyday trying to get to the part where I can start living. I want to live my life now. I am taking things one day at a time.
I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to live in paradise. I have had so many new adventures and met some of the most amazing people, who I know will be lifelong friends. I wouldn't trade my time here for anything. Which leads me to the latest developments... I am planning yet another move.

Once I decided I wanted to move back to the mainland I was faced with a dilemma... Where? I knew I was not ready to move back to Utah, don't get me wrong, Utah will always be home, but it's not where I want to be right now. Which left my options... basically endless. I am, however, fortunate enough to have the most amazing family and friends that anyone could ask for. It's easy to forget or take for granted the amazing people in our lives, I constantly have to stop and realize how good I have it. I have family just about everywhere, and moving somewhere new is a hell of a lot easier if you already have a support system in place. My brother owns a house in Henderson, NV and happened to have an extra bedroom! Side note: He is also in the process of planning a wedding. Congrats Nick!
Thus begins another new chapter in my life... I don't know the date I am moving yet (Remember how I suck at planning things ahead of time?) But it will be within the next month and a half. AH! I can't believe my time in Hawaii is coming to an end. I am going to miss it here SO much!