CELESTE-JILL

I Fight for the Front

Author: Celeste-Jill /

Last night I went to see my favorite band of all time, The Used. Normally I am pretty excited whenever they are in town but words really can't describe how glad I was when I heard they were coming close by my new residence. I missed meeting the band in August and their Salt Lake City concert because I had to go back to St. Kitts for school.

The concert was in Dekalb, Illinois about an hour and a half away. All my friends acted like I was slightly crazy to be driving that far for a concert...... I don't see their point at all??? The day before I discovered there was a winter storm warning for Illinois and northwest Indiana for the night of the concert...... I was pretty upset.

So I did some anti-snow dancing and asked my friends going to nursing school in Louisiana (a Southern Baptist school) to say a prayer for my situation when they were required to go to chapel (none of them are Southern Baptist). Anyway, our hard work paid off and it didn't start snowing until I got to the venue and there was only about an inch of snow on the car when the concert was over.

You can tell I am pretty close to the front and, if any of you have ever been to a rock concert, you can imagine what I went through to get there. I'll just say I was shoved around, got kicked in the face, and had people I have never met closer to me than I let my family get. But it was worth it!!

This is the singer, my good friend (I wish) Bert.

I love concert photos! Kind of like vacation photos..... the only people interested in them are the people who were there. Nothing wrong with a little self indulgence!!

That's all for now

Celeste

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I LOVE CHICAGO!!

Author: Celeste-Jill /

I am officially here! Okay, I've been here for about three weeks but I just got my internet set up today. For all you who have forgotten what's going on in my life or just can't seem to keep up, here is the short, short version:

-currently in nursing school, the first part of which took place in the Caribbean on St. Kitts. Just transferred to the affiliate school Purdue-Calumet (yes it is Purdue, just a different campus) which is in Hammond, Indiana. Imagine my nursing program as a foreign exchange program, of sorts.

-about to celebrate the second anniversary of turning 25. Yes, I am still claiming 25. Partly because i don't like the sound of the next two years, and partly because the majority of my friends and potential Future-Mr.-Celeste-Moos' are younger than me...... I kinda have the cougar thing going......

- mourning the slow, painful death of my tan

-terrified that I won't make it through school

-loving Walmart (you don't appreciate it until it's gone)

-single

Anyway, my cousin Whitney and her husband Juan live in Chicago and they gave me the

genuine first-timer experience. I don't have that many pictures and I had to steal some off of Whitney's blog.....(love you!) It's really exciting to have them here. Whitney and I didn't grow up around each other and it's fun to spend time with her family. Rest assured there will be many visits, bake sessions, and laughs to come!

this is one of my favorite pictures that I took. I have no idea what the buildings are or how to get there again. but this prospect sealed my love for this city

This is me and my cousin's husband, Juan. We were enjoying the Stained Glass Exhibit at Navy Pier. It was sooo cold that day! I really had to suck it up and take one for the team.

This is Navy Pier

Whitney and Juan took me to this popcorn place that is extremely popular. Honestly the wait felt like it should have had a roller coaster at the end! This is the Chicago mix; cheesy and caramel popcorn..... Juan was horrified when I didn't love it at first taste! ha ha, it wasn't too bad and I will definitely try it again.

This is looking up at the John Hancock building. the picture below is the view from the 96th floor women's bathroom; I didn't want to leave!

Walking the streets with them and with my friend a few days later made me realize that I am a city girl. I didn't think I was but I would much rather walk on a busy city sidewalk bundled up in seven layers than on a beach in the hot sun..... To each her own!

Celeste

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visit with the 'rents

Author: Celeste-Jill /

before I left St. Kitts, my parents were able to come down for 10 days. It was a lot of fun to show them my Caribbean hood. After we finished doing all the tourist stuff (in about three days because my parents do not do relaxing vacations), we had no choice but to go to the beach (I was super excited). The above picture is a foot bridge we found while on our rainforest trail at Ottley's Plantation.

It took me a good five minutes to coerce them out of these loungers.

Here's mom and dad on the training line for the zip lines we went on. I couldn't believe my mom did it; she normally hates heights. I think she had the most fun of us all.

Well, my computer is about to die so I'll finish this up next time.

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that light at the end of this tunnel

Author: Celeste-Jill /

I am in an especially good mood today! So good that I am going to keep that incorrect "especially" word on this post; you can't bring me down today!!!!

Why am I in such a good mood you ask? Because, in t-minus one and a half hours I will be

finished with school on this island!! I'm not completely done with nursing school; I still have one more year to do at Purdue-Calumet, but I'll be back in America!!

Over the past few days I've been pondering the meaning of one's "home country". I have a lot of friends from all over the world and I never understood how they could bash the USA and go on about their home country when, clearly, the US is bigger, better, and more awesome. I didn't realize until I left the country and lived in someone else's "home country" how much the US of A means to me. You really never do fully appreciate something until it's gone.

But I digress.... Since I am leaving this island in 13 days, 4 hours and 30 minutes (can you tell I'm excited?), I thought it would be fun to put together a picture montage of my time here.

this is a bush that grows in a lot of places here and has flowers year round

this fountain sits at the bottom of my street, which has two lions on either side. It would be cool except the lions are really old (I think one has a bullet hole in it), and the fountain doesn't work

This is Fort George at Brimstone Hill National Monument. I thought it was Brimstone Fort, but the hill is Brimstone hill and the Fort was named after King George the something (who can remember all those numbers and titles?)

This is one of the views from the peninsula back towards Bassetterre

this is me and Trevor. He is one of my best friends here. Excuse my hair, I blame it on the humidity.

For our transition ceremony a bunch of us did a Michael Jackson dance. It was pretty funny but everyone loved it. It takes WAY to long to upload videos from this far away so if you want to see it you'll have to go to my facebook page (i'm on the left)

this is me and my friend on our last school catamaran trip

My friend Gerard (jumping) would pull Rhoda and I (I'm the one screaming) over to the catamaran then do a cannonball as close as he could to us. He did this about three times. Every time was just as funny as the first.

Well that took so long that now I am officially finished with school on this island!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let the Caribbean Vacation begin! Hope to see everyone for Christmas...

Loves

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why does your blog look so weird?

Author: Celeste-Jill /

I realize that my blog looks a bit contradictory right now, but that is how I feel! I'm living on a Caribbean island aching to be home snowboarding, making Christmas goodies, and breathing the crisp cold air. Yet I know that after about three weeks of winter, I'm going to miss the hot humid air, beach days, and sand dollar hunting.

The closest I get to that winter feeling is sitting in my room with the ac on and not burrowing under my blanket. Who knew 22 Celsius was so cold (about 72 Fahrenheit)? It's going to be interesting when I get back to Utah. If you see a walking lump of clothing with two eyes showing it'll be me!

Celeste

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Author: Celeste-Jill /

Celebrating Halloween in a country that doesn't recognize it is something else... Thanks to the high population of students on the island, however, most of the tourist bars were having some sort of party.

Two of my fellow students formed a band here with a drummer who's wife goes to the vet school. They were playing at this bar so we all dressed up and went to show our support. Now I understand your confusion with the above picture, let me explain: Rhoda is a box of McDonald's french fries and that white blur to her right is a ghostly apparition! (aka me) Now here's something I just barely noticed as I was uploading this picture; look at the wing that is right next to my head..... anyone else see a face?? How Halloweenish is that??

This is a picture of me (again, I didn't think you would see me; all ghost-like as I am) with two of my nursing professors.

I have decided that one of the best things about this school is that we develop such good relationships with our instructors. On the first day of class they pass their cell phone around for us to put our number in and never hesitate to give us their personal cell numbers. A few weeks ago my maternity nursing class decided to have a potluck dinner at my house and these two teachers both came for the fun!

Anyway, back to the spookiness--

These are my two friends Dan (a green bean) and Jack (Gene Simmons) playing for us all. They named their band Leeward Fate; pretty creative, we do live in the Leeward islands of the Caribbean after all.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween and I look forward to seeing costume pictures.