Welcome back!

My lovely Saturday night:  writing a blog while laying out by the pool enjoying this breeze and gazing at the stars in the gorgeous dark blue sky.  Well, I guess technically I am not alone if you count the family at the other end of the pool jamming out to Spanish rap and consoling their crying (more like screaming at the top of their lungs) toddler.  The joys of apartment living.

So I decided to start writing again after being ...Oh wow, I'm going to lose my train of thought several times while writing this...This screaming kid is really something else.  Maybe I should have just stayed in my apartment.  But that is a long walk back.  Maybe I can make some earplugs out of tree leaves?  That is one thing I love about the pool here.  It's surrounded by tons of trees, shrubs, and plants and whoever landscaped it did a great job!  (With the exception of putting in these crazy flower trees because the pool is also covered in a layer of little pink flowers.)

As I was saying before being distracted and starting a new random story (It's kind of like being in person with me isn't it?)  I decided to start writing again.  Mostly because Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and Twitter just weren't doing it for me.  Okay really because I had nothing else to do tonight and I really enjoy writing.  Also, it was nice to read old memories I wrote years ago that I probably would've forgotten about.  (Remember what I just said about the flowers?  I wasn't exaggerating.  The family on the other side of the pool is currently yelling "It's snowing, it's snowing!" They are referring to the falling flowers as this breeze is turning into a mini-hurricane!)

Several things have changed since I last wrote.  A lot of things I once mentioned in old blogs don't even exist anymore.  Like my favorite San Marcos hangout spot, The Coffee Pot.  Or Eggo fruit breakfast pizzas.  Or even my dream of working in camps.  While I can't say I followed the path that my 20 year old self ever-so-adamantly believed was meant to be, I can say that I stuck pretty darn close to it.  (Please excuse the harsh language in this blog, I've been listening to Spanish Rap.)  Oh, also in my older blogs I had written about discovering Whole Foods and never going back to H-E-B again.  Ya, that didn't last for long. No one can afford a full basket Whole Foods.

So like I said, I didn't stick to camps as a career but I did stick to recreation therapy.  Once I got back from my internship in California (where I last left off with this blog) I took a job in San Antonio working on psychiatric and chemical dependency units as a recreation therapist.  I did that for two years and quit this past May.  (Shout out to my awesome co-workers!)  I've also been doing contract work as a recreation therapist which allows me to work with several teenagers in the community taking them on fun outings like roller skating and Fiesta Texas.  (Seriously, I've been to Fiesta Texas 20-30 times in the past year.)  For a while I thought I was just going to stick to this job because I love being able to sleep in late and work in the afternoons.  But circumstances have changed and I've decided to switch to teaching as a more stable career.  I took some certification tests and became certified as an elementary and special education teacher.  I have recently applied for 12 different positions at 5 different ISD's so hopefully in the future I'll be writing about a teaching job!

My there are a lot of giant roaches crawling around the pool tonight.   They are walking around at insanely fast speeds too.  I hate bugs.  The other night I was sleeping at my parent's house in the country and woke up TO A BEETLE GRASPED ONTO MY FINGERTIP WITH IT'S FREAKING TRUNK EMBEDDED IN MY SKIN!  I never knew beetles had trunks until that morning at 01:00 A.M.  (This girl is flipping her hair in the pool and asking her guy friend to take a picture of it.  She has done it about 25 times now.  Still hasn't gotten a good picture she is happy with.  Her neck must really hurt by now...)

Alright, I'm going to end my first blog for the night!  I believe I'm going to keep the "Top 5" feature that I used to do where I write a random list of 5 things at the end of each blog! So here goes:

5 things that were difficult for me to restrain from on this blog:
1.  Start every paragraph with "So..."  Only started two of them like that! Score!
2.  Type smiley faces.  If you've ever texted with me, you know I send a smiley in almost every text.  Just trying to keep it friendly, what can I say.
3. Tell you 10 other weird things the family out by the pool did.
4. Tell you the story of how I almost got struck by lightning.  I'll save that for another time.
5. Type way more.  I could probably keep writing until the sun comes up, but I would like it to stay interesting so this is it!

Hollywood

Hollywood was fun, but it is definitely one of those "been there, done that" type places. Go there once and check it off your list!  There are a ton of stars on the walk of fame, some of which were well deserved, some dedicated to people I had never even heard of, and some who I am still trying to figure out how they managed to even get a star in the first place...I mean, the RUGRATS have their own star!  Seriously?  Anyways, here are some pics from my visit:

Santa Monica

So after I dropped my parents off at the airport, I hoped on the highway and drove to the beach!  So I'm alone in California for the first time, I turn the radio on, and the first song I hear is this:

Too funny!  It was a sign.  I was just meant to be here for a little while :)

So this is Santa Monica:

The waves here are huge.  Here is a video of them. The video is a little blurry due to sunscreen on the lens!

So that is the beach/boardwalk at Santa Monica. Huge waves, freezing cold water, lots of sand, 68 degrees, tourists, volleyball courts, workout stations along the beach, street performers on the boardwalk, yellow life guard trucks patrolling the beach, helicopters everywhere....pretty much explains it all!

5 things @ the Santa Monica Board Walk:

-One guy trying to surf with over 1000 people watching him...Bet he was feeling the pressure!

-There was this guy on the boardwalk charging people to pose for pictures with his snakes..One of which was the yellow and white kind that are stinking huge.  WHY would you touch one of those things?!

-Tons of future hopefuls set up on the boardwalk playing their pianos, singing their songs, and selling their CDs.

-There are TRAPEZE lessons on the boardwalk.  You can pay for a private one-hour lesson to learn a main trapeze trick.  I watched a guy do it and he wasn't bad at all! I may have to try flying through the air on a tiny bar before I leave!

-They have a ferris wheel, roller coaster, and other rides and games at the boardwalk and to my surprise they were reasonably priced!  The ferris wheel was only $3! :)