Until We Meet Again...

And so starts the week of the endless good-byes.  Good-bye to the island, good-bye to coworkers, peers, colleagues, and friends.  It's been just about 8 months since I moved to St. Croix and started at Hovensa.  It's been a whirlwind of a time.  Hard times at work, fun times on the island have all been worth it.  Yesterday was my last full day of work... and today I go in for my exit interview at 2:30pm, and that will be it.

A lot of people leave tomorrow, but I'm staying here until the 30th.  I'd like to really get to enjoy this island (not that I haven't already) before I have to leave.  I have a little bucket list I guess.  I want to see the sunrise and set over the horizon on the same day.  I want to eat at a few more restaurants I haven't tried yet.  I want to visit a couple more beaches I haven't yet.  I want to see the tide pools.  I feel like I just have not been able to do everything because I took it for granted that I lived here, and now I won't be living here, and I need to take advantage of all these amazing things to do.  We'll see, I have about 10 days to get it all in.  A friend of mine doesn't leave until Wednesday, so I'll have someone to do these things with maybe.  Suzzy and Brandon are here until August, but they will be working every day.  Their end-date is July 31st.  I'm really excited about that because it means they will still be able to get married here, and it gives me a great reason to come back!  I'll be returning to this island in August to be in my best friend's wedding, and I cannot wait.

So here goes... when I leave here I will head to New Jersey for a week to spend with my family and hopefully catch up with some friends.  Then I am off to San Francisco to visit with my best friend from camp, Lisa, because we should never be separated.  From there I will work my way down to Los Angeles, to get my Philly girl in that LA world self on.  I can't wait to see my old roommate and my good friends again.  Finally it will be to New Orleans for a new life adventure.  We'll see what kind of blog I come up with there.  Maybe I'll figure out how to write more often. (:

Under The Sea

Yesterday I completed my SCUBA dive certification course. I finished 3-dives in one day. I feel so comfortable under water now. I am so glad I finished this course before I left. I can't wait to go again. What once used to feel severely unnatural, feels completely natural. I no longer mind the idea of 10's of feet of water over my head, breathing from a tank, and swimming with fish. It used to terrify me, but taking this course and learning how to properly and successfully dive, I feel very happy doing it. My Dad is coming at the end of the month, and I am so excited to go diving with him and take him off the wall.

Enjoying It While It Lasts

So I may be counting the days until I no longer am gainfully employed, however it doesn't mean I'm not loving each day I count. I am especially grateful for the weekends. The past few weekends have been truly memorable. Brandon got a boat just a few weekends before the layoff (I think I mentioned that before), so we've been going to Buck Island quite frequently. The days are enjoyable and relaxing and crazy fun all at the same time. The nights have been frivolous and exciting. The work days are short (standard 8-hours as opposed to 10, 11 or 12), the evenings are productive, and the weekends are crazy.

Last weekend a bunch of us went to St. Thomas. Suz, B, Mer, Yanc, Sach, and I left after work Friday and arrived just in time for happy hour. It was a short flight by seaplane to hop over to our neighboring US Virgin Island, and the weekend was off to a great start. The evening's events included drinks at the hotel, appetizers at a near-by restaurant, drinks, more drinks, and some late night snacking. Saturday was a ferry skip over to St. John and Margarita Phil's for 32oz margaritas, and a day of laughter. Chiso met us back in St. Thomas... showing up late since he had some Saturday morning obligations. Sunday was the final day of our weekend getaway. Lunch at Hooters (St. Thomas feels so stateside-like) and a monorail up to the top of the mountain. Everyone left a little earlier than Chiso and I. We stayed for a couple more hours enjoying island drinks, the ferris wheel, and good company.

It is going to be a shame when we all have to leave here. No more weekend getaways, no more boat days, no more sunshine, and worst of all, saying goodbye to all the friends I've made. Who knows when I'll get to see any of these people again after this. I hope I never forget any of these experiences... any of these people... or any moment of my life on the island.

Lay-Off's are Real Life

Well I guess it happens to the best of us. It's almost like, as soon as I get used to being somewhere, I am put into a situation where I have to give it all up and move on. My company is shutting down, and as of April 20, 2012 I will no longer be an employee at Hovensa. It kind of stinks, you know. I was really enjoying what I was doing. I met so many great people, and in just a few months we're all going to have such different lives. My journey begins again to find another adventure. Who knows where I will be? Alaska? Australia? Maybe I'll come back to California. That would be great actually, because at least I'll know people and I'll be where I wasn't quite ready to leave before. This life on this island has just been a pitstop in my ever-running journey. This is my never-ending story.

What else can you do when you find out you're going to lose your job? Other than spruce up your resume and cover letters, throw them out there, and work with recruiters... you party! I mean, we only have 12 weekends left. We have to party, because it'll all be over soon. We got the news on Wednesday, so Wednesday night we all got together and made the best of it. Needless to say not everyone could drive home. It was interesting. Thursday was certainly unproductive. Thursday night I had dinner at Suzzy and Brandon's place. They bbq-ed, and the co-op's (our friends Meredith and Sacha), my friend Chiso, and I went over and we just forgot about our problems. We laughed, we cheers-ed, we ate, and we had fun. Friday night the same people came over my place and I had my first little dinner party. I made a lasagna, and put out a balsamic salad and wine, and I wore my new apron. It was a lot of fun, to just spend the time with the people I know I will soon not be able to do this with anymore.

We took it quite easy Friday night, because Saturday morning we got up and piled the booze and snacks onto Brandon's and Layne's speed boat and we partied it out to Buck Island. Buck Island is a National Reef Park island off the North Shore of St. Croix. The beach is gorgeous, the water is wonderful, and the experience was so much fun. I may or may not have gotten my finger jammed (resulting in a necessary split the past two days) in an effort to catch a football... but that's beside the point. It was such a long day though, that Saturday night ended early, and that was that.

Overall, aside from the bad news we received last week, the weekend was good, and we had a lot of fun just spending it with good friends, eating good food, and having good times.

I'm really going to miss it here.

Reflection

The past year has been one of immense change. With the end of 2011 comes a time of reflection of everything one has done this year. 2011 - I never imagined I'd see this year, that it was even possible. When I graduated high school I said to myself "I don't graduate college until 2010... that's never going to get here." Now here I am, and it's almost 2012. I think I've finally found a place for me, for now at least. In the beginning of 2011 I knew I wanted to do biological research and find vaccines for cancer and cure the world of sadness. Now, as 2012 rounds the corner, I know I no longer wish to do that. It sounds horrible to say "I no longer wish to cure the world of sadness," however it's not actually what I am saying. I just know that I do not want to spend my days in a laboratory, killing mice, failing experiments, and trying the same thing over again 100 times before I get it right. I just have to find a new way to bring happiness to the world. As spring came and went and summer entered my life (though in California, you can't really tell the difference), I went from being in a lab, to having no idea what I was going to do with my life. I didn't have a job, I had classes I knew I'd need to finish somehow, I had no prospects of a bright future. I went to the beach every day, but had no idea where I'd be living a month from then. The summer went by, and all of a sudden I was employed. I packed my bags, said farewell (for now) to California and the City of Angels, and moved on to another life adventure. Now I live in St. Croix, an island, paradise to most, finishing my classes online, loving my job, loving the people I've met, and loving my current life status. This past Christmas, I spent the whole time catching up with my family, close friends, and trying to explain how all of this happened, as it just happened so quickly. The past year absolutely flew by.

So what's the purpose of this entry? It is reflection. I made a lot of changes in my life this year. I met so many different people this year. I am still so young, but I am not getting any younger. I think I'd consider 2011 a successful year in my life. I didn't make any big changes in the world, but in my own little world, I changed so much, and changed for the good. I am starting to figure out where I belong, what I am supposed to be doing, and who I am supposed to be. My roommate and best friend just got engaged. Not only is it a very exciting time in her life (and mine because I am just so exited for them), it is such a reality hit. She's going to be married a year from now. We really are growing up. I guess it's about time I start figuring out what I'm doing with my life.

So here's to 2011. You were a good year, but I bid you adieu. I've had enough change for now, and I am ready to live in peace. I already know, 2012 will be successful, not because of change, but the lack thereof. Welcome to my subtle island life.

Jumping

When you jump you take a risk. When I graduated college I jumped into a new life called grad school. I jumped into a new state, a new city, and a new school. When I decided to no longer pursue my PhD I jumped again. That time I jumped into a totally different life situation: full-time career like job, tropical island, new culture, new friends, new life again. This weekend I made another jump... less figuratively though.

In the past I've jumped out of an airplane, off a cliff into a river, off a swing as a child, from a diving board, and on my bed. This weekend I decided to jump off a pier. Saturday I met my friend Chad and headed out to Rainbow Beach on the west end of the island. It was a good day for the beach, the sun was out, the water was cool, the drinks were good. The co-op's, Meredith and Sacha, met up with us, and Chad had a couple friends out there as well. The day was fun, the sun went down, and after having some great pizza for dinner at a place called Lost Dog (they made pineapple and pepperoni which was fantastic) we decided to go back to the pier and jump off. Where we were the ocean was about 20ft deep but you could see to the bottom it was that clear. The pier was about 10ft high off the water level. We jumped. I jumped. I just let go and jumped. I am so glad I did too, because it was a lot of fun. Needless to say I am glad I didn't know then what I know now, else I probably wouldn't have done it.

When you jump you take a risk. Apparently sharks do a lot of feeding around that pier, and are most active at night. Great... well I'm glad I didn't get eaten by a shark.

If You Like Pina Coladas...

Okay, so I haven't actually had any pina coladas since I've been here, but I've had quite a number of rum drinks. A good weekend breakfast drink is the Painkiller. Now... Other than rum, I'm not exactly sure what's in it, but it does take the edge off. It's very sweet though, so I can't always have more than 1 or 2. A lot of people move on the the bloody mary... or they just start with that. Another great signature island drink is the Bushwacker. I'm definitely not sure what's in it, but it's frozen and I'm pretty sure every ingredient is alcohol (other than the ice). You can't tell though, it's so delicious. Now, just because I live on an island does not mean I drink every night, but maybe a couple of nights a week, and the weekends in particular. Though this week has been pretty active. Sunday was a long day of doing nothing but being lazy. We had some drinks and watched the Phillies, but stayed up late because the game didn't end until midnight. Monday, our catalyst vendor was on island and they took me and Alex (the other hydroprocessing engineer) out to dinner. I had an amazing filet mignon and lobster tail with a rum cake for dessert. Then Alex and I went out west to see our friend's (my new friend's) bar that he just opened up. Ayo is local to the island of St. Croix, and he's been a Moka Jumbi here, which is a traditional dancer on stilts, and now he owns a bar out west. It was a nice place, but it turned into a late night. Last night the vendor was still in town and they took us and another engineer out to a formal dinner in town. Great food and great wine, with good people, and took it later to the boardwalk for a few more drinks, turning into another late night. Tonight I am in bed early. I hope this entry is substantial enough for people who read this thing.