Got engaged!

After dating Johnny for 4 years, he finally popped the question!

It was a complete surprise. When he got down on one knee, I started crying. I couldn’t say ‘Yes’ fast enough! I called our parents and told them the good news (most of them already knew). I was so happy and couldn’t get rid of the big smile on my face.

Afterward, the two of us went out to a romantic dinner. I couldn’t stop staring at my ring. It was beautiful and just what I wanted! I couldn’t wait to show it off.

Now the fun part begins! Wedding planning! Yay!

Saw the Patriots win the Superbowl.

Did you ever watch a movie about a sports team that was so inspiring? A movie that showed a team coming together and prevailing even when it was said it couldn’t be done? I have seen plenty of these movies and they have all made me inspired, happy and teary eyes all at the same time. Some of my favorites that you NEED to see are:

Cool Running
Mighty Ducks
Rudy
Rocky
The Blind Side


Although I have seen the movies, I have never witnessed it with my sports teams that I root for. The Red Sox haven’t won since 1918, Bruins haven’t been able to get a team that can bring home the Stanley cup and the Celtics haven’t great since Larry Bird left. All these teams have at least once won it all and brought home the trophy/cup. The Patriots have NEVER felt victory at the Superbowl. They have come close but had come up short every time.

This season was different.

It was shortly around the 9/11 tragedy when the football season started. I admit that with everything going on I just didn’t feel like watching football. But my Dad had the game on and I sat there and watched. Then something happened that changed everything. Drew Bledsoe got injured.

I believe that it was his thumb was broken and the 2nd string quarterback needed to step in. A tall, lanky stepped up with his big smile and looked barely out of college. This was it for the Patriots, I thought. Without Bledsoe we have no chance anymore. Another year without a win. Sigh.

Then #12 threw the football and threw the football perfectly. WHAT!! This guy knew how to play and what he was doing. A new sports star was born that day and brought some inspiration into a team that lacked it. Tom Brady was exactly what we were waiting for as fans.

Soon Tom Brady became a household name and familiar face in the newspapers and TV. His nervous interviews, friendly smile and reminded everyone that the Patriots were a team were a hit with all New England fans. How could you not love him? The Patriots morphed into a team that everyone started paying attention too. But the Patriots were also the team that people knew wouldn’t make it to the Superbowl.

The Patriots went through obstacles and won game after game. More and more Patriots jerseys were worn by New Englanders that year. They made it to the playoffs where it snowed pretty heavily. Blinding snow could not stop Adam Vinatieri from making the winning field goal kick allowing the Patriots to go to the Superbowl. It was going to be a battle between the Patriots and the St. Louis Rams.

My family stayed home the night of the Superbowl. My boyfriend came over and we had a feast of meatballs, KFC, cold-cuts and football shaped cake. I remember the feeling of pride when the Patriots came out as a team and not just the captains of the team.

The Patriots pushed through and won the Superbowl! I felt that I too was right with them on that field. I was never so happy to see the Patriots win. I get very emotional watching the celebrations and interviews. I felt that an inspiration story such as this was what my family and other families needed during such times.

Please note, that I am NOT a sports expert. I watch the games for fun and entertainment. I don’t always know the proper names or lingo of the sports I watch. I do promise that I don’t parade around in a pink Red Sox hat and quickly got rid of a pink Brady Patriots jersey I bought for a pink themed party I went too. I also do not watch because I find Brady’s tushy cute or because EVERYONE loves Tim Thomas. Please do not critic me for not knowing certain details, events or names. I try to do some research to back up my posts but these are mostly how I see or feel. Please let me know though if I am way off on facts that I post such as dates or names. Thank you!

Got my first Full time Job.

Things don’t always work the way they are supposed to. My big plans to be an EMT didn’t exactly go the way I wanted them to. I never took the final exam and I quit working as a chair car driver at Armstrong Ambulance simply because the job was very stressful. I had a lot of growing up to do.

Being unemployed was very hard. I was living with my parents which helped BIG TIME and my boyfriend, Johnny helped pay for the little things such as going out to dinner. My last paycheck and savings account were quickly reduced and I was left with only $10.00 in my account.

It was not like I was being lazy or anything; I was actively looking for another job. But everything that I really wanted (Nurses assistant, dispatcher, police station secretary) I was under qualified for. I did however get a brief job as a Mall Cop at my local mall. Let’s just say I wasn’t quit into the whole mall security like everyone working there is. So intense!

Finally I had to figure some things out. Since I was turning 19 in December, I needed medical insurance FAST. My parents could only have me on their insurance if I was younger then 19 or a full time student. I needed to find a job fast!

It came down to a job that I really wanted or a job that I knew I would excel at. I went with the devil I do know and started to applying at banks. It was where my skills from Foodmaster would come in handy.

Several banks received my resume but they either were not the right bank for me or never ended up calling me. My boyfriends Mom was a secretary at a bank and told me they were looking for Tellers. This was not the first time she mentioned a job opportunity at her bank. Looking at my empty account I applied as a Teller.

A few days went by and I got a phone call from the bank looking to do an interview with me! Yay!! I dressed as professional as possible with clothes I borrowed from my Mom. Went in the bank and did the best interview I knew possible. A few days later I got a call to say I got the job! I was so relieved and happy!

Working in a bank you need to dress with a sense of professionalism. Hard to do when I only had $10 in your account. With $20 borrowed from my parents, I went to the used clothes store on my lunch hour and bought clothes for work. It was enough to get me through a week even though the clothes fit poorly and the shirt had a small stain.

I spent the first week watching, learning and making ribbon pins for 9-11 to hand to customers. Payday finally came and I was never so happy to see money go into my account. Even though this is not my dream job….its a job with a weekly paycheck and benefits.

Witnessed 9/11 Live on TV

I was 18yrs old, living with my parents and unemployed. It was still hot at my parent’s house so I slept on a mattress on the floor in the living room (the only room with an AC). My Dad was the only one home because my Mom was at work, my sister was living with her ex husband in Cambridge and my brother was at school.

I remember hearing the phone ring and my Dad picked it up. It was my sister. She told my Dad to turn on the news because there was a plane accident in NYC. My Dad turned on the news and Live coverage was showing one of the towers on fire. What a shame I thought. This is why I don’t like to fly.

As we were watching, the TV showed a low flying plane hitting the tower. I thought someone caught the plane accident on camera. What I didn’t realize was that I just witnessed the second plane hitting the second tower live on TV. When I finally did realize what I was watching I sat straight up. What was going on here? Then the news shifted to another plane crash at the Pentagon. When the 4th plane crashed in Pennsylvania, I was terrified.

My eyes were glued to the TV. Panic and fear went through my body thinking that Boston was the next target. Anger also went through me when it was said that it was terrorist attacks against the USA. I watched in horror as helpless people waved out the window of the twins tower and watched the people jump to their deaths. I was confident that the fire would be under control. But then the first tower fell.

My heart broke watching the icon of NYC fall. The first thing I though of when it fell was “I guess we can’t call it the Twin Towers anymore.” Its weird what goes on in your mind. But then the second tower fell to the ground. I swear to you there was 1 minute of pure silence. It seemed like everything stopped except for the falling of the tower.

When the silence ended, chaos began. It looked just like a set for a disaster movie. Everything was covered in ashes and dust. It didn't look real. This whole thing must be some kind of dream or some kind of sick joke. Sadly, it was real. What scared me the most was that those planes came from Logan airport. That's the airport that I would need to go to if I was to travel.

So many people lost their lives that day. Men and Women who were going to work, headed on vacation, pr looking to just go home. Also we lost many brave men and women who went in that building to save other peoples lives. I wanted nothing more then to go down to NYC and help out in any way I could. I kind of wish I did. During this time I felt so privileged and honored to be an America. Everyone seemed to just come together. It was such a bittersweet feeling.

A collection of people who lost their lives in 9/11

Due to everything, there were no planes for the first couple of days after the attack. You may never notice planes overhead but when they are gone you do notice. Its a crazy, haunting silence. I was lying on the couch and it was late at night. Everyone was sleeping except my Mom and myself. It was very quiet and then I heard a the first plane in days overhead. For some reason this really bothered and frightened me. I told my Mom I was scared and she held my hand until I fell asleep. That was also the night I realized that life does go on.

I can’t tell you where the rest of my family was that day or if I ever went to visit my boyfriend that day. I don’t even know if I called Johnny. I can’t remember if I cried or not. Certain pieces of that day tattooed themselves in my brain. I don’t ever want to forget this day. This day I realized that America is a great country and that we can not be taken down. Despite the terrorist attempts, they just made us stronger.

I graduated High School!

Class of 2001

After 12 years of school I finally graduated!! I am not going to lie, it was not an easy road. But I finally did it and on this hot June day, I walked up and excepting my diploma! My family came to watch and they could not have been prouder!

Thank you everyone who has made my years in school a little easier:

My Mom and Dad

Cant thank them enough for all the projects, sporting events, plays, parent-teacher conferences, and time that they always gave me. Even though I wasn't the easiest kid to deal with my skipping classes, running off to Maine without adults, detentions, broken bones, difficult math teachers and my many F's. They have always been there for me. Thank you both and I love you very much!

Becca

My friend since second grade. Thanks for always putting up with me.

Ms. Finn

My art teacher. A great woman who everyone loved. I was so lucky to be in her class.

Ms. Colozzo

My 6th grade teacher who pushed me to read. She was also the teacher that taught the girls in the class how to play football. I will never forget her for those things.

Mr. Freeman

My elementary gym teacher. Was the nicest guy. Always tried to get us to laugh (he was once a clown). He always quoted the golden rule for us.

Next adventure for me? College? Work? Being a bum? We will just have to see. Right now I am just living for the moment and enjoying every second of it.

Met Johnny

If you were from the ages of 14-21 between the years 1998-2000, chances are you met or had some kind of “relationship” with someone from an online chat room. I was one of these people and I am not proud of it. I resorted to online chat rooms to find the man of my dreams after my boyfriend broke up with me. It was my goal to make my ex jealous and to fix the broken heart that he gave me.

You heard the horror stories and seen news specials of people meeting from online. But you also have heard of how people met their soulmate or made a great lifelong friend from online chat-rooms. For me, chat-rooms allowed me to be myself or someone else completely instead of the awkward geeky girl I was around guys. I could talk to guys without them judging me on my looks but on my personality instead. Lies and perverts were throughout the internet. At 16-17 years old, I felt I was too smart and could tell the difference between a nice guy and a pervert.

I met several guys through online chat rooms in real life. Nothing to boast about, believe me. I am still ashamed and scared at what could have happened. My Junior Prom date was a guy I met through a chat room who I never heard from again after that day. I met a guy who I feel head over heals from and hung out with for 6 months before he told me he saw me as a sister.

Throughout all the losers I met online, I finally met someone who I connected with. His name was Johnny and he lived only a town away from me. We talked online through a chat-room. I really loved his screen name and began to private message him. Pictures were exchanged and then phone calls. We agreed to meet at the local mall. Of course I was nervous (not to mention really really late) when I walked up and down the mall looking for my date. Finally I spotted him.

Although, I found out that he was not hard to miss.

Johnny's hair was dyed bleach blond and he wore a bright blue Hawaiian shirt. Yikes! I felt regret right away and wanted to bail. But instead the stupid 17 year old naïve girl I was got into his car to go out to dinner. Luckily he was a nice guy and we had a good time. Although it was not a love at first time feeling that I always wanted. After dinner we said goodbye and agreed to meet again. It took several dates to fall for Johnny. It took even longer for us to have our first kiss.

Years later he told me how he almost left because I was so late. Oh how my life would have been so different now.

Got my first full-time job

It’s official.

I am an adult :(

After being unemployed for 2 months, I got a full time job working as a teller for a small community bank that my boyfriend’s mom works for. It’s not exactly my ideal job, but it pays the bills and gives me health insurance. My plan is to stay here for a year and get back on my feet financially. I have seriously only $2.00 in my name right now. I barely have money for gas.

Since I am working for a bank now, I needed clothes that are professional looking. With $10 my Mom gave me, I headed to a used clothing store on my lunch break my second day on the job. I was able to buy 3 pairs of pants and a couple of tops with the money. Combined with clothes that my Mom had, I had enough clothes to make it through a week until I got my first paycheck!

One of my first major purchases with my new fortune was a beautiful velvet coat from a store I went into during my lunch break. It was $100 and I couldn’t wait to get it.

Being a banker has its ups and downs. I work Monday thru Friday with weekends and holidays off and I am home by 5pm. But it is very boring work and not what I wanted to do with my life. I can’t believe I went from training to be an EMT to training to be a Bank teller.