I suppose I'm obligated to first mention that it's been over a year since I've written anything. You'd think that an exchange year would warrant a blog post or two, but no, not really. I didn't feel too inspired all year, though I did write a few things in the form of Facebook notes. Finland was okay. Kind of a solitary year, but lately I've been missing those few people who kept me company. That's pretty huge, considering I say I miss a lot of people, but I don't often feel it. Basically what I'm trying to say is that I can't listen to KT Tunstall without getting emo. Doesn't that seem... oxymoronic? Sort of. Clearly my English isn't what it used to be. However, my Spanish! Oh, my Spanish. I've moved to South Florida, and have lost my ability to tune out the language. Well, that's not entirely true, but I fear that it will be soon. That's not so bad though. My goal is fluency, and the people here know that, so they give me a hard time about switching back to English. I'm going to take this time to explain the question that all of you have been asking, and I've been avoiding: Why Florida? Well, besides the fact that my boyfriend and his entire awesome family live here, Florida's just nice. It reminds me of Mexico, a little too much, and I feel like I'm finally getting my way. If you know me at all, you'll know that all I had to say after returning from Mexico was "I wasn't done there. I need to go back." Basically, I had to leave just as I was getting comfortable with the language and the culture. Not just comfortable, but falling in love with it. It's been three years, maybe more, and I'm finally closer than I've ever been. But the weird thing is, here is fine. Palm trees, Spanish, and kiss-on-the-cheek greetings. South Florida has it all, and I don't need a passport to be here. That may not seem like a big deal, but I have a habit of losing passports. Daniel's family and friends are amazing, and every day I feel more comfortable around them. People here get a lot closer to each other than they do at home, and I love it. I feel like I've been in a bubble of personal space my whole life, and it's slowly beginning to turn that rainbow color before it finally explodes and frees me. Regardless, I have a ton of things to get in order here before I can sit back and enjoy the culture and amazing humidity. I'm not kidding, I really do love humidity. And hot weather. I can't get enough of the outdoors here. But that may have something to do with my computer being in the repair shop in Miami. Anyway, I need a home. I have a home. With an address. And a landlady, and a roommate sort of. I'd feel kind of wary posting the address here, so if you want it, talk to me, or check my Facebook. Please feel free to send me goodies, as I have about as many belongings as a homeless African child at the moment. The house is really a house, belonging to a woman named Robin. She lives alone and has two spare rooms, and I'm renting the smaller one. However, she's usually at her boyfriend's house, as well as the other roommate, so apparently, I'm renting an entire house in South Florida for $490/month. Pretty good deal, I think. I move in today, which is cool. I got some sheets and towels from WalMart the other day. And a loofah. But nothing else, due to monetary deficits. I've been staying at Daniel's while I get settled, but I had to be out by the 9th at the latest because his FINNISH exchange student is coming. As much as I detest the Finnish solitary attitude, Oona isn't like that. She's a happy, bubbly, cheerleader type. But not the kind who thinks she's better than you. I've met her twice when I lived in Finland. So I'm clearly pumped for her arrival. Wow, the 9th is tomorrow. Anyway, school! I'm going to be attending BCC, Broward Community College, or Broward COLLEGE as it is now known. This is an exciting topic, as my parents have agreed to pay my college tuition, and nothing else. I'm not complaining. Although, I am stuck paying the $35 registration fee... I don't quite understand that. I'm registered, but I have no classes. That might be a bad thing when I get stuck taking Math 1 on the Davie Campus, and then Introduction to Architecture in Ft Lauderdale five minutes later. Basically what I'm saying is that my classes are going to suck so much this semester, all because there was an issue with my online application in March, when I initially registered. To fix that error required a physical visit to the office from me, which clearly had to wait. But oh well, I'm in Florida! I love Florida. Step 3: Job. I've applied for my DREAM job. The other day, I made a silly little video, which apparently only I find funny, and while I was making it, I just kept commenting to Daniel about how much I absolutely love editing videos. Not being in them, or recording them, but just editing them when they're in my hands. Choosing the music and exactly when it cuts to make it look funny or witty or even professional. That is surely my kind of art. Anyway, a few days later, I was job-hunting online, after noticing that none of my retail electronics stores had called me back. I found a job opening at a place called Wannado City, an indoor children's park similar to the Schenectady Children's Museum, but huge and wealthier and with something like 200 different jobs you can choose to have. Anyway, the place looks pretty cool and I wanna go there, but I'm poor and I'd probably look awkward making pizzas with the six-year-olds who have real aspirations in the chef profession. I looked into the jobs available there, and audio/video technician caught my eye. Let me just paste the job description to show you how perfect it is: Skills/ Requirements QUALIFICATIONS Excellent communication skills. Good memorization and improv skills. Must be animated and must have FUN! Good people management skills. Multi-tasked oriented. Ability to read, analyze and interpret the scripts. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from guests, external and internal. Effectively present information to our guests. Bi-lingual a plus. EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE Entry level video editor, and/or audio editor. Green/Blue screen experienced a plus. PC & Mac knowledge. Fast paced, guest service oriented environment. Drama or Acting experience a plus. Clearly, I applied as fast as I could, and quickly composed the following cover letter: Hi, my name is Ashley Carey, and I just moved to Southern Florida from upstate New York to begin my adult life and to attend college. I am currently seeking employment, and after exploring this job opening, I am absolutely positive that this position was made for me. Upon reading both your obligatory and optional specifications, I was immediately certain that I had made the right choice by looking into employment at Wannado City. I have always been a kid at heart, and with that attribute, I can identify with children very well. This, along with my life-long passion for video editing and technology, makes me very excited to have the chance to join the crew at Wannado City. I am very anxious to hear from you, and plan to stop by either today or tomorrow for more information, and perhaps to schedule an interview. Thank you very much for reviewing my resume, and I hope you'll find my vast experience with children, video technology, and theater experience to your liking. I always laugh at the things I write when I'm in a frenzy. And I was certainly in a frenzy. I was running around the room yelling to Daniel's cousins about how I'm going to get my dream job and be the happiest person alive, all while being able to pay my rent. I called, visited, and bothered them frequently to no avail. But yesterday, I called again, and finally talked to the HR department. - "Hi, my name is Ashley Carey, and I applied for the A/V Technician position. (After finally getting through the phone lines, I was suddenly at a loss for words, and had completely forgotten why I had called. Or maybe I never really knew why.) ... I was wondering... if the position was still available?" - "Yes, it is." - "Oh, um, okay, well, just checking... Wait! I was wondering if I could maybe perhaps schedule an interview... or something?" - "Oh, I'm sorry, but we'll have to call you for that if we're interested in scheduling an interview with you." - "Okay... bye." I hung up and explained the situation to Daniel, disappointed. But less than thirty seconds later, my phone rang. - "Hello, Ashley?" - "Yeah..." - "This is ... from the Human Resources department again. We'd like to schedule an interview with you." Apparently my unreasonable, persistent questions had an effect on the IT Manager, and he wants to interview me Tuesday morning. I am SO ready. I tried on my interview clothes last night, and just left them on all night, feeling professional. Okay, so, step 4: How to get to Wannado City, if I even get the job? Wannado City is located at Sawgrass Mills Mall, the largest mall in the state of Florida. But luckily, it's about 5.5 miles away from my house. So, I have no car, and absolutely no money to buy a car. I will be riding Daniel's bike to and from Sawgrass every single day until I scrape up about $1000, with which I will immediately purchase the cheapest car on craigslist. The good news is, I'll lose my exchange student weight, probably within the first week. I guess that's a good thing. There is one more thing I'd like to update about. I'm suing Apple Computers. Maybe. I know it would be futile, and I would lose, but they just shouldn't be able to bully people like they do. I don't want to get into it, but basically, my screen broke, I didn't do it, and Apple won't fix it. I know it sounds pretty unbelievable, but it actually did "just happen." And it's happened to thousands of other people I've found on the internet as well. I'm trying to settle the issue with the Better Business Bureau, but if that doesn't work, I don't know. I really just want Steve Jobs to see how much wrath can come from such a small girl. Here's the case if you want to read it. It would be nice if that worked out, so I wouldn't have to face the destruction of Apple's bestlawyersintheworld.