The 100th Blog Post

I've been trying to find a momentous occasion in which the 100th blog post could be dedicated towards and I suppose this is it. Today I turned 24 years old on August 24th. It is my Golden Birthday. It was a pretty epic birthday filled with cards, cupcakes, a delicious dinner with a dear friend, margaritas, and lots of well wishes. I was on a bit of a euphoric haze after an exciting orientation at Temple University School of Communications and Theatre where I will begin my Masters of Journalism in approx. one week. It was so refreshing to be around like minded people my own age. There is great hope that I'll be able to form my own little grad school crew of friends to do fun things with. Maybe I'll find some future bridesmaids. haha I'm kidding

Over the past few months I've learned a lot about myself. I've had to reshape the way I see myself and adapt to interesting aspects never before brought to light until recently. I've been challenged at my job in a way I hoped to never be ever again. I ended up in the ER after falling down steps at work and slamming my head into a glass door. I found out I owe about 9 months of gas money to PGW because I hadn't established an account when I moved in and now...sadly...Gilbert is dying.

Gilbert and I began our journey a little over a year ago. Me and this red and blue Betta fish moved to the big city of Philadelphia where we spent our first freezing cold night with our teeth chattering and I wrapped a towel around his bowl to keep him warm. Since then we've both adapted nicely to our new surroundings. I love this city and plan to stay here for awhile and Gilbert soon grew to love his Christmas present of a 5 gallon heated and filtered tank with castles to hide in and plants to sleep by. About a week ago he became listless and spends all his time on the bottom of the tank. He is not eating or swimming and it is just a matter of time before his little fish soul floats to the surface and I have to bury him. I'm not going to flush him down the toilet. I don't care if all drains lead to the ocean. I'm thinking about burying him by the river where I like to fish. Its ironic and peaceful at the same time.

Despite these downs (with even more downs in between) I've discovered that, like many in the human race, I am quite resilient. I didn't fall and cope with various vices but I probably could have done more healthy things to deal with the onslaught of a lot of shit in a short amount of time. Nonetheless I think I'm on an upswing.

I start classes on Tuesday and will go to school Tuesday and Weds nights. It is going to be tough working full time and going to school part time but I think I can handle it. I'm super excited to be back in school and am going to try my best to be the best. On orientation day, I felt like the first episode of Grey's Anatomy where the chief says "4 of you will make it, 2 will quit, 3 will be asked to leave." I mean no one said that at orientation but I felt a sense of competitiveness within myself. That is good, that is what I need.

So now I'm just waiting for classes to start and enjoying the East Coast Apocalypse with our East Coast Earthquake and now the potential doom and wrath from Hurricane Irene. I hope no one dies but I have to admit, I'm a fan of a big storm. I like hurricanes...probably because I've lived through so many of them. I know they can be destructive but in a weird way, they can be kind of fun too.

I dedicate this blog post to Gilbert, my beloved and surprisingly still living Betta fish, to my dear friends who made me feel so special on the day of my birth, to my family who loves me dearly and to the new friends of my future in graduate school. Life is good today.

Until next time...