Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999!

Well I guess it's time for my once a month blog and I guess the end of the year blog... What a year this has been! It's been full of highs and lows. And for as high as the highs were, the lows were just as low (if that makes sense).

The year started with me still looking for a job after graduating with a bachelor's degree in July of 2008. Shortly into the year, tragedy struck... My cousin took his own life on January 18th. Though we weren't close, it stung. A death by suicide is like no other death you will ever experience. People say incredibly insensitive things: "it's the easy way out", "it's very selfish", etc. If you feel this way, you should actually speak to people who have attempted. Those who have survived their suicide attempts will tell you it took an incredible amount of courage to not only decide to end their lives but to actually carry it out. It's very far from easy nor is it selfish. If you would look someone in the face who is in so much pain that they can't stand to take another breath and tell them they need to live because of you, then you are selfish, not them.

February was the same old, same old until close to the end when I was offered a position as an Americorps VISTA in Denver, Colorado. I had the option of waiting until after PSO to move there or I could have left earlier. I chose to wait until after PSO.

Pre-service Orientation (PSO) took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico in mid April. We stayed in a Hilton down there and met lots of new and interesting people. There were quite a few of us who would be serving in Denver so it was nice to meet people prior to moving there. I moved to Denver on April 25th and made the mistake of finding someplace on Craigslist and moving there before having seen it. I will never do that again! My land lady was NUTS!

I got to the breaking point in early July when I moved in with some friends who live in Highland's Ranch Colorado. (It's a suburb in the southern end of Denver Metro) They let me stay with them for two months and then I found a roommate in Eastern Denver which was much closer to work. She is a personal trainer from Tremonton, Utah.

I have been enjoying Denver a lot more now and hope to be able to stay there. Although, I am no longer working... It's a long story and I won't go too much into it now as there is a potential lawsuit looming... But I will say this, I do NOT tolerate abuse! And what goes around comes around, karma is a bitch, whatsoever ye sew, that shall ye also reap, etc. I am so tired of all the social injustice out there and people being made to think they have no power, I'm currently contemplating going to law school. I've heard that if you can't decide what you want to do, that you should go back to what you wanted to do as a child, and I actually wanted to be an attorney when I was younger.

Anyway, here are some of the major lessons I've learned this year:

1-Don't move into a place before seeing it and meeting anyone else who might also live there
2-If you want to do a term of service in Americorps, VISTA is the worst choice! Do a state or national term or if you want to dig ditches, paint houses, etc do NCCC.
3-October is still potentially really cold in Colorado. If you can't feel anything, maybe you should leave your camera at home...
4-Listen to your instincts more. If you feel uneasy about anything even at all, there is a reason.
5-I can survive on my own
6-Pay attention to the air level in your tires. If they're going flat, you may potentially need new tires or have a nail in one.

Well that is enough rambling for one posting. I hope everyone has a fantastic New Year and that 2010 will be better than 2009!