After nearly four months of no new posts on my "wildly" "popular" blog I have decided to return.I have had an awesome summer and so far a busy, unpredictable fall. I feel that before I can begin to write about life as of October I should update "everyone" on life since graduation.
Graduation was a crazy week filled with visiting and personal tours of my home for the last 3 years. From the mission to the beaches, from the great food to the great views, and yes I cant leave out YogurtLand I was excited to show off Santa Barbara. I cant thank mom enough for doing a lot of organization to bring people from all over. Though I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with everyone I was so happy to have everyone there to celebrate. I finished UCSB with a GPA of 3.2 and even though I still have not received it in the mail I now have a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences.Here are some pictures from that weekend
Right after graduation I went to work cleaning and packing as moving day was fast approaching. On July 1st I moved in with Carolyn to the infamous Transition Ranch. Over the last 2 1/2 years this ranch has been home to many of our friends many of whom were very much in-between things. Now that Carolyn and I finally find ourselves under the same roof and life is so much easier. If you haven't already visited the ranch I recommend coming to visit while we are still here. Mountain views, horses, a fire pit, horse shoe pit, chicken coup, newly decorated office, garden, and huge yard that is just a short walk to one of the prettiest views in SB is not something you want to miss.
The last box had barely been unpacked before I took off on a nine day excursion to the Sierras with James (aka Jonesy). Taking a where the road takes us approach we headed out to Yosemite then the Pacific crest trail further north. In addition to hiking 50 miles of trails (largely in two days) we hit some natural rock slides, attempted fishing, and boated in a hail storm. Yosemite was beautiful and camping with Jones was non-stop laughs. Here are a few highlights:
Next up was a fundraiser for CIMWI aboard the Condor express whale watching ship out of the Santa Barbara harbor. Carolyn worked hard to help plan the event that was a huge success, raising lots of money for our marine mammal friends. Special thanks goes out to the Turner clan who traveled down to help the cause helping to feed Sea Lions.
Then it was time to get out my sleeping bag again to head off to camp. I cant tell you how exciting it was to finally get back to camp after a 10 year hiatus. Not only was I going but I was able to bring Carolyn and my former roommate Seth. I was delighted to share this experience with people I love and bring great people into the camp Okizu family. After training and orientation we were all placed in respective cabin groups. I (Gumby) had the 14-15 year old boy cabin, Carolyn (Lily) had 8-10 year old girls, and Seth (Spongy) had 8-10 year old boys. We all used every ounce of energy we had bringing constant fun and positivity to the kids all week. In the end we were exhausted but could not have asked for a more meaningful or rewarding experience. I am pretty sure we will all be back next year. Let me know if you want to come next year too!
From camp we all went our separate ways. I breezed through Lodi 'cause I had this wedding thing to go to. No big deal just performing the marriage ceremony for my best friend in front of 200 guests. The ceremony went off without a hitch and my speech went over well. Mike was the event DJ and did a fantastic job. Pretty cool to all be there and be involved in such a big way. Dave is now a married man in part to Rev. Wooddall.
Once home the party finally had to end. Funds were running low and an opportunity presented itself that I had to take. In August I started a new job at CARE emergency clinic in downtown SB. The hours were grueling but the pay was good. Unable to find a job doing something other than vet tech work, I took the job with little hope of actually enjoying it. We all have to do what we have to do, when we have to do it, right?
August turned to September and on September 1st Carolyn and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. We celebrated big with a wonderfully spontaneous trip to Portland Oregon. Carolyn happened to have frequent flyer miles and I happened to have a few days off of work and so we went!. Portland was a cool city with great food. The food at every restaurant we ate at was above average even if the service was not. The rose garden, Japanese garden, waterfalls, and wine country were all highlights of the trip. We also took in an interesting show at Dante's Inferno Night Club that was a combination of circus act, freak show, and strip tease. Definitely a uniquely Portland experience that provides context to the popular bumper stickers that say "Keep Portland Weird".
Lets see what else.... oh yeah we decided to adopt! Her name is Ginger and you can read all about her on Carolyn's blog. She's very cute and excited to meet all of you soon.
Thus concludes my summer wrap up. I am sure that I missed plenty of fun and interesting things I did this summer. If I stumble upon anything else worth noting I will retroactively post. Summer was non-stop fun and truly one of the best summer breaks I've ever had. Unfortunately all good things must end and has summer ends and fall begins the reality of post-graduation life is setting in. Stay tuned for a posting in the next few days that details life in October.
