As of March 31st I will no longer have to listen to the excessive arguing of the five person family inhabiting the two bedroom apartment below me, nor will their television stir me from my sleep at midnight, oh and I can altogether forget what it sounds like when the couple next to me (erm)...procreates, yeah procreates is a nice way of saying that the people next to me should explore their sado-sides and invest  perhaps in a ball gag! I am done with this management neglected, four walled excuse of an apartment. The garbage strewn lawn will forever be present in my memory,  the graveyard of dead cars with violation stickers in hues of bright pink and orange known as the parking lot will leave such an impression on me, the laundry room with its broken down appliances and puddles on the floor that was taken away from me without notice will always make me stop and think, and as much as I hate to I will have to respond to the beautification bbq with a will not be attending! I will be far, far away from the sound of fighting children and their screaming parents!  I know that leaving my current dwellings is not going to send me to instant bliss, that from here on out is a struggle all its own, but this is step one. Australia is one step closer after March 31st. and as much as I have grieved that in which I am leaving behind, the excitement is trickling in slowly but surely. I an about two weeks away from saying goodbye to Barnes & Noble, my employer for the last nine years, this in itself is quite a feat. The people there have become family to me, I started there as an immature 19 year old  and have since grown into an immature 28 year old (lol), in all seriousness B&N has been not only my source of income for such a large part of my life, but also a source of strength. It was with some of my closest friends and coworkers that I mourned the loss of my father, shared the joy a brand new car, and also had some of the fiercest arguments I have ever had. But at the end of every day, month, and year they were still there. I would have never thought that I could find such love among the stacks of bestsellers and out of print paperbacks, but I did and for that I am exceptionally grateful. To all of my bookselling, coffee drinking friends, I will never be able to express in words just how much each and every one of you means to me, I will always look back with a smile on my face (and the smell of espresso on my clothes)!
Love,
Nicole

To anybody reading this, this is basically my notice, the official I am moving to Australia announcement!
Our passports arrived in the mail yesterday. And aside from the fact that both Dustin and I look like criminals in a line up in our photos I am excited.
The process of personal belonging elimination began today, wow do I have a LOT of stuff.  It is sad to say goodbye to the items that didn't make the cut, but on the other hand I feel a little weight lifted every time I say goodbye to a material item and strip down to the bare bones of reality. I shroud myself in the material, allowing myself to believe that someday some item of tangibility will bring me happiness and peace of mind, and only through this cleansing of sorts am I realizing exactly what this curtain I live behind is really made of.  I find myself increasingly overwhelmed at the realization of what is happening, every time I am faced with a decision based upon this giant leap I am about to take my words are followed by a deep sigh of, well, I honestly don't know.  I am scared beyond belief, giddy from the tips of my ears to the soles of my feet, and ridiculously saddened at the thought of saying goodbye to my kitties and my mom for a year. I am not quite sure that my brain is wired for this mass of confusion, and thus I wind up feeling like I am on a carousel that just keeps spinning round and round, watching those around me get off and fulfill daily tasks while I just cling to the pony-saddled pole and keep spinning. I don't want anyone to get the idea that I am not grateful for this opportunity, and that I am not clamoring with excitement, because I am. I just need to feel my way through the necessity of the preparation before I imagine myself on a towel, by the ocean, on a beach.     

So it begins again, another blog. I have begun numerous blogs in the past with hopes high, and words on my mind, only to allow them to go unwritten and untouched.  This time around, I hope to fill this page with words and photos of travels to come, as I have been offered the chance to live and work in Australia for at least a year.  The decision came fast, and the emotions even sooner. In order to take this once in a lifetime  opportunity, I have to give up everything I know of as home.  My job of 9 years, my mother, my cats, and my town. Let me tell you however, that while I may seem a bit down about this, it needs to be done to further myself as a person. I need to break free of my comfort zone to move further as an individual. I need to travel, see beautiful places, take photos of  things that are worthy of awe. And I am not going it alone, my boyfriend of nearly four years will accompany me to Adelaide where we will reside with my sister and brother in law.  It just seems so very odd to put in my notice at Barnes & Noble where I have been since the store was literally built, to kiss my mothers forehead and say goodbye for a year or so, as she has been my rock my whole life, and to hand my fur babies (yes, I just said that) off to another home (my boyfriends mom will care for them while we are away). These things that hold me here are outnumbered however by the endless possibilities that may lie thousands of miles away. So as I sit here and type, my hopes once again are high, this blog, if everything pans out will become something for me to look back on years from now and marvel at how far I have come.