Professionally, it has been an emotional week. Every person I've informed of my resignation responded with shock, frustration, or tears. I didn't realize how much I mattered or how much I was admired, until I announced our imminent goodbyes. Even the cafeteria ladies at the school I frequent for lunch each week felt sad. Consequently they've been feeding me extra large portions.

It is time to renew my passport and let imaginations become the consequences. But I need friends to join me.

I'm really happy that I spent last, last Saturday (March 7) at Disneyland and California Adventure with a few brothers from AACF. These guys were part of my second family during college, so I'm always thankful for opportunities to continue creating memories and prolonging our relationships. Perhaps I should buy an annual pass, but I don't imagine visiting the parks more than three times in one year.

 

It was a gorgeous, warm day! I should've worn a tank.

My first time on a drop tower ride. It was scary! But I'd go again.

Tried dole whip for the first time and didn't care for the frothiness.

Space Mountain is my favorite ride. Here's Froilan being a creep.

Oscar, Alvin, I, and Froilan

My dad bought a specialized oven for baking bread. Tonight he baked a loaf dotted with various herbs, which we ate for dinner and paired sweetly with rotisserie chicken drizzled with honey and pesto butter. I think my life is now complete... or has it just begun?

Jedi recently finished growing in terms of height and length. He's still a slim and trim adolescent. Whenever I lift him and cradle him, he feels as if he hasn't gained any weight in months, yet his body appears healthy and shapely. I compare his size with that of other retrievers at the dog beach, and I see no differences between him and the adult dogs except for his athletic build. Lab owners have advised me that his energy level won't decrease until he turns 2 or 3 years old, which is why I continue to call him my puppy, because he behaves like one. I can't wait for this bad boy to calm down.

February 3 is his birthday. I took the day off from work so that I could take him to his favorite place, Huntington Dog Beach. Unfortunately, we mostly met dogs as anti-social as their owners. There wasn't much playtime, so I jogged along the shore while Jedi chased me. When we got home, I soaked his paws in a chai tea bath. I probably could've used any tea, but chai was what I found in the pantry. I use the tea to soothe his sensitive skin, as sand always gets trapped between his paw pads and irritates him. For dinner, I fed him pieces of raw chicken, a handful of blueberries, and some carrots. He loved his dinner and responded well to his second meal of raw chicken.

Dreams for 2015:

Traveling to China for work - TBD
Designing and constructing Jamie's wedding dress - May
Vacationing in Arizona, Pacific Northwest, Baja California, or Puerto Vallarta - Summer
Starting a business - Summer

Chase Bank ruined my Black Friday.

I love carrying Jedi. I love cradling him and feeling his soft, furry back against the length of my arm. He rests his chin sometimes on my shoulder. Usually he licks my cheek and ear before squirming and whining to get back down onto the floor. I rock him like a baby when he's in my arms. I tell him that he's a good boy and that I love him.

Jedi is growing bigger and heavier. I don't carry him as often as I did just several weeks ago when he weighed at least twenty pounds lighter. Now that he is taller, he is able to see more of the world, and by that I mean more of what's on top of tables and counter tops. His adventurous behavior gets him in trouble almost daily. Once he sees something to grab, he ignores all voices and springs forward. He even knows how to use his paws to pull objects closer to him.

It's exigent now for us to register for training classes. He has ruined shoes and clothes, plates, two of my glasses, and the carpet in my parents' bedroom. He has acted so excited lately--I don't know where this behavior came from. I feel that I've failed myself and Jedi by procrastinating on our enrollment. I wouldn't be calling him a bad boy at least once a day if we had taken classes earlier. Amazingly my parents have been patient, but change must start now.

By September or October, after our training classes have ended and Jedi is completely house-trained (hopefully), I am praying that he and I will move out of my parents' house. This future seemed more concrete over a month ago when I had three potential roommates, but the situation has changed. I am without roommates now and don't know where I could live without spending beyond my budget. I might simply announce my search to my Facebook friends and wait for someone to help me out that way. I don't want to live with strangers.

This year has turned out to be such a major shift in adulthood for me. I have become like a single father. I'm looking at Jedi now as he sleeps, and I can barely fathom that this little one's life depends on me. He is my family. It's no longer just me--it's "we." Jedi and me.