What a week!

It has definitely been an interesting week here in Mag-land.

On Monday,  I found out that I will be working full time in Marketing starting January 1. I have been looking forward to this possibility for quite a long time. But I have to admit, it is a bittersweet moment. No more getting paid to go kayaking. No more riding in a cool truck to reach out to kids. No more little girls hugging me because they think I am the best teacher in the world (be nice and little girls are adorable like that). No more overnights. No more working with my awesome education peeps.

It’s gonna be really weird. OMG, I think I am getting teary-eyed. Hugh’s right though, sometimes you’ve gotta give something up to get something better.

So yeah, I will now be able to expand on my web projects in marketing. We will be able to do more things. Cooler things. I will continue to work with an amazing team that constantly shows not only dedication but also a love of working with each other as well. My paychecks will be bigger and predictable. I will have my weekends back! Juan and I will be able to spend our weekends together and that makes me happier than anything. It had really taken its toll.

But I would be lying if I didn’t feel sad about leaving education.

I have never left a place just out of my own volition. It has always been because I went to school or because I left school or because I was no longer qualified for a position (because I was no longer a student). One of them was even because the place closed down. So to leave a place when I have control over it is really difficult. I really value loyalty, I guess, and that part of me is really having a hard time right now.

But I am happy that it is still with the Aquarium, even if I am across the street from it. I just don’t want to get sucked into that life and forget how fun the “wet side” of the Aquarium really is.

The rest of the week was really long. Juan worked really long hours on a project from work at work. It really sucked. He came in one night at around 1:30. If he was anyone else, I might consider the idea of an affair. lol But yeah, long hours and stuff.

Friday was fun and interesting. An old friend from HS found me on MySpace a while back ago. We’ve been in touch on and off throughout and two weeks ago she contacted me to see if I could help her out with something. Friday was her and her girlfriend’s five year anniversary. Not only that, but she wanted to propose to her – at the Aquarium! I was only too happy to help. So I called in a few favors and on Friday, their tickets were waiting at Will Call for them. Then they walked around the Aquarium for a while and I met them at around 10:30 in the morning. We hooked up and I took them over to the otter exhibit for a really cool behind-the-scenes look. They got to learn about and feed Charlie, one of our sea otters in a holding area in the back. They had a lot of fun doing that. What I forgot to mention is that her gf really wanted to be a marine biologist, but for one reason or another, she never did it. So she loves the Aquarium. After they got to feed Charlie, we parted ways for about an hour since I had some work to do and our next appointment wasn’t for another hour and a half.

I finally met them around noon at the entrance to the Tropical Gallery for the awaited event. I casually toured them through the gallery and made our way to the tunnel. As we walked in, everything was going perfectly, such perfect timing on all accounts. A diver was coming in to the tunnel on the wet side, the dive safety officer (my contact for this part) was hanging out in the tunnel walk way very inconspicuously. I pointed out the sharks, the turtle, and then said, “oh look, and here is one of our volunteer divers”. She came over and said hi to our group. She put her hands on the inside of the exhibit’s acrylic and waited for them to hi-five her. Then she pointed at the couple and asked them to come to her with one finger from each hand. They looked at each other, Autumn was really confused and surprised but went towards her. Flor played along. Then the diver pulled a sign that I made and laminated and delivered before this moment. It read,

Flor has a question… “Will you marry me?”

It was hilarious and entirely sweet. The look on her face as she recognized Flor’s name, thinking “cool, someone else’s name is Flor!” to where she realized that she was being proposed to. It was awesome.

After some proposal after glow, we parted ways again and agreed to meet up for dinner. After seeing the Aquarium, they headed out to the docks and took a harbor tour, they ate at Bubba Gumps and they spent some time at Borders. I finally met up with them after work and we had some Coldstone’s ice cream. Then we walked around, caught up on our lives, and they got on the ferris wheel and merry go round at The Pike. Then we were hungry for real food and went to grab some pizza. After that, we came to our apartment and played some video games.

Saturday night was a fun party at AR’s. Such a cute little house and adorable home videos of him as a baby and toddler. Lots of good food, great people, and lovely atmosphere.

Sunday was spent resting after the seemingly endless week. But it was highlighted by the Immy Chat Bingo. That was a lot of fun!

I am SOOOO distracted dudes. The whole time I have been watching cartoons on tv, so I apologize for how disjointed this whole post is.