Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours... :)

Hey Hey y'all,

    So today when I got home from the courthouse I was blessed to read the email that I've been holding my breath for. "The Consulate General of Spain in Los Angeles Appointment Visa Process Notification" I eagerly clicked on the link and awaited for the message that was inside. There waiting for me were the magic words that I'd hoped for 

Status- Completed

Visa- APPROVED!

      A breath of fresh air. My visa appointment was on Friday, and 6 days later I am getting the okay. The only thing left to do now is to get at the mailman til  he gives me my goods. This is definitely a giant weight off of my shoulders, and it makes things just that much closer to being real. 

      Next step with visa in hand is buying a plane ticket, and putting a date on this adventure so I can start one of my famous countdowns. The difference this time is it's not "200 days til I turn 21" or "112 days til the end of the semester" or "74 days til Puerto Rico" or "55 days til graduation." This countdown is going but much more short lived, more like 20-ish days (CRAZY!)

In other news...

       Today I finished my goal of completing 100 hours at the Self-Help Center. It's kind of a bittersweet moment, because on the one hand, I am going to miss being there. There are a select few of people that I'm glad I've had the opportunity to meet (and those who know me, know I'm always networking). On the other hand, it's going to be kind of nice to just have a few days with no responsibility of waking up and driving somewhere, to make it on time to somewhere, to not have someone be impatient with you because they had a different idea of what the process is for court paperwork. Also, with all of my economic woes that are bound to come in the near future, not having to spend gas or lunch money helps. I've learned a lot in those 100 hours, giving me a little more insight, a little more to think about as I try to decide if I really want to pursue law school. 

Well that is all for now. Thank you for reading. It's always appreciated.

Much love, 

Cat <3

Plays, Papers, and Machines....Oh my!

Hey All,

Seeing as we inch farther and farther away from my last post, I thought today would be a good time to update everyone on what's been going on :)

So first of all, as I'm sure won't come as a surprise to anyone that knows me, In true Cathy fashion I have filled up my schedule pretty well for the summer. Yes, I know that it's summer and after the kind of semesters that I put myself through at CSUN I should be enjoying the chance to do NOTHING, but alas I don't think I could stay sane that way.

The first thing that got tacked onto the agenda is "Play On" an play being put on by RHS Alumni :) At first it was very strange to be back, especially given the fact that I was pretty much the oldest alumni of the bunch, but now things are better. I went from understudy to regular cast this week, so come check me out as 'Smitty' at Rosamond High School August - 11, 12, 13 and 18, 19, 20.

I also started volunteering at the Self-Help center at the AV courthouse. The Self-Help center is a place where people go to get help on certain paperwork that needs to be turned in to the court be it divorce papers, evictions, domestic disputes, child custody...etc. This too was overwhelming at first, because all of those papers look the same, and the girls that were already volunteering there go through them so quickly and their eyes know exactly where to go and where to check, and where to see whats missing. For the first few days I was shadowing the other volunteers, but last week they "threw me to the sharks" and had me do a divorce. I know its the only way to learn, but I guess what is most intimidating is that you're dealing with people's lives when you're handling this kind of paperwork.
A lot of people have asked me why I would go out and do something like that, when I don't have to, or because it's really depressing hearing about other's hardships, but I guess there are a few reasons why I'm there. One, I guess it makes me feel more like I have a purpose for my summer, not just lounging lazily cooking in the desert heat. Two, law school is still a good possibility for me and I have set a goal to get over 100 volunteer hours this summer before I head out to Spain. Lastly, other than looking good on my resume, I actually do like helping out my community, and if I can give back a little bit by easing someone who is going crazy because of a million forms then that's great :)

Something that I have committed to doing this summer is something that I've been griping about my whole college career not having time for...I got a gym membership! I'm really excited because it's like I graduated college, now it's time for a new me. Still trying to get a good routine going since everything is still kind of far from my house, but I'll get there :)

OH! I got my letter with the details of my job!! I'll be working with middle school and high school students! It wouldn't be my first pick, but I think everything happens for a reason, and perhaps I'll learn some things about myself along the way :)

Thanks for reading!! Comments are always appreciated!! :)

~Cat