Impending Travel Plans

The simple thought of traveling excites me. Add in friends, new places, and a cause for celebration and one can imagine the anticipatory excitement I feel for the upcoming month. A friend of mine currently goes to college in New Orleans and I have been wanting to visit ever since he moved. By the time my friend experienced his first Mardi Gras, he was thoroughly engrossed in the culture of the “Big Easy.” His excitement about the Mardi Gras festivities was infectious and I have deemed it an item worthy of The List (#35 under Not-So-Impromptu) to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

This year, I have the good fortune to fulfill that item and I am so grateful! Mardi Gras falls on the 17th of February, the Tuesday of the second week of my spring semester. My friend is lucky enough to have the entire week of Mardi Gras off, but because I do not, I will be visiting the weekend before. It just so happens that I do not have classes Thursday or Friday, so I have the opportunity to spend an entire 4 days and 3 nights in New Orleans! My hope is that it is enough time to sight-see, visit with my friend, meet his friends, and enjoy a few Mardi Gras parades.

Are there any tips for traveling to Louisiana? Any must-see places in New Orleans or must-attend events?

2015 Resolutions

As promised, here are my actual new year resolutions:

• Volunteer my time at least once a week. Whether it be a local organization or just time helping friends or family, I want to spend my time wisely.
• Explore someplace new. Both Portland and the greater Tacoma area are perfect places to find little nooks and crannies full of gems. Not to mention all of the other places in the world I have not been yet.
• Continue learning. I will graduate sometime in May with a BSN and will take the NCLEX in June/July, but I will not stop learning there. At this point, I do not know what I want to learn, but whatever it is I will share it. Of course, this includes in part my goal of reading 52 books in a year.
• Write more consistently. Blogging weekly is a goal, as is finally accomplishing NaNoWriMo. I am hoping to send more letters this year – everyone loves a handwritten letter!
• Last but not least, I want to relax. My anxiety level has continued to rise the last few years despite my attempts to assuage it. I hope that this year, I can finally learn to control my anxiety better and be a generally more easy-going person.

Whether or not I accomplish my resolutions, they are now set in place. Hopefully in December I can reflect on the year and see how I have changed.

What kind of resolutions are you thinking of or would you ever consider committing to?

Go to a theme park and ride a roller coaster five times.

Yes, I rode the Dragon Challenge in Harry Potter World five times… I actually rode it four times consecutively. It was a blast! The ride splits into the Chinese Fireball and the Hungarian Horntail, so I didn’t have the opportunity to get bored of it. My favorite was the Hungarian Horntail side. No wait, the Chinese Fireball. I can’t decide… I think I need to ride it 50 more times… 😉