Pumpkin Spice Muffins With A Sugar Glaze :)

Open Possibilities

In three days time I'm going to tell my employer that I'll be leaving just before thanksgiving. After two years working in the retail industry I've decided I've had enough and it isn't for me. It did not take me two years to come to this conclusion, in fact I've felt this way for most of those two years. Unfortunately it was the inability to find a new job I cared more about and the need to pay my bills that kept me trapped in a prison I had accidentally chosen one afternoon while walking down the street.

I'll be leaving with no new job to go to and no idea when I'll be able to get another. As always I have some romantic vision of leaving and right away finding a career that brings me complete joy making every day better and not worse than the one before it. But I know instead it will most likely be a great struggle and one day in the future I may come to call myself a fool for making such an irresponsible decision so early in my life.

Though at the risk of sounding cliche, I have chosen to walk blindly into the future leaving my present unhappiness and stability behind. What lies ahead is completely open to possibilities, either good or bad. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed for the good.

It's been a rough winter. Fingers crossed it's almost over.

I told Allison we were almost out of bread and could she pick some up on her way home from work. This is what I came home to.

Watching my life collapse in on itself in real time is different from how I imagined it.

Down the road

Allison and I have been living in tiny one bedroom apartment for almost the last two years. When we first moved in we knew it was small but it felt huge. Allison was coming from a studio apartment and I fresh from my parents house, we had our own space and some room to breathe.

Now after the last 20 months we're ready to get out. Every little thing has become a thorn in our side making it more of a temporary place to sleep than a home. To be honest the reason we moved in was because it was cheap (less than $100 more than Allison's studio), I could ride my bike to work and it was our first place together, a starter home.

The focus now is getting out. Good news is Allison has a far better job than she did when we moved into this place, the bad news is that even though I've been searching for almost the past four months I am still jobless. It's one of the most depressing things for me to think that we could be stuck in this apartment another year because no other place will take us due to my situation.

Tahoe

In 11 days I'll be riding in a 100-mile bike race with my Dad and brother Drew (http://theravenandthesun.tumblr.com/). It'll take place in Lake Tahoe Nevada, we'll pretty mike be riding around the entire lake.

I'm super excited about it because I love to challenge myself when it comes to physical activities but also because this will be the farthest West I'll have ever been. When I was maybe 8 or 10 my family took a road trip to Denver but that was over 15 years ago! I'm so excited to see the rocky mountains again and be able to spend what little time we have, before and after the race, exploring the beautiful landscape.

I'm sure I'll be posting plenty of pictures :)

-J

A perfect ring of green tea leaves in my mug :)

First official cover for the graphic novel I've been working on with my brother. Hoping to get picked up this spring for publication. Follow us on Facebook @nomadgn

I am sooooo sad to be getting rid of this car. Makes me cry on the inside.

My dad (center) with my uncles and grandfather at our annual father's day BBQ. This was quite a few years ago as everyone is much older now and my grandfather is gone.