You Say Goodbye, and I say Hello

The last two days in Sedalia finally came. People brought in food our last day (11/16) to give a warm Mid-Western goodbye. It was sad to leave because everyone is SOOO NICE! They are so warm and friendly. We were so full from all the food people brought in, we were snacking all day, so we didnt even take a lunch break. We eventually started our goodbye tour around the facility. It was sad and lasted about 2 hours...much longer than anticipated. Eventually, Lindsay and I walked out of the Sedalia facility for the last time together. We went home early so we could start packing. Well...I started to pack, Lindsay took a nap. Then we re-grouped to go out with some of the guys from work as a farewell party.

I had been debating on going all week because they wanted to go bar-hopping. (Bar-hopping in Sedalia consists of going to Fritters, the sports bar and then to Dukes 'N Boots, the western bar) I decided to go and eat with everyone and then leave if they were getting super drunk, because I hate being around drunk people. So we went to the place a little late...only for Lindsay to forget her ID. We ran back home and decided to pick up Sage as well so we wouldnt have to drive seperate cars. We went and arrived around 7:30....everyone had been there since 6. #fashionablylate We all hung out. I was really confused when the waitress asked to see my ID for ordering a strawberry lemonade, and she apologized and explained there is an alcoholic strawberry lemonade too. #heckno so we chatted and hung out before going to Duke 'N Boots. Can I just say....it was quite the experience, and I ended staying till midnight because we were having SO MUCH FUN! I had shirley temples all night long as we hit the dance floor. Lindsay and I finally line danced together! It had been a goal of Lindsay's to line dance ever since we got to Missouri. Mika was soooo funny and kept asking us to dance. I didnt realize that two-stepping is not like riding a bicycle, I didnt remember how to do it very well. Sage made a new friend. But it was great on the dance floor. We even saw a guy from work there on a date, and he photo bombed 2 of our pics, because Sage found a disposable camera from years ago and we all decided we would take pics with her camera all night. The guys wanted to go cow tipping after the bar that night, but I drove us girls home and they stayed behind. Lindsay told me the next morning they went, but all the cows ran away when they got somewhat close, so they gave up. But I went home, and ended up doing wash because my clothes smelled of cigarette smoke. I hate cigarette smoke. Truth be told, it was a good last night in Sedalia.

Saturday (11/17) I did my last minute packing, dropped off my recycling and the city recycling bins, and I dropped off my extra food at Cody's , where she gifted me a really cute blue necklace she made me. SOOOO SWEET! That's after she made me a really cute flower that she left on my door last night. She's too nice. I then picked up Lindsay and we met Sage for our last meal together. We went to Kayde's where i got a root beer float for my drink...yes....and i got their delectable baked beans as a side dish. Seriously, some of the best baked beans ever!!!! It was sad that we were leaving, but we went home to do last minute things, and waited for sage to finish running some errands before packing up the car and heading to Kansas City for the night. It was a sad goodbye....and we had just got in the car to drive away when Sage wants another round of hugs and starts to cry. Truth Time: crying girls make me nervous. seriously. Poor Sage. She's going to be left all alone in Sedalia. So we drove up to Kansas City and went straight to dinner for some sushi as our last meal. The second time we're saying goodbye to a place together. It was a chilly autumn night as we walked from the restaurant to the movies so we could see Skyfall. So good. We drove to the hotel and as we were going to our rooms, we realized it was going to be the last time we're together till who-knows-when. It was sad. After 6 months of being together everyday, working and playing together, it was time to part ways. It didnt feel like goodbye; it felt like we were going to see each other on Monday.

When I woke up Sunday (11/18) morning, I felt like i was going to meet Lindsay in the hall...but she was gone. She had an earlier flight and took the hotel shuttle. It was up to me to return the rental. I drove there, and luckily because of my huge luggage, a Hertz guy drove me and some other business guy to our terminals. I flew back to Houston and my big broseph picked me up at the airport. We went back to his place to chilax and have brunch together. He then drove me to my new home...in a hotel. Yeah, did i mention I live in a hotel now? yeah. I dont feel grown-up enough to be living in a hotel. But, he helped me move and and once again (germany déjà vu) I needed hangers. On our way out to church, I asked the front desk to get me some more hangers. the lady asked "how many?" and I said, "about 20 or 30" and she looked at me like i was crazy until realizing that I was living there for the next few months. At church, saryah had drove up too and all three of us were at church together. it was so nice! The best part was, the peterson's were there! and i sat next to them. they are too funny. After church they had a little mingle session over rice crispy treats. yum. i love rice crispy treats. We had our first new tradition of having family Sunday dinners at home. I had a really good first night back and had to take a taxi back to my place so I could be there to pick up my rental car they were dropping off for me. 

Monday (11/19) I woke up super early to be ready to get my car and drive to a dentist's appointment back home. The car people were late, and couldnt figure out where I live. There is only the hotel and a BBQ restaurant on the street I live on. Really guys? So I got the car and drove to my dentist appointment late. Then I went home and knew someone was home but no one was answering. It freaked me out, so i hid in the game room under my HP blanket for protection....only to have my dad come in from the backyard and I realized it was him who was home. I then fell asleep for 3 hours of the floor until my dad woke me up for my doctor's appointment. I'm a genius. I got there late, and the doctor was even later to see me. I got some kolaches for lunch for me and my dad. We hung out and I eventually went back to my place and a B&N to get a NOOK cover, because I already scratched my NOOK screen...oops. 

Tuesday (11/20) was my first day at work, and I felt awkward and alone....pretty much all week. No friends for Natasha. And I sit with my back to the bosses and it's awkward. I found out that my boss (who isn't even at my same office) couldnt meet with me till next week. So i had nothing to do all week. I was taken out to lunch by the plant manager and some other people in charge, and i felt so awkward, but tried my best to be social. Normally it's lindsay who is the social one, and i just get to benefit from the fruit of her social labors. Soooo much work. The only good thing about my first day in my new location was that I got to spend it with Lindsay anyways; we kept each other company through work IM all day, so i didn't feel so lonely. At the end of the work day, I tried to leave only to have my car keys stuck in the ignition (sedalia déjà vu). The car wouldnt start or anything. I called Enterprise, and they sent a new car over. I was so annoyed. 

When I got into work (11/21), I tried to get onto my computer and it was locked. I couldnt get access. I had to call the IT office to get them to unlock it remotely. Ridiculous. I realized last night that I left my leather jacket in the rental car and wanted them to unlock the car for me so I could get it out. When I called, they said that they couldnt get the keys out and had to leave them in last night when they left. I double checked and there were no keys in the ignition. Everyone was really confused. Plus, I had been calling so much, the car guy, Reid, recognized my number now. It turns out when one of the guys at work came in the car had somehow started itself and it was on, so he turned the car off and took the keys. Ridiculous. I left work and went shopping for a bit only to not buy anything because it was one of those days where everything made me look fat. So I went back to my hotel and laid out to get some much needed Vitamin D. YAY! It was so nice and relaxing. then I made the drive to my Aunt Son's house. I haven't been to her house since I was much younger. I honestly cant remember the last time I was there. #enoughsaid I got to see my grandma which was the best! she's too cool for school and my uncle john! yaya! Then my family showed up. It was nice. My mom and grandma saw the Gangum Style music video for the first time. (luckily i saw it about a week ago, so im cooler). My grandma said it was scary and she didnt like it. lol. I wasn't tired on the drive home, so saryah and i went to go see Pitch Perfect that night. #win

it was a HAPPY THANKSGIVING (11/22) when we went back to the Woodlands to have thanksgiving. it was nice and calm. the most strange thing that happened was my dad watching american football. me, him, and ron watched the Texans game. #strangethanksgiving but it was nice. we went back home and spent the rest of the night chillaxing. I spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with my parents and it was a lot of fun.

las hermanas came over for dinner! one of them was from new zealand #win

 Monday (11/26) I was able to meet with my boss, Addy, and talk about my project. I came here really not even knowing what my project was going to be. I had a general one-liner description, but that was it. He's super nice and cool. I was happy to get started working. We literally had about 4 hours of conference calling that afternoon. It was crazy. I had my first meeting after work with a personal trainer to get fit. I went out with my new friend Brittany to Bible study downtown on Wednesday and had nutella crepes at my fav crepe place. that was probably the best part of the week. Sadly, the week went downhill from there as my mid-life crisis depression started worsening.  I almost got to hang out with my scottish high school friend, Calum, but he had to go back to scotland before we made time to see each other #sadday That's right...i said mid-life crisis. Which means, i'll probably die in my late 40's, early 50's. #clairvoyant But seriously. Life was sooo boring and without meaning. I never realized how important it was to have purpose and direction in your life until you are without it. I was bored at work and bored with life. I wasn't sleeping much because all i could think was...oh no...if you go to sleep it starts all over again tomorrow! All I wanted to do was make it through the week so I could go home Friday night.

Finally/Miraculously, Friday (11/30) came around. I got a new rental car with a USB port and a working phone charger part. After work and after the gym, I drove home. And my dad had bought ice cream...Blue Bell ice cream. The magical cure-all. We ate and I talked. He suggested we go walk around the mall. While we were there, I decided to get him so grown-up casual shoes, something my dad has never owned. Luckily, we found something, and they joy of helping others came back into my life. lol. When we got home, i started feeling inspired from our conversations, and I goals started coming into my mind. It was great! It started getting late, and mom insisted that i stay the night. Doneskis. Also, unlike dad previously told me, mom wanted to go to costa rica with me. yay! And i found out that two friends from high school live in Houston and want to hang out! Friends!

Athena reminding me, you're never too old
to climb on kitchen counters :)

Saturday morning (12/1) I booked me and mom's flights to costa rica!!!! We are set. Then I started the drive  to Austin for my sister date with Athena!!! YAY! We had this on the calendar forever. I was so excited. I got there and we went on a walk around the city and had lunch at whole foods. It was really nice. we just chatted and walked together. We got back to her place after a while and watched some alias. #yesplease We then went to pick up her new bike, which is too big, and biked to whole foods to pick up some ingredients for dinner and dessert. At one point, she stopped suddenly and i swerved to miss running into her...however, my foot was not so lucky and hit the basket on the back of her bike. A week later, i still suffer from bruising. lol. it was fun. even if we bought green onions and thought they were chives. hahaha. we biked back, and i did surprisingly well suppressing my fear of the bike going out from underneath me as I make turns (cue flashback to my first and only mountain biking attempt). We went back and I got to watch Athena make us a meal. The dinner part wasn't as good as it looked in the recipe book, but the bread pudding was GREAT! We had a lot of fun before I drove back home. The best part was her advice. I told her about my lack of purpose and drive in life...she suggested a bucket list for 2013; little things i can do over the upcoming year. I'm excited and inspired.

I already have 3 things on my list 

             German class -

                golf lessons -

Tai Chi in the summer -

This past week was much better. I was a busy little bee. sunday (2/2) was good, especially since mom made an English roast and dad made an apple rhubarb crumble. yum yum. Monday was nice, and i had a personal FHE with myself as i went to see the Houston Temple. Tuesday, I had to go back home to pick up something from the dentist, so i spend the whole evening at home, and it was super fun. saryah is determined i need an expensive adult purse. personally....i would rather spend my money on travelling than on expensive personal items. but i should try to do better. As Kevin reminded me so kindly on Wednesday morning...YOLO!!!!!!! I've been planning the trip to Costa Rica all week and trust me....it's going to be Legen-wait for it-dary! That's right guys. I have even booked our surf lesson for Christmas morning. I'm going to spend Christmas surfing the waves in Costa Rica. I. Cant. Wait. I'm also looking into repelling in waterfalls. traveling to from Monteverde to Arenal on horseback. It's going to be adventure filled. If this doesn't break up the monotony of my life....i dont know what will. A couple times this week, i feel like im channeling Dena, who is my super adventurous, outdoorsy, super hott friend. aka...she's me, but adventurous and a red-head :) Life is looking up. I'm feeling more inspired and goal-oriented. I once again, I have direction in my life...and that makes me happy.

A Quote from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland: 
Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to
Alice: I don't much care where.
The Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.
Alice: …so long as I get somewhere.
The Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.

Köln Time

Work was very productive Friday (24 Aug) as we only have a handful of days left of work, so I was feeling the pressure to get my last project done so I can start on a presentation I have to give to upper management about what I've been working on these past few months in Germany. But with a little miracle, I was able to finish my project in time for me to catch the train to the central station so I could head off into the sunset to Köln to spend the weekend with Marijn & Lukas. I know we just hung out in the Netherlands, but let me just say, I love these guys. There is so much love and sillyness between us, and they always take care of me, so I never have to worry about a thing.

Anyways. I got to Köln a little late due to the train...plus, I wasn't able to do any work as I was planning, because when I had my computer out on the train, my mind was blank. So i just listened to my iPod till I got there. As soon as I got off the train, my first thought was "dang, we didn't decided where we were going to meet", so I started walking and luckily I looked down the stairs and saw them immediately. YAY! It took us a while to get out because somebody was having problems figuring out where the exit was and ignoring where the crowd was going. lolz.

Lukas, me, and Marijn. How can you not love them with faces like these?

Marijn got to Köln earlier that day but we all me up so Lukas could take us home. He had prepared dinner for us, but kicked me & Marijn out of the kitchen to finish cooking so it would be a surprise. It was! It was soooo good. He made yummy food, and even though it wasn't a bake, it was great :) We cleaned up, and i must say, Lukas has a sweet flat. it's very nicely decorate. They decided to tell me that Marijn didn't want to do anything super touristy on Saturday since he's already been to Köln, so they decided we should go to the zoo. I love the zoo. and I love the fact that Lukas found a theme song for our  trip to the zoo!

So we relaxed for a bit before going out for the night. It was so fun to be able to speak in Spanglish again. (spanglish is my favorite language!)There were a couple of places to go and when they asked where i wanted to go, my response was "ME-XI-COOOO!!!!" So we went to a Mexican place as it started to lightly drizzle. We sat under a tree only to decide to move under the patio, which was a brilliant idea. Because shortly after, it started to POUR and become super windy. It was there that I learned "Sour Makes Funny" as Germans say. because I had a very bitter lime drink. after all the rain subsided, we went to a Russian place, where I got a nice nonalcoholic cocktail called...THE COMMUNIST YOUTH!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! As much as I'm not a big fan of communism, the name is wicked brilliant! We stayed out until I started to get super ridiculous from being so tired and almost falling asleep.

So this is a sign at the zoo. Is it just me,
or do you see this and think that a big bird
is going to steal  baby?

Saturday morning started off beautifully to a impromptu dance party thanks to a forever classic S Club 7 song I always had stuck in my head back in Spain, Bring it All Back. It was awesome! Lukas made us a yummy late breakfast and we went off for the day. We went up the KölnTriangle Observation deck for a beautiful 360-degree view of the city, without having to climb tons of stairs. (elevators are a blessing). We then walked across Hohenzollernbrücke railway bridge, where people put locks on the bridge as symbols of love. It's a beautiful site :) And we even found that someone put one up for me and lukas. and marijn found out that his girlfriend has cheated on him twice ;) lolz. We then headed to the zoo and loved seeing all the animals and i loved that they have a raccoon in the Köln Zoo. A RACCOON! Brilliant! Also, we found out that an hour and a half before we got to the zoo, a tiger had killed a zoo worker and had was shot during it's daring escape. What are the odds? We had a lovely day at the zoo and went to a brewery so we could try some raw meat. Mettbrötchen; it's a German thing where you eat raw meat on bread. It didn't kill me. YAY! Then we got Marijn fed with a kebab while we sat along the Rhine River, people watching and singing songs. Then we had to say goodbye. It was soooooo sad. Hopefully it won't be another 3 years before we get to hang out. I'm already trying promising him super cool things when he comes to visit in Texas, like BBQ! Yum Yum. As we said goodbye to him at the train station, Lukas and I stayed till it left and made funny signals through the windows. we waved handkerchiefs in farewell and the train pulled out and we declared our love for Marijn in the most dramatic way possible :) Then the real party began. JUST KIDDING! We went down the shopping street, and in one store the new Adidas type store, there was a cardigan and i was saying it was for girls and lukas thought it was for boys and we were arguing until a worker informed us it was for boys. i pity the boy that is seen in that cardigan. We went to a resturant next to St. Anton's church called...Stanton. haha. it's combined! get it? it was nice until I was so full I couldnt eat anymore. Lukas told me I had to finish all my plate or there would be bad weather the next day. I didn't believe in his superstition. (btw. it rained and was super windy the next day, aka, sunday). We went to a beach bar on top of the roof of a parking garage afterwards, where there was a gorgeous view of the city at night. I loved it. and the Cologne Cathedral looked wonderful. It was cold though, so we walked a bit before heading in for the night.

 Sunday morning was another great breakfast after sleeping in much later. I also got to look at the pictures to the book of the most random facts about Köln. It explained why there is a giant upside-down ice cream cone on the top of a random building, and explained about the statue of a man poo-ing on the side of a building 4 stories high. It was pretty epic. So we took of to do all the sightseeing we weren't allowed to do with Marijn. We had a jolly-good day as we were singing throughout the day and enjoying ourselves. One thing I discovered was people are just very chatty with Lukas. We would be at a site, and just randomly start talking to Lukas. Por ejemplo, at the Tünnes and Schäl statues, we were taking a pic and then some random couple started talking to us and led us to a Carnival memorial. Then we were looking at a flood memorial and some guy started telling us about how Neil Armstrong died. Sad. Except Lukas is so clever, he found out this morning. We went to the Köln Cathedral, but there was a service going on then and throughout the afternoon.
We went to a great pastry place for a snack and it was sooo pretty! And the guy behind the counter spoke spanish, so I could understand him and chat with him. There was a point during our pastry time that he asked me in Spanish if everything was alright and I responded in german. haha. then i realized what i did and responded in Spanish. We then wandered to see the Circus in the Park, but i guess because of the weather, it was cancelled. it was pretty windy. So we played on the bench swing for a bit and then went on a walk in the park where there was a tall stump that had been cut. Lukas joked that I should climb in and then made me do it! I had to literally climb on his shoulders. I was so scared I would be blown off and it only got worse as Lukas climbed up too. So we were about 8 feet in the air on a tree stump with about a 1-foot diameter. I don't know how we fit. I thought I was going to fall off. Lukas helped me down, and i'm pretty sure it took about 5 minutes after for my heart rate to get back to normal. We walked to the Kölner Seilbahn (Cable Car for Cologne), which is the safest mode of transportation in Köln. And went over the Rhine River and down to the Rheinpark to see the pacifier tree, where people put a baby's pacifier on there when the child is done with it. It was kinda awesome. Our time was coming to a close, and we went to get my luggage and Lukas and Lukas lost it as we were eating. It was good we weren't in an airport where my left luggage would have been destroyed. Luckily, it was all good. Some guy at the train station thought we were lost and offered to help until he realized that Lukas was German. Lolz. The cars of the train were confuzzled, so I was nervous I wouldn't find my spot, but I sat down and looked out the window to see Lukas acting super sad over my leaving and dramatically saying goodbye. I love my friends. I think the saddest part was when Lukas told me,  "I'm going to miss having someone to sing with" ich auch, lukas. ich auch.  

The train ride back was pretty uneventful. I read one of the books I bought at the Stansted Aiport in London on sale. #win. It is a murder mystery. the first one i've ever read. I don't think i'm made for murder mysteries. i'm pretty sure i already know who did it, and so all the little details are what i need to know, but it takes forever! i guess the story isn't moving quickly enough, but i'm trying not to finish it so i can have an english book to read on the plane back to america on thursday.