I'm Growing Up!

the past few days have been quite a whirlwind. i know many of you are anxious to hear details, so that's what you will get. *cracks knuckles*

i'll start from the very beginning for those of you who have no idea what i'm talking about:

i met nick crescenzo in september of '09 through my brother. nick is the drummer for one of andrew's favorite bands, the dear hunter, and after one of their shows, andrew stayed behind to tell nick how great they played. the two of them became instant friends and thanks to that, i met nick.

since nick is in a touring band, we spent the first month of our relationship via texts and phone calls. then, around christmas time, we decided that after the holidays, we would move out to his home town in california together. we spent christmas and new years with my family and then made the journey out to california.

i immediately started looking for a job and FINALLY in march i got a job with an talent marketing/management company called croshal entertainment group. nick has been touring and recording but spending as much time at home as possible. we're starting to look for apartments after a few months of living with his parents.

so this weekend, we planned to go camping in the mountains of ojai, ca. we went with another couple, dustin and veronica, who are newly engaged. we made the 7 mile trek with huge backpacks into the mountains. sweating, tired and hungry, we took a dip into the natural rock slides and pools high up at the punchbowls, put on clean clothes, set up camp and collected all of our fire wood.

nick and i lingered by the stream while dustin and veronica hung out up at the camp site. it was just about sunset with a view of the mountains and canyons in front of us - absolutely breathtaking. nick was telling me how much he loves me (which he does often so i didn't realize that...) when all of a sudden he was down on one knee holding a ring.

he has said from the very beginning "at least a year...have to live together...know each other" and since we've only been together for 9 months, i was in TOTAL shock. of course i said yes right away and we celebrated for the rest of the night with dustin and veronica.

it turns out that EVERYONE knew except for me! nick was on tour a couple of weeks before and spent some time at my parents' house in ri. he asked for their permission and i'm amazed that my mom was able to keep it a secret for that long. regardless, it was the BEST surprise ever and i could not be happier!

i'm already planning and my mom has been emailing me non-stop. i'll keep everyone posted in terms of our plans once we know what we're doing. we have been inundated with good wishes and congratulations - we are so lucky!

that's my news. i'm engaged. wow. still in shock.

i miss everyone and i'll be writing soon! xoxo

Pretty Pleased These Days

so i hope this doesn't get annoying, but i have to share all the awesome the universe has been throwing at me lately. i've got some serious mojo going.

to begin with, i am in my third week at CEG and learning every minute. they have confidence in me which makes me confident in myself. not that i wasn't before, but i really feel like this is where i'm supposed to be. i guess what i wasn't confident in was my fairly impulsive decision to up and move across the country. but it all feels right.

and not just because of this job. nick continues to surprise me with his ability to make life exciting. we're not exactly rolling in money which can be so stressful, but i just can't help being happy around him.

then there's his family who have made me feel so comfortable and welcome. they've made the move away from my family pretty smooth. i can't imagine loving any three people more than i love my mom, dad and brother, but missing the CRAP out of them is balanced with loving my time with the people out here.

that brings me to my next point. i can't WAIT to go home for mom and andrew's graduation. it's going to be such a great weekend. i'm trying not to get my hopes up too high for the guest list since plans tend to change regularly in my family, but just the thought of seeing my mom, dad and brother is so totally exciting that i could pretty much pee. i talk about them all the time. ALL. THE TIME. miss em. they should move here. COUGH!

so are you sick of the super happy shit yet? cuz that's all i got. i'm so psyched to be me these days. oh OH! and kate, the best cousin in the entire world, is going to be here in less than 24 hours. i am openly admitting that i will be up at 3am like my brother on christmas counting the minutes until i see her.

i should probably end it here before i make anyone vomit. i just couldn't hold the happy in - had to spread it around. i feel like katie yea. just so damn happy. alright, signing off. stay classy, cyberspace.

Grass Is Pretty Green on My Side

where do i even start? so i moved out here in january and have since been looking for a job. i was applying to everything. not much luck. i even went on a few interviews and was totally jaded after getting turned down from every one. i've never gone on an interview and not gotten the job (mostly because i've only been on a number of interviews and because...well...i rule).

so as you can imagine, when i was called with an offer for employment by at&t, i jumped at the opportunity. turns out, it wasn't actually at&t, no one there spoke english and they wanted me to lie to the customers. it was basically a scam and i withdrew myself from the training program after 2 days. i was so bummed and feeling pretty worthless.

i went on craigslist immediately and applied to anything that looked more promising than fake-t&t. that was pretty much everything on craigslist. ev-er-y-thing. turns out, that was not such a bad idea.

started at fake-t&t on monday, bailed on fake-t&t on tuesday, got a call for an interview on wednesday, had a great interview with CEG (will explain in a minute), got asked to come back friday when i was officially offered the position as an office assistant at Croshal Entertainment Group (www.croshalgroup.com).

today was my first day working for CEG. basically, i'm office support for project managers who provide marketing and management services to independent musicians and bands. yep. i got a job in the music industry.

i've only been there a day and i've already learned a ton. the people are wonderful. the job is exciting and fun. sorry if this is not as descriptive as usual. it's bed time. i just got the urge to update.

anyway, will keep you all posted on my bitchin new job. and my super fun hiking adventures (of which there have been a lot - see photo albums on facebook). a bientot...

I Love Joan

I am currently sitting in a theater waiting for a screening to start. I figured it was a good time to update. The movie I'm about to watch is Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. It was the first flick I saw and I LOVED it.

The reason I'm seeing it again is because I had a ticket to an award winner that was tba until this morning. Just so happens it's this one. I'm pretty pleased. I could have switched but I didn't feel like starting my day with a doc about Bin Laden or a doc about some Korean comedy troup. Joan is a good way to start your day.

So what have I done? Well... I started with Joan on Friday morning followed with a few hours of exploring Main St. I love downtown Park City. So cute and mountainy. I met up with Caitlin after that and we grabbed some grub, relaxed at the condo (which is incredible and right in front of a mountain), went to another good flick (Howl - love James Franco) and ended our night with a crazy staff dance party. It was supposed to be like a mingle-drink-eat at the Film Makers' Lodge but it ended up as a pile of hammered staff shaking their booties. Fun to watch. Kind of strange from an outsider's perspective.

Yesterday I got to sleep in, veg in the hot tub (yeah - they have a hot tub in their bathroom), read and relax. When Caitlin got out of work we ran a few errands and then went up to the Olympic Park. That was a blasty. We got to watch some bobsledders who were practicing for the Vancouver Olympics and tour the museum. It's so beautiful up there too. What a view.

Last night we went to see this movie, The Killer Inside Me. It's not competing. Just a premiere. It. Was. Awful. Well, that's not fair. It was very well executed for what it was. The filming and acting was great. But the story was just terrible. So disturbing. Casey Aflec played this quaint little town sherrif who was brutaly murdering people behind closed doors. And I mean brutally. He punched Jessica Alba to death and kicked Kate Hudson to death. If you like S&M and graphic violence, check it out I guess.

After that we went to the Award Party. INtense. Even MORE drunk people, staff, film makers and yuppies alike, dancing the night away. We didn't stay long. Caitlin barely slept the night before. I wasn't really feeling it anyway.

So now here I am. After this movie we are thinking about going into Salt Lake City depending on the snow. Whatever we do, I'm sure it'll be super fun. Oo...here goes Joan. WOO!!! Later peeps.

Salt Lake Cit-ay

Ok ok... I know I haven't been writing enough. Life hasn't been that interesting. I mean, it's been great. Don't get me wrong. But not much worth writing about.

Nick and I are doing lots of exploring. Hiking, driving around, walking. I'm figuring out which parts of California I like. I definitely DON'T like LA traffic. It's not even traffic. It's its own thing. LATRAFFICSHIT. That's what it is. And I do not like it.

On a happier note, we went to Disneyland yesterday. My god it's so cute. It really is the happiest place on earth. We went with Nick's friend, Port, and his girlfriend. It was perfect. 65 degrees, clear skies and NO PEOPLE! Go at the end of January, kids. It's bomb.

So now I'm sitting in my car in a 7-eleven parking lot in Salt Lake City. Actually, I'm in Park City, UT. I'm here visiting Caitlin (France roommate) who is working out here for the Sundance Film Festival. Yep, I get to go to premieres this weekend. Sweeeet.

The drive took 11 hours and it was SO beautiful. I can't even describe it. You'll have to check out my pictures I took while driving on facebook when I post them. The mountains are totally magical. The only time I got a little nervous (and by little I mean I should have worn a diaper) was when I drove through the Rockies. Yeah through. Why in the name of anything would you make the speed limit 75 on a twisty, windy pass through mountains and valleys where a car can go careening into oblivion? I was shaking by the end.

Still pretty though. And driving through the mountains that separate Salt Lake and Park City at night is equally amazing. The skies are totally clear tonight, there's fresh snow on the ground and it feels like you're being hugged by the mountains. And then you turn a corner and there's a tiny town all lit up and nestled into the foothills. God. So beautiful. You should come see for yourself!

I'll let you know how the rest of my trip to Utah goes. So far so good. Miss you all!

California So Far

so here i am. living in california. it still hasn't really set in yet. i feel like i'm on vacation and i'll have to go home soon.

kate left last night. it was pretty sad. i miss her already. it will be strange not seeing her every day but i guess we'll just have to rack up some hefty phone bills. this trip was the perfect way to ease our way into living 3,000 miles apart. boo.

BUT. this weather is amazing. i've spent everyday outside. kate and i went down to san diego to visit katherine and david porter with andrea and rustin. it was so good to see them. they moved into a new house and it's really beautiful. they did a lot of work to get it in the condition it's in.

rustin is so big and really fun. he's turning into a smart, polite, hilarious little man. i've spent some time hanging out with him while andrea does her work. he's great - doesn't complain, has a great imagination, does what you tell him to do and is eager to give hugs and kisses. and he's a lady's man. all the little girls on the playground flock to him. andrea will have fun with that in about 10 years.

now nick and i are looking for a place to live and he's showing me all of his favorite spots to hike and rock climb. the hiking is awesome. the rock climbing is...scary as hell. but i'm getting better.

ok, gotta get moving. missing everyone. xoxo

I Am Actually Hot Right Now

Alright friends. We are driving through warm, sunny California. About 2 hours from my new home. It's 79 degrees and I have my window down. Jealous yet?

I think the last time I wrote we were on our way to Dallas. It was a quick stop but long enough to produce a healthy bunch of hangovers courtesy of Nick's friend, Becca, who put us up for the night. I even got to see Werner and MB for breakfast the next morning.

We drove from Dallas to the Carlsbad Caverns (or as Kate heard it "Carl's Bat Caverns?") In New Mexico. We stayed the night at a KOA and then hiked through the caves yesterday afternoon. Highlight of the trip hands down.

Last night, after hiking all day, we drove 10 more hours to Phoenix. Needless to say, no one had any trouble falling asleep.

Now we are 2 hours outside of LA and so ready to be out of this car. I can't wait to take the stuff out of every crevace and clean the poor thing. She's worked hard.

Anyway, we are safe, happy and warm. Kate and I will head down to San Diego tomorrow to stay with the Porters for a couple of days and then back up to LA to start getting my life together. Yikes.