Hawaiian Host: AlohaMacs

Tried them.

Loved them.

The end.

Inspiration = poison

Here I am, with a full time job that pays a decent wage. I've gotten to move up in the company that I am at, but my true passions lay elsewhere.

I am missing my artist instinct ever since I've been working full time. No time for volunteering, no time for reading and as a result - no time for my art.

Being tired is what keeps dragging the soul down, further and further into a place where it is void.  A dark space where all the inspiration is drowned out, where there is no escape. There is hope, but getting out will take some significant effort. It is like swimming in a never ending ocean, where one can see the shore but the days and nights pass, and you aren't any closer.

I've seen my artist friends whom I went to school with doing these amazing pieces and it really inspires me to make more of my own art and post it. I know writing is one of the mediums I enjoy, however taking a brush or crayon or pencil to some heavy paper is the most satisfying feeling ever.

Looking at my fellow artists, the inspiration grows and I keep on staring, in awe.

What can I do that is that magnificent?

Will it have the same effect?

What will happen next?

I'll ask myself these questions, but after some careful thought, the inspiration goes away. Knowing that whatever I produce won't have the same effect on people as their work has on me. People will not pay attention and in the end I end up being disappointed in all the work I've ended up creating and in the end I end up destroying the pieces that brought me some happiness.

I am a failed artist. My artist block has been created and finding a way out is proven difficult.

However, I know I'll find a way out...there is always a way out if you look for it.

San Francisco Part 2: Lands End Lookout and Sutro Baths

Our second stop of the day was at Lands End Lookout and Sutro Baths. It's pretty cool, Sutro Baths use to be a public pool house that burned down in the 1960s and you can visit the ruins on the edge of the Pacific ocean today. It's part of the National Park system if you visit. Here are some shots from pur visit there:

The foundation of the building now in ruins

San Francisco Part 1: Fort Cronkhite and Rodeo Beach

My Husband and I had a day trip to San Francisco and we visited a few locations. The first location was Fort Cronkhite and Rodeo Beach. They have such a great view of the Pacific ocean, even on a cloudy day. I have to say I was very happy to see clouds, because in Marysville I barely see any. Also, even though it was chilly, it was nice, compared to the heat and humidity. Here are some photos of our visit.

The view of the Pacific and Rodeo Beach

The view of the Pacific, Rodeo Beach, Fort Cronkhite (The red roofed buildings) and Rodeo Lagoon

Some of the coastline that can be seen on the trails

More coastline and more of the Pacific

The view over one of the cliffs

The view from one of the cliffs facing inland

Rodeo Beach, the sand is nice and dark and didn't stick to the feet

Rodeo Lagoon

Ellis Lake -- Marysvile, CA

Now that I live in Marysville, California, this is the lake that is a few blocks away. It's called Ellis lake, there are a lot of water fowl about, such as geese and ducks and there are fish in the water such as catfish, trout and bass. I've also seen a turtle pop out it's head above the water occasionally, I have yet to snap a picture of it.

I think I've run out of things to do....

I don't know what to do anymore during the day when my Austin is at work. Sure I tidy up the apartment but that takes about 30 minutes tops and I also do the laundry, but other than that I have nothing to do. I've started to explore the surrounding area but there isn't that many interesting things to do or to see and it get very, very hot during the day. I'm happy that I actually have a gym membership, so I can go there and be around other people, but other than that I don't have a printing press or a job so my day comes to a standstill pretty much.

Yesterday, however, I finished this crayon piece that I started when I visited back in the beginning of July. It was a good way to spend the day, so in a way I am going to do more art until I find a decent job. I got a letter from one of my friends and it definitely brightened my otherwise dull day. Today I'm going to submit my paperwork to start volunteering at the library, another way to actually do something that can sort of, possibly, help me find a job, or until I actually find a job. 

Done in Crayola Crayons - http://verat.deviantart.com/#/d5bgojn

I don't know what I was expecting when I moved out here, but here it is, unemployed and currently a housewife, and in all sense of the word. I sit at home and don't see anyone. I really miss seeing my friends and most of the time am either updating my tumblr or looking for more job openings that sound interesting. I've also noticed how many print I have in my possession, most of which I should probably start selling, but one thing about that is I don't know who would me interested in purchasing. Going to start looking into Etsy.com to see how I can sell my art through there. 

Anyways, I usually end these things with a short story, but currently nothing comes to mind. Have a pleasant day/evening/night.

My trip broken down by my stops

Here is the quick breakdown of my trip in terms of stops, miles and time:

Day 1

#1 Denver, CO  ---> Laramie, WY

Distance ≈ 150 miles

Time ≈ 2.5 hrs

#2 Laramie, WY  ---> Green River, WY

Distance ≈ 225 miles

Time ≈ 3.5 hrs

#3 Green River, WY  ---> Salt Lake City, UT

Distance ≈ 175 miles

Time ≈ 3 hrs

Day 2 

#1 Salt Lake City, UT  ---> Wendover, UT

Distance ≈ 125 miles

Time ≈ 2 hrs

#2 Wendover, UT  ---> Elko, NV

Distance ≈ 115 miles

Time ≈ 2 hrs

#3 Elko, NV  ---> Lovelock, NV

Distance ≈ 200 miles

Time ≈ 3.25 hrs

#4 Lovelock, NV ---> Marysville, CA

Distance ≈ 225 miles

Time ≈ 4.25 hrs

TOTALS:

Distance ≈ 1, 215

Time ≈ 20.5 hrs

(The mileage is approximate and so is the time)

I've moved

Nissan Versa - My Rental Car

I've moved to a small town in Northern California where I can't find a job and sitting at home filling out applications is just becoming tiresome. You have to keep in mind that I do NOT posses a vehicle of any sort, so it has to be walking distance to where I live. To be more exact I've moved to Marysville, California and let me tell you how I got here.

Well I completed all of my required coursework for my undergraduate degree, which is a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and a minor in Psychology. I have to say that I am pretty impressed with myself and this achievement. Will be getting my diploma in about 6 weeks time via snail mail. Then I finished working at the bookstore, trained a lot of new people for rush right before I left, so hopefully they all do a lovely job during rush. Then I packed up my things, shipped 9 boxes, rented a car, and fit the rest into the rental.

Packed Trunk

Packed Backseat - Don't worry I could see out of the back window just fine!

Second view of the packed backseat of the Versa

I started my drive out to California at 6 in the morning, my mom making sure that I took everything that I need and a few sad farewells.My plan was to make this trip in two days, Thursday, August 9th and Friday, August 10th. My overnight stop was in Salt Lake City, and I didn't like it there one bit. I made six mandatory stops along the way, to pump gas, eat and stretch my legs for a bit. By the end of my drive to Salt Lake City, I didn't know where I was and I was just following the highway, and it still puzzles me how I found my way to the hotel that I was staying at. 

Before checking into the hotel I went to my forever craving, all time favorite burger place, In N Out Burger. They make the best burger in the world, and you have to keep in mind that I eat them without the bun and wrapped in lettuce, so I can really taste how the meat. It was one of the best parts of my trip, enjoying a mouthwatering burger after a long drive....

The hotel I stayed at sucked, the parking was weird and it seemed as if there weren't enough spaces, the carpet was filthy and and the tub just looked disgusting. It looked like it was built in the 90s and hadn't been updated since then.  So much for booking ahead of time and expecting something better, but the bed was just fine, especially since all I really wanted was sleep. Thankfully I bought earplugs and had some pretty good sleep, waking up at 4 am and checking out at 4:30 to start the second part of my drive. 

Driving on the second day was much better, sleeping really does help from the night before. I was surprised that it was cloudy most of my drive through Nevada and that it even rained a bit. When I finally entered California. The scenery is just gorgeous and lush. I drove down Highway 20 to get to Marysville, and yes the road is a bit curvy but it was amazing to drive down. 

I finally got to Marysville and decided to fill up the tank before driving to the apartment and then to drop it off at the rental place. Well I already drove 1,150 miles or so without hitting anything or anyone, and for that matter not getting into a car accident. Well as I was pulling up to the gas pump, I heard a crunching sound and next thing I know the front right part of the bumper got smashed in by one of those concrete barriers that prevents the car from driving into the gas pump. I obviously didn't see it at all and thought I had some room before hitting it, boy was I wrong and less than a quarter of a mile from the apartment, too. Well I called Hertz roadside assistance and reported it and luckily since I purchased all the insurance that Hertz offers for a rental, I didn't have to pay for the replacement of the bumper, luckily.  

Overall I had an excellent trip driving to my new place of living, and if you are ever looking to rent a car, rent from Hertz, this is the second time I've rented from them and they are great! Now all I have to do is find things to do until I find a job, I think I'll start volunteering at the local library. 

A little update on everything

Hi everyone!!! So I haven't been that great for the past year with making regular posts and it's because life got in the way, and in a very good way. Let me explain:

I'm currently finishing up this degree and I am currently taking my last course for it this summer, expected graduation date is August. So school work has been swamping my life. However, if you've been reading on and off or know me personally, you know that I'm with a lovely man named Austin.The last time I filled everyone in on him was back when I wrote the post about all those letters that he received while he was in basic training (here).

Well a lot has happened with us in the past year. Back in January we got engaged, exactly after a year we started to talk with each other as well as seeing each other exclusively. Then in March we went ahead and tied the knot (yes! we got married!!!) before he went to his first duty station. As I might have mentioned before, or neglected to mention more like, he is currently in the Air Force. Sure we've only been together for about a year and a half, but we've been through a lot and in the past year our relationship has been a long distance one. While at basic training he could only communicate with friends and family via snail mail, and then once he got to technical school we got to talk on the phone every evening and did FaceTime "dates" (if you could call them that) every Friday and Saturday. Sure I did get to see him when he visited during the holidays and whatnot, but those were visits, overall it's been long-distance.

It surprises me that are now married and everything is working out just fine. People say long distance relationships are hard, and they are, but I've learned that it depends on the couple and the situation, since every relationship starts out differently and are all unique to their situations throughout the relationship. One thing that I've learned that is very important in every relationship is communication between each other, and I mean civilized conversations, no yelling or what not, but a conversation(s) were both are listening to what your significant other has to say without interrupting them or blowing them off in what they've decided to tell you. You should feel special that they are taking the time to tell you. Well enough of me babbling about relationship stuff (People (well, friends) sometimes say I give great advice, ummm .... thank you!).

Besides that when it comes to my schooling, I am currently in my final semester this summer. Yep! Taking my last class that I need for this degree. Very excited after exactly 4 fall, 4 spring and 4 summer semesters. I still currently work at campus bookstore as a book floor lead, I have to admit that I really like working there, the people are great.

Well thats my little update on what has been going on with me, I hope everyone has been well too.

Keane Continued (and in more detail)

So as I mentioned in the previous post, I went to see my favorite band, Keane, last Monday, June 25th 2012. Now I'm going to talk about the evening in great detail.

Since this was my third time seeing Keane Live, as usual I took the entire day off. Around 4 to 5 pm after running around doing errands all day I finally got home and started to get ready to go. I kept it simple: jeans, tank top, purse, camera, phone as well as what I should have the band sign (and this time I had them sign their Book/CD/DVD). I waited for my mom to get home, since we were going together. At around 6:30pm we left the house and headed downtown to the Paramount Theatre to see my lovely Keane. After parking and getting to the theatre, I had to pick up the ticket at the will call window.

The merch that was available for purchase

After getting our tickets and getting in, we found our seats and since we had a good 45 minutes until Kiev (the supporting band) play we got into the merch line and ended up spending 100$ on two shirts (I got the yellow/white/blue one with the guys on it and my mom got the grey sun one) and two high quality Strangeland tote bags (design pictured below).

Detailed of the design on the tote.

Then we went back to our seats to settle in and prepare for the live music to begin. Kiev was great to listen to the only downside was that the quality of the sound wasn't good, it was as if all the microphones were on one level making the vocals and the instruments mesh together into a cluster of loud noise. When I got home later that evening I went and actually found their music, and it was pretty decent.

Kiev

After Kiev played there was a 20 minute break to set up the stage for Keane. This is when the theatre really started to fill with people, the seats in front of us got their occupants (mind you we where in Row G, Seats 7 & 8 as well as Orchestra Center, thats only 7 rows from the stage!!!) and pretty soon all you could hear is people talking about Keane, it was great! Then the lights got dimmed and we all stood in an uproar as Tom, Tim, Richard and Jesse ran on stage to start the show.

This is the setlist that they played for us:

1. You Are Young
2. Day Will Come
3. Nothing In My Way
4. A Snippet of Strangeland
5. On the Road
6. A Bad Dream
7. Perfect Symmetry
8. Everybody's Changing
9. My Shadow
10. Bend and Break
11. Leaving So Soon?
12. The Starting Line
13. Disconnected
14. This Is The Last Time
15. Somewhere Only We Know
16. Is It Any Winder?
17. Bedshaped
18. Sovereign Light Café
ENCORE:
19. Sea Fog
20. Silenced By The Night
21. Crystal Ball

Throughout the show I took some picture and a few videos, especially some of my favorite songs such as Disconnected, however I mainly focused on listening to them, to Tom's angelic voice, Tim's mad keyboarding/piano skill, Richard's beats and Jesse playing the bass lines as well as assisting in producing other sounds. I was surprised to hear Bedshaped not being the last song, since Keane almost always plays it last before the encore, but what was even better was the fac that they ended with one of my favorite sing from Under The Iron Sea, and it was Crystal Ball!!! Their live performance are always great and in the end was a magical experience.

The taking down of the stage begins

Me after the show in front of the Paramount

Keane - 6/25 @ The Paramount

After the show had ended, we left the theatre and started to wonder where the band would be exiting. Since every time I've seen Keane perform live I've always gotten to the chance to meet them in person and they are a band known for meeting with fans to sign and take photos after a live performance. I told my mom where I saw their buses and their equipment truck, so we made our way to the other side of the theatre by going through an ally. As we entered the ally you could see people started to gather at the backstage door and the crew was already loading the equipment truck so they could get to Salt Lake City for the next gig. We made our way over and began to wait.

We had a good hour and a half before the garage we parked in closed the gate. After about 45 minutes of waiting Tom and Tim exited and everyone was so excited, limelight was hitting them. They made their rounds in taking pictures and sign items. Then Richard came out and last but not least a tired looking Jesse followed. My mom and I got photos with all of them, except my mom didn't get a photo with Jesse. I had them sign their photos in the Strangeland Book/CD/DVD, which I bookmarked.

It was a great evening seeing my favorite band. My mom enjoyed herself as well. It's definitely a night that we won't be forgetting soon. Now all I have to do is wait for their next album so I can see them live again.

Keane at the Paramount here in Denver

So yesterday I went to see my all time favorite band - Keane. I've seen them before and every single time I've seen them live, I've gotten to meet the band members. Anyways it was amazing. So here are some pictures.

260 or so pages in some lovely letters

Today one of my tasks was to organize all the letters that my husband received when he was still doing basic training for the Air Force and in technical training from his family and from one or so friends. As I organized them by date, skimming what I wrote to him reminded me of how much I miss him, and skimming through all of the others just shows how many people are proud of him for deciding for joining the armed forces. As I skimmed, all of the letters had a few things in common, besides of them being proud of him for joining and serving for his country, but missing him, how much we support him and how much we all love him.

After organizing them, a count of how many pages he received for the past 9 or so months totaled about 260 PAGES, not counting the backsides of most of the letters. This includes letters, stories, puzzles, postcards, some pictures and hand drawings, too.

This just made me think of how important it is to support the people you love and care for, especially the ones defending our freedom and deciding to serve in the Armed Forces. Thank you Austin! We are so proud of you! I'm so proud of you!

- Vera

P.S.

Support our troops!

STFU ABOUT "I MISS YOU"

To all those people who say they miss their significant other, and you haven’t seen them for a few hours or maybe a day or two, and are going to see them later either when getting home from work or school or meeting up with them later in the  evening or the week. Please stop telling me how much you miss them.

I know people who aren’t able to see the ones they love for long periods of time, because of their job or something similar. I’m one of these people, the one person I love quite a bit is far away, a 14 hour drive, and I won’t be able to see them until thanksgiving and only then for a few days before I have to return. Sure I get to speak with my lovely Austin every evening but I miss him so much. It is one thing talking with them and it’s another being able to be around them. The last time I saw my love was back in August, and I do know when I get to see him next.

Sure it is hard being in a long distance relationship, especially if before it was a long distance relationship you spent every available moment with them, after work and on weekends before they left. Not having them close is so hard, no one to go to when you are sad, no one to give you hugs or ask how was your day after a long day. No one to cuddle up to when it’s cold and to watch a movie or just to sit and say nothing, just enjoying each others company in silence.

So stop, just stop and think about what you are saying. Sure you do miss them, but I don’t want to think about it because every single day I miss Austin more than you will know unless you experience something similar to it. Others, well mostly me, don’t want to hear it or see it posted, because I can be doing the same thing every single day that goes by when I haven’t seen him. I know if I did that every single day people would get annoyed with it, and most of the time simply not even care.

So keep your “I miss you” posts and whatnot to yourself. The entire world doesn’t care and it’s not like they can make you feel better either, that being said only a few close friends might sincerely care about it. Better yet just let the one you love know how much you miss them, and I bet they probably miss you just as much. Letting them know just shows how much you really care about them, how important they are to you and how much it sucks that they aren’t around.

And always tell them how much you love them, they love hearing that too.   

Austin ...

Love of my life... the end.

MANY DAYS AGO YOU WHERE REALLY MISSED

She was getting ready to go over and visit his home even though he wasn’t going to be there at all and probably won’t be for a very long time. She brought what she needed for her short visit in a cardboard box and her book bag. In the box where a few changes of clothes, some food for the pantry, her loveable plush and a few other necessary items for her visit. She had to get a ride over there since she didn’t own a car let alone traveling by bus would take about 2 hours, and carrying the box after awhile tired out the arms quite a bit.

She got dropped off in the evening, her sunbeam’s sister also lived in the same house so she was there to open the door. Once she walked in she was automatically greeted. She dropped off the food in the kitchen and spoke with his sister for a bit. It had been about 10 days since she last saw him or heard his lovely voice. After a brief conversation with his sister, she went to drop off the rest of her things in his room that as of now no one had really been inside of.

She climbed the stairs, box in hand and book bag over her shoulder. When she had reached the top of the stairs and started to turn to go down the corridor and approaching his room, her eyes started to water and right before she entered she broke out in tears, nearly dropping the box and all of its contents. She gentle removed the book bag and collapsed onto the bed that hadn’t been slept in for the past two weeks.

She lay there in the bed sobbing into the blankets for a few minutes and thinking of how much she misses the love of her life. She can’t believe that he is gone and that now here she, is at his house, in his room crying about how much she misses seeing him, talking with him, hugging him as well as listening to what he has to say. She knows that for now the letters that she is sending him will make him smile and hopefully he will write back when he gets the time. She also knows that this is only temporary, that being separated from one another is for only a short time and that after this is over they will be reunited. That however sounds so easy, but the fact is that he is a significant part if her life just like she is a significant part of his life as well, and that the biggest hurdle is not seeing one another or communicating in real time. They both need the comfort if the other. As she lay sobbing into the blankets she drew these conclusions, the final one being that he loves her very much, and knowing this she slowly started to overcome the fact that he isn’t here for the time being.

She got up from his bed and decided the best way to miss him less was to stop weeping about how much she misses him and that she still needed to get a few things done before bed. She left the room, rearranged their side of the bathroom with the glass for the brushes and paste, the bunny soap dish and the mouthwash. She then went downstairs into the kitchen to preoccupy herself with washing the dishes. Even though it took her awhile to do them she thought about all of the good memories that she had with the love of her life in this house. One of them was when he first invited her over and they made omelets and when they played so many games at the dinner table like dominos and scrabble. She remembered how nice the feeling of his arms wrapped around her felt and the touch of his lips when they kissed her neck. She thought about all of the emotions that she had experienced with him from being extremely happy to the very few times when sadness had filled her mind. She remembered all of these things. After washing the dishes she went to go and write to him, because writing to him makes her feel happy that in a few days he will be reading what she wrote. She made it back upstairs, telling his sister goodnight.

This time she entered the room, she was a bit more prepared but there was still a lot of memories in that room. A few tears did end up streaming down her cheeks, but as she began to write to him, her emotions stabilized and she began to smile as the words formed on the page. Pretty soon however those tears of sadness turned into tears of happiness. She couldn’t see what she was writing so she stopped, put down her pen with the final words being “I love you”. She curled up into a ball underneath the blankets in his shirt and fell asleep.

In the morning she awoke, with a smile on her face. She lay in bed and remembered the look of her loves face when he slept next to her, with a little smile on his face more than half the time. How his arm and shoulder would be exposed over the blanket, clutching the blanket with his hand as if holding on for dear life. How when he would get up, he would stretch his muscular arms and how she would give him a good morning kiss, the perfect way of saying hello.

Those days will come back again and very soon there will be plenty of kisses sent his way, because he deserves every single one of them that he receives form her, for being the amazing person that has become her best friend, her one and only shining sunbeam. She considers him one of the luckiest men in the world, and she considers herself as one of the luckiest ladies, for being with such an amazing and excellent man, who loves her very, very much just like how she loves him very, very much.

For the rest of the time, her day got better and better, sure some things sparked more memories, but all she did was remember them with a smile on her face.

The next day though made her entire week, she finally got to hear his voice, and how much he misses her. He finally got to make a phone call and the person he wanted to speak with most was her, this brought tears to her eyes, but they didn’t get to stream down her cheek. Even though their conversation was brief it made her glow with excitement that up to this very moment she is still smiling about it. Now all she looks forward to is hearing from him again, reading the letters that he will send and maybe if he is lucky, him calling her and speaking just to hear her voice and for her just to listen to his.

Sure it has been awhile since they last saw each other and the days grow further and further apart from that moment, but at the same time the days in which they will see one another again come closer and closer. This is what they should be looking forward to and it might be hard to imagine that that day will come, but it will and before they know it they will be embracing each other.

Time only seems to take it slowly only if you allow it, and having things to do to pass the time will make time fly by to the most important moments.

SO ABOUT THIS BUYING MORE STAMPS BUSINESS…

… as some of you might know I’ve been writing every single day to my lovely man Austin. He loves the letters I send, and I love receiving and reading the ones he sends to me. I haven’t seen him in about 47 days, and I finally get to see him next week but only for a very short period of time. I’ve decided that this is the last week that I can send him any last letters, since if I where to send them next week it would be pointless since I be finally seeing him. I think after normal means of communication are brought back that I will stop sending him these letters, however part of me wants to still send one every week or so. 

If you don’t know why I can only send him letters, it is because that is currently the only way he can communicate with his loved ones and hence the sending of letters. 

So my main thought right now is what sort of stamps should I get LOL plus what sort of new stationary I should get. It turns out that I really enjoy writing to him, and if I miss a day it just feels odd, as if I am missing something. 

Anywho just felt like sharing… 

:) 

And yes that is the last stamp I currently have.

I need to start using this again...

Was browsing through my posts and I've got to say that I have to start using this blog again, at least for more personal posts, such as stories, my opinions on what I think of a certain film that I recently viewed, and mini updates how things are going. 

This image has nothing to do with what I've been saying.

Well those of you who know me personally know that I am with a very amazing man by the name of Austin. Those of you who don't know, well now you know. He just recently went off to basic training for the Air Force and for 8 and a half weeks I have to occupy myself with school as well as work, so by the time I get to see him again my summer semester will be over. Well I am not going to reveal all that too much about us on here but I have to say one thing and it's that I love him very much and nothing can get between us. On top of that while he is in basic training the only way we can communicate with him is via letters, so I am getting to write more. 

Austin:

Currently also taking 3 summer courses which are as follows:

1. Organizational Management (a.k.a Stats part 2 for me)

2. Fundamentals of Finance

3. Organization Design

Out of the three listed the first two are the ones that interest me the most currently because the lectures can get quite interesting and they are the first two of my school day, when I am still in the state of caring and listening. They also happen to be in the same building which is always cold because they decide to blast the A/C all the time, so in betweens classes I have to go sit outside for about 10 minutes to warm myself up in the hot sun. Well that's my summer course work for you.

As for when it comes to my job I recently got promoted along with my friend Elizabeth to the Book Floor Lead positions. Super happy about it.

Here are a few photos of Denver: