Goodbye..for now.

Well this will be my last post for a couple months! I'm nervous but getting excited to go. I'm ready to get this crazy life started. Everyone's support has been amazing and very much appreciated!! I love you all! and hope to be hearing from you with lots of letters!

Anchors Away!!

‎"I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy.'"

-President John F. Kennedy

Crazies Day of My Life....so far!

I was completely taken by surprise last friday when I drove down to the cities with my mom to receive a surprise from my grandpa Joe.

I came home from Fargo on Thursday and my mom told me that my grandpa called and said he had something to give me but it had to be in person and before I leave for basic so he asked if we could come down to get it. I'm always up for a road trip so we drove down Friday mornning, did a little shopping and then went to my grandparents house. We chatted with them for awhile and then my grandpa starts to tell me this story.....

I went to Meals On Wheels with my grandpa the previous week and one of the people that we brought a meal to, Harold, donates money to organizations to help keeps kids drug-free. Well my grandpa goes on to tell me that Harold also gives his nieces and nephews money every Christmas as a gift for staying off drugs and that he wanted to include me in that. So I'm starting to think that I'm going to get a few dollars from this stranger. My grandpa lays a check for $1,000 right in front of me. He said that Harold was so touched by me and is proud that I have joined the Navy, and thought that I was doing such a good thing that I deserved this money. I was floored to say that least. I was so touched and started crying. My mom and grandparents started crying and I didn't know what to say. So I have sent him a thankyou letter and he will be getting letters from me throughout this experiance. How can someone just give a stranger a thousand dollars?!?! It was definitly a blessing and very much appreciated.

Now even without the money it felt good to know that I have touched someone. Touched someone so much to where they were thinking of me. I still can't believe it!

Just goes to show that a smile goes a long way!

7 Days

Holy Shit! So I leave in one week from tomorrow! Kind of crazy....wait..no....REALLY CRAZY! Time as surely flown by since I first enlisted back in July.

I took a very big step today towards this new life.....I cut my hair. It's incredibly short. I'm not sure if I like it yet or not. I know it's just hair and it will grow back. My hair grows fast too so it shouldn't be too horrible. I also need to remember how nice it will be to not have to worry about dealing with it while I'm at basic training. *sigh* I think it will just take some time to get used to.

On the up side....the weather up here in Fargo is absolutely horrible which makes me really look forward to being in Florida in a couple of months. So glad I will have a short, 2 month winter in chicago then off to a land with no snow! :) :) :)

Starting the count down......7

Few Weeks Left :(

AAAHHHHH!!!! leaving soon!

here with my BESTIE!!! say hi krista....

HI!!!!!!!!

hahahahahaha

best time last night!!! we celebrated Krista and Ryan's ENGAGEMENT!!! and had a last HOORAY before I leave in 2 weeks!!! it's kind of crazy that it is actually coming up. its starting to sink in!!

Just gotta enjoy the time I have left with the people I love and look forward to this next chapter in my lfie!

The Comfort I Needed

It's amazing and bizaare how things work out. Yesterday was a pretty rough day. I was sad and really anxious about not having anything comforting while I indulge myself in this adventure. Then today, at work, the unexpected happened. I had a table to 2 old people that were nice but just average table. They started talking to me and asked if I was a student. I told them "no" and said that I had joined the Navy instead. Well this apparently clicked something in their heads. They immediately became interested. They asked where I was going and I told them about basic in Great Lakes and then A-School in Pensacola, FL. They went on to tell me that their son was in the navy and actually died a few years ago during a mission and that their daughter-in-law and six grand children lived in Pensacola, FL. That's a little crazy i guess...but then the sweetest thing happened. The old guy reaches into his wallet and pulls out his business card and tells me to call him when I get to Florida and he will set up a chance for me to go to his daughter-in-laws house for a nice home cooked meal. He gave me her name as well and said she would be in the phone book down there and will be expecting my call. He said his grandchildren would love to have company over as well. This old man was in the Army which is where he met his wife who was an Army nurse. They both said that the comforts of a family and a homecooked meal, even if it's not specifically your family, helps with the homesickness, the stress and any lonliness you feel.

How is it that I could have been freaking out intensly about not having my daily comforts and feeling so alone when then the next day a complete stranger who i just happen to meet can make me feel like i can do this and that even strangers are there to support me. It was just exactly what i needed and the exact time i needed it. I look forward to calling them in January and meeting this family.

Ask and you shall receive.

Goodbye Fargo!

Well it's been crazy!! I've lived here for 5 years and it's about to all come to an end. I have 3 shifts left at applebees, 1 final drunken fargo night and then it's time to move! I'm really going to miss so many people here and starting to say goodbye to them has really made things become real. I do need to remember that I'm not leaving until november and i will be back up in fargo a couple times for some navy stuff i have to do and that i can visit the people i want when i'm up here. But then it also hits that i only have a little more than a month with the people i care about. It's going to go fast and i'm really excited for the next step but I am also terrified to be my own support. I know I can do it, it just gets scarey sometimes.

While I hate fargo I have had alot of memories here. I have met my best friend here, found myself here, failed here, succeeded here, hated here but will miss here. While today is a day of missing Fargo...i ultimately HATE fargo and will never come back once i leave for basic training!!

Goodbye to the cruelest winters in the world!!!

Starting to Sink In

Started to have a little bit of a melt down moment the other night. :( I've started going through my clothes so I can pack effeciently and have really started thinking about things and its really starting to hit me. I'm leaving in 2 months! That part doesn't affect me as much as when I count down the number of times I have left to see my siblings....and that's 1, the week of my brother's wedding. How crazy is that?!?! And then i started thinking about not getting to cuddle with Collins anymore and that makes me tear up because he has been with me from the very first day in my first apartment by myself. It's only been a year with him but he has been there to cuddle with me through alot of lonliness in Fargo. Also my sent out an email to my Aunts and Uncles and grandparents on her side telling them what was going on and she emailed me their responses....of course reading them made me cry. Everyone was so supportive!!! My Aunt Marcia said she had to wait a few days to respond because she felt like she was going to cry and needed to let it sink in. I just have always had a problem really understand how much people care about me. My grandma said that she thinkgs I'll look so cute in the Navy uniform hahaha. Oh grandma! Everyone's support makes me have confidence that I can really do this and be successful, but everyone's support also makes it harder to leave because i'm going to miss everyone! I just need to get through basic training and I know i'll be so much better! That's the part I'm most afraid of. Not because it's going to be hard but because it's going to be such a shock to me.

While I am going to miss the familiar....I can't wait for the new!!

On a happier note......I'm going to Minnesota State Fair on Monday with 2 of my best friends!!!! These two people have been there for me in every way someone can be there for you. I'm so excited that I get to see them and spend time with them and enjoy my last Minnesota State Fair! Oh i will miss the big pig with his big pig balls! hahahahaha I really want to find theme parks every where I go! I hope that anytime I'm in a new place and have a day off I can find a theme park near by and just ride the rides! I'm getting so ready to live somewhere other than North Dakota and have my family and friends visit me and we can experiance new things together!

Monday needs to come sooner!! Australian Potatos, Salt Water Taffy, Martha's Cookies, and Baby Farm Animals....HERE I COME!!!