last years resolutions:

• give away a lot of my stuff. (definitely did this in prep for my cross-country move, some of the things i gave away I miss, but am happy with what I have and still have a lot of stuff-purging to do — as always, this is a continuing resolution)
• get my car in tip-top shape. (my car was happy when it left ohio, got sick somewhere in missouri, got fixed to the tune of almost $1g after arriving in Fresno and is now a happy camper, with almost 100k miles under it’s belt.)
• become proficient in gluten-free baking. (still working on this, although I’m thinking I may have misplaced my allergy and am going to the doctor to get this figured out once and for all.)
• work hard at making one boy in particular keep smiling, even when i’m far away. (not being far away has helped. said boy is wonderful at keeping me smiling as well, so it’s a pretty sweet deal.)
• be quiet awhile, particularly outside.  (my porch chairs have helped with this. as have bike lanes and my neighborhood’s walkability on monday evenings.)
• spend quality time with my friends/family in ohio before i move away. (this was achieved, but I wish more time would have been spent… at least my family has been able to visit and I’ve seen some of my close friends here in California. Visitors are welcome…)
• move to LA. [only take with me what can fit in mine and boyfriend’s car.] (ehh, I moved to Fresno. Fresno is pretty awesome. The people are nice, the art scene is so exciting, there are so many great little shops and restaurants — sure the summer is butt-hot, but you know what? the ocean is only 2 HOURS AWAY. It turns out I’m a way bigger fan of san francisco anyway, so it’s good that I only live 3 hours from there instead of 6 — which would be the case if I lived in LA.)
• land a job in television. (okay, so this is only sort of true. My office produces television spots, and sometimes I sit in on brainstorming sessions. Hopefully I will get to help more now that we have a 60D… among other things…)

Coming soon: New Years Resolutions 2011.

(Source: icatchfoxes)

• Everyone here (almost) waits to shop for Christmas until THE WEEK BEFORE (in Ohio, a lot of people get crazy right around Thanksgiving because they are nervous the weather will prohibit efficient shopping at later dates, so it’s never like a high school right after the bell rang for 2 straight weeks at the mall…)
• It’s weird if Starbucks here don’t have a drive-thru. (In Ohio I can remember when we first got drive-thru stores, and they aren’t as common as cafe stores…)
• I can buy fruit right now. Really good fruit. Any kind. And it’s not marked up by 50% from 5 months ago.
• I live in the state with the largest economy in the United States (though it’s quite a mess, it’s still the largest) — California also has the 8th largest economy IN THE WORLD.
• All highways are referred to as if they were the only one. For example: The 41, The 99, The 1, The 5. “Oh, just take the 41 South toward downtown…”
• THERE ARE NO EAT N’ PARKS, WAFFLE HOUSES OR CRACKER BARRELS HERE.
• I now know what a hamburger is all about. On a regular basis.
• People do not understand roundabouts (or most of the laws and etiquette associated with driving an automobile.)
• When it rains, even just a mist, it’s called a “storm.”
• I was mistaken, it was never EVER foggy in Ohio when I was growing up.
• All backyards are fenced/gated with locked entry.
• More houses have carports than garages.
• Many intersections in my part of town have no stop signs in any direction.
• Sweet & Sour Chicken is very different in Fresno as compared to any Sweet & Sour Chicken I’ve ever had… including NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami & much of Ohio/Pennsylvania.
• The Mexican food in Ohio is disgusting. I now know why I didn’t really enjoy it prior to living in California: Nacho cheese should not even be available in a Mexican restaurant; it most certainly should never be a part of a quesadilla. 
• Trains are AWESOME. So is traveling by train within your own state…
• Food trucks are amazing, and more should exist in this town.
• It’s possible to have pride in where you live, even when you just got there.
• Art can sell. Really. Just apparently not on a regular basis in Akron, Ohio.
• It’s a lot cooler to be able to drive to see snow if you want to than to have it just show up and really get in your way for months at a time.

I’m sure there are more, but I will amend this list as necessary in the future, promise.

• SIDE NOTE: If you are currently in college and long for a time when you’re graduated and have “free time” when you have a “real job” — please CUT IT OUT that’s not true at all, you will still be busy, you will still be tired, it’s called BEING AN ADULT.

(Source: icatchfoxes)

Things that are different about my life in Fresno (as compared to my previous life in Akron, Ohio)

• I no longer have to dial area codes from landlines for local calls (there is only one area code in the local area, it’s nickle-nickle-nine)
• I live in a city that has an area of 104.8 sq mi (as opposed to Akron’s 62.4 sq mi)
• There are 505,479 people who live in this city with me (as opposed to 217,074 in Akron)
• I live in a valley at elevation 296 ft (as opposed to Akron’s 1,004 ft elevation)
• I live just down the road from the raisin capital of the world… and I used to live in the rubber capital of the world.
• U-turns are not only (almost) always legal, but mostly always necessary. (Akron doesn’t really have medians, so U-turns are legal, but rarely necessary…)
• I am now a Fresnan and no longer an Akronite… though I’ll always cherish my days spent as an Akronite…

This is just a small sampling and is mostly based on wikipedia facts — I will post a retrospect on the last 6 months of observations of differences I have made… so be on the lookout.

expect the following:

• an onslaught of album postings with sparce commentary on why they are on my list.
• a year-end review of my first six months living in the golden state
• random GPOYs from parties/family time/etc
• cell phone photos of the pacific ocean from SLO (don’t be jealous, VISIT)
• more writing about my recent loss — I think I’ve moved past the shock stage and have barely moved into the denial stage, as in I often forget that it has happened, then feel awful again when I realize that it is real and wasn’t just a dream. however, i may be writing/photographing about that for quite some time.
• a recording of my brother and i singing a christmas song?
• photos of our decorations that will probably stay up through january because I miss snow and how it makes it feel like Christmas…

(Source: icatchfoxes)