Post-Graduate Life...wait, what?

So...as most of you know, or I would hope you know that I am back in the America i.e. "the land of the free?" I question this little pseudonym for the U.S. of A., considering America (or its nicknames) is kind of the opposite of being "free,"it is actually traveling where you (or I) feel the most free. I would have to say that any country or any place a person resides for too long is the antonym of free.

Taking off from Koh Samuii Airport and seeing the Southern Thailand islands leave my sight is now just a memory. The fact that I have to be a real person, figure out what I want to do with  my life and the notion that to really get anywhere, I am going to need some money (which I have never been particularly good at saving) was a drastic slap-in-the-face upon my return. I typically broke this reality with a little college reunion in Chicago with my friends where we enjoyed the good life embracing North Coast Music Festival and dancing until the wee hours of the morning.
I realize this may be a little dramatic of me about the whole "being a real person, slap-in-the-face" rhetoric. You may even say that it is just a part of life, coming back to the real world and out of travel "la la land," but I am not ready to step out of this land quite yet. For now though, there are ups and downs to being back home in Boulder, but if my travels taught me anything this past summer, it is to BE IN THE PRESENT (thank you Yoga Retreat, Koh Phangan and my wonderful teacher Adrianne).

I have really been trying to appreciate where I am at in life and to generally accept that with time...I will figure out what I want out of it.  I feel as though I am at a time where its never going to be easier to discover the world, travel and learn beyond the borders. I am going-on 23 years old (great number if you ask me and my dog MJ), therefore I am young-- and well...that's enough reason for me.  

Post-grad life is quite surreal. Its like you are caught between this weird reality and wondering if what you did the past four years in school will be the make-up of your entire life ahead of you. I, (as for I can say many of my friends) have realized that what I studied is not what I want to do with the rest of my life. I only have one of these things called life and I am sure not going to settle for something I know will make me utterly unhappy. Post-grads is a middle-way from being a kid and being an adult, and the adult part sits well with me in some arenas, but I have no desire to grow up too fast. There's plenty of time for a 9-5 occupation and truthfully...I think I have a lot more creative edge than being unhappy sitting at a desk and frantically applying to do so in the meantime. I know what I like to do (write, listen to music, clothing, art etc.) and I know I will figure out how to incorporate these things so I will have a fulfilling future.

For now, presently...life isn't too shabby. We are in the midst of the Jewish High-Holiday's and it really feels good to be home and eat all of my mothers delicious Jew foods to celebrate the new year and atone for all! (if you are a gentile, JEW FOOD: latkes, brisket, matzo ball soup, apples/honey, challah, bagels, lox, throw in some koogel and you have yourself a new year! I guess you could compare it to a gentile HAM on Christmas? I don't know...whatever

There's some great things about going to temple in Boulder. Looking around the congregation, you feel comforted by the fact that the apparel could easily be mistaken for the easy-island living-style I became accustomed too in Southern Thailand. Here, at Congregation Har Hashem it is perfectly acceptable to wear jeans, keens, or any shoe in the teva-type family. Something also similar to Southeast Asia, the fact that I am the tallest person in synagogue thanks to my brothers absence.

Obviously my life has taken a drastic turn from the bungalow life of Koh Phangan, hammock sleeping and $2 street food meals I miss terribly. First off,  I now have roommates! Thankfully, all three (see below) have bestowed the utmost confidence in me and my future endeavors, wherever they may take me.

Id like to introduce you to Dr. Cathy Jo Cohn and Dr. Gilad Gordon (for a majority by the time). Cathy...she really does it all. She cooks for me, is a therapist by profession and roomie extraordinaire! The second is Gilad, an Israeli, a doctor and sometimes known as "Dr. Gordon." One would think this household is awfully uptight, with two PH.D's, but let me tell you! Having those PHD's in the house is really...the ideal living situation. The house is very clean, they are very willing to offer rides if needed and they usually accompany me in meals while paying at the same time!

I also get the privilege of residing with a different roommate if I choose as well, thanks to the modern divorce-rate percentages. This is the ideal living situation as well, living with this guy...he goes by the name of Richard Harris. Actually, no one really calls him Richard, he is better known as Daddy, Dick or Dickie if you are a part of his childhood.There's always two golden retrievers willing to greet you with smiles and ferocious wagging-tails when you come in to the house. He supplies my addiction to rare steak and garlic ranch dressing quite nicely and generally...is pretty tidy. 

Other than living with my parents, I am currently supporting my shopping habits by being the manager at a store on pearl street called Savvy. I have worked here when I came home from school for quite awhile and the owner recently opened a new store in Santa Barbara, so I have taken over the Boulder store. Sometimes, I get down about not being in the unknown world anymore, but with a little bit of denial, a little bit of yoga and a lot of Boulder's sunshine I am very okay with where I am at currently.

Fashion's Night Out on Pearl Street...this is where I discovered that although I might be as tall as a model, in no way, shape or form should I ever be a model nor have the desire to be one either.

If I am ever feeling a little down, this one will turn it around in about ten seconds. Some may say she is special/not the smartest crayon in the box. She's a deep thinker and currently undergoing Liza's ROTC boot camp for some weight loss in the next couple months. This is us enjoying Boulder's Senitas trail.