And Then the Cake Was Gone. And it Was Time for an Update.

Ah, life is happening so fast right now and there is so much goin' on, people!!! Which means MUCH to blog about! I want to apologize in advance if this post ends up being a cluster fudge of many THINGS.

I have to, have to, have to, start off first with a big YAY. Like truly, the biggest YAY ever.. be-cause, my incredible blog friend Sheri has chosen my blog to feature in her rad blog series titled, "BLOVE". Personally, I have been obsessed with the series ever since I learned about it, let alone obsessed with Sheri and her blog, ever since I learned about her. Sheri's vibe is incredibly warm and down to earth, and she also happens to be pretty flippin' cool. Yeah, that's right--homegirl's got swag. For real. And she's been one of my strongest supporters ever since I entered the blog world in January. It is a blessing and it is an honor. Thank you, Sheri, for such an amazing feature. You encourage me through and through to keep on writing! I love you!

The past few weeks my blog life has taken a bit of a toll as I've attended several social gatherings revolving around potlucks, Disneyland passes, Mother's Day and my sis' 21st bday last night (yes, I am reporting live from a place of hang overs and a colorful  buffet of pain killers at the moment). Not to mention, lots of working at the job, and just taking in every free opportunity I have to spend time with my friends and family.

For those who may just be checking in with me and my space here for the first time, (Hi!) I am preparing to do an epic relocation from Ventura, California to NYC this summer. It will be my first time living super far away from home, and I am moving simply for the desire to live in the city. Not for school, not for work, not for a dude. For me. For my own some-day New York Times Bestseller autobiography. (Ha, here's to trying to make my life as exciting and interesting as possible.)

After the completion of college in Orange County, a series of restaurant jobs, a year long adventure in LA, and a seven-year journey through some bizarre and messy relationships, it's time to embark on a new chapter in my life, and I'm excited to share all of it with you! Yes, things are certainly going to get interesting when I start blogging about all my dating experiences (when I start dating again), and hopefully not my starving experiences. (I'm taking off with a very small amount of money in my pocket....and probably a prayer bible in my suitcase.)

Just to clarify some of the questions I've been getting: 

Yes, I have been to New York before :) At the moment, I have a whole school of college peers out that way, including a few new friends I'm made through blogging. How great! If you'd like to read more about my previous trips to New York and how I've come to decide I'm destined to live there, you can do so here.

To start off, I will be staying with my cousin Marni in Old Tappan, New Jersey while I look for a job and housing in the city. I have stayed with her in her house before and not only is it a beautiful home, in a very charming city, but it's only a twenty minute train ride into Manhattan. Not bad at all. My cousin also has a set of twins, Jaiden and Mateo, who are probably about seven now? They are adorable and I cannot wait for all of you to meet them thru mass photos and instagrams. Just wait.

I'm looking to find housing in Brooklyn. It's my first choice of location, but if not then maybe Harlem or Astoria. I've never been to Astoria before, but I hear it's nice and affordable? And I stayed in Harlem several years ago and thought it was pretty safe and nifty (apparently it's cleaned up quite a bit the past decade.) If any of you have lived in the city or are familiar with all the neighborhoods, I would love to hear any recommendations/opinions you may have as to where is a good place to live. Honestly, I haven't done much research. I've just gone based off my own experiences and the experiences of my friends. Haha. I should probably be doing a lot more of the "figuring things out exactly", but eh. This is where my tale gets it's EDGE.

As far as a job goes, I will be looking for either a serving or bartending job to begin with to support myself, but ultimately, I want to be writing plays... and getting them produced (that part is crucial). In addition to seeing where all of this blogging-ness can take me. I really just want to be writing one way or another. It's going to be a struggle, no doubt, being a "penny-less writer", but this is what I want to do. And I'm going to do it. Call me naive, and maybe you are right. But maybe you haven't met me and my determination. I work hard for the things I want, and making a career out of writing is what I really want. With that being said, wish me luck.

I leave July 26th... two days after my 25th birthday and a week before the epic Blogher conference which I will be attending in hopes of meeting somebody fantastic who maybe wants to offer me a job. Oh yeah, and a bunch of really awesome bloggers! If you are going, say WHAT UP. This marks my first conference of any kind ever, and I am a bright cocktail of scared and excited.

Thanks to my cool little counter there on the right, I know that I am 70 days away from the big move. And guess what. Make that an even BIGGER cocktail of scared and excited. Honestly, I'm scared shitless. Don't tell my family that, but the closer it gets until I leave, the more I am freaking out. And really, it's not the part where I'm moving far away from my family and my town that scares, (tho it does make parts of me very sad, as the move approaches).. it's more the financial part of it all. I really am going out there with very little money to get by. I mean yeah, I have a place to stay right away, and that helps a lot, but it's not in the city and I don't want to reach a point where I'm overstaying my welcome or becoming imposing on anyone, even if it is my own cousin or friends after. I like to fend for myself completely in most cases, and it's hard for me to accept help from others. I take it where it is needed, and I'm incredibly thankful for it, but I don't like doing it. It's definitely a pride thing.

70 days left to gather up a decent wad of money to take off with, and it's scary. I've progressed by leaps and bounds in my finances since the new year, having paid off almost all my debt at this point, but my savings situation is still a joke. I have a little time left to hustle, yes, but it's not much. And it's going by FAST.

Needles to say, it's Go Time.

I'm going to try and keep up with the blogging as best as I can, but for the next two months my main focus will be preparing for my move. It's time to start saying my goodbyes, and taking advantage of every last minute I have here in California. In addition to robbing a couple of banks.

Bear with me as my posts may be less frequent and/or less eloquent. I'm still here and I'm still pretty much always on Twitter 24/7, so don't be a stranger, my friends!

Before I Seacrest out on this one... here's a few snapshots of my sisters before the bday dinner last night. They are so darn pretty. I can't help but to take their pictures like every five minutes and upload them everywhere. They've definitely got the "photogenic" down. Heh, unlike me. Despite what any of you might think, it takes a good 28374 pictures of me to weed through before I find a decent keeper. Then comes all the filters. Ay yi yi.

You can't have it all! At least I can write ok. That's what they're saying anyway.... :)

Happy day/life.

top: Shannon (or as we call her in Portuguese, Shaninha. She turned 21 yesterday! weee!)

bottom: Michelle (or Misch.. she's the middle sis!)

I'm going to miss laughing with these girls on a daily basis.