After I opened up about some of my struggles in my last post, I'm happy to report that 2015 has started off on a really great note!
Relocating to a remote area comes with several challenges. The biggest one for me has been dealing with the isolation of my location.
Sometimes, I feel like I am cut off from the world out here. Most days it's just me and the horses! As an extremely extroverted person, you can imagine how this has turned out--the nothingness really takes a toll on me after a while. It's very draining for me to live in a slow-paced, remote area. Luckily, traveling has helped keep me afloat the last 10 months.
Right as I was hitting rock-bottom during the holidays, I packed my bags and headed out for a much-needed month of travel.
First stop: Louisville, Kentucky.
On New Years Eve, I took a redeye to Louisville for a two-week business trip. For my next assignment in the FLD Program, I'm taking over a Cost Accounting role in Louisville. I'm going to work remotely from Reno, so this position doesn't require me to move.
When I originally booked my flights, I figured I'd just watch the ball drop from my hotel room.
However, my friends were kind enough to invite me to their New Years event, complete with a Hummer limo and dinner on a rooftop restaurant. It was a really fun night, I felt like a rock star!
How did I make friends, you ask? I met them a few weeks prior, when I flew to Louisville on a short two-day business trip. By the end of the night, I felt like I lived in Louisville forever. The culture was friendly and everyone was really welcoming. It was a nice change of pace from Nevada.
The next two weeks, I lived in the Hilton. Room service plus valet parking... need I say more?
When my trip ended in Louisville, I was sad to say goodbye to my friends. However, I had some other plans on the agenda!
That weekend, I flew to Florida to meet my sister who came in from Pittsburgh. My sister and I are really close. We shared a room growing up, so she put up with all my singing and chaos. I was so excited to be reunited with her!
I must have had this trip planned for a while, right? Wrong. One month ago, I called my sister and said: "We're going on a vacation!" And the rest is history...
After a cold week in Louisville, I was more than ready to take a tropical vacation.
We stayed the night in Florida catching up, although it felt like I never moved. It's the coolest thing to reunite with family and friends after moving far away. There's nothing that beats the familiarity of people you know.
The next day, we headed on an Eastern Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas!!!
Our first stop was Princess Cays, a private island owned by the Princess Cruise Line. This island was the perfect place to relax and soak up some sun.
The green hut is my new residency. You can send all my mail there from now on.
During our days at sea, I took yoga classes, hung out by the pool, ate a ton of food, danced and sang karaoke. Not a bad life!
The best part was having no internet or cell service. It was like being a pioneer (kidding). Unplugging for the week did, however, make me realize the stress modern technology can cause at times. All of those little alerts on your phone and emails can get overwhelming. While I didn't follow through with throwing my phone overboard, this trip helped me set more boundaries so that I don't feel obligated to respond to every message every second of the day.
Did I mention we ate a ton of food?! It was all really good, and it didn't require me to attempt to grocery shop, so I was happy.
The second Island we visited was Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. We took a guided tour of the Island, shopped, and visited the beaches. I had never been on an Island before. This was a new experience for me! Fun fact: The two main industries in Nassau are government and tourism. This means there were a lot of locals trying to sell you things.
Exhibit A:
Everything I'm wearing + this coconut! I'm sure the locals loved me. All they had to do was call me pretty and wave around their jewelry around, and I cracked every time. So I left decked out in some new island attire...
This month was all about having fun and enjoying life. I came back feeling refreshed and ready to give this "real world" thing another shot.
Here's to a new year of balance, health, and happiness!