Realizations

Random realizations and other thoughts I've had recently coming your way. Tennessee makes me miss New England (especially Massachusetts) a lot. Even seeing the Cape on The Bachelorette (yes, I'll admit, I've been watching it now that we got a TV -- sad but true) makes me ache for home. And my parents being on Block Island this week hurts as well. I keep finding myself thinking, "If only I were back home..." but then I catch myself in time to realize that, no, I'm really thankful to have a) gotten a job, and b) gotten this amazing job that I love going to. Despite having only racked up a few hours of vacation time, I don't feel trapped like I thought I might in the real world, though my homesickness has started to make me a little antsy and I'm starting to plan possible getaways. Finances also picture into this... For instance, flights around Thanksgiving are already really inflated, so I'm thinking of road tripping then instead (not to home, but to somewhere.) It's really cool to be financially independent and have the power to try to save money and cut coupons in the hope that I can take a cool trip sometime next year with my saved vacation time and money. I love saving and having my quality of life remain the same or even improve at the same time. Vanderbilt's benefits are amazing and really help out with this quality of life thing. I may not be getting paid much, but I'm blessed in that I don't have huge student loans and so I can save and still enjoy a great quality of life on a daily basis thanks to these benefits. For example, maybe I'm just easily amazed on this front, but the staff and faculty gym is out of this world. I really need to be a creep and take pictures; that's how good it is.

Nothing else from this brain dump.