2 dozen years old

I turned 24 on Sunday. While I fully expected to be depressed and worried that my life is nowhere near where I wanted it to be, things were almost entirely opposite of that. Maybe I was just distracted and didn't have time to think about it or perhaps I just convinced myself that I was taking crazy pills. Whatever the case, two days into my 24th year, I feel pretty content.

So yes, my birthday - in less than complete sentences:

• Friday - dinner at Moon Time, fishing on Fernan, smelly stink bait, fish being stubborn and s'mores over the fire.
• Saturday - Silver Mountain Water Park! Lazy River, killer water slides, drinking in the hot tub, attempting to surf, exposed cracks and $1.00 sodas at McDonald's. Dinner at Bardenay Coeur d'Alene, lousy service but good food, team ROCKIN' vs. team undecided, Burn After Reading - Brad Pitt being fantastic, wishing he was a trainer at my gym.
  
• Sunday - breakfast with the clan at Rustler's Roost, Hunter sharing his toys with the restaurant, the largest cinnamon roll known to man. Taking Jersey to the lake, enjoying the beautiful weather while it lasts, reading in the sunshine. Dinner from Tomato Street, opening presents time!! Beautiful orchids, bright pink colored wrapping paper, and a Wii! Added bonus: Wii Fit. In Heaven. Totally spoiled. Staying up way too late playing Wii.
• Monday - family birthday bbq, tolerating obnoxious family members, yummy burgers, mom being crazy, taking toe pictures, singing happy birthday, fudge cake and apple pie, lots of hugs. Returning home for Fantasy Football - Kelsey beating me by the hair on her chinny chin chin.

Back to normal life. Boo.

Neighbors

So we have these neighbors that aren't awful, per say, but incredibly awkward. It was pretty clear that they were that way when Grant introduced himself when they first moved in and the lady's response was "oh." Not a great first impression. And her daughter is so poorly neglected that she roams the neighborhood begging for people to pay attention to her. It's really, really sad. One day when we came home, she had a pet degu that she was dragging around in a bucket. A few days later we noticed a tiny little grave in the backyard and haven't seen the degu since.

I'm not entirely sure what the family situation is over there but the mom has this boyfriend that is just...eeew. Every time he drives up, he is blaring some sort of cheesy 90's love song with his windows down. It's like his mating call for her. Without fail, she meets him at his car door and they make out in the driveway, sometimes when he is still in his car. It's totally awkward when we pull in our driveway or open the side door and BAM! There they are, playing tonsil hockey across the fence. It's really not attractive to watch the two go at it. Her poor daughter just watches and occasionally screams, "mom!!" I think it's to help her to remember to come up for air.

I guess it could be worse. They could be drug dealers or thieves. Luckily those neighbors are a few doors further away.

Breathe.

I officially have 7 minutes before my weekend starts and even though this week was short because of Labor Day, I'm ready for a break. Last weekend we had a very busy time in Boise and it will be nice to stay at home and relax for a couple days before heading into another crazy week.

This week I was offered a new position at work. Starting Monday, I will be the new Arts and Culture Alliance Manager. It's going to be a lot of fun - getting to organize events year round that support the arts in our fine community. I'll get to meet a lot of new people in our area and be involved in a really fun, positive environment. The only catch: I still have to do my current job.

That's right...I will be Communications Director and the Arts and Culture Alliance Manager. I'm hoping they can condense that title into something that rolls off the tongue easier, but I'm not sure it's possible. I do, however, get to hire an assistant to help me with all the things that are guaranteed to start piling up come Monday morning. I think that office in the corner is starting to look a bit more desirable. We'll see how that works.

Thinking about everything that I'm going to be responsible for kind of makes my head spin in circles like that creepy girl in The Exorcist. I think I can handle it as I've always been one to face a challenge and at least give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, I feel confident enough to walk into my boss' office and say, "hey, this ain't workin'." That's a huge step up from where I was 2 years ago (almost) and makes me realize how much more to work there is than what college prepares you for. Go figure.

So, it's 5:02...time for me to take a deep breath, hold on to my socks and put myself to the test. Right after I enjoy my lazy, lazy weekend. :)