So now it’s been a CRAZY amount of time since my last post… and I can say I really honestly miss writing. I’m getting geared up for an upcoming Europe trip so the blog has definitely been on my mind lately.

So in the best way possible here’s a recap since Canada… 

I flew through DFW on my way back from Toronto to interview at the Four Seasons, and ya’ll I got the job! (I really don’t say ya’ll… but it’s fun for emphasis)

It was around July 16th? 17th? at this point and I was on my final leg of travel to head “home” to Eugene, OR. After reaching a brief altitude with the short flight from Seattle I could see it ahead of me and all I kept thinking about was PUPPY… and seeing my mom. We touched down and I grabbed all the crap I acquired while abroad. It felt so strange to be back this time, maybe because it was a little longer than last? Or maybe because I knew that in 2 weeks I would be turning around to settle down in Dallas, TX.

Through difficult conversations and tactical planning my time at home felt short. I was spending all my time going through everything I owned and deciding what to bring to Texas. I had a planned road trip with my best friend Layla where we would stop in Boise, Salt Lake City, Denver and Amarillo. The plan was, to pack up all my furniture in a trailer and drive the 38 or so hours so everything would be ready to go when I got there.

WELL, life happens sometimes and takes away these seemingly simple opportunities to present you with the need to reconfigure and plan. My car wasn’t strong enough to tow a U haul and renting a moving truck or one of those pods would have costed more than my college tuition. It felt like a sign…. how was I going to put my whole life in my car and then figure it out when I get there? Well, sometimes you do things that just don’t make sense now, but they’ll make sense later.

So I started to full spring-cleaning style and donate anything I didn’t see myself bringing with me. (Now I also had the WRONG idea of Texas summers and stupidly left all my winter clothes in Eugene… whoops).

The day came, and Layla was waiting for me about an hour north of Eugene. I said goodbye to my mom and pup and got in the overly filled car to start our long adventure. Seeing Layla is always such a treat. She’s just one of those friends you can pick back up with after a long time and it feels like you’ve never been separated. Now I won’t go too into detail about the road trip but we got extremely lucky when it came to getting to places on time, keeping the car safe, enjoying every part of the trip and just really having no hiccups.

Then after a week and 2,000 miles later I saw the Dallas skyline ahead of me. Part of me was sad to know the road trip was coming to an end (I can’t explain how honestly fun it was) but I was excited to see my new home.

We unpacked into my new apartment in the Los Colinas area in Texas’ welcoming 100 degree heat. An empty apartment that soon felt like a home as each piece of furniture was purchased and placed. (I didn’t stay long in this apartment, but more on that later)

After bidding Layla adieu it was time to start my new job! A quick orientation led to starting my position. I was a concierge in a city I knew NOTHING about.

Isn’t that funny? I was hired as a concierge, and I had actually never stepped foot in Dallas other than a layover in the DFW Airport and here I am telling people where all the trendy spots in the city are. It truly shows it doesn’t take previously-acquired skills or years of experience to be good at a job- it requires determination to learn. (I know, not all jobs but you get my point)

I quickly fell in love with where I worked. All my coworkers were so friendly and welcoming and I started to get good at fakin’ it till I made it. So much of my job just became a listening and regurgitating process. I would hear someone else say “Oh yeah, this restaurant is great for steak!” then next opportunity I got, you bet that came right out of my mouth.

Now unfortunately as I said before I didn’t stay in that apartment for long. Issues with management, bugs and mold all led to me breaking my lease after only 3 months of living there. I was lucky enough to relocate to the little district of Uptown. It’s kinda the “new” downtown… I think I don’t really know but it’s super cute and walkable. (I’ll write a post soon about battling with landlords because it sucks)

It’s funny how changing your scenery can REALLY change your happiness. It’s not that I was depressed in Las Colinas but it was like living in suburbia when I didn’t know anyone and the only places that people my age frequented just seemed… odd.

I also missed the walkability that Spain had whenever I just wanted to get groceries or even walk to the gym. (Also being in uptown made me find a gym and personal trainer that have absolutely affected my life in a great way, so WIN)

Now that I had my new place there was one four-legged thing that was missing from my life. My mom was kindly watching him in Eugene until I felt settled in enough to bring him here. In December of last year, that was the time. I didn’t know if I was really ready to juggle a dog and a job but I love that dog so gosh darn much I was going to try my best.

December 26th he got put on a flight to DFW. I was nervous the entire time because I had scared myself through reading what can happen to a dog in cargo. When he finally landed though, it just felt so right.

 

Fast forward to now and I’m doing great. (Okay after a spurt of pneumonia, flat tire, some ER visits and a few moments of just feeling low) I’ve got the friends and support system to get me through all of this and I can’t wait to move in with one of my absolute best friends here in May. Seriously Erika deserves an award. She was my caretaker when I got sick and has walked enough miles to get Ace to the other side of Texas. I’ll focus on more individualized events/thoughts/feelings but this is a brief catch up to this point!

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”
— Marilyn Monroe

 

** I never edit my writing so If you see spelling errors it’s probably on purpose, I think that sometimes the best writing remains unedited.