Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I'm eating lunch right now. Sushi. I love it. I haven't written here in a super duper long time. I'll give a little life update.


There's a boy. His name is Andrew and we've been "official" since August. It's been almost 8 months. This is my longest relationship ever, and I'm very happy.


I'm finally working with dogs. I've always wanted to, in fact a little over year ago I wrote a blog about my dreams and aspirations. Well, I finally got off my butt and started doing something to realize my dreams. In January, I started working at SafeHaven Humane Society in Albany. It was a huge pay cut, I had to work 2 jobs to support myself, and I had to commute, but I didn't care about any of that. I was taking the first step toward realizing what's been my dream for a long time. When I was a little kid, I decided that when I grew up I wanted to be just like a lady named Carol Alipaz, who was and still is a close family friend. She always had swarms of dogs at her house, and it always made me happy. Ever since then, I've wanted to work with dogs.

Well, last week I scored an even better dog job. I didn't think I had much of a chance, but I went ahead and applied to be the Assistant Dog Trainer at Field of Dreams, a kennel not far from my house in Sweet Home. A few days later, I got a call back. When I went in to meet Kirsten, she hired me on the spot. I had to quit my job at SafeHaven, which is sad, but this job has a lot more potential for growth. Plus, it pays a little more. I wish money didn't have to be a factor, but it is. I imagine you want to know why. Let me explain.


Last fall, I moved in to a house with two girl friends. It was great, for a while. However, in January (completely out of the blue), one of my roommates decided that her parents couldn't pay her rent anymore. I was stuck in a huge pickle. I had just taken a huge pay cut to work at SafeHaven, and I couldn't afford to pay more rent. In the end, I decided to suck it up and get out of that situation as fast as I could. The details are unimportant at this point, but I found a little house in Sweet Home that allowed dogs and that I could (kindof) afford on my own. The rent is $200 more than what I was paying, which sucks, but now I don't have to deal with roommates flaking out on me ever again.

Anywho, I moved in to my new house on February 1st. Why in Sweet Home? Because finding a house within a matter of weeks that allows dogs and that I can afford on my own is very, very difficult. So I live in Sweet Home now. And my new job at Field of Dreams is only 8 minutes from my house, which is amazing because I was commuting every single day. I'm still working in Eugene 2 days a week, but I drive down Thursday morning, spend the night on the couch at my parents', and drive back up Friday night. So now, I'm only commuting once a week, except for when I'm driving to and from Andrew's house in Corvallis.

If you're unfamiliar with the area, here's a simple way to look at my commuting. Sweet Home, Eugene, and Corvallis are basically like 3 points on a triangle, and the distance between each point is about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

So now I'm working 7 days a week, about 50-60 hours. Hopefully, I'll be able to quit my job in Eugene soon. We'll see. I'm not jumping in to that because I really need to make as much money as I can right now. I'm busting my bum doing it, but I'm doing it.


You might be wondering about school. I'm still in college. Kindof. I'm taking 1 class a term. I'm taking the slow track right now, but I don't really have a choice. I'm okay with that.

What else? Oh, we got a new dog. Andrew and I went to the Humane Society in Corvallis one Friday afternoon in January, and we came home with a puppy. Her name was originally Natasha, but we changed it to Brooke. Her estimated birth date is August 15th, which is the day after Andrew and I started dating. She's part German Shepherd and part Bernese Mountain Dog. He paws are huge, and she's probably going to weigh over 100 pounds. Brooke's almost 8 months old now, and she's super cute.


Brooke and Henry are getting along pretty well. Henry had to get used to not being the only child anymore, but he's adjusting. Sometimes he's a little grumpy, but he's 8 1/2 now and becoming more and more of an old man. He's old for his age, and I know his joints hurt sometimes. Henry likes having the company of a little sister, though. I love it when they curl up together in my backseat. I love having 2 dogs.


Basically, I'm pretty much just at a good place. Very busy right now and money is ridiculously tight, but I'm doing what I can. I'm going places, and I'm doing what I love. At the end of the day, I'm always tired but I can't believe how blessed I am.

Olive juice.