Ad Astra Per Aspera

To the stars through difficulties. ~*Young Adult*~ finding her way to happiness.

[wanderlustandmiscellaneous]

updates

I made it to Italy but just about everything has gone wrong...

my checked bag got left in NYC

i started my period 2 days after getting here

i fell iceskating on new years and broke my wrist

MP has a fever blister so we can’t kiss

i got a super bad cold

So I’m still in Italy! i was supposed to leave on Sunday but i was too sick. So i get more time with MP but i’m sick and have a broken arm.... -___-

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my hair is a mess, but it’s brown again!

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Today’s MP and my last day at work together

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ok so a visa decision officer has already opened my application. BLESS.

let’s hope they make a decision soon and I get my passport back before Christmas.

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it’s my last week in Connecticut?!

and I haven’t started packing yet (shhh don’t tell my parents)

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Lunch Time Adventures

MP and I went and ate in the mall food court today for lunch. When he went to throw away our trash, this older lady asked me if we were a couple. I obviously said yes, then her and her husband started fawning over how cute we were and how we made “such an adorable couple” and stuff.

It made me really happy and MP thought it was really funny

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Life Update:

My sponsorship has been approved, now I’m just waiting on the Certificate of Sponsorship number so I can finish the online visa application!

Then I have to make appointments to go for an interview.

Then I have to pay for everything.

Then I get to submit my visa.

Then I have to wait until I’m approved and can go get it.

I’m probably going to have to pay A LOT extra to get either super priority (go in person to the British Consulate in NYC) in order to get everything in time for my flight to Italy..... sigh

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Wow I haven’t been on here in forever

UPDATES tl;dr version:

Things with MP are going amazingly! He came home with my for Thanksgiving and I’m going to Italy for New Years!

I’m moving! To the UK! In less than a month! I’ll be there for at least 6 months!

I started paying off my student loan this month?! Like wow how’s it already been more than 6 months since graduation?!? 

I’m going back to brown hair cause blonde is WAY too much maintenance. I’ll share pics after my appointment Tuesday. On the subject of appearance, my mom kindly informed me that I look like I’ve gained 25lbs since I was home in September.... thanks mom.... 

My HGDP group gets along SO well! We’re in contact almost every day (thank you WhatsApp, Facebook, and email), and we’re doing a Secret Santa gift exchange! We’ll be doing a Google Hangout call so we can watch everyone open their gifts :D

About MP: We’ve been together almost 3 months now. He’s met a lot of my family and nearly all my close friends. Everyone likes him :) which is no surprise, cause he’s wonderful. My parents have even said they’d be happy to welcome him into the fam as a son-in-law... LIKE HOLY SHIT CALM DOWN, PARENTS! Just cause y’all got engaged less than three months in doesn’t mean we will...

About moving: GETTING MY VISA IS TURNING INTO SUCH A FIASCO. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH. It’s like 90% my fault cause I’m such a perfectionist/procrastinator. Basically, I’ve had a sponsorship application for a few weeks now, but I wanted to make sure everything was perfect so I waited to fill it out until after I had a call with my future boss to discuss my job description in detail. His wife just had a baby a couple weeks ago, so he’s on paternity leave. He scheduled a call for last week but because I was sick and had absolutely no voice, our call got rescheduled for Monday. When I turned in what I could yesterday, the sponsor said my training plan needed more detail. We can’t get ahold of my new boss cause he’s on paternity leave, so I tried to add more detail myself, but who knows if it’s enough... Now it may be too late to get my visa before I’m supposed to fly to Italy. YAY. So basically for the past 26 hours I’ve been in FULL PANIC MODE. Thank goodness MP is so sweet. He made me his favorite comfort food (carbonara!) and bought me ice cream.

About my job: Honestly I plan to go straight from there to either China or Brazil for 2 months. Then go to mainland Europe for my last project... Sorry mom and dad but I want to work in Europe permanently <3 anyone who knows me, knows that has been a goal of mine for forever, but it also doesn’t hurt that MP may be settling down in a permanent position in Germany before I finish my rotations.

About money: I paid off my Discover card (yay me!) and almost have PayPal paid off too, but I have two other credit cards now (cause had to get one with no international fees and then got an AmericanAirlines card to earn miles and shit on purchases). So goals now include paying down those cards... Rent is much cheaper in the UK (well I’m getting a house share instead of a private apartment... but still) and won’t be spending as much money eating out (lots of lunch dates with MP, and I insist on paying for half), so hopefully I can get those debts low, if not completely pay off one. I paid over twice the *suggested* minimum student loan payment, so hopefully I’ll get that paid off before I’m done with HGDP. 

About looks: ugh my mom is such an ass. I checked: I’d gained 10 pounds since September (not good but I was also about to start my period and SUPER bloated when I was there), but that was weighing after Thanksgiving. Now I’ve lost 5 cause I was sick, obviously a super healthy way to lose weight... I want to lose weight, but I haven’t been making time to workout. My plan is to find a gym I can afford to use where I’m moving. Fingers crossed that works out. Or I’m in an area I can run in. I’ll get a nice waterproof jacket and it’ll be fine... lol

Wow I think that might be all for now. If you made it this far, you’re a rockstar. Thanks for reading <3 Hope you are all doing well <3

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I’m so happy

But I know that this happiness has an expiration date

Sometime in December I’m going to move, and I won’t be able to basically live with MP again for another year and a half

He’ll still make me happy, but it will be with texts and calls and skypes rather than hugs and kisses. It will be in planning trips to see each other rather than him letting me help him cook dinner. It will be in getting a “good morning I love you” text instead of that being the first thing I hear in the morning. 

But this feels different than my last relationship. We don’t talk about the future much but when we do he apologizes for not seeming more worried. He tells me it’s because he’s not. He says “I’ve literally searched the world for a girl like you.” And he actually has. He’s lived in Italy, Canada, the UK, other parts of the US, and Singapore. And he’s had girlfriends in most of these places. He knows what he’s looking for. 

I trust when he says he loves me. Sure sometimes my anxiety makes me question it, but I believe him when he reassures me.

I know we’ve only known each other for two and a half months, and we’ve only been dating for one month. It’s too early to be thinking about spending forever with him. But I also can’t help to. I plan on staying with him during the next year and a half of my work program. I’ll be traveling the world. I’ll be meeting tons of new people. But I want him to be mine and I want to be his. And I don’t see that changing. 

[accioagape]

I’m really happy

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A candid shot my friend got of MP and I in Salem last weekend :)

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MP and I are going to see The Martian after work today :)

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eventually I’ll get around to sharing pictures from all the places I’ve gotten to travel (Baltimore, Cambridge and London, Cambridge MA, New York City, Coney Island, Mont Megantic National Park Canada) etc...

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I HAVE A MEETING AT 7:30 MONDAY MORNING

*cries for 50 years*

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Spending the weekend in Montreal (!!!) with MP and one of his best friends.

I’m so excited to explore the city! We’re leaving after lunch :)

[fuckyeahtattoos]

“This above all: to thine own self be true.”

Amazing artistry by Sean at Icon Tattoo & Body Piercing in Nashville, TN

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Yoga pants, boyfriend’s hoodie, foot tattoos, big glasses, and dark lipstick

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My boyfriend is honestly the best.

Yesterday he invited me to come meet his family in Italy for New Years!

He’s meeting my family for Thanksgiving, so I’m not surprised that he wants me to meet his. BUT ITALY!!

The only problem(?) is that I don’t know where I’ll be at the end of December. 

I’m not entirely sure when I’ll be done with my project in Connecticut. If I’m still here, I’ll need to fly to Nash for Christmas, fly to Italy for New Years, then fly back to NY (so expensive). 

If I’m done at Diba, I could be almost literally anywhere in the world. When I skyped with my boss a couple weeks ago he asked if I’d want to do my next project in the UK (which like obviously I’d hate that *heavy sarcasm*). They would probably pay for me to go home for Christmas, and then a flight to Italy from London would be a lot less expensive. So I honestly think that’s the best case scenario. But I could also be in California or Shanghai or The Netherlands. 

And he’s still not sure about his permanent placement. He talked to his project coordinator today about staying in M&A and was offered a job either here (CT) or in Germany. But he wants to go back to Asia.

The future may be a big question mark, but I’ve never felt more content with life and excited for the future.