amazing spelled backwards is CAMERON!

My little brother, Cameron, is probably one of the best and sweetest boys I have ever known. I went to one of his orchestra rehearsals tonight and saw what an amazing musician he is and how self-motivated he can be. He helped start this orchestra (Placer County Youth Orchestra) and he's done an amazing job. Because this was something he wanted, he went all out for it - researched and found music, contacted people he knew could help, transposes parts for other musicians who can't or don't even care, judges competitions and seating auditions and plays whatever part they need him to play. I couldn't even begin to accomplish something like that and especially not when I was only 13. All I cared about when I was his age was stupid things like boys and wanting to go to dances. He is more motivated than I feel I will ever be.

I started thinking about everything else this little amazing dude does. Gets straight A's in all of his classes, scores in the 97th percentile on all his tests in school, made the volleyball team, plays with the Sacramento Youth Symphony, plays in and helps organize the PCYO (mentioned earlier), has practiced and can now play piano/guitar/trumpet/drums/baritone AND can sing very well, has done numerous plays with Music Circus and Magic Circle Theater, is about to start his Eagle project in scouts and still finds time to spend with his family, making other people feel good about themselves and to do his homework at the end of the night.

I cannot believe what an amazing kid Cameron is, and I feel bad that not everybody appreciates that or even SEES it when he's in front of them. He goes above and beyond everyone's expectations and I love him to death.

When I grow up, I want to be like Cameron.

the OG!

So, when my trainers all said the the people who work at Olive Garden were amazing, I didn't believe them. I've heard the same thing at all the places I've worked, but never have I experienced nicer coworkers than at the OG! Today was my second official shift as a server and I had so much fun. Yes, it's still a little overwhelming, but I'm getting more used to holding a tray (!!), getting to know where things are in the computer and starting to get into a groove. Everyone though so far is incredible. I feel like I just got welcomed into a huge group of friends, rather than feeling like an outsider trying to fit in. I can't believe how patient people are with me, keeping in mind that I ask about 10 questions every minute. I just can't even express how much I appreciate the people working there and how happy they've made me. I'm so glad that they have given me the opportunity to work there. I just feel like I'm exactly where I need to be :)

...when I'm here, I AM part of the family...

NEW!

So, it's been almost two months since I've moved home, back into my parents house. A couple of big changes have happened since then. The biggest thing? New job. After applying to literally 52 places, I finally got two interviews and got hired at Olive Garden! From what the other servers are saying, I was extremely lucky to have gotten hired without any previous serving experience. They told me that I would have 6 days of training, which I thought was a little excessive at first. But, after having my first official shift today, I would be totally happy with even more training. Serving is so much more work than I expected! I have to act like I know everything when I know nothing and it is extremely overwhelming. I know I'll get the hang of it eventually, but I had a training shift last night (luckily my trainer was helping me remember everything) and there were honestly like, 3 or 4 times that I almost cried because I didn't feel like I was doing an adequate job and couldn't keep up with the pace where everyone else was. It is nice though, that everyone there is so willing to help me out. I feel like I've asked two million questions, but everyone is always so happy to answer and make sure I'm alright. There are a few people there already that I hope to become good friend with, because they are amazing. I am very very grateful for a job and one that keeps their employees so happy, but I am just really hoping that I will be able to become a competent server quickly!

The other thing that is a big change for me right now is the fact that I can't see Frank every day. He lives about 40 minutes away and even though we're making it work, it's been really hard for me. I guess it's just a shock for me because I saw him all the time for almost two years and now I only get to see him maybe on weekends, depending on gas money situations, him traveling with his band, my parents willingness to let me go and my work schedule. I was very happy to travel up to Arcata last weekend with him, but as much fun as it was, I really felt like I didn't get to see him those three days. I know it sounds silly, but we were so busy meeting new people, hanging out with old friends, getting ready for the band's shows and everything, I just missed having 'us' time. I get to go tomorrow morning with him to Reno for two days, so I'm very excited for that as well, and I'll try to make to make some 'us' time fit into that :) He is a wonderful boyfriend and I love him so much...it just sucks that our time together has been cut way more than in half. 


One last new thing, then it's to bed! I am thinking about a career change (again). Not that I don't want to teach, because I do, but I started thinking about the economy and my future family and my future in general. There are so many things I want to have happen, and for that, I'll need to have a steady career and not be living on the edge of poverty. For all of those reasons, I have been looking at and researching a job as a sonographer (ultrasound). For one, it's in the medical field, which will always be steady. Second, in almost all states, sonographers make a very decent living, which would be more than wonderful for me. Third, it's something that sounds very interesting to me and I think it would be exciting! I know it'll take a ton of work and studying, but I think this is what I'm going to do. There are still about 5 college classes I need to take to get into the Sonography Program at Kaiser, so I'll still be at Sierra College for at least two more semesters before I can apply for 18 month program at Kaiser. It'll be a couple of hard semesters too - this fall I'll be taking chemistry, human anatomy and medical terminology. That means Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 AM - 9:30 PM!! Crazy, but I'm willing to work hard and I'm excited!

Those are the biggest changes to report at the moment. I'm going to get to bed because my boy is coming to pick me up in 11 hours!! :)

(my boy and i at the beach in trinidad last weekend!)