Hello from the United States! Back in California

     I flew into San Francisco International Airport on November 12, 2013.  It was a great flight, only 12 hours direct and I slept most of the time.  Sometimes I wonder if being able to sleep is a good thing.  So many wonderful movies to watch, you almost want to stay up!  I think I managed to watch one before I knocked out.  New Zealand is 21 hours ahead and so the time difference is hardly anything to deal with.  My mother and uncle picked me up from the airport and we spent the day driving around and checking out where my father and uncle grew up.  They grew up in Marin County in the Tiburon/Belvedere area.  My step-grandmother continues to still live there.

View of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge

     Since I have been home, I got a job at a nursery where I work part time as well as working for a water conservation company the majority of the time.  My bosses have done water conservation projects for United Nations which I really admire as it is my biggest dream to work for United Nations.  Nothing touches my heart more than the unification of this world.  Crossed fingers for doing something hugely amazing for the world someday!  I also dived right back into volunteer work and just started as an assistant troop leader for a Girl Scout Troop.  On December 15, the girls went to a retirement home to sing Christmas carols for the elderly and passed out ornaments.  It was the cutest thing!  The look on the elderly's faces was priceless!  They were so happy!

     On November 23, one of my best friends Kevin, threw me a welcome home dinner and night out.  It was great to see my closest friends from home.  We had a lot of fun catching up and enjoying the night in Downtown Sacramento.  Thanks everyone!

The cheesy photo I posted on Facebook to inform everyone around the world how much I miss them!

     One morning, my friend Sheila and I went on a nice walk around the American River.  Sacramento has a lot of great nature.  We have the American River, Folsom Lake and are surrounded by beautiful trees.  It is a great place for walks along the river, kayaking and rafting.  On this day we were able to witness the salmon mating.  They were so close to the shore and several of them were dead as they had already produced or fertilized eggs.

     On December 9, my best friend took me to see one of my favorite guitarists.  Tyler Hilton is really great!  He played Elvis Presley in "Walk the Line" which is another plus as everyone knows, I LOVE ELVIS!  I met him a few years back when I went to another performance of his in Sacramento.  It was awesome to meet him again and have him sign a copy of his vinyl!

Delali and I

Tyler Hilton!

     It is really hard for me to be back in Sacramento but I am feeling very positive with it.  I know that once I leave sooner than later, I will probably never live here again.  It is great to spend time with my friends and family here because we won't be living in the same place again.  My heart just isn't here and right now I am sorting out where I want to live and what I want to do.  I am confident that there is something amazing in my future!

OH YEAH... 

     My best friend Delali and I got tickets to the Germany/Portugal game in Brazil!  It is going to be an amazing trip!  I can't wait to be there for the World Cup!  Dream come true!  Next biding cycle is coming, can't wait to see what games we will be getting next!

     I also wanted to take the time to honor Paul Walker.  Although I didn't watch all of his movies, I adored him from a young age.  Of course he is handsome, but the amount of charity work he did is what I admired.  A young life taken too soon which just reaffirmed my train of thought.  I have one life and I am going to enjoy every single minute of it because I don't know when my time will come.

     We lost one of the most amazing human beings to have ever existed, Nelson Mandela during the same week.  This broke my heart although I understood that his time had come.  What a phenomenal man that did so much for this world.  We need to carry his messages with us into the future for the remainder of our days and the next generations.  A beautiful person inside and out.

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear". -Nelson Mandela