some random thoughts

ok. so the news is out. we're moving to Taiwan.

now what?

I mean seriously, how do you follow a post like that? in lieu of anything with real substance, I bring you some random thoughts in list form:

1. my new passport arrived. it's one of the special ones with the built in chips. I should probably get one of those cool leather passport cases, right? I wonder if people who actually travel use those, or if they just get in the way. I also picked up our paperwork from the consulate... time to mail everything to Taiwan and hopefully get some visas in return.

2. the other day my iPhone decided that it wouldn't update. for NO REASON. email, twitter, instagram, anything. I sortof panicked. and then realized that even though I've banished my facebook dependency, I'm still addicted to these other forms of social media. [but seriously, the most annoying thing is watching that little wheel spin and spin even though I've got 5 full bars of service]

3. I think I'm back on running again. the weather has been gorgeous lately so that helps. I've accepted morning runs will not be happening anytime soon, but with daylight savings I can make it out after work. trying to weasel my way into running the broad street 10 miler in May, so training would be a good idea. I also have this fantasy that once I'm done with work I'll wake up and run every morning. here. in Michigan. in Taiwan. [maybe.]

4. I've been working on our bucketlist, with help from Husband. most of what we've come up with so far is food related. not surprising, but definitely will need to keep running if we're going to cross all that off the list. I also started a pinboard of things to see IN Taiwan. I haven't gotten very far yet but trying to actually do some research into these things first.

5. happy pi day. [now I want pie]

confession.

ok, people. my heart is pounding from the adrenaline of writing this all. I'm so excited to finally be able to share this news!

Husband and I are moving to Taiwan.

[take a moment to breathe.] yes, you read that correctly. we are moving to Hsinchu City, Taiwan. this is the adventure I've been gearing up for and dropping hints about for... a long time. and finally I can come clean about it.

some basic FAQ that I've been receiving about this recent development:

why are you moving to Taiwan? moving abroad is something Husband and I have always talked about, always wanted to do. this particular opportunity came at the right time in our lives... and so we're going. we looked at a lot of locations, but as things progressed it all just fell into place that Taiwan was where we would go.

what are you doing there? Husband will be teaching high school [in English, to students who understand English] and I have no idea yet what I'm doing. there's a chance I could teach English as a second language, or take classes to get a certification to teach middle school or whatever and be an actual teacher. currently undecided, suggestions welcome.

you really don't know what you're going to do? no, and it's both the most exciting and terrifying thing to me. thanks to cost of living and Husband's situation with the school I won't need to work. but if I'm able to, everything I make will be savings for when we come home... aka down payment on a house.

will you be blogging? yes. I'm working on setting up a new blog. I'm hoping you kids will follow me over there once I get it together. still trying to figure out how to break it to these people that I won't have an oven in my new apartment. but I want to take this opportunity to reinvent myself, and of course share our adventures through pictures and words.

when are you leaving? Husband's report date to the school in Hsinchu is August 1st, which means we will have to fly out a few days beforehand. from mid-May to mid-June [between when I leave my job and when husband is done] most of my time will be spent elbow deep in packing boxes or driving down the PA turnpike moving our stuff back to MI. mid-June to end of July we will be hanging out in the mitten with friends + family. exact itinerary TBD.

what next? I'll still be blogging here for a while, so stick around for more updates. [likely I'll spend a lot of time procrastinating packing by blogging.] I have a feeling I'll start some kind of "to-do before Taiwan" bucketlist, and who knows what other kind of projects. I tried to cover the basics here, but if you have any other questions feel free to ask away!

xo

saturday morning, the 2nd

holiday weekends are great. it means this morning is not really sunday morning, but saturday morning the 2nd. it's like getting a do-over. except -bonus- all those groceries I bought yesterday are still in the fridge.

I've been thinking a lot about do-overs, second chances, and clean starts as of late.

more and more often I sit down at my macbook with good intentions to write freely, but I get stuck. so I go paint my nails, or waste some time on pinterest. and I come back and still can't find the right way to say what I want to say without saying what I can't.

someday, soon, I'm going to be starting over. I hate that I can't say more than that. I hate that I can't shout it from the rooftops and throw an impromptu dance party. I wish I could find something else to write besides cryptic half-messages that would drive me insane if I was the one reading them. 

but I can't think about anything else. 

I suppose I cant at least tell you this much: in conjunction with this new adventure of mine, I will be starting a new blog. a place where I can write freely, no decoder rings necessary.

until then, please bear with me as I figure it all out.

8 years

eight years ago, the night of friday february 13th, I met a boy.

he walked me home from a party on beal street.

and I kissed him, under the beaumont tower.

we dated. we broke up. we dated. we broke up.

he moved halfway across the world.

I moved to another planet called manhattan.

he became a different person, so did I. we grew up.

and it just so happened that those two new people fell in love.

the point I try to make when I tell our story is this:

 that night eight years ago, I didn't meet the love of my life.

I met the boy who would grow into that man.

love is not a static emotion.

the capacity to change creates endless opportunities to grow.

I found someone I can adventure with.

puzzles

it's saturday morning and I'm sitting here wondering what to write. snow is falling, but not sticking. there's a kitten on my lap. I'm wearing the weekend household uniform of sweatpants and my MSU sweatshirt [stolen from Husband circa 2005] that must be 100 years old by now, but is so broken in and comfortable I think I'll keep it until it unravels.

the mail truck just pulled up. we only check our mail once [or twice if lucky] a week. usually the junk flyers and credit card offer envelopes are stuffed in so tight it all spills out when you try to remove it. I like to think that there are only a few people who truly dislike me in this world, but I know for sure our mailman is on that list.

so the snow is falling, and not sticking, and I'm stalling. because I can't write about what I want to write about. or at least I am choosing not to at this time. and that leads us to the usual cryptic post that says something without really saying anything. it's something that I've danced around for years. someday- hopefully soon- I can get into all the gory details. but for now I can't talk about what it is, only what it feels like.

have you ever had one of those moments where it all just falls into place? you've been fumbling around with bits and pieces for months... years... wondering when things would start to come together. and in a span of a few days and hours, things take shape and the picture becomes clear.

and of course when it does, it doesn't look like you expected. it looks a little scary actually. but that's a good thing. challenges and change lead to growth. and the more you learn the less it seems overwhelming, and the more exciting it gets.

there are moments of sadness for the things you will lose. by choosing the path of one opportunity you can miss others. but there is so much to be gained. more options become available- things you never even considered become possible.

a hundred quotes are flying around my head at supersonic speeds. I could sit here and spout them all day, but let's be honest: I don't have that kind of time and neither do you. so even though this is not the kind of thing you can effectively boil down into one sentence, I find the most appropriate is also one of my old favorites: