2o18

another year, another post. 2o17 was about rolling with the punches and working to create good memories. this year, i feel like many personal things happened that i had to just let go and make the best of. sure it took up some time (something that bugged me the most), but i had to be an adult and just accept it. 

anyhoo, lets look past that and see some of the good things that happened. 2o17 was a stellar travel year. in the the first 3-ish months, i did 3 little trips. 

in february i went on a roadtrip to zion national park. sure it was stressful just trying to get there. california had a gnarly storm hit. i had never seen so much chaos created by a rain storm. trees were uprooted and streets were flooded like crazy, but in the end it was a good time.

in march i went on a mini roadtrip to the mojave dessert

and at the end of that month i returned to washington d.c., my stomping grounds where i did a college internship.

i'll even count going to san diego for the weekend in august.

the most exciting thing that happened this year by far was my first solo international trip. i accessed by inner gypsy and took trains throughout...

germany,

czech republic,

and poland.

it was a lot of work to pull everything together (i did not go through a company or travel angency), but i was able to do everything i wanted. this trip was over 4 years in the making so to say the least, it meant a lot to me.

now for more personal things. at work, i was promoted! but the bad news, i was relocated. before i worked in long beach, a city i really loved. now i work in downtown la. it has its perks but i had it really good at long beach and i realized that when i left. i also have been more active than ever. unfortunately i had to quit jiu jitsu. i really loved it, but i did there were some problems with the people in charge. in the end it worked out well (i don't have as much time as i used to due to the commute to and from work). in the last couple months i have read more. it's really easy to make time on the train and in reality i really do love taking the train to work (not so much from). it's quiet, i can see the sunrise, and can read a good book. it forces me to slow down (and i fucking hate driving). 

what do i hope for 2o18? i think the new year is a really easy time to transition. to me, it naturally just feels like a shift and therefore feels easier to start good habits and let go of bad ones. 

• i excercise more, but i hope to eat a little better even though i am not horrible
• maybe start up jiu jitsu at a new organization (if time allows me too)
• keep on traveling, even if it is just a short weekend trip.
• learn to play the piano
• read more 9and hopefully start back up "sam's book cover")
• i am very organized but want to maintain it. i tend to create chaos afterwards.
• and get my travel posts done. it has been a very slooow process, but this job has really become a time sucker during the week.

now for things already planned in 2o18. this weekend i am planning on buying a digital piano. i really want to learn to play and have been serious about it since the summer. i also have a big trip planned, i originally wanted to go to vietnam and cambodia, but cannot be bothered to plan it out. when you travel solo and do not go through a company or travel agency it is TONS of work and i knew i would only be able to go on a big trip in the first 5 months of the year. so in april, i am taking a road trip through north carolina, south carolina, and georgia with my dad. i also have 2 smaller trips: sacramento in january, and a train trip up north with my aunt in february.

thats really all i have to say. i thought i would continue with the new years tradition of picking songs that sound like nostalgia (even though i love me a good 'auld lang syne'). this year, i chose 'the parting glass' by the wailin' jennys. even though they are a canadian folk band, this song is a traditional scottish parting song. enjoy!