the original geek rockette

I need some help.

I have a decent opportunity right now, something I’m deciding whether or not to go back to… and I need advice, because I make really stupid decisions that seem good at the time (read: Disney) because I’m frustrated with things.

The Vice President of Aquatica, Bryan Nadeau, is appealing my no rehire status at Sea World/Aquatica/Discovery Cove. I’ve already appealed once, and I got a generic “no” email. Bryan gave me his business card while we were at Aquatica today. If you don’t know, I opened Aquatica just over four years ago as a Deep Water Lifeguard. I made almost 10 an hour there as a lifeguard, and I’m sure I could pick up my old position either there or at DC, but I don’t know if this is what I want to do. I mean, if I go back, I don’t necessarily have to go back as a lifeguard. I could teach swimming lessons at Aqutica, which is something I want to do and something that is now available there. There are so many options. 

I forwarded the email to Bryan and he is going to work on it. 

Working there, I was also at my lowest weight I’ve been at since I moved to Florida, at 185. I was the healthiest I have been, as Sea World promotes healthy lifestyles (um, well, keep the animals healthy and the people stay healthy too! Fitness, woo!) and keeps us moving. And I had a great leadership team.

I’m a different person now. I’m getting leadership offers at Universal (still nothing at Disney, and honestly, I am about done, so I don’t really want much.) and I’m working hard to be good. I feel that this might be a good fit for me.

Any comments for me?

Life is very weird. Social media makes it even weirder. In the same news feed, I saw a post about a friend of mine slipping into a coma, another post about a friend’s dad slipping into a coma at the same time, another post about two friends getting married on Monday, and another post about two friends having their beautiful daughter.

All this happened in ten minutes last night.

My friend Jamie passed away after a four year long battle against osteosarcoma. She was only 25 years old, due to turn 26 in August. I will miss her upbeat posts on Facebook about how even though she was sick, she wouldn’t let it ruin her view of the sun shining around her. She didn’t see things badly, she saw them brightly. She was such a beautiful soul… and I just hope that I can live life even a fraction of the way she did. Maybe even that I can be as strong as she was.

My friend Corinne lost her father this morning to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, otherwise known as ALS or Lou Gherig’s Disease. This is the exact same disease that took my father four years ago on February 28, 2008. It is a completely debilitating disease that targets muscles, deteriorating them from top to bottom. There are three kinds: leg, arm, and jaw. The first two take years for a patient’s health to decline, and the third can take a person in what normally tends to be two years. My father passed in less than two, and Corinne’s hit the two year mark almost exactly. ALS is completely fatal in 100% of cases. It is hard to watch a friend go through this kind of suffering, as there is literally nothing that anyone can do. Even Jamie’s case had a better chance. However, just as in her case, I hope that I can be as strong as Corinne and her father, Sidney.

For that, today is a sad day. A bleak one.

But the sun shines on… for life doesn’t stop when bad things happen. And Jamie’s sunshine that she held so dear is streaming wonderfully through my living room windows.

…Which brings the good news…

My friends Chris and Michelle, whom I have known for years both before and after they started dating, whom I have (sometimes secretly, lol) advised towards each other, and whom I have always believed were by far the best match for each other (because honestly, who should not marry their very best friend?), are getting married tomorrow. They have gone through a lot of the same heartache that you read above. Chris’ grandfather, whom they were both very close to, passed away suddenly only days after Chris’ proposal to Michelle. This was about three weeks ago. Rather than waiting (which is never a truly important thing), they are taking the leap and getting married tomorrow. I am very incredibly happy for them, so much so that even as I have shed tears of sadness about the above stories, I literally have had my heart leap for joy for them. They deserve happiness, they have gone through so much. <3

And lastly, my friends Eli and Heather have finally had their daughter Abby. She is gorgeous, and their pictures are so lovely. There is very little I enjoy more than seeing Eli looking lovingly down at Heather and Abby. Normally, I see Eli from a different, less personal angle… but today I have gotten much needed smiles out of seeing this.

This brings me to a quick moral of all of this: GOOD PEOPLE DESERVE HAPPY ENDINGS.

Life isn’t a fairy tale. I don’t expect that the good guys will win in every instance, and I know that faith in something (be it a deity, a rock, yourself, etc.) is very important, because it gives you something to focus on. But I know that life is better for having these people in my life… life is good because I have the ability to “stroll” onto Facebook and check in with them and see how they are doing. For some I wish I had more time, or more contact… I will always feel guilty that we weren’t able to go see Jamie before she passed away. I made the mention to Tim two days ago that we should get over there to see her. But it is what it is.

I just felt that I should write that. It’s four different stories about endings and beginnings… a new life brought into the world, the starts of two families, but also the end for some, the heartache from it.

Life wouldn’t be anything without it. Which, I suppose, is why it means so much. Cherish moments. Do not take life for granted, there is so little of it to live.