A quick update on the last 9 months; I will try to condense this as much as possible...
- I graduated! A month ahead of schedule, on December 17th, 2012. It feels amazing to be done school and to be building my beautiful career :)
- I got promoted! I was a student stylist for a few months, but shortly after graduation I was moved up a level. Which means I started to see much better pay cheques, began charging more for my services, and saw a significant rise in my tips and commission. Hopefully the next promotion is right around the corner once I pass my licensing exams.
- Sean and I are still happier than ever. It's stupid, and disgusting at times, how much I freaking love this man. I've never felt anything like it, and I can't begin to explain it. I have been waiting for a year and a half for something to go horribly wrong, but it just hasn't. Our love comes as naturally as breathing. It's pretty freaky.
- My Dad got really sick at the beginning of this year, and was hospitalized for stress-related health issues. He's slowly getting better but the strain it has had on me and the rest of my family has been unbelievable. I don't want to go into detail as it's still too painful, but I believe in the strength of my family to overcome all of our obstacles :)
- I am still living in the same townhouse, and still loving my life here in Calgary. Sean and I will hopefully begin looking for a place next year, but for now we're both in such awesome situations that we can't help but stay.
- Sean and I spent a beautiful week in Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo in April, and it was absolute perfection.
- As previously mentioned, Sean and I have planned a pretty incredible and exciting adventure for this coming winter. We are going to Southeast Asia for 5 weeks at the end of February, and will be spending the first two weeks volunteering as English Teachers at an elementary school in Bali, Indonesia. We will then spend the remainder of our time backpacking throughout other parts of Asia. So far, we plan to hit parts of Indonesia (Bali, Lombok, the Gili Islands), Thailand, China and Japan.
- I'm being officially tested for Celiac Disease on Monday. As some of you may know, I've been experimenting a lot with what I've been eating for the past year and a bit, because I became very, very ill. I had concluded that I was sensitive to wheat and dairy, but eventually my female energies took over and I just put up with the pain my body goes through when I eat these things in exchange for a delicious grilled cheese sandwich (or whatever)...it wasn't until my doctor informed me that if I am actually, in fact, Celiac (not just sensitive) I could be doing some serious harm to my body and inviting all kinds of cancers into my life. Not cool. So. This syringe-hating lady is getting poked and prodded this week so that I can finally (hopefully) begin to understand what is wrong with me.
- At this point, I don't plan on going back to Kelowna anytime this summer. Because of our Asia trip, I am completely out of Vacation time for the year. We're planning on doing lots of little camping trips and overnight trips to the mountains and stuff to keep ourselves sane until our trip. This city can make you kinda crazy if you let it ;)
- Speaking of Calgary, I'm sure most of you have heard about the devastation we have been experiencing here over the past few days. If not, let me fill you in; days of heavy rainfall and uncontrolled glacial and snow melts have caused our beloved Bow & Elbow rivers to burst their banks and flood into the city centre and surrounding areas, as well as High River, Black Diamond, and other small communities around Calgary. Over 100,000 people have been evacuated and there are millions and millions of dollars worth of damage so far. The majority of downtown is underwater, Sean's office is underwater, major highways are underwater, the Calgary Stampede Grounds, set to hold the world-famous event in 13 short days, are completely submerged, and the Saddledome stadium is flooded up to the 14th row of seats. Entire homes have been destroyed and 3 people so far have been confirmed dead. It is a very sobering experience to see a thing like this first hand, and my eyes have shed more tears for my city in the past 3 days than I can count. I was not personally effected or evacuated, but parts of the lower half of my community were, as well as over 20 other neighbourhoods throughout the city. Many of my closest friends are now homeless or displaced for an undetermined amount of time. As far as we can tell the worst is over, but the cleanup and rebuilding process is going to take MONTHS. The strength and resilience of my beautiful city that I have witnessed throughout this disaster has been inspiring. Our Mayor, Naheed Nenshi, has been nothing short of incredible as a leader through all of this. The City of Calgary and Calgary Police Service have been working around the clock to ensure the safety of our citizens. A huge shout out to the Search and Rescue crews, Emergency Medical Services, and the Calgary Fire Department for their amazing efforts, and to the Canadian Military for being on the scene in less than 24 hours to aid in flood relief. The power of human compassion has once again left me speechless, and reminds me that as a whole, people are mostly good. There have been images of men swimming down flooded streets to save stray cats, people seeking refuge in motorboats floating down roadways, rescue operations performed by tractors and combines (true Alberta style!) people being airlifted from their flooded homes, firemen carrying the elderly to safety, and endless efforts by the public to take care of each other. One staggering figure suggested that out of the 100,000 evacuees, only 1,500 needed to turn to emergency shelters. That means 98,500 citizens were taken in by family and friends during a time of need. Incredible. I have never been more proud to be a Calgarian, and there is no doubt in my mind that we will be able to rebuild our beautiful city together.
I think that's about all I have to say for now. I'm going to go for a run down by the flood plain and see how she's looking. Hope you all have a lovely weekend <3
xo-ac
