Recap of 2009

Last year I wrote a "Recap of 2008". I just read it and I can't believe how things can change in just one year.

So beginning of 2009 my New Years Resolution was to no longer eat meat! I decided to be a pseudo-vegetarian and still eat fish, but beef, pork, and chicken were out of the picture. That resolution lasted 6 months, since I worked at Reds Meadow for the summer where I desperately needed the protein (more on that later). It was interesting, because although I felt like I was eating healthier, I gained 12 pounds, something I have never been able to do! I'm thinking it was because of all the pasta I made though ;).

I was living in Chandler, AZ, with my boyfriend Erik. I had moved in in October of 2008, and things were pretty good between us through 2009, but I was not happy where I was. I was not finding a job, and although I had a full month of job-shadowing at a vet hospital, they still wouldn't hire me, and after that I wanted to give up! I got pretty depressed and moody (and I hate myself when I'm like that), and decided when April rolled around that I would work at Reds Meadow again that summer, a place where I have grown up every summer, riding horses in the backcountry and taking people on dayrides. Up until then I was spending my time hiking and exploring the state of Arizona, which was a blast of course, but once it started getting in the 90's it was time to be stuck inside. I had made a lot of really great friends down there, whom I will never forget and hope to continue to keep in touch with, but come June I had to go to the California High Sierras to work and cool off! Here are some of the places I visited in Arizona when I lived there. It's a pretty amazing state, not many people know that.

I started working in the Sierras in June, after one full year of being unemployed. Some of my best friends work there, so it was like being with family all summer. I made a decent amount of money, especially in tips, and lost the 12 pounds I had gained in Arizona.

Then things started happening in my life that made me think about whether or not I really belonged in Arizona. One day the light just came on in my head as I was on a hike by myself in the backcountry. I realized it was time to move on, once again in life, and to find happiness again. I got the courage to tell Erik I was moving out, and we broke up. I moved out after the summer job was over, and road-tripped by myself from Arizona to Oregon, my car full of my life. It was hard, but I felt good about it at the same time because I was excited about what the next chapter in my life would entail. Erik and I had been together 7 years (on and off), so this was a huge change I was making for myself.

On the way up from Arizona I stayed with friends in Utah for a week and a half. I had never been to Utah, and always thought it was a place that was desolate and boring, even more so than Arizona... but it wasn't. There was so much outdoor activities to do there, I was amazed! Not to mention some of my oldest best friends lived there and it was great to see them again.

After that week and a half, I drove back to the Sierra Nevadas in California for the Fall Horse Drive, (just as fun as the Spring Horse Drive, but not as many people that worked there could make it, so that made it less fun for me). That was a 3-day excursion, and afterward I finished my road-trip onto Oregon.

I was sure I'd find a job pretty quickly in Oregon, considering there is actually WILDLIFE there, but I didn't. I was there for a month looking like crazy for jobs, and remembered how much I enjoyed Utah. I started job searching online for jobs in Utah as well.... still to find nothing. The economy was still too bad for wildlife positions anywhere, and even other Oregon jobs I was applying for wouldn't hire me.

This is where things began to change pretty fast. A couple of my best friends, Bryce and Jared, came up from CA so we could (yet again) road-trip to Wyoming for a friend's wedding. It was a great trip, and on the way back we stopped in Utah again for a few days. After just one day of job searching there, I obtained a job in less than 24 hours for a photography/camera store called Inkley's. This was really exciting to me since my passion at this time was indeed photography! And what a better place to work than a shop like that where I could learn so much more. Only thing was, they wanted me ASAP. So I had 4 days to move out of my parents' home in Oregon and drive BACK to Utah (after driving back to Oregon with Bryce and Jared in the first place). I did it easier than I thought I could; had 2 days to pack, and 2 days to hang out with friends and family. My best friend Danika had her first baby, Asher, on August 30th, so leaving him was tough!! But I love to have a few months in between seeing him to really see how much he grows and changes.

Arriving back in Utah, I stayed with a friend, Amanda, until I found a home for myself (which I found and was able to move into within 48 hours). Seriously, could things change any faster for me?! Only 2 weeks ago I was living with my parents in Oregon depressed because I wasn't finding a job. Now I had a home, a job, and a new exciting place to live with so many places to explore and things to photograph! Oh AND, I have a new photography site with all my photography! It's a blog as well (since I can't afford a real website yet), and you can find it in the top right of this page.

So that leads to where I am now. I'm really enjoying Utah, the "greatest snow on Earth", the friends I have out here, and my job. I have so much more to tell you about some more personal things going on in my life, but that I will save for another day. Meanwhile, Happy New Year!!!