A Shout Out

Sometimes I want to gather all my friends in a room, look at all of them, and just sit in wonderment over how lucky I am.

I don't mean to bust on your friends, but I think my friends are cooler than anyone else's.

And I don't mean to name-drop, but my very first friend, Cathy, is still one of the most important people to me today. She was born three months after I was and lived seven houses down from me. So we were basically raised as sisters.
Now how many people are still best friends with their first friends? And how many actually know who their first friend was?

Exactly.

And the rest of my childhood friends still bless me with their presence and give me continual love and support. See how lucky I am?

When I moved to Portland, I somehow ended up in a time when all the stars were perfectly aligned in my favor. I met so many people who qualify in different ways as a perfect friend. While the love from Kelly and Ansley continues to take many forms, you can be most grateful that they convinced me to try on the Long and Lean jeans from The Gap. What a joyous day for my booty...
And my friend, Tracey, kept me from walking out of my job and now keeps me from walking home from the airport.

Although many of my friends are still in Portland, most of my P-Town loves have left. [I guess chances are that you're one of them.] Even though I've left too, I still feel as if my connection is just as strong now as it was when I lived there. In some cases, the distance has allowed my friendships to grow stronger.

I'm one of the lucky ones. My friends from my whole life are now in so many places all over the world and yet they still keep in touch with me. Blogs, emails, and cell phones have helped me keep this huge, loving circle of support. Somehow I keep meeting and collecting more and more wonderful people. And as a bonus, I also get to be friends with everyone in my family.
Sometimes I fear I'll max out. Can anyone really be as lucky as I to have so many friends?

I've been so blessed with a wonderful life and with so many incredible people who have explored parts of my journey with me. There are vivid moments I can see in my memory that ring true the words my mother has repeated since I was very little: friends last longer than boyfriends.
I've had friends hold my hand through times when I thought I couldn't go on. I've had friends who wouldn't leave me alone when I thought it would be best for me. I even have one friend who saved my life.

So thank YOU for helping keep me sane (a challenge the gods are still trying to figure out) and for listening to me even when I have no idea what I'm talking about (which tends to be most of the time). I have no idea where I'd be without any and every one of you.

Sometimes when I think of all the blessings in my life I feel as if I'm secretly God's favorite.

Shameless Promotions

My friend, Emily, has put up one of the best blog posts I've seen yet. It's a beautiful stream of wishes contributed by random guests. So please check it out and post your anonymous wish here into the Wishing Well.

Remember that obnoxious thing I did a couple years ago? That thing called a marathon? That thing many of you helped me with by donating lots of money for cancer research?
Well... it will be some time until I run my next one, but I have been able to somehow coerce my dear Maren to run her first half-marathon with Team In Training!
Sucker!
In her first week of training she managed to trip during a training run, head to the E.R., and get nine stitches on her knee. So she needs some support to get her to the finish line.
She's raising money for the same group I ran for: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (blood cancers).
Please log onto Maren's website and donate at least $10 to the cause. Your tax deductible gift will not only help get her to the finish line but it will also help with much-needed cancer research.
Besides, the closer we get her to her fundraising goal the less likely she will feel the urge to move out of my house and leave Bonnie, Watson, and Romeo as revenge for my convincing her to do this whole race. Please help!

Let's Try This Again

I just deleted my other post for today. Sorry. I'm cutting and pasting part of it here, though.

The past two or three days I've been in a crappy mood. But my support group rushed in to help me get back on track. I have no idea what I'd do without all you guys in my life. Really. You make my ups and downs worth experiencing.

So here's my new post.
With exciting news...

I have changed my thesis topic AGAIN.
That's right! AGAIN!!!
These past few weeks I've been struggling with my other topic. Last night I decided to throw in the towel and come up with a new pitch for a story I really wanted to do.
This time I'm excited about my topic! Know why? Because I'm going to do it on singles in the LDS Church. My advisor likes the idea too!

Ah. Loveliness.

I wish I could always work on things I loved or ideas I thought were exciting. Wouldn't that be ideal?

Other things that have been going on (with the recommended revisions made by my dear friend, Ansley)...

I've been having my re-occurring nightmare. Typically I only have it once or twice a year. But I've now had it twice in the last week. It's not a scary nightmare, but it's emotionally draining. I don't know how you are with these nightmares, but for me it takes every ounce of energy and focus out of my body. And the sad part is, I really don't want this dream to ever go away because it's the only time I get to see my father.

I've been investing in a friendship with a guy... and I feel as if I'm acting 12. I think that's all I feel like saying about that.

One of my professors has been hitting on me. He's creepy. Very creepy. He's only teaching us a six week course, so he only has a few more classes with us.
His annoying actions have been going on for a little more than a week. At first I didn't know what to think about it. I was wondering what I was doing to bring it on. But yesterday I learned that at least three other women in my class were being hit on by him too!
So... I marched upstairs and told the dean. I know. The high school student-body president/all-around success and goody-goody in me kicked in. The dean was grossed out and grateful.
I mean really. We're adults. If I were interested in him, I might not mind... after my grade was turned in. Knowing that other women have been dealing with the same thing makes me feel so much better in a way.

I have been making more friends! My big goal for the year was to make new friends and so far I've had some great success! This is the best thing so far. I'm still taking applications for more boys in my life so feel free to send any my way. My program of 27 people has 6 men in it. And I go to church with single Mormons, so by default I know probably only 6 more.

My career services people are trying to help find me a job. The possibility of my staying here is looking high. But that's only if I get a job. I think I would like to stay until I get the city out of my system. I feel the same way about working in television.
Today I met with a vice-president from an organization I'd like to work with. And then I found out the salary (yikes) without benefits (ack! run!). So... yeah. We'll see what happens when May comes.

I've been "running" again. I'm procrastinating a lot by blogging, emailing, and looking up iTunes. And that's about it.

So that's my update.

Ansley, did I do well on my revisions? :)