2012

Wow, its been forever since I've written a blog! So much has happened that I don't even really know where to begin. I feel like every time I write a new blog I say the same thing... random comments about how long its been, more random comments about how I don't know where to start, random complaints, random poor excuses for humor.... okay anyways as I was saying, Its been a very long time and this blog is definitely long past due!

First of all I would like to say Happy New Year! 2012. Wow. That number seems bigger and scarier every time I hear it! .... (note to self, remember to check time card on Monday to see if I've been writing 2011 on all of my time card spaces! Pretty sure I have been!) OOPS! >.<

Anyways, I'm waiting right now for Caitlen to get out of work! I can't wait! It feels like we've hardly seen each other since we got back from vacation! Mainly because I work mornings and she works late nights, so we are always tired at different times and it makes it difficult to find time to spend together. But anyways, I had a really good holiday! Probably the best I've had in a long time!

Caitlen went with me to my family's on Christmas and everyone really seemed to like her and Gizmo! I couldn't be happier knowing that my family likes her and has been so welcoming towards her! Its great to finally be with someone who gets along with everyone and vice versa! No drama! So nice for a change. Can't stress that enough.

I was worried when we first went to Christmas that my family might be rude to Caitlen because she brought some vegan food to share. (p.s. I am vegan now! More on that later) :D

But anyways as I was saying, she brought along some vegan foods, a sald with some quinoa and tofu, mac and seeds, and some vegan christmas cookies that I did a horrible job of frosting! :P We were both quite surprised to see that many members of my family were willing to try the food and that they even liked it and had second and third helpings! :) It made me happy because I know that meant a lot to Caitlen! She works hard to cook yummy foods, and it was nice to see everyone appreciate her effort!

My family bought us both lots of great gifts! I got a nook for Christmas and I have to say that I absolutely love it! Its so convenient and light to carry around! Plus it saves trees from being chopped down! Right now I'm reading Michael Moore's new book 'Here Comes Trouble' it is really interesting and its also inspiring to me to see how he came about to become a filmmaker and what inspires him to do what it is he does. I hope that I will get the chance to be as inspiring, determined, and educated as he is someday when I graduate from school! It is my new dream and goal to not only get my bachelors degree to become a film editor, but to become a documentary filmmaker and focus on a lot of problems revolving around animal welfare, LGBT rights, human rights, environment, politics, government, etc.

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about my minor and I've pretty much narrowed it down to sociology and journalism. I want to incorporate the two somehow. I was thinking something along the lines of becoming an investigative journalist or a social activist of some sort. Either way, no matter what I decide to do I want it to be something that matters! I want to matter! I want to make the world a better place!

Recently I was lucky enough to get quite a few days off of work for the holidays! Since I had new years eve, new years day, and the day after off Caitlen and went on a road trip to Illinois to visit her family and friends for New Years and a late Christmas celebration! :) It was the first time I have ever driven myself or anyone else to another state besides Michigan or Ohio! It made me kind of anxious but actually ended up not being as bad as I thought it would be! The ride there was pretty easy and there wasn't too much traffic or anything like that. We got there in about 5 and a half hours and stayed at Cait's mom's house!

This was my first time meeting her mother in person. She is a really nice lady and it was so nice to meet her and all of the rest of Caitlen's family! (Her aunts, grandparents, friends, family's friends) It helped me see how Caitlen become the amazing woman that she is today! Seeing, meeting, and interacting with all of these people that have been so important to Caitlen and played such big roles in raising her, etc. was exciting to me and it made me see her in a new light! It made me appreciate her even more! It made me appreciate what we have even more! It helped me see that what we have really COULD be something that ends up lasting and that our families would probably get along just fine and that we could really have something together in the future! That is all very exciting and new for me!

I've never really had that with anyone else before! I mean obviously there were a few people who I thought about building a future with, but things never connected the way they do here with Caitlen. Those people were not right for me, and our families clashed, etc. But with Cait, that is all different! Everything fits! Everything is right! I couldn't be happier knowing that and it makes me look forward to our future together even more!

I really enjoyed the time we spent together in Illinois! We went to see The Muppets at the movie theater there with Caitlen's friend Michelle. It was really funny! It was also the first time Caitlen and I have gone to the movie theater together. (I know, I know, I fail at being a film major. What kind of film major hasn't been to the movies in over a year!?)

I was sad that we were only able to spend a short time out of town since we both had to be be back to work on Tuesday. It would have been nice to stay longer. We headed out on Monday night, and the roads seemed okay at first but man, once we hit Michigan they turned brutal! It was snowy and icy and raining and the roads were very slick! We passed two accidents where the cars went in a ditch or over the guard rails in a 10 minute span. One of the cars was actually up on top of the guard rail and had all of the windows smashed out of it. Needless to say, we were lucky to get home safely and it took a lot longer than we expected thanks to the weather! It was about 1:00 AM when we got home. Came home to a clogged bathroom sink. >.< But thankfully Maintenance was able to fix that problem yesterday.

......

My beautiful lady is home now! :) She's chasing the dog around and making a baked potato. Oh, how I love her and her quirks! I think we're gonna go watch some documentaries now! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D I can honestly say that 2011 was one of the best years I've had in life so far, and I am hoping that all the crazy shit about 2012 being the end of the world, and all of the rumors going around about other stuff concerning the government etc. aren't true because it'd be a shame for all of this to go to waste! I have come so far in the past 22 years, and I look forward to sharing that with Caitlen and our families and friends! I am thankful for being happy! Happier than I've ever been... the kind of happy where you can't help but smile even when you are feeling down at times!

Here's to 2012, may it be bright and full of hope!