What's Your Passion!?

Since I seem to always apologize (to what few readers I have) about not writing in so long, I'm going to just bypass that paragraph all together... So I have ADD (or something like it).... rediscovering this blog is like opening a present on Christmas- it's a surprise every time :)

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about what I truly enjoy doing but for whatever reason, finding the answer to this question has only gotten harder in recent years. As early as I can remember when my parents or teachers would ask my what I wanted to be, I would proudly tell them "a Veterinarian!" and then proceed to draw hot pink cats every chance I got a hot pink crayon in my hands because I loved cats (and hot pink) THAT much. Now while my love for hot pink has seriously faltered, my love for cats hasn't. SO, why am I not in the middle of my 1st year of Veterinary School at WSU!? Simply because of an evil feeling known as pessimism... as I grew up, I learned that Veterinarians had to help multiple animals instead of just cats. Then I learned that the schooling to become a Vet took at least 9 years... THEN I learned that I could indeed specialize in cats but that would take additional years of schooling beyond my initial 9. Then I learned about the limited career options I'd have with that degree.... and so on and so on. I know I don't lack motivation so why did these reasons stop me? Why didn't I at least try and take the initial classes to see how it went!?

These questions bug me... often. I've come to realize I just wanted a 'normal' college experience and was fearful of the result of a 9 year program, but that just bugs me even more. Since when do I care about normal? What IS normal? What am I really passionate about now?


This is a happy post, really, just read on!


The last of those 3 questions has become a new goal of mine to answer. Here's a list of some new things I've recently taken on:
-Gardening
-Cooking
-Obtaining my Private Pilots License
-Traveling more (sadly just in country but it's a start)

Gardening couldn't have gotten underway if it wasn't for my apartment's "Pea Patch" (gardening area for residents on a first come, first serve basis) and my dad's knowledge on the topic. I've planted lettuce, spinach, carrots, onions, thyme, and ... yea, I definitely don't remember the other herb... Anyway, I plan to plant some basil seeds as well once it warms up a bit. I'm starting to see some green in my garden but it’s small... so I'll take some pictures in the future when I'm ready to harvest :)

Cooking has been an adventure- it's like "What can I cook from scratch on a limited budget and with little to NO kitchen tools/gadgets!?" Needless to say I usually end up with a VERY messy kitchen and have to wash some measuring spoons, cups, and mixing bowls multiple times just to complete one meal. Still, it's been fun and I've been seriously considering taking some cooking classes to learn more.

The Private Pilot license idea definitely got started because of the industry in which I work. However, I work in finance, far removed from the airplanes we build, so the idea of learning how to fly one sounded like a great idea. Note to self: level of motivation to attend class and complete homework just a few MONTHS after graduating from college is very low... but I still passed! The teacher was great and had some fascinating stories (those definitely helped). I plan on starting my flying lessons within the next few years, but because of the financial commitment it's a little low on my list of priorities... still, it's going to happen!

Traveling... who doesn't love it!? I'll tell you who, my boyfriend who grew up in a military family and traveled every 2 years... so a "hey honey lets get away for the weekend" kind of conversation converts to ‘she wants to go camping to drive to somewhere in the state’ while I am thinking Cali... Mexico... Wyoming!? Just anywhere! However, since graduating I've been fortunate enough to enjoy a week long vacation to Kauai with my parents where my mom and I tried out all kinds of things together (power hang gliding, zip lining, biking along the coast, and kayaking/hiking to a secret falls). Another thing I have been fortunate to have is great friends who are far more adventurous than myself and actually left the state after college (what a concept!). Today I leave for Alaska to explore Anchorage & Seward before driving up to Denali to visit my good friend Brittany who works for a hotel just outside of the park. For any of you who haven't heard of Denali just know that it's supposed to be a fantastic experience in the great outdoors. A GIANT untouched national forest that is only accessible by a bus that drives through the park each day. I can't wait! Other travel ventures likely to happen this year: Vegas (my first time!) and hopefully New York (again, my first time!).

So in all, I’m realizing that it’s extremely hard to figure out what I am passionate about and what I want to do the rest of my life… but learning/experiencing these new things are truly adding a new kind of joy to my life!

So what are YOU passionate about!?

Livin' in the Big City

Mid-afternoon on a weekday and what am I doing? Sitting in my pj's posting a new blog... Yup, I love having so much downtime, but I am definitely ready to get going with the rest of my life! Now 3 weeks in, my apartment in Seattle has been great and I'm loving the fact that almost everything is a short walk or a bus ride away. For you older Washingtonians, you may know Pioneer Square as a slightly scary neighborhood, but I will be the first to tell you that this part of town has definitely gotten better. SO much better in fact that I am feeling completely safe and comfortable living here. While my place is small, I enjoy the fact that it has forced me to get rid of belongings I REALLY don't need. Some pictures to give you a good general idea of the place are below (sorry they're blurry, my flash was off):

Living area you see right when you walk in the door.

Continuation of the living area with part of the kitchen counter showing.

Right side of kitchen, viewed from living area.

Other side of kitchen- lots of storage! :)

Hallway that is just to the left of the front door. In the photo, the double doors are the washer/dryer and more storage, straight ahead is the bathroom, and to the right is the bedroom.

Bedroom with double door closet showing. In the left corner of the room (which you can't see) is just our dresser and mirror.

The views! All of these can be seen from our three windows since the place is small. The above left is a view of the Columbia and Smith Towers that you see if you look UP. the above right is a view of a tree blocking the Alaskan Way Viaduct and a small water view that you see when you look LEFT. The photo below is the building next to us, which you see if you look straight out- it's a lot nicer of a view then just a brick wall! :)

SO there you have it- my ~600 square feet of joy. Richard and I are living together to help share the costs which has been REALLY nice since I wouldn't want to be renting a place in Seattle on my own. Milo doesn't seem to mind the place, especially since it has such high ceilings, allowing for some high shelves on top of the kitchen cabinets that he can jump to and watch everything from. Rich works in Renton so he has many routes to pick from to get to work (I-90, I-5, Rainier Ave or Martin Luther King Way) and I will be working at Boeing's Bellevue location starting TOMORROW so it will just be a straight shot for me down I-90. I'm not too sure if I'm excited or bummed to be starting work already, but I do know that I feel really fortunate to have gotten such a good job. I have many amazing and smart engineer, science, and business degree friends that have not been able to land a job yet, or if they have, it's dismal at best. I hope my good fortune continues as Rich and I explore Seattle more and get used to the big change from college to the "Real World". I can't wait to see what happens!

Annie + College = NO Blogging...

Yup, it's official, I suck at writing frequently in my blog... but what can I say? Senior year moved WAY too fast that I hardly even believe that I've really graduated. But Pullman was good to me this year- I had a fun experience living with 5 great guys in a house, I successfully completed a double major in 2 Business subjects, and I am in a great relationship with my boyfriend Rich- Definitely a good year :) Now I'm at the parents home in Monroe while I'm in my "transition" from college to living on my own and working. I've got the living on my own figured out to be a 1 bedroom apartment in Seattle, but the job subject is still a work in progress given the current economy is not helping my odds. More details on all of that will come though! Below are pictures from the last few months-

Richard and I snowboarding one weekend at the fabulous Schweitzer Resort. Biggest benefit of WSU's college business is that there are no classes on Friday- woohoo! Guess it's to help enforce Thirsty Thursdays... haha :)

The terror known as Milo, taking everything out of my purse in this picture. I feel as though he is more of a dog then a cat... such a trouble maker, but way too cute.

AWESOME Spring Break trip to Puerto Vallarta!

Graduation- picture in front of the HUGE new cougar statue outside of Martin Stadium. GO COUGS!

New Semester, New Pet, and NEW Nephew!

Yes, she's back! Some of you may have noticed three new posts that you hadn't seen before... and yes, they are from the dates they claim, I simply just hadn't posted them because I wanted to have some pictures... WELL, no pictures, but hey at least you know I'm still alive!

SO this semester started off pretty normal- Nothing going on but parties and recruitment for my business fraternity. My class load is lighter (just 12 credits/4 classes) AND a lot more interesting, including a hospitality class titled "Beverage Management", of which I am ONE of only two students in the class that are not a hospitality major... why is it so hard to get into this class? WELL, the teacher is great, the workload is nice, and I think that being able to taste wine and spirits in just about every class might have something to do with it as well!

Yes, this appeared to be a normal semester, but something different was definitely going on... see, I live with 5 guys which yes, are just fabulous and all, but I needed something else... and if you know me well, you know where this is heading! While up in Spokane visiting Rich before coming back for school, I drug him around to every shelter in the area looking for the perfect orange cat. With no luck there, I decided to continue my search in Pullman (still dragging Rich around with me), and began at the Pullman Humane Society. Now this place is a bit small, so I didn't expect to find anything there. I checked out the cats they had in this old bus-converted-cat shelter outside, but decided to ask them whether or not they had any kittens. No, i wasn't exactly looking for a kitten, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask... right? WELL, they had 12 kittens. 6 were orange.

All were adorable , but I finally decided on ONE that stood out because his markings were the darkest orange of any of the other kittens. I instantly purchased him, got the necessary supplies from the local store, and took him to his new home. It took a few days for me to decide on a name, but Milo (pronounce my-low) finally stuck. The name came from one of my favorite childhood movies, Milo & Otis, which it seems like most of my friends had seen or atleast heard of, EXCEPT Rich... fun fun. I guess we'll just have to have a movie night. Anyway, he was 3 weeks old when I got him and now he's 2 lbs heavier and almost 7 weeks old.. crazy how they grow! Pictures will come... :)

SO- that's the main excitement in my life right now, but it's honestly nothing to what's happening on the west side of the state! On Monday, January 26th my first nephew Benjamin was born. I'm very excited for my brother and sister in law and hope that all is well in their second week with Ben. I'm sure Mckenzie is just loving her baby brother too- congrats to you guys! Two birthdays in the same week! Crazy fun- look for a package from Pullman in the week to come!

That's all for now- it's a sunny (but cold) Friday and Rich and I are planning on heading to his parent's house in Spokane today so that we can get an early start tomorrow for Schweitzer, snowboard all day, and make it back in time for Saturday night parties in Pullman.. talk about fun!

OH the Holidays....

Lots of family, lots of gifts, seeing old friends, and gaining a few pounds... what's not to love?

Yes, the holidays this year were just as good as ever, but perhaps they were the last of their kind for me... My parents were dead set on having us do all the same stuff that we'd done in years past. Why? Mainly because my siblings are adding new members to their own families (currently on a yearly basis), so this year was the last of it's kind. It's sort of weird knowing that things are going to be different a year from now... I mean I may not even be living IN Washington (although I greatly doubt that), and my siblings will be starting their own traditions with their growing families.

I will say that in all the years growing up, I had loved the difference in my age and my brother and sister's age.. we were a decade a part, experiencing completely different things yet still being rather close. I learned from all of their mistakes (thanks for that!) and all of their triumphs. However, now more than ever I think I wish I could just understand a little bit more of what's going on in their lives, or be at least a little closer in distance. I think that I at least have a SENSE of what it must have felt like for my sister to be living away from family in Wisconsin (or Colorado) and being so out of the loop. I don't let things get to me too much when it's discovered that they "forgot" to tell Annie (oh yes, you know it's true), but still it makes me wonder if I'm supposed to just vanish for a few years... have my own adventures away from home and just... not feel like I'm at SUCH a different stage of life. Now this isn't a pity party, so don't even think about calling me up family. I just know that I need to really figure out what is best for me to do and not try and focus on just making sure I'm close to home to hear everything that goes on while I'm away...

SO, that's just my thought of the day... I never thought I'd be in the same boat as SO many other seniors right now and not have any idea on what I'll be doing after college, but I have the economy to thank for that... my for sure job is now just a mere hope, and all of my other job options grow smaller each day with more companies laying off or collapsing altogether... at the same time, I AM getting some creative ideas... like, another degree? working abroad? HA! Who knows...

One Down, One To Go

Yes, I know... I started a blog and then proceeded to write nothing... My excuse? I'm in college, what did you expect? :D

To recap this semester in a few words, it FLEW by. I mean one minute I was recruiting for my business fraternity while still buying textbooks and the next, I was packing up to head home for winter break. While it was a blur, it was still a fun one, so here are some things worth mentioning (well, at least in my opinion... I get pretty excited over simple things):

---My living arrangement (me + 5 guys) might as well be called a sorority. They never do chores, a few whine and moan over the dumbest things, and are completely obsessed over the opposite sex (yet they'll never agree or admit it).

---While most can't, I think that I can teach an old dog new tricks... why? Because Rich, my boyfriend that had never gotten a girl anything before (and who is half redneck and half stubborn as all hell), got me flowers and made me a CD to celebrate the 6 months we had been together (OR, in my words, the 6 months I'd put up with him and taught him how to treat a girl :D )

---Living out of my sorority house has had it's up an downs... while I don't know ANY of the freshman and really have a hard time keeping track of what's going on there, it helps me see who are my "real" girl friends here at college... it's rough, but hey it's life.

---As much as I LOVE road trips, I need to first always consider who I'm going on a road trip with.... so, that when you're on your way to Denver but find yourself in the middle of the Rocky Mt's first snow storm of the year, you won't have to break up fights or keep your cool when you wake up to find that you're now on your way to Bismark, North Dakota... fun.times.

---No matter HOW bad our football team is, the Apple Cup still matters, and I couldn't have asked for a better senior year game. THANK YOU huskies for still being worse than us... and GO COUGS!

---I have gained a HUGE appreciation for HEAT (5 cheap guys > than 1 girl, so the heat did not get turned on until after thanksgiving, as in after multiple freezes and snow)

---I apparently get better grades as each semester passes... 3.66! Woohoo-

OK- so maybe more has happened that is worth mentioning, but I simply can't remember ANYTHING, so this will have to do. I honestly can't believe that I just have a semester left... what the hell am I gonna do!? AH!

Goodbye Summer...

I know... I lied. I said I would post more often then I did while I was enjoying my summer, and honestly nothing was stopping me other than pure laziness.. SO here is an update, in brief, on how my summer went.

The Boeing internship was a GREAT experience. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better 13-week summer job that taught me a LOT about my strengths, interests, and potential after college. I am currently waiting to hear if I got accepted into a challenging and competitive rotational program that Boeing offers for its new college hires, but I won't find out until end of September so I will for sure keep you all updated :)

Other than work I had a great time catching up with old friends, visiting (and living) with family and being just 5 minutes from downtown Seattle.. basically the perfect setup if you ask me! Still, something was always missing, and as ridiculous as it sounds, I.missed.Pullman. I couldn't WAIT to get back! So here I am just a week into school, and already filling up my schedule and loving it... UPDATES since being back:

-Yes, I'm still living with 5 guys.. quite the experience. The only real issue is cleanliness but as "house mom" I'm working on that problem.. I'm sure an entertaining post on the topic is to come.

-ALPHA PHI RECRUITED 36 AMAZING NEW FRESHMAN! Yay! That is SUCH a big pledge class but formal recruitment for WSU sororities was at a record high in numbers this year so everyone benefited. Go A-phi!

-My business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi is recruiting like mad and has a week left before deciding on what 15 or so business majors are to join our chapter.. VERY exciting stuff for me, as I'm still getting used to being president!

-WSU had its first football game with its new team and new coach in Seattle this weekend, and sadly it was the first Seattle game that I watched us lose... Still, I'm hopeful for at least a 5-win season with this new team and think an upset or two will make it fun!

Long post, but lots of info... you can all thank Labor Day and my procrastination from painting my room for this post... but I *promise* that I will write more often AND add some pictures in the next week or so :) But YAY for being back in Pullman! I honestly can't wait to see what this last year brings... GO COUGS!