Cuenta Regresiva!

Or countdown, for my English-speaking readers. 11 days until I arrive in Augusto Sandino Airport in smelly, dirty, hot and beautiful Managua. I absolutely cannot wait, although not having my SIT crew to lean on is going to be jarring and draining at first (with whom will I esnuglear and yell obscenities?). Buuut the Manna crew looks more and more awesome each day and I'm excited for the year ahead. We're going to do amazing things, I just know it.

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"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

I'll never love perfectly, but every year I love you better than I did the year before.

xkcd says it all

To be honest, one of the things I love about discussing Nicaragua with older people is that so many of them tell me, "If I could do it over again, I would do exactly what you're doing." It might still be because I'm a doe-eyed young 21 year old, but I want my life to be as exciting and interesting and fast-paced for as long as possible. Two comics that perfectly sum up what I want my life and career to look like to the world:

http://xkcd.com/308 and http://xkcd.com/59

I might not be traveling the world or starting a new Partners In Health, but I never want to seriously doubt the worth of my work or feel like I'm wasting my life. Ever. However, I would like to be very active and sometimes on the move, so starting a family could be a little tricky...especially if my future husband leads a similarly semi-nomadic life. But I guess these sort of things work out.

Hot off the presses: Nicaragua is officially poorer than Haiti. Great, thanks for nothing Daniel Ortega. The next time one of my Sandinista boys gives me their propaganda mierda I am going to verbally smack them. Dios.

But hey, only one month and three days more :o)

Working downtown

....is a lot of fun. I secured a 9-5 (really a 9-whenever i go home between 5:30 and 6:30) in downtown and in my favoritest part of the city. My coworkers are great, the pay is great, and while the work is so-so it's temp work so what can you expect. Overall I'm having a great time, earning a couple months' pay for Nicaragua, and making some fun and very entertaining acquaintances. I work at a place that hires court reporters and processes transcripts for very important cases. Today I was especially happy because instead of being wedded to a computer and mind-numbingly importing/editing/processing transcripts, I got to do all that but also go to bind, put together packages, and joke around with the guys in the production room. I spent the day being productive while quoting Princess Bride and Spaceballs and listening to the guys quote every other comedic movie I know from Holy Grail to Employee of the Month.

Of course, I'd like to be in a different sort of business if/when I move back to the D.C. area, but it's reassuring to know that there are fun people everywhere. It's also gotten me vaguely interested in law school again. Maybe.

New resolutions for this last month in the States:
1. Eat healthy again like last summer.
2. Exercise in the morning before work. Honestly, it's the only time I'll do it since I'm not taking lunches anymore to exercise.
3. Be 90% packed for Nicaragua a week before I leave.
4. Go to sleep by 11 pm every week night.

Ready.....go.