Back to the Daily Grind

This past week was my first full week back at…life. With graduation and the passing of my grandfather, May was a crazy, exhausting, and difficult month to say the very least. When I woke up Tuesday morning after a long and relaxing Memorial Day weekend and realized it was June 1, I told myself, “June is going to be a good month.” I said it, and I am determined to make it true.

When I returned to New York the last week in May, I felt nothing but sadness and a bit of loneliness. Here I was, still grieving in an apartment all by myself thousands of miles away from the only people that could make me feel better. And to make matters worse, when Memorial Day weekend came along, I had nothing to do and we all know that when you are sad and have nothing to keep your mind occupied, you can’t help but to continue sulking in your sadness. It was really difficult because I had 3 days to do absolutely nothing, which in most circumstances is nice and relaxing, but in mine, was a bit depressing. All of my NY friends went home for the long weekend, my Tio was still in Kansas City, and I was going out of my mind bored. I ended up doing a whole lot of nothing. After 3 days of living out of my suitcase still, I unpacked and did laundry, I cleaned the apartment, I went shopping and I laid outside in the courtyard on a blanket and read. Believe it or not, by the time Tuesday came and it was time to go back to work, I was ready. It was such a beautiful day outside and as I was walking the pugs in the morning, that’s when I told myself, “June is going to be a good month.” I think this is the point when I realized that it was time to stop being sad and as much as I hated to say it, it was time to move on. I know that sounds like a terrible thing to say after someone you love dies, but what else can you do, stay sad forever? I will obviously never forget my abuelo, period. And every day since Tuesday morning has been a little bit better and gotten a little bit easier. So like I said, with the end of May filled with sadness and a bit of loneliness I am SO ready to feel happy again in June!

This past work week was a long one, even after Monday being a Holiday. I was definitely back to the daily grind and I hate to admit it, but I think the earliest I got home from work was 8:30pm. I am very well aware of the fact that this is ridiculous. In fact, as I was speaking to my oldest sister Kim about it the other day, I decided that I am NOT going to be aware of it and NOT do anything about it. I don’t want to be that girl who gets consumed with work all the time and doesn’t make time to enjoy other things. With this being said, I made a summer pact with myself – Out of the 5 work days of the week, I will leave work by 6:30pm on at least 4 of them, if not all of them. I know this still seems late, but it’s not. It’s normal considering the typical work day in New York is 9:30-6:30. Especially with it being summer, I just CAN’T allow myself to not get off work and enjoy the nice weather no matter how much work I have left to do at the end of the day. This pact led me to make yet another pact with myself. Considering I will be leaving work by 6:30, I have plenty of time to exercise more regularly. I made a pact with myself that 4/5 days a week; I would either go for a jog or take the pugs on an extra long walk, or…something, anything! It’s a win-win situation because I love being outside in the evening when the sun is just starting to set and it’s nice outside without being too hot and I really want to start getting healthy in every sense of the word so I can spend my evenings working out, outside. I told ya, win-win! ;) I have to tell you, the main reason I am mentioning these pacts on here is because I want each and every one of my “followers” to hold me to them. I feel like saying it out loud or rather writing about it for the public to read, makes me more motivated to actually follow through.

Speaking of getting back to the daily grind, Friday night was the first time in a long time that I went to Happy Hour at XES. It was nice to get back to my normal Friday night routine! I know this may sound a little contradicting considering I just told you that I want to work on becoming healthier, but I will have you know that instead of ordering my normal beer or vodka and sugary juice, I switched my drink to rum and diet coke. Although I know drinking alcohol in general is not very healthy, at least I chose a low-cal drink, right? I mean come on; you have to give me some credit for trying! It was nice to see all the “regulars” again and catch up on the last couple of weeks of our lives. After HH we headed to Monster for dinner where we ate fabulous sushi! Have I ever mentioned how much I love sushi? Friday night was the first time that I really got adventurous and tried your non-typical rolls. The most notable thing I tried was eel, and boy am I glad I did, it was delicious!

Saturday I slept in and then spent most of the afternoon online doing various things. Saturday night I went to see Sex and the City 2! I have been dying to see it since its release last week and I just couldn’t wait another day. It of course like most sequels was not as good as the first one, but was still amazing! Considering it is about 4 women’s journeys through life, it’s one of those movies that any woman at any age can appreciate, and I am no exception. I loved it for the simple fact that it made me laugh out loud AND because it’s about 4 amazing New York women which obviously couldn’t be more appealing to me at this point in my life. Before the movie started I saw a trailer for Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts and it got me so excited to finish the book. My goal is to finish it before the movie comes out later this summer so I have a lot of reading to do as I am only about a third of the way finished. With that being said, I am going to put this lap top down and pick up my book.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! :)

There’s no place like HOME

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posts lately, a lot has been going on and I just haven’t found the time or the motivation to write. Thanks to the long weekend, I finally have the time and energy to catch up on things, including updating this blog. So here it goes.

On Friday May, 14 I left work early and headed home to pack my suitcase and head to the airport. I couldn’t have been more excited to go home. Not only was it a chance to spend time with my family, but it was the weekend of KU’s Graduation Ceremony. I arrived late Friday night and the festivities began early Saturday morning. The day started off with my mom making breakfast for me and my sisters before we headed to the nail salon to get pedicures. After the pedicures, I headed to my sister Kim’s house to check out the new baby nursery. It looks amazing, of course. It was so nice to see Baby R’s room put together and it made me really excited to have a new nephew this July! Afternoon hit and my family and I headed downtown to attend my cousin Michaela’s college graduation from Rockhurst University. Shortly after, my parents and I headed to Lawrence to attend the Multicultural Scholarship Graduation Banquet held at the Kansas Union. I was a part of the KU MSP Scholars Program during my 3 1/2 year college career so it was nice to go back and attend a banquet honoring myself and my fellow senior scholars. Just to give you an idea of what the scholarship program is all about, here is our mission: The mission of the MSP is to recruit undergraduate students from under-represented backgrounds into various academic majors as a means of increasing the diversity of the student body at the University of Kansas and to provide supports and opportunities that will assist them in their academic success. Needless to say, we enjoyed the banquet and it was a proud moment for my parents and me. After the banquet, I headed to Linwood for my best friend Val’s Graduation Party. It was SO NICE to see Val, especially because I hadn’t seen her in a while. Have I ever mentioned that living thousands of miles away from your best friend isn’t easy? I am SO proud of her accomplishments and have no doubt in my mind that she is going to do great things with her career! After a VERY long and eventful Saturday, I headed home to get a good night’s sleep before Sunday’s Commencement Ceremony.

Sunday came and I headed to Lawrence for graduation. Although I technically graduated in December, it was really nice to “walk the hill” as it gave me a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment! The tradition of walking through the campanile and down the hill symbolizes a student’s journey through life. We might all have taken different paths, but in the end, we are at the bottom of the hill with the achievement of a college degree from one of the greatest universities in the nation. I am so glad I decided to come home to participate in graduation as I finally and completely felt done. Even though I already finished classes and started my first job, I still feel like graduation was the final end to a wonderful chapter in my life. Not to mention that after 3 1/2 years of working my butt off to maintain good grades and further my education, a celebration was much deserved. It was also a proud moment for the Zarate family as I am the 3rd and last daughter to have graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Journalism: Strategic Communication. As both Kim and Andrea pointed out in their blogs, it’s pretty damn awesome to be a trio of Jayhawk sisters! :)

Sunday evening after graduation, my parents and sisters threw me a little graduation party complete with food, drinks, friends and family. It was so unbelievably nice to celebrate with the people I care about the most, especially because I don’t see those people as frequently as I would like. Just about every one of my best friends came which whether they are aware of it or not, made my day!

Val and me about to walk through the Campanile

Proud Parents

Jayhawk Sisters

Zarate Family of Jayhawks

Robbins family and me

The Elmer family and me

Me and the kiddos

Grandma Starks and me

My girls!

Sunday night came to an end with a sleepover. I have been promising Jaxson since I was home in March that the next time I came home to visit we could have a sleepover together. Considering the busy weekend we had, by Sunday night we were both beat. We popped in a DVD and were both out in no time! Before Jax fell asleep we had this conversation:

“Wesa, I love when we have sleepovers when you’re not in New York.” – Jaxson
“I know buddy, me too because I love you sooo much.” – Me
“Wesa, when are you going to come back forever and not ever go back to New York?” – Jaxson
“I don’t know buddy, maybe in a couple of years, but no matter what I will always come visit you when I can because I love you.” – Me
“I know, I love you too.” – Jaxson

It was so adorable! Monday morning came all too soon and I woke up to spend a little bit of time with Jaxson and Audrina before I had to go. I seriously love those kids like they are my own! Being an aunt is one of the best jobs in the world and I can’t wait to have another nephew to adore.

Before I headed to the airport, I went with my dad to visit my abuelo (grandfather) who was just moved home from the hospital after being in and out of the hospital and a nursing home since March. It was a very difficult visit as my abuelo wasn’t doing too well and I was very aware that this might be the last time I would ever see him. It was unbelievably hard to say good bye. As I sat there sobbing watching him sleep I told my dad that I didn’t want to leave to go back to New York because I just had a feeling that as soon as I left, I would have to come right back and unfortunately, I was right. I did indeed fly back to New York Monday night on one of the longest and most difficult flights of my life. I cried from the moment I got to the airport to the time the plane landed 3 1/2 hours later. I just knew in my gut that I would never see my abuelo again and it broke my heart. I managed to gather myself, get my luggage, and take a taxi cab home. I went to bed that night with a heavy heart and it only got worse Tuesday morning when I received a phone call from my mother that my abuelo had past away. My Tio and I booked the next flight out and before I knew it, I was right back there in Kansas City at my abuela’s house crying all over again because my abuelo was gone. Standing there crying in the presence of just about my entire family was one of the worst moments in my entire life as everyone was so heartbroken and so sad about losing such an important person in their lives.

I know that most of you reading this understand how unbelievably difficult it is to lose someone who impacted your life so greatly, and for the Zarate family, it was harder than words can explain. You see, my abuelo was nothing short of an extraordinary man with unending compassion and a heart of gold. He made sacrifices that you and I have never even thought of. He left his wife and 8 kids in Mexico in order to take a cabinet making job in the United States and pave the way for a better life for him and his family. It took 3 long years before he was reunited with his family who were all legally accepted into the United States. He made the sacrifice of not being with his wife and all his kids who he loved so dearly because he didn’t want his family to have to live in poverty like he did. He wanted to come to the land of opportunity and live the American dream so that all his kids and grandkids, and great grandkids could have a better life and a better education to make something of themselves. Thanks to him, I was able to go to college and graduate with a degree. Thanks to him, I have never been poor. Thanks to him, I have endless opportunities to do something great with my life. He is the reason I am so proud to be a Mexican-American and the reason I have spent so much time trying to learn Spanish. All I wanted was for him to be proud of me and thankfully, I can say that when I returned from Spain, I had a great conversation with my abuelo ALL in Spanish. That, along with so many others, is a moment I will never forget. Both of my sisters have said it better than I (Andrea's Blog & Kim's Blog). Sadly, even all 3 of our descriptions combined can’t describe how wonderful of a man my abuelo truly was, but one thing is clear, he will forever be loved and dearly missed!

And so as I conclude on this Memorial Day weekend, I want to say thank you to both of my grandfathers for impacting my life in such a positive way. You both are loved and missed by so many!

Te amo y te extraño abuelo, que en paz descanse

M-I-A in MAY

Can you believe it’s already May? I can’t believe how fast spring is going by, before you know it, it’s going to be summer. Here in the city it already feels like summer with temperatures in the 80s. It has been gorgeous out, which like I’ve mentioned before, puts me in a good mood. I love nice weather, especially when it means backyard barbecues. The sad thing is it’s really making me miss home. Being a true Midwesterner, I absolutely love BBQs and picnics and the thought of not being home for these events makes me sad. I want to be in KS sitting on the porch while my dad is grilling, my mom is making some margaritas, and my sisters and brother-in-laws are socializing and playing with my niece and nephew. The good news is I am heading home in 1 week for my college graduation. I technically graduated in December 09, but because it was a semester early, I never had a graduation celebration. This Friday, May 14 after work I am heading to the airport for a flight to Kansas City! I can’t wait to spend the weekend with my family and friends. Saturday is my cousin’s college grad from Rockhurst College, Saturday night is my Multicultural Scholarship Graduation Banquet, then my best friend Val’s graduation party. Sunday is KU’s Commencement Ceremony, then my Grad Party at my parents’ house in Bonner. Sunday night my nephew Jaxson is having a sleepover downstairs in my room. (Side Note: Jaxson loves having sleepovers and last time I was in KC I had a sleepover at his house and I have been promising him that the next time I’m home, he can have a sleepover at my house.) Monday I will spend the day with my mom, my niece and nephew, and then head back to NYC Monday night. It is going to be a jam packed weekend and I am really looking forward to it!

One of the reasons I have really been missing home lately is because I am missing some important occasions going on in KC. For instance, Saturday, May 1 was my oldest sister Kim’s baby shower and I wasn’t there. Having to miss such a joyous occasion broke (still breaks) my heart. My sisters and I are REALLY close and not being there for Kim on such an important day makes me feel so guilty, like I really let her down. I guess it’s just one of the consequences of moving thousands of miles away from your family. I would love to attend every family function, but with such a big and growing family, it’s impossible. For one thing, it’s not economical for me to fly home all the time, and secondly, it’s just part of moving away. Living in NYC has its pros and cons and although I love the city life, I have to admit, it’s hard to experience the cons like missing important events. I am thankful that my family took lots of pictures of the shower and posted them on Facebook because at least I got to feel like I was there while looking at them, which I definitely was in spirit. I am so happy for my sister and her husband as this is such an amazing time in their lives, I’m just sad that I am not there to experience every minute of it with them. I will most definitely be on the first plane home when I get the call that Kim is in labor, you can count on that sister! ;) I love you and I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for your shower, but I’ll be home soon enough to see the hundreds of things Baby Robbins received. I can’t wait to see how the nursery looks with everything in it!!

Kim and Michael before her baby shower

Another important event I am missing is TODAY, Mother’s Day. This is the first Mother’s Day ever that I haven’t spent with my mom. Again, I feel guilty that I am not there for the people I love the most, it breaks my heart. Mom, I’m sorry I’m not there to celebrate Mother’s Day with you, but please know that every time I am with you is Mother’s Day to me. You are an amazing woman and mother and I love you for helping me and my sisters become the women that we are today. I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day as you deserve that and more. I can’t wait to see you next week, love you and miss you!

My beautiful mother

And yet another important day I am missing is tomorrow, May 10, my sister Andrea’s 24th Birthday! Again, this is the first of Drea’s Bdays that I have ever missed so it’s hard not being there to help her celebrate. Dre, Happy Birthday, I hope you have a fabulous day, you deserve it! I’m sorry I’m not there, but I’ll be home next week to give you a belated birthday hug! Love you!

The birthday girl

Well, now that I have paid tribute to the most important women in my life, I think I’ll wrap up. Stay tuned for next week’s Kansas City post, it should be a good one! :)

P.S. Val, you didn’t think I forgot you, did you? I’m sorry I missed your Campaigns presentation; I would have loved to be there for you just as you were for me! I’m sure you did fantastic. I can’t wait to watch the video Basow will give you soon! ;) Congrats on graduating, we’ll have celebratory drinks soon enough!

KU's most recent Graduate

Visitors!

Last weekend my Tio Martin and I had 2 visitors, my Tia Patty and her boyfriend Taco (more or less my Tio too). It was SO nice to have family in town, especially because they were the first visitors I’ve had since I moved to NY in February. They arrived Friday night, but unfortunately I had a work thing so I had to miss their welcome dinner, but I made up for it on Saturday. All 4 of us spent the entire day together. We started out with a shopping trip in China Town, then had lunch in Little Italy, then headed out to celebrate Taco’s 41st birthday. Now, those of you who know Taco know that his birthday celebrations are never insignificant, and this one was no exception. We went to the bar Seven to have a few cocktails then we headed to Park, a huge 3 story restaurant/bar/club. This place was huge, not even for Manhattan, but by Kansas City standards. It used to be an old Taxi Garage which explains the name Park and it offered a great atmosphere. We had some apps, then headed to the lounge area for some drinks and dancing, then headed upstairs to the club area where we danced the night away. About 4:30am rolled around and we decided we should probably head home, not only because we were about to close the place down, but because we had tickets to a Broadway show on Sunday afternoon. By the time we cabbed it home, it was past 5 and let’s just say none of us were feeling any pain! With that being said, you can imagine how much we were struggling come Sunday late morning when we had to wake up and get ready for the show.

Lunch in Little Italy

Waiting on our calzones!

At Park

Birthday shots!

Dancing the night away

We made it through the morning and headed to Times Square for a 3:00pm showing of West Side Story. It was amazing, I mean truly entertaining! It had a little bit of everything to keep your attention, great singing, awesome dancing, humor, drama, everything you could possibly want in a show. For those of you who don’t know about West Side Story, it’s set in New York City’s Upper West Side in the mid-1950s. It’s about a rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The members of the Sharks are first-generation Americans from Puerto Rico taunted by the Jets, a working-class white group who consider themselves the true Americans. Tony, one of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks and the drama unveils. With dialogue and songs in both English and Spanish, it was really a great show that someone like me, a Mexican-American could appreciate. The focus on social problems and the non acceptance of Hispanics in America made the show not only entertaining, but educational and eye opening. For people who are a bit closed minded, it provides an alternate perspective and I would hope those type of people walk out of the show with a new point of view. Needless to say, we all loved it! My Tia Patty and I even almost bought shirts that said Sharks on it because we are obviously not Jets, aka white girls! ;)

Times Square for West Side Story

Following the show, we headed to Arriba Arriba for dinner and margaritas. I know what you’re thinking, we all finally got rid of our hangovers and then we go and drink more? Well, if you knew anything about Arriba you’d know it’s impossible not to order a marg as they are delicious, and a Zarate tradition. As Taco said, it wouldn’t be a trip to NYC without dinner and margs at Arriba Arriba.

By the time we left Arriba it was already 8ish so we called it a Sunday and Taco and Patty headed back to their hotel to pack their things and get ready for their flight Monday morning while my Tio and I headed back to the apartment to do laundry and get ready for work on Monday. Overall, it was a great weekend in the city! Thanks Taco and Patty, I had a blast! :)

Living the Single Life

Why is it that people always ask me: Have you met anyone? Are you dating anyone? Are you still single? Blah Blah Blah. I don’t get it, it’s not like I’m in my mid-thirties and living alone. Why is it that society has this expectation that once you graduate from college you should meet (or should have already met) the love of your life and be planning a wedding? Ok, so maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but it is partially true!

I think most of you reading this know me well enough to know that I am very weird about meeting guys, I’m not really sure why. I didn’t used to be like this, or maybe I was and didn’t know it because I always had a boyfriend when I was a teenager. Who knows? The point is that I am very shy when it comes to meeting guys and I personally don’t think that there is anything wrong with that. Not now anyways. I think when I’m ready to meet someone who might actually be a significant person in my life, I’ll open up a little bit more. Right now, I’m perfectly content with being weird and picky and making up multiple excuses on why I don’t like this guy or shouldn’t go talk to that guy. I think, or rather, I know that I use these excuses as defense mechanisms because I am not really ready to meet anyone. After all, I am only 22. That is young, that is really young! And my biggest fear is that I’ll meet someone before I’m ready to. I know that sounds nuts because everyone wants to meet someone and be loved and I am not an exception, I’m just not ready for that YET. I know it seems a bit control freakish, but I have this invisible calendar or schedule that I’m trying to stay on track with and I know that you can’t PLAN life, but you can try, right? I don’t know, I can’t help it; I guess it’s just the planner in me. I want to establish my career and see things/do things/experience things on my own before I see things/do things/experience things with someone else. Does this make sense to anyone, but me?

I don’t think that there is a right or wrong way to do things; I think everyone has their own way, and this is mine. I’m not saying that I don’t get lonely sometimes, because I’ll be the first to admit that I do. But for the most part, I enjoy being single. I enjoy not having to rush home for anything or anyone. I enjoy not having to act perfect or try to impress someone. I enjoy not having to look in the mirror and ask myself, does this look ok, is he going to think I look fat. I enjoy being by myself, I feel like I know myself more now than ever before and I think I owe some of that to the fact that I have done things alone for a while. I don’t think it’s a coincidence at all that the best years of my life have been the last 3, all of which I have been single and have not focused on anyone but myself. Call me selfish, but it’s true. Going to Spain for a semester and moving to New York are 2 of the biggest, scariest and most amazing and exciting decisions that I have ever made that I most likely wouldn’t have made if there were a guy in my life. Here I am living this life that I never thought I ever would and I’m not saying that a guy wouldn’t make it even better, because I’m sure he will…one day, but that day is not today. I’m more than content with my life just the way it is! So the next time someone asks me if I have met anyone yet or if I’m dating or in a relationship, I’m going to say…read my blog!!! ;)

Seen, Read, Heard

I don’t really have anything new or exciting to report, just some random stuff. I have seen 3 movies lately. First, The Ugly Truth. It’s a romantic comedy, my favorite! Katherine Heigl plays a young single woman who is the controlling workaholic type and although I am ashamed to admit it, her character kind of reminded me of me. Scary, I know! She is, of course, looking for the perfect guy that meets all of her expectations and her checklist requirements. Yes, she has a checklist, see the similarity now? While I’ll admit that I do make checklists for everything, making one for the perfect man worthy of my love is not one I have started yet, although maybe I should? LOL! Anyhow, she ends up finding love where she least expected it, DUH…it’s a movie! The second and third movies I have recently seen I am very proud to speak, or rather, write about. Solely because I know it will make my sisters very happy, which if you know who my sisters are, you can already guess which two movies I am talking about. If you guessed Twilight and New Moon, you’re right! I am happy to report that I finally broke down and watched Vampire movies. And I (like the rest of the world) really enjoyed them! :) Both of my sisters have been insisting that I read the Twilight saga for months now, but I just wasn’t interested in the whole vampire story line, not to mention I was busy finishing school, so I refused. Well, although I still haven’t read the books, I have seen the movies, and I totally get what all the hype is about. I’m sure since I liked the movies, I would LOVE the books because they are ALWAYS better. Kim & Drea, I’m not promising anything, but who knows, maybe I’ll read the books when I finish Eat, Pray, Love. Yes, I am STILL not finished with it. I’m really slow because I only read a chapter or two at a time. It’s not that the book isn’t interesting; it’s just that I hardly ever have huge blocks of time. I’m determined to finish it though, so a chapter here or there is fine with me as long as it gets done. ;)

This brings me to a whole other topic, work. One of the reasons I don’t have large blocks of time to read is because of my work schedule. I love my job, but I must admit that it’s getting more and more demanding every day. The more people we hire, the more projects there are, and the more people I have to support. We are already at about 100, and there is only 1 me, so you can imagine the work load I have. I have been working from about 8:30am to 7:30pm Mon-Fri. The good news is we will be hiring more coordinators in the upcoming weeks so hopefully I won’t have to continue working 10-11 hour days for much longer. Not that it really bothers me too much now considering I am single and have no one to come home to at 6:00pm anyways (other than the pugs, of course). I’d much rather have these kind of hours now then later on in life, you know? I’m actually transitioning into the real world rather nicely, other than the fact that I miss my college life afternoon naps! :) Too bad real jobs don’t have nap time, that would be ideal for me considering I live for naps. Well, I used to anyway.

The one thing I can say for NYC is that most people have a work hard, play hard attitude. Yes, Patchers work a lot, but they also really know how to have fun! I thoroughly enjoy Happy Hours with my co-workers, which can include intense games of Pictionary in the office with some beers, or going to bars in SoHo. The most recent one was last Friday night and all rounds were on the President of our company so let’s just say, everyone had a great time! It is always really nice to get to know people outside of the office, you know, where you talk to people about things other than work. I’ve been able to make some friends this way, which is always nice. In fact, one of the girls I work with is supper cool and actually reminds me of me, we have very similar stories. But more than anything, she reminds me of my best friend Val, which I LOVE! Not that Val is replaceable, because she’s NOT, but having a friend here who reminds me of her makes it feel a little bit more like home. Last Saturday my co-worker/new friend invited me to Karaoke night with her and her friends and I had a blast. It was so nice to hang out with people my age, and the karaoke part was hilarious! My friend is the brave Val type that sung at the top of her lungs while I, on the other hand am the reserved type that had to get drunk in order to hold a mic in my hands. I did end up singing, just not by myself! ;)

I’m happy to report that I can officially say the phrase; I love the city in Spring. I hear that in movies all the time and now I know why. The weather has been phenomenal in April, sunny and in the 70s and 80s. I love it, sun puts me in a good mood! I have been taking full advantage and spending more and more time outdoors. The last 2 weeks while my Tio was visiting Kansas City I took care of the dogs and we spent A LOT of time in the courtyard behind our building and in the Oval (the main park in Stuy Town). It was beautiful outside and in addition to walking the dogs, I just sat on benches near the fountain and enjoyed the blooming trees and flowers around me. With the weather so nice the park was packed, which made for some interesting people watching, one of my favorite things to do, and let me tell you, NYC is the place to do it! There is such diversity in this city, I absolutely love it! You can walk into a grocery store and hear 5 different languages in a matter of 30 minutes. You would never find that in Kansas City, unless of course there was some sort of international festival going on which is highly unlikely. The only languages you hear in KS are English and Spanish. And there are still some towns where people might snub you for speaking Spanish and not English. It’s refreshing that people aren’t like that here. There is normal or abnormal because there is no standard or cultural norm. It’s impossible to fit in, or not fit in. I love it!

I’ll leave you with a random fact I just became aware of: Jersey law states that citizens are not allowed to pump their own gas. They must wait on a gas pump attendant to service their car for them. Self service is illegal, isn’t that bizarre? I’m not too sure how strict they are with enforcing the law though, I think cops have more things to worry about than my Tio Martin getting out of the SUV and pumping gas. Oops, did I just admit that I witnessed a crime?!

Overdue Update!

Let me start off with my apologies, this update is FAR overdue! I had every intention of posting about my first day on the job, but you know how that goes. You say to yourself, I’ll do it tomorrow, and then tomorrow turns into next week, and then…well, here we are 3 weeks later.

Put simply, I love my job at Patch! I love the people, I love the location, I love the fun relaxed atmosphere, I love that the company is doing REALLY well and growing rapidly, I love it all! I of course have been super busy, but I like to be busy, it makes the days go by fast and makes me feel a sense of accomplishment and productivity! Like I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, I enjoyed my time off, but was feeling a bit stir crazy being unemployed and all. It just felt so bizarre going from being a student for 18 years of my life to NOT. I have to admit, it turned out to be more of an adjustment than I thought. I was so used to either being in class or spending my free time doing homework and preparing for future classes. I know it sounds crazy for anyone to really WANT to work because once you start working, you never stop, but after a month of not working, I was ready to do something worthwhile with my time, and now I am! ;)

On the down side, I am no longer a free woman who doesn’t have to set an alarm and can just wake up whenever. Now that I am a working professional (I like to consider myself a professional for some reason, it makes me feel like an adult, which makes sense because I sort of am, lol) I haven’t had too much time for PERSONAL internet activity. I have obviously slacked off on updating my blog, I only get on Facebook like once or twice a week, and I hardly ever tweet. It’s like I’m on the computer all day at work so the last thing I want to do when I get home is open up my lap top. The good news is now that I have a BlackBerry I can check FB and Twitter from my phone and don’t have to get on my computer, this should help me stay connected to the social media world! ;) As far as my blog goes, I promise to try and post more regularly like I used to. Once a week is ideal, we’ll see how it goes!

Side Note: Getting a BlackBerry was bittersweet. I was really excited when my boss gave me the phone because this meant I was getting a company phone that the company pays for. Who doesn’t love free stuff, right? Plus, it’s exciting to have an NY area code. The bitter part is getting rid of my Kansas City phone. It’s like my 816 area code was all I had left of KC, the only piece of real identity connecting me to Kansas considering that my address, email, everything else has already changed. I know this sounds really silly, but getting a new number (917-484-0808) is a big deal for me, I guess because it makes things so real. I mean I know I have been here for 2 months now, but there is still a small part of me that still thinks of this move as sort of temporary. Things like getting a new number and opening up an NY bank account (which I am in the process of doing) make me realize that this city is indeed my new home. It’s exciting and sad at the same time. I think one of the reasons I am hesitant to think of NY as my home is because my family isn’t here. It’s hard to associate the word home to anything other than family. Those of you reading this who really know me and my family well, totally understand this logic, I’m sure!

Now, this is the part of this post I am most excited about writing – From NYC back to KC: My surprise visit home! Skype dates with my family are great, but there is nothing like the real thing!

Last Friday I left work an hour early to head to the airport for an evening flight to Kansas City. My Dad and sisters knew I was coming, but my mom, she had no idea! You see, her 50th Birthday was Monday, March 29 and my sisters and I wanted to do something special for her. After all, she is the greatest mom in the whole world! We decided to pull a double surprise on her: 1. I would fly in for the weekend and 2. We would throw her a surprise party! And boy did we pull it off!

Now let me backtrack a bit, working that Friday was so difficult because I couldn’t concentrate on anything but the fact that I was visiting home for the first time. Focusing on work was impossible because all I kept thinking about was seeing my family and surprising my mom. I somehow got through the day and when 5:30 rolled around, I was out the door more anxious than ever. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed (surprise surprise, a flight from NYC-LGA delayed!) so I had to wait longer than I wanted to see the kiddos. You see, George (my brother-in-law) was picking me up from the airport and taking me back to the Elmer house to stay the night so I knew that considering I wouldn’t be arriving in KC until after Midnight due to the delay, I wouldn’t get to see the kids until the morning. But, little mister Jaxson woke up when he heard his Dad and me come in, so I did get to see him right away! He was in shock. He stood completely still staring at me for about 30 seconds before he realized he wasn’t dreaming, it was really me. He said, Wesa? I said, hey buddy, come give me a hug, I missed you! He ran down the rest of the stairs and was in my arms in seconds. It was the best hug I’ve had in a very long time! I of course peeked in to see miss Audrina sleeping ever so peacefully before I went to sleep with Jaxson in his room. Needless to say, I slept really well that night! I woke up Saturday morning to the sweetest face ever. Sorry Drea, I’m talking about Audrina! ;) Baby girl was so smiley and happy to see me that I could have cried!

Next order of business, surprise my mom! The whole family went to IHOP for breakfast and once everyone was seated, I strolled in with Jaxson (Dre told my mom that he had a sleepover with his grandma so he wouldn’t be coming to breakfast). My mom started crying, got up from the table and gave me a bear hug! It was perfect! We ate breakfast, went birthday shopping, and spent the rest of the day hanging out at Kim and Michael’s house watching the K-State game and I of course, played with the kids! Then evening came and we headed to the Legends for dinner. Well, that was what we told my mom anyway. We arrived at Wild Bills, headed up the stairs where our table was, and then…SURPRISE, all of my mom’s family and friends were there to wish her a happy birthday! Once again, the tears came a rollin! She was so shocked/surprised/excited/overwhelmed, it was priceless! We spent the rest of the night eating, drinking, dancing, and celebrating a beautiful woman’s 50 years of life!

Mom – You truly are the most amazing woman I know. You have taught me so much about life and how to live it. Your optimism is contagious and all those in your presence can’t help but smile! I’m so glad I was able to share your birthday with you. I love you and miss you!

Although my weekend in Kansas City was great, there was a bit of sadness included. My Abuelo (grandfather) was admitted to the ICU at St. Luke’s Hospital due to a terrible infection. I guess it was destiny that I happened to be in KC that weekend as I was able to go visit him in the hospital. It was difficult to see him week and unhealthy, but I got to see him and that’s the important thing. He is now out of ICU and slowly recovering. I ask God daily to continue to watch over him, and I’m grateful that he has answered my prayers!

I'll leave you with a few pictures from the party!