Remembering

I have all these goals, and I guess I just forget them until something forces me to remember them. Today I was sitting in the BYU-I Center (fondly known as the BUICK) and I heard the most beautiful music. Ever! It was soo pretty and it reminded me of something, and that something is this-

Listen to it all. It is the most wonderful thing in the world.

I heard it first when I went to Disney World when I was in 5th grade, so a long time ago. We bought the CD and I fell in love. I had the whole thing memorized in a manner of days thanks to my obnoxious habit of listening to one song over and over again. Hmm.

Ever since then I have wanted with all my heart to play in a good band/orchestra. In high school I like to think we were pretty cool, and all the judges from the competitions agreed, but I don't want to just play in a band. I want to play a song that will inspire people! I want to play a song that is not all just runs for the flutes, but has all these exciting rhythms and changes of time and pace and keys and CRESCENDOS. Guys, I want to play this song.

I am not an awesome flute player, but I am really dedicated, and I guarantee that if I was given the opportunity to play in an orchestra that was playing this song I would drop everything else and practice for hours and hours till I got it right. I have no problem spending my time on something like this. I get very one-track-minded when it comes to things that I very much want.

It's music like this that just gets me so pumped. It reminds me of all the good I want to do and helps me to see the glass half full. Or whatever the optimist side of that is.

It reminds me of all my goals, like living in Africa. Or becoming a phlebotomist. Or learning Farsi. Or becoming an X-ray technician! Or working at the very place that made all of this happen- Disney World.

My GOSH I love that place.

"Oh thanks....every morning I feel like a cheap prostitute leaving a Motel 6."

So this past weekend I went and visited my two older sisters Kelly and Heather, in Provo, and it was SO. MUCH. FUN. I love my sisters more than anything in the world. Gina counts. This is us when I visited the first time....

Clearly my face is not Heather's top priority. Whatevs.

Anddd some of all my sisters at our pink photoshoot....

Jes, we areee dysfunctional to the highest degree.

Ahhh....Julie in her awkward stage. She is so cute :) But don't worry- she's the prettiest of us all now.

Sometimes I just want to tell her to shut up. Shut up, Julie!

Okay anyway. So there is something that happened to me while I was in Utah, and it is something that I am not necessarily proud of. Yes, that's right. I NCMO-ed. Here is Heather's version of the story....

4. Three-year-old fans. Cosmo the Cougar is probably the same hotness as the volleyball team. Nicole was overcome when she saw him. She screamed about how she needed a picture with him and ran over, smile and camera ready. The people gathered around Cosmo saw her coming - at least, the lucky ones did. They saw the passion in her eyes. They knew they needed to evacuate. I didn't get a picture, but one of them looked kind of like this little girl:

She was one of the lucky ones. The rest were pushed unceremoniously out of the way as Nicole elbowed her way to Cosmo as if it was Black Friday and he was a $129.99 flat-screen TV. Cosmo turned to Nicole. It was a magical moment when their eyes met. Cosmo dropped to the ground and said:

"Hey."

Nicole couldn't respond. Cosmo stood up and gave her a hug. I got the camera ready and looked up just in time to see Cosmo kissing my sister. Verrrrry passionately. !!!!! Welcome to Utah, Nicole :)

So there you have it. Who'da thunk my first NCMO would be with someone famous and in so public a place?

Oh PS- the title is something Heather said as we were leaving her apartment one day. She has the prettiest view and I commented on it and she was like, "Oh thanks. Every morning I feel like a cheap prostitute leaving a Motel 6." Whelp.

Dear couples at BYU-I, Part II

I mean, I guess it's okay for you to come into the Hinckley Chapel, look around for a pew next to an outlet, see that they are all taken, and then, after some whispered debate, choose the pew that is right in front of me and then sit there making out and whispering sweet nothings in each others ears.

Dear inconsiderate,
IT IS NOT OKAY! There is a whole pew and you decide to sit riiiighhhtt in front of me?! I tried my very hardest to block out every word that I could, but let's be honest, I am mayyybe two feet away.

Dear Tom and Tara,
I knoww that you guys would NEVER do such a thing.

Dear new favorite songs,
I have listened to you basically constantly for the last 12ish hours.

I can even sing it! The high part. Merrin and I tried today and I was so stinkin proud of myself!

and

Dear Despicable Me 2 and The Lorax,
I am sooo excited to see you!

Dear Awkward,
Yeahhh....I am so sorry :( I didn't want that to happen.

Dear weather,
Let's keep this no-wind thing up! Tomorrow is devo and I knoww that that is the day when you are at your worst, but there is no time like the present to change!
PS- If you want to snow, that would be okay, just don't wind, please.

Dear Facebook,
I just can't handle using you right now. I'm taking a break. Prolly until Friday.

Dear self esteem,
You have so many dips and height blasts. Its been a weird week?

Dear NIH,
Pleaseee get back to me!

Dear Spring Semester 2012,
If I am here for you, it's going to be a clean-up semester. Let's fix that GPA, yeah?

Dear Gina,
I am sooo proud of our communication skills this week! Let''s skype again soon :) And I am so glad you follow my blog!

Dear BYU-I,
Hehe, I'm wearing ripped jeans today. BAD-A MONDAY, PEOPLE!

Dear Chels,
I see what you mean. That is why I am hiding out in the Hinckley chapel right now.
PS- I am reaallly excited for Teriyaki Express tonight!

Sipping Jetstreams

Sometimes travelling can be intimidating. Should I or shouldn't I? Where shall I go? Will I be safe? How do I make sure I come back with everything I left with and everything I've picked up in my travels? Do I havee to wear a money-belt? What if I don't know the language? What if I get lost? How can I reassure my family that I will be alright? How do I reassure myself?

I'm definitely not the impulsive type, I have found. I like to think things through and be prepared and load up my brain with directions and explore the what-ifs before I so much as go to the grocery store.

Perhaps travel isn't ideal for my type of personality, but I very much feel the need to travel. I really want to go live in a foreign land for like, 4-6 months. I am extremely worried that I will get married and then be all newly-wedded-ly poor and not be able to travel. And then when we have some financial stability, we'll have children and then I would miss my chance to travel, because then I would be uprooting a family, not just myself.

The clock is ticking! If I want to do something, I need to do it now. I only have a few years left to be adventurous and just pick up and leave whenever I want.

I am a firm believer in taking advantage of the college-only programs that are out there. I want to be able to experience all that those programs have to offer before I finish my education. Does this mean that my education will be delayed? Maybe on paper, but I truly believe in learning through experience. I learned so much more as a summer intern at NIH than I ever have learned in any science class. Nothing else has even come close. I want to have another job like that- one that will affect my life and steer me in the direction I need to go.

And that is why I need to travel. A lot of my future plans involve helping people in other countries, and I need to know if I can handle that. I want to go to Africa. I need to go to Africa. I kind-of forgot that for a bit, but now it's back and I am just so out the wazoo excited. I need to stop looking for reasons to not go and just go. I will not regret going, that much I know. But I will, forever, regret passing this opportunity up.

But turning in applications fills me with such a heavy feeling. That's always the hardest part for me- the decision. After that I stick with it and I am fine. So I am making a decision right now. 

Sometime within the next two years I will be out of this country.

I will be going somewhere and I will be happy about it. I will learn and possibly get a tan and be very, very happy. My eyes will be opened to the world. I will understand other countries and their cultures and reasons much better. It will be one of the best experiences of my life.

But the best part is, maybe it won't be. Maybe my life will be so good that this experience will just be like another day for me. Maybe I will actually accomplish my goals. Maybe I willll get to have my cake and eat it too. Maybe I will be able to work in the government and also administer medicine in Africa anddd be a Game Warden in Kenya. Maybe, who knows? Maybe I actually cann have it all.

Wouldn't that be something :)

A piece of me will always be with that beautiful city

My whole life I have lived a mere hour (sometimes less, sometimes more traffic dependent) from the capital of the United States of America. My family would occasionally venture in for some sight-seeing, but I far from knew the city. I had always considered this a very sad fact of my life. People go on whole vacations just to see DC, and there I was living so close and I had no idea how to work the metro.


When I was a secretary, we had a lot of down-time in the later months bc it wasn't summer and people didn't have as many bugs. We serviced some buildings in DC and one day I took out one of our maps and was determined to walk away from work that day with an increased knowledge of DC. I casually mentioned to my co-workers that I have always wished to know our nation's capital better than I did. I doubt they remember this, but Heavenly Father certainly did. I think that is why Heavenly Father helped me get this job. Sometimes I just feel like such a favorite of His :)


I am so sold on this city. It is wonderful! I love the metro, the low skyline, the monuments, the small-town/big city feel it somehow manages to pull off.


I would like to share some of the things I had the opportunity to learn while living in DC....


1. I love the nanny club
One day I was talking to my mom and I commented on all the nice friends you meet just because you are pushing around a stroller. All these fellow stroller-pushers come up to you and soon you're chatting like old friends. I was kind-of bewildered by this at first, but my mom just smiled and said, "that's the moms club."


I love the nannies I became friends with, and even though I couldn't give you half their names that is okay, because I seriously know so many. The best way to make friends on Connecticut Ave. is to walk around with a baby.


Nannies and Au Pairs are all so friendly and want so many good things for each other. When I told Madeline and other nanny that I was going back to school they each smiled and implored me to "work hard." Madeline is from Senegal and other nanny is from some country in South America I believe. They each have worked so hard and want their children to have the best possible future, and because I was one of the youngest nannies in our little Connecticut Ave. group I was like a daughter to many of them, and that was nice :)


2. Everyone loves babies.
Countless times I would get on the metro with the lil guy and it would be during rush hour, when you are literally packed in like sardines. I could prolly count on one hand the number of times someone didn't offer me their seat, or the big crowd in front of the metro door didn't part like the Red Sea for me to get through.


People in DC are busy and important, but the baby trick works with anyone. One time (this didn't happen very often because I am AWESOME) I was lost and asked this man if he knew how to get to the Dept of Education. He whipped out his fancy phone and figured out the directions so quickly. He was dressed in a suit and had a shiny, black briefcase, but the instant he saw my lil guy he was cooing and baby talking. Babies work, people.


3. The National Zoo can be your personal paradise when you are a nanny during the winter months
Starting about September the enormous crowd at the zoo starts to thin. By the end of the month it is your playground! There were so many times that the lil guy and I ventured to our favorite spot and we and a couple other nannies and their kids were the only ones there.


4. All the best playgrounds are at the tops of mountains.
Which can get very annoying, but man do your calves get a work-out!


5. The metro is very easy to use.
At first it can be quite intimidating, but don't you worry! It is a wonderful invention. Here are some helpful metro clues....

• If you ever get lost in DC and want to find the metro, just look at the ground for the vents and follow them
• The end cars are always the best ones to be on bc no one wants to walk that far
• If you miss your stop, just get out at the next one and board the opposite train. You'll be fine.
• If you are only wanting to maneuver about downtown, you needn't worry if you are on the green or yellow line, or the orange or blue line. For all intents and purposes they are the same thing.
• For about five stops the red line is exclusively on Connecticut Ave..
• Just because it is the Smithsonian station does not mean that it is closest to the Smithsonian you desire to see. Natural History and American History are both closest to the Federal Triangle station, and Air and Space and poss Native American and the Botanical Gardens are closest to L'Enfant. The capitol building is very close to L'Enfant as well, in case you were wondering.
• Using public transportation is nothing to be ashamed of. It saves you money and time. People from all walks of life use the metro. It is a great idea.

I miss DC. I miss it every day. I miss the Zoo and the hustle and bustle and the place with my favorite pumpkin walnut muffins. I miss the metro and I miss the nanny club. I miss Frederike and Madeline and Sarah from the lobby. I miss seeing all these people dressed up so professionally and the big groups surging off the curb and onto the crosswalk seconds before the white walk light turns on, because by that time they have memorized the light's schedule. Have I ever mentioned that driving in DC must be a nightmare?


I miss seeing embassies and diplomat cars. I miss looking around at all these sharply-dressed people and knowing that they were off to their very-important jobs. I want sooo badly to work in DC. I have never felt so energized in my life than when I was living there.

Most of all I miss my lil guy and nanny family. I am so blessed for being offered that job. Those were some the happiest four months of my life.

Dear DC,

One day I will be back, but I'll be different. I will be dressed up in a cute pencil skirt and a professional-looking shirt and classy-looking heels. I will have an ID that, when swiped, will allow me into some amazing building where I will be a part of an amazing team and do amazing work. I will ride the metro and have a special pair of comfy shoes that I will keep in my purse just for my commute. I will read The Economist and also briefs from work while I wait for my stop. I will go home to my beautiful, small apartment (prolly in Cleveland Park). I will go eat at Sorriso a lot with my friends and get calamari every time. I will go running in the Zoo and pick up a strawberry frappicino (no, that is not coffee) and a pumpkin walnut muffin from the Firehook Bakery on my way home. I will have a big dog, who I will take on walks and no one will dare mess with me. I will go to a Singles Ward full of people like me. I will travel abroad for my job and fly in private jets! Or at least 1st Class.  I will be contributing to society and making a difference. No, don't you worry, DC. I will be back. I promise.

Love,

Nicole

Oops

I forgot how much I love this song too....

He is seriously perfect.

I am in love....

....with gojane.com. Fo realsies people, I absolutely cannot get enough of it!

:) sooo heavenly. I love shoes!

I am also in love with these two songs....

David Guetta is such a freaken genius!