New year, new blog (a little late, just like me)

I'm here because my brain has been threatening me lately.
It's threatening to explode if I don't get some of these thoughts out. So here goes.. wish me luck.

There are a few things in my life I like to call the 'Big Ones'. The 'Big Ones' are those things in life that really rock the shit out of you if they encounter any big changes. For me they consist of the following:
1. Family
2. Friends
3. Love Life
4. Career/Goals
5. Physical Condition/Weight
6. Living Situation
7. Sanity

Since this is my first entry, I thought I would break them down for you one at a time to give you a better feel of who I am and where I'm coming from in hopes that you can give me an idea of where to go.

Number One: Family

Really not much to complain about here. My family is about as sane as they'll ever be, which is not at all, which is exactly how I like them. They're a very small, very loving, very eccentric group of women with the exception of my grandfather, the patriarch and my cousin Eugene, the misfit.

My mother has been taking in foster children since I was 11 years old. In my opinion, this was her way of making up for the loss of my father (he died when I turned 11). So it's her and about a million little kids running around her small 4 bedroom cottage. She does alright, but sometimes I worry about her with all those children tuggin gat her brain at all times.

My aunt Cindy, middle child, decided to move to New Hampshire after living here in Mass. with her husband for about 20 years. They recently divorced and with my uncle went their 16 year old son, Eugene, and my aunts sanity. It's been a bitter ordeal and I worry about her all the time.

My aunt Sandra moved away to Florida about 4 1/2 years ago. My cousin Amanda, only two years younger than me, went with her. They are both doing well, good jobs, good men. We don't hear from them as much as we should, but I'm sure they are happy.

I like to think of my grandmother as the 'glue'. She's fairly quiet, but only compared to the rest of us and she's super opinionated. And don't argue, just nod your head. She won't scold you, but you'll never live it down. Oh and she has the biggest heart in this world.

I have siblings all over the country, however I am my mother's only biological child. I have an adopted sister, step-sister, step-brothers, foster siblings, half-sisters and one half-brother supposedly (he might be a myth). I don't have the energy to type them all out. When it becomes necessary, I will explain them.

Number Two: Friends

This one is pretty basic as well. I have a lot. I don't have any that I call 'best'. And we mostly drink. I guess you could say I have a lot of 'pals'. I have a few that are closer than others. The most frequent friends lately have been Kerin, Jenn, Kate, Kaci, Kim and Adam. You'll see this list change often. You know how friends are.. it comes in spurts.

Number Three: Love Life

Oh this is suuuuuch a big one. Do you mind if I maybe do this one for ya tomorrow or something? I mean this is only my first entry... don't want to get too intense on you. Besides, this one will make for a good, juicy read.


Number Four: Career/Goals

This is probably one of my proudest arenas. I have done everything I've wanted to and thensome so far. I graduated from Johnson & Wales University this past spring with my Bachelor's Degree in Travel & Tourism Management and two minors, one in Ecotourism and one in Journalism. Let me explain how I tie this all up. I want to be a travel writer someday.. very tight market to tap. But I am making some progress. I've traveled a lot and I've usually written about everywhere I've gone. Until recently, I hadn't done anything with the things I had written. But now that I'm finally settled into my own place and have time to myself (i.e. - single) I had started poking around the internet to see what I could see. And it turns out that not only can I write well, someone was actually iterested in reading it!! How exciting. So I sold my first story. Very proud. And they paid a whopping 4 American dollars! Psyched! Hey, I don't care about the pay at this point. I'm just so happy that someone thinks I have talent. What do you think? Let me know: www.associatedcontent.com My first article is about Guatemalan Ecotourism. Two topics very close to my heart as I lived and studied there 2 summers ago. I absolutely fell in love. Head over heels.

Anyway, officially I work for Liberty Travel, as a travel consultant. So it all fits in so far. I'm hoping eventually to be a big, bad writer in NYC. Either that or a fat homemaker here in New England. We'll see..

Number Five: Physical Condition/Weight

Doing alright so far in this department.
Height: 6'2" tall
Weight: 137 lbs. (a little more than usual, but so what?)
Health: Well let me get back to this one in a future post because I just finally got health insurance recently and will be attending my first doctor's appointment in at least 4 years. So I'm sure I will have a whole list of things to rant about then.

Number Six: Living Situation

This one is good too as of right now. I have my own apartment in a good side of town. Some would call it small, I prefer the word cozy. Some think I pay a little too much, but it includes all utilities and I can afford it so I don't care. Although, my lease is up next month and god knows once I'm not legally bound to something, my mind does wander. I would like to stay here a while, but I am a little nervous about one thing. My landlord (hott, British, has a live-in girlfriend, trouble) is doing over the apartment on the side of mine and so far no has lived there yet. It's loud work, but I don't mind that. This is what I do mind: I can hear their every word. I can hear their conversations about pipes and plumbing. I can hear their arguments about money and budget. And I can even here him when he's working in there alone singing along to classical music. (it's adorable, don't laugh) This means when someone actually lives there, it's gonna be a whole new ball game. Plus, they can most likely hear me.. I do not feel comfortable with that. At all.

Number Seven: Sanity

No hope for it.


'Till next time!
-Frankie