Warmth!

Bear and I are headin' south on a road trip to Perdido Key, Florida March 15-22.



Yaaaaay!

Can't wait to get out of Ohio for a few days <3.

Why, hello, student loans.

Why did I go to college? I like to think that I wanted an education. The traditional classroom education as well as the college experience. My college experience included four schools, so I guess I didn't take the traditional route. If I had, I think I might have formed a stronger connection to my college years, if that makes sense. Does one make a connection with a year? I mean, with the experience as a whole.

Maybe I thought that a bachelor degree would ensure me a career. With a degree, I could do something that would both interest me and provide me with financial stability.

Back in 2007, I didn't have any plans. Since I was 21 and didn't have a degree yet, it was logical. So I went.

All good reasons to go to college.

But let's be honest.

When you go home for Thanksgiving, you go out to the bar. You see people you grew up with but don't really keep in contact with. When they ask what you've been doing, I didn't want to have an awkward answer. I was active in high school. I had promise. Maybe I was clinging to that a little. Maybe I still am.

I don't want to tell the people I don't care about that I would prefer to bum around the country, meeting people, going to the beach, learning, eating, dancing, and being happy.

...because it sounds bad.

I mean, I might have been forced to endure four seconds of a disapproving look. Maybe not. I don't know, I never tried. So instead I spent $16,000 on a piece of paper that says I know a lot about literature. Now when people ask me what's going on, I can tell them I have a degree. Nope, no job. Thanks for asking. I know, the economy, the job market, still waiting for feminism to really kick in, you've gotta spend money to make money, it's just a temporary job to tide me over, the job search is tough, my friend's been looking for a year.

-------Rewind three years .. take two-------

No, no degree. But I went on a safari last week.

What would have been wrong with that?

I've gotta get my priorities back into some semblance of a Phoebe friendly order.

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

After a few days of feeling emotionally roller coaster-ish, I'm excited to celebrate our wonderful puppy's first birthday! My little guy is getting old :)

Happy Birthday, little Charlie Bucket! 

We're planning a trip to his favorite park and a stop at the doggie treat store. What a great Charlie themed day!

Lifestyles

There are so many lifestyles that appeal to me.

For example, I could be a housewife. Like a wealthy, get a manicure every few days, lunching, shopping, gossiping lady.

Or I could be an independent woman in a city, working all the time, drinking fabulous martinis, and working out.

I could move to the country, be a schoolteacher, marry a lumberjack, and have 9 kids.

I could open my own business, somewhere near my family, get married, have kids, lead a predictable life. I'm not sure what's so wrong with that... other than boredom.

I could be a vagabond, working odd jobs and moving with the seasons.

I could become an eternal student, getting several degrees in very specific subjects and use a couple of them.

I could work my hardest to find an excellent career, like with the Food Network or an interior designer or a publishing house or a glossy magazine. But what if that's not what I really want?

Being scared of making the wrong decision is what leaves me standing in the center of endless spokes of imaginary roads. Looking at Bear, wondering if he'll make the journey. If he wants to, if I want him to. It's so easy to get into a niche here. Not having to search too far for friends means I'm friends with a lot of people who aren't anything like me. It's like, well, these people are already here. Might as well hang out with them.

Why is it so hard for me to figure out what will make me happy?

I think the solution is to just go for it. Make a decision. If it's the wrong one, change it.

My Ideal Hometown

Since I'm such a huge fun of lists, I thought I'd share of list of criteria for my ideal city. I don't know if it exists, but I hope so!

• Near the beach
• Moderately affordable
• Warm climate (I'd just like for snow to be a novelty)
• Historic allure 
• Walkable, charming downtown (I love a good coffee shop/ stationary-gift store/ home goods shop)
• Dog friendly parks (or beaches!)
• Culture (which I think most decently sized cities already possess in some form)
• Neighborhoods with a younger demographic

That's a pretty good start.