feel good time: January 2014

new years day : los angeles, california

Well, we did it. We said goodbye to Utah and officially made the move to California. It wasn't as emotional as I thought it was going to be. The night before the move, I took my last bath (I'd take one every night before bed) knowing that the bathroom I'd be moving into wasn't one I'd want to take baths in, and that's okay, I knew I had to get in one last bath - and I started thinking, and reminiscing, and then crying. Six years is a long time to live in a place, especially by yourself without your parents and sisters, and you begin to learn to live and without knowing it, you realize you've grown comfort in the state of Utah because that's the only place you know away from your actual home. So leaving it, and the thought of leaving it hit me at that moment and I was timid and scared. I was sad to leave the friends that have become more like family to me and I was especially sad to leave actually family. No longer being in school wouldn't hit me till later but the thought of putting myself out there to show people I'm worth hiring makes me want to cringe.

I cried that night, and I cried that morning at 5 am when we pulled out of our neighborhood in a uhaul and my car. I pulled myself together until we past the Provo exit and my mind wandered back through all of my college years and the many blessings I've been given and the memories that will lock themselves in that bubble of a city. The drive was long and vigorous. Even though I was following Zeke, I've never done the drive from Utah to California by myself with no one in the car. It was painful to say the least and I began to grow extremely tired. The drive took longer than it would normally take because the Uhaul could only go so fast, and then it was show time once we landed on the Los Angeles highways and I about keeled over and died. We had to jump on about 10 different highways just to get to Santa Monica and trying to get over into the next lane was just about suicide with Zeke going about 60 mph while the whole world was going 85 mph. I was crying the whole time and screaming under my breath. Mind you, I haven't driven my car since we moved here - to say it was traumatizing is an understatement.

I'll get on the highway one of these days, but for now, luckily Santa Monica is nothing but walking distance from one place to another, which is jackpot for two reasons : 1. money saving on gas 2. slowly but surely shedding inches from my behind.

Santa Monica is beautiful. It's just as I envisioned it. It's how I have always envisioned it, being glamours, ritzy, art deco - it's how my eyes see it. The way I see things is always seen with a hint of the past. I can't help but think of the 1950's film, "Sunset Boulevard" and see what that film captured. So for me, this place is erringly enchanting. Could I live here my whole life? Probably not, but I'm putting in my time, and while I do so, I plan to explore and find adventures. Being by the ocean is a treat and if I'm going to tie everything back to the past, I picture it black and white in the moonlight like the scene from the 1946 film "The Postman Always Rings Twice."

The city is busy, lots of people out running, shopping, eating, you name it and luckily we live in the northern pocket of the city where things calm down and become quite. It's the perfect spot. It will be fun to see what this city has in store for us.

We spent New Years Day in Los Angeles hiking to the Hollywood sign able to see a birds eye view of downtown Los Angeles. The weather was beautiful and it was a great day to begin a great start of a new year. I'm going to try my best to have the most positive outlook with what is at hand. Happy New Year!