New Adventures!

As usual, my enthusiasm is building for new adventures and the possibility of more fulfilling work.  I always start a job hunt with such optimism!  Of course there is no other way, optimism is essential to surviving the semi-employed life.  I took (and totally owned) the GREs on Thursday and while I don't get my official scores until November, I'm (as usual) pretty optimistic.  I'm hoping to meet with professors at a number of different grad schools until I find a program that will (1) let me work outdoors for the rest of my days, I just can't bear to be a full time desk jockey for any kind of long term assignment, (2) inspire me and encourage me, I just want to do good, rewarding work.  Is that so much to ask? And (3) not double my student loans, ideally I'd like to get rid of those suckers some day, and unless I stop adding to them that may never happen.  So, onwards I go, to work or grad school, or to study and take the FE in the spring and then get an engineering job, or to do or go wherever else the wind might take me.  I can't wait. 

I'm leaving this beautiful little rock in the middle of the ocean known as St. Thomas in just under 2 very short weeks to go celebrate a friends birthday with her in Florida and then on home a week later.  I'm looking for work in Vermont so I can put some money away while I am living at home and keep working on my student loans.  Money down here has gotten quite tight and it was certainly time to throw the towel in.  So now, during my final 2 weeks, I am trying to get as much last minute  adventuring in for as little cost as possible, all the while also trying to work as many hours as possible to put away a bit of cash for Florida.  My life is a fabulous give and take resting on a delicate balance of funds and possibilities that I just adore.  I have never once gotten in over my head, I have learned my limits and limited my spending and worked hard to become as financially independent as possible and loved every minute of it. 

So now, back to the old job hunt and back home to bake some bread and walk my doggies, and to try to work my butt off, if I can find a job that will let me.  See you soon Vermont, in all your below freezing glory.  Goodbye beautiful Caribbean, white sand beaches and shiny sunshine...you're amazing, but just not for me.  I can't wait to have seasons back! 

An Airplane over Charlotte Amalie Harbor

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

I'm not sure where September when, but today's date assures me that the month is pretty much over, despite my disbelief.  And with the close of September comes the close of my time here in St. Thomas.  I have made the extremely difficult decision to leave (despite several lucrative offers to stay) after completing a person budget and coming to terms with the fact that living here at this stage in my life is not a wise financial decision (damn you student loans!).  So, once again, it's home for a regroup and new plans coming soon.  This time, more than any other, I am seriously considering grad school as a possible option (because I obviously don't have enough student loans already...) and have even gone so far as to sing up for the GRE.  I'll be one of the very first lucky idiots to be taking the new revised test, so grad school admissions folks - if you are reading this keep in mind that scores ALWAYS go down after a major change in the test, I'm smarter than my score will most likely make me look.  Reassuring right?  Not.

So, here I am, as per my usual, standing at the precipice of some new big adventure, waiting for the fog to clear and show me just exactly what it will be.  For now it's memory sharing time, here are the things that St. Thomas allowed me to check off of my bucket list: 

1. Live on an island.  Self explanatory, awesome, enough said.
2. Take a picture of a lightning bolt.  We all know I'm a photography nerd so this was a very exciting development for me.
3. Snorkel in the Caribbean.  Spotted eagle rays, brain coral, sea turtles, starfish, tropical fish, urchins, and awesome-ness.  
4. Night Snorkel in the Caribbean.  Bio-luminescence is amazing, underwater flashlights are fun, and big shiny silver tarpin fish are not sharks.  Phew.  
5. Island Hop!  St. Thomas, St. John, Jost van Dyke, Tortola, and more.  Boats are fantastically fun toys in the islands.  
6. Enjoy fresh Coconuts, straight from the tree.  And watch very talented West Indian Rasta guys scale palm trees like they're playground toys.  
7. Experience a tropical storm/almost hurricane first hand.  Exciting, except not, when you work at a hotel these things usually mean canceled flights, equating to a very busy night in the office checking in disgruntled travelers in howling wind and pounding rain.  
8. Hiking to gorgeous views and plantation ruins, read about the history of the ruins and the islands.  Did you know that slavery was abolished in the USVI several years prior to it's abolition in the states, but several years after it was abolished in the BVI (British Virgin Islands).  Brave souls used to build rafts, steal away in boats, and some even swam the short distance from St. John to Tortola; anything for freedom.  
9. Share this adventure with my mom!  Very cool for my mom to get to come down here and experience this crazy place with me, it's the first time on of my immediate family members has been able to visit me on my travels and it was a really neat thing to share.  
10. Ride a ferris wheel on top of the world.  Or so it felt, swirling around on the edge of the steep hill that is paradise point.  
11. Night swimming; swimsuits optional.  Late night skinny dipping on secluded beaches with silly friends to cap off a fun night out?  Count me in!

I'm sure there's more but I'm too lazy to continue - the point is, I've had a very good run here.  Nothing sad about it ending, I'll come visit again someday and for now I have nothing but new and exciting things to look forward to.  I'm a lucky lucky girl.

 

 

sandy toes and island blood

Obviously I have not been keeping up with my blog like I should, but I return from my brief (month and a half long) hiatus refreshed with new stories and a new home to write from.  Since my last update on Mother's Day a few big things have happened:  first and foremost, Father's Day happened, just this Sunday, and while I'm not home in the lovely green mountains to cook my pops the kind of fabulous breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert that he deserved, I did send him a "card" of sorts and lots of love via the telephone.  In other news, I moved to the Caribbean just over a month ago and have been living on the US Virgin Island of St Thomas ever since.  I live in an apartment with the best harbor view I think I have ever seen in my entire life, and probably the best I will ever have the pleasure of living in front of.  I work at a beautiful little boutique hotel where I meet all kinds of interesting people.  I play on white sandy beaches and snorkel over coral reefs in 70 degree water.  Life's rough.

Each morning, as I drink my cup of tea out on the balcony, watch the iguanas climb to the tree tops to bask in the sunshine, and do a bit of yoga before it gets too sweaty to move, I reflect on everything that has brought me to where I am.  I've had a pretty crazy ride, and I'm just starting to truly appreciate the places my rather impulsive decisions have brought me to.

The island is fabulously beautiful, the views absolutely breath-taking, photo-ops abound.  I'm learning a lot about the inner workings of a small hotel, and we all know how I love to collect new skills.  My thousands of bug bites are just starting (knock on wood) to dwindle down to an acceptable level; I have been told that the bugs on the island love fresh meat and will bite and bite and bite new kids on the block. I definitely found that to be the case, but what is even more surprising is that they seem to be backing off a bit now.  It could be that the whole population is decreasing, but I can't help but wonder if its because I'm no longer "fresh meat."  Is there some change that happens after you've been here for awhile that makes them bite less?  Some islandy-ness that gets into your blood?  Do I have some St. Thomas in me now?

People keep saying to me the same thing they said in Tahoe - "I came here temporarily too, 20 years ago."  The thing about living in paradise is its pretty easy to get stuck, and that's okay as long as 20 years later living there is still making you happy.  Only time will tell how long I'm going to last in St. Thomas, but for now it's home.

Life's a Beach

Dusk on the Pool Deck

View from my Balcony

bluesplosion!

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